QCA Community Blog : quilt

13 tops pieced-16 to go!

EQeditor — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:59:00 GMT

Our project is well on it's way and we're all enthusiastically contributing to the cause. We've cut 6 1/2 inch squares of flannel and are making them 72 x 90, so as you can guess, they're pretty good sized quilts! We think the fun part is seeing how we each decided to arrange our blocks. There's a fun array of flannels and enough to make the scrappy ones look great. We are backing them with fleece to add warmth to the quilts and then binding with the flannel. More news on our progress later!

Diane, Assistant Editor

What is your favorite thing to sew for gifts?

EQeditor — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:45:00 GMT

For some fun ideas, check out the Winter issue of Easy Quilts, as well as the November/December issue of Love of Quilting!

June "Quilt It! The Longarm Quilting Show" with Suzanne Hyland

Jodie Davis — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:30:00 GMT

Segment Two

Now that we have a general idea of what we wish to do, how do you know what quilt pattern to use where, and what about placement? Suzanne uses Quilters Preview Paper to audition her designs and then stitches them out to test them with real thread-without committing to them!

In Short Takes on Longarm Quilting, Vicki Hoth turns her attention to the often neglected back of quilts. She offers tips for choosing backing fabrics, shows how to seam a quilt, and how you can make a quilt for the back by piecing quilt backings.

Suzanne Michelle Hyland, June Star on "Quilt It! The Longarm Quilting Show"!

Jodie Davis — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:09:00 GMT

How to Choose Quilting Designs

Quilting makes the quilt! With limitless possibilities for quilting, how do you choose a design? Suzanne Hyland joins Jodie in the studio to walk through the thought process she uses when she examines a quilt and decides upon the best route to take with her quilting. She starts by asking some basic questions.

Segment One

Suzanne discusses a few simple questions to ask yourself that will help you discover the style of quilting that will complement the piecing and fabrics in your quilt. Does the quilt call for an overall design or an interpretive design? How will it be used? Is this an heirloom or a quilt for a dorm? What about the fabrics, the style of the quilt, the theme?

What do you use for a design wall?

EQeditor — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:06:00 GMT

Everyone has a their own way of previewing the quilt they're working on. I used to lay it all out on our living room floor. My friend Rebecca would use masking tape to stick them on the wall of her sewing room. Marianne and Liz used to go down the the local Ben Franklin store here in Winterset and buy the plastic tablecloth with flannel backing by the yard to tape on the wall.

While developing new ideas for the Fons & Porter line of tools and notions, this was a product idea that has been on the list for several years, and this year finally introduced in the Fons & Porter tool and notion line!

The Fons & Porter Design Wall is 60 x 72 inches and has great sticking quality flannel, which allows you to arrange patchwork and quilt sections without pinning. It has 2 inch grid lines, as well as diagonal lines for arranging blocks horizontally, vertically, or on point. It also has grommets across the top for ease of hanging. Easy to take down, roll up and take along!

And the best part is, it's reasonably priced and you can find it on the Fons & Porter website!

What do you think?

Happy Quilting!

Diane-Assistant Editor

Great Quilt Pattern for Large Print Fabrics

EQeditor — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:47:00 GMT

I have had some large-print fabrics in my closet for several years. My mother brought them back with her from a trip she took to Alaska. One of the print fabrics was a blue, white, and black print of Wolves. Another print included outdoor wildlife scenes and a third fabric had eagles printed on it. These fabrics seemed to find a semi-permanent place in my fabric stash because I just couldn't quite come up with a good way to use all of the fabrics together to make a cohesive quilt.

In the Fall 2009 issue of Easy Quilts we ran a project called Venetian Dreams which featured 4 different sizes of squares with sashing between the squares to form the larger block. This turned out to be just the pattern I had been looking for to make this Alaska quilt for my parents. I was able to get it all pieced and quilted in time to give it to my parents this Christmas.

If you too have large-print fabrics that you have had a hard time pulling together into a quilt, take a look at the Venetian Dream quilt pattern. As a member of Quilter's Club of America you can view electronic versions of back issue on the website and print out the directions for quilts from these issues.

