View From Our Valuable Vender Vault: Quilt Smarter ... With Quiltsmart!

It's that time again ... View From Our Valuable Vender Vault! This month we are featuring Mattie at Quiltsmart. Mary Pat "Mattie" Rhoades was a quilt teacher who wanted a way to ease the frustration of harder, "fussy patterns" and tedious sewing methods. So with the belief that quilting should be enjoyable, Quiltsmart was born.

"One of the first patterns that was printed on interfacing was Quilt in a Day's Sunbonnet Sue.  We still print this for Quilt in a Day," says Mattie.

The Quiltsmart method is piecing by fusible interface, similar to paper piecing but easier.

Let's take the Lone Star Quilt and use as an example. Usually with the Lone Star pattern you would cut strips, staggering at a 45 degree angle and sew into a strata, the you'd cut diamonds from your stratas. (These diamonds are not always a girls best friend!) You'd make 6 different stratas, systematically moving your fabric colors down one row. Holy cow! Are you confused? I am, after all I'm just a simple bear!

After a you cut a mess of strips (technical term!), you pray and hope that when you offset your 1/4 inch seam allowance, and sew your seam, that your diamands line up and look correct. Let's hope that you didn't get a strip out of line and mess the coordination of the colors. Yikes!

The Quiltsmart method is much easier! You start with cut rectangles, placing the first one face up on the interfacing (where it says "Start"!). Next you place your Applique Pressing Sheet TM on top and press with with your iron for 5 seconds. Place fabric number 2 crosswise onto fabric number 1, with fabric right sides together. If you look for the dot on the left side, that tells you where your fabric goes, then run it along the arow on the right side. I stick a little pin in it, then flip it over to sew line 1. Flip fabic down, press it with iron, then add number 3 in the same manner. Continue until the section is complete! So easy!!

Make 8 sections and you're a star creator! Watch Mattie show you how on this Lone Star Tutorial!

Above: This Lone Star quilt was made by Mattie Rhoades using a Quiltsmart technique.

Below: Quiltsmart takes the stress out difficult quilt patterns ... And a star is born!

Veronica and Mattie are working on a joint super secret project, that will debut in November at the Houston International Quilt Festival!! Are you excited yet?

Veronica was lucky enough to test Mattie's new pattern, which will debut this fall as well. Stay tuned as later we unveil some of Mattie's borders that Veronica used in a quilt project.

Please take some time to visit the Quiltsmart website, you'll be glad you did! Quiltsmart can also be found on Facebook and  check out Mattie's blog, it's definitely one of our favorites!