Commemorative or Memory Quilts
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| As seen in Monte Carlo - maybe not in Chicago |
And, I'll jump at the chance to be near one, especially if it's an unusual horse.
And this one was, even though it was only a statue.
It somewhat reminded me of the see-thru horse I constructed when I was in about 7th grade.
Maybe you did one of those animals, too (or a human). You got a bunch of plastic body parts, painted them the "right" colors and then assembled them, and added a clear plastic "skin."
It was all in the name of education. Not that I can remember exactly what the insides of a horse look like, but it gave me a start on the human Biology class I took in high school.
Regardless of all that, this statue of a unicorn was parked on the sidewalk in Monte Carlo where Jim and I visited last summer.
As I write this, I'm on my way to Chicago - where they used to have statues of cows parked on the City sidewalks - and I'm wondering whether they are still there. Guess I'll find out soon.
Chicago is home of some fabulous architecture, and I'm sure some inspiration for quilt designs.
I'm hoping to get out of the hotel room and explore the city with my camera to get some ideas for future quilts. Maybe I'll see some buildings that already inspired quilts.
And maybe I'll run into a cow or two - after all, they probably won't run into me!
Happy Quilting!
Master Quilter
They Laughed When I Said I was Going to Make
a Quilt with Curves Because They Knew
I Had Just Barely Learned How to Quilt - -
But Their Laughter Turned to Amazement
When They Saw My Beautiful Quilt
With Its Perfect Curves
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| A Quilt with Curves is easy to make - believe it or not! |
The idea of making a quilt for quilting daughter, Stephanie's Sunday School teacher was mine.
But, it wasn't my idea at all to make a quilt that had all of those curves in it!
After all, I had been quilting for only a few years, and was still trying to master sewing straight seams with perfect quarter inch seam allowances.
And by straight seams, that is exactly what I mean - straight seams, like square patches, sprinkled with a few triangles (well, at least I was sewing something straight - not curved!).
When I looked at all of the curves in the quilt pattern Stephanie chose, my first reaction was to tell her that it would be too hard for me to sew.
Not wanting to admit that and possibly disappoint her, I suggested other quilts that might be just as nice.
But she was not to be swayed. So, we got the heart pattern with all the curves, and the fabric, and headed home.
Fortunately I had plenty of time before the quilt needed to be finished, because it took weeks for me to get the courage to even start cutting fabric, let alone sewing anything. All the while, Stephanie kept wanting to see the progress on the quilt.
Oh, I opened the pattern and scoured the instructions, hoping to find some tips about sewing all of those curves.
Of course, there were none to be found - I guess the designer thought every quilter "just knew" how to sew beautiful curves.
Not me! And I'm sure I wasn't alone.
A few weeks after we got the pattern, I happened to be glancing through the books at our local quilt shop, and came across one by Pepper Cory about sewing Drunkard's Path quilts.
Armed with the information I needed to easily sew all of the curves required in that quilt, I forged ahead and complete the quilt.
Although quilts with curves are easy for me now, I know that most quilters - especially beginner quilters - struggle with them. Or don't even try.
But, in a recent survey, hundreds of you said that you wanted to learn how to sew beautiful curves and expand your quilting knowledge.
Now you can!
Our brand new Secrets for Sewing Perfect Curves in Quilts DVD Mentor is ready. And it includes an amazing amount of information to make your curved quilting even easier than if you simply attended a workshop.
Check it out: Secrets for Sewing Perfect Curves in Quilts DVD Mentor
A Quilt Idea - Commemorative Quilt
By - Quilter Roberta Hartley
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| Mac Dad in the middle! |
It’s never too soon to give a quilt commemorating or memorializing someone’s life.
This is especially true if they can enjoy the fruits of your labor and you can hear the delight in their voice as they receive it.
I’m glad I did that a few years back for my father-in-law, “Mac Dad” Hartley.
I was married then, and every year his son and I were faced with the same problem: What to get his dad for Christmas. Naturally he was a man who already had everything, so gift giving was particularly challenging.
The year I was certified as a teacher for Quilt-in-a-Day, I got the book Town Square Sampler and used it for my quilt when I was taking the training.
That kept me busy … I’d never put so many pieces together in and on one quilt in my life!
That year, Mac Dad was particularly busy, too. He had worked on the restoration of the 100 years-plus Old School House, represented the seniors’ interests in City Council, taught life-story writing classes at the local college, was recipient of the Lutz award, and Master of Ceremonies for the Seniors’ Follies.
