Fall Is Here & a New Online Class

Fall is here, well really not here in Florida but I decorate the house with lots of fall colors and decorations to make me feel like it truly is. Being a born and bred northern girl this has always been my favorite time of year it just takes much longer to get here in the south which can be a little frustrating. I have been getting projects done for the holidays but I am a little behind so I need to get the move on so I can get everything done I want to. What projects do you have planned? Many of you have been taking my classes over the last months and hopefully you are putting what you have learned to good use. I would love to see pictures of your final projects. The next class/workshop scheduled is my Making Memory Quilts out of Children’s Clothes. This workshop runs from 10/29 to 11/26. There are lots of tips on how to work with all the different types of clothes that children have so if you are thinking of making a memory quilt with childrens clothes for yourself or a loved one check it out. Click the link below to check out the workshop. https://www.quiltingdaily.com/product/making-memory-quilts-childrens-clothes-with-trish-bowman-starts-10-29-2021/ As with all the classes I am available for any questions or help you need. Hope you have a productive and crafty week.

Latest Online Class Available on QuiltingDaily.com

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Inventory Reduction Sale

Take Advantage of Our Inventory Reduction Sale! 70% Off Original Retail Prices.

Everything Must Go. Templates Are Selling Out. Get Your’s Today While Supplies Last.

GO TO Trish Bowman.com http://www.trishbowman.com/our-store.htm

Make sure if you want templates or my book to work on the projects you have ready to go that you

take advantage of the sale quickly. Some sizes are already gone.

Have a great rest of the week and a fantastic weekend.

Happy Memories, Trish

Sports Jersey Class – Online

Hi, hope you are all having a great summer. We finally got to see our kids and grandkids in July and it was heaven. It had been a year since we had seen our son and his wife and our 18 month old grandson Nathaniel. What a wonderful reunion that was. I hope you were able to spend some of your summer reconnecting with family.

While some of you are getting ready for school to start, our local kids start next week, some of you are thinking about fall and planning your projects for Christmas. My next class being offered by Quiltingdaily.com is the sports jersey class. So many of us have kids and grandkids who have participated in sports so this is the perfect class to help you take all those team jerseys and make them into quilts for gifts.

The class is being offered 8/13 – 9/10. To register for the class go to https://www.quiltingdaily.com/product/making-memory-quilts-jerseys-with-trish-bowman-starts-8-13-2021/

Hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer. Take care and continue to stay safe.

Happy Memories, Trish

Registration For Tie Class Closes Friday

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well. We have been enjoying gorgeous weather here in Florida, getting out and about more. I am finishing up some projects and have some in the wings but really have been taking advantage of the non humid weather while it lasts. Wanted to remind you that my Tie Class is still available but registration only goes through May 28th which is this Friday. Don’t forget that even if you too are busy now to watch the class if you register for it you can watch it anytime you want in the future.

T-Shirt Registration Closes Tomorrow

Hope you are all having a good week and have fun plans for the weekend. Just wanted to give you a quick heads up that the registration for my online T-Shirt class through Quilting Daily closes tomorrow April 30th. Remember you do not have to take the class now once you are registered for it, it is yours to look at whenever you want in the future. You just have to register and purchase it now as it will not be available again till maybe sometime late next year. Just click the button below to register.

Take care and have a great rest of the week.

Happy Memories, Trish

Hi & a Class Reminder

Hi everyone, hope this is finding you all well and happy. I have been busy working on a baby quilt that is way overdue and learning some new embroidery design software. I bought the BES4 Pacesetter software when I got my Dream Machine 2 years ago and I had only touched the surface of its capabilities, I bought several of the Power Packs to go with it which put me further in the hole of not knowing what to do. All this computer stuff really intimidates me, There are so many icons and buttons to learn, are any of you the same way? Well, I have an idea for a cute baby quilt and I am determined to use all the stuff I paid a fortune for to make it. So, I am designing the appliques on my BES4 software, sending it to my ScanNCut to cut the fabric and sending it to my machine to stitch out. Ooh Doggie, as my exercise instructor Pahla B says, has it been a challenge for this non tech person. BUT I am getting it. I am nothing if not persistent, although my family would call it stubborn (HAHA).

I needed an excuse to take a mental break so I decided to send a little reminder about my classes. The T-shirt class in underway as I write this. The registration for the class ends on April 30th so don’t loose track of time and miss your chance to take the class.

