| CURRENT INTERNET SPECIAL |
|
|
Carousel
24" x 36"
Sale Price: $10.00 Regular Price: $12.00
|
| I HAVE A NOTION |
|
|
Introducing you to the notions Nancy and Janice use.
Gingher scissors
 These 8 inch, bent handle shears work very well for cutting the multiple layers of a Hawaiian quilt applique.
Right- or left-handed: $37.00
Spring-action, right-handed: $52.00
 Gingher 4" pocket scissors are ideal for cutting the applique fabric on a "2 Fabric Applique Quilt." The blunt-nose and short blades make it easy to cut the top layer after basting, and they are allowed on airplanes. $24.00
|
| A HAND QUILTER! |
|
|
We thought you would like to see Babs Phillips enjoying some quiet time at her hoop as she hand quilts her Carousel quilt.
"I used to ride my bicycle to the park in New Orleans and ride the carousel horse - so the memory comes back every time I work on this project." |
| If you received this Newsletter from a friend, sign-up to receive future issues here: |
 |
|
| READER QUESTIONS |
|
Q: Are your patterns to scale for the wall hangings and bed quilts? Or do they need to be enlarged?
A: All our patterns are the actual size - no need to enlarge. Of course, you understand that with Hawaiian quilts the pattern is just 1/8 of the total design. The instructions tell you how to fold your fabric to cut using the 1/8 pattern to achieve the total symmetrical applique.
Q: What kind of paper can I purchase that would be large enough to copy my [Hawaiian quilt] pattern on so I don't have to cut into the original?
A: Here are several ideas:
--Ask your local hometown newspaper printer for the end of a paper roll, sometimes 36" wide and free, or very cheap.
--Large sheets of paper, which can be taped together, are available at art supply and office supply stores.
--Wrapping paper from your local dollar store.
Do NOT use newspaper, as the ink will rub off onto your fabric.
Thanks for asking! |
|
|
| TOO MUCH SKIN? |
|
| If you failed
to receive our July newsletter, it may have been because your Internet settings are adjusted to filter out emails with 'adult content' (i.e. photos with too much skin.)
In our July newsletter we included a photo of a customer's arm with her tattoo. That might just have been too much for some over-active Internet security systems to handle.
If you did not receive the July newsletter, or if you ever want to go back to read any previous newsletter, you can find all past issues in our e-Newsletter archive. A link to the archive is on every page of our website, and right here:
| |
|
Aloha!
I am sure many of you have been traveling this summer to see family & friends, and to search out those special places you have dreamed of visiting. Nancy has done her share of traveling this summer as well. During July she taught at A Quilter's Affair where classes are held the week before the famous outdoor quilt show is hung in the streets of the small mountain town of Sisters, in Central Oregon. Then two weeks later she was in Spokane, Washington, to meet with the Washington State Quilters.
The most outstanding part of the trip to Sisters was the opportunity to hear seven of the Gee's Bend (Alabama) quilters speak about their quilting history. Nancy also picked up new embellishment inspiration from her roommate and fellow teacher, Paula Benjaminson. Another highlight was the evening show & tell when students showed their finished quilts from previous years' classes. Shopping opportunities abounded at the Stitchin' Post and at the many vendors set-up all around town. And of course, Saturday's outdoor quilt show that stretches for blocks and blocks and blocks, with quilts in and on every store, gallery and public space in town.
All of Nancy's classes were filled to capacity in wonderfully air-conditioned rooms. Nancy is always so pleased to see the ah-ha moment when students in her applique mystery class "Crop Circles" see the full design come together. Perhaps future show and tells will include Crop Circles quilts (or perhaps not--we don't want to spoil the mystery for you), along with Hand Appliqued Landscapes, 2FAQ Applique and Hawaiian Applique quilts from Nancy's students this year. Overall a very inspirational and fun time.
Two weeks later Nancy was welcomed by the Washington State Quilters of Spokane, where she presented her Hawaiian Quilts to over 500 quilters at their quarterly day and evening meetings. Not only are the folks in Spokane warm and knowledgeable quilters, but they are avid shoppers as well. They could not even wait for Nancy to get her products out of her suitcases before they started handing over their money!
Check out their website ( www.wsqspokane.org) for details on this group's October quilt show, which this year celebrates Spokane's 100-year-old carousel.
