The Dream Team Sew: Shannon Fabrics - Cuddle Strip Quilt

Sewing Adventures with the Dream Team: Shannon Fabrics - Cuddle Strip Quilt

Quilters Dream Batting and Shannon Fabrics goes together like peanut butter and jelly. We help promote each other social media and at quilt shows. Shannon Fabrics is a Grand Sponsor for Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS. And who doesn't love their super soft, luxurious Cuddle?! 

They have also generously sent four Shannon Fabrics Cuddle Kits for the Dream Team (AKA the lovely ladies in the office) to learn how to sew. 

I'm Erin D, and sewing is one of my favorite hobbies. It was a lot of fun helping my co workers - Cheryl, Gina, and Jennifer - learn how to sew. They are all fantastic students!

After watching Shannon Fabrics' tutorial video "10 Tips for Making Cuddle® Minky Fabric Strip Quilts" we were all inspired to start sewing our "Little Pilot" Cuddle Kit in Wee Ones size 27" x 29". 

Supplies:

- Wee Ones Shannon Fabric Cuddle Kit

- Dream Poly Request Batting (30" x 30")

- Sewing machine

- Stretch sewing machine needle

- 505 spray adhesive

- Straight pins

- matching thread

- basic sewing supplies: Rotary cutter, mat etc.

Supplies we wish we had:

- Walking foot

- Wonder clips

- Clothes dryer

- A long ruler

- Parchment paper

We had the wonderful ladies in Quilters Dream Batting warehouse prepare the Dream Poly Request Batting by cutting it into 30 inches by 30 inches. The craft size (46" x 36") will work fine too.

We started by cutting strips of the 5 inch wide gray and red Cuddle fabric in half, giving us 2.5 inch strips. I did forgot to bring a ruler with me so we improvised by using a piece of metal we had in the office. It worked and made straight lines!

Gina is drawing lines in the center of the batting both horizontally and vertically. We just used a pink highlighter.

Laying the batting on a flat surface, we centered the backing fabric onto the batting, so backing was right side up. Jennifer  folded back the backing fabric halfway and sprayed the wrong side of the fabric with 505 spray adhesive. I also forgot to bring parchment paper, so we used a large envelope to protect the right side of the fabric. The Dream Team is great at improvising!

The great thing about 505 spray is that you can always peal back the fabric and reposition it.    

Cheryl fold her first strip in half and used the markings to line up the fold to the pink line. She sprayed the first half with 505 and smoothed out the fabric, repeating on the other half.

 

 Next we pin the second strip. Be careful, pins are sharp! Ouch!!

We used the "Cuddle Stitch and Flip" method for sewing this kit together. It was a very simple "Quilt as you go" and worked really well us beginner quilters! 

You place the second strip over the first one and pin the two together. Following the video, we made sure to keep the nap going in the same direction. 

Using my trusty Brother machine, we stitched the strips together using a 1/2" seam allowance sewing through all the layers. It would have been really useful to have a walking foot for this project, but it worked out fine. With a firm grip, we were able to complete this project.

Neva is supporting our sewing adventure and cheering us on! She is also answering the majority of the phone calls coming in so that we can complete our Cuddle kits!

Now we repeated the process on the other side. (Make sure the nap of the fabric is going in the same direction!)

Way to go Gina!

Cheryl used the 505 spray and adhered the backside of the second and third strip to the batting. Remember to use a piece of parchment or freezer paper behind the strip previously sewn and then spray with adhesive. Then she pinned the forth and fifth the same way she did the last step. Finally, she stitched all the remaining strips. 

  

We cut the the gray Cuddle into 1 3/4 strips and joined them with a diagonal seam. I attempted to cut this in the office, but there was a ton of fluffy fibers in the air. I took all of the binding fabric home and cut the fabric in my laundry room, then immediately tossed them into the dryer. Using a cool setting, the lint trap caught all of the tiny fibers and gave us a mess free binding.

