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description=A Sentimental Quilter by Kathleen Tracy is about her journey through quilting. Kathleen uses reproduction fabrics to make quilts with an antique look.;

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en were made without any borders you can choose to go without a border or just add them on the top or sides for a fun accent i m no expert but i think i ve learned a lot over the years just looking at quilts both antique and modern trying different things and coming up with what s pleasing to me make sure you audition your borders try out several prints before you settle on one sometimes the one you least expect will be the one that works posted by kathleen tracy at 6 11 pm 15 comments friday february 19 2010 a very good fabric wardrobe i recently received several e mails from quilters asking me how i choose my fabrics for my scrappy quilts this question comes up frequently when i lecture as well leading me to think that not everyone finds it as easy as some unlike quilters from the past quilters today are really lucky to have such a wonderful array of fabrics to choose from when making their quilts but it can really get overwhelming sometimes with the wide variety available and it s fairly common to lack confidence in picking out fabrics for a scrap quilt particularly if some of you are new to quilting so here s how i get my look quilts from the 19th century were anything but drab brown and although brown was commonly used in quilts made during this period quilts then were also pretty colorful if you love making scrappy quilts with an antique look but get confused or overwhelmed by the task of choosing good fabrics here are a couple of tips that i found work for me begin collecting colors and prints in muted shades that you like a little at a time but don t just buy the same colors you like over and over if you re intent on making scrap quilts get a good varied collection going that you will use for years i organize my fabrics by color in drawers or bins make sure you have a good selection of reds blues indigos dark blues greens pinks light shirting prints browns tans and golds yep that means a separate place for each color choose a variety of different geometrics and florals for each color make sure you have quite a few shirting prints or tans for block backgrounds throw in a few black prints and purple too and you can do almost anything the next time you re in a shop if it s too confusing to know where to start concentrate on buying several different prints of just one of those colors and start collecting the next time you go back buy different prints in another color to keep building up your store i find that sometimes this method works to keep the confusion to a minimum and pretty soon you ll have a good assortment i can get carried away when i go into a quilt shop and want to buy everything i like not necessarily what i ll need when i get home like a basic wardrobe a good collection of fabric can take you anywhere i mostly use smaller prints for my small quilts geometrics dots and tiny florals and an occasional larger print for interest make sure you have a few checks plaids and stripes for interest too mix the larger prints with the smaller prints if you re going for an antiquey look if there s a fabric you already have and like but it s too bright when placed next to another print soak a small piece of it in a cup or bowl of tea to tone down the brightness try several tea bags then soak the fabric for a few minutes to see if it darkened i make 2 cups of tea when i sew one for me and one for the quilt lol this works for me sometimes i really don t like to tea dye the whole quilt to give it that brown look i hardly ever use white unless i am making a thirties quilt in the doll quilt below i soaked some of the bright pink scraps in tea to tone them down a bit they still pop but the contrast is not as great because the pinks have more of a soft tinge add some contrast to your quilt by using different darker hues of the same color instead of large prints or bright fabrics decide if you want a lot of contrast or a little in your quilt choose prints in colors that pop out from the surrounding pieces if you want a lot of contrast here s a good example in the quilt below instead of placing the red piece next to the black or blue ones and only using dark shades for the star points i broke it up with medium prints in tan green and gold for more contrast making the red pop out gives it interest i think i just recently finished making a small quilt that has mostly darker muted colors indigos tan and black mixed with shirtings and in the center i threw in a few pink pieces i love the blues and grays in this antique quilt top someone showed me because it uses the same theory and would be pretty dull without the red or pink another thing to try i like to repeat one of my favorite colors throughout the quilt to pull the scrappiness together not difficult to guess what color that is you also need to consider value when you re making a scrappy quilt which is the relative lightness or darkness of a fabric value is what makes different colors look so pleasing when placed next to each other strive for a pattern of light and dark values throughout the quilt to create a vintage looking softness you can create contrast by choosing light and dark hues of the same colors as well there are clumps of blue in this scrappy quilt but i think it works because they re different shades and different prints of the same color try making it with your favorite color or pick two and see what happens there s a free pattern on my website for this little quilt the great thing about making small scrappy quilts is that you can experiment with different colors without spending a lot of time energy or money be creative experiment and it will all come together eventually next time on the borders posted by kathleen tracy at 1 34 pm 11 comments monday february 15 2010 it must almost be spring i ventured out to an indoor flea market on saturday can you tell i m yearning for spring don t get me wrong i love winter but i also love browsing the flea markets in spring and summer i love the hunt you never know what treasure you ll find what gem you ll uncover this indoor one i go to is just ok not great but still fun i m looking forward to going to the outdoor kind beginning in april i didn t buy much some photos for the book and a little antique bow pendant for my daughter there was an awful lot of vintage jewelry this time i always have to ask myself do i really need to bring home more junk to clutter my basement i do love to see if there are any quilts but i m not usually lucky enough to find something i love that i can afford most of the quilts are not old enough for my taste and i never ever find any doll quilts i like shabby chic as much as the next person but these were a little too shabby this pink and blue one was 200 with lots of worn spots and holes so no thanks although i loved the colors and the quilting there s the baptist fan design again i loved the colors in this one and the placement of the blocks too i m thinking i ll probably reproduce it for a little quilt pattern one of the things i really love about flea markets or antique markets is that fact that i can see a lot of my childhood toys for sale at prices that would make my mother gasp i wanted to buy one of these little 3 d tv pencil sharpeners i had in the 4th grade they were so cool if you turned it gently from side to side the image moved i remember having had this red one with the ice skater spinning and