My Tie Quilt Class that is going live next month is also accepting early registrations now. Several people have asked how long the classes are available. Once you buy them they are yours to watch whenever you want however many times you want BUT they will only be available to BUY during the periods listed for the the registration. Once the registration for the class is over the class will no longer be available to buy till the next time they decide to offer it and right now I believe they are only planning to offer them maybe once a year or so. If you are planning to make any memory quilts over the next year or more I would suggest you get the class now so it will be available to you when you decide to move forward on the quilt in the future.

Well, I better get back to the quilt and get it done before the little guy is in college. 🙂 Wish me luck and have a great rest of the week.

Happy Memories, Trish

T-Shirt Class Reminder

Hi Everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend. I just wanted to give you a quick reminder that my online T-shirt class through Quilting Daily starts this Friday. Registration for the class only goes to April 30th so make sure you sign up by then. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

Take care and Happy Memories, Trish

T-Shirt and Tie Memory Quilt Workshops

This year Quilting Daily is offering my memory quilt classes individually. They will each be available for only a month so you need to make a plan to register for the classes when they are offered so you will have them for reference later when doing your memory quilts.

First up is the T-Shirt Memory Quilt Workshop

Are you planning on making a T-Shirt quilt for a gift this year?  If you are I recommend you sign up for my class “Techniques for Making T-Shirts into Memory Blocks”.  I give you directions on how to decide the best way to use the shirts and the designs on them. Then I explain how to make the blocks and give you loads of tips on how to deal with different kinds of shirts and designs.  The class is only being offered for a month, 4/16 to 5/14, so if you are thinking about doing a t-shirt quilt sometime in the next year make sure you register for the class now so you can watch it any time you want when you have questions or need a refresher.

Coming up in May! The next online class being offered is my “Techniques for Making Ties Into Memory Quilts”. It is being offered 5/14 to 6/11. Like the T-Shirt class this is only being offered once this year so if you are thinking about making a tie quilt for one of the wonderful men in your life make sure you get the class now so you have it available later to help you design and make your quilt.

If you have any questions about any of the classes or need help with a project please feel free to email me at quilter@happymemoriesquilts.com I am always available to help with concerns or to bounce ideas off of.

Take care and Happy Memories, Trish

It’s Been a Year

It has been a year today since our lives changed so severely and in some ways forever.  We have learned so much about ourselves and the world around us and have developed coping skills we never thought we would ever need.  I don’t believe I will ever again take for granted spending time with my children and grandchildren, having lunch with my friends, shopping in a store or eating in a restaurant. My world and the way I look at it has been forever changed. I hope this finds you all doing well and staying safe and healthy.  I am doing good managing to keep busy with a variety of projects around the house.   Like all of us we have been trying to find ways to get out but to do it safely.  Living in Florida we are blessed to have good weather all year round that can help us escape.  We have been venturing out to some local area gardens and zoos during the week when the numbers of people are very low.  It has helped us feel like we are experiencing something without putting our health in danger. Our family that lives in three different states have been able to get our vaccines.  Doug and I are the last, we are awaiting our last shots in early April.  We like all of the United States and the world are looking forward to getting back to “normal” whatever that ends up being.  I hope you are all finding ways to get out of the house while still maintaining your safe bubbles. 

I am continuing my retirement sale on the website, www.happymemoriesquilts.com. 

Some sizes of the templates are gone, these include 10 ½” & 16 ½”, but there are still other sizes of available as well as, quilt patterns, my book: Easy Memory Quilting, Ties, T-Shirts, Photos and More and a few assorted quilting/sewing notions.  If you are thinking about doing memory quilts I have lots of tools and information that will help you get started and make the experience a joy.  I will posting quilts I have done in the weeks ahead to give you some inspiration as you are thinking about  future projects.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and feel free to drop me a note if you have any questions about your projects, I am always available for advice and suggestions.

Happy Memories

Happy Holidays

This year has brought us so many blessings in the midst of such horror for our nation and the world.  We have been blessed, so far, with health and safety in a wonderful home and the knowledge that our children are doing their best to stay safe as well.  We got to celebrate our new grandson’s birth last January and even though we will miss his 1^st birthday there is a promise of the next one if we are just patient and stay safe.  We hope this holiday finds you all healthy and safe and able to celebrate whatever holiday your family celebrates in a special if different way.  Wishing you all a New Year full of positive change and promise.  Hang in there it will get better we just have to wait and be patient a little longer.  God Bless you all.

