The Stack and Whack quilt is all machine quilted now and the blocks are being sewn together.

Because I took this block and divided it into quarters, I’ll be sewing the 9½-inch squares together as separate Quilt as You Go units.  Once they are together, I will decide whether to add strips of sashing between the four blocks.

I’m going to use a different method to close the backing on this project.

In the Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor, you learn two different methods for finishing the backing of the quilt.  And now, in this Stack and Whack project, you will see yet another technique for finishing the back, coming up in a week or two.  This one is easy to do.

This week’s featured video quilt block is the Dogwood Quilt Block.  This block is really easy to sew together, and has a large square in the center.  This would be a fabulous place for a photo that was transferred onto fabric.

Surround the photo with holiday colors or favorite colors of a friend or family member, and you’ll have a fantastic holiday gift – quick and easy.  Or, make it as a small ornament and use a ribbon for a hanger.

Also in this week’s news, you’ll find information about thread for your machine quilting projects.

Here’s what’s new this week:

Update on the Stack and Whack Quilt
Product of the Month – Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor
Book of the Month – Cozy Modern Quilts
Quilting Tips – Thread for Machine Quilting
Penny’s Postcard Posse Valentines’ Day Roundup – Deadline January 21!
Featured Block in Video – Dogwood Quilt Block
December Quilt Block Patterns

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/dogwood.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Bonnie Hunter has been quilting professionally with a longarm machine for 13 years, but her love of quilting goes back farther than that.  She says her interest in patchwork began as a teen when she saw some pillows in an issue of Seventeen magazine.

In addition to her love for quilting, Bonnie is dedicated to continuing quilting traditions, especially the tradition of using scraps to make quilts.

One of Bonnie Hunter's Scrap Quilts

Bonnie’s interest in scrap quilts sets her aside from many quilters today. Unlike quilters in the early days of America, most quilters today create their quilts using fabric purchased for making quilts.  Even so, many quilters have fabric that has been collected over many years, just waiting for that perfect project.

Bonnie is interested in helping quilters get the most out of their stash, using organic fabrics, and in repurposing and recycling fabrics.

And what, you might ask, does she mean by repurposing and recycling fabrics?  Well, Bonnie is an expert at using clothing and other items purchased at thrift shops or gathered from the closets of friends and family members to create beautiful heirloom quilts.

Many of us have heard of using old worn out clothes to make memory quilts.  Bonnie takes that notion one step further by using virtually any high quality cotton fabric – regardless of its original use – and cutting it into patches for a quilt project.

Not long ago, Bonnie shared her ideas with us during an Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation.  Discover some of her ideas here:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1034-recycle-fabric.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Machine Quilting the Stack'n'Whack Quilt Block

With the Stack’n'Whack quilt blocks pieced and layered, it is time to machine quilt each one.

The idea behind a Quilt as You Go project is that each block is finished completely, and then the blocks are sewn together.

This is a quick way to finish a quilt, and much easier than machine quilting a large quilt, considering handling the bulk of your quilt.

I have tried out two different quilting designs – one is a series of circles, beginning in the center of each square, and the other is a flower-type design.

Once all of the blocks have been quilted, it will be time to sew the blocks together.

Stay tuned!

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Fussy cuts are designs cut specifically from a piece of fabric that can be featured in a quilt project.

A fussy cut can dress up a traditional block quilt with flair.  If the design is right, it can even be a centerpiece in your quilt.

I have seen other quilters use these special fabric designs in their quilts very effectively, but it took me years to actually use one in a quilt I made.

As I was making an Ocean Waves quilt, I thought it would be fun to have a big wave in the center of some of the blocks.  Once I found the fabric, it was actually pretty easy to cut the wave out and fit it into the center of the block.

Recently I found a fun kitty print that lent itself to fussy cutting.

The fabric is overall cats in a range of colors, and not one in particular stood out, but I wanted to place a full cat in a patch in the center of a block.  Using a see-thru rotary cutting ruler, I was able to center the cat and cut the patch, making sure to add seam allowances to all sides.

