| 2 SPECIAL EVENTS with NANCY CHONG | | |
Retreat to the Big Island of HAWAII with CP Trips, Oct 19-26.
Register now to assure your space on this magical trip to Kona, Hawaii.
Join fellow appliquers for 6 days/ 7 nights in sunny FLORIDA!
Nov 12-19.
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Applique classes
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Quilt Show
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Shop Hop
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Special events
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| CURRENT INTERNET SPECIAL | | |
Victorian Gingerbread
Regularly priced at $12.00, available for a limited time at our Internet Special price of just $10.00.
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| I HAVE A NOTION | |
Introducing you to the notions Nancy and Janice use.
Clover Water Soluble Pencils
 After reading "The Marking Dilemma" at the right, you will know that, while this is not the perfect marking tool, it is currently the one we are willing to use on our quilts, and make available to you, our customers.
It marks easily, does not smear or rub off until water is applied, washed out of our test fabrics, and is efficiently packaged.
Cost is $8.00 for three pencils (white, pale pink and pale blue).
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| WHAT'S NEW? | |
FABRIC
We have added more new bolts of fabric. To see what's new start with the Fabric Finder.
FABRIC PACKS
With new fabrics, Janice has made up new Fabric Packs, too. Start here, on page one, and be sure to click through to see what's new on all four pages!
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| Aloha!
Our quilting overlaps with so many areas of our lives and tells so many stories about us. Just looking at a quilt you can learn more about the person who made it, and the person it was made for. A quilt reveals favorites: colors, flowers, hobbies, seasons, places, foods, pets. A quilt reveals propensities: whimsical, traditional, safe, radical, hurried, leisurely. A quilt reveals life circumstances: wealth, health, family. A quilt reveals moods: happy, sad, melancholy, hope, despair, joy. Quilts also express current affairs: political, economic, natural, global, local.
The stories quilts can tell! Some quilters make quilts with the intent of telling their stories, making their mark. Other quilters have no such intention, and would be surprised to think that they are revealing anything personal about themselves in their quilts.
But it is true. Quilting is a personal, expressive activity. Whether you pursue it as an artist or craftsman, an amateur or professional. Whether you quilt by hand, machine, or check; we know you better because of your quilts.
Perhaps, in part, it is this personal connection we feel with others, through their quilts, that attracts us to quilt shows. The next quilt show for Nancy is on Friday and Saturday, August 6 & 7; the Oregon Coastal Quilters 20th Annual Quilt Show in Newport, OR. If you get anywhere near town their signs will direct you to the right spot.
Later in August, Nancy will also have our booth in Crescent City , California, at the Lighthouse Quilt Guild Annual Show "Variety is the Spice of Life," Saturday and Sunday, August 21 & 22. Nancy looks forward to seeing you at one or both shows!
Nancy & Janice
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VICTORIAN GINGERBREAD | |
Victorian Gingerbread |
You also come to know a designer by the quilts she designs. Knowing what a quilt designer was thinking as she designed a pattern connects you to that pattern. But it does not stop there. When you make the quilt, you continue the story as you add your special meaning to it.
Take Victorian Gingerbread, as an example. Janice designed this quilt for an article she wrote for Threads magazine in Sept 2003*, "Designing Hawaiian Applique Without the Tropics." Wanting to illustrate that Hawaiian-style designs can display more than just tropical flowers, she chose the architectural gingerbread of an old Victorian-era home in the small town near where she lives. Something she sees and enjoys all the time.
But, if you will recall, in the
Architectural Gingerbread |
March 2010 issue of our Newsletter, we mentioned that Hawaii was strongly aligned with, and culturally influenced by, Great Britain during the Victorian-era. Evidence of this Victorian influence abounds in Hawaii to this day. So, even this quilt, intended to be designed "Without the Tropics," can have a connection to Hawaii, or to Great Britain, or perhaps to your neighborhood, a friend's house, a childhood memory, or a favorite vacation spot.
Janice's intent for this quilt is only its first chapter. What can this quilt reveal about you, or the person you make it for? A quilt becomes yours when you add your story to it, making it uniquely yours. There is more than one chapter to any quilt's story.
Victorian Gingerbread is our current Internet Special. Order your pattern now for just $10, normally $12. Click here.
Choose from a variety of Fabric Packs to make your Hawaiian Quilt. _______________
* "Designing Hawaiian Applique Without the Tropics", Threads, Taunton Press; by Janice Lee Baehr with Nancy Lee Chong, September 2003, pages 34-38.
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| THE PEACOCK PRINCESS | | Princess Ka'iulani
It is true, a quilt's story continues to reveal itself long after the quilt is finished.  A native species of India, the peacock's plumage display has got to be the most dramatic of all birds, providing inspiration for all manner of art, including our 2 Fabric Applique Quilt "Peacock".