Janice & Nancy's next stop: Newport, Oregon, August 7 & 8 at the Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild "Treasures of the Trail" quilt show. We hope to see you there!
E komo mai!
Welcome home! |
| WHO IS JANICE? |
|
A personal introduction
You got a hint last month about Janice's start in Hawaiian Quilting, but there is more.
 Janice's first meager attempts at quilting involved 1975 designer bed sheets, high-loft polyester batting (probably intended for a 5-season sleeping bag) and a Kenmore sewing machine. The end result was not pretty, but her brother and his new bride seemed appreciative. About five years before that there was a pre-stamped, cross-stitched embroidered quilt begun, but sold (probably given away) years later at a yard sale.
If you'll remember, Janice lost the race in 1980 to get either money or fabric to Nancy before their mother, so Nancy could start her second Hawaiian Quilt. So, in 1982, when Nancy's husband prevailed and moved her back to the Seattle area with their 2-year-old daughter, the time came for Nancy to get Janice started on her own Hawaiian quilt. True to Nancy's kumu's (teacher) first lesson, Janice was to also start with a queen-sized  Hawaiian quilt which she designed herself. That quilt will, no doubt, celebrate it's 30-year anniversary still bundled in a protective sheet, awaiting its final quilting stitches. That's right, it still is not finished. But, it was inspiration enough to get Janice started at being a real quilter, finally!
Janice's quilting hobby flourished during the 1980's and 1990's as she explored pieced and art quilts, in addition to her first love, Hawaiian quilts. Later she began to hand-dye fabric in quantities sufficient for Hawaiian quilts, and with the advent of digital cameras became an avid photographer of quilts.
She devoted 23 years to a career in banking, which became a part-time endeavor in 2002, and then she quit it completely in 2005, to devote all her time and attention to Pacific Rim Quilt Company.
While Nancy and Janice both design and make quilts, Janice is the one who keeps the business running. It is Janice you will talk to when you call (or sometimes it will be her husband, Rudy, who is very knowledgeable and capably relays your messages to Janice.) Janice maintains the PRQC website, designs and puts together our advertising and brochures, does our photography, fills orders, keeps our shelves full of useful and beautiful products, pays the bills, and now writes the newsletters. In general, all the things that would drive Nancy nuts, Janice enjoys!
You can see that when it comes to Pacific Rim Quilt Company Nancy is the person most of you know or know of, and Janice is the one who is perfectly comfortable staying behind the scenes making it all happen. Be warned, she is a little sensitive though when people are talking to her and call it "Nancy's company." You can read more about Janice and see more of her quilts on our website. If you are interested click here. Janice's first Hawaiian quilt, pictured above, is "Naupaka", March 1982 - ???, exact size undetermined. In keeping with the original tradition of Hawaiian quilts, there is no pattern for this quilt |
| CAROUSEL |
|
It is a Unicorn!
 But if you want it to be a horse, then it is a horse. What some people think is the horse's left ear, or part of the mane, was really designed as the unicorn's horn. Surprise! With this pattern we want to demonstrate the versatility and creative options you have with many of our patterns. Here are some ideas for modifications you can make to this pattern:
1) Remove the horn, carousel pole and some of the fancy harness across the body to make it a riding horse.
2) Flip the pattern so the horse faces right, instead of left.
3) Ornament the harness with beads or buttons to add bling.
4) Substitute the fabric for the unicorn's horn with a shiny fabric, or add glitter to the horn and pole.
5) Add an eye with a button, or applique.
 This photo shows that we used a lighter applique fabric on a dark background and applied several of the modifications mentioned above to give you an idea of what this would look like. Now instead of a magical pink unicorn for a little girl, you have a riding horse fit for a little cowboy, or any horse fanatic. For a very personal touch, if you are making this quilt for a horse-lover, choose an applique fabric that is close to the actual color of the horse.
Horse or unicorn? It is in the eye of the beholder. You make the decision.
TIP: If you want to modify one of our patterns, trace or make a photocopy of the cover photo. Then sketch in your changes, or white-out the elements you want to remove. This is a quick and easy way to do a visual check on paper before cutting into your precious fabric. Fabric Packs are available on our website for this and all of our 2FAQ patterns. Click here to take a look!
