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When you think of applique, think of us!
Newsletter
Applique - We share your passion!
Issue: #42

March 2013

In This Issue
CELTIC KNOTWORK: Easy applique with 2 fabrics
GALWAY: Celtic Knotwork Applique
CYCLAMEN: Simple Elegance
All-Star Award Winner: 3rd year in a row
COMING EVENTS
Quick Links
Visit Our Website
Patterns

FREE PATTERN!

Lucky You!

  

Our bonus pattern last month was so popular, we are making another BONUS offer this month. Purchase at least $15 of thread in one order between now and when we send our April e-newsletter and receive this pattern for FREE! (Yes, you can purchase as many other items in the order as you like.)  

Pomaika'i - good fortune
Pomaika'i - Good Fortune

The pattern will be sent as a digital file via email. To receive the free pattern, you must include your email address with your order, that includes at least $15 of thread. The pattern will fit on one piece of 8-1/2" x 11" paper; making a quilt approximately 22" square. The applique requires an 18" square of fabric.

 

Start shopping for your thread here!

Remember: Send us pictures of your Pomaika'i quilt and we'll share it with our readers!  

CURRENT

INTERNET SPECIAL

Cyclamen

Cyclamen - purple
Light applique on dark background
  Sale Price: $10.00

(Regular Price: $12.00)

click here

 

 Postage image

I HAVE A NOTION

Introducing you to the notions Nancy and Janice use.
 
Bias-tape Maker 
Bias tape maker

Make your Galway quilt in the usual method of Celtic Knotwork using the Clover 1/4" (6 mm) Bias Tape Maker. Read our How-To article to discover our easy hints for using this simple tool.

 

Get your Bias Tape Maker here, for only $6.80.

 

Postage image

 

WHAT'S NEW?

Langa Lapu Sun-dyed fabric
Langa Lapu king-size
We recently received a new shipment of these gorgeous fabrics from South Africa. Get yours before they are gone!

 

Janice's Hand-dyed Fabrics

Hand-dyed fabric 

20+ new pieces of hand-dyed fabric to drool over. 

 

Fabric Packs

Fabric Pack 

Janice has been busy making up new Fabric Packs with the new fabrics that have arrived lately.

 

Bolts fabrics

Batik Textiles sun-print

New choices being added all the time. Be sure to check them out.

 

NEWWatch for this sign to know what is NEW! 

 

MYSTERY APPLIQUE

What is a Mystery Hand Applique Class?

  

When Nancy got tired of piecers having all the fun, she developed a variety of mystery quilts for hand appliquers. Now you can share the thrill of making a mystery quilt without having to haul your sewing machine to class! You complete at least one block during the class, and know what to do to finish the quilt at home. Hand applique experience is required, but it does not need to be needleturn.

 ?Mystery Class?

 

Of course, we can't show you any pictures, but we can tell you the names:

  • Summer Solstice
  • Crop Circles
  • Mysterious Connections
  • Enigma
  • Mysterious Merry-go-round

 

Nancy would love to come to your quilt guild or local quilt shop to share the excitement of a Mystery Hand Applique class. Contact her for details.

  If you received this Newsletter from a friend, sign-up to receive future issues here:
Join Our Mailing List

Aloha!  

  

Crystal basket

Crystal basket from Connemare Celtic Crystal,

Ireland. (photo by Janice)

What do you picture in your mind when you think of Saint Patrick's Day? We think of: Ireland, green, shamrocks, and good luck.

 

Perhaps the shamrock is a symbol of good luck because in ancient Celtic lore leprechauns guarded great pots of gold. If you tried to get to their gold, they would launch a campaign of annoying tricks and mischief against you. The shamrock was the only shield that could protect you from their antics.

 

One thing that makes quilting so much fun is the freedom to mix cultures, styles, colors, textures and techniques to create one-of-a-kind beautiful art.

Pomaika'i, Good Fortune
Pomaika'i: Good Fortune

What might you get when you mix Ireland, Hawaii and applique? You get Janice's newest BONUS pattern, Pomaika'i: Good Fortune. Anyone whose purchase includes at least $15 in thread, from now until our April e-Newsletter, will receive this pattern for FREE. Read more in the column at left.

 

You will find Nancy this month teaching at the AQS (American Quilt Society) Show and Contest in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; then teaching on a Caribbean cruise. In early April she will be in Washington teaching at The Applique Society (TAS) retreat in Seabeck, and at Quilted Strait in Port Gamble. If you are not registered for one of Nancy's many class opportunities, now is the time to do it!

 

As spring comes to life above the equator, and the fall colors abound below, we wish you inspiration and good fortune in all you do this month.

 

E komo mai,

Welcome,

Nancy & Janice

 CELTIC KNOTWORK

Easy applique - with 2 fabrics  

 

Celtic tablerunner - pink
See * below for pattern information

In the spirit of Saint Patrick's Day, we shift our focus briefly from Hawaii to another island, Ireland, to take a look at the Celtic Knotwork style of applique. Because we love the dramatic look and simplicity of just two contrasting fabrics in our applique, this style fits right in.

 

Our favorite tool to make bias tape for these quilts is Clover's 1/4 inch (6 mm) Bias Tape Maker. But, we do not follow all of Clover's instructions. Instead, we have a slightly different way of using the tool that makes it really easy to produce flawless bias tape in a snap.

 

We have added our instructions to the How-To and Ideas page on our website. Go take a look at our simple secrets.

 

The use of the Bias Tape Maker is only one of the many tips, tricks, and techniques Nancy teaches in her Celtic Knotwork applique classes. Watch her Calendar on our website for the next time she teaches this class at QuiltUniversity.com, or at a venue near you. Remember, you can tell your quilt guild or local shop that you want to take this class from Nancy and ask that they bring her in to teach in your town!  

 

Bring the luck of the Irish into your quilting! To get started on your Celtic Knotwork applique quilt, keep reading about our Galway pattern and order your Bias Tape Maker at left.

 

 

 

* You receive the pattern for this runner when you take Nancy's "Celtic Tablerunner" class in-person or at QuiltUniversity.com. The next QU class begins June 7, 2013.

GALWAY - Applique Quilt Borders & Table Runners 

Celtic Knotwork Applique 
Galway
Galway - 70" option
Galway-blue
44" option

OK, now that you know how easy it is to make beautiful bias tape you are ready to make one of these gorgeous quilts! You don't even need to know how to needleturn, since the edges of the bias tape are already turned under! How great is that? And, the pattern instructions are full of step-by-step details, illustrations, and helpful hints to assure your success with Celtic applique. 

 

Five options with this pattern mean you can find the one that is just right for your table, bed, or quilt border. We show these samples on a 13 inch wide background, but if you want yours wider, that is your choice! The lengths are: 70" (but you can make it even longer with a longer background fabric), 60", 44", 36" and 18" (perfect for a placemat or pillow sham).

 

Celtic applique is incredibly versatile. Imagine piecing an Irish Chain quilt top, then adding borders using this Celtic design! Or make a quilt with three of these long panels separated by two pieced or floral applique panels. Let your imagination go wild!

 

Cyclamen-Galway
Cyclamen with Galway 60" border option

Here is what you might do with the two patterns we are featuring this month, Cyclamen and Galway. When combined this way you start with the 36" Cyclamen quilt, add 13" wide borders on four sides for a finished quilt that is approximately 60" square.

 

While preparing this newsletter, and after we had written this article, we were astonished to receive a note in the mail from a woman whose Irish grandson is marrying a woman of Hawaiian/Japanese heritage. She asked if we had "a suggestion on how I can combine the two cultures in one wall hanging." Gave us chicken-skin (Hawaiian for goose-bumps)! Lucky us, we can show her this example as one way to achieve the blend she is hoping for her grandson and his future wife. What clever ways can you think of to combine Celtic Knotwork applique with other quilting styles?

  

Pattern: Galway, multiple size options, $12.00. Buy it here. 

 

CYCLAMEN -  Hawaiian Quilt

Simple Elegance 

 

Cyclamen colorsWe designed this quilt so you could use that special 1-yard piece of hand-dyed fabric, or any other favorite when all you have is one yard. With careful planning you can get the binding from the excess width of the applique (brightly colored) fabric. 

 

This quilt is particularly fast to applique, because of the gentle curves and relatively few points. A rewarding experience for beginning or advanced appliquers.

 

To read more about this pattern see our December 2009 e-Newsletter.

   

Pattern: Cyclamen, 36" square, normally $12.00, but for a limited time this pattern is our Internet Special for only $10.00Get your pattern here.  

ALL-STAR AWARD WINNER

Third year in a row! 

2012 All-star AwardWe send our e-Newsletters to you via Constant Contact, a great company that makes it very easy for us to communicate with you. Each year they honor just 10% of their thousands of customers who consistently set a high standard of interaction with their customers. 

 

For the third year in a row we have received the All-Star Award! We wanted to share the great news and express our gratitude to you, our loyal customers, for helping us achieve this honor. Our emails are made with you in mind, so thank you for engaging with us and welcoming us into your email boxes.  

COMING EVENTS

Nancy's Whereabouts:

 

The change of seasons is always a good time to look ahead and make plans for the coming months. Here is our upcoming schedule. Start making your plans, and register for these events now.

 

2013 Shows, Classes, and Events:

  • Mar 24-31, Cruise and applique with Nancy from New Orleans through the Western Caribbean.
  • April 2-3, Seabeck, WA, The Applique Society retreat
  • April 5, Port Gamble, WA, Quilted Strait
  • April 8-9, Springfield, IL, at Q.U.I.L.T.S.
  • April 25-27, Rickreal (Salem), OR Mid-Valley Quilt Guild Show, come visit Nancy, see our quilts, and shop in our booth!
  • May 9-11, Medford, OR, Mountain Star Quilters.
  • June 13-15, Newport, OR, Oregon Coastal Quilters Guild.
  • June 19-20, Redwood City, CA, Peninsula Quilters Guild.
  • June 27-29, Sandy, OR, Sandy Historical Society 15th Annual Quilt Show, come shop in our booth, meet Nancy and see our quilts!
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 beyond. 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 upcoming classes begin:

  • April 5, Baltimore Basics
  • April 26, Make Your Own Hawaiian Quilt
  • May 3, Hand Quilting

Janice's upcoming class begins:

  • April 19, Photograph Your Quilts 

 

 

 

 

Our hearts were saddened last month with the news that Carol Miller, the heart and soul behind Quilt University, succumbed to bone cancer. Roger, her husband and capable partner in Quilt University, is committed to the on-going education of quilters via the internet. Classes will continue. We hope to meet you in class!


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