twirling and used it every day didn t buy it refused to spend the ridiculous price she was charging but it was still fun to see after all these years you forget the little things you were attached to as a child some other quilts but nothing too special i love a good flea market and if you re in the market for vintage treasures you didn t know you couldn t live without or just a darned good pair of tube socks you re sure to find it there posted by kathleen tracy at 5 00 pm 6 comments friday february 12 2010 happy valentine s day the best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard but must be felt with the heart helen keller i love hearts within your heart keep one still secret spot where dreams may go louise driscoll 1 1 2 inch squares fused hearts follow your heart but be quiet for a while first ask questions then feel the answer learn to trust your heart unknown i m a sucker for anything heart shaped and i d be embarrassed to tell you just how many pairs of heart shaped earrings i own my daughter gave me the ceramic box below for christmas she knows about me and hearts i think i ll use it for my heart shaped jewelry i made the little red and black heart needle book from a kit i found at my local quilt shop a few years ago in case you re wondering the red huswife needle case is a smaller version of the one that s in remembering adelia made without the felt piece for needles i keep it in my purse and use it for carrying around gift cards or credit cards the case opened so you can see the pockets these make great little gifts for friends even friends who don t sew i ve made about 10 of these they re so simple and sew up rather quickly let your heart guide you it whispers so listen closely the land before time yes that s right i m quoting the little dinosaur movie lol it happened to be my son s favorite movie when he was about 3 or 4 loved that movie we watched it over and over and over gave me a lot of free time on the couch when i couldn t get up because of extreme morning sickness before my daughter was born little girls are the nicest things that happen to people they are born with a little bit of angelshine about them and although it wears thin sometimes there is always enough left to lasso your heart even when they are sitting in the mud or crying temperamental tears or parading up the street in mother s best clothes alan marshall beck be careful what you set your heart on for it will surely be yours ralph waldo emerson happy valentine s day posted by kathleen tracy at 12 39 pm 6 comments tuesday february 9 2010 what s for breakfast february is american heart health month both of my parents died from heart disease too early in life and i do what i can to try to reduce my own risk i try to change the risk factors i m able to change and i also try to instill healthy eating habits in my family i think that s why i surround myself with hearts to remind myself breakfast is the most important meal of the day at least that s what i ve been hearing for years and i m famous for nagging my family about it i never allowed my kids to eat sugary cereals for breakfast while they were young and if we occasionally had any of it in the house they ate it for dessert or as a snack a silly christmas tradition we had was to wrap up a box of christmas cap n crunch and give it to my son so he could go nuts with it over winter break while he was home from school lol trust me i wasn t a complete green meany they ate enough sugar at other times without overdosing on it at breakfast too i remember my son s 3rd grade teacher telling me that she could tell which kids ate what for breakfast she said that by 10 00 every morning 1 2 the class was climbing the walls so she did a quick survey and asked the kids what they ate for breakfast yup sugary cereals i m a believer adults who eat a healthy breakfast instead of skipping it are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and have better overall glucose levels i have to admit i m a coffee junkie in the mornings but no sugar and sometimes i don t get around to eating breakfast until later because the coffee fills me up and i just get busy i know i know i should know better sometimes i exercise and i hate to do it on a full stomach on the days i skip breakfast oh no don t tell my kids i know i tend to overeat later in the day so while i was writing this i promised myself i m going to do better breakfast every day like i tell my kids maybe it will help me lose weight well at our house we get tired of the same old same old breakfasts my daughter doesn t often have time for anything elaborate in the morning and i ll admit even though i m a pretty good cook i have a hard time being creative with meals while we re rushing around at 7 00 a m we used to love oatmeal but that was gettting so boring until my daughter recently asked me if i could make her the apple crisp kind of oatmeal without the apples just the crispy topping now i make a mean apple crisp but that s a dessert item in my repertoire and when my kids were little i would sometimes let them eat the leftovers for breakfast without the ice cream this morning there weren t any leftovers so i said hmmm and came up with a great recipe for a very quick crispy baked oatmeal i think you ll love betty crocker look out i made it in the microwave and then put it in the toaster oven to crisp up here are the approximate directions for one serving keep in mind i m a quilt designer not a recipe czar mix 1 4 cup dry oatmeal with a dash of salt and about 3 or 4 tablespoons of water to moisten in a microwaveable bowl use your prettiest measuring spoons and measuring cups microwave on high for 1 minute you don t have to fully cook it it tastes better if the oats are sort of raw and not soggy so they crunch up nicely pre heat toaster oven to high or broil sprinkle a little cinnamon and brown sugar into half cooked oatmeal stir place mixture into a greased small individual size glass baking dish those white corningware things work well drizzle a little melted butter over the oatmeal so it browns bake oatmeal on high or broil for 5 6 minutes until crispy i like to time it with this cute little teapot timer let it cool and if you prefer add a little milk to enjoy your apple crisp topping without the apples yum i like to top mine with vanilla yogurt a nice change from soggy oatmeal plain or topped with yogurt i prefer the apples in mine and have sometimes made the quick version of apple crisp this way in the microwave but it still takes a little longer to cook the apples you can also sprinkle a low cal sweetener instead of sugar on top after it s baked if you need to cut out some of the sugar or be creative sometimes i add raisins or dried cranberries plus walnuts to the oatmeal after i microwave it great for those cold snowy mornings we all seem to be having in the u s lately my street this morning another 6 inches predicted nothing compared to some you probably already know this but it bears repeating according to research here are some good reasons to eat your oatmeal 1 oatmeal may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease the soluble fiber in oats helps remove ldl or bad cholesterol 2 the soluble fiber in oatmeal makes you feel full longer so oatmeal can help you control your weight 3 research suggests that eating oatmeal may reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes the soluble fiber helps to control blood glucose levels 4 recent studies show that a diet that includes oatmeal may help reduce high blood pressure due to the increase in soluble fiber in oatmeal oats contain more soluble fiber ...