| DESIGN YOUR HAWAIIAN QUILT |
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| Join us in Hawaii
Take advantage of a very rare opportunity to design your personal Hawaiian quilt with Nancy and Janice in Hawaii, May 2010.
No drawing or quilting experience is required. Just a desire to create your own personal Hawaiian quilt.
Take a needleturn applique class from Nancy in Hawaii, too.
Click here to read all the details and discover the extra opportunities available. |
| CURRENT INTERNET SPECIAL |
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Rainbow Over Lana'i
 Sale Price: $13.00
Bed-sized quilt pattern.
This beautiful pineapple-yellow quilt was made by Shirley Taylor, Centralia, WA.
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| I HAVE A NOTION |
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| Introducing you to the notions Nancy and Janice use.
Hand quilting is not nearly as common as it once was. Consequently, it can be hard to find the thread and notions you need. Here are a few of the things we use, and that you may be looking for.
Hobbs Cloud Loft batting:
To get the maximum benefit from echo quilting, Hawaiian quilters most often use a high-loft, polyester batting. It retains its loft between the quilting rows, really showing off the echo quilting. It can be difficult to find in local shops, so we sell Hobbs Cloud Loft, hi-loft batting on our website. Click for details.
(Yes, we use the same batting when we machine-quilt a Hawaiian quilt.)
Another hard-to-find notion for hand quilting is the thumb, or tailor's, thimble. As taught in our video, "Hawaiian Quilting with Nancy Lee Chong", with this thimble you use your thumb to push the needle away from you as you stitch. A very ergonomic-friendly hand motion. Click for details.
John James makes a high quality needle with a true big eye, for ease of threading. The eye of this needle is like that in an embroidery needle. Click for details.
With our focus this month on hand quilting, we would be remiss if we did not tell you about our favorite hand quilting thread.
Aurifil's 28 weight thread (gray spool) for hand quilting is 100%, long-staple, Egyptian cotton, un-glazed. We carry 24 colors from which to choose. Click here to see them. |
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| CUSTOMER QUESTION |
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Do you sell Fabric Packs for bed-sized Hawaiian quilts?
While we do not pre-package fabrics for the bed quilts, Janice is always happy to work with you to put together exactly what you need for a large quilt. You will invest a good amount of time and money in a bed-sized Hawaiian quilt, it should be exactly the combination of fabrics that you want. You should not have to settle for something pre-packaged.
So give Janice a call, or send her an email if you want help selecting the perfect fabrics for your quilt.
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| Aloha!
Do you make New Year resolutions? I try not to, mostly they are discouraging. That is what I thought until I listened to Andy Rooney's resolutions on 60 Minutes, Dec 27. He makes resolutions like: "I resolve not to visit the gym." "I resolve to continue to eat at least 3 mocha ice creams a week." Now, those are the kind of resolutions I can get behind!
So I am considering these as my resolutions:
I will start every new project that makes my heart sing.
I will not feel guilty about unfinished projects (the ones that are aging until their time is right.)
I will try new things; I will play music; I will walk; I will take naps; I will not stop eating cookies.
Whether you make resolutions, or not. Whether you keep your resolutions, or not. Nancy and I wish you a remarkable 2010.
We still have room for you to sign up for our Hawaiian quilt designing classes, in Hawaii, in May. The classes are a definite "Go", so do not fear they will be cancelled. There is also room in the needleturn applique class on Maui, May 20, and on Kaua'i, May 30. We hope you will make your plans now to join us for the design class, or an applique class, or better yet - both! Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Happy New Year! |
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ECHO QUILTING |
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| A characteristic of Hawaiian quilts
One of the distinctive characteristics of Hawaiian quilts is the echo quilting. Echo quilting is not a different way to make quilting stitches, rather it is the pattern of quilting lines that radiate out from the applique edges on a Hawaiian quilt. These quilting lines are often described as looking like the waves approaching an island, or the ripples created when dropping a pebble into water.
 We have been told that many Hawaiian quilters used their little finger as a guide to space their parallel quilt rows. Put your little finger on a ruler and you will see that it is probably about 1/2 to 5/8 inch wide. Rather than use our finger, we prefer to use a ruler, or sewing gauge and a chalk pencil to mark our quilting lines.
On a large, bed-sized quilt we space our quilting lines 5/8 inch apart. On a smaller wall quilt, or block, we use 1/2 inch spacing. If quilting rows are stitched any closer than that, you lose the effect of echo quilting. The stitching can end up looking more like stippling, and the quilt flattens out with an over abundance of stitching.
Hand quilting TIP: After arranging your quilt in a lap hoop, mark the quilting lines on the area within the hoop to be stitched. This mark-as-you-go technique is easy to do, and you do not need to be afraid of marking the whole quilt at one time.
Machine quilting TIP: Of course, you can also echo quilt by machine. Use your presser foot and needle position as a guide for spacing your rows of quilting.
