Resolutions for Quilters
and January Free Quilt Block Patterns

Greetings -

m mouse (aka Mickey) curled up in his chair in my office

It happens to everyone - human, cat, dog, bird - - - -

Even so, I wasn’t really prepared, and am sad to tell you that my dear m. mouse (aka Mickey) has gone to kitty heaven.

He had one of his normal fabulous days on Thursday, and hours after the webinar, my friend, Jim and I went out for dinner.

We checked his food and patted him on his little head before we left.

He was all curled up in “his” chair in my office, just as he had been during the webinar.

He opened his eyes, as if to say “good bye, see you later,” just as he always did when he was comfy and wasn’t ready to get up and eat or wander about.

A short hour and a half later, we got home to discover him leaning up against a wall, breathing through his mouth, fur all wet.

We rushed him up to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital, where all of his medical friends and records are.

After checking him over, the vet came back with the news. His heart murmur had caused a blood clot to pass from his heart into a vein in his hind quarters.

She carefully explained it all, and when she was finished, I knew it wasn’t good. “The prognosis isn’t good” was the final blow.

The percentage of recovery from his current painful condition was low and the chances of him living a normal life after coming home – assuming that could happen – were low as well.

As hard as it was to say “good bye” to him, in my heart I knew it was the best thing to do.

There are scores of people here who will miss him – including all of the wonderful helpers at the Vet Hospital.

The Veterinary Specialty Hospital here in San Diego is quite an amazing place. Mickey spent many hours there being handled with love and care during his various illnesses - mostly related to the difficulty we had regulating his insulin dosage.

The vets and technicians were always available by phone with advice and guidance when things didn't go quite right over the past 4+ years he was with me.

They care for many animals on an emergency basis as well as take care of patients with difficult health issues, like Mickey.

Last year they set up a foundation to help pet owners who can't afford treatment for their animals. If you are inclined, I'm sure that Mickey would be honored by a donation to the FACE Foundation.

The FACE Foundation funds life-saving veterinary care for beloved family pets.

Upcoming Webinars

Susie Blades, FabriCalc Webinar
Calculate Fabric Requirements for a Tennessee Waltz Quilt (1-1/2 hours)

This Wednesday, February 2nd, beginning at:

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

By popular demand, we have invited Susie to come back to show us a real-life example of how to figure out fabric requirements for an actual quilt - from start to finish.

Many of you wanted to know how to make the Tennessee Waltz quilt I have shown as a Christmas quilt. So, for the webinar, Susie has agreed to figure out how much fabric it would take to make a Tennessee Waltz quilt made in Valentine's colors.

I know, it's not Christmas. But, it is almost Valentine's Day. And whether you are using red and white or green and red and white, you'll be able to follow her example and learn how to use the FabriCalc to get your fabric requirements for any quilt you make.

Download: Tennessee Waltz Webinar Handout

Choosing Colors for Your Quilts Webinar

The new date for the Color Webinar is Thursday, February 17th, beginning at:

4pm Pacific Time
5pm Mountain Time
6pm Central Time
7pm Eastern Time

And should last for about 1-1/2 hours. This is a free webinar and, since it is all online, you can just sit back and relax with only your computer.

After this webinar, you should be able to choose the colors for your quilts with confidence - whether you use Joen Wolfrom's Color Tools or go it on your own.

It's free, buy you will need to register - just click through here: Color in Quilts Webinar

This one will begin at 4pm Pacific Time for the folks on the East Coast; and also I will do the entire presentation and then open it up for questions.

It should be jammed with great information about how to choose the colors for the fabrics in your quilts!

If you can't attend the event but want to get a copy of the replay on DVD, visit: Color in Quilts Webinar DVD

Happy Quilting!

penny halgren quilter

Master Quilter

Quilt as You Go Projects just got More Creative . . .

Why Settle for a Ho-Hum
Quilt as You Go Project
When You Can Create a Beautiful Quilt or
Wall Hanging that Will Amaze Your Family and Friends, and Leave Them Wondering
"How You Sewed it Together"

Sew it on the run or in the comfort of your home.
Finish your Quilt one block at a time, connect the blocks
with ease, and your project will be finished before you know it.