Catching Up & Sale Reminder

Hi everyone,

Hope this finds you all doing well and keeping safe.  I have been keeping myself busy the last few months concentrating on redecorating my family room/kitchen and working on losing some weight.  I figure if I am going to be stuck at home I am going to be productive and come out healthier on the other side of this mess.  I am being successful on both counts which is a relief.  We were blessed to see our children and grandchildren who bravely social distanced their way to FL and hung out with us at home for a week.  Our daughter was able to stay a little longer and helped us paint the large space, which was a big help.  I still have a valance to make for our big sliders but we are on the downslope and hope to be totally finished in the next week or so.  I don’t know how you guys are all dealing with Covid but I have never shopped so much by mail and I hate it.  Most of us who sew and quilt are touchy feely people who like to see and touch everything in person.  Colors and textures are never accurate on the computer screen and I have had to send a lot back because the colors have been off or the texture is totally wrong and a really cheap look compared to the photos on the website. My kids laugh at me because they are and have been pros at this mail order stuff for years. I just miss shopping in person.  Last month I went to Target to return something I had mail ordered and ended up staying and shopping because no one was in the store.  I had not been in any store since the beginning of March and it really got to me. We have taken so much in our everyday lives for granted for so long.  I think it will be a long time before I take a simple trip to a store for granted again, especially since I am still not shopping stores on a regular basis, I just don’t think it’s safe yet.

I have been able to get some baby quilts made in the last few months which I will show later after they get delivered.  A lot of people took advantage of their free time by taking my Masters Class on Quilting Daily.  Many have been getting ready for making Christmas gifts by using the 60% off sale on my website to stock up on the templates and book for getting their projects done. Some of the sizes are out of stock and others are getting low so, if you are thinking about getting a specific size, do it soon before it’s gone. I will not be restocking.

As we get into fall and start plugging away on those Christmas projects let me know if you have any questions or concerns that I can help you with.  Memory Quilts are the perfect gift for any member of the family and are lots of fun to make, don’t stress ask for help if you need it.

Take care and Stay Safe,  Happy Memories

Trish

Making Memory Quilts Master Online Interactive Workshop

Quilting Daily is presenting a series of my five online classes as part of a Masters Class.

This is your chance to take all 5 of my memory quilting classes including Ties, Children’s Clothes, Sports Jerseys, Dress Shirts & T-shirts.  You will learn lots of how tos, tips and tricks that make memory quilting a breeze.

Making Memory Quilts Master Online Interactive Workshop: Starts 5/1/20

Workshop runs 5/1/20 – 7/3/20

Learn the best tips and techniques for creating quilts from precious clothing in this 5 series workshop from Trish Bowman! Whether you have a stash of old t-shirts ready for a quilt, or you can’t bare to part with your child or grandchild’s sweet baby clothes, Trish will show you how to successfully turn these treasures into a quilt that will last generations.

Workshop registration closes 6/5/20

 

To Read More About what the Classes and to Register for the workshops click the link below.

Workshop Information & Registration

Don’t Forget that I am having my Retirement Sale while supplies last.  Some sizes are getting low so don’t delay. It is a great time to get my book and the templates at great prices.

I hope you are all keeping safe and are able to enjoy some relaxing time sewing.  Taking time to do the things that bring us joy will get us all through this trying time.

Take care of yourselves and, even during this rough time, make some Happy Memories.

God Bless, Trish

Space Quilts

Hope you have all had a great start to the new year.  Ours started out wonderfully with the birth of our grandson Nathaniel William in January.  He of course came during a snow storm but since the date was planned we were able to be there soon after his birth.  As with our other grandchildren we don’t share photos for their safety but take it from Gigi he is adorable. 🙂

You know the old adage about the cobbler whose children have no shoes and the fact that electricians and other construction people have many unfinished projects in their own homes?  Well, I resemble that remark :-).  I have a closet full of projects and several of them were and are for my children.  Some of these projects have been in there for years calling my name but I have had to ignore them because I was so busy making quilts for my clients and everyone else.  I finally decided that after 25 years it was time to do two them and give them as Christmas gifts this year.

