June 2008 Newsletter

This issue includes:

1)  A Tidbit of History – Raised Quilts

2)  Tools, Tricks and Quilting Tips – Soak for your quilts
   
3)  Featured Block of the Month – Windmill
   
4)  Recipe for Quilters – BANANA ICE CREAM
   
5)  Newsletter News – Quilting Business on a Shoestring Seminar - August 1-3

6)  Opening Soon – www. QuiltBlockLibrary.com

7)  Fabric Postcards for the Troops – Round ‘em up and send ‘em in before June 8

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These are also known as Swiss patchwork, and were made by stuffing the patches with “wadding” to puff them up. Usually large patches of hexagons or diamonds were used, and generally only one shape in the quilt.

The shapes were cut to size in a quilt top fabric and a lining fabric. A small slit was cut in each of the lining fabric pieces. And then the lining pieces were sewn to the quilt top pieces. All of the pieces were sewn together, forming the quilt. Then wadding (or stuffing) was packed into each of the patches and the slits were sewn shut.

After all of that was done, a backing fabric was sewn onto the quilt.

Another plan was to leave one side of each of the patches open for stuffing, and then hand sew the sides closed after they were stuffed.

When engineering son, Bubba, was a baby, I made one of those quilts. Polyester fabric and polyester batting, it was. That was way before I understood the importance of using cotton fabric for quilts. In addition to it taking a very long time to complete, there were two basic problems with the quilt.

Using polyester fabric made it difficult to fold over the seam allowances to stitch the open side closed. And using pieces of batting meant that I had to cut them to fit, which took a bunch of time. And the first time I washed it, all of the batting bunched up in each patch, and each one looked like a little mini-hot dog inside a closed bun. The directions didn’t say anything about securing the batting inside the patch, and I wasn’t smart enough to figure out what would happen and use stuffing instead – or quilt it!

Oh well, the polyester will make the quilt last forever.

2) Tools, Tricks, and Quilt Tips – Soak for your quilts

While this is not really a “tool” to help you make your quilts, it is a sure thing for keeping your quilts fresh and allowing them to last forever – or until some child wears them out from dragging them around! Originally developed for the knitters of the world, this fabulous product transfers easily over to the quilting world.

The best part about this product – you don’t rinse it out! Just soak your quilt in a tub using a tiny bit of this mixed with water (cold, warm, whatever you like) for 15 minutes, then squeeze the water out. Let it dry, and you’re set.

Washing a huge, big quilt? Put it inside a laundry basket (with holes) in the tub. Fill the tub with water and a teaspoon full of Soak. After 15 minutes, drain the water, and gently squeeze the quilt inside the laundry basket. Then lift the basket out of the tub, roll the quilt out where you will lay it out to dry. No stretching, no dripping. Just a nice, fresh quilt.

Jacqueline Sava, President of Soak, will join us in a future Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation to tell us more about this great product.  Watch for details.  The company website is: http://www.soakwash.com/

3)  Featured Block of the Month - Windmill

As described in American quilts, Quilting, & Patchwork; The complete Book of History, Technique & Design by Adelaide Hechtlinger, published in 1974, “the windmill is made by cutting four squares of a light four-patch and those of a dark four-patch diagonally across and then combining the resulting triangles in an alternating color arrangement. If one stares at the design for a while, all the little “windmills” seem to revolve and give a pin-wheel effect.”

I’m glad I have a picture – although the description is accurate, like they say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In this case, it’s worth only 31 words!

Download the Windmill Quilt Block Pattern

Download your 10 FREE Patterns here: June 2008 Patterns

4) Recipes for Quilters – BANANA ICE CREAM

     1 quart of cream
     6 large bananas
   1/2 pound of sugar
     1 teaspoonful of vanilla

Put half the cream and all the sugar over the fire and stir until the
sugar is dissolved; take from the fire, and, when perfectly cold, add the
remaining half of the cream. Freeze the mixture, and add the bananas mashed
or pressed through a colander. Put on the lid, adjust the crank, and turn
until the mixture is frozen rather hard.

This quantity will serve ten persons.

5) Newsletter News – Quilting Business on a Shoestring Seminar - August 1-3

Whether you are looking for spare cash to keep your fabric stash exciting, a vacation or vacation home, or a full-time venture, the Quilting Business on a Shoestring Seminar is the place to be.

From August 1-3, you will learn everything you need to know about how to start an online quilting business. It could be a business selling from your own website, on eBay, or learn how to combine both strategies to get the most from your business.

Registration begins NOW, and participants who invest in their future before the 4th of July can bring a buddy for FREE.

Get all of the details: Quilting Business on a Shoestring Seminar

Join a motivated group of quilters who are excited about the possibilities of making money doing something they love, and shortcut your learning by learning from my mistakes.

6)  Coming Soon – www. QuiltBlockLibrary.com

Plans are underway to open up what will become the biggest resource for quilt block patterns on the internet. And, these patterns will be in the most usable style. You will be able to print templates in any of the most common sizes for that quilt block, rotary cutting layouts will be included, and the full-color pattern will use real fabrics, not just color blobs.

Featured quilt blocks will offer a free pattern and will include a video demonstrating how to sew the block together, in our traditional step-by-step format. Videos will be posted on the site, so if you want to come back 6 months later and see how to make a block, it will be there for you.

Look for more information coming soon – Charter memberships will be offered available.

7)  Postcard Quilts for the Troops

The 4th of July is coming up quick. Let’s get thousands of fabric postcards for this 4th of July to send to troops stationed in Iraq.

We’ve gotten some great publicity around the country for our project, and look forward to seeing your card in our mailbox.

These tiny quilt greetings are easy to make, and free patterns are available at www.TheQuiltingCoach.com or on our website dedicated to this project – www.Fabric-Postcards.com. 

Visit the postcard site, and check out the pictures of other Penny’s Postcard Posse Roundups. We will post pictures of cards as they arrive in the mail.

Remember, any design, any size; write a message, or leave it blank. No need to add postage, we will deliver all of the cards together to the base. They love to hear from us!

Check out pictures of the fabric postcards already delivered:

http://fabric-postcards.com/

Please send your cards to me at:

Penny Halgren
7925 Pasadena Ave.
La Mesa, CA 91941

Have a fabulous Month!

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
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www.Fabric-Postcards.com
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