Unlimited Possibilities and Machine Quilting Unlimited

Back Issues

 are now available for Preorder on CDs!

Click to order

Ever since we combined the magazines, Readers have been asking for Unlimited Possibilities Magazine back issues. The print copies are long gone...but now you can have an entire year at a time on a CD for reference and inspiration! We have created CDs containing the 2007, 2008 and 2009 issues. Bookmarked by article, and searchable by keyword, these CDs will be a handy resource for any machine quilter. Additionally, we offer the first six issues of MQU (before the merger of the two magazines) on their own CD.

PREORDERS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED

(Expected release date is November 22, 2010)

Unlimited Possibilities Magazine 2007 -

6 (six) issues     $19.95

Unlimited Possibilities Magazine 2008 -

6 (six) issues     $19.95

Unlimited Possibilities Magazine 2009 -

3 (three) issues $ 9.95

OR

Order ALL THREE for $39.95!! That's a 20% savings!

And not to forget

Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazine:

MQU - the original six issues, before the merger  $19.95

Visit our website, www.mqumag.com

and  order today!

World Series Quilt Challenge - And The Winner is?

The online quilt auction of the World Series Quilt Challenge for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) concluded November 10th.  Each 16" x 16" masterpiece was created by some heavy hitters in the quilting world.  Bidding resulted in an amazing total of $12,908.56 for the quilts!!

Hollis' Chatelain's quilt, Tangled, led the bidding at $3,537.56.  Hollis was part of the American Quilt League along with John Flynn's Heart of the Storm, Becky Goldsmith's When I am Empty, and Sue Nickels' Tiny Tea at Tenby.  The American Quilt League team total was $7,043.56.

Caryl Bryer Fallert's Feather Flower #2 lead The National Quilt League at $2,500, Judy Mathieson's Scarlet and Indigo, Mary Sorensen's Late Bloomer, and Ricky Tims' Rhapsody for Rememberingalso brought impressive figures.  The National Quilt League total for their quilts was $5,865.

See all the quilts and the auction details at http://www.alzquilts.org/. Earrings of the quilt images are still available!

Protecting your Pets in the Sewing Room

©2010, Kit Robinson

www.kitsquilts.norova.com

  Some cats are sweet and amenable and pose picturesquely in the window or a basket, requiring only the use of a lint roller and a vacuum to disguise the fact that they have ever been in the room.  Other cats leap onto the ironing board, knock off the iron and scatter the pins from the magnetic pin holder you have left there, pull over the wire shelving unit containing all of your supplies (reducing the whole contraption to a maze of rods and baskets which refuse to be put back together) and in general spend their time metaphorically swinging from the chandeliers.  I have one of each type of cat.

  Most of this advice is not for cats like my adorable little white cat, who merely needs an occasionally pet to keep him happy and safe. It is for cats like my Siamese mix, Taz, who thinks one of the most fun things in the world is to somehow jump through all of the threads as they lead into my serger, unthreading all of them simultaneously, then wrap them around my nearby sewing machine a few times. I cannot seem to keep this multi-talented door, cabinet and drawer opening cat out of his favorite place, my sewing room. Cats have a sad habit of starting to chew on one end of a length of thread, swallowing as they go, and when it is coming off of a bobbin or spool, this can end up being quite a bit of thread. When the thread ends in a needle, and the needle gets swallowed, it is even worse.  This thread (and possibly a needle) can easily get tangled up in a cat's intestines, causing horrible distress and even death. At the very least, it can require expensive surgery and a long, painful recovery. I have learned that child locks on my drawers that contain items dangerous to my cats are the best solution, and I never keep a threaded needle in a pincushion or anywhere my cat can access it. Taz dearly loves to play with bobbins, so they either need to be kept in a bobbin ring or in an inaccessible drawer. If I need to throw away long lengths of thread, especially invisible or sparkly metallic thread which is particularly enticing and dangerous to cats, I put it into a bag or container rather than an open trash can. I try and keep my iron where it can't be knocked over, and my sharp instruments locked away where neither the cats nor my grandchildren can get to them. I have heard of cats who like to play with small pins, and sometimes end up swallowing them, so these can also be a potential problem and should be put away safely when not in use.

  Spray products like Keep Off!™ can be used to keep cats from clawing a design wall, but only if you remember to spray the surface of the wall rather frequently.  I mention this as a safety item because if Taz attacks my design wall one more time I might inadvertently kill him.

  Dogs should also be kept away from sharp items, and open rotary cutters should not be left on the floor or where an excited dog can jump on a blade. I have not heard of dogs eating thread or pins, but items that look like they might be chew toys, like some pin cushions (possibly with pins in them), should be kept out of reach. To avoid complete mayhem with my cats as well as uncontrollable shedding, my rather large, unruly dogs have learned that my sewing room is off limits, but I know that smaller (and hopefully better behaved) dogs than mine are frequently welcome as sewing companions. For the health and happiness of all of your animals, do a quick check of your area. Think about your own pet, and his personality - what is he likely to see as an attractive temptation? My daughter's friend, a veterinarian in Montana, recently opened up a Burmese Mountain dog that was in distress and found 15 pacifiers/baby toys in his stomach, so try and think as creatively as your dog might. Some paints, oil-based color sticks and embellishments can be toxic if eaten by your pet. Even a bout of colorful, oil-based diarrhea is not a desirable outcome for an inside pet.   Be sure that anything your pet can get into is safe (and replaceable), and then relax and quilt with the companionship of your furry friends.