Telecast Thursday - New Videos in Kim's Vintage Sewing Machines series

Hi everyone:

Welcome to Telecast Thursday! This week I'm sharing a very technical vintage sewing machine video with you. I actually had to bring in some experts for this one!

You can view this video below or on my Youtube channel. 

I'd love to know if you have "help" in choosing your sewing machines and accessories.

If you haven't seen the other episodes in this series, you can find them here. 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are released. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the upper right corner on any video to go to my Youtube channel and subscribe.

Happy quilting!

Cats in Fabric

Hi everyone:

I'm enjoying working in my renovated quilt studio and it really helps to have things organized so I can find them when I need to without spending an hour just hunting down that specific fabric that I need for my current project. You know that I put in some new Ikea Billy bookcases to use for fabric storage and I'm proud to say that my fabric is still nicely folded and in its appropriate category. There's just one problem...

Billy bookcases housing fabric stash -
note the partially open door

the doors operate on a magnetic catch where you just have to push them to open. This makes it very easy to open them for me … and also for Charlie. I thought that having the doors on my fabric storage units would keep the cats and their associated fur out of my fabric. Well, while this is true for Teeka, I can't say the same for Charlie. 

Tell me that isn't a cat in there! Charlie!!

Yes, it appears that cats also find magnetic catches easy to operate!

I thought this was my new snuggle place.

Charlie pushes at the door until it pops open slightly and then paws it open so he can club in and enjoy hiding in the fabric cubby.

You're not going to make me leave, are you?

Okay, so I can deal with one of them in the fabric, but not when this happens:

What are you doing in there? Can I join you?

Yes, Charlie is now encouraging Teeka to join him for some snuggle time in the quilt fabric.

Check it out - it's warm and soft, you'll love it!

So far Teeka hasn't been very enthusiastic and I'm hoping this continues, but I may soon be looking for some new latches for these bookcases to keep the purry assistants out of my stash. 

How do you keep your pets out of your fabrics?

Stuffies and quilts and websites, oh my!

Hi everyone:

This past week was very busy for me. First, I had two sick kids in the house - with different ailments. This always throws off my schedule, even though they are now old enough to pretty much look after themselves. It means calling schools in the morning to let them know that my child won't be there and making sure they're hydrated and medicated. At least they are quieter when they're not feeling well, so I  did manage to accomplish quite a bit this past week.

I finished up Teeka's mat. I had some leftover charm squares and thought that they would look lovely as a sleep mat for her - and would give me a small project to practise my free motion skills on. It's almost too pretty for a cat mat, but if anyone deserves it, it is Teeka.

Teeka trying out her new mat

Is this for me?

 I backed it in flannel and she appears to really like it. 

I love it! Notice the flower echo free-motion quilting.

Next I had to whip up a stuffy for Jamie to take to leadership camp - which he didn't go to as he had the stomach flu. In any case, he has a new stuffy to add to his collection. I drew up a pattern on freezer paper, ironed it to a recycled sweater (nice and soft merino wool), cut it out, stitched it up and stuffed it. 

Another stuffy for the collection

I then had to add a bit more to it, so chose some buttons from my collection for his eyes. I think they turned out well. I was pleased that I found a project that begged to be made from one of the many wool sweaters that I have stashed away for just such a design. I was also glad that I could use up some of my buttons and I think they made quite good buggy eyes.

I've got my eye(s) on you!

When I wasn't working on these projects, I was working on cleaning up files for our new website. It's still a glimmer in the distance, but getting brighter every day. This week-end I managed to create a collage of my patterns for the front page and I think it turned out rather well. Patterns are already loaded up into the website store, now it's just a matter of adding text to various pages and then to test it out. Keep your fingers crossed that everything syncs together well. If you work with Rapidweaver, let me know as I might need to ask for some help in the future.

This week I hope to work on some more patterns and do some actual quilting. I have several fall/Halloween projects that are already waiting for me at the sewing machine. 

I hope you have a productive week and are enjoying fall.

Available: quilt studio helper

Hi everyone:


I know that most of you could use a helper in your quilt studio - someone to give you fabric suggestions, positive comments on your designs and maybe even do a little typing, if you're a blogger. I'm fortunate to have someone in my house who fulfills all these requirements and doesn't even cost me a penny to do it. No, I'm not talking about my husband, nor my children. I'm talking about Teeka, my quilting cat.


Teeka is always willing to come down to my quilt studio and check out what's going on. She'll even get right up close to my quilt projects and let me know if she approves of my design and fabric choices. 

In these photos you can see Teeka "commenting" on my latest GO! project. I think she approves!

In addition, she's only too happy to do a bit of typing for me when the need arises.

Do you have a "helper" in your studio? I'd love to hear all about him or her.


If you don't and you're looking for a little extra help, Teeka is available at reasonable rates.