Quilting Instruction: christmas star quilt block, Free Quilt Block Patterns

Machine Quilted Fat Quarter Quilt
and December Free Quilt Block Patterns

"Quilting is a gift you give yourself."

Greetings Quilter -

Our quote this week says a lot about this time of the year.

With the holidays coming up, it's easy to get caught up in shopping for others, cooking, decorating the house, and generally taking care of everyone else.

If you are anything like I am, it's all about family and friends, and very little about me.

Take time for yourself as the holidays approach, and spend some relaxing time making progress on a quilting project.

I'm reminded often that if you don't take care of yourself, you can't be as good to others.

This week saw the completion of the Machine Quilted Fat Quarter Quilt DVD Mentor.

Now, you might think this is just about using Fat Quarters to make a quilt. And there is some great information about how to get the most from fat quarters, this is also all about machine quilting on your home sewing machine.

This includes the best of the best of machine quilting tips and techniques. Using the simple techniques in this DVD mentor, you'll be able to machine quilt your large quilt and have the backing be perfectly flat. That's right, no puckers or pleats sewn in as you machine quilt!

And the best part is that the techniques are simple!

You'll also learn a new way to bind a quilt - stuffed binding. This is a binding that many professional and experienced quilters use - especially if their quilts will be entered into shows.

But, if you are looking for a simple double fold bias binding, you'll find the instructions as a Bonus Gift with this package.

You'll find more information below, or check out all of the details: Machine Quilted Fat Quarter Quilt

And now for the rest of the news - -

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren

Stress No More About Machine Quilting
of Using Fat Quarters in a Quilt

Machine Quilted Fat Quarter Quilt

Fat quarters are those little bundles of joy found on table tops in quilt shops.

They love it when you cut them up and put them in a quilt! And they add quite a bit of variety to your quilt.

But, how do you use them? And what if you don't really want your quilt to look like a scrap quilt, but rather a quilt that was planned?

I'll admit that, probably like many quilters, my collection of fat quarters began before I had a clue what I would use them for.

Years ago at the Houston Quilt Festival, I got several fat quarters - because I loved the fabric and couldn't get yards of it. It was available only as fat quarters.

Those treasures sat on my shelf for years until a few months ago when quilters asked for a quilting resource about how to use fat quarters in a quilt.

With that prompting, I pulled them out and got serious about finding the right block and other fabric to go with them.

The quilt is finished, and the information is ready for you to add to your Quilting Toolkit.

This information includes:

my best tips and techniques for machine quilting - gathered from scores of expert machine quilters, tested by me and other quilters on our home sewing machines. Your machine quilting CAN be perfect using these few simple techniques.
how to cut your fat quarters so you get the most from it. There is a "best way" to lay out your squares and triangles so you get more from your precious fabric. Remember, you only have one chance at cutting - if you need one or two more patches, you don't want to think that "if I had only cut it a different way - - -"
a fun pieced border that will impress your family and friends with your quilting skills. This border looks really complex, doesn't it? But it's not. Making this border is simply a matter of strip piecing and cutting - easy, easy.
adding pieced cornerstones - cornerstones can be extremely useful, especially when your borders are pieced and it isn't so easy to line them up so they go around a corner nicely. See the options I chose from and why I used the pieced blocks I did.
how to draft a block and make your own templates. For those quilt blocks you can find patterns for, it's the way to go. But often quilt block patterns aren't the right size. Follow this method, used by professional quilters, and you'll never be without a pattern again - whether it is the middle of the day or 2am in the morning.

Even if you aren't making a quilt using fat quarters, this DVD Mentor is jam packed with information you can use for any quilt you make - from quilts using yardage to scrap quilts and fat quarter quilts.

You'll be happy you took advantage of this great information during our FREE SHIPPING time. Just until the end of the month, you can get this at our Special Introductory Price which includes free shipping.

Remember, you, too deserve a great holiday gift of your choice - that is, something that gives you pleasure and will make your quilting life easier and help you create more quilts with ease.

Read more - - -

Jodi Barrows Square in a Square

A week or two ago, Jodi Barrows was our guest for an Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation, and she talked about how easy it is to make a quilt block using her Square in a Square template / rotary cutting ruler.

I mentioned during the Conversation that I would test it out myself - to see how easy it was. Of course, when Jodi demonstrates it (as she does in video on her website), it's different than when a quilter with no experience using her template uses it.

Below you will see my demonstration using a wall hanging design directly from her book - Christmas Star.

As I say in the video, when you first look at this pattern, you might be put off, since it has so many triangles and looks like it would be difficult to sew.

However, using her template / ruler and system, this went together in a snap.

You'll see the step-by-step in the video.

