Quilt Block Basics
and July Free Quilt Block Patterns

The winner of the Money Quilt - and a picture of the completed Money Quilt

Harness Horse warming up before the race.

Greetings Quilter -

The conference was last weekend, and the Money Quilt has found a wonderful new home.

Maritza Parra was the winning bidder - at $500! All of the proceeds are going to support New Vocations which re-trains and finds new homes for retired racehorses.

It was a wonderful event, with a Pirate Theme, hence the decor in the background - Pirate flag, ship, and - well - the pink guy, I can't explain exactly.

In any case, the event was fun and we even got to go to the Harness Races Saturday night. That was a first for me.

I've been around and love Thoroughbred Racing, but Harness racing was new, and quite fun.

And back to our quilting - this experience showed me that when you make a quilt or wall hanging for a charity or raffle, it helps to have it relate to the charity.

In this particular case, the theme of the event was about creating wealth, and all of the attendees were followers of Dan Kennedy, whose trademark is No B.S. (marketing training with no frills).

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!

EQ7 Quilt Design Software Webinar

The date is set - today, July 26th - beginning at:

5pm Pacific Time
6pm Mountain Time 7pm Central Time 8pm Eastern Time

. If you haven't registered yet, here is what's in store:

In this first session, you will see how to:

* Create a new project
* use the Block Library
* create a block and change the colors in the block
* work on a quilt
* save your project to the Sketchbook
* print the information you need to create a wonderful quilt or block

This will be the basics of designing blocks and quilts in the software, and although it sounds like a lot of topics, I believe we will be able to cover it in about an hour.

It will all be online, and free!

But you will need to register:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/433248985

Once you register, you will receive the login information as well as reminder emails.

No limitations - you just need to register. It doesn't require a purchase or anything.

This will be recorded and posted so you can watch at your leisure.

Amaze Your Friends with Your Speed!

In Less Than A Weekend, This Quick and Easy Flannel Baby Quilt
Will Be Finished and Ready to Give to a Beloved Baby in Your Life

Quick & Easy Flannel Baby Quilt

Quilting daughter, Stephanie, is getting married, and I would imagine that babies aren't far behind.

After all, she'll be almost 30 when she says "I do."

She and her beau, Cam, are doing some traveling, saving money for a house, securing their careers, and planning for their future, which includes babies (or so I'm told!).

I can hardly wait to start making baby quilts for a new baby in my family! I've made scores of them for other people's babies, and a few for my two, but that was ages ago.

If there is a new baby in your life, you know that a handmade flannel baby quilt is the perfect gift. It sends an ongoing message of love and caring.

And it is a practical item as well.

Unlike diapers or clothes, a baby quilt doesn't get used once and thrown away. Nor does it get outgrown! This gift will be cherished for a lifetime or more.

Learn all my shortcuts, secrets and speedy techniques so you can create this wonderful flannel baby quilt in no time at all.

Be among the first 47 to order, and you'll get a handy canvas project bag that you can keep for your quilting projects, or give along with the quilt so "mom" has something to store baby goodies in.

Tell me more - - -

Techniques - Quilt Block Designs

We are always adding beginner quilters to our community, and every once in a while it seems like a good idea to step back and talk about some of the basics in quilting.

A little review for the more experienced doesn't hurt, either!

Quilts and quilt designs are created by combining blocks.

A block is the basic unit of a quilt top.  Typically blocks are square.  They can be made any size, and frequently a quilt is made using many blocks with the same design.  They can be pieced together from smaller pieces (called patches) or could be appliqué.  It is also possible that a block could be a solid piece of fabric.

The smaller components of a block are called patches.  They can be many different shapes – triangles, rectangles, squares, diamonds, or curves – but the idea is to sew patches together so you end up with a square.

By changing the shapes of the patches within a block (i.e., substituting triangles for squares) and/or changing the placement of the colors of the pieces (i.e., switching light fabric for dark fabric), you can create a whole new quilt design while keeping construction of your quilt the same.

Simple is the name of the game for many quilters. Using one or two shapes for all of the pieces in your quilt makes it easy to sew; and squares and triangles offer many advantages in terms of simplicity. As a beginner quilter, making the sewing simple gives you the opportunity to focus on learning and practicing basic quilt making techniques that you will use as you develop your craft.

Interesting variations in quilt blocks are achieved through placement of the fabrics in addition to how each patch is divided.

A simple nine patch quilt block can be used as an example of how different a block can look just by changing the placement of colors within the nine patches of one block.

A two color Irish Chain

Using only two colors of fabric in alternating squares creates a design like a checkerboard. With the same nine patch of two colors of fabric, using only square patches in each block, you can create a pattern that looks like a big X in your quilt simply by placing the colors in a particular position in each block. Thus, the Irish Chain, and variations of it.

Getting a little more complex, you can take some of the square patches in the blocks and divide them in half from corner to corner (commonly called half-square triangles in the quilting world), and create a star design.

Using the same half-square triangles and square patches, by simply placing the fabrics in a specific design, your checkerboard or square turns into a basket, or leaf shape, a bow tie shape, or even a series of diamonds.

Another type of triangle that is easy to make is a quarter-square triangle.  That triangle is made by cutting a square patch into half-square triangles, and then cutting the half-square triangles in half once more, thus creating four small isosceles triangles.

You can add complexity to your design by increasing the number of colors in your quilt, and your design changes once again.  What once was a black and white checkerboard can transform into a block that looks like the letter H.

Depending on your color selection and placement, your block can take on a three-dimensional look, for example the Attic Windows block.

And all of those design changes can be created by using only three basic shapes – squares, half-square triangles and quarter-square triangles – plus a little imagination in the placement of your colors.

Once you begin to sew your blocks together, they can take on a completely different look.  For example, you could take blocks of two simple half-square triangles, place them in columns, alternate the direction of the cut of the triangle, and create a quilt that looks like columns of zigzags.  Using the same blocks, placing them so all of the diagonals are facing the same direction, your quilt could look like an old-fashioned scrap quilt.

By understanding the basics, you can easily see how to make a quilt from designs you see in places like floors! This is a tile floor on the way into my hairdresser. This could easily be turned into a quilt using simple square and half-square triangle patches.

Tile floor which could be made into a quilt using simple squares and half-square triangle patches.

The QuiltBlockLibrary.com offers a variety of Quilt Block Patterns that use just squares and half-square triangles. Here are just a few:

Bonny Scotland Quilt Block Although it looks complicated, this 4 patch quilt block is made of simple half-square triangles (squares divided in half diagonally to make two triangles.)	Amish Basket Quilt Block This simple 5 patch block is made of half-square triangles and squares.	Calico Spools Quilt Block This easy-to-make, traditional 9 patch is made from just squares and half-square triangles.

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

These free July 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 July FREE quilt block patterns

Broken Paths	Checkerboard Quilt	Dolly Madison's Star	Fancy Stripe
Hand Weave	Linking Blocks	Red, White and Blue	Shooting Squares
	Star Diamond	Uncle Sam's Favorite

Click here to download your July FREE quilt block patterns