ECLECTIC FRIENDSHIPS

Image via Wikipedia

I just read the second in a series of books written by Debbie Macomber. This one begins with a the directions to knit the perfect pair of socks. I have never learned to knit, but reading this book made me immediately want to learn. There are knitting websites at the beginning of several chapters and they are all beautiful stores to buy the tools necessary to knit, learn to knit, or to knit anything or everything you could want. What an amazing way to write a book. It reminds me of the idea I had when I began the cookbook I wrote with my family; it was to be the first of a series of cookbooks where after you purchase the book, you try the recipes and change them to make them heart healthy, or adapt them to your family's particular taste.
Attached to the craft of knitting in "A Good Yarn," is a genuinely sweet story about women forming friendships with women of all ages, which has been my experience most of my life. Age has never been a factor when choosing friends. I have an eclectic mix of friends, and I believe that is how it should be to get the full experience of friendships and relationships in ones life. One has so many needs; and to expect one person to fill all of those needs is impossible, and eventually lonely.
If you get a chance pick up a book by Debbie Macomber and begin a wonderful journey of relationships, friendships, crafts, cooking and life.

Following the Rules with Quilt Borders

Image by pbev via Flickr

Greetings Quilter,
It seems like every time I turn around there is someone with a
"rule."

Some of the rules certainly are useful – like stopping at a
stop sign or red light.  And maybe even some quilting rules are
useful – like using a 1/4 inch seam allowance when you sew your
patches together, or cutting the selvedge off of your fabric
before you cut your patches.

Other rules in quilting are interesting – to say the least.
Especially rules about borders.

I'll admit that I made scores of quilts before I was introduced
to the notion of rules about borders.  When I added borders to
my early quilts, I viewed the borders like a frame around a
picture.

Sometimes I used fabric that was darker than the fabric I used
in the blocks in the center of the quilt.  Other times, I
wanted to make the quilt larger, so I pieced borders that used
some of the fabric in the center of the quilt while introducing
new fabric in the borders.

And I just kept adding borders until the quilt was the size I
wanted it to be.

In a couple of my quilts, I added blocks or partial blocks
using the same design as in the center of the quilt, but using
different colors than those I used in the center blocks.

Maybe you can imagine my surprise when I learned that I had
broken many of the special Quilt Border Rules.

One rule that I have broken many times is that the border
should be a little wider than the blocks in the center of your
quilt.  That would mean that if your blocks in the center were
12 inches square, your border should be at least 12 inches wide.

I can't even begin to count the number of quilts where I broke
that rule.  Maybe I should be embarrassed.  Or not.

To read about other Quilt Border Rules and see some examples of
interesting borders I have added to quilts I have made, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2507-quilt-borders.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com

P.S.  One other Quilt Border Rule is that you use the same
fabrics in the border that you use in the center of your
quilt.  The burning question is – what happens if you run
out of fabric?

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2507-quilt-borders.php

P.P.S.  For additional resources, check out my blog:

http://quilterpenny.wordpress.com/

You'll find all of the daily emails so you can search for
articles about tons of quilting topics!
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

7925 Pasadena Ave.
La Mesa, CA  91941


If you no longer wish to receive communication from us:
http://autocontactor.com/app/r.asp?ID=1064051587&ARID=0&D=

To update your contact information:
http://autocontactor.com/app/r.asp?c=1&ID=1064051587&D=

secret message from m. mouse the how-to-quilt.com siamese cat

Image by Princes Milady via Flickr

greetings quilter,

m. mouse here – the official how-to-quilt.com diabetic
siamese birthday cat.

still haven't figured out how to make those capitals on
the computer. maybe i should get one of those programs
where i can talk and it will write what i am saying.

although - - - -

yup, that's right, i'm the birthday boy and i'm just a
little bit miffed at penny.

she said she would have a special birthday surprise for
me this month. and here it is, the month is mostly over
and still no special birthday surprise.

i suppose it's possible that it will show up some time
before the end of the month, but it's looking less likely
every minute.

today she's pretty busy with the fat quarter quilt. it's
getting layered and then basted with basting spray so she
can machine quilt it.

(i'm hiding, since i hate any kind of spray)

as you can imagine, she is completely distracted with
that project, so i thought i'd jump in on her computer
and create some mischief.  i'm really good at that.

last week i heard penny talking to our buddy, cindy in
kansas.

turns out that cindy has a stack of my favorite
how-to-quilt.com dvd resource perched on the shelf just
waiting to take off.

i don't know about you, but i love special deals –
especially when they are connected with a birthday.

so while penny is crawling around the floor working with
that nice fluffy bamboo batting, here i am telling you
about my birthday secret special deal.

the thing is, you have to promise not to tell penny about
this deal, because she might not like it, since it's such
a great deal.

and because it's so secret, i'm only running it for 3 days.

the way i figure it, in that short amount of time, you will
have gotten a great deal, and she won't be the wiser.

besides, i'm just a siamese cat with a birthday, so don't
you think penny wants me to celebrate big time?

so, this is the deal. for the next 3 days, you get all of
the resources she usually includes in the robin's nest
diamond package - - at the price of the basic package.

that means you get lots of extra goodies while you save
money.

maybe you can get your cat a special birthday present
with the money you save in my birthday celebration – it
will buy a lot of special cat food.

and if you have a dog, feel free to celebrate my birthday
savings with him or her, too.

this robin's nest dvd mentor is just the best.

in it, penny walks you through making a 9 patch wall
hanging or quilt – from start to finish, in dvd format.

you get to see everything, including the mistakes she
made; and how she fixed them!

what i like about it is that the block is one she
designed, and it looks like a little robin sitting on a
nest.

i do love birds, you know – especially when they are
just sitting there.

you'll get tons of great information about how to make
this quilt or wall hanging. plus it will give you a great
foundation for making every other quilt in your quilting
future.

just imagine, you could make a special small quilt for
your cat. (or dog)

you can get all of the information here:

www.robinquilt.com

happy quilting!

m. mouse
the official how-to-quilt.com diabetic siamese birthday cat


p.s. remember, you have just 3 days – until september 30 –
to get in on this birthday celebration:

www.robinquilt.com

www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

7925 Pasadena Ave.
La Mesa, CA  91941


If you no longer wish to receive communication from us:
http://autocontactor.com/app/r.asp?ID=1064051587&ARID=0&D=

To update your contact information:
http://autocontactor.com/app/r.asp?c=1&ID=1064051587&D=