DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
JAN. ‘07
Ahhhh --- the holidays are over, the cleanup is done (well, almost) and we can settle down to our quilting again.
We sure had fun this December, especially with little Eliad. Their neighbor lady gave him a package containing fifty (50!!) very little cars. He now owns over one hundred cars!! His mom says walking on the floor is like trying to avoid hundreds of little tin cockroaches! He’s a climber! Our children were girls, and even though one was a tomboy, neither was ever a climber. It’s amazing what he can get into!!! But he’s a good kid and has a very serious job while he’s here --- poop patrol!! Mickey’s housebreaking (our new Yorkie) is coming along well, but he still has an accident sometimes. So Eliad, being closer to the floor than we are, finds the ones behind the furniture, and runs to us, yelling, “Poop, poop!!”
I just reread that last paragraph. If you were eating breakfast while you read that, I do apologize!!
WHAT A GREAT DEAL: Mr. Donna wants to start 2007 off in grand style. Through our production company, Holiday Designs, he wants to make an offer you can’t refuse. A one time only purchase of any items on our website-----donnaposter.com---- at 50% discount (not including items already discounted). The offer is extended only to you; readers of our Donna Poster Newsletter. There is a $20 minimum, but no maximum. Stock up!!
Here’s the deal:
To take advantage of the 50% discount one time only offer you must be a subscriber to the newsletter.
Place the order by printing out an order form (link at the Home Page, and fill in the
form with the patterns you want, including the price shown in the website for the
items.
At the end of the form slash the final cost in half, then apply the shipping charge.
Mail it with a check or money order to:
Holiday Designs
683 Laurel Dr.
Boiling Springs, Pa 17007
Please do not place the order through Paypal, they are not set up to handle the 50% discount.
What a deal. Remember the offer applies only to subscribers of the Donna Poster Newsletter and is a one time only offer.
A GOOD IDEA: I found the cutest idea in an old quilt magazine. It was for decorating cookies with a quilt design! Wouldn’t that be a great gift for your quilting buddies! Or to sell at your next fundraiser, or to serve at a quilter’s pot-luck dinner. Keep it simple and fun!
INTERESTING MAIL: Had some interesting mail lately and thought I’d pass it on:
One is a saying from a guild in Massachusetts, “When the husband goes to bed at night, the quilters run to the garage and get their fabric out of the car.” I love that! When we had our store in Texas, we always had at least one man come in December 24 with a wish-list from his wife. But other customers said they would never do that --- they did not want their husband finding out how much their quilting supplies cost!!
DIANE WRITES: I’m having problems with my quilts having wavy borders. I have tried everything that has been suggested to me. I feel sometimes that they are better but not as good as I would like them. Can you help?
My answer: (note - my answer was pretty long but I think it’s worth the space here because it’s a frustrating problem that we all deal with. So here it is)
1. When you apply the borders, spread the quilt top out and take several measurements from top to bottom. Average these numbers and cut the side borders to that average. When you put them on, pin the ends first and make the rest of the quilt fit, easying if you must. Pin every four to six inches. After you sew these both on, press them to the border.
2. This problem, waveyness, also occurs when you quilt the center heavily and the border lightly. The border will be larger per square inch than the center .
3. When applying the binding, lay the quilt out and pin the binding on. Be sure the binding “fits” the quilt, not the border. When hand stitching the binding to the backing of the quilt, you can pull the thread taut, if needed, to keep the border even.
4. A special problem occurs when adding borders to a quilt that has been set “on-point”. The section to be measured is now entirely bias and will stretch. To measure a quilt of this sort, it must be completely laid out and taped to a flat surface. A few hints: Smooth it out along the straight grain (which would be catty-corner on the quilt) --- do not smooth it along the edges as you normally would. After taping it down , measure all sides to make sure it’s been laid out evenly and squarely. I lay mine out on my tile floor so I can square it up with the blocks in the tile design. Then, it can be measured in the same manner described above.
I hope this helps --- a wavy border can then be really frustrating.
SANDRA WRITES: Tell Mr. Donna my husband is going to be needing some simple recipes --- I have a whole new sewing room and he won’t be finding me in the kitchen much for a while.
My answers:
Mr. Donna has always joked about doing a cookbook for the husbands of quilters. It would open with, “That big white thing in the middle of the kitchen is called a refrigerator.”
CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: We had this in the last newsletter but feel it should be repeated here: Mr. Donna gets a number of emails each month informing us that the person has changed their email address and asking him to make the change in the newsletter address listing. And, he is glad to do that. Actually, there is an easier way. If you change your email address simply go to the website and subscribe using your new address. The next time the letter is sent, your old address will simply drop out.
SOMETHING NEW: We are starting s new section of the website and are very excited about it. It’s called “Your Projects”, and will contain photos of your quilt projects made from any of the patterns on our website. Just send a photo, or images on a disk, of your completed projects to:
Holiday Designs
683 Laurel Dr.
Boiling Springs, Pa 17007
You might want to say something about the project, but that’s not necessary. If at all possible we will include it on the website for all to enjoy.
One caution. When taking the photo be sure to take it straight on and not at an angle as this distorts the image.
Looking forward to receiving many of your project photos.
Have fun quilting and keep the emails coming. I love sharing them!
Your quilting buddy,
Donna