Tips for Using Templates for Rotary Cutting - November 2008"A good friend is like a warm quilt wrapped around the heart."
Greetings Quilter - In this week's edition of the November newsletter, we explore how to use templates for cutting fabric with a rotary cutter. If you use any quilting software or print out templates on paper, but are limited by the size of the paper – i.e., the whole template doesn’t fit on a sheet of paper, here is an option: try folding the template and your fabric in half.
Not wanting to take the time to glue the two pieces together, I folded the template in what would be half, if the whole thing were there. You have to be a bit imaginative, but when you cut the template out, you can probably line up most of the sides and corners, as you can see in the picture on the left. Cut your fabric, and then unfold it. You should have a complete shape, including seam allowances – ready to stitch into your block.
You can cut multiple layers at once. I tend to cut only 4 layers of fabric; especially if the shape requires that I turn it around on my cutting mat. With four layers, you will be able to cut 2 of these shapes at the same time.
Penny’s Postcard Posse – is still Rounding up fabric postcards to send to troops in Iraq Kudos to Diane Malaznik for handling our Roundups! She has been gathering the cards, taking the photos, posting them on the site, and sending the cards to the troops in Iraq. It is huge job, with more than 2000 cards gathered for our Halloween Roundup alone. The next Roundup is for Christmas, and the deadline is approaching fast, so take a few minutes out now and whip up a card for a solider and send it to Diane: Diane Malaznik Thanks to everyone who has sent in cards. We have now sent more than 10,000 cards to soldiers serving our country. You all should be proud of yourselves! We've added some free patterns for Christmas-type fabric postcards to the QuiltBlockLibrary.com. These are fairly easy to make and include foundation patterns, if you like that better. So, head on over there, get a pattern and make a card to send to the troops. There's still time!
The Ultimate How to Bind a Quilt DVD Mentor Do you have quilts that are waiting to be finished because you want them to have smooth, mitered corners but you've been frustrated in the past, and need some help getting those mitered corners "right?" Possibly it isn't the corners that are frustrating you, it's how to finish the ends of the binding, making a smooth bias seam, so there's no bulge in your binding because the ends overlap and you just stuffed them inside and stitched the opening closed - hoping nobody would notice. Our newest DVD mentor explains all. You will learn 6 different ways to bind your quilts with perfection - you'll have smooth and square mitered corners; hand sewn blind stitches that are completely hidden; a smooth closing where the beginning and end of the binding meets; and even edges all the way around your quilt. Using this resource, your binding worries will be over forever, and all of your binding will be beautiful and easy to make. Visit www.HowToBindAQuilt.com to get all of the details. Invest in this resource, and all of your projects will have beautiful binding to finish them off. A Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe This recipe comes from an old recipe book - Fast and Fancy Cookery - Recipes For Those Who Work From Nine To Five and Still Enjoy Entertaining At  Seven, With Hints On The Gracious Feeding of the Unexpected But Welcome Guest.  BY John Philips Cranwell (for those who were on the Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation with Sylvia Landman Rasmusses, this book is in the public domain.) TURKEY PROSCIUTTO (or make it with Ham or Leftover Turkey!)  serves 4 Turkey Prosciutto is one of the finest of poultry dishes and one of the easiest to prepare. You will find it listed under various names on the menus of many fine restaurants and in most cookbooks. Normally it is made with Virginia ham, but by replacing that with prosciutto you will subtly alter its flavor—for the better I think— and have an estimable delicacy to serve at formal luncheons or dinners. In addition, this recipe provides a splendid means of using leftover turkey but is not limited to that source of supply, as sliced, cooked breast of turkey can be had at any good delicatessen. I strongly recommend that you make the sauce from scratch with turkey broth, which is available in tins - or save it from roasting your turkey. If for any reason you prefer not to make it that way, you may use condensed cream of chicken soup thinned with a little cream. Frozen broccoli spears will be almost indistinguishable from fresh broccoli. No salt is required except for a pinch or two in the sauce, and if you use prosciutto ham you will need no pepper. The turkey slices should be about a quarter of an inch thick, and the ham, of course, extremely thin.