And to see another version of this pattern made by another quilter go to our 2FAQ Gallery.
(NOTE: A modified pattern, and quilt made from it, is still only for your personal use, or as a gift. Our copyright still applies. Thank you.) |
| ANGEL'S TRUMPET |
|
 A bit about Hawaiian Quilts
One distinctive characteristic of Hawaiian quilts is that they are radially symmetrical to the eighth. What does that mean?? It means that if you draw lines on a Hawaiian quilt design through the center from top to bottom, side to side, and corner to corner what you see in each of the eight triangular segments will be nearly identical mirror images. The Angel's Trumpet quilt makes this very easy to visualize with its strong stems radiating from the center in all eight directions. While not all Hawaiian quilts have these strong diagonal design lines (take for example last month's Sea Turtles & Dolphins quilt) it is still true that nearly all Hawaiian designs have eight, radially symmetrical segments.
It is this radial symmetry that makes Hawaiian quilt designs look very complicated, while at the same time it is what makes them very easy to cut out. Just like those paper snowflakes you made as a kid. Fold the applique fabric in half three times. (The right way of course! Clear diagrams are in every pattern.) Then you cut just 1/8th of the design and methodically lay out the applique following the pattern's instructions. If you think it is too hard to cut through 8 layers of fabric, take a large scrap of fabric, fold it in half 3 times, so you have 8 layers and then take your best shears and make some cuts. True, it is a little more effort than cutting 2 or 3 layers, but you will see it is not as difficult as you might have imagined. (See "I Have a Notion" at left for our scissors recommendations.)
84" x 84" is the minimum size for the Angel's Trumpet quilt. You can make your quilt larger than that by simply preparing your applique fabric to be as large as you want your quilt.
TIP: Use just the pattern for the center medallion, omit the border, to make a medium-sized quilt measuring approximately 72" x 72".
Remember you can follow along, step-by-step, with Nancy as you make your Hawaiian quilt using our DVD "Hawaiian Quilting with Nancy Lee Chong". The DVD comes with the Ulu block pattern to get you started, and then Nancy uses an Angel's Trumpet quilt to demonstrate specific techniques for making a large quilt on the DVD. Click here to purchase your own copy, or check your local library for availability.
|
|
COMING EVENTS |
|
Nancy's Whereabouts:
Here are opportunities to take a class from Nancy or catch a presentation at shows, shops and guilds. Most guilds welcome visitors, so don't be shy.
- Sept 14-15, Chester, CA, Piecemakers Quilt Guild
- Sept 24-26, The Applique Society, Hillsboro, OR
It has been about a year since Nancy taught in Western Washington. If you missed her last time, sign-up for one of these classes soon.
- Sept 29-30, Centralia, WA, Quilters Junction
- Oct 3, La Conner, WA, La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum. Opening Reception for the exhibit "Students of Nancy Lee Chong". (Exhibit continues through Dec)
- Oct 4, Maple Valley, WA, Taylor Creek Quilt Studio
- Oct 5, Bellevue, WA, QuiltWorks Northwest
- Oct 6-7, Anacortes, WA, The Quilt Shop
- Oct 12, Shoreline, WA, Needle & I Quilt Guild
Click CALENDAR for details and contact info
Register early for classes, they can fill quickly, or be cancelled if not enough people register in advance.
Visit us in our booth at these shows:
- Newport, Oregon - Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild show, Aug 7 & 8
- La Conner, Washington - Quiltfest 2009, Oct 2-4
Check our Calendar frequently for future events.
But, you say, "I do not live anywhere near these class or show locations. How can I take a class from Nancy?" The answer is simple, invite her to teach in your area, or register for an on-line class with Nancy at Quilt University! Visit the Quilt University website to learn more. Here are Nancy's up-coming classes:
- Baltimore Basics, begins August 7
- Make Your Own Hawaiian Quilt, begins September 4 (learn to design your own Hawaiian Quilt!)
- Hand Quilting, begins October 9
And Janice teaches one class at Quilt University, too:
- Photographing Your Quilts, begins October 23
|
|
Thank you for spending a little of your precious time with us, we really appreciate it. As always, we welcome your suggestions, comments or questions.
A hui hou,
Until next time,
Nancy & Janice | |
|
|
|