Cutting fabric around a particular design feature is easy to do and can add a lot to your quilt.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Will the design feature of the fabric fit in the patch, or will it get cut off and look strange?  Check it out, though.  It could be that even though the design is cut off, it may still look great in your quilt.
• How much fabric will you need in order to get the cuts that you really want for your quilt?

Even when you are in the fabric shop, you can get a sense of how the design in a piece of fabric will look when it is fussy cut.

You’ll find out how when you visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1028-fussy-cutting.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Quilters have been recycling since the 1800s.

Way back then, feed and dry staples were delivered in barrels.  Someone discovered that cotton was effective for shipping – much lighter weight and easier to stack for sure.

A few companies began using cotton bags for packaging their feed.  Feed sacks were also used for standard dry staples, such as flour and sugar, putting them in almost every household in the country.  It didn’t take long for quilters in the family to realize those empty bags made great sewing fabric.

As the economy turned for the worst in the 1930s, quilters began to rely on feed, flour and sugar sacks for their quilts.  And suppliers began to create designs for their sacks, giving quilters even more incentive to purchase dry goods and feed, since they could get a variety of fabric patterns for their quilts.

Today, quilters can find these treasures in antique shops – without the dry goods included, of course!  And many do.  Quilts made from feed sacks are popular, and are combined with fabric from the 1930s and 1940s – both original fabric and newly-made reproduction fabric.

On a trip through the Rocky Mountains, I discovered yards of brand new 1930s fabric which had been transformed into a quilt top.  My idea is to create a backing using flour and sugar sacks, and I’m still in search of appropriate bags.

Since the top has a lot of white, using feed sacks with a pattern or design could show through to the front, casting an unwanted shadow!

You’ll see a picture of the flour sacks I’ve collected so far, as well as a picture of the quilt top:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1029-feed-sacks.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Stack and Whack Quilt Layout

The Stack and Whack quilt is moving right along.

Because each of these blocks has 4 patches and I chose to make each patch 10 inches square, I only need 16 pieces of fabric from the Layer Cake fabric bundle.

The layout is on the right, and my patches are ready to machine quilt, since I am making this quilt using a Quilt as You Go method.

Because I have so many fabric squares remaining, I can use one for the backing of each of these patches.

Therefore, I have layered a backing piece, batting and then the quilt top square. Once layered, they are ready for machine quilting.

Plus I have some fabric squares left and I probably will do a striped border with them.

This quilt is going together really quickly and easily. We hope you have joined us in www.TheQuiltingCoach.com to follow along with the project live. As a member, you get all of the step-by-step instructions as well as the video instruction.

Rock of Ages Quilt Block

Did you know that knowing a few simple techniques for machine quilting can make the difference between beautiful machine quilting and ordinary machine quilting?

You know ordinary machine quilting – the kind where you end up with puckers and tucks sewn in.  Usually on the back of the quilt – but they could be on the front.

My machine quilting looked exactly like that for years.  As a matter of fact, you can see a picture of a small part of the back of one of my early machine quilting endeavors:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/machine-quilting.php

But things are different now.

A while back, machine quilting expert Pam Bauer joined us for an Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation and shared her secrets for beautiful machine quilting.

I listened, and even tried one or two of her techniques on my next few quilts.  Recently I decided I would try more of her techniques to see if it would make a difference.

I shouldn’t have been too surprised – using more of her techniques made a huge difference in my machine quilting.  And it was really easy to start using her techniques.

During the Conversation with Pam, we learned about:

• Setting the tension on your sewing machine so your stitches are perfect
• Using some amazing gloves that allow you to guide your quilt as it is quilted
• The difference high quality thread makes, and which are the right threads to use
• How to handle the bulk of your quilt as you move it through your home sewing machine
• And tons more

This was a fantastic Conversation and everyone learned a bunch about machine quilting.

