Plenty of time to create something special and a little different for a Valentine in your life.

From young to old, anyone would love one of these:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/7520-valentine-cushion.php

Valentine's Day Cushion

Still, no banks or government offices closed, except for the fact that it will be Sunday.

It’s National Puzzle Day.

Quilts are a puzzle in themselves, so why not celebrate?

And make a quilt that has a puzzle in its name – like Bachelor’s Puzzle, or  even Crossword Puzzle.

You’ll discover more about puzzling quilts when you visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1353-puzzle-blocks.php

crossword puzzle quilt block

In addition to much less frustrating.

And one of the most important items I have is my small flannel board.

It’s a simple thing – made from a square piece of cardboard, covered with a piece of flannel, and even serves as a reminder of engineer son, Bubba, in his younger days.

For step-by-step instructions for making a flannel board, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/6018-flannel-board.php

the back of my flannel board for quilting

No banks or government offices were closed – which is probably why it slipped past – but I’m sure that many celebrated the day, especially bakeries.

You might be wondering what the link is to quilting and pies.

After all, nobody would want to eat a quilt (except maybe a very hungry mouse) or wrap themselves up in a pie to keep warm and snuggly.

But, in terms of art, there is a real connection.

For us quilters, the art and craft of creating a quilt is pretty obvious.

For pie makers – the art is in the lattice of the crust, laying out the apples on the top of an apple pie, and – of course – the taste of the pie itself.

You’ve got a whole year to prepare for National Pie Day 2013.

In the meantime, discover ways to enjoy your quilt making more by visiting:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/4098-national-pie-day.php

I’ve often done that but then felt that I can’t use it because the bright fabric would dominate the rest of the quilt.

There is one solution to this and that’s to make a quilt using all bright colors but toning it down with plenty of white fabric in the patchwork.

In this article, you’ll see how Rose makes these beautiful bright colors “float” in her quilt:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/7519-bright-colors-in-quilts.php

Bright Colors in Quilts can be toned down with white

oh, i bet you think that since i have a very little brain, i am just catching up with the fact that this is now a different year.

not so.

penny told me about the year changing a couple of weeks ago.

even though she wasn’t home, i got to hear fireworks and celebrate with a nice yummy bowl of fish chunks – my favorite.

but today marks another new year – the chinese new year.

and because this is the year of the dragon, i begged penny to let me tell you about it!

in contrast to the worms in yesterday’s email, i love dragons!

actually, the only dragon i really know about is one that quilting daughter, stephanie, made while i was staying with her.

it now hangs on her wall, and has thousands of little, tiny beads that i used to chase around her apartment.

now don’t confuse me with any bean-counter type, because these were beads – and i wasn’t counting them.

i was chasing them around the floor when she dropped them. or when i pushed them off of the table!

anyway, this is the beginning of the year 4709 – i can’t even imagine how long that is.

when you see this week’s online newsletter, you’ll see the dragon and learn about the batik fabric it is made from:

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

Dragon Wall Hanging using Batik Panel

spiders, on the other hand are pretty fun to watch, and occasionally i even bat my paw at one.

i’ve never eaten a spider, so i can’t say i would recommend them as a diet, but worms????

i couldn’t believe it when penny told me that worms made fabric.

well, there are a couple of steps in between – like the worms spin cocoons, people unwind the cocoons and then use the strands of silk to create beautiful fabric.

but when your brain is as large as mine, about all i can handle is – worms make fabric.

i guess it’s nice to be able to produce something that people can use to create beautiful quilts.

me – all i can do toward that effort is to be beautiful and give you inspiration and ideas for your quilts.

today, you’ll see a silk wall hanging penny made using silk ties as sashing and the border and hand embroidering little kitties in each block.

i wish i could say these kitties were pictures of me – - but they are white, not beautiful siamese brown like i am.

enjoy – maybe you can create a silk quilt using pictures of your kitty (or puppy, or worm!):

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1018-silk-quilts.php

Silk Wall Hanging with Cats

The truth is, it is not as fussy as you’d think. A better, less threatening term would be “planned cutting.”

A fussy cut is simply a cut that you “fuss” over a little.

Fussy cut pieces are often center pieces of a quilt block, but are not always.

Think of a patchwork design like Grandmother’s Flower Garden. If you want the center piece to be a specific motif from another piece of fabric, you will make a fussy cut.

Lots of things can be used for fussy cut pieces.

You can select a motif from a piece of fabric to fussy cut.

You can also print photographs onto fabric and fussy cut them to make a photo quilt.

This article also includes a video:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/6114-fussy-cutting.php

These diamonds have been fussy cut so the fish are featured in each diamond

After all, making a quilt takes hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes even years, so why not use whatever methods are available to shorten the overall time it takes to make the quilt, and thereby lengthen the time you have to enjoy the quilt?

That’s why quilters were very excited when the rotary cutter came on the scene. I can tell you that I was pretty excited.

Here’s a detailed step-by-step guide for using a rotary cutter to cut strips of fabric.

The article also includes a video showing how to use one of my favorite new tools, the June Tailor Shape Cut:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/6105-rotary-cut-fabric.php

They often include fabrics that I wouldn’t have thought of buying, yet they co-ordinate beautifully with the other fat quarters in the pack.

Not long ago Rose came across some gorgeous John Louden fat quarter packs from the Tapestry range.

There are eight fat quarters in each pack so of course then she had to think of a patchwork quilt pattern that would use up all eight fat quarters at once.

She chose a quilt block called Lady of the White House, and you’ll see how she made the quilt when you visit:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/7506-fat-quarter-quilt.php

Lady of the White House Quilt Block using Fat Quarters