Our children both went to Space Camp when they were younger.  Our son Christopher went to Space Camp at Kennedy Space Center and then a couple years later he went to the next level Aviation Challenge, in Huntsville, Alabama while our daughter went Space Camp there.  They enjoyed it so much and of course had some shirts from their experiences.  I had saved their clothes from then but there were not enough for a complete quilt so Doug and I picked some other space shirts to complete their quilts.  We went to the Space Shirts store on Merritt Island here in Florida. I have ordered from them online in the past but we decided to go and browse the store to make our final choices for the quilts. I used the pattern, Reach For The Stars, from my book Easy Memorabilia Quilts, Ties, T-Shirts, Photos and More.

We were really happy with the results and the kids loved them.  I am sure they were shocked to finally get their quilts on Christmas morning.

These are the fronts for Christopher’s and Jennifer’s Quilts.  The backs for both quilts were made the same.  I used a panel to the back to add an accent so it wasn’t just fabric.

As we go into spring hope you all have wonderful projects planned.  If you need any help getting projects done for graduations let me know I have lots of tools and tips to make things easier for you.

Take care and Happy Memories, Trish

 

A Quilt for Baby Bowman

Hope all is well with all of you and you are enjoying this holiday season.  Our holidays have been great thus far and the new year promises to bring more excitement to the Bowman Family.  Our son, Christopher, and daughter-in-love, Lauren, are having a little boy in the new year (or sooner should he decide to not follow the plan. J)  We are so excited and, of course, GiGi & Granddaddy had to make a quilt for the little guy.  The theme of his room is “Love You To The Moon and Back” and they have done a wonderful job of decorating.  We decided to follow this theme for the baby quilt.  Our family is really into space. Christopher went to Space Camp twice, so I thought it would be fun to add the space shuttle to the quilt to make it more personal.  This is the design and quilt we gave them at the shower.

When designing your quilts, even when you are using a pattern, don’t be afraid to add your own personal touches. It makes them extra special.

We are looking forward to the year ahead and all the blessings and adventures that are in store for us.  We hope the coming year is full of blessings for you as well and many Happy Memories.

God Bless, Trish

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a very blessed Thanksgiving.   Trish

Fall 40% Off Sale

Want help getting those last minute Christmas Gifts done quickly or get a head start on next years Graduation, Birthday and Anniversary gifts?  Go to my website, Happy Memories Quilts and check out all the sizes of templates I have to offer and all the wonderful step by step information and patterns in my book.  I am sure you will find something you need or want that will help making your memory quilts a breeze.

Happy Memories, Trish

Smoke Jumpers and Sewing

Photo Credit – Escapees.com Blog.

I belong to the American Sewing Guild which is a great group of ladies who share a passion for all things sewing. They have a newsletter for members and in the last one they had an article and a link to a story about Alaska Smoke Jumpers.  These smoke jumpers make all their own equipment to insure that it is made correctly. They want to be as confident as possible that when they jump in to fight a fire that they are as safe as possible in the equipment they wear and carry.  The video was really interesting and I thought you would enjoy seeing another aspect of sewing in the workplace.

(Photo from John Dougherty/KTVF)

The link to the NBC News Video

This story fascinated me so I did some more research and found another blog post on them that was interesting as well.  Check it out at- Blog on smoke jumpers (This blog also gets credit for the photo I have used.)

Hope you enjoy reading about the Smoke Jumpers as much as I did.  If you want to share your passion for all things sewing check and see if you have a local chapter of the American Sewing Guild in your area.  It is a great way to learn more about sewing and share your passion with like-minded people.

Happy Memories

 

Quilting Your Heritage

I have always said that there are many types of memory quilts – you just have to use your imagination.  I have been researching my family tree for years and thought it would be fun to see what kinds of quilts or quilt blocks were out there for my family heritage.  All I had to do was search for English and Irish quilt blocks and all kinds of ideas and examples came up.  What fun to take blocks that represent your family’s heritage and make them into a special quilt for you or your loved ones.

In their March 14, 2019 Blog post the Quilting Company had Free Irish Quilt Block Designs, as well as the Irish Quilt below deigned by Laura Stone Roberts for you to download.

There are all kinds of individual blocks out there that you can put together for your own quilt as well as full quilt designs.

