NEW TOOLS FOR QUILTING

I was thrilled to meet so many wonderful people in Houston at Quilt Festival. It is nice to get a first hand look at the many products available to quilters and talk to the people who created them. I have discovered one new tool that is a wonderful addition to my shop! TrueGrips by the Grace Company are exactly what I was hoping for when looking for a non-slip product to add to my Leaves Galore Templates. Since accuracy is key in making my patterns, it was important for me to find a grippy product to add to the template that I would not interfere with the measurements on the template. Grace TruGrips are the answer! By placing three or four grips along the center line of my template, I can still put pressure along the cutting edge and get a smooth cut. If you put the grips too close to the edge of the template, the fabric has room to move and will sometimes give you a jagged cut as the blade pushes the fabric under the raised edge of the template. I also met Kathy Alice of Waterfall quilts who made the “Flip Flop Block” template that I used to make my niece Candic’s quilt. Her new book by AQS publishing has a photo of my quilt! I was thrilled to meet Kathy, have her autograph my copy of her book, and go out to dinner with her and her family. Kathy introduced me to Patricia Pepe from Quilt Queen Designs. Patricia is the designer of X blocks, a great tool for quick pieced quilts. Along with her daughter Ari, Patricia is having fun with X-blocks and had some great samples in her booth. Look at this issue of Quilter’s Newsletter for the X-block, and editors pick for favorite tools this month! Congratulations Pat! I have been hibernating since Festival, working on a new template, and getting some great new pattern ideas on paper. I have also been overhauling my website to offer more to my customers. Bear with me as I update my shopping cart to allow international sales and shipping. Watch for a new gallery of customer quilts (send me your photos!!) and new tips and tricks to make cutting with Leaves Galore a snap!