Slice the mushrooms thin. Melt three tablespoons butter or turkey fat in a skillet and when hot, sauté the mushrooms until golden. Heat the turkey broth. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan; add the flour and make a roux, cooking it slowly and stirring constantly until it turns slightly brown. Remove from fire and gradually pour in the hot broth, stirring the while, to make a sauce. When the sauce has come to a boil, add the sherry and the sautéed mushrooms. Lightly grease a flat baking or ovenproof serving dish. Place four slices of ham in the bottom, and a slice of turkey breast on each slice of ham. Cover the turkey with a second slice of ham, and put a generous spear of broccoli on each. Cover the whole with the sauce. Put the dish into a pre-heated moderate oven (350 degrees), and cook until it is heated through, ten to fifteen minutes. (You may wish to garnish the dish with two or three whole, cooked cranberries for each serving.) Serve very hot. You will need no green vegetable with this turkey. For starch I would suggest small rolls or French bread. See you next week - Happy Quilting!
A Reminder - Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation On November 11, Penny will run a trial webinar. This format will allow us to bring you pictures and video along with the Telephone Conversation. Instead of testing this out on a guest, I decided to give you some information about quilt binding. This is a popular topic that quilters usually have a bunch of questions about. So this will be your chance to jump in and watch the presentation and then ask your questions. You will hear more about this later this week. On November 19, my friend Rosie Gonzales, will join us for our Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation. Rosie owns easily one of the largest, if not the largest, quilt shops in Southern California – especially in terms of numbers of bolts of fabric (more than 20,000). Rosie is a quilter and host of the Quilting with Rosie radio show on WS Radio (www.WSRadio.com), and can be heard on the internet every Wednesday. She also enjoys embroidery. This Conversation will be most excellent. Her shop website is Rosie's Calico Cupboard New Deal for Eavesdropping Quilters :We now have a new special level of membership in TheQuiltingCoach.com for the Official Eavesdropping Quilters Club. This level of membership gives you access to all of the same information Eavesdropping Quilters have gotten in the past – the Telephone Worksheet, the Transcript of each call and a copy of the CD recording delivered right to your snail mailbox. Now, with membership in TheQuiltingCoach.com, in addition to the special notices of telephone calls, telephone worksheets and transcripts, you will get the full unedited recording of the call online. This is the from-start-to-finish call and includes all of the questions from quilters. This recording is posted a few days after the call, so you can listen to it on your computer immediately and not have to wait until the CD recording comes in the mail. Members will still get the CD in the mail just has before. In addition, you will have access to everything in a special download area on TheQuiltingCoach.com. That is where the transcripts and telephone worksheets are posted, and in addition, there are hundreds of quilt block patterns and step by step instructions for quilts and other projects. Plus, there is a search engine on the site that makes it really easy to find things you are looking for. I'm sure you will agree that this is a great deal - you are getting more information for the same price, and still getting the CD recording in your snail mailbox. And, the first 30 days are free, so you can test it out. Because I want you to see for yourself how good this is, by signing up for membership in TheQuiltingCoach.com at this new membership level during November, you get the first 30 days to give it a try on our nickel. And, the current rate for membership in the Eavesdropping Quilters Club remains the same as it is right now - $24 per month. And you get the Telephone Worksheet, transcript of each of the calls, and the CD recording in the mail. But this deal is only for a limited time. After the first of the year, new members in the Official Eavesdropping Quilters Club will not get the first 30 days free and will be paying a higher rate. And, once you sign up, the $24 rate will be yours as long as you remain a member. It can never be increased. So, you'll want to take care of this soon, otherwise you will miss out on this deal, and end up paying more to get access to this information. When the Official Eavesdropping Quilters Club began, the plan was to have one interview a month. Because there is so much information and so many quilters to interview, scheduling them has resulted in having 2 interviews for most months. I love providing all of this information for you. But, as you can imagine, this means that the cost per month is double! And I have continued to maintain the cost to my loyal Official Eavesdropping Quilters the same low $24. By joining TheQuiltingCoach.com as an Official Eavesdropping Quilter today, you will guarantee that same low $24 with all of the extra benefits of membership in TheQuiltingCoach.com. Here is the special link to use for your Official Eavesdropping Quilters Club membership. Take care of this today, and you will be sure to hear every word Rosie says on November 19: |
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