Dresden Plate or Fan Quilt, Vintage Fabric, and March Free Quilt Block Patterns

Greetings Quilter -

It seems like every time I turn around I am adding one more ruler to my collection.

Decades ago, I was cutting patches for quilts using scissors, cardboard templates and pencils (yes, the #2 lead pencils with the yellow sides like we used in school!).

Then came the rotary cutter and rulers. At first, there was a limited selection of rulers. After all, how many do you need to cut a strip of fabric.

It didn't take long for us to figure out that it was helpful to have a long ruler that would cut strips up to 6 inches wide. And the 1/4 inch markings in between the inch lines allowed us to cut many different sizes of strips all with the same ruler.

Then there were some quilters who wanted square rulers. I'll admit it took me some time to break down and get one of those. But, now my 12 inch square ruler is my second favorite one.

And with just two rulers I was pretty happy. Because my straight edge ruler had a 45 and 60 degree lines on it, I could cut most of the triangles I wanted to for my quilts.

And I thought I was finished purchasing rotary cutting tools - except, of course, replacement blades.

Then one of the quilters in my guild brought some acrylic templates to a guild meeting. Her husband had cut templates for half-square triangles in several different sizes. And there was the set of quarter-square triangles. Then there were the squares. All of these included the seam allowances, which was very helpful.

I invested in several sets, including some sets that cut special quilt blocks.

Now it is common to see a huge selection of rotary cutting templates hanging on the Notions wall in a quilt or sewing shop.

Some I look at and wonder how to use. Others are pretty obvious, but look like they would be difficult to use.

I'll readily admit that when my friend, Rosie, showed me the new Creative Grids template for cutting half-square triangles, I was totally confused. She had to explain it to me, and I had to play around with it.

But, it didn't take very long to figure out that this was a great new tool that will save tons of time for quilters who cut half-square triangles.

There are, of course, several shortcut methods for sewing half-square triangles that don't require you to cut them. But, your cutting will be a breeze if you use this funny-looking template. Scroll down to read more about it and watch a video showing how it works.

For those of you who own quilt shops or have an online business, I have just finished my newest information package that is sure to boost your sales.

Whether you already have an online quilting business or are wondering what you can do with your website to generate some serious revenue, this resource will give you the resources you need to jumpstart the online portion of your business.

This is as simple as 1, 2, 3 to learn and do. And it can be done in less than about 45 minutes each week.

In about 45 minutes a week, you can generate tons of online sales using my Online Business Success System. Tested and proven to work - this is the system I use.

Learn more - - -

And now for the rest of the news - -

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren

Featured Product from How-to-Quilt.com

I should probably change the name of this DVD Mentor - -

From Cutting to Machine Quilting and Binding . . .
Transform Your Fat Quarter Fabric Pieces
into a Beautiful Quilt – with ease!

I know it's a mouthful - The Machine Quilted Fat Quarter Quilt DVD Mentor.

It started out being about how to make a quilt using fat quarters. You know, those little pieces of fabric that quilt shops cut into shapes that measure about 17 inches by 22 inches.

But it turned into one of the most complete How to Make a Quilt resources on the face of the earth! Not that I'm bragging or anything - but everything went into this!

Working with small amounts of fabric causes us to be more careful about choosing a block, knowing exactly how much of each kind of fabric we need, and how to cut it.

Plus, I realize that not everyone has the magical, mystical quilt design software that creates templates and figures out your fabric requirements.

And, I know that quilters now want to finish quilts quickly using their home sewing machine - from start to finish.

