American Patchwork & Quilting April 2020

IT’S QUILT-ALONG TIME! We started our annual American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine quilt-along in 2014 with Tone It Down by designer Lissa Alexander. Since then, we have added a quilt-along Facebook group and an Instagram hashtag (#apqquiltalong), both of which make it fun to follow participants’ progress. For information on how it all works, visit allpeoplequilt.com/quiltalong. For this year’s quilt-along, we’re offering another scrappy quilt, Get Together, page 18, designed by associate editor Diane Tomlinson. Diane traded 3"-square Nine-Patch units with several quilting friends and used EQ8 software to design a quilt that incorporates the units into Double Nine-Patch blocks. She joined the blocks with foundation-paper-pieced Square-in-a-Square setting squares and Flying Geese sashing strips for an eye-appealing design. We have included tips for trading fabrics if you like the scrappy look but…

search: American Patchwork & Quilting @allpeoplequilt ONE MILLION PILLOWCASE CHALLENGE PILLOWCASE STORY: Last year Fran Wolf organized a pillowcase-sewing day with fellow quilters. They donated the results to the Davenport School, a residential treatment program for at-risk adolescent girls in Jefferson, New Hampshire. After receiving the pillowcases, many of the girls expressed a desire to learn to sew. AS OF DECEMBER 13, 907,763 pillowcases had been added to our counter. Join the eff ort at AllPeopleQuilt.com/822.…

I organize my quilting stencils by size on large loose-leaf BINDER RINGS that dangle from a BELT HANGER in a closet or from a wall hook in my sewing room.JUDI LEVENTHAL Humble, TexasWhen I’m assembling a project that has a lot of pieces, I use an EXPANDABLE LAUNDRY DRYING RACK to keep the pieces organized. Because the rack is collapsible, I can take it with me to quilt retreats, too.CHRISTINE CURIN Schaumburg, Illinois OUR LIPS ARE SEALED Once I finish a tube of lip balm, I run the insert back to the bottom of the tube and stash the empty tube in my sewing room as a repository for old sewing machine needles. Replacing the cap after each needle is added keeps the needles contained for disposal. KARI RAYWilsonville, Oregon Because I was tired…

1 MAGNETIC TAPE Upgrade a crowded drawer with strips of magnetic tape on the often-unused interior sides. The tape can hold loose needles, pins, metal bobbins, clips, and other small notions. You can also cut the tape to the size of your cutting tools and place it on the drawer bed to keep the tools from sliding around as the drawer is opened and closed. Because the tape comes in a variety of widths and strengths, you can buy it to fit your needs. 2 SPICE DRAWER INSERT Keep items like spools of thread and small bottles of liquids visible and easy to reach with a spice drawer insert that has slanted dividers. The dividers will hold spools in place so the thread doesn’t get tangled and a closed drawer will hide thread…

For Your Singer Featherweight 01 | 360 ROTATING CUTTING MAT Rotary-cut fabrics and trim block units faster and easier using a 14"-diameter cutting mat that rotates. The mat has a nonslip rotating base, grid lines every ½", angle markings, centering guides, and a scalloped edge that makes it easy for fingers to grasp.$39.99; omnigrid.com 02 | LOG CABIN QUILT BLOCK FOUNDATION PAPER Piece accurate Log Cabin blocks using a pad of 42 foundation papers. The papers feature shaded diagrams for color placement, cut fabric sizes, and printed numbers. The sheets are available in 6"- or 12"-square finished sizes.Starting at $7.98; fatquartershop.com 03 | FOLDING FRIEND The key to foundation piecing is exact trimming, which benefits from a sturdy edge to fold the paper against. This 1½×10" tool provides just such an edge.$1.90; cabininthewoodsquilters.com 04 | 808 REACTIVATING…

01 | DRESDEN QUILT BLOCKS REIMAGINED Create both traditional and nontraditional Dresden Plate blocks with this book from author Candyce Copp Grisham. She starts with instructions for a basic block, then customizes it with 25 design twists, including a variety of edge treatments.$24.95; ctpub.com 02 | FARM GIRL VINTAGE 2 Piece 45 quilt blocks inspired by author Lori Holt’s rural roots. The 6"- and 12"-square blocks can be assembled into 13 projects ranging in size from pincushions to quilts or mixed and matched into your own designs.$29.98; fatquartershop.com 03 | MACHINE-QUILTING IDEA BOOK Author Vicki Ruebel offers suggestions for machine-quilting 12 classic quilt blocks. For each block she provides up to six machine-quilting designs that vary in difficulty. Easy-to-understand illustrations make achieving the designs possible.$27.99; shopmartingale.com 04 | WHY WE QUILT Author Thomas Knauer showcases a collection…