How to figure binding . . . Shhh! Mary's not looking!!!. . . .

. . . so KyleAnn is going to play! I've been going nuts trying to find out how to figure the amount needed for binding. Of course, I can always call my favorite quilt shop (AIS, in case you didn't know), but I always have these questions when they are closed. (Remember, I'm a beginning quilter.) SO, I got out my trusty "learn to quilt" books, but no one gave a formula. Next, I got on the internet and "googled." I don't know what I did wrong, but I didn't get a lot of help. One sight started out great - figure the total of all 4 sides. Ok, I can do that! Add 10 inches (some sights said as much as 20") for joining. Ok, I can do that, too. Then it told me to find the square root of the total. WHAT???? First of all, I don't DO square roots. So I got out my calculator and found the square root of my total. All it told me was what size SQUARE I'd need for the binding and that a fat quarter was not big enough. Well, that's all well and good if I were cutting my binding on the bias - but I don't (yet).

Finally, I found a site that made sense, and turned out that Janet (at AIS) uses a similar formula, so I know it must be right!

Measure the sides of the finished quilt to determine how many inches of binding required (you can measure from top to bottom and multiply that by 2, then measure from side to side and multiply that by 2. Add the two totals together. Assuming your binding fabric width is approximately 40”, divide the total inches by 40 to determine the number of fabric strips required. You can then take the number of strips and multiply it by the width of the binding (i.e. 2 1/2”) to determine how much fabric you’ll need to complete your binding.

Sample: 40" x 50" quilt . . . 40X2 = 80; 50X2 - 100 for a total of 180” perimeter; divided by 40” equals 4.5 strips (round up to 5 strips).

Multiply 5 strips by the width of the strip (2 1/2”) equals 12.5” of required fabric, which is just over 1/3 yard. so you will need 3/8 yard for your binding!

And since she's still not looking, here's another coupon!!

JUST ARRIVED!! (and don't forget the Garage Sale!!)

Hey everyone,

We had a great time shop hopping, and we hope you did too! Thanks for the great supprt.

Got stuff? Need room for more / different stuff? On Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15, you can rent half an 8-foot table for $5/day. We will provide the tent, the tables, and the chairs, you bring fabric and notions from your stash, or handcrafted items, or unfinished items, or yarn, or beads, or fruit, veggies, flowers, baked goods - anything you think someone else might want to buy. You price your items and put your name and space number on them. everyone checks out at one main check out station. For all your sales, you get an Always in Stitches gift card that can be redeemed immediately.

Remember, the cost to you is $5.00 non-refundable table rental fee for have of an 8' table, or $10 for whole table per day. Space can be shared with friends/family.

RESERATIONS ARE REQUIRED! We only have 40 spots available (Twenty half-table spaces available each day). call the shop (614-539-7845) or stop in to hold your space. Payment must be paid in full to reserve your space.

So clean out your sewing room, reduce stash, get some great deals on someone else's "trash" - remember their trash may be your treasure!!

Little Lone Star Quilts
Sew Perfect Points Every Time • Exciting New Paper-Piecing Technique • 7 Projects, by Lorraine Olsen

Lone Stars Made Easy - in Miniature!

• Make perfect miniature Lone Stars every time with this revolutionary new fold-and-sew paper piecing method

• No need for fussy measuring, cutting, or sewing on bias edges

• Learn on 7 vibrant quilts with full-size patterns

• Raid your scrap collection and choose just the right fabrics for miniatures

• Spangle your borders with diamonds and stars

If you've ever struggled to make a Lone Star quilt the old way, you're in for a pleasant surprise! These scrappy little Lone Stars come out with perfect points every time, and they're easier to make than traditional Lone Stars. Everything you need to succeed is covered here, from tools and supplies to binding and finishing your quilts.


Start Quilting with Alex Anderson, 3rd Edition

Alex is Back! - She is a quilt book machine!

Everything First-Time Quilters Need to Succeed • 8 Quick Projects—Most in 4 Sizes, by Alex Anderson

Make Your First Quilt a Success!

• Alex guides you every step of the way as you learn to plan, cut, piece, quilt, and bind your quilt

• Get started with 8 easy, beautiful projects

• Expanded edition includes new projects, more quilt sizes, and lots of helpful new tips and shortcuts

So you want to make a quilt, but can't tell a rotary cutter from a seam ripper? Alex Anderson has helped a quarter million quilters learn to quilt. She'll get you quilting in no time-and loving it!

Intuitive Color & Design
Adventures in Art Quilting, by Jean Wells

Think Outside the Block and Look What Happens!

