Essential Quilting Tools and January Free Quilt Block Patterns
"The great gift of the human imagination is that it has no limits or ending."
Greetings Quilter - The end of 2009 and the very beginning of 2010 have already made their mark in history. New Year's Eve brought a Blue Moon, which in itself only occurs every 2.7 years. But the last time it happened on New Year's Eve was 1991 - 19 years ago. And January 2 brought a palindrome date. Palindromes are usually thought of as words or phrases that read the same backwards and forwards. Words like "mom" and "kayak" and phrases like "Madam I'm Adam" come to mind. I was tuned in to the dates where the numbers are all the same - like 09/09/09; and this year 10/10/10 (that looks like fun!) But, I hadn't really thought about 01/02/2010 as being something special. But when you take the slashes out of the date, you get 01022010 - both frontward and backward. How cool is that? Hours after I read the newspaper article on Saturday that informed me about this wonderful event, I glanced across the room to see our tresuured, m. mouse, enjoying the sunshine.
Engineering son, Bubba, and I spent a few hours on Saturday stripping the wall paper from the guest bathroom. (It's quite wonderful having kids that create such projects!) Anyway, m. mouse had found a spot to sun himself and his reflection. Or, was he able to increase the sun coming to him because of the reflection. Either way, he seemed to be pretty happy. But, you say "how does that relate to anything having to do with a quilt?" Well, if you are designing a quilt, using a mirror
And now for the rest of the news - - Happy Quilting!
Featured Book of the Month - Quilter's Favorites - Pieced Points & Stars
Every once in a while, quilters get lucky and a book publisher decides to put together a book with quilts designed by several popular quilters. As you can imagine, the benefit is that we get the best of the best. Because it is a book publisher, they know who are the most popular quilters, and which are the most popular books and quilt designs. And this month is one of those months! Our friends at C&T Publishing have come out with a beautiful collection of Quilter's Favorite quilts - chosen because they are popular quilts designed by popular quilters. And, yes there is a theme. But this theme is so broad that the collection of quilts will amaze every quilter who peeks inside. Quilter's Favorites includes instructions for 19 spectacular, yet easy, quilts from our favorite authors, including Alex Anderson, Piece O'Cake Designs, Jean Wells and Carol Doak. And each one of the quilts features points, peaks or spikes. How fun is that? Just think, you'll get stars (big ones and little ones), Mariner's Compass quilts, basket quilts and pyramid quilts. You can see the fun star on the cover, looking like an Ohio Star with uneven points - done using plaid fabric! Check out the Mariner's Compasses - layered - and the pyramids using fabric to make them look 3 dimensional. And that's just the beginning. There are other quilt designs that are more traditional and rely on placement of the fabric to create the spark in the quilt. And you get the tips and techniques you need to choose the perfect fabric and put it in the right place to make your quilt stand out from the crowd. I can't wait to get my hands on this! As a matter of fact, I was so excited about this brand new quilting resource that I chose it to be the Penny's Inner Circle Book of the Month in www.TheQuiltingCoach.com which means that members will receive this FREE as a benefit of their membership. Reserve your copy of this brand new quilting resource - Quilter's Favorites - Pieced Points & Stars
Member Quilt of the Month
This comes to us from Quilter Chris Nigh. It was made using Harley Davidson t-shirts, which were brilliantly set in Attic Windows, making it look like the shirts were inside a shop. Setting the blocks that way also makes them more stable in the quilt. Nice work, Chris! P.S. If you have a quilt to share, send a picture of it to us at: info@how-to-quilt.com Tools for Quilting A new year means that many new quilting adventures lie ahead. “Adventure” is such a funny word – it can mean an enjoyable excursion or a trying tribulation. To make sure your 2010 quilting adventures are on the enjoyable side, start the year off right by making sure you have the right tools for your type of quilting. If you use your home sewing machine to quilt your projects (or if using it is one of your resolutions for the New Year) make sure you have the right sewing machine attachments. If you plan to do any free motion quilting on your sewing machine, you need to have a darning foot. The darning foot will bounce up and down with the needle, just like the walking foot. But the darning foot requires that your machine’s feed dogs be set in the down position. Having the feed dogs down allows you to move the quilt sandwich under the needle in any direction you choose. You are “free” to control the “motion” of your quilting, hence the name free motion. Don’t toss out your walking foot all together. You will still use your walking foot when quilting straight lines. Just remember to put the feed dogs back up so they will help guide the fabric under the needle. If you are not sure what the feed dogs are, take a look at your sewing machine. The feed dogs are the vertical bars that look like they have little teeth on them. Those little teeth protrude up to the fabric when you place it under your needle, then they help gently drag it forward between stitches. If you plan to add rag quilting to the list of techniques you want to try in the coming year, be sure to get a pair of sharp snippers for your rag quilt project. As you know, rag quilting relies on little snips placed perpendicular to your seams. You can cut those snips with scissors, but if you have a sizeable project, your fingers will cramp. The snippers are different in that instead of the regular cutting motion with your fingers, they fit into the palm of your hand and rely on squeezing – almost like a stapling process. In addition to saving you some pain, they will save time, too. You’ll need to use the right thread for your quilting needs as well. For instance, hand quilters and machine quilters do not use the same threads. You may also run into occasions when you need a water soluble thread. If you need help selecting the right one, ask your fabric or craft store clerk. You can also get plenty of thread tips online. Probably the most important tool you will need for quilting is knowledge. You gain that with more practice, obviously. You can also learn from the experience of others. If you run into a quilting question, check the archived frequently asked questions at www.AskPennyHalgren.com. There are lots of answers there. If you see a question that isn’t answered, send it in. Have a fun year of quilting! There are plenty of new techniques and tools on the market to try. Remember to check the shelves of your local bookstores for new quilting books, too. Rosie at Rosie's Calico Cupboard, can help you with a quilt design mirror - rozgonzalez@cox.net
Postcard Quilts for the Troops Valentines' Day Roundup Next - Deadline January 21!
With all of the end of the year holidays fast approaching, Penny's Postcard Posse is wrapping it up for the year 2009. This was a most excellent year for sending fabric postcards to the troops abroad. Thanks to the hundreds of quilters who contributed thousands of postcards to send, and thanks, too, to Diane who continues to pour her heart into the collection and distribution of postcards. But our work is not over. There are still men and women who appreciate hearing from us, and - as promised - our effort will continue as long as there are troops fighting in the Middle East. During the year end holidays, take a few minutes to make a card or two. And to get you started, download a package of free Heart Quilt Block patterns. These are full size patterns that can easily be made into small fabric postcards. The directions are very easy. You’ll find free designs to get you started at www.fabric-postcards.com. You'll find tons of free fabric postcard patterns at: www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com Please send your cards to:
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 Special Note - we are in the process of changing the Picture Gallery on the Fabric-Postcards.com site. It may take a few days, so bear with us. Not to worry - We have all of the pictures and will get everything squared away soon.
January Quilt Block Patterns The November selection of free quilt block patterns includes a variety of 4 patch quilt blocks, ranging from the easy to make to some that are a little more complex. Click here to download your January FREE quilt block patterns
Click here to download your January FREE quilt block patterns |
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