DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
MAY 2005
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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