Hello Quilter
Welcome to our first newsletter. How to start was the big question. I’ve got so much to say that it is difficult to know where to begin.
I was raised in a quilting family, then owned a quilt shop in Dallas, Tx all before the rotary cutter showed up. Now my major activity is lecturing and teaching. Many “old time” quilters insisted that any quilt made in just a few days could not be called a “real” quilt. Using a rotary cutter was just ”not right.”
I took that theme for the preface of my second book, Quilter’s Guide To Rotary Cutting and, with a little fantasy, projected into the future. Here is what I wrote. Enjoy.
“Hundreds of years ago, women made quilts by spinning the yarn and weaving the cloth. Only then could they begin to cut and sew.
Future generations bought their fabric at the store and their grandmothers said, “Humph! In my day we made our own fabrics.”
Then came the sewing machine. Those of our grandmothers who were fortunate enough to have a sewing machine proudly used it to stitch their quilts. Their grandmothers said, “Hmph! In my day we pieced our quilts by hand.”
Now we have the rotary cutter and we’re whipping out our quilts like mad. And our grandmothers are saying, “ Hmph! In my day we cut out each piece with scissors.”
Now, let’s carry this thought into the future. I have a vision of one hundred years from now: Florabene is going to make a quilt. She hires a babysitter for little Cassiopeia (some things never change) and heads for the local quilt shop. There she selects her fabric and rents an hour on the quilting machine. This piece of equipment is about the size of a small room with hundreds of dials, buttons and slots on the front. Florabene dials her quilt pattern, colors, and dimensions, then carefully feeds her fabric into the chosen slots. With all systems ready, she now pushes a central button that activates the machine. Buttons light up, dials turn, things go buzz, whiz and cachunk, cachunk!
Forty-five minutes later, with one huge belch, this machine spits out a gorgeous, finished quilt.
And our children, now grown up and grandmothers themselves, will undoubtedly say, “Hmph! In my day, we had to use rotary cutters to make our quilts.”
I promise to get more down to earth in future newsletters.
MR. DONNA’S FAMOUS CHICKEN SOUP --My husband, who cooks while I quilt, insists every quilter (or better yet, her husband) needs this recipe!
He says, “ Properly made, this chicken soup will cure anything from hang nails to a bad cold.”
Ingredients
1 broiler chicken, approx 8 lbs.
1 lg. White onion
1 cluster celery
3 lg carrots
1 can chicken brooth
1 lg can Furmano’s Chunky Crushed Tomatos w/basil,garlic,oregano. If you can’t get this
exact brand of tomatos use another, but the soup will not cure the entire range of
ailments.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
Remove skin and fat from chicken, discard. Seal-wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 till tender. 1.5 to 2 hrs. Take from oven and, when cool, remove all bones and save all the juices. Cut meat from half the chicken into ½ inch pieces. Cut onion and 2/3 of the celery into ½ inch pieces. Shave carrots and cut shavings into fine pieces. Place all ingredients plus all juices and cooked chicken parts and bones into a large pot and cover with water to one inch above ingredients. Lightly boil for 3 hrs. stiring occasionally. When consuming this soup you have to chew a lot because it will contain the bones, or remove bones before serving.
Q & A From the “ASK DONNA” link on the home page of our website---donnaposter.com
Q: Kathy asks “how do I know how big to cut the triangles for an on-point quilt?
A: Your best bet is to figure something like this--and this is the way I do it, too. Draw out
the whole thing on graph paper. You can find graph paper at any school supply store.
Since it’s rather difficult to actually draw an on-point block to a certain size, I’ve
developed a neat trick (I’m not into pain!!!) Draw your block “straight” on the graph
paper, cut out the blocks and glue them “on-point” on a new sheet of graph paper. It’s
quite easy to go from there! Have fun.
Q: A quilter from Vermont asks, “I love your Block Party quilt. Any suggestions on doing
it as a memory quilt?
A: I’ve made several memory quilts using the Block Party design and they are such fun.
Here are some ideas.