If you'd like to invest in the ruler and Jodi's book, email our friend, Rosie at Rosie's Calico Cupboard - rozgonzalez@cox.net

Quilt Block History - Whig Rose

Whig Rose Quilt Block

Many things have inspired quilt patterns, even politics. The Whig Rose pattern is one that was inspired by the Whig party.

The quilt traditionally followed the color pattern of the Whig political party, red and green. Some members of the political party were William Henry Harrison, Henry Clay, Zachary Taylor, and John Tyler.

The Whig party was formed in the United States in 1834, but within two decades fell apart due to division over the issue of expansion of slavery into the territories.

By 1856, the Whig party was replaced by the Republican party. Even so, the quilt pattern remained popular through the last part of the 1800s.

The Whig Rose is an appliqué quilt, made up of florals and buds. The flowers are generally in red with the leaves and vines traditionally in green.

Some researchers believe the color choices were an attempt to copy some of the printed fabrics that were popular in the late 1700s to early 1800s. Palampore was one of these fabrics.

They were usually transported to the United States from India and featured designs like trees and florals. The other fabric quilters of the Whig Rose pattern tried to duplicate was chintz. Chintz is a cotton fabric that often features a large design motif. Chintz fabric has a sheen to it that makes it look glossy.

Others suggest that red and green were the colors chosen to represent the Whig party. Another theory is based on color stability. Reds and greens of the day were considered to be more stable or colorfast than other fabrics.

History has shown that the greens faded to brownish colors, especially after exposure to light. An interesting aspect seen in many of the Whig Rose quilts passed down to modern generations is that the reds in the quilts generally stay vibrant. The red was one of the most reliable dyes of its era.

Like many other quilt patterns, the Whig Rose pattern is known by other names, like Clay’s Choice. It is commonly referred to as a variation of the Rose of Sharon quilt pattern. The difference between the two is that the Whig Rose often has long, straight stems instead of bent or curved ones like in the designs in the Rose of Sharon.

Rose of Sharon quilts often used a pink and green color scheme instead of the red and green popular in the Whig Rose.

The Whig Rose pattern was often given as a gift to a newly wed couple or to an engaged bride to be. Their floral theme was a perfect romantic motif for a wedding or engagement gift.

These days, quilters have many options to help them make their own Whig Rose quilt. First of all, quilters have the advantage of fuseable interfacing to fuse the appliqué to your quilt top. This makes stitching so much easier since it ensures the pieces won’t slip.

The stitch work can be done by hand or by machine. And patterns and variations are easily available from the Internet.

Postcard Quilts for the Troops

Valentines' Day Roundup Next - Deadline January 21!

If you missed the deadline to send Christmas fabric postcards to Penny’s Postcard Posse, you can still participate in the next roundup.

Our next big holiday is Valentine’s Day 2010. The deadline for submitting your cards is January 21, 2010. That means you have more than a month to work on them and get them sent in!

If you have never participated in Penny’s Postcard Posse, here’s what we do. We collect the fabric postcards you make and send in and distribute them to the men and women protecting our countries in the military. It’s admittedly a small contribution in comparison to the time they spend away from their families to protect the quality of life we enjoy. It’s a way quilters can share their love of the craft to brighten a soldier’s day.

For Valentine's Day 2007, the Postcard Posse sent 217 postcards to Canadian troops stationed in Afghanistan. By Christmas 2008 quilters sent in more than 2,200 postcards that were forwarded troups to the Middle East. All in all, more than7,300 postcard sized quilts have been sent to soldiers abroad.

During the year end holidays, take a few minutes to make a card or two. And to get you started, download a package of free Heart Quilt Block patterns. These are full size patterns that can easily be made into small fabric postcards.

The directions are very easy. You’ll find free designs to get you started at www.fabric-postcards.com.

You'll find tons of free fabric postcard patterns at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

Please send your cards to:
Diane Malaznik
14215 Westmore St.
Livonia, MI 48154-4149

Diane is doing a fabulous job keeping the pictures updated, and if you have sent cards in, let your friends and family know that they can see pictures of them here: www.Fabric-Postcards.com

Remember you can get FREE postcard patterns at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

Special Note - we are in the process of changing the Picture Gallery on the Fabric-Postcards.com site. It may take a few days, so bear with us. Not to worry - We have all of the pictures and will get everything squared away soon.

Featured Block in Video - Christmas Star Quilt Block

christmas star quilt block

This Christmas Star quilt block was made using the Square in a Square Ruler, which made it much easier to sew together.

You can get this rotary cutting ruler and the instructions from Rosie at Rosie's Calico Cupboard - rozgonzalez@cox.net

Visit www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com to see other quilt block videos and get free patterns, including free fabric postcard patterns for Penny's Postcard Posse.

Enjoy!

December Quilt Block Patterns

The December selection of free quilt block patterns includes a variety of 4 patch quilt blocks, ranging from the easy to make to some that are a little more complex.

Click here to download your December FREE quilt block patterns