Park Bench Club

Learn how to quilt in a hands on, personalized classroom setting with one of Mary Jo's top instructors, all while making a beautiful quilt to call your own. Starting August 16, try something new, and join Mary Jo's Park Bench Club! Space is limited, so call today and reserve your spot. Also be sure to take advantage of our 10% discount when you book with a friend.

Quilting Basics: Selecting Fabrics

Are you new to quilting?  You are probably very excited about starting a quilt project, but do you feel confused by all the different colors and styles of fabric?  How do you know what to choose and where to start?  You are not alone, even experienced quilters can be overwhelmed by the enormous selection of quilting fabrics at our store!

We asked Aimee Griffin, owner of Overall Quilter and Sewing Director at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store to share some tips for selecting fabrics for quilts. Aimee has been quilting, and teaching for many years and has easily picked out hundreds of fabric collections for quilts. Here are Aimee’s tips for narrowing down the choices.

Our first example is a quilt made in one of the beginning quilting classes at Mary Jo’s; the Window Boxes pattern. This quilt has large blocks, medium sized blocks and vertical and horizontal lines.

1. Begin by selecting a “focus print”. This will be the fabric used for the biggest areas and largest pieces in the quilt. In the quilt below, the white background fabric with the red motif is the focus print, used in the 12 ½- inch squares and around the border. This is also where you can use a large scale print: larger blocks = larger prints.

2. Next, select “secondary fabrics” for the next largest sized blocks to tie in with the focus print. On this quilt, the 6 ½-inch blocks are where the secondary fabric will be used. Note that the scale of the print is not as large of a pattern motif but still a pretty design.  For this quilt Aimee chose a gray background fabric that is not “matchy” and is a little unexpected – this makes it pop or float over the other colors.

3. Last are the tertiary fabrics, used for the horizontal and vertical lines. This is a place for the eye to rest. Aimee recommends using small-scale prints and tone-on-tone fabrics for this part of the quilt. 

Aimee put together a collection of fabrics to illustrate the three rules above. Primary fabric = large floral print

Secondary fabric = coral swirl print

Tertiary fabrics = small blue floral and lime green tone-on-tone

Here is an example of the same quilt in different fabrics, shared by students in a recent class.  The same three steps were used but with eye-catching red and green fabrics. 

Can you identify the primary, secondary and tertiary fabrics in this quilt?

To learn more about how you can join us for beginning quilting classes, click here: http://maryjos.com/sewing-class-schedule

Another popular style of quilt is a monochromatic design, where fabrics from one color family are combined together.  An example is the “Twilight Stars” pattern from Wilmington Prints.  This design comes in a kit with the fabrics included so you are ready to go!  But you can use the same idea with other quilt patterns. 

To replicate this monochromatic look, select fabrics that are all the same scale and colors.  Batik fabrics work great for this because they are subtle and blended, and often have hints of other colors within the design.  For monochromatic quilts choose fabrics from color families such as purple, blue and green or red, orange and yellow or create a quilt with neutral fabrics such as tan, cream, and ivory.  Many of our quilting fabrics are grouped together by color, this makes selecting fabrics for monochromatic quilts easy! 

We have discussed the fronts of quilts, but what about the back? Aimee suggests having fun with the backing material, “it doesn’t need to match the front”. For new quilters she recommends choosing a busy, all over pattern for the back, which doesn’t require precise stitches – the stitches will be hidden in the pattern. Aimee’s last piece of advice for choosing fabrics, “of course there are not rules”! 

Saturday Serger Club

Every second Saturday of the month sewing enthusiast gather together for the “Serger Club”, from 9 – 11 am in the sewing department at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store.

Club leader and instructor Pam Carter really knows her way around a serger.  Each month Pam demonstrates new techniques and shares fun and creative projects with the group. 

 This month we will discover the many ways to use the Chain Stitch.

You’ve undoubtedly seen this stitch used to close bags of pet food, sugar and even flour. On the right side the stitching looks like regular machine stitching, but on the underside, the stitch forms loops. Club is located in the Mary Jo’s Sewing Center- Baby Lock sergers will be set up for hands on experience! You don’t need to own a Baby Lock to come, we welcome all serger owners to our club!

We invite you to join Pam and the rest of the group for monthly serger club fun.  You don’t need to bring your machine but you do need to register in advance. Call 704-861-9100 to reserve your spot in the next Serger Club meeting on March 8, 2014.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Countdown to Christmas: Holiday Quilting Classes at Mary Jo’s

Our store has been a flurry of activity with customers buying fabric and supplies to make Christmas gifts and buying gifts for a special sewing someone on their list. 

Our sewing lounge has been humming like Santa’s workshop with students cutting, sewing, laughing and creating beautiful things! 

We thought you would enjoy a peek inside at one of our recent classes, where quilters gathered together to work on this cheerful Christmas tree quilt design.

Class instructor Aimee Griffin has years of experience as a quilter and teacher.  Students love Aimee’s fun personality, enthusiasm and extensive sewing knowledge.  Here Aimee is helping a student with the layout of her quilt pieces.

In our quilting classes you will learn techniques for selecting fabric colors and patterns, how to cut and use your fabric efficiently, sewing methods and the tools and supplies used by quilters to make quilting easier.

One of the exciting parts of attending a class is that you get to be with others who share your love of sewing and quilting.  

It’s fun to chat about your finished (and unfinished!) projects, ooh-and-ahh over fabrics and make new friends. You will be inspired by each other’s creativity!

Would you like to learn to quilt?  We have the perfect class to help you get started!   In addition to quilting, Mary Jo’s also has classes that will teach you how to make clothing, crafts, tote bags, curtains, pillows and more.   Be sure to check the class schedule often, as new classes are added every month or call 704-861-9100 to sign-up today. Click [here] to view the latest class schedule. 

A piece of Mary Jo's History

Enter for your chance to win

Purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win a 54 x 58” wall hanging quilt, colored by Mary Jo, herself.

Tickets are being sold for $1 a piece or 12 tickets for $10. Drawing will take place on Mary Jo’s birthday, January 16, and the winner will be announced on Facebook. 

All proceeds from the raffle are going to National Lutheran Communities & Services. NLCS has been blessed with a long tradition of service to people of all faiths. Since 1890, they have helped people find wonderful choices for retirement living, new options for financial security and expert services for health care and wellness. 

A Veterans Day Salute

Veterans Day is Monday, Nov.11. This special day is set aside to honor all the men and women who serve, or have served our country in the military. Our veterans are brave and selfless, risking their lives to protect our freedom and security at home and abroad. 

Veterans are our family, friends and neighbors. Veterans are our hero’s. How do you say thank you?

Steve Leader of San Diego, California spent the past eight years making two amazing quilts with World War II military insignia to honor our nation’s veterans. The first public display of his quilts was at the San Diego Quilt Show Sept.5-7, 2013. 

The two quilts contain over 870 original patches representing every branch of military service, unit and rank.  It is an amazing collection and since Steve only uses original patches, and not reproductions, many are rare and expensive to purchase.

Steve’s quilting journey, from his inspiration to learning how to quilt and acquiring the patches is recorded on his website. What an amazing story! 

If you are an active member of the military, stop by Mary Jo’s on Veterans Day and receive 10% off your purchase (with ID) and a big thank you from all of us at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store. Happy Veterans Day!