1. Use scraps from familiar/favorite garments.
2. Have people sign some of the blocks. HINT: Make the pieces larger than needed,
Back it with freezer paper, then make a “mask” with a cut-out for them to write in.
Use a permanent marker.
3. Phototransfers are wonderful! I used 27 one time in a Block Party quilt for my 14
year old niece. She loved it!!
4. If you need a bigger block just measure two finished blocks and add ¼ inch all
around.
5. If you need a block for a smaller photo just add fabric, then cut to a usable size.
That’s it for this newsletter. Log onto----donnaposter.com----often. You never know what you might find. Maybe even some news. Next month I’ll talk about the great stuff I found at the last Quilt Festival in Houston and just maybe if we’ve all been real good my husband (Mr. Donna) will give us another of his culinary concoctions.
Happy quilting
Donna Poster
DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
FEB. 2005
LETS TALK ABOUT TOOLS: We all have favorite tools. I’m a real sucker for the latest tool but I use just a few all the time. So, here are my favorites! I own three pairs of those lightweight black Gingher shears and I use them for everything!! I even use mine for paper and they never seem to go dull! My “Big Board” is permanently set up on a long bookcase which holds most of my quiltbook collection. Straw needles are wonderful --- long, thin and smooth! Clover’s double-ended needle threader will go through a size 12 needle eye! Bobbins were a real pain until I bought one of those flexible circles to hold them. And, best of all, the built-in walking foot on my Pfaff! Those are my favorites --- please tell me what yours are and I’ll include as many as possible in these newsletters.
TRANSFERRING FOLDY STUFF GUIDELINES: I’ve gotten so many great hints from my customers about ironing the Foldy Stuff transfers. Here are some that really work well. (1) Heat the fabric by ironing it just before laying the transfer paper on it. You’ll have more control. (2) Start with the iron on medium setting. When the iron reaches the temperature it will shut itself off and stop transferring. Push the setting up a bit to turn it back on! (3) You need to run the center of the iron (which is much hotter than the tip) over the corners of the transfer. (4) Haven’t tried this one myself, but one quilter said she gets more transfers by using a piece of aluminum foil under the muslin!
Q & A FROM THE “ASK DONNA” LINK AT donnaposter.com
Q-Nancy asks if flannel will work with the Foldy Stuff?
A-Oh my, yes --- I used flannel for a large lap throw and it was great. But not in the Pineapple, miniatures or Round Cabin --- too much fabric buildup! Also be sure to use a lighter weight (napped on one side only) flannel. I made a baby blanket using flannel that was thicker and it was so stiff I use it as a rug under my computer!!!
And that brings up another point. The Foldy Stuff process allows the use of a wide range of fabrics because you are not sewing a ¼ inch seam and don’t have to be fussy. I’ve even used rayon. I love silk and I’ll bet organdy and batiste would be lovely.. Just stick to light and medium weight fabrics.
Q- Denise has lost her copy of the Dresden Plate book I wrote some years ago and asks if she can purchase another one. This book is out of print and we are out of stock. If anyone would be willing to part with a copy, let me know, please!
ROAD TO CALIFORNIA: I just returned from teaching at the Road to California show in Ontario, Ca--- what fun for this easterner to see palm trees and sun in January! Great show, too --- lots of enthusiasm! I taught four full days so I didn’t get to see much of the show but I did spot someone who is beautifully refurbishing Featherweights in great new colors! With cases covered in “wild” fabrics, too! I gotta get one for my collection but the yellow one said “sold” --- darn! I hope to be back at this show next year.
Heard another funny story. Lois Lauderdale and Jill Ellert signed up for so many classes last year that by the third day they were “brain-dead”. When their room key wouldn’t work and a maid let them in, they found they’d been moved to another room!! Furious, they hit the front desk demanding their belongings be returned!! After much commotion they finally realized they were so “gone” they hadn’t noticed they’d gotten off on the
wrong floor! OOPS!!
MY NEXT GIGS:
I’ll be at the Quilt Festival in Chicago April 6 through10 teaching Easy Peaks, French Fold Binding, Block Party, Grandmother’s Flower Garden and Piney Woods. Maybe I’ll see you there!
