Pam Buda’s Sharing Her Scraps!

Pam Buda

Pam Buda Heartspun Quilts

This just in!!  Pam Buda ScrapsDon’t miss your chance to win some great fabrics scraps, direct from Pam’s studio to yours!  All you have to do is comment on her blog post by Friday for more than one chance to win  ; )  Enjoy!   — lisa

As always, please feel free to comment below, too, but we’re just passing on the good news…TO WIN THE FABRIC, you must comment on Pam’s blog!!

In Quilt Shops Now…

Congratulations to Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts on this gorgeous Fall 2015 Quilts and More magazine cover!! It shows off her TREENWARE & BERRIES collection, as interpreted by designers in the Scrap Lab Designer Challenge.  We love the versatility of her prints far beyond the quilt!

Instructions for the handbag and runner are included in the issue, and the fabrics are available at your local quilt shop!

Bag:Sherri K. Falls of This & That Pattern Company

Runner: Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts

Pam Buda’s Kitchen Decor…and a Great Tip!

Pam-KitchenWHJust had to share this from Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts. Her recent blog post, not only shares the adorable wall hanging she finished for her kitchen, but also a great tip she’s passing along from yet another quilting friend.  It’s one of those little  ideas that is too good to keep to yourself…enjoy, and share!

–lisa s

#MarcusAtMarket Wrap-Up

Another Spring Quilt Market concludes!  Thank you to our customers, friends, associates and designers for another successful event.  From long before booth set-up to breakdown, it takes lots of hands to make it all happen…

#marcusatmarket recap

There’s so much happening at Marcus, and Booth 1901 reflects it all beautifully:

1 – At left is the new Amish with a Twist III BOM by Nancy Rink, surrounded by a variety of garments and crafts in wool & cotton.

2 – l. to r.: Quilts in PAISLEY PERSUASION, PAST ENDEARMENTS and HISTORICAL STRIPES

3 – Customer service pros Indra (seated) and Regina discuss our latest with shop owners.

4 – Table tops are adorned with fusible applique – a great idea for special event decorating.  Later, you can cut away the appliqued square to repurpose as a pillow front of quilt block!

5 – ALWAYS THE SEASON quilt and holiday crafts!

6 & 7 – Two of our designers set up their booths just across from us – Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts (you can tell her booth by the red  ; ) and Paula Barnes of Red Crinoline Quilts.

Thanks for the photos, Faye Burgos!

Mini-Mania! Introducing the “Spice Box” Trio

Love miniature quilts?  Check out Spice Box, a trio of mini quilt patterns in a single package.    It’s Heartspun Quilts’ latest installment in the Tokens of the Past pattern series.  Spice Box features Pam Buda’s new TREENWARE & BERRIES fabric collection, a gorgeous blend of warm reds and browns.  Even better, you can create all three designs using a single pack of pre-cut 10″ squares (40 pieces, 2 each of 20 prints).  Then, just add borders!

Get the details, including ordering information on Pam’s blog, and stitch up your own Spice Box threesome!

#makeitwithmarcus

To Pre-Wash, or Not to Pre-Wash?

Pam Buda A Prairie Gathering Quilt - PreWash

Do you generally wash your fabrics before you begin a quilting project?

Every once in a while the question comes up, and now seems to be a good time to address it again, especially with so many rich, vibrant colors found in today’s fabric collections.  Concerns about dye loss  or possible color migration can increase when you’re blending deep reds with light ground coordinates, similar to those found in found in A PRAIRIE GATHERING by Pam Buda.

We chatted with Pam about her preferences and best practices for pre-treating quilt fabrics.  She routinely tells her students & quilting friends:

“I never wash my fabric.  I actually add a lot of sizing to my yardage to make it stiffer before I cut anything out, so washing would remove the sizing already in the fabric from the manufacturing process, and I add more.”  (Pam firmly believe that sizing and adding the extra body/stiffness aids tremendously with everything from cutting, piecing, and pressing, making your piecing more accurate!)  “That said, when my reds are wet with the sizing (and I really saturate the fabric with sizing!) I have not had any issues with the red, or any other color, running.  In all the years I have been quilting with quilt shop quality fabrics, I have never once had an issue with dye running,” she explains.

The decision to pre-wash fabric or not is largely a personal preference that could depend in part on what you’re making with the fabric.  A quilt that will be used and washed often should probably be made with pre-washed fabrics, while a decorative wall hanging can be made with non-washed fabric.

Thankfully, there are so many fabrications and production methods available to quilters today, including batiks and hand-dyed fabrics!  So, like Pam, we always advise taking the time to do a wash test whenever you are in doubt.  Marcus’ standard for overall quality speaks for itself over the years, including colorfastness, as Pam can attest to since she began designing with us. There are products like Retayne and Dye Catcher if you’re concerned about running.  Check out Pam’s impressive wash-test results – no dyes were released in the wash, as shown by the completely clean color catcher sheet after laundering.  As you probably know, deep reds like these are notorious for at least some color loss in laundering.