• 11 creative exercises take your use of color, design, and piecing in dramatic new directions, including unique, 3-D "off the wall" quilts

• Use photographs and journals to find inspiration and develop your ideas

• Learn innovative finishing methods that show your quilts at their best

• Classroom-proven techniques make the adventure easy for any quilter

Jean Wells gives you the assignment of your life: put away your ruler and use your inner vision to design and piece spectacular, free-form quilts you'd never have guessed you could create. You will never see quilting in the same way again.


Artistic Photo Quilts
Create Stunning Quilts with Your Camera, Computer & Cloth,

by Charlotte Ziebarth

Transform Your Digital Photos into Luminous Fabric Art

• Alter photos and use them to create beautiful, original works of fabric art - 11 exercises show you how

• Learn to alter images with Photoshop Elements®

• Use photos that really enhance your work (Hint: it's not always the best-looking shots!)

• Find inspiration in your own albums, from other artists, and in nature

• Make large-scale quilts with a standard-size inkjet printer

This accessible guide to creating fine fabric art with digital photos covers everything from the tools and equipment you'll need, to designing, finishing, and assembling your quilt.

Appliqué Outside the Lines with Piece O' Cake Designs
No Rules—No Ruler, by Becky Goldsmith, Linda Jenkins

Put Down the Ruler and Free Your Inner Appliqué Artist

• Create 8 expressive appliqué quilts with this foolproof, no-rules approach

• Make your quilts as precise or freewheeling as you want them to be

• Use fabric color and value to make your appliqué come aliveWho says beautiful appliqué has to be fussy?

Learn to create fresh and free quilts with your rotary cutter and new improvisational techniques from Piece O' Cake Designs.

Thanks again! Stop in and say Hi! have a great week, I am going on vacation! See you in two weeks!

Oh My Gosh - Look What's Coming!!!

Coming in August! (Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post - we have a LOT coming!!!!)

Fat-Quarter Quilting - 21 Terrific 16" x 20" Projects by Lori Smith

Here's a great way to spend your fat quarters! These charming quilts are perfect for giving as gifts, trading with friends, and decorating nooks in your home. Collect your favorite fat quarters and transform them into treasured quilts.
• 21 patterns include both piecing and applique techniques
• Fabrics range from reproduction prints to modern batiks
• Even the quilt backing takes just one fat quarter, with no piecing required

That Patchwork Place Quilt Calendar 2010

This color-splashed calendar features a dozen gorgeous quilts from your favorite designers! Enjoy year-round artistry from such well-known experts as Sandy Klop, Lynn Roddy Brown, Barbara Brandeburg, and Teri Christopherson. The 28-page pullout booklet includes step-by-step instructions for each dazzling quilt. So give yourself the gift of year-round fun as you explore scrappy quilts, appliqué, 1930s reproduction fabrics, seasonal motifs, and more.

Award-Winning Quilts 2010 Calendar, featuring Quilts from the International Quilt Association

Bask in the beauty of extraordinary quilts throughout the year! Made by members of the International Quilt Association, these quilts were winners in the 2008 “Quilts: A World of Beauty” judged show. The international talent represented in these stunning photos is astonishing. Perfect for gift giving—with 13 distinctive quilt photographs—this is no ordinary calendar. It’s a celebration of creativity!

Candy Cane Lane - Quilts and More to Sweeten the Holidays by Melinda Bula

If all you want for Christmas is a whimsical, colorful, and perfectly charming quilt, just peek inside this book! You'll discover five projects sure to make the season merry and bright.
• Enjoy all the fun motifs of the season—holly leaves and berries, snowmen, candy canes, and more.
• Create a lap-sized quilt as well as a Christmas stocking, pillow, table runner, and small wall quilt
• Find detailed step-by-step instructions and full-sized pullout

Quilts from Paradise, by Cynthia Tomaszewski

Welcome to paradise! Best-selling author and international teacher Cynthia Tomaszewski invites quilters to imagine a haven of happiness and beauty. Her palette of bold, tropical colors conjures images of an island filled with sunlight, colorful birds, and the glorious scent of jasmine. Cynthia shows her versatility as a designer with 14 pieced and appliquéd projects that are strikingly pretty and a fresh departure from her earlier work. More than inspiring, these quilts are enchanting!

Patchwork Party
10 Festive New Quilts & the Recipes That Inspired Them by Sandy Bonsib

Mouth-Watering New Quilts and Desserts• 10 pieced quilts with rich colors inspired by delicious desserts• 10 finger-licking recipes to enjoy while you quilt• Learn to create rich color combinations using the color wheel • Create a complex look with easy, basic blocksThe secret of this tempting collection of pieced quilts is combining easy blocks - rectangles, half-square and quarter-square triangles, and four-patch blocks-in original ways. To achieve total perfection, just add dessert!