Saturday May 14 at the Cranberry Quilt Guild, West Hazelton, Pa. Lecture: Show and Tell of Simple Quilt Designing. Contact Grace DeGennari-(570) 455-1043
Tuesday May 17 at the Warwick Valley Quilt Guild, Warwick Valley, NY. Fun With Foldy Stuff workshop 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Contact Barbara Berdy (845) 634-9309 or email bsb940@yahoo.com <mailto:bsb940@yahoo.com>.
Thursday July 28 through Saturday July 30 at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pa.
Monday Sept 12 and 13 at Philadelphia Quilt Guild.
In between I’m going back to California to visit one of my daughters who lives there and Mr. Donna, the soup man, is going to Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, a Thoroughbred horse racing track, for a week. He’s an avid handicapper.
LATEST SOUP NEWS.
Sarah is going to make a pot of Mr Donna’s chicken soup as her husband has the CRUD. We just heard of a fellow in Texas who broke his leg in fourteen places, bull riding. Ate two bowls of the now famous chicken soup, woke up next morning, leg all healed.
Until March
Happy Quilting
DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2005
IT’S A MATTER OF PRIORITIES
I was standing in a food line at the Houston quilt show and overheard two ladies trying to decide whether to buy a piece of pie. Finally one said, “Nope! That pie is four dollars. That’s a half yard of fabric!” I love it!!
MORE FREE PROJECTS
We just gave three more free projects to our webmaster so they should be on the website by the time you get this newsletter. There’s placemats done with the Log Cabin, a table runner using the Pineapple and a hexagon fussy cut quilt! We’re now up to eleven free Foldy projects
and, remember, these are not copyrighted. Go to - donnaposter.com - download them, then copy them for your quilting buddies, use them as class handouts, or whatever you like. They’re just more fun ways to use our Foldy Stuff!
A TRIBUTE
We were so pleased that Marti Michell, a good friend of ours, was honored with the Silver Star Salute Award at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. This award is presented every year to a person who has made a truly significant contribution to the world of quilting. Marti and her husband, Dick, have been developing products to inspire quilters long before most of us even thought about quilting. Congratulations, Marti, you’ve earned this wonderful honor!
USING OLD TIES
Quilters always recognize a good source of fabric so I get many questions about working with men’s old ties. ( We did a small piece about this on Simply Quilts and Alex and I were very careful not to say, “old mens’ ties”!). They’re just gorgeous in Foldy Stuff and I have a lot of hints for working with them. Just go to - donnaposter.com - click on “Foldy Stuff Ideas” at the bottom of our home page. By the way, I had to buy all mine at the Goodwill store because when Mr. Donna left the corporate world he asked if I minded if he never wore a tie again. I said that was fine with me if he didn’t mind if I never wore a girdle again. It was a great trade-off!
QUESTIONS FROM YOU FOLKS
Q - Edna asks:
Needing suggestions for transferring photos on bubble jet printer. Also care of such.
A - Donna answers:
I’d like some suggestions, too! It’s been several years since I transferred any photos and now there are so many different products to make it easier. Most, I believe, have the fabric itself and I’d love to know which products have the best fabric and give the clearest colors. For inkjet printers, too. I’d like to get back to doing photo transfers as they are great with our Foldy Stuff and Block Party patterns!
Q - Kris asks:
What kind of muslin do you find to be the thinnest or the best for foundation?
A - Donna answers:
I do a LOT of Foldy Stuff and get my muslin by the bolt. I buy either Springs or Rockland and, since no one will ever see it, I use one of their less expensive types. I do wash it first even though it claims less than two percent shrinkage. By the way, if you find one of those fabulous sales and they have a fabric light enough to see the transfer lines, buy a pile of it --- works just fine!
Q - Arline asks: I understand that on a trip you take along a clipboard and all the cut and stacked pieces for Foldy Stuff blocks. Do you sew the strips onto the grid by hand or just pin them for machine stitching later?
