Ideas and Inspirations

You have a finished top, you want to have a finished quilt. But, you need ideas for how to quilt it. Here are our suggestions and this should get you started:

1. Use wavy, horizontal lines in the background to suggest clouds, wind or water. To make it more interesting, space these wavy lines closer together in the bottom third, then gradually space

Add Seagulls to your Sailboat & Lighthouse 2 Fabric Applique Quilt Pattern

When Melinda Sword sent us this photo of her quilt with the Seagulls she added to it, we were so impressed we asked her if we could share this with all our customers.

When Lines Converge

The concept of echo quilting is easy: Evenly spaced rows of quilting radiating out from the applique. But what do you do when quilting lines begin to merge between a center medallion and an outer border? Or in the center of a quilt that has a large open center? Or, when the shapes of the applique cause the lines to bump into each other? The principles are the same:

• You want an equal number of quilting rows coming from each direction until the lines meet.
• You need to draw the lines in from each direction to find where they will meet before doing any quilting in that area.
• You do not control the shapes created by the intersecting lines, they will be what they will be.

It is back!

I wanted to make sure you that we had the Mini Holiday Tree 2 Fabric Applique Quilt pattern on our blog and available here on the new website. This pattern was available on our How-to-page of the old site.

Nancy's Secret to Success

Free instructions for easy-to-make bias tape for your Celtic Knotwork applique, stained glass applique, or for any other decorative purposes.

Are you traveling this summer?

I have to admit one of the best things about travel is the fact that I have time to applique! I do not have as much time as I would like when it comes to appliqueing. It is one of my favorite things in the quilting world.

I was lucky enough to fly to Wyoming

We all know a quilt is not finished until it is bound. We also know a poor binding can detract from an otherwise beautiful quilt. Here are our instructions for getting the beautiful binding you want for

When 2 colors just won't do

With these thoughts about tradition in mind, let's consider the use of color in Hawaiian quilting. Have you wondered if Hawaiian quilts are ever made with more than just two fabrics - two colors? The use of two or more colors of applique fabric Multi-colored Hawaiian Quilt is relatively new. It is seen rarely in older quilts, then more frequently from the 1980's to today.

We often receive questions about which needles we like to use for applique. The answer is that both Nancy, Janice and Connie use John James Milliner (aka Straw) needles in either size 10 or 11. A size 11 needle is slightly thinner than a size 10, and works very well with tightly woven fabrics, and with batiks. Because a size 10 is not quite as thin, it does not bend quite as easily, and is often preferred by beginners. (Speaking of bent needles, we do not fret over bent needles anyway. We think a needle with a slight bend helps to keep the thread from twisting.)

The length of the Milliner/Straw needles aids in turning under the 3/16" edge of fabric when doing needle-turn applique. With

Which is the easiest pattern to do first?

We are asked this question a lot, and we always have one answer: "The one you like the best."

Why do we say that? Because all applique is made up of just five simple shapes: straight line, inside curve, outside curve, inside point and outside point (valley and mountains).

Your quilt top is finished. Hooray! You may have known from the beginning of this quilt whether you would hand or machine quilt it. Or you may have wanted to finish the top before you decided. If so, now is the time to decide. So what will you do, quilt by hand or machine?

Welcome to our new home!

I am thrilled to announce to you the launch of our new website. We can now be found at PacificRimQuilt.com.

My goal with creating a new website was to provide you with an easier way to view and shop for Pacific Rim Quilt

Different Fabrics, Different Looks, More Possibilities

Do you pick a pattern to buy because you love the colors of the quilt pictured on the cover? Or do you really love the design? If that same pattern cover had shown a quilt in different colors would you have still picked it? Most of us are probably attracted to color first. Skimming a magazine your eye will notice the quilts in the colors you have a preference for. You may never pause to look at quilts in colors that do not appeal to you, regardless of the design. Have you noticed yourself doing that?

Dilemma #1: Pattern designers and pattern companies can only show one quilt on a pattern cover - just one - that is supposed to appeal to everyone. An impossible task! Nancy likes blues and purples, Janice likes greens and reds, you hate orange, but love pink, one friend likes earthy colors, another likes jewel tones. One person wants the image on the quilt to be done in realistic colors, another in fanciful colors. We can only show one quilt on a pattern cover, but there are an infinite number of ways to change the look of the pattern using different fabrics.