Pre-wash fabrics for quilts, Marcus Fabrics, Pam Buda

Pam Buda’s A PRAIRIE GATHERING quilt, before washing

with a dye magnet sheet such as Shout Color Catcher

Pam washes the quilt with a dye magnet sheet such as Shout Color Catcher

Pam Buda - pre-wash quilt dye magnet

Pam’s quilt and the dye magnet sheet, completely free of any dyes!

What are your tricks and tips for pre-treating your quilting fabrics?  Do you, or don’t you?  Like Pam, I’m not inclined to pre-wash.  But I might for a baby quilt, to remove any lingering chemicals or finishes on the fabric before it comes into contact with the baby (of course, I don’t sew many baby quilts…).  So again, the circumstances will help to dictate your pre-washing decisions.

Thanks for the photos, Pam!   ——  lisa s

 

 

More from Fall ’14 Quilt Market!

Back from another successful and busy Market in Houston, we’ve got some images to show off!  Thanks to our designers for sharing them with us.  Stay tuned for more…

Marcus Booth #1802 -Fall '14 Quilt Market

Marcus Fabrics Booth #1802…another beautiful display! Fabric collections shown left to right: Mill Girls; Molly B’s 1800’s – Victoria’s Violets; Aunt Grace Simpler Sampler; Judie’s Album Quilt mixed with Paula Barnes Companions; A Prairie Gathering; Judie’s Album Quilt.

Quilted Crow Girls Wool and Cotton

The Quilted Crow Girls combine some of the season’s best trends (wool with cotton and miniature projects) in their new Pantry Club program.

A Prairie Gathering - Pam Buda

A Prairie Gathering – A beautiful new fabric collection and quarterly quilt program by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts feature rich reds in a medallion design.

Red Crinoline Quilts, Marcus Fabrics

Just across the aisle from Marcus was Red Crinoline Quilts, featuring Paula Barnes’ fabric collections. Photo by Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts.

Did You Attend our Schoolhouse Sessions?

Schoolhouse Fall 2014 means three back-to-back sessions, presented by some of our best designers, sharing merchandising and design tips for independent quilt shops!  From miniature projects to fussy cutting to BOMs and more, here’s a sneak peek.

QM-FA14SchoolCOMP

The Marcus Sew-Along Quilt, Revealed!

SALButtonHORZ14Here it is!

SALRevealedDo you love it as much as we do? We’d like to thank everyone who has participated for the past nine weeks, block by block, and, as I promised, the end result is beautiful. Congratulations to everyone who kept up, and if you were not able to, we’re sure that this image of the finished quilt will inspire you to catch up in the completion phase.

And thanks to all of our talented and generous designers for taking time to participate, including the gorgeous finishing design by Paula Barnes and piecing by Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts with quilting and binding by Gloria Parsons of Olde Green Cupboard Designs.  

Complete instructions for the finishing are available on the Red Crinoline Quilts blog, but if you still need to catch up on the nine blocks first, here are the links to the blog posts:

Remember to leave a comment on the Red Crinoline Quilts blog for your chance to win the Grand Prize package:

SAL-GrandPrizeGiftPack

Pam’s Prairie Pocket Inspiration

Take a look at what Pam Buda’s been up to (aside from the Marcus SAL!)  Here she talks about one of her latest projects…

“I’m fascinated by creativity. It’s so unique to each person. For some it’s easy and others not so much. And…you never know when or where you might be inspired.  When it comes to fabric designing, it’s good to have a vivid imagination…to see possibilities in vintage fabrics and give them new life.Pam-Aug1

I found this antique “prairie pocket” while shopping an antique show last year. I think it’s a wonderful example of a functional, wearable relic of nineteenth century living. Back then, clothes didn’t have set- in pockets in the seams as they do now. Women would wear the prairie pocket(s) underneath their skirts. There would be a slit opening in the side seam of their skirts allowing access to the pocket underneath, where they would keep necessities of daily life, such as a flint and fuzz for making a fire, eyeglasses, and quite often needle, thread and patchwork Pam-Aug2scraps.

Closer inspection of the pocket patchwork reveals quite a few wonderful fabric prints. One print made its way into my newest fabric collection, PRAIRIE GATHERING. I changed a few elements from the original piece, which is really cute just the way it is. (It became Style # 5534-0111 in Pam-Aug3PamAug4red.)

Mosey over to my blog to read about two more prints I chose for the Prairie Gathering collection that came from a dirty, nasty piece of patchwork that I’m pretty sure was used to wipe a car engine!”

 Thanks, Pam… We love to explore the many places where inspiration can be found! 

Quilters, where do YOU find the best inspiration for your projects?