So - in this resource, you will see:

how to easily figure out how much of each color fabric you need for your quilt - without the complicated math
how to lay out the patches on your fat quarter so you know how to cut the fabric without wasting any
how to create your own templates to cut fabric - they fit perfectly, they are any size you want them to be, and you can make templates for any block you want
shortcuts for sewing the blocks together to create the quilt top
how to create an interesting and easy border using a seminole design (sew and cut strips of fabric)
how to machine quilt on your home sewing machine - this is the most comprehensive machine quilting resource I have created, showing:
- how to layer and baste your quilt so you end up with pucker-free machine quilting
- how to choose your quilting design
- how to sew using free motion quilting and some of the designs you can create
- how to set the tension on your sewing machine - details, not just "do this" you see how to set the tension and what your quilting looks like when it is right and when it is wrong, and how to know how to fix it
- how to set up your practice sandwich to ensure perfect quilting stitches and thread tension

You can see that this is jam-packed with information way beyond just creating a quilt using fat quarters.

Truly I wish this type of information was available when I began quilting decades ago. I've spent more than 28 years gathering it all and putting it in one place in an easy-to-understand format, including video and written materials, so your quilting journey will be fun and stress-free!

Tell me more - - -

A Quilting Tool - Cutting Half-Square Triangles

Half-square triangles are very useful in quilting. They create the points in stars and pinwheels as well as creating many other interesting designs in quilt blocks.

If you are anything like I am, you're always looking for shortcut or quick methods to cut and sew your patches. And cutting half-square triangles is no exception.

Years ago, a quilter figured out that if you cut strips of fabric, you could cut half-square triangles back to back along the strip, making quick work of cutting and saving fabric along the way.

At first we were all using our straight edged rotary cutting rulers to cut both the strips and the triangles. The problem was that you had to figure out which diagonal line to match up with the raw edges of the strip, which depended on which type of triange you were cutting - half-square, isosceles, etc.

Then someone came out with plastic templates just the right size and shape that would more easily guide your rotary cutter as you cut the little pieces from the strips. That was a great improvement because you didn't need to figure out which lines to match with your raw edges.

creative grid half-square triangle rotary cutting ruler

Ruler from Creative Grids to cut half-square triangles

You simply lined up two sides of the template and rolled the rotary cutter - like magic, triangles!

I suppose it was inevitable that some brilliant engineer - maybe - would come up with this wonderful ruler that combines cutting strips and half-square triangles.

This saves even more time and energy than any of the other templates for cutting half-square triangles. And it is a two-in-one tool.

It cuts both the strips and the triangles with no complicated lining up of the ruler. You simply line up the straight lines on the template/ruler with the raw edges of your cut strip, and then slide your cutter along the edges.

It looks pretty funny, but does the job extremely well.

They come in many different sizes, and you can also get these to cut isosceles triangles.

Watch the video below to see how it works:

Postcard Quilts for the Troops

July 4th Roundup Next - Deadline JUNE 5!

The 4th of July in Iraq or Afghanistan is just another day unless it becomes something different by virtue of quilters' intervention!

I wanted to do something to let the soldiers in the Middle East know that there were hundreds - even thousands - of folks here in the US who appreciated what they were doing.

Our first Penny's Posse Rounded up more than 139 tiny postcard greetings for the soldiers in Iraq for the 4th of July 2006.

Those fabric cards were sent through Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, and pictures of fabric postcards sent in the first Roundup are posted on this site.

You can read the first webpage with the original idea here.

After the first Roundup, Penny received emails from several quilters asking if she would please do another Roundup so they could participate. And more Roundups were added.

As quilters, we know what those postcards mean to the men and women who recieve them. Some who get them receive no other mail from home. And for all of them, it's a reminder of the wonderful freedoms they are fighting for and the comforts they will enjoy when they return home.

Still others have fond memories of their mothers or grandmothers creating quilts to keep them warm and safe as children.

The 4th of July Roundup is in full swing - the deadline is June 5!

It's not too early to start making patriotic cards for our 4th of July Roundup. This will mark our 4th Year!

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 4th of July deadline, get your cards to Diane by June 5

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

March Free Block Patterns

These free March quilt block patterns will make your St. Patrick's Day full of quilting fun. Most of these are 9 patch quilt blocks, and some are 9 patch quilt blocks.

Click here to download your March FREE quilt block patterns

Click here for the Irish themed quilt block patterns