Summer Quilts
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| Jelly Roll / Bali Pop Quilt with inner borders added. |
Greetings Quilter -
The center of the Jelly Roll quilt is now sewn together and I am in the process of adding borders.
The first border I added was a narrow border that will separate the quilt center from the other borders.
I pondered whether to use a light fabric, dark fabric, or medium fabric. As you can imagine, the light blended in with the light fabric in the outside of the blocks on two sides of the quilt, while the dark blended in with the dark fabric in the blocks.
In the end, I added narrow strips of light to the dark two sides of the quilt and dark fabric onto the two sides with light fabric on the outside.
Each of these strips was 1/2 the width of the pre-cut strip, making the border slightly less than 1 inch wide.
The next border will be a type of Seminole strip made with all values of my fabric - dark, medium and light.
This is a little more complicated to make, so watch for progress next week.
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!
Brand New - EQ7 Quilt Design Software
 This brand new quilting resource will make designing a quilt fun and easy. |
A few years ago we broght you E6 and included online classes showing you how to use this fantastic software to design quilts.
Late last week I discovered that the company has updated their software, and now EQ7 is just about ready for prime time.
The thing is that they are letting us in on a pre-order deal.
And the price on this is just amazing.
By getting in on the pre-order, you'll save enough to buy yards and yards of high quality quilting fabric.
And by investing in this software, you'll save years of time and untold aggravation (however that is measured!).
But time is limited. The reservation deadline is Sunday, May 30. Their deadline is firm.
Find out more about EQ7 - I will be doing lessons in TheQuiltingCoach.com, so you may want to take advantage of the special membership rate.
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
Summer Quilts
If you are like a lot of quilters, you will spend your summer quilting projects for the upcoming fall and winter holidays. But if you happen to be creating a summery quilt, there are lots of great fabrics from which to choose.
Bright colors are always fun to use in summer quilts. Bright pinks, teals, aquas and yellows are popular. Also watch for fun colors like electric blue, lime green and orange to jazz up your quilt.
Stripes seem to never go out of summer style. Maybe that’s because they remind us of those woven lawn chairs we like to lounge in. Or maybe it’s because they are simple…just like summer life should be.
There are lots of prints that make gorgeous summer quilts. Hibiscus is the summer flower that always seems to make its way into summer fabrics. If you like mixing prints, try mixing a fabric with large hibiscus flowers with a fabric with small prints of the same flower.
Also look for prints that feature summer motifs. In addition to the hibiscus prints, you will likely find prints with the sun, flip flops, and beach themes.
Your summer quilts don’t have to be stuck in the “bright” mode. As you select fabrics for your summer quilt, think about the image you would like to evoke with it. If you want it to be peaceful and relaxing, look for fabrics that create that feeling.
Colors that sound more like a summer treat – peach, melon, cucumber, sherbet, and sorbet – all make beautiful summer quilts, too. Look for fabric patterns such as solids, stripes, dots, and prints in these colors to make a summer quilt with a relaxing theme.
The blues and greens of the ocean are always popular color choices for summer quilts. With these colors, you will find a choice of bright and more subdued, giving you more options for the quilt you make.
Black seems to be a color that is considered all seasons now. Summer use of black is generally a white background fabric with a black print. These prints often incorporate other summer colors – hot pinks, red, vivid blues and greens. Incorporating fabrics like these into your summer quilt will be very trendy.
If you are looking for appliqué ideas for summer quilts, just think of the things that you enjoy most about the season. Create an appliqué quilt that features the sun and a flower garden. Applique a sand castle and beach scene. How about fish or other ocean creatures?
Think about the foods of summer for appliqué ideas. Melons and ice cream would make cute appliqué quilts!
There are summer holidays to generate ideas, too. Fireworks, flags and patriotic characters also make good summer appliqué themes.
Summer quilts don’t have to be nearly as thick as most of us make our wintry quilts. Choose a thin batting, one that won’t distract from your summer fabrics when quilted.
If you haven’t given bamboo batting a try, maybe your summer quilt is the perfect time to experiment with it. If you would like to be “greener” with your quilting, bamboo is a fast-growing sustainable resource that offers natural moisture wicking and odor fighting qualities.
A quilt made with bamboo batting would stand up to humid summer days (if that’s what you experience in your area), sweat, and many of the other not so pleasant smells of summer. Even with those qualities, bamboo is just as washable and dryable as cotton or polyester fiber fills.
Quilt your summer project lightly, giving the fabric room to relax and not be so stiff. That’s kind of what summer is about, isn’t it?
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| Maybe someday I will get this summer-y quilt finished! |
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
These free May 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 May FREE quilt block patterns
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Buried Treasure |
Fish in the Dish |
May Basket |
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul |
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| Rock Garden | Spirit of St. Louis | Stepping Stones | The Pinwheel Quilt |
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| Wild Goose Chase | Wisconsin |
Click here to download your May FREE quilt block patterns
Hundreds of quilt block patterns to choose from. Patterns include full size templates and rotary cutting layouts. Click Here
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