A - The Foldy Stuff is actually great as handwork, especially when you’re riding in a car and can’t be fussy about your stitching. I sew the pieces to the muslin base with a running stitch and regular sewing thread. You only need one spool of thread as it doesn’t have to match anything and the stitches don’t have to be neat because it isn’t a seam. Keeps it real simple! The clipboard is to give you something flat to work on.
Q - Kathy writes: I just finished the top of a Foldy Stuff Pineapple quilt and would like to know the best way to quilt it.
A - I just machine quilt in the ditch where I’ve sewn the blocks together. It’s all you need with most battings these days. Besides, the Pineapple quilt is so heavy you won’t be using batting anyway!
Q - Barbara writes: I have finished the top to a Foldy Stuff project. I would appreciate any help you could give on finishing. My friend says she serges the edges of the blocks. Also, will copies of old newsletters be available?
A - I don’t do anything to the edges of my blocks (and I do have a serger) There is a 1/2” seam allowance included in the block and they’ll be backed so they’ll never fray. I just figure, why bother! Getting copies of old newsletters will be no problem. We just started in January and our webmaster said he’d archive them so they’ll all be available at any time!
Q - Sheri writes: I took your Mega Peaks class at Road to California and am about finished with what I started in class. Since I am fairly new to quilting, do you have any suggestions as to the best way to finish the project. I’m machine quilting it myself and don’t want to overpower the design with quilting.
A - So glad you liked the Peaks pattern --- that was a fun class! Hope I get to do it again next year. As for quilting, I’m a fairly lazy quilter as I’m always anxious to get to the next project. So most of my quilts (including the sample you saw) are machine quilted in the ditch where I sewed the six inch blocks together. It’s enough!
Gotta go now --- I’m in the middle of number six of the five hundred and thirty projects I’m planning to do next!
I’ll write you again next month. Meanwhile, do you have any great hints, any favorite tools, any new ideas, etc.? Let me know and I’ll pass them on!
Happy quilting
Donna Poster
DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
MAY 2005
PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS SAVED; did you know that you can find all previous newsletters at our website---donnaposter.com---. The link “Newsletter Archives.” is on the home page directly under the logo. If this link does not work for you use the following from your browser---
http://www.appliqué design.com/newsletters.html.
THIS IS FUNNY
I was scheduled to do a workshop on the Block Party quilt and I put that information on my website. This is the email I received from Dustin: “What band will be playing at the 2004 Schuylkill Haven block party?” I have to assume Dustin is not a quilter!
THE SCANT QUARTER INCH--WHY?
So many people ask what is meant by a “scant” quarter inch. Here is the scoop. A pattern piece when drawn on a page is flat on the page. When it is sewn and pressed it is NOT flat. That raised portion called “loft” is not much but it is enough to make quite a difference on a piece having several seams. The idea is to allow for this and make your quarter inch seams just a wee bit “scant”. A good way to test for accuracy is to sew together three 2 inch wide strips. Press them to one side, the same as you would in a quilt. If your seams are accurate, the piece should measure 5 inches wide.
ANOTHER FOLDY STUFF HINT
The pleated sections of the Foldy Stuff blocks are “ weighty”. Any sizeable area without pleats needs some extra weight added to give a more balanced feel to the finished quilt. This includes borders and those areas where the pleats have been ”dropped out” (examples-centers of placemats, blocks with centers large enough for embellishments, fussy cuts, etc.)
This is easily done--when I cut the border (or piece needing extra weight) I just cut the same piece from muslin. When stitching that piece in the block or quilt, just layer the muslin under the fabric and treat the two layers as one.
OOPS
In the April ‘05 newsletter my answer to a question asked by Gloria contained some numbers and the fraction (one half)) got left out due to a quirk in the system. At this point I do not know if we have the problem solved, so I am going to repeat the question and answer in this letter using the decimal system instead of fractions.
Q-Gloria Asks: I would like to make larger blocks than given for the mega pattern Peaks design. How would I make 8 and 10 inch blocks?
A: To make the blocks larger just substitute the measurements called for with the following.
For the 8 inch block cut all rectangles 2.5 inches wide and these lengths: 8.5 inches, 6.5 inches, 4.5 inches and 2.5 inches.
