Quilt sleeve

Quilt Care book available

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QuiltCareFCDear Quilters, Quilt Owners and Readers,

My book, “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice, How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100” was available on Amazon but the printing quality was not good. I have had it professionally redesigned by Chris Hoffmeister, Western Sky Designs, and printed locally by PBR Printers, Cheyenne.

To arrange to purchase a copy, please contact me at bgorges2@gmail.com. The cost is $9.95 plus sales tax and shipping (at whatever rate you prefer).

The book is based on the columns I wrote for the Wyoming State Quilt Guild’s newsletter and posted here. The information has been updated with the assistance of Jeananne Wright, AQS-certified quilt appraiser and antique quilt expert.  The 48-page book is illustrated with 32 black and white photos. It’s printed on slick paper and has a full-color paperback cover.

Here is a list of the chapters:

Make – Quiltmakers need to think about quality materials and techniques when constructing a quilt.

Test – How do you test for washability and light-fastness of fabrics for those special quilts?

Use – What’s the best way to make a bed with a quilt?

Display – Keep fading even if not absent; learn stress-free way to hang a quilt.

Air – Sometimes all a quilt needs is a little airing.

Wash – What do you need to know before you wash a quilt?

Dry – Air-dry or machine-dry, it’s all about the balance between abrasion and migration.

Store – Where to find a clean, unlighted place for your quilt to rest.

Appraise – Showing a homemade quilt is worth something could encourage future owners to take better care of it.

Insure – A quilt is an investment, in time and effort, if not money. Protect it.

Ship – There’s much to consider when shipping a quilt to a show or its new owner.

Sign – Find out how to make a label about the quilter and the quilt to sew on the back. The more information, the more important the quilt could become in the future.

Find out more about this and my other book, “Cheyenne Birds by the Month,” at https://yuccaroadpress.com/.

Thanks,

Barb Gorges

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Quilt Care eBook and print books on Amazon

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Dear Quilters, Quilt Owners and Readers,

I’m happy to announce that three editions of “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice, How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100” are now available on Amazon (if these links don’t work in the future, just search my name, “Barb Gorges”:

The eBook edition, $4.95, eBook link, can be downloaded onto any device, phone, tablet, reader or laptop. If you don’t have a Kindle, you’ll see a link right there for a downloadable free app on the same page that says “Read with our free app.”

The B & W edition, $6.95, black & white edition link, is perfect for sending along with the quilt you just made for someone. Be sure to read the chapter on shipping before mailing your gift quilt. This edition has 32 black and white photos.

The full-color edition, $14.95, full-color edition link, has a slightly different title, the addition of the words “Full-color edition.” The 32 photos in color will help you visualize what I’m talking about.

And what am I talking about? The book is based on the columns I wrote for the Wyoming State Quilt Guild’s newsletter and posted here. The information has been updated with the assistance of Jeananne Wright, AQS-certified quilt appraiser and antique quilt expert. And the topics have been realigned into 12 chapters. The first two are of interest to quiltmakers and the other 10 to all quilt owners.

Make – Quiltmakers need to think about quality materials and techniques when constructing a quilt.

Test – How do you test for washability and light-fastness of fabrics for those special quilts?

Use – What’s the best way to make a bed with a quilt?

Display – Keep fading even if not absent; learn stress-free way to hang a quilt.

Air – Sometimes all a quilt needs is a little airing.

Wash – What do you need to know before you wash a quilt?

Dry – Air-dry or machine-dry, it’s all about the balance between abrasion and migration.

Store – Where to find a clean, unlighted place for your quilt to rest.

Appraise – Showing a homemade quilt is worth something could encourage future owners to take better care of it.

Insure – A quilt is an investment, in time and effort, if not money. Protect it.

Ship – There’s much to consider when shipping a quilt to a show or its new owner.

Sign – Find out how to make a label about the quilter and the quilt to sew on the back. The more information, the more important the quilt could become in the future.

Find out more about the book at https://yuccaroadpress.com/. And consider leaving a comment or review there or on Amazon.

Thanks,

Barb Gorges

“Quilt Care” book now on Amazon

/ Barb Gorges / Leave a comment

Quilt Care book coverMy classes on quilt care and the previous blog posts referred only to “How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100.” That’s a title that would stand out in a quilt shop. But in a book shop with over 200,000 other titles, the most important words needed to be up front.

To find the book, go to Amazon.com and search for either “Quilt Care” or “Barb Gorges.” It’s a mere $5.95 investment. The original blog posts have been reorganized and include additional information. If you buy a copy now, you can share it for up to 14 days–that could help save a few more quilts from unnecessary hardship!

And while you are there, feel free to write a review. However, if you find any mistakes, please let me know by email, bgorges4@msn.com. The beauty of the digital format is that I can edit and improve the book anytime—and the updates will show up on your device.

I hope to have the paperback version formatted and offered on Amazon later this summer. It’s a matter of figuring out how to get unfamiliar software to play with familiar programs.

Spread the good word—save a quilt!

 

 

 

How to Hang a Quilt

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hanging sleeve

This sleeve design protects the quilt from the rod and the “pooch” helps the quilt hang flat. Photo by Barb Gorges.

Quilt Hanging: How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100, Part 7

By Barb Gorges

Over the last 30 years the quilting community has developed a nearly standardized tube-type sleeve for hanging quilts, protecting the quilt from the rod, and with less distortion.

Perhaps using leftover fabric from the back of the quilt, piece a strip of fabric 9 inches wide and as long as the width of the quilt. If it is for a king-sized quilt, cut the length in half to make two sleeves, allowing for a middle rod support.

Hem the short edges by turning under ½ inch towards the wrong or right side, pressing, and turning under again. Stitch in place.

Match the two long edges with wrong sides together and stitch using a ½-inch seam allowance. Press this seam open and at the same time, flatten the tube so that the raw edge of one of the seam allowances is just a little short of one of the folds.

Rearrange the tube to press another parallel fold that is on the other side of the seam allowances, and 3 inches from the fold closest to the seam allowances.

On the quilt, mark a line across the back 1 to 2 inches below the top edge of the quilt, and another line 3 inches below the first line. Center the sleeve, matching the folds closest to the seam allowances with the lines and pin in place.

Use either a whip stitch or a large version of your favorite applique stitch to sew along the pinned folds, catching generous amounts of the quilt backing and batting. Also sew down the parts of the ends of the tube that are against the back of the quilt.

Use your imagination for ways to support the ends of the rod. A rod can be cut almost the width of the quilt to hide it, or a little longer, for insertion into decorative brackets.

Scroll down to read the first six parts of this series. More detailed sleeve instructions are available at this website, on the “Quilt Care Tips” page.