DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
AUG ‘05
FAMILY NEWS
Here’s the latest on the family saga! I recently spent four days with our daughter in San Diego shopping for new furniture. Had a ball, San Diego is a shopper’s paradise! Corky, our new puppy, is now totally paper trained and shows all the signs of being a super dog---IF---if she ever gets over the puppy stage. Does anyone know how to transfer the “paper thing” to the outside? Our other daughter, Zoe, has been to Russia and has signed up for the little fellow. She’s still waiting for the next phase to be completed, but it seems that all of Russia goes on vacation in August. Mr. Donna just returned from the races in Saratoga Springs (Thoroughbred race horses) where he bought a book written by today’s number one jockey (Jerry Bailey) and had it autographed!! I’m sure it will have a very special place on his desk. Other than that, it’s just been HOT!
QUILT ODYSSEY
Yours truly just returned from teaching at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pa. What a wonderful show! Great quilts, great classes, great vendors, and the facility--well, what can I say. It’s held at the fabulous Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. They do something really great at this show---a Show & Tell unlike anything I have ever seen! It’s on Saturday evening and reserved for registered students and their teachers. Now, I have seen a lot of these and being very tired I almost didn’t go. Am I glad my students insisted I attend. It was overwhelming!!! There were almost 400 people there!! The moderators were Mimi Dietrich and Norma Cambpell and they were absolutely hysterical. In the Show & Tell part each teacher told a little about what she taught and her students showed what they had done in the classes. Besides being fun, it was a great way for the audience to think about next years classes. As a traditional end to the evening, they threw hundreds of fat quarters into the audience!! From now on Show & Tell at Quilt Odyssey is a “must” on my list.
SOMETHING NEW
Olfa has come out with a new version of their rotary cutter---in pink. Proceeds will benefit breast cancer research and there will be a limited number made. The last thing I need is another rotary cutter, but I’m headed off to my favorite quilt shop right now--I gotta have one of these!
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UPS
Did you know that you can sign up anyone to receive this newsletter. All you need is their first and last names and their email address and it‘s also a good idea to let them know. The program will let you know if they are already signed up and will advise them by email.
PAY PAL
We are not set-up to accept credit cards over the phone but our website is set-up to do this. The website uses Pay Pal, a company whose function is to transfer money from your credit card account to our account in Pay Pal. That is how you get to pay for the order. Everything works out just fine until it doesn’t work out just fine. Sometimes, for one reason or another Pay Pal doesn’t do its thing and starts giving the buyer fits. When that happens it’s best to print an order form (link on at the bottom of the home page) fill it out and send a check or money order. The most common error is not going to the last screen. If you use Pay Pal be sure to go to the bottom of each screen to make sure you get to the last screen.
That’s enough business for one newsletter!! Now, onto the fun part, your questions.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
G. Headen Asks:
I have been given a big tub of jeans and a good bit of yardage of denim. I heard that denum is difficult to sew like regular fabric due to fraying. Any suggestions for a pattern for this material. I think the Block Party might be too bulky. I don’t want any more rag quilts. Been there, done that.
Answer:
Oh, what fun!! All that fabric! I think the Block Party would be great in denim. You just will not need batting. Also, if the seams are too bulky try pressing them open. Let me know how it works.
Toni Asks:
I’m interested in trying your Block Part pattern with just two colors, reds and whites. Do you think it will turn out OK or will it create an uneven color scheme with too much of one color or the other in one spot. I have seen a scrap quilt done in all greens of the same value and it was really pretty.
Answer:
Gee, I don’t know how that color scheme will work. It would definitely be spotty. However, if it isn’t appealing when finished try some “squirrely” quilting on it to break up the spottiness. Now, all that said, I must tell you that in my many years of teaching quilting, I’v seen some piles of fabric come into class that I thought would turn out to be disastrous---only to have them
turn out to be just a wonderful quilt. This is the fun of quilting--let me know what you decide to do.
Lynn Asks
Is it OK to tear fabric to get a straight edge or should it always be cut? Does tearing stretch the fabric?
Answer
Yes, tearing stretches the fabric edge a bit, however it can be ironed back into place. If you have a pattern that requires you to tear the fabric, it’s OK.
However, this is a big question--to tear or to cut? Years ago fabric was, “finished” at the mill with a starchy substance and the fabric, as it was used, would eventually revert to the woven state. So then it was very important to tear the fabric and, before cutting, pull it back on “grain” (as it was woven).
Cotton fabric almost disappeared from the market place for a number of years and when it came back it was different. The better cottons are now being “finished” at the mill with a resin substance and as it is used, reverting to the resin set rather than the woven state.
There are people who still tear and pull cotton fabrics. I’ll never forget a customer who purchased eleven yards to back a king size quilt, washed it and then meticulously pulled the entire eleven yards back “on grain”. Good grief, what a terrible job!!! She finished the quilt and it was gorgeous. As she used it, the entire backing wrinkled. The fabric was pulling itself back to the original resin set.
My solution is to wash the fabric, dry it in the dryer and assume that the way it comes out of the dryer is the way it wants to be!! I don’t mess around with it after that.
Gosh, I can’t believe August is half over already. I sure hope you are having a great summer and ready to get back to quilting.
By the way, Mr. Donna has developed a following with his recipes. I’ll work on him to get another soon.
Your quilting buddy,
Donna