For 10 inch block cut all rectangles 3 inches wide and these lengths: 10.5 inches, 8.0 inches, 5.5 inches and 3.0 inches.
You will be making less blocks so the yardages should be about the same as those in the pattern. An exception would be if the size of the quilt center (the blocks area) is larger than the one in the pattern. In any case I would purchase a bit more fabric just to be safe.
HERE ARE MY NEXT FEW GIGS
Cranberry Quilt Guild, West Hazleton, Pa, May14, 2005.
Contact Grace DeGennan-570-455-1043
Lecture: “A Show And Tell of Simple Quilt Design”
Warwick Valley Guilt Guild, New City, N.Y., May 17,2005
Contact Barbara Berdy-845-634-9309. Email: bsb1940@yahoo.com <mailto:bsb1940@yahoo.com>
Workshop: “Having Fun With Foldy Stuff”.
Quilt Odyssey, Hershey Convention Center, Hershey, Pa., July 28-30, 2005
For information contact: TEL: 717-423-5185
Website: www.quiltodyssey.com <http://www.quiltodyssey.com/>
Email: quiltodyssey@supernet.com <mailto:quiltodyssey@supernet.com>
Thursday 6:30-7.30 PM-Fun With Foldy Stuff
Friday 9:00-12:00 AM-Easy Peaks
Friday 2:00-5:00 PM-French Fold Binding
Saturday 9:00-12:00 AM-Who, Me? Teach? OK!
Saturday 2:00-5:00 PM-Fun With Foldy Stuff
It’s Q & A Time:
WHO IS THIS MR. DONNA: Quilting aside, our most asked question is, “who is this Mr. Donna?” Well, Mr. Donna is my husband Arn (short for Arnold). In addition to owning a needle work shop in Dallas, Tx, we were also vendors at various quilt markets countrywide and participated at these markets until just recently. I was always the front person yakking up a storm while Arn did the selling, took the money (his favorite thing) and generally kept the whole show together. One time someone asked who he was and he answered “Mr. Donna.” Well, the name stuck and he loves it.
Q-Pat writes: I’ve seen you several times on Simply Quilts and have a question about the Block Party design. Have you ever seen this made as a scrap quilt? I like the no-matching seams feature of this quilt and want to do it as a scrap quilt.
A-My favorite quilts are scrap quilts, and, in fact, the first time I ever made the Block Party it was as a scrap quilt and I just “knew” this was going to be the ugliest quilt I ever saw. It was gorgeous!! Someone talked me into selling it and I have been sorry ever since.
Sharon Asks: The Foldy Stuff patterns suggest pre-cutting each strip and stacking them in sequence. Have you ever had anyone who cut the strip after sewing it to the backing instead of precutting?
A: I have a lot of quilters who use the sew and cut method instead of precutting the strips---works just fine. I use that method when teaching classes because the students can get to the sewing part faster. I suggest that they lay the strip on the muslin, then cut before they start sewing. That way they don’t have to handle the scissors around the presser foot.
Nonie Writes: I remember when quilting was done in my grandmother’s bedroom-sitting room using quilt frames which dropped from the ceiling. I can still visualize grandmother, the daughters and neighbors sitting in rows on either side of long wood frames rolled with a quilt, needles and thread a’poppin with small stitches and conversation also just a’poppin with gossip, some good, some not so good.
A: I, too, was raised under a quilt frame but the frame was set on four sawhorses and stayed there. When we moved to Texas I was intrigued by all the stories of quilt frames that hung from the ceiling. Huh?? I finally realized that in Pennsylvania we had attics and basements, but, not having these in Texas they had to find another way to handle the frames. By the way, we kiddies heard some really bizarre stuff under there!
Q: Cathy writes: I am new to quilting. I was wondering if you can tell me the easiest way to square up my quilt squares?
A: Good question---especially for beginners. First, I really think every quilter needs a square ruler. It’s very easy, then, to line the ruler up on the corners and trim the edges on two sides at a time and get nice, square corners. Without a square ruler, the trick is to line up the block with the grid on your cutting mat and trim one edge at time. Remember to include seam allowances!
