Recently, I travelled to the East Coast to visit family. As I have so many ideas and never enough time, I knew I had to bring at least one quilting project on vacation with me. What better way to keep oneself busy on a rainy day than by quilting while looking out to sea? I decided to bring everything needed to make a strip quilt, not just an ordinary strip quilt but one with an added fun element. My Hemline Gold Multi-Use Craft Bag made packing easy.
A fun and easy strip trip quilt
Most of us have attended retreats with cars full of quilting and sewing projects and all the tools and notions needed to complete them. I found packing for my East Coast trip a little different as I would only work on one project and didn’t want to overpack, considering that the space available would be limited.
With careful thinking, here are some of the tools I packed for this trip:
HEMLINE GOLD Multi-Use Craft Bag (28.5cm x 36.5cm x 17.8cm)
HEMLINE GOLD Quilters 4-in-1 Multi-Mat (30cm x 24cm)
HEMLINE GOLD Quilters Clips (Pack of 30)
HEMLINE GOLD Retractable Tape Measure – 150cm/60
OLISO M3Pro Project Iron – Coral
OLFA 45mm RTY-2/DX/MAG Ergonomic Rotary Cutter – Magenta
OLFA RM-MG – 24″ x 36″ Double Sided Rotary Mat
UNIQUE SEWING Sewing Tools Holder
OLFA QR-6×12 – 6″ x 12″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler
OLFA QR-6×24 – 6″ x 24″ Frosted Acrylic Ruler
FAIRFIELD Quilter’s 80/20TM Quilt Batting – 229 x 274cm (90″ x 108″)
A Hemline Gold Multi-Use Craft Bag to hold all our tools and notions
materials
fabric
· one full 2½” strip roll (the size of a roll is normally 40 to 42 strips)
· 1½ yds [1.4m] black fabric
· 3½ yds [3.25m] backing fabric
· one single batting
A strip set and black fabric to make a strip quilt
Today’s work of preparing the strips from the roll will be quick and straightforward. The Hemline Gold Quilters 4-in-1 Multi-Mat is perfect for cutting these strips. Use the OLFA 45mm ergonomic rotary cutter and the OLFA 6″ x 12″ frosted acrylic ruler to help with this task, and cut the selvage ends off each of the strips. I liked the order my strips were in when I opened the roll, so I didn’t mix them up but cut the selvages off in their original order. Next, and very significantly, cut either the first or last strip in half so that you have two pieces measuring roughly 2½” x 20”.
Cut the selvage edge off each strip.
Here are a few reasons I like using strip rolls.
· So may quilt project possibilities.
· All the strips are cut and ready to use.
· The colors are always coordinated with one another.
· And my favorite, each strip set, no matter the fabric company is cut to 2½” wide.
Even with the precut strips, there’s always a need for the OLFA 45mm ergonomic rotary cutter and the OLFA 6″ x 12″ frosted acrylic ruler. Both these wonderful tools will make easy work of fabric cutting.
OLFA tools make trimming the fabric strips easy.
I’ve tried many craft bags and boxes over the years and I have to admit that the HEMLINE GOLD Multi-Use Craft Bag is pretty cool. It had enough space for all my smaller tools, fabrics and papers, and I could still close the zipper. I really do like this craft bag!
My Hemline Gold Multi-Use Craft Bag.
We’ve gathered our supplies with the help of our Hemline Gold Multi-Use Craft Bag and prepared our strip set. Tomorrow, the sewing starts. Be sure to put a new needle on your sewing machine before starting. I’ll see you then.