Hi Quilters,
I've had a few tidbits ready to post and I'm combining them all in this one. So read all the way down for everything. As usual, Rhonda Adams keeps me well supplied with interesting things to send to you--a great big thanks to her for such fun stuff!
First up is the news that pre-registration is now available for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XVIII, February 22-25, 2007 held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Viringia. Click *
Here* for more information.
If you haven't seen the online collection of little houses (see links below) you'll get to see some of them in person. This collection will travel to two different places next year.
This red and pink one on your left is by Yvonne Porcella of Modesto, California, and it entitled Red Hearