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March 3, 2012
Greetings!,

Flowers in Jinny's gardenFirst off, I'd like to welcome all the new subscribers to my newsletter.  We added several thousand in the just the last month, and if you are one of them, I'd like to thank you for joining our quilting community. Also, I love to get your thoughts and feedback on this newsletter and my website. Just send us a note to [email protected].

Is your weather as crazy as it is here in Virginia? This winter, we've had virtually no snow and temperatures as high as 70� in February! Needless to say, that has coaxed out all kinds of early flowers in my garden as you can see in the photo.
Mexico City 2012 - Students
Students in one of my classes show off their work

Teaching in Mexico City
The weather was quite fantastic in Mexico City, too, where I recently spent four days teaching such an incredibly enthusiastic group of Mexican quilters. Silvia Barba from the Quilting Studio invited me to work with a group of quilters at her marvelous shop in a beautiful residential area of Mexico City. You can read more about my visit and see some pictures at Jinny's Corner on the website.

200 Free Quilt Blocks
Fox & Geese, Block #200We hit a milestone this week on the Quilter's Design Board on jinnybeyer.com.  We posted Fox & Geese, the 200th free quilt block pattern! For each block, you can download templates for 6", 10" and 12" block sizes, as well as a Template Guide that shows you how to assemble the block.

When you choose a block and Launch the Design Board, you can also create a virtual quilt, determine fabric requirements and more.  I encourage you to explore this wonderful resource.  And keep looking for new blocks -- we post two new blocks every month!
Visit the Quilter's Design Board.

Rajasthan Fabrics & Quilt Kit Now Available for Pre-Order
I returned to India, the place where I made my very first quilt in the 1970s, about eighteen months ago. Once again, the sounds, smells and especially the vibrant colors were a feast for the senses.

Rajasthan is my second collection inspired by that trip.  (Kashmir, released in August 2011, was the first.) The beautiful traditional sari fabrics and the rich spices displayed in big bowls in the markets were two of the sights that gave life to the collection's color palette.
Rajasthan Fabrics
Rajasthan Fabric Collection
The fabrics themselves include a big, bold paisley that I think would be amazing used as a quilt back, in large patches, or fussy cut for special effects.  There's also a subtle architectural print, a colorwash created by dots of color, and a faded tapestry print.  The four colorways each have a coordinating border print fabric. You can see the whole collection -- which we'll begin shipping in about two weeks -- on the website.
See the Rajasthan Fabric Collection

We've also created fat quarter bundles of the complete collection, and mini-bundles that include all the fabrics in each of the four colorways plus coordinating Palette Collection fabrics.  Aren't they lovely? You can see bigger images on our website by clicking the image or the link below.
See the Rajasthan Fabric Bundles

Rajasthan FQ Bundles
Rajasthan Quilt - Large
I designed a quilt using the cool teal and purple fabrics from the collection. (The design technique I used, fragmentation, was the focus of my quilting tip last month.) The Rajasthan quilt pattern is a free download, and complete quilt kits are also available to order. The larger quilt is shown here, but it's also available in a wall-sized version.

More information on Rajasthan quilt kit and free pattern download.



Save on My #1 Color Design Tool
We're expecting the newest edition of my Portable Palette this month and I'd like to give you the chance to order it at a special price.  When you place your order for the Portable Palette by March 30, you'll save 10% off the $60 retail price.
Get the details.

The Portable Palette is like a painter's fan deck for quilters.  It incorporates all 150 fabrics in my Jinny Beyer Palette fabric collection and has just been updated to incorporate the new Palette #11 fabrics.

Mexico Mural with Portable Palette
I use the Portable Palette in every single quilt I design. I believe it's truly invaluable for helping you choose a range of beautiful colors, whether you are inspired by a photo or a piece of fabric with which you've completely fallen in love.

The image above presents one quick example.  I took the photo of that amazing mural during my recent trip to Mexico City.  If I were to plan a quilt using that mural as an inspiration, I'd use my Portable Palette to find fabrics that shade together, bridging the bold blue, orange, green and red.

You can see a video showing how I use the Portable Palette and sharing my color "secrets" at the following link.
See Jinny's video on The Quilt Show.


Shenandoah Baskets - Month 2
Month 2 - Block 3
Block 3 
This month's free pattern is an original variation that I've called, Basket of Fruits. It's a simple block to sew, enhanced by a strip of border print at the top of the basket and two small triangles at the base.

If you're just joining the program and missed last month's newsletter, there's no need to worry!

In addition to this month's block, the download link below will give you access to all the start-up materials we shared last month as well as the first two blocks that kicked things off. 

 

Shenandoah Baskets Combo 
Shenandoah Baskets is available with dark or light backgrounds. The optional floral appliqu� is
shown on the light version.

(They are all Adobe PDF files so you must have the free Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view them.)

 

Remember that the only way to access the free download page is through this email. So, if you don't download the patterns immediately, be sure to save this email.  

 

[Link available only to subscribers] 

  

Ready to make the quilt? We have complete kits ready to go.  (As we await a big shipment of the border print fabric used, we'll ship the kits in two installments. U.S. customers will not be charged for the second shipment; packages for international customers will be split to ship in two Priority Mail Envelopes which is cheaper than if the kit was shipped in one package.)

 

And don't forget that you can choose Shenandoah Baskets with a dark or light background. 

See the kit options here. 

 

 
Happy quilting!

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