A few hints on this matter:
If your blocks are out of shape you will first want to block them into a squared shape. Do this by steaming the block, then reshaping it with your iron. Now, there are quilters out there who will totally self-destruct at the very idea of doing this. Well, hey, if it needs to be done and it works, go for it!
Next, they really should not be trimmed at all unless you are certain it won’t ruin the design. For example, the blocks in my Block Party pattern can be trimmed like mad and no one will ever know the difference!! (Makes a nice group project) But, be careful what you are taking off most blocks---you could very easily end up with lopsided designs.
Most important, learn and practice your piecing techniques so you won’t have the trimming problems. Maintaining scant one-fourth inch seams will makeall of your quilting so much more enjoyable. Another tip is to make sure that both ends of your seams are lined up the way they should be. If you don’t do that you will have an uneven edge to contend with when you sew across that seam. Pin and ease if you need to.
If the square is a Foldy Stuff square, it’s a whole different thing. They are meant to have the muslin trimmed away, and here is the good news--you can trim all the squares to be the same size as each other. That’s because you are putting them together with one-half inch seams (not one-fourth inch) and if you have to trim out into the muslin base a bit, it’s OK! But this is only true for Foldy Stuff squares.
MR DONNA STRIKES AGAIN: Here is my famous Curried Mushroom, Tomato and Egg receipe.
Ingredients for four servings:
3 cups hot cooked rice
6 hard boiled eggs cut in half
8 ounces medium size mushrooms
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
One-half teaspoon ground turmeric
One-half teaspoon ground ginger
One-half teaspoon ground cumin
4 medium tomatoes cut into wedges
Firm but ripe work best.
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
One-fourth lb small shrimp
One-fourth lb bay scallops
This is nasty, but you will have to wait until the next newsletter to find out how to put all this together, Be sure to print this newsletter and keep it in a safe place. ---------------Mr. Donna
Note from Donna: He’s getting plenty of grief from me for pulling this stunt. But, hang in there---it’s really tasty.
That’s all for this newsletter
Until June, Happy quilting
Donna---donnaposter.com
DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2005
Whoo---I think May was three months long! Besides the usual household, family and studio routines I spent a week at the Pfaff Training Center in Cincinnati, then gave a lecture in Hazelton, Pa, followed 48 hours later by a workshop in Warwick Valley, NY. Arrived home tired, but happy, only to find our fifteen year old ailing poodle had to be put out of her misery. To help our sadness, we went looking at new puppies and, big surprise, we found one! So our days are now spent training (playing with?) our little three pound Maltipoo, Corky!
I had a wonderful time at the lecture and workshop. Quilters are such super people and these two groups of ladies were a lot of fun to be with! Almost all signed up for my newsletter, too, so a special, “Hi and thank you!”
The gals at Warwick came up with some great exercises for quilters. My favorites are, “When they come up with a heavier needle I’ll be getting more exercise” and, “The running stitch is an aerobic exercise”. I love it!!!
I can’t believe I was one of the fourty-eight national and international teachers invited to attend a three day training session at the Pfaff sewing machine headquarters in Cincinnati, Oh. We were treated to three whole days of doing nothing but “playing” on their finest machines. The instructors were marvelous, the machines were terrific and we are all hoping we’ll be invited again!
I now have a few weeks before teaching at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pa. Most of my classes are filled I’m told, but there is one I have asked to be reopened to accept more students. It’s called “Who, Me, Teach? OK!” The class developed when I began looking at how I had improved my teaching skills over the years and I realized that I could recognize the points of growth. It’s becoming a very popular class for both new and experienced teachers. Join me for three hours of great hints, Q & A and hilarious stories! For details check out--quilt odyssey.com--or call Missy at (717) 423-5148.
BE PART OF OUR NEWSLETTER
Have a FAQ and now have the answer, or a special technique you have developed, or something unusual? Share it with the world. Send it to ---donnaposter@aol.com--- <mailto:---donnaposter@aol.com---and> we will try our best to incorporate it into this newsletter.
