August 18, 2011
This year the United States is recognizing the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
You’ve probably heard about quilts being used to provide secret messages to slaves hoping to escape the South.
Today we’ll talk about some other aspects of Civil War quilting, including patterns, fabrics and money-raising uses:
http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/4091-civil-war-quilts.php
Happy Quilting!
Penny
July 9, 2010
The invention of the rotary cutter made life so much easier for quilters. Anyone who has ever tried to cut multiple layers of quilt pieces from fabric with scissors will testify to that!
Using a rotary cutter, also called a rotary wheel, makes it possible to keep your layers of fabric straight and aligned while slicing right through.
And it’s always important to observe all safety rules when working with your quilting tools. After all, we use some pretty sharp stuff! The biggest sharp item that comes to mind is the rotary cutter.
You’ll find lots of information about how to use and maintain your rotary cutter when you visit:
http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/6049-rotary-cutter-safety.php
Happy Quilting!
Penny
June 3, 2010
Sure, you can go buy charm squares – there’s a huge selection of charm fabrics out there. You could also take a more fun approach to growing your charm collection by organizing a charm swap.
The first step is to determine the size of the charms you will swap. Most charms you get in quilt shops are cut into 5 inch squares, and often are tied with a bow. But you can create your own by simply cutting squares of fabric – really any size.
Years ago at a workshop, the supply list included a bunch of squares of all different fabrics. Little did I know that we were going to trade fabrics with other members of the class.
It was great fun to decide which little squares I wanted for my quilt and watch other quilters sort through my fabrics to get the look they wanted for their quilt.
The thing is you don’t need to attend a workshop to trade fabric. All you need is a willing group of quilters – a guild, neighbors, a church group, even pen pal quilters.
As the organizer, you get to set up the “rules.”
Exchanging squares of fabric is fun and expands your fabric stash at little or no cost. To find out more about quilt charm squares and how to set up an exchange, visit:
http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1044-fabric-charm-pack.php
Happy Quilting!
Penny
March 23, 2010
m.mouse here, the official http://www.how-to-quilt.com diabetic siamese kitty. well, i’ve got to tell you, the next couple of weeks will be very interesting.
goose creek quilt block
penny and her friend, jim, decided to take a cruise through the beautiful waters of mexico for 11 days. can you believe that? 11 days on a big boat (whatever that is).
with my kitty brain, i can’t even imagine what all of that means to them. but, what it means to me is that i get to stay with quilting daughter stephanie, so i’m sure to get my insulin on time by loving hands without “breaking the bank,” to quote penny.
it’s all very complicated, and i don’t want to bore you with the details, but i’m here in beautiful lomita, california, enjoying the run of stephanie and cam’s house, without my buddy, jackson.
it’s going to be very fun, i can tell already. i love to explore a new house and find all of the tiny spaces to hide. but enough of that fun.
the best part is that penny left me in charge of the daily email. that means that i get to pick topics i think are fun, and the first one is about landscape quilts.
landscape quilts are just what you might think they are – quilts or wall hangings that look like a landscape.
you might have heard penny talk about one of her landscape quilts that didn’t quite work the way she wanted it to because she couldn’t get the right shades of fabric.
but there is another one she made that is really fun. it’s a wall hanging that has a bunch of appliqué animals – a giraffe, a couple of birds (yum, yum) and a lion (whoops, better forget the birds).
penny made it for one of quilting daughter stephanie’s teachers who absolutely loved it. who wouldn’t? and it’s a good example of a different type of landscape quilt.
you can see pictures of both of these quilts as well as learn more about landscape quilts when you visit:
http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1180-landscape-quilts.php
happy quilting!
m. mouse
the official http://www.how-to-quilt.com diabetic siamese kitty
January 25, 2010
Tea Party Quilt Block
The rain here in Southern California last week was truly amazing.
And for the time being, it is gone. I feel fortunate that I was able to keep safe and dry, avoiding all mudslides and fallen trees.
An interesting event of the week was my friend Jim’s dog, who decided to sit out in the rain and get completely soaked. A big towel and hair dryer were all that was needed to get him dry, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a dog that soaked outside of a bathtub!
It was a perfect week for making progress on quilting projects – as long as you didn’t run out of fabric and need to make a quick trip to the fabric shop between rain showers.
Last week also saw the introduction of our newest quilting resource, the Stack and Whack DVD Mentor. In this project, you see how to take squares of fabric (I used layer cake fabric, or you can cut squares from your fabric), stack them up, whack them, shuffle the patches around and create a beautiful quilt or wall hanging.
This DVD Mentor also shows how to complete this Stack and Whack quilt as a Quilt as You Go project.
Plus there is a ton of information about choosing the right colors for your quilt – including techniques for telling the true value of the fabrics in your quilt.
The Special Introductory Offer has been extended through today, Monday, so click through and reserve your copy before the price goes up.
http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/tea-party.php
Also included in this week’s news:
Happy Quilting!
Penny
January 18, 2010
Since this is not only the beginning of a new year, but the beginning of a new decade, why not start out with a Grand Quilting Resolution?
This could be the year you stick with a block of the month – creating a block each month this year, and then finishing the quilt by the end of the year!
What’s stopping you?
If you are anything like I am, it’s that I can’t seem to find a block of the month project that interests me. It never occurred to me that I could create my own block of the month. Now how limited is that thinking?
But, really, it’s easy!
Just choose a theme – holidays, styles of block, or something else that interests you – then find some blocks. You could even limit your quilt to 9 blocks and give yourself a couple of months to sew the quilt together and finish it in time for the end of the year holidays.
This could be an excellent opportunity to finish a grand-scale project for a Christmas gift, without having the overwhelming feel of a grand-scale project, since you will be making your quilt one block at a time.
You’ll discover how to put your Block of the Month project together when you read this week’s news:
http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/cherry-basket.php
Dorothy's Antique Quilt
This week quilter Dorothy sent in pictures of a beautiful antique crazy quilt made by her grandmother, oh so many years ago.
She includes wonderful memories of her mother’s quilts and life on the farm as she was growing up – huddled around the wood stove waiting for the upstairs bedrooms to warm up so her family could cuddle up to sleep.
Thanks, Dorothy, for sharing.
If you have a story and quilt to share, email it to us at quilts@how-to-quilt.com. Be sure to send a picture, too.
Also in this week’s news:
http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/cherry-basket.php
Happy Quilting!
Penny
