|
CURRENT
INTERNET SPECIAL | | |
A timeless design; our most popular. Make it as a gift - for a family member, friend, or yourself!
 | | Woodland Lei |
Sale Price: $10.00
(Regular Price: $12.00)
click here
 |
 |
|
NEW FABRICS | |
In our e-Newsletter last month we gave you tips for selecting fabrics for your Hawaiian and 2 Fabric Applique Quilts (2FAQ). This month we have new fabrics for you to choose from! We stock the fabrics that work well with our patterns. Take a look.
BOLT FABRICS: Start with our Fabric Finder page to see our full selection, then just click on the thumbnail pics to get more information and make your selections.
HAND-DYED FABRICS:
As promised, Janice has been busy dyeing fabric! Click here and scroll all the way down the page to see everything. More is being added as it is finished. Check back often, or place an order for the special piece you have in mind.
Want to choose a pair of fabrics that look good together, and that has a matching spool of applique thread? Then go to our four pages of Fabric Packs.
|
| |
|
HALLOWEEN | | |
Boo!
Here is a fun Halloween quilt that is screaming to be fused for this Halloween.
Halloween. 24" x 36", $12.00
TIP: Use our Pattern Transfer Paper for an easy way to transfer your applique lines onto a dark applique fabric. Buy it here.
We have many Halloween Fabric Packs to choose from, too. |
|
BIG ISLAND QUILT SHOP HOP | | |
You'll find us there!
February 1-23, 2013
Passports available beginning January 15, 2013
We are in the process right now of making plans with Quilt Passions (Kona) and Pahala Quilting (Pahala) to be in their shops during the first week or two of the Shop Hop for special events. Watch our website, this e-Newsletter, and their websites for updates and details as they become available.
We sure hope to see you there!
Contact Karen at Quilt Passions, or Donna at Pahala Quilting for more details.
Go here for the Big Island Shop Hop Facebook page.
|
|
DESIGN YOUR PERSONAL HAWAIIAN QUILT | | |
Read the Reviews!
We are pleased to see that two major quilting magazines have picked our new book for review:
QLab Staff Picks, Quilters Newsletter,
October/November 2012 issue, page 58.
Book Reviews, American Quilter,
November 2012 issue, page 16.
(Note: If you are a member of the American Quilter's Society you can purchase the book and DVD set from them at a discounted price.)
|
| If you received this Newsletter from a friend, sign-up to receive future issues here: |
 | |
|
|
Aloha (Contact First Name),
Do you find your thoughts increasingly turning to quilting? As the days get shorter, the air a little crisper, the green of summer begins to turn to the gold of autumn, it makes us want to have new quilts to snuggle up with. How about you?
The colors of autumn are warm and muted - gold, rust, brown, olive, purple, maroon, and deep blue. It seems that whenever we see these colors in a quilt we think of it as an autumn quilt. So the quilts we are featuring this month are made in these colors, but when you look closely at the designs themselves, there is nothing that confines you to making these as autumn quilts. Choose spring or summer colors and they become celebrations for any time of year.
How often has the thought of basting kept you from starting a new applique project? To give you a boost, this month we share our tips for thread-basting, in preparation for needleturn applique. So, go get that pattern and fabric you want to start, use our basting tips, and you'll be ready with a wonderful, relaxing applique project for the weeks (months?) ahead!
E komo mai,
Welcome,
Nancy & Janice |
| WOODLAND LEI - Hawaiian wall quilt | |
 | | Woodland Lei |
Lei Nahele
Funny how the fabrics we choose for the cover quilt of a pattern seem to brand that pattern for a particular season or look. This Woodland Lei quilt, done in autumn colors frequently makes people think of this as an autumn quilt. But look at the purple version, below, to see how it can work in any season.
Did you know? Several of our Hawaiian quilt patterns include a small companion pattern for a 21" block. These smaller patterns can be used to make pillows, wall-hangings, or used as blocks in a poho-poho, or album quilt.  They can also be practice pieces if you have never made a Hawaiian quilt. We named this little companion piece Nahele Iki, a little bit of forest.
And here is the block pattern in bold, hand-dyed fabrics for a very different look. Notice where the values of the applique are very similar to the background the design nearly  disappears, only to reappear where the contrast is stronger. Just what the forest looks like when the sun is shining - putting some leaves in deep shadows, and others in bright light.
Woodland Lei: 42" square, Normally this pattern sells for $12.00, but for a limited time you can purchase it for just $10.00. Buy It Now!
Find a variety of Fabric Pack options here.