Gina pinned the binding -right sides together- all the way around the quilt, staring 1/3 of the way down one side. Making sure to leave a 6 inch tail for joining the binding ends when done.

After joining the binding strips together, Jennifer flipped the binding over and pinned it down. She then used a zigzag stitch to finish the edges, sewing all the way around her quilt. 

Learning to sew makes Jennifer "sew" happy! 

Pinning and sewing at the same time! We're almost done!

Once the final threads were cut...

...We were done!!!

Gina

Jennifer

Cheryl

Erin (That's Me!)

The little recipients of our hard work love to snuggle up with anything made with Shannon Fabrics!

Look how sweet our little boys are with their new Cuddle quilts!!

 


Thank you Shannon Fabrics for sending the Dream Team these cuddle kits! We all learned a lot from this experience. Jennifer and Cheryl even bought their own sewing machines after completing their first quilt! It was a lot of fun and we are all excited for our next sewing adventure!

A touching letter from our Sew Popular 1st place winner.

We are very excited to announce and honor our 2019 Hopes & Dreams Sew Popular 1st place winner. Charlotte's quilt received the most votes by the public followed by two other finalists. 

We remember when Charlotte's quilt came into our office. Along with her unique quilt, was the most touching letter for which she explains how she came up with the idea of her quilt. 

Thank you Charlotte for supporting Hopes & Dreams as well as sharing your story. 

July 1, 2019

My name is Charlotte Harrison and I live in Owasso Oklahoma on a fly in community where people live with their airplanes in hangers in the back yard. It’s a very close community and we socialize often. I have a quilting group that meets in my shop in my hangar every Tuesday.

A little over 8 months ago on October 18^th my best friend’s husband was diagnosed with ALS. Two days later on October 20^th my husband was flying when he suffered a heart attack. He was able to land safely and taxi back to our hangar and call me. He was rushed to the hospital and then the Cath lab where they out a stent in his heart to correct a 100% blockage. He was shocked back to life twice during this ordeal. After, he recovered quickly and recently “graduated” from his cardiac rehab program and he was back to his wonderful self.

In the meantime, our hearts were aching for our friends Jackie and Nick King who were dealing with the diagnosis of ALS. Being a quilter, I wanted to do something to express my grief and searching on the internet led me to your website. I also happen to be chairman of our guild charity quilts program so it was like it was meant to be.

I wrote to you at that time on messenger for information which you gladly sent. After that, I kept waking up with visions of this quilt in my head. Night after night, same dream a little different each night until finally I just got out of bed and sketched it. The quilting lines running across the quilt represent life as usual just flowing along and the colorful pieces darkening and falling until they are all black and in a box with a still beating heart represent the parts of the ALS patient as they fail until the person is alone in the ”glass coffin” of ALS.

I finished the quilt a few weeks ago and took it to show my friend before shipping it to you. He cried and said he totally understood without explanation and it was exactly how he felt. He asked if he could keep it and I said absolutely but wanted to show it at the guild meeting and would bring it back.

Then, June 15^th my husband slipped and fell and hit his head. Because of the blood thinners required for the stent in his heart, he had a subdural hematoma which required surgery that night. He was recovering nicely for several days then had some complications, but doctors were still optimistic and we were hopeful.

On Sunday, June 23^th, our friend Nicky King passed away from ALS at 6:45 in the evening and the following day, Monday June 24^th, the love of my life left me to be with his best friend. I truly believe God spared him in October so he could help his friend and all of us in this community get through the past 8 months.

All of our labels on our guild’s quilts and on mine say in honor of Nicky King but they are now in Memory of Nicky King. I am not the greatest quilter by a long shot but I do hope my interpretation of the journey of the ALS patient raises some funds for ALS research.

                                                                                                     

   Sincerely,

                                                                                                                          Charlotte Harrison

You can purchase Charlotte's quilt and many other quilts donated to the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge on our ETSY page. 100% of all quilt sales goes towards ALS research in hope to find a cure!