Gifts for Quilters

Just one of ten seasonal patterns from
my Christmas on the Side pattern book

People are thinking of Christmas already.  How do I know?  My Christmas pattern books are selling well in my Etsy shop and on Amazon.  I thought I would share some suggestions for people who don’t sew but who may want to buy a pressie for somebody who does. 

So without any more ado, here are my TOP TEN GIFTS FOR QUILTERS:. 

1.         Books – yes the bookshelf may be buckling under the weight of quilting books but trust me, a quilter can never have too many.  But which to buy?   Obviously any of my books from Amazon would make a lovely gift but here are a couple suggestions of non-Pastchsmithian books that contain a variety of projects and are suitable for all levels of sewists.

 

2.         A subscription to Audible.  There is nothing so lovely as stitching away whilst listening to a great book on your MP3, phone or ipad.  Audible have a subscription service where you can buy a bundle which allows for 12 books to be downloaded of a year-long period.

Audible USA 

Audible UK 

3.         Fat quarter bundles – if you are living with a quilter you will know what a fat quarter is but if not - it is a quarter of a yard of fabric.  The Fat Quarter Shop is an on-line shop based in the USA who stock all sorts of pre-cut bundings and the good news - they ship worldwide at very reasonable costs.

 

4.         The most important item in a quilter’s arsenal is a seam ripper.  A seam ripper is a small pointed blade that is used to unpick fabrics  There are some lovely ones around – just look online in Etsy (put ‘seam ripper’ in the search box – pick a fancy one and check it out - literally).  

5.         Storage boxes – pick something colourful and decorative.  Any size will do from small to large and they can be cardboard, wood, leather and plastic.  I particularly like the selection at Paperchase.  And Ikea also sell a huge selection that come plain and can be decorated with paint or paper:

5.         A cross-stitch kit, sewing kit, button kit – any sort of craft kit (but not woodwork or metal work or how-to-change-a-tyre type of kit!).   There are many kits on the market so play it safe pick a chart that a quilter could incorporate into a pillow or wall hanging –  houses, chickens, seasonal charts work well.        

Yet again your local fabric store or craft store should also stock some kits.  And the Fat Quarter Shop has a lovely selection of charts and kits.

7.         Sign your quilter up for a New Year class on Craftsy.

8.         Coloured sewing thread. A quilter/sewist never has enough coloured thread. Some of these threads come in sets which make an excellent gift on their own.  Yet again the Fat Quarter Shop has a lovely selection of machine and hand threads.

One of many thread packs from The FQS

9.         A pretty journal and nice pen in which your quilter can write her notes, stick pictures of ideas and keep a record of any projects.  Here in Britain we have WHSmith which supply some nice leather bound journals.  Amazon also stock some.

10.         On a similar vein - a great secret Santa gift or if buying for a fellow quilter - a quilting calendar.  Amazon do some that have a project a week.  Here are a couple:

 So there you have it - no excuses this year for not getting the right thing.    Sew until next time ........