ABOUT FOLDY STUFF YARDAGES
The telephone rings, it’s a call from a shop owner. “I have a customer and we are picking fabrics for one of your Foldy Stuff projects, and the yardages in the pattern must be wrong” a voice says.
The fabric companies love us. Because strips are pleated and overlap some extra fabric is used. This results in the need for a little more fabric than you are accustomed to using when sewing a ¼“ seam. The Pineapple, with its extra catty-corner rows, uses a lot more than the other Foldies! The good news is that very little batting is needed, none for the pineapple design, and the amount of quilting needed is drastically reduced. In the ditch around each block is plenty.
RIPPING IT OUT
My beginning students always ask, “How do I know when to rip out a seam?” I always tell them the following:
Be as accurate as you can while still having fun. Remember, this is your hobby not your job, and the chances of your first quilt hanging in the Smithsonian are slim, so don’t spend time ripping out every seam that’s not a perfect match. If you enjoy your first quilt, you’ll make more of them, and as you do, you’ll get better at it.
If you need to do some easing to get seams to match, don’t worry. The quilting hides a lot of errors in the “puffies.”
Know what is important and pay attention to that. For example, learn to maintain a scant ¼” seam allowance. Careful cutting is important. Learn to adjust your sewing machine to maintain a good tension. Use a small size (70/10) sewing machine needle for piecing, and change it every time you start a new project. Use good quality fabrics and thread.
Pay attention to these things and you’ll be amazed at how easy it all fits together.
IT’S Q & A TIME
Q: Marla asks--I have just finished a pineapple Foldy Stuff quilt. I used a lot of white fabric and it needs to be cleaned. Can I wash it in my home washing machine?
A: I assume it is backed and quilted. Just take it to a laundromat and wash it in one of the large front-load machine in the usual way. This is a very sturdy quilt.
Q: Sandra asks--My 13 year old grandaughter (Abby) has received her first sewing machine. I’d like her to try her hand at quilting. Which Foldy Stuff pattern would you recommend for her first attempt?”
A: Definitely the Log Cabin! Not just because it’s the simplest but because it has the most possibilities for playing with the finished blocks and that is exciting. By the way, The Foldy Stuff makes wonderful scrap quilts and would be so interesting and fun for her to work with. You two are in for some great times--enjoy!!
THE CURRY MUSHROOM/EGG/TOMATO RECIPE (by Mr. Donna)
Ok, all the ingredients are in the May issue and I have already gotten a lot of grief from my wife over this “to be continued“ format, so, please, be kind . These newsletters are archived and you view them by going to----donnaposter.com----and clicking on “Newsletter Archives” at the home page. Ingredients are in the May issue.
A word of warning. This is not a dish to be thrown together and wolfed down between TV shows. We are talking serious eating enjoyment here.
Cook the rice. Hard boil the eggs, cool and cut in half lengthwise. Melt butter or margarine in a large (10”) skillet, add onion and cook until onion is just short of being tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Try to undercook everything in the recipe.
Add the spices (coriander, salt, turmeric, ginger and cumin). Cook and stir about 1 minute. At this point the mass in the pan may get a little dry depending upon the grit of the spices. Don’t panic. Just add a little of the chicken broth. Boy-O-Boy, I’m wondering how this would work if I used the broth from my own famous chicken soup. I’ll have to try that--awesome. Anyway, two things here: 1. Use as little chicken broth as possible throughout the cooking process, so the curry flavor will not be diluted, and
2. The turmeric will stain anything with which it comes into contact, so be careful.
Stir in tomatoes and some more broth, heat to boiling, reduce heat and
Simmer, uncovered, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully place the eggs in the skillet and spoon the juices over them. Simmer, uncovered, until the eggs are hot, 3 to 5 minutes, do not stir. The contents of the skillet should not become a sauce.
If you are using shrimp and bay scallops now is the time to put them in the skillet. Just push them under the liquid between the eggs and tomatoes. Cook for about one minute. Add lemon juice just prior to serving.
Serve over rice with a garnish, a small salad or side of apple sauce. Pop the cork on a bottle of your favorite white wine, an
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DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
2005 NEWSLETTERS
JAN '05