Nancy teaches how to mark echo quilt lines and how to hand quilt in our video " Hawaiian Quilting with Nancy Lee Chong". If you think you would like to try hand quilting in 2010, this video would be a great investment. |
| RAINBOW OVER LANA'I |
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| What inspired this design?
Lana'i, the "Pineapple Isle", is the island that sits to the west of Maui. While it is not as frequently visited by tourists, it can be seen from much of west-facing Maui. And, if you have visited any of the Hawaiian islands, you know that rainbows are a common site.
The pineapple symbolizes welcome and hospitality, and the rainbow symbolizes hope and promise. Janice had all of this in mind as she designed this quilt. We chose this quilt to feature at the beginning of a new decade because of all it represents. If you choose to make it, you will add your personal meaning and infuse it with your mana (spirit) of hope and hospitality.
 TIP: The pineapple, a motif that has been used on many Hawaiian quilts, is usually quilted in a cross-hatch fashion with a single stitch, or French knot, in the center of each diamond. This quilting pattern mimics the actual texture of a pineapple. Here is how the suggested quilting lines look on our pattern page.
Pattern: Rainbow Over Lana'i, bed-sized, normally $15.00, on sale this month for just $13.00.
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| WELCOME |
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| A new decade
Can you believe it has been 10 years since the beginning of our calendar's second millennium?! Remember all the computer scares a decade ago? Thankfully, all was handled in advance, warding off disaster. Time has a way of putting things back into perspective. While it can be fun to look backwards, anticipation of what is to come is more exciting.
Let's Welcome, with open arms, all the future has to bring us with this 2FAQ quilt. Make it as a banner to hang outside your house, in an entry way, or guest room to greet visitors.
 TIP: We used raw-edge applique techniques to make this quilt in just a few hours. Choose your colors and finish this quilt in a day! Instructions for making our 2FAQ quilts using raw-edge applique are included with every pattern.
Welcome, 24" x 36", $12.00. Click here to purchase this pattern, and to see Fabric Pack options. |
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COMING EVENTS |
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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.
Looking ahead in 2010, make your plans now for:
- Jan 14-16, Clark County Quilters, Vancouver, WA
- Jan 18, Ladies of the Lake, Longview, WA
- Jan 30, Gold Beach Quilt Guild, Gold Beach, OR
- Feb 4-6, Hi Desert Quilt Guild, Ridgecrest, CA
- Feb 25-28, Sew Expo, Puyallup, WA
- Mar 19-21, Quilters Anonymous Show, Monroe, WA
- April 13-14, Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild, Folsom, CA
- June 3-5, Quilted Strait, Port Gamble, WA
Register early for classes, they can fill quickly, or be cancelled if not enough people register in advance.
 Sew Expo classes and demonstrations with Nancy in Puyallup, WA * class sizes limited, sign-up now!
- Feb 24 - Hawaiian Quilts: Easier Than You Can Imagine (*1-5pm)
- Feb 25 - Two Fabrics, Two Styles, Too Much Fun! (on the Free Stage at 8:30am)
- Feb 25 - Applique the Chong Way (*11:00-1:30pm)
- Feb 26 - Two Fabrics, Two Styles, Too Much Fun! (on the ShowPlex Free Stage at 2:30pm)
- Feb 27 - Two Fabrics, Two Styles, Too Much Fun! (on the Free Stage at 8:30am)
- Feb 27 - Applique the Chong Way (*11:00-1:30pm)
- Feb 28 - Two Fabrics, Two Styles, Too Much Fun! (on the ShowPlex Free Stage at 2:30pm)
* Go to the our Calendar to get the class info to sign-up. And don't forget to sign-up to join us in Hawaii in May to design your personal Hawaiian quilt, or take a needleturn applique class from Nancy:
- Maui applique class, May 20, 2010
- Maui design class, May 20-24, 2010
- Kauai design class, May 26-30, 2010
- Kauai applique class, May 31, 2010
"No tests. No grades. No pressure. New classes open every weekend from January until the end of October. Students receive a password to an online classroom with a teacher-led Discussion Forum and Student Gallery. A typical class consists of three or four lessons. Lessons open on Friday evening."
Nancy's next Quilt University.com classes begin:
- Jan 22, Hawaiian Quilting 101
- Feb 26, Baltimore Basics
- Mar 26, Make Your Own Hawaiian Quilt
- April 9, Celtic Tablerunner
- April 23, Hand Quilting
Janice's Quilt University class:
- Photographing Your Quilts, begins March 19
Invite Nancy to your town:
If you would like to take a class from Nancy in your town, let your local shop or quilt guild know about Nancy. Share our website with your shop owner or program chairperson. Print this pdf of Nancy's brochure and hand it to them. Nancy will travel to teach anywhere she is invited and she would love to meet you in your town! |
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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 | |
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