Gypsy Quilter Visits Oshkosh

Lanette Edens, The Gypsy Quilter, came all the way from Savannah, Georgia, to be our special guest speaker at Lakeside Quilt Guild this month. It was a great evening! She is funny and energetic; she offered some advice and ideas that I haven't heard anywhere else. She also sells items that are difficult to find many other places.

She has been a quilt teacher for many years, so she can vouch for the gadgets and patterns she sells. The really do work and make your quilting lives easier.

The first thing I noticed on her table were replacement blades for the Martelli Rotary Cutters. If you have one, you know that the Dritz and Olfa replacement blades don't work because they have a different anchoring center. It's been difficult to find replacement blades anywhere -- but she had them! I now have a lifetime supply!

The Gypsy Quilter gave some advice about banishing your iron from the sewing room (except for fusible applique projects). She says that pressing after every seam will shrink your fabric as you work through a pattern. Things get wonky in a hurry. No wonder things don't fit or match by the time your done ... "Press" is not part of her vocabulary. The log cabin quilt behind her (at the top of this post) was made with Marti Michell's Log Cabin ABCs rulers and techniques. No pressing along the way--well, maybe not until the end.



I admit it, I bought a few things that night -- including the pattern and fabric pack for this Wild Girl pattern. Maybe I'll start that at Quilt Camp in October ... Some of the patterns are from Big Fork Bay Cotton Company. You've seen some of these patterns by Toni Whitney (and others)--but probably not all of them at once, and probably not up close and in real life!


Look at the threadwork on this Backyard Bear. Such a treat to see these finished pieces up close. It was a great night for inspiration. Thank you, Gypsy Quilter for