Alex Anderson’s 4-in-1 Essential Sewing Tool
Includes Seam Ripper, Stiletto, Presser, Turner

Four Must-Have Quilting and Crafting Tools in One• Flat-ended presser cap for finger pressing, folding, burnishing • Super-sharp BERNINA seam ripper for fast "unsewing"• Pointed wood end cap for turning bias tubes and doll parts• Extra-long stiletto protects fingers while pressing and machine piecing• Won't roll off your work surface! Hand-crafted in the U.S.A. of real maple wood.

Alex Anderson’s Hand & Machine Appliqué
• 6 Techniques • 7 Quilt Projects • Full-Size Patterns

Fall in Love with Appliqué! • Learn to add beautiful appliqué to any quilt by hand or machine • 7 charming quilts get you started• 3 hand appliqué techniques: needle-turn, raw-edged, and reverse appliqué • 3 machine appliqué techniques: invisible, raw-edged, and free-motion appliqué

From beloved teacher and TV/Internet host Alex AndersonBeloved quilting teacher and TV personality Alex Anderson shows you how easy it is to enhance any quilt with appliquéd flowers, leaves, hearts, and other shapes.

Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Appliqué
• 2000 Traditional and Modern Designs • Updated History of Appliqué • New! 5 Quilt Projects

Indispensable Reference Guide for Quilt Collectors and Appliqué Lovers Put 2000 Appliqué Designs at Your Fingertips

• Newly revised classic includes 2000 appliqué patterns from the 19th and 20th centuries

• New in this edition: 5 appliqué quilt project and updated history of appliqué

• Find the perfect block either by subject (wreaths, leaves, etc.), by type of design, or by time period

• Find the name and original publication for antique applique quilts

This classic compendium of appliqué blocks from quilt historian and best-selling author Barbara Brackman is back in print, and it's packed with essential information no appliqué lover should be without.

and don't miss our new shipment - just arrived - of Alex Anderson's Masterpiece thread!

What's New?

Hey Everyone, happy belated 4th of July! I had a great weekend and even did a small amount of sewing. (Even finished a barstool seat for a challange for the Susan G Komen foundation)

The August/September 2009 issue of McCall’s Quick Quilts just arrived. It includes 15 patterns for fast, easy projects. Special how-to photographs show machine button stitching and rotary-cutting of triangle shapes, and features include a match game play quilt for kids, fresh table ensemble, and cute picnic quilt. BONUS: Quilter’s Guide to Fabric and Supply Shopping, complete with fun QuickQuiz! I love magazines

brrrrrrrrrr! Is it getting cold in July? NO! But come check out our new shipment of ICE from Timeless Treasures! They look great on the blog - they look fabulous in person!!! Here are two of the four bolts we have from this line.

Look DELECTABLE during the hot summer weather in this COOL apron from Farmer John's. We have kits are available !

And here is our coupon for blog readers only!!!

LOTS OF BOOKS HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

Is your calendar marked for the upcoming Quilt Spree (shop hop) in July? Make sure you have marked July 23 through August 1. BUT DON'T MISS THE PREVIEW PARTY on July 22 here at the shop! Buy your passport here in June (only one week left!!) and win a chance on a great "Super Satchel Art Bin" tote with lots of fat quarters in it!

Hey! Did you know that The Guild in the Granary is in Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home? Check out the June/July 2009 issue.

Remember all those books we posted on May 11? WELL! They are HERE!

So now . . . . more will be coming soon!

Too Cute! No-Sew Children's Games, Toys, Gifts, and Decorations

• 100+ fun, no-sew toys, games, and other small treasures

• Have fun creating them with children and for children

• Includes dozens of projects with coordinating patterns, plus photo gallery with lots more ideas

• Use your favorite novelty fabrics

Need a quick party favor? A rainy-day game? A gift for a baby or child? You'll find all those and much more in this charming book of no-sew children's projects - bookmarks, coasters, mobiles, games and toys, party goods, room décor, and holiday goodies.

Transform Your Digital Photos into Luminous Fabric Art

• Alter photos and use them to create beautiful, original works of fabric art - 11 exercises show you how

• Learn to alter images with Photoshop Elements®

• Use photos that really enhance your work (Hint: it's not always the best-looking shots!)

• Find inspiration in your own albums, from other artists, and in nature

• Make large-scale quilts with a standard-size inkjet printer

This accessible guide to creating fine fabric art with digital photos covers everything from the tools and equipment you'll need, to designing, finishing, and assembling your quilt.