Enjoy!

Tony (Art Director, Easy Quilts)

It's Here!!!!! -- "Learn To Quilt" with Marianne Fons and her daughter Mary!!! GREAT GIFT

EQeditor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:30:00 GMT

Great Gift for any new quilter or wanna be quilter!!! Look at your local newsstands for this terrific bargain, go on line to fonsandporter.com and place your order, or give us a call at 866-729-9601. The package includes a DVD with over 2 hours of instruction from Marianne and Mary and a 32 page booklet that will take you through each step with photos to also help you.

Give someone a gift that they will enjoy for many years to come.

Happy Quilting,

Cindy H

Rosie's Charm Update

EQeditor — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:37:00 GMT

Well, the plumbing problems at the office have been taken care of and we're all feeling a little fuller from eating Thanksgiving dinner with our friends and family.

I wanted to give everyone an update on the Rosie's Charm quilt that appeared in Easy Quilts, Fall 2009. It was named in honor of my mother-in-law Rosie Gaworski. On the 21st of November she turned 85 years young and I finally gave her the quilt that was named in her honor. She knew that the quilt had been named in her honor, but she never imagined she was going to actually receive the quilt as a gift. She broke down in tears when we presented it to her. She has done so much for all of us over the years and I was glad that we could finally do something like this for her. I had planned to show photos of her with her quilt, but alas I didn't remember the camera until we were halfway to her house. If you look very closely at the photo of the quilt you will see a photo of her when she was 3 years of age setting on the table.

Now I've just got to get to work on those quilts that need to be finished in time for Christmas. If you stop into the shop here in Winterset, you might see me working at the long-arm quilting machine trying to get all the quilts finished in time.

Tony Jacobson / Art Director

What We are Dealing With

EQeditor — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:00:00 GMT

This is a picture of what we are dealing with this week right outside our back door but...................

......

we are still working on the next Easy Quilts issue for all of you. Of course working on the magazine helps take our minds off of the fact that we have no working restrooms facilities for a couple of days. Lucky that we work in an office on the town square and have other facilites close by.

By next week we will hopefully have everything up and running again and on to another issue of the magazine.

I would all like to wish our readers a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Cindy H

Chase Away the Winter Blues!

EQeditor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:14:00 GMT

Winter always seems so dark and dreary to me because we go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Spring is my favorite time of year because of all new buds, flowers, baby animals, and green grass.

We are currently working on the Spring 2010 issue of "Easy Quilts" so I get to pretend that spring is here already!! I've attached a photo that has 3 of the "Tried and True" blocks that I have been working on for this issue. I think you will find this issue comes at a great time of year with several fun new projects for you to choose from.

I just returned to Iowa late Wednesday evening after spending a week in upstate NY visiting family and friends. I also spent 4 wonderful days at the "Sew Nice" quilt retreat with 51 wonderful women at the White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, NY!! The atmosphere was extraordinary, everyone looks out for each other. Ideas were shared, fabrics were shared and laughter was shared. Quilters are the best!!! The food was fantastic and very plentiful. The lake was gorgeous and so was the weather. Several of the ladies had their "Easy Quilts" magazines with them and finished projects from them over the 4 days. It was exciting to see how many people enjoy the patterns that we publish. It's always nice to hear good things.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday season,

Cindy Hathaway

Great New Gift!!!

EQeditor — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:17:00 GMT

Marianne Fons and her daughter Mary supply all the information a new quilter needs to make their very own first quilt.

You'll want to watch for a new item called "Learn To Quilt" that will be on the newsstands around November 24, 2009. It's great to give as a gift to someone who wants to learn to quilt.

For only $9.99, you get a DVD with over 2 hours of information and a 32-page booklet. What a fantastic bargain!

I am going to purchase this for my beautiful daughter-in-law because she lives 600 miles away and she wants to learn to quilt.

I really enjoyed working on this project because I love seeing more people learning to quilt.

EQEditor-CindyH