For my English heritage I found this wonderful Victory Garden Quilt Pattern from Busy Bee Quilt Designs.There are lots of ideas and patterns on the internet for you to research and buy from wonderful designers. Take a look at what is available for your family’s heritage and design something special for them (or you!).

Happy Memories

Trish

 

It’s the extra steps that make a quilt.

I make a lot of memory quilts and each one is a little different than the other.  The reason for this is that every quilt is for a different person, represents different memories and has a different theme to it.  With some quilts a technique that I have done in lots of other quilts and its worked great doesn’t quite work so I have to rethink what I am going to do.  I just finished a quilt for a friends daughter for her college graduation.  It ended up being a two sided Delta Zeta quilt.  I used white as the sashing for the quilt so I needed to frame out the white shirts so they would pop against the white sashing and not blend in.  Normally I would just use black fabric as the frame because there is always a bunch of black shirts so it looks nice and balanced.  In this quilt, however, there was only one black shirt so using black fabric for the frames just didn’t seem right.  Instead I went into my stash and matched the frame fabric to the colors in the particular shirt I was framing.  The results worked out great and helped the shirts stay true to the quilt design and not look odd or out of place.

Here are pictures of the blocks I framed.    The block below looks black but it is really navy blue. The lower block below is really a neat deep purple.

The other thing I did with this quilt that I don’t do very often is to bind it with a Double Sided Binding using two different fabrics.  The client I was doing the quilt for wanted the sorority colors as the borders.  Since it was a two sided quilt it was decided to do one side with pink fabric as the narrow inner border and green fabric as the wider outer border.  Using the same fabrics but reversing them I did the other side with the green fabric as the inner border and the pink fabric as the wider outer border.  I wanted the binding to match the border on both sides so I had to do a Double Sided Binding.  I followed the wonderful directions I found on the The Pattern Basket Blogspot and it was so easy.

Following Margo Languedoc’s step by step instructions this is what my binding looked like before it was sewn on the quilt.

And here are photos of the quilt with the binding sewn on.

Green outer border

Pink outer border

I love how both sides have a nice finished look to them.  Think about doing this when the backing and border fabrics just don’t quite work as the binding for each other, your finished quilt will thank you for the little bit of extra time spent on the binding by looking especially pretty.

Hope these little tips help your make your quilts shine a little brighter when you have one with some special needs.

Happy Memories,  Trish

 

 

 

Signature Memory Quilt Tips

I was asked a few months ago to participate in a signiture quilt for an Aunt and Uncle who were celebrating their anniversary. I love these kinds of quilts because they are so personal for the person or persons receiving them.  There is nothing nicer than receiving a personal message from those you love and who love you on a special occasion.  Most people do the first two things correctly which is to cut the fabric the size they want for the blocks and use or send to each participant a special pen that will not wash out of the fabric.  What people tend to miss, and it is a major thing, is to tell you not to write in the space 1/4″ all the way around the block.  This is where the seam allowance is and, if people write all the way up to the edges of the block, you end up loosing some of the design or writing on the block.

I did a quilt for someone who had the wonderful idea of having people who attended her daughter’s graduation party write a block for her.  She cut the fabric squares out of beautiful bright fabrics and had the proper markers/pens for the project.  The one thing she didn’t do was mark the seam allowances on the block or tell them not to draw all the way to the edges.  When I was given the blocks to put the quilt together I sadly had to stitch parts of messages and peoples names into the seam allowance in order to put it together.  Here are a few examples of blocks that didn’t leave enough room for the seam allowance.

Below is the final quilt.  I absolutely love all the bright colors she used for the blocks. I don’t think I would have thought of doing that, most of mine are white or cream.  You can see the blocks that went oversized.  It worked out that she was 4 blocks short and, since she had sent me the extra fabric, I made the pinwheels for the corners from the fabric.  I am sure her daughter loved the quilt and the memories it will bring back in the future.

As far as the quilt that was made for my Aunt and Uncle – I think, from the pictures I saw, they lucked out and everybody stayed within the seam allowance which makes me very happy.

Remember to allow for the seam allowance when preparing the blocks. Either draw a light line around the block for the seam allowance and tell people to stay in the lines or just write in the directions to leave a 1/4″ clear all the way around for sewing the blocks together.

Hope this will help you make your family or client great signature memory quilts in the future.

Happy Memories, Trish