Lone Stars Made Easy - in Miniature!

• Make perfect miniature Lone Stars every time with this revolutionary new fold-and-sew paper piecing method

• No need for fussy measuring, cutting, or sewing on bias edges

• Learn on 7 vibrant quilts with full-size patterns

• Raid your scrap collection and choose just the right fabrics for miniatures

• Spangle your borders with diamonds and stars

If you've ever struggled to make a Lone Star quilt the old way, you're in for a pleasant surprise! These scrappy little Lone Stars come out with perfect points every time, and they're easier to make than traditional Lone Stars. Everything you need to succeed is covered here, from tools and supplies to binding and finishing your quilts.

Just in or Coming REAL Soon!!

We have several new books coming SOON! One, KyleAnn has already earmarked for her just-turned-16-yo grandaughter, who doesn't sew a lick yet - Sew with Sara. Here's what the publisher has to say:

• Sara shows you how easy and fun it is to sew cute clothes and accessories-and make money from your sewing
• 9 beginner-friendly projects include PJs, pillows, a tote bag, a cell phone or MP3 player cover, an apron, a notebook cover, and more
• Laugh along with Sara's journal entriesMeet Sara Trail, teenage sewing whiz, designer, and entrepreneur.

"Join Sara as she shows you how to find sewing supplies (shopping!), make fun stuff everyone will love to show off (clothes!), and earn extra money by throwing sewing parties and selling your creations (cash!)."


Another fun one . . . Fast, Fat Quarter Baby Quilts with M’Liss Rae Hawley . . . Make Darling Doll, Infant, & Toddler Quilts • Bonus Layette Set - Welcome Little Ones with Quick Quilts & Gifts

• The perfect baby gift! 10 snuggly cotton and flannel quilts for infants or toddlers, plus bonus layette set and 2 adorable doll quilts to make from leftovers
• These little quilts are so easy to make, you can finish one in just a day
• Go beyond pastels-a gallery of 40+ quilts shows each project in several different color schemes.

"What says love better than wrapping a baby or young child in a soft, cuddly, handmade quilt? Now you can make an unforgettable baby gift in a day or less, even if you're a beginner. This delightful assortment by M'Liss Rae Hawley includes a guide to quiltmaking basics and advice on creatively combining fat quarters with large-scale prints and other fabrics."


And the creatively daring (or wannabes!) will want to check out Fabric Art Collage—40+ Mixed Media Techniques by Author Rebekah Meier. Mix It Up with Dozens of Exciting New Ways to Create Mixed-Media Fabric Art

• Everything you ever wanted to know about mixed-media fabric collage - the techniques, the supplies, the fun of creating!
• Learn more than 40 original techniques, each illustrated with step-by-step photos
• Find out which products work best for each technique
• Test-drive your new skills with 5 small quilt projects

"Have you ever melted crayons onto muslin? Painted wool felt with bleach? Heat-embossed quilt batting using lace? Rebekah Meier has, and she shows you how to create fabulous fabric collages with these techniques and many, many more."


And don't miss the adorable Poster Quilts with Patrick Lose - 10 Festive, Fusible Quilts for Year-Round Fun . . .Quick Wall Quilts to Make You Smile All Year Long


• Brighten your home in every season with 10 lighthearted wall quilts from Patrick Lose
• Easy fused appliqué makes these quilts go together in a snap-start one today and hang it up tonight!
• Includes full-size, ready-to-use patterns, and complete instructions

"Give your seasonal décor an instant injection of fun with this collection of delightful small quilts from Patrick Lose. You'll be ready to decorate for any special occasion with super-easy wall and door banners for birthdays, New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, the winter "Holly Days," and more."

and check back on this blog for more info on some of June's new selections . . .

Calling Cards—Connect with Style by Trice Boerens 200 cards inside. Keep in touch with new acquaintances - give them your personal calling card. 40 vintage and contemporary designs.

Cupcakes! by Lynn Koolish - 30+ adorable cupcakes to make with fabric, yarn, felt, and paper, plus lots of mouth-watering cupcake recipes.

Best In Show—24 Appliqué Quilts for Dog Lovers by Carol Armstrong - Show off 24 favorite dog breeds with charming little appliqué portrait quilts that practically sit up and say woof!



Viva Venezia! by Christine Porter - Recreate the grandeur of Venice in 10 splendid quilts inspired by mosaic floor tiles.

We are on our way to Pittsburgh for Quilt Market where we will see all of the new and exciting fabrics, books and patterns. We will try to document everything for you to see in our blog next week!

Have a great week!

RACE FOR THE CURE COUPON - for blog readers only!