Crafty1's Corner

Monday, October 19, 2009

Weekly How to Quilt News and Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation

Image by oOoHEAVENLYoOoTAKING A BREAK BACK SOON TC XX via Flickr

Greetings Quilter,
There's excitement around the How-to-Quilt house!

Wednesday we are hosting an Eavesdrop on a Telephone
Conversation with Sue and Mim from Whims Watercolor
Quilt Kits.

It turns out that Quilter Wendy made a quilt using one
of their kits, and she sent me a photo of her beautiful
quilt, along with a message saying that it was really
easy!

This should be a great Conversation. It's free and
you'll find more details in the newsletter:

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

Halloween is coming and we're hanging up the Trick or
Treat at the Haunted House quilt.

There's still plenty of time to make this fun quilt,
especially since it is an electronic download and you
can get the instructions immediately.

The Fat Quarter quilt is almost finished – I'm sure it
will be done this week! The machine quilting is going
well – actually better than I had originally expected.

I guess the practice from The Machine Quilting Adventure
has paid off, and with a few adjustments to the tension
on my sewing machine and some ideas for machine quilting
designs, even quilting daughter, Stephanie, this weekend
said she thought it looked pretty good.

Next up is a Stack 'n' Whack quilt. That should be fun.

In my explorations, I found layer cake fabric squares.
These looked perfect for a Stack 'n' Whack quilt project.
I am now looking for some interesting color combinations.

Layer cake fabric squares were new to me – akkk! And for
those who haven't heard of them either – they are 10
inch squares of fabric. They tend to be coordinated,
mostly by a line of fabric from a manufacturer.

Moda has them packaged in groups of 42.

A package of them may make an interesting beginning of
a project. We'll see.

So far, the ones I have seen are pretty coordinated –
making the combinations less interesting than I might
like. But there's time.

This month, we are featuring a couple of storage "tools"
that will help keep your thread and other miscellaneous
quilting goodies organized. These support research for
Breast Cancer, and since October is National Breast
Cancer Awareness Month, it seemed appropriate to
highlight these handy carriers.

Friday is the deadline for the Thanksgiving Postcard
Roundup. There's still time to get your cards to Diane,
and all of the details are included in this week's news.

In addition, you'll find:

* Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation – Watercolor
Quilts - Wednesday

* Quilter Wendy's Watercolor Quilt

* A Quilt Idea – Trick or Treat at the Haunted House

* Quilting Tools – Pink Ribbon Thread Box & Top Tray Box

* Penny's Postcard Posse

* Picket Fence Quilt Block Video

* October Quilt Block Patterns

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

Happy Quilting!

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

P.S. Remember Wednesday is our Eavesdrop on a Telephone
Conversation with Whims Watercolor Quilt Kits. Making a
beautiful watercolor quilt using these kits is easy,
easy! You are guaranteed success, and what could be
better than that? Register for the free call, listen to
the interview and ask your question of Sue and Mim:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/picketfence.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=

Come join me on CRAFTY

Join me on CRAFTY

create, believe, make, do, craft

AnnMarie Cunniff has:

4 friends
13 photos
14 videos
1 discussion
12 blog posts

For books, sewing supplies, sewing machines, quilting mysteries join CRAFTY1 today.

Members on CRAFTY:

About CRAFTY

Share craft ideas and projects. Help to teach persons or families of persons with disabilities to find a craft to help in their recovery.

6 members
13 photos

14 videos
13 blog posts

To control which emails you receive on CRAFTY, click here

Sunday, October 18, 2009

CRAFTY 1 is ON ETSY NOW

Find more photos like this on CRAFTY

Penny Halgren Solves A Big Quilting Problem, Easily

Image by craftapalooza via Flickr

Greetings Quilter,

Some quilting problems are bigger than others.

And some are more easily solved than others.

I remember quilts I made where the backing and batting ended
up smaller than the quilt top after I finished quilting.

That seems to be just one of the mysteries of quilting. Kind
of like those accurate 1/4 inch seam allowances. Maybe some
physicist has an explanation. But probably none of them are
even looking at the dilemma.

Anyway, early on I learned to make sure that my batting and
backing were 2-3 inches larger than the quilt top all the way
around the quilt. That way, even when the batting and backing
shrink, they are still larger than the quilt top, and can be
trimmed to even all the edges of the quilt.

Years ago, before I learned that trick, I ended up with quilts
smaller than I planned. I'd usually cut the border off to get
the sides of the quilt even so I could bind it.

But, a while back, a quilter wrote in saying that the backing
and batting of her quilt were smaller than the front, and she
hadn't started quilting it yet.

Now that is a problem relatively easily solved. The most
obvious solution, I guess, is to start over – choosing a
different fabric for the backing and using a new piece of
batting.

However, it seemed the quilt was already basted and she didn't
really want to change everything.

So, I developed an alternative solution – add to the backing
and batting. It's not really a complex solution, but the
explanation includes a description of how to piece the batting
together.

If you've never done that, it is a handy skill to know, and
easier shown than written out in an email.

To get the description of the entire solution, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/7101-backing-too-small.php

Happy Quilting!

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

P.S. I remember one quilt where the back was smaller than
the front, and I added a wider binding just to cover up the
problem.

Tonight is the last night to get in on the special Introductory
Price for the Creative Binding Techniques DVD Quilting Mentor.
This could be the answer to some of your future quilting
dilemmas, too:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/7101-backing-too-small.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=

THEY COME TO ME!

Image by dannie4852 via Flickr

When my friends and acquaintances are looking for something relative to crafts, they come to me. I am always the first one to come to mind, because I am always on the brink of learning a new craft or discovering a simnpler way to create an old one. Today it was someone looking for a Crocheted Sweater Coat, and I have to say...I found a great one. It is a Free pattern at the Lion Brand Yarn site. Pattern and all. Sometimes life is so simple isn't it? Be sure to check it out, after all...Christmas is coming.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

TATTING DESIGNS

I have always admired people that can make tatted lace, thinking it was so hard. I remember the many times I tried to make it with a tiny crochet hood and it just looked terrible because I could never get the tension right and so the stitches were not even. Well, someone make a comment on one of my YouTube videos about quilt healing and it led me to the art of tatting using a shuttle. I guess, although I have 3 or 4 different crafts going now: making my Christmas angel for this yer, working on my quilt, making quilted pincushions, making pinecone wreaths, I will begin to learn the art of tatting. I thought this video was really beautiful to give everyone an idea, or a gently reminder about what a beautifully artistic craft tatting is.