Sometimes as I stuff a quilt through that tiny space under the arm of my sewing machine, I wish the quilt were smaller. "It's just a twin size quilt. Why should it be so difficult to work on?"

Whether I crunch it, fan-fold it, or gather it up, even a twin size quilt is bulky to work with, and getting my machine quilting stitches even and straight is a frustrating task, at best.

Yes, I have and use all of the machine quilting shortcuts and techniques to make the job easier - including using my super-duper gloves, spray basting the quilt so I don't have pins to work around, and installing my special cardboard box platform so the quilt is fully supported as it goes under the needle.

But, I still get uneven stitches, quilting designs that only a mother could love (and you know that means they are really misshapen), occasional puckers and pleats on the back of the quilt, and - above all - frustration!

The problem, of course, is that I made the quilt to be the size I want, but it's all sewn together and layered, and now the center of the quilt is 50 inches away from the edge and I have to figure out how to fit the quilt in a hole the size only a mole could fit through.

And, if I am hand quilting, I end up with the entire quilt draped over my lap and couch. During the cold winter, that isn't such a problem, except when a cat wants to sleep on the ends of the quilt and it's time to shift the quilt around.

But when it's 103 degrees inside my house, those unquilted quilts sit there longingly - waiting for a cooler day.

On days like those, I keep reminding myself that making quilts is supposed to be fun and relaxing. But somehow only the thought of having the quilt finished and seeing the smile on the face of the recipient keeps me going.

A while back we introduced our Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor and several months later came out with our Creative Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor. These were two separate products because I discovered several other methods to complete Quilt as You Go projects, and wanted to give you complete information.

In the meantime, I realized that many quilters would like to get all of the information in one package instead of ordering it separately. As a result, I will be combining the products into one fabulous quilting resource.

But, before I do, I want to give those of you who have the Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor - and not the Creative Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor - a last chance to add it to your quilting toolbox and not end up with duplicate information - or not get everything you want.

For this week, you can get the Creative Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor at a $20 savings - no coupon code required.

Tell me more about Creative Quilt as You Go Techniques

Harriet Powers
The Mother of African American Quilting

Although only two of her quilts remain, Harriet Powers, known as “The Mother of African American Quilting,” played quite a role in the history of quilts.

Powers (1837-1911) was a Georgian, born into slavery and freed by the American Civil War. It is likely that her special training as a slave was in sewing and she probably learned her quilting and sewing techniques from her mother.

The two quilts that exist today as Powers’ creations were made after the Civil War, which ended in 1865. Powers used bold appliqués on these two quilts to relate Biblical and local stories. Even though she could not read or write, Powers knew the Bible stories from church songs.

She translated the stories beautifully, incorporating African styled art into the appliqués. One of the Bible quilts is made of 11 panels, each depicting a different story. One often shown is called “Adam and Eve Naming the Animals.”

Powers didn’t just retell Biblical stories in her quilt. The quilt that included the “Adam and Eve Naming the Animals” also recorded local history. In that quilt, Powers used applique to preserve local events such as a meteor shower and record breaking low temperatures one winter.

The quilt reflects the local culture, too. It has been recorded that the animals used in the quilt panel “Naming the Animals” were similar to animals that were featured in a circus that visited Athens after the Civil War. Incorporating those animals with the art style so iconic of the African culture, Powers' quilt is the perfect example of how heritage can be stitched into a quilt. Researchers also show that the size and arrangement of Powers’ quilt blocks are a visual representation of African syncopation.

Powers’ two quilts ended up in the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in a second-hand way. She actually sold both quilts.

One quilt was sold to Virginia Smith, an art teacher at the elite Lucy Cobb Institute for Women in Athens, Georgia. Smith saw the quilt on display at the 1886 Cotton Fair and asked then to purchase it. Powers, however, refused to sell.

From time to time, Smith would visit with Powers. Finally one day, after falling on difficult financial times, Powers offered to sell the quilt to Smith.

