Learn How to Quilt: quilting terms, free quilt block patterns

Machine Quilting Aids
and June Free Quilt Block Patterns

machine quilting design for jelly roll quilt

Jelly Roll / Bali Pop Quilt machine
quilting design

Greetings Quilter -

With m. mouse being under the weather this past week, and culminating in oral surgery (translation - all teeth removed), progress wasn't what I would have hoped for this week in the Jelly Roll Quilt.

However, I did manage to choose some quilting designs and test out some machine quilting.

I settled in on this design, and plan to quilt it inside each of the blocks in the quilt.

I did a trial run using the freezer paper - interesting experiment. It was rather difficult to get off, however. And I am now using a Pounce chalk method of applying the quilting design onto the quilt top.

It's interesting - relatively easy to apply, and it creates chalk dust on the darning foot on my sewing machine.

If you missed it last week, you can still give us your input - It's time for our Annual How to Quilt Survey. This a fairly short survey so that we can be sure to provide the information you want. It should take just a couple of minutes to complete. It's anonymous - so be completely honest.

We're getting some great feedback and will include the results in next week's news.

Based on this survey in prior years, the information provided in our newsletter and daily emails has changed, and we have provided products that you find useful.

m. mouse taking comfort on my flannel baby quilt - his first day after surgery

m. mouse is doing much better after his surgery. It took him a day to start eating again - of course, only mushy food. Although his first meal was a cup of people salmon - you know, the perfect size for lunch.

He's still not quite up to his full strength, but beginning to resist my giving him medicine - I think that is a good sign.

Quilting daughter, Stephanie, suggested that the next move will be to get dentures for him! Personally I think that might be a little inconvenient ;-)

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Fabric Postcards for Penny's Postcard Posse

Take a few minutes to create a small fabric postcard this week for a soldier in the Middle East. A few scraps of fabric is all it takes, and by making one a week - or every few days - you can brighten the life of our troops.

Just a few minutes is all it takes to create one of these small treasures and send it to Diane for shipment abroad. The letters and emails she gets back are remarkable and tell just how much these little treasures mean to the soldiers over there.

You'll find all the information below. This month I'll be sending additional information, including patterns and instructions for making these tiny quilts.

And now for the rest of the news - -

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren

Quilting Tools

If you are just beginning to machine quilt, you will soon find that your fingers are a very important tool as you maneuver your quilt through your sewing machine. If your fingers feel dry or begin to slide on the fabric, you will not have much control over it (or the stitches you are quilting).

There are convenient quilting gloves that make this much easier, but not everyone likes to wear quilting gloves. If you don’t like wearing full gloves when you quilt, try using a finger tip product.

Nitril Touch Quilting gloves are great for machine quilting, and are made by the same manufacturer as the Atlas® lightweight gloves. These are available in some quilt shops.

Rubber finger tips are available in just about any office supply store. They look like nubby little rubber thimbles. They will protect your fingers and will help you manipulate your quilt better, too.

Like thimbles, rubber finger tips come in various sizes. Look for the one that suits you best. At $2 to $5 per box, they are certainly an affordable quilting tool.

If the rubber finger tips are not to your liking, there is another similar product that you can customize. These are usually referred to as finger gloves. You can individually trim each one to a length that is comfortable for you. These finger gloves usually run anywhere from $5 to $10 for a box.

Don’t be tempted to cut the fingertips off regular gloves to use for quilting. They really need to have grips to work. Without gripping power, your gloved hands might just slide around, too.

While covering your fingertips is great for helping you move your fabric about, sometimes you need your entire hand to move your project during the quilting stage. That’s were the gloves are helpful. They offer gripping action on the fingertips and the open palm of the glove. They may take some getting used to, but they are definitely handy. (Get it – gloves/handy?)

If you notice that your hands develop a rash while quilting, consider that you might be having a chemical reaction to fabric dyes. Full gloves will protect your hands from this.

But you have to ask yourself if you want to create a quilt that breaks out your skin. Most of the times, this reaction can be eliminated by washing and drying your fabrics before working with them. So, if you have sensitive skin, get in the habit of pre-washing your fabrics. Some quilters swear by pre-washing, but others don’t. Quilters with sensitive skin really don’t have an option.

A Cool Quilting Website

If you are looking for some fun quilt blocks and instructions for sewing them together, visit: Ludlow Quilt and Sew.

Rosemary Smith is located in Ludlow, England and is developing her website to be a great resource for quilters like us.

In addition, Rose has patterns for other fun things like table runners, place mats, tote bags and more. And - as if that weren't enough, she also carries quilting products that everyone can use.

Rose has been a How-to-Quilt.com newsletter subscriber for many years, she started her website from scratch, and continues to do an amazing job in adding great information and patterns.

I suggest you get on her newsletter subscription list so you, too, can get quilting information you can use.

Ludlow Quilt and Sew in the UK

TheQuiltingCoach.com provides answers to your quilting questions; tips, techniques and shortcuts to make your quilting fun and easy; quilt block patterns with step-by-step instructions (including photographs of what to do); quilting projects; and tons more.

Beginning Quilters or more experienced quilters, we're anxious to have you join our community!

For this month, you can join for a special rate that will give you access to everything online in TheQuiltingCoach. You'll find hundreds of free quilt block patterns as well as quilt projects - including the new Jelly Roll / Bali Pop Quilt.

Visit: www.TheQuiltingCoach.com for more information. Click on this link for the special rate: Special Deal for TheQuiltingCoach.com

Postcard Quilts for the Troops

Halloween Roundup Next - Deadline September 29!

Wow! We sent more than 1,900 fabric postcards to the Middle East for the 4th of July!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this worthy event. I know it will mean a lot to the soldiers who receive those greetings of thanks on the 4th of July.

This year, we've decided not to do the Birthday Roundup, and focus our efforts on Halloween and the end of the year holidays.

So the next Roundup is Halloween -

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

Now you can send postcards for our Halloween Roundup. This is just a fun time of the year - with Trick or Treat fabric, memories of Halloween costumes and marching around the neighborhood begging for candy.

You can bring those memories back for the soldiers stationed abroad by sending them tiny quilts - fabric postcards decorated for Halloween.

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 Halloween deadline, get your cards to Diane by September 29

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

June Free Block Patterns

These free June quilt block patterns will make your summer quilting fun. These quilt blocks include easy blocks as well as some that are a little more difficult.

Click here to download your June FREE quilt block patterns