The Hawaiian word for peacock is pikake. Likewise, the Hawaiian word for jasmine is pikake. Interestingly, the peacock was the favorite pet, and jasmine the favorite flower of Hawaii's Princess Ka'iulani (1875-1899). The young Ka'iulani could often be seen feeding her peacocks on the grounds of her Waikiki estate, 'Ainahau, among the ponds and jasmine. When she died at the age of 23, it is said that her peacocks wailed, signaling the passage of her spirit.
 Saying the word "Pikake" in Hawaii may bring to mind images of all three - peacocks, jasmine and the beloved Princess Ka'iulani. Did we have all of that in mind when we designed this quilt? Not exactly. Our recent trip to Hawaii gave us the opportunity to see many peacocks (and even a nest of peacock eggs, or should we say peahen eggs?) on the grounds of Smith's Tropical Paradise. We enjoyed their displays and photographed their regal poses. And we were reminded why the Princess loved these magnificent creatures. The experience adds new meaning to this quilt for us. Speaking of the Princess, have you seen it yet? The movie Princess Ka'iulani ( movie link). Janice has ordered a pre-release copy of the DVD, coming in Sept. If you want to learn more about the inspiring life of Princess Ka'iulani check out these resources: The Princess Ka'iulani Project and, Remembering Hawai'i's Crown Princess.
TIP: Please do not be put off by the points in either of the quilts we have featured this month. Nancy shows her simple method for appliqueing points in both of our videos: "2 Fabric Applique Quilts with Nancy Lee Chong" and "Hawaiian Quilting with Nancy Lee Chong". If you don't know her 'windshield-wiper-method', look for the DVD in your local public library, guild library, pull it off your own book shelf, or purchase one here. Once you know how to successfully applique a point, neither of these quilts is difficult. (Yes, the videos also teach you how to applique inside points, inside curves, and outside curves.)
Choose from a variety of Fabric Packs to make this and other 2 Fabric Applique Quilts. |
| THE MARKING DILEMMA | | What to use to mark your quilts???
How hard can this be?? We have sent men to the moon multiple times in the last 40 years, but we still don't have marking tools that easily mark on fabric, that reliably come off with no trace, and do no damage to the fabrics! After our long-time favorite chalk pencil underwent a disappointing change several months back, rendering it useless, Nancy set out to find a new tool to mark quilting lines on a quilt top.
While she did not find the perfect pencil, she found one that we are willing to use on our quilts, and offer to our customers. It is the Clover Water Soluble pencil.
To read about the tests Nancy performed, the results, and her conclusion click here. See also, "I Have a Notion" to the left. |
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COMING EVENTS | | | Nancy's Whereabouts:
Quilt Shows
While you are making your plans for summer and fall travel, be sure to include a stop at one of these quilt shows to meet Nancy and Janice, and do a little shopping.
- August 6 & 7, Quilts by the Sea Quilt Show, Newport, OR
- August 21 & 22, Lighthouse Quilt Guild Show, Crescent City, CA
- October 1-3, Quilt Fest 2010, La Conner, WA
- November 12 & 13, Feather Princesses Quilt Show, Tampa, FL
Classes - Presentations - Events
- September 17 & 18, 2 classes at Falls Quilt Guild, Great Falls, MT
- October 1-3, 3 classes at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, La Conner, WA
- October 19-26, looking for another excuse to visit Hawaii? Join Nancy for an exciting tour on the Big Island of Hawaii, organized by C.P. Trips. So that you will have an applique project to work on during the flight to Kona, we start the fun with a Celtic Knotwork hand applique class on Monday, Oct. 18, in Portland, Oregon. While in Kona, Nancy will share her quilts, along with the history, traditions and superstitions of Hawaiian quilting. You will begin your own Hawaiian wall quilt, and learn the Chong way to applique. Other activities include a snorkel sailing trip, a visit to a seahorse farm, time to shop in Kona, a luau, and more. Contact www.cptrips.com now to reserve your spot.
- November 14 at The Applique Society Retreat in lovely Parrish, Florida. Take Nancy's mystery applique class "Summer Solstice", along with classes from other applique teachers, and so much more! The full retreat runs from Nov 12-19, 2010, and includes a bus trip to the Feather Princesses Quilt Show in Tampa on Nov 13. Sign-up Soon! Yes, the link is on our Calendar.
- We have several classes planned in Florida in November - Clearwater, The Villages, Leesburg. Check our Calendar for details.
Register early for classes, they can fill quickly, or be cancelled if not enough people register in advance.
Remember to let your local quilt shop and guild know that you would like to take an applique class from Nancy Chong. Give them our website, or print Nancy's brochure and give it to them. Be sure to circle the classes you are interested in! Nancy will travel anywhere she is invited to teach.
"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 QuiltUniversity.com classes begin:
- Aug 6, Make Your Own Hawaiian Quilt
- Aug 27, Celtic Tablerunner
- Sept 17, Hand Quilting
Janice's next QuiltUniversity.com class begins:
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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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