All this was in addition to being a full-time Deacon, dad, uncle, brother, and grandfather, etc.
Luckily, he gave us a program from one of the events where he was honored, and that got me to thinking. I’d just done a church and school house for my Town Square quilt, why not do another one, wall-size, and put him in the middle!
That’s exactly what I did. You can see how I used the program with his picture as a focal point.
The other opportunity that presented itself was the banner that the angels were holding.
I decided to embroider (by machine, after all, I had to get this done in time for Christmas!) his ‘credentials.’ In case they are too hard for you to read in the picture, they read: “Mac Dad Husband, Father, Father-in-Law, grandfather, deacon, Teacher, Emcee, Businessman, Sr. Commissioner! Grand Marshall, Brother, Author, Uncle. Lutz Award winner and Inspiration to us all.”
After that, things pretty well took care of themselves.
Even as I type this out, I am thinking, who is going to believe that things ‘took care of themselves.’ But they did; let me explain. I had all the fabric pieces from my previous quilt. I did not to have to get another thing!
I had everything from the fabric for the red hair, haloes, wings, and lace for the angels to the banner they flew. The angels had red hair because our daughter has red hair, and I wanted to get her into the act, too.
The only thing I had to do was to have Kinko’s copy his program onto the fabric for the center marquee. That took a whopping 15 minutes. It really was easy!
I had done all this type of piecing and appliqué just a month before during training. Why let all the practice go to waste? Well it didn’t. And Mac Dad was thrilled. It felt wonderful to give him something he enjoyed so much.
But this year, instead of Mac Dad looking at his quilt with the angels flying his credentials, he will be talking with them about his accomplishments instead. Just a few days ago, Mac Dad took his leave of us here on earth. He had 92 very good years and in those years, he made sure he did lots of good for others.
He was adored by his students, appreciated by those who benefit from the Encinitas Sr. Center regularly, and loved beyond measure by his family.
He’ll be missed, I’m sure. But I imagine that he’ll be way too busy organizing the heavenly hosts activities to notice. He always was a leader and I can’t see him changing after 92 years!
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| Mac Dad's credentials |
Quilting Tool – Bubble Jet Set
Commemorative quilts often include photos of loved ones that have been transferred onto fabric.
As you can see in Roberta's McDad quilt, she transferred a program onto a piece of fabric and made it the focal point of her quilt.
Transferring photos onto fabric is almost as easy as printing documents on your computer printer.
There are two critical pieces, however.
One is preparation of the fabric. Years ago, I made a quilt and didn't know that I needed to pre-treat the fabric. I am certain all of the photos are gone now, even though I warned the person who got it not to wash it. Regardless, now I know better.
There are probably several products on the market that you can use to prepare your fabric, but this is the one I use -
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| Bubble Jet Set for soaking fabric you want to print on |
the process for preparing your fabric is really simple - just soak and dry.
Once the fabric is dry, you are ready to print using an inkjet printer.
For step-by-step instructions and a video of the process, just read our article:
Preparing and printing pictures on fabric
Postcard Quilts for the Troops
4th of July Roundup Next - Deadline May 27!
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| US Flag Fabric Postcard |
Why not take a minute to make a small fabric postcard for a soldier?
Penny's Postcard Posse is still Rounding Up fabric postcards to send to our troops overseas, and now with soldiers spread throughout the Middle East, it's even more important to boost the spirits of our troops.
To date, quilters have made more than 17,000 fabric postcards for soldiers stationed in war zones.
A few minutes of your time can make a world of difference to a soldier who is hanging out in the middle of a foreign country away from their family and friends.
Diane sends these cards to soldiers who don't get much mail from home, and they are much appreciated.
We want to keep Diane doing the Penny's Postcard Posse project, but she is terribly allergic to smoke. So, if you can be sure that your fabric postcards are smoke-free, it will be much appreciated!
Check out the postcard patterns on www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com I will continue to add designs, and patterns for the fabric postcards are always free.
To make the Holiday deadline, get your cards to Diane by May 27
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
Click here to download your May FREE quilt block patterns
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| Block of Many Triangles | Broken Saw Blades | Flying Dutchman | Harrisburg Quilt Block |
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| Lily Quilt Pattern | Old Maid's Puzzle | Pieced Tulip Quilt Block | Quilt Without a Name |
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| Three Cheers | Tulips |
Click here to download your May FREE quilt block patterns
Hundreds of quilt block patterns to choose from. Patterns include full size templates and rotary cutting layouts. Click Here
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