Smith, as an artist and teacher, knew the importance of the quilt’s heritage and had Powers tell her details about the quilt. She wrote all the details down and then wrote an 18-page history of the quilt. This is the quilt now displayed by the Smithsonian.

The background for Powers’ second quilt is less certain. It is known as fact that this quilt was commissioned by a group of women who were wives of faculty members at Atlanta University. The women then presented the quilt to Rev. Charles Cuthbert Hall in 1898.

The New York minister was the chairman of the board of trustees at the university. Maxim Karolik, a folk art collector, eventually acquired the quilt from Hall’s family and donated it to the museum in Boston.

Powers is an inspiration to all quilters today. From her, we should learn that our quilts may some day be viewed as a work of art worthy of museum display. Even if your quilts never end up in a museum, take time to document as much history as you can in your quilts.

Did you use a scrap of your daughter’s old scouting uniform in the quilt? If so, make that note. It may not be important to the rest of the world, but it does record family history.

That’s the second lesson we can learn from Powers. History lessons are not limited to pages of text books. As a quilter, we can incorporate historical events into our own quilt projects, just like Harriet Powers did!

New Year's Resolutions

Oh, I know - the first month of the New Year is already gone - but, there's still time for New Years Resolutions.

It’s often said that if you can keep a resolution through the month of January, you can continue it all year long. Keep the expectations you have for yourself reasonable and they are much easier to keep. Here are three resolutions that quilters can appreciate:

Organize your stash and threads. If you have mounds of fabric folded (sort of) that are spilling over your shelving, it isn’t too organized. Find a system that works for you and get it set up. Some quilters prefer neatly folding their fabrics and arranging them on shelves by colors. Some like to use drawers or baskets. Some prefer rolling fabrics to avoid crease marks. It’s all personal preference. The key is to find a system that’s easy for you.

Threads can become especially daunting if you don’t have proper storage. If you simply sit them on a shelf, it seems like they find a way to unwind and tangle with nearby spools. Use a spool rack of some sort. Make your own using a block of wood and nails or invest in a peg rack that either sits on a counter top or mounts on a wall.

The plastic thread boxes with lids are also nice, especially the clear ones. Just keep the threads trimmed close to the spool to help prevent unraveling. If it still vexes you, use a small piece of tape to secure the ends of the thread. Blue painter’s tape is easily removed, doesn’t leave behind a sticky residue, and is easy to see, too.

Make time for yourself. If 2010 left you with a lot of UFOs, then one of two things is true: you either tried to do too many projects for your quilting schedule, or you didn’t give yourself enough quilting time. If you realize you’re one of those people who try to do too much, cut back on quantity and focus on quality. Actually get those UFOs completed. On the other hand, if you simply don’t have time to quilt, make time. It can be a very relaxing hobby if you will allow yourself just a little time.

Dedicate the new year to recycling. Quilters are traditionally great recyclers. That’s why we hang onto our fabric stash! But for 2011, resolve to use your strings, your tiny scraps of batting for new projects. Also, consider recycling your old clothing for quilt projects, especially if they are too worn to be donated for others to wear.

Keeping simple resolutions will almost guarantee your success. As you keep these three easy resolutions, you will see that better organization, time management, and recycling issues will begin to fall into place as well!

Postcard Quilts for the Troops

Spring Roundup Next - Deadline March 25th!

Coming up quick!

Before the rush begins for the Spring holidays, why not take a minute to make a small fabric postcard for a soldier?

A few minutes of your time can make a world of difference to a soldier who is hanging out in the middle of a foreign country.

To date, quilters have made more than 17,000 fabric postcards for our troops. Diane sends these cards to soldiers who don't get much mail from home, and they are much appreciated.

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 Holiday deadline, please get your cards to Diane by March 25th and Thank You!

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

January Free Quilt Block Patterns

Click here to download your January FREE quilt block patterns


Cherry Basket	Columbian Star	Crossword Puzzle	Farmer's Daughter

Four Patch Log Cabin	King David's Crown	Main Street	Meeting House Square

	Road to Oklahoma	South Jersey Pines