Look in our Hawaiian Quilt Gallery for more examples of Woodland Lei made by our customers. Such variety!
|
| THREAD-BASTING - For Needleturn Applique | | |
Temporary, not tedious
Think of thread-basting as a temporary replacement for pins. You need to hold two pieces of fabric together just long enough to applique them together. If it is a small applique piece then a pin or two will do the trick, but if it is a large applique piece (like a Hawaiian or 2 Fabric Applique Quilt) then thread-basting is in order.
Here are our suggestions for basting:
- Use a long, single thread (about the length of your extended arm) and a long needle (a straw or milliner's needle). Knot the thread.
- Make long running stitches that are about 1" long and 1" apart. Be flexible, it depends on the size and shape of the piece.
- Place basting stitches about 1/2" to 3/4" in from the cut edge of the applique piece. This will provide enough room for you to comfortably sweep your needle and turn under 3/16".
- No need to put a knot at the end of a thread or line of basting, just 2 to 3 small tacking stitches in place will hold until the basting is removed. Pull the needle off the thread or cut the thread, leaving about a 1" tail.
Basting is not a precision process. Do enough of it to hold your applique piece securely in place, but that's all.
TIP 1: Use an ugly color basting thread. When you pull out the basting, your applique will look even better with that ugly thread gone; increasing your feeling of accomplishment!
TIP 2: Basting is the perfect opportunity to use up thread you don't like, or won't use for anything else. Use old thread, ends of spools, or the thread you no longer like to use for applique. (Beware of thread on old wooden spools. It has absorbed acids from the wood that may weaken the thread and make it less color-fast.)
Why don't we glue-baste? Several reasons:
- The applique has not yet been cut when basting a 2 Fabric Applique Quilt, so the edges are not available for glue-basting.**
- After carefully placing a Hawaiian applique, we don't want to have to lift it (even the edges) in order to get the glue in.
- If we glue so close to the edge of the applique that we don't have room to turn under the edge, we have to tug the fabrics apart and that can distort the fabrics (stretch them out of shape).
- Glue is a product that could discolor, or have other negative affects, on some fabrics.
** If this does not make sense to you, read the article "What's the Difference: Hawaiian Quilts vs. 2 Fabric Applique Quilts" in the August 2009 issue of our e-Newsletter, or read the 2FAQ pattern instructions.
|
| FOREST FINERY | | |
Adorn your table, bed or wall
 | | Forest Finery, 13" x 72" |
As fall begins to make its appearance you may be wanting a new quilt to decorate your home. We designed our Applique Quilt Border and Table Runner patterns to be used not just as table runner, but as bed scarves, quilt borders and narrow
 | | Placemat or Pillow, option 1 |
wall-hangings. The quilt pictured above is 13" x 72". If you have a smaller table, make a shorter runner by using just one vine of leaves, not two.
Need fabric? Click here for a Fabric Pack and other suggestions for this quilt.
TIP: When making placemats and table runner consider using heat-resistant, or flame retardant batting.
 | | Placemat or Pillow, option 2 |
Forest Finery: 13" x 72", plus other options. $12.00.
BONUS: Suggestions for longer and shorter runners, pillows and placemats are included with the pattern.
Make this version of Forest Finery using just one 2-yard piece of Janice's hand-dyed rainbow fabric. Cut one length of fabric 15" wide for the background, then flip the fabric end-to-end to cut stems and leaves from the contrasting colors.
 | | Forest Finery with Janice's hand-dyed rainbow fabric |
|
|
COMING EVENTS | | |
Nancy's Whereabouts:
Here are opportunities to take a class from, or enjoy a presentation by Nancy at a quilt show, guild or shop. Most guilds welcome visitors, so don't be shy.
Upcoming Shows, Classes, and Events:
- Sept 20-21, Twin Rivers Quilters Guild, New Bern, NC
- Oct 11-13, Oregon Coastal Quilters, Newport, OR
- Nov 1-4, A Quilters Gathering, Manchester, NH - This is a popular event, register now for Nancy's classes!
- Nov 10-11, Empire Quilters, New York City
Register early for classes. They can fill quickly, or be canceled if not enough people register in advance.
Click CALENDAR for details and contact information.
Schedule Nancy now for your show or event in 2013 and 2014. If you would like her to come to your area to teach, let your quilt shop, quilt guild, or show organizer know. Print Nancy's Brochure and pass it along.
QuiltUniversity.com
If you do not live where you can take a class from Nancy in person, then perhaps a class at Quilt University would work for you.
"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."
Nancy's up-coming classes begin:
- October 5, Hand Quilting
Janice's up-coming class begins:
- September 28, Photographing Your Quilts
|
|
Thank you for spending a little of your precious time with us, we really appreciate it. Remember to send us your stories, pictures, questions, or suggestions. We love to hear from you.
A hui hou,
Until next time,
Nancy & Janice |
|
|
|
|
