Today is Mother’s Day throughout most of the northern hemisphere, so it seemed fitting to feature moms for today’s Q.S.O.S. Spotlight post. There are plenty of mentions of mothers throughout the Q.S.O.S interviews, but I noticed that many of them were about mamas, mothers and moms teaching their sons and daughters about sewing, quilting, crafting and creating. Today, we’ve compiled a few quotes from Q.S.O.S. interviews about what our mothers taught us:

My mother taught me many things about sewing, quilting and she made most of my clothing and I did as I grew up, made my own clothing. So I’ve always been sewing in one respect and I miss her dearly for not being able to share with her what I am doing now because when she was alive whenever we made anything regardless of what it was it was never done until we shared it with each other and had show and tell.” – Shirley Fuller

My mother taught me to sew, embroider and knit. She made shoes, clothing, household  linens, drapes and bedding. She was a plumber, carpenter, furniture maker, upholsterer, interior decorator, jeweler, gourmet cook and Girl Scout troop leader. If something needed to be made or fixed, she learned how to do it. Mom passed away in 2005. She was and continues to be a role model for me. She taught me that all things are possible.” –Marjorie Lee Jin En DeQuincy

“My mother started me when I was just a little girl. She had this old pedal sewing machine and she would take feed sacks and our old clothes we wore out and she would make strips and blocks and stuff and she would sew them together and she would sit me on her lap and let me put the material under the sewing machine while she was pedaling it because I couldn’t reach the pedals and she taught me the love of quiltmaking. We had to do it for warmth, which they didn’t have much money to buy materials and stuff at that time to make these beautiful quilts like now but they were beautiful then but I guess back then they, people cherished them more because they had to make them for warmth for their beds for their children. And my mother taught me how to sew and I’ve never forgotten that and I appreciate everything she did. She always let me help do anything I wanted to do, cook or whatever. She would sit me up in a chair and let me make biscuits and what I do today, I learned from my mother.” –  Roberta Bartley

“…I like to do fine detail work. That I think I inherited from my mother, who taught me how to sew and she taught me step by step, very carefully and she loved to do finish work. She did all kinds of little handwork and detail work. I think somehow that rubbed off on me. So when I do all this fine-hand quilting, I think of my mother. I’m very grateful she taught me how to sew.” –Khristine LaChance

You can read more quilt stories on the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page on the Quilt Alliance website.

EmmaParker

Posted by Emma Parker
Project Manager, Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories
qsos@quiltalliance.org

How To Trim Flying Geese Without A Specialty Ruler

If you don’t have a Bloc-Loc ruler, you may find trimming these flying geese challenging. But by following these steps, you should be able to get four accurate geese in each color!

First, line up your ruler so the point of the flying geese unit will be trimmed exactly ¼” above the point. Try to line the unit up as straight as possible on the other three sides.

Next, flip the unit over. Line up the edge you just cut on the 2” line of the ruler as shown below, and trim the excess from the top.

Flip the unit right side up again. Line the lower left corner up with the 3 ½” mark on your ruler as shown above. Trim the excess on the right.

Finally, flip the unit over again so the point is pointing towards the 2” line. Align the left edge of the unit with the 3 ½” ruler mark as shown above and trim the excess on the right. Your flying goose unit is now ready to be pieced into your block!

Quilt Documentation Tip

 Andrea’s block story is all about the importance of quilt guilds. Quilting can feel solitary, but guilds bring us together. It’s a topic of conversation that was discussed with two Birthday Block of the Month Designers in a recent Textile Talk where the participants all shared emotional stories about their love for their guilds. 

Did you know that your guild can document your quilts as a group? Consider hosting a quilt documentation day in your guild! Follow these instructions and have members share three minute stories about one meaningful quilt in the Quilt Alliance’s signature Go Tell It documentation program. You could even host a screening so all of your members can see the videos! Get in touch at: qsos@quiltalliance.org

See You in October for Month Seven!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the Quilt Alliance’s Birthday Block of the Month so far! Our designer for next month, the seventh block we’re making together, is Bonnie Hunter herself! 

Be sure to tag @quiltalliance and @3rdstoryworkshop on Instagram with your block photos this month, and use the hashtag #QuiltAllianceBOM. And leave any questions about this month’s block in the comments below!

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