But that was a couple of years ago, and there were techniques I hadn’t tried, some I completely forgot about, and new ones I’d stumbled across since then.

Since there is a huge interest in machine quilting on our home sewing machines, I decided to gather all of the best techniques I have learned and find useful, and present them to our www.How-to-Quilt.com quilters.

Last week, I shared the best of the best simple techniques for beautiful machine quilting.  And I also divulged my super, special secret weapon – one that has made all the difference in my machine quilting.  It took months for me to break down and try it and, now that I have, I will never be without it on a machine quilted quilt.

Shortcut your learning and perfect your machine quilting with this CD and DVD set that includes the best of the best machine quilting techniques on your home sewing machine:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/machine-quilting.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Gifts for college students don’t have to be boring or “intellectual.”

While it’s easy to give a college student a gift certificate for a bookstore or a stack of books, a special quilt may be more welcome.

Quilt gifts don’t need to be complicated to be appreciated, either.

How about a collection of special t-shirts?  T-shirt quilts have been popular for years, and probably always will be, since they are a fabulous way to get those special memories off the shelf and out where people can smile at the memories.

Photo quilts are also fun and easy to make.  Using simple computer software and a printer, you can easily transfer your favorite photos onto fabric and make a quilt full of memories.

Rag quilts are also popular and can be made in college, high school, or other favorite colors.

These quilts don’t need to be any particular size, either.  A lap quilt will be just as welcome as a full-size bed quilt, and can be used to snuggle up with during a favorite TV show – or study time.

For more details and ideas, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1168-college-student-quilts.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Broken Rainbows Quilt Block

I chose a quilt block for the Stack’n'Whack quilt project. It is called Broken Rainbows, and seemed like a great pattern for Stack-n-Whack.

To make cutting the fabric easier, each of the patches will be 10 inches square. An alternative would be to cut the Layer Cake squares into quarters and then cut the 4 patches from the 5 inch squares of fabric.

Since the idea of a Stack-n-Whack quilt is to make cutting the blocks easy, easy, it seems to me that using one full square of fabric for each patch is the easiest.

Once the patches are cut, I will sew them together, and then sew 4 together to create one block. This will also give me a greater variety of fabric in each block.

Plus, because there will be fewer cuts, the fabric will go further – translation, my finished project will be slightly larger than if the block were 10 inches and each patch were 5 inches.

Happy Quilting!

Penny

Have you ever wondered how quilt blocks are named?

As you look through a book with hundreds of quilt blocks, several interesting things pop up.  You will probably discover quilt blocks with a different design while having the same name.  Likewise, you will find quilt blocks that look the same yet have different names.

How did this happen?  And what is the inspiration for naming quilt blocks in the first place?  A study in history and understanding life in the early years of America are particularly useful to answer these questions.

Many quilts and quilt blocks reflected that religious devotion.  “World Without End,” a quilt made during the Revolutionary time period, is a name lifted from the Book of Common Prayer.  It was, and still is, a phrase familiar in every church, regardless of creed.

In addition, early Americans were also very politically minded. And women, even though they couldn’t vote, were acutely aware of the importance of the politics of the day.

Even naming a quilt block stirred controversy.  A block named “Whig Rose” and “Democrat Rose” created a debate as to which was the correct name – a debate not settled, maybe even today.

The trades and occupations of the time also offered inspiration for quilt names. “The Anvil,” “The Carpenter’s Wheel,” “The Churn Dash,” and “The Water Mill” all came from women’s familiarity with old-time callings.

Many designs were specific to their community of origin.  And as they migrated away from the community, their form changed.

Because there were no printed patterns at the time, replication of the design relied on copying the pattern by looking at an existing quilt, remembering the design having seen it previously, or understanding a verbal description of the quilt block.

However the blocks were designed and named, there are thousands of them, ranging from easy to sew to very difficult to piece together.

You’ll find pictures of some of these quilt blocks in addition to more information about how blocks have been named over the years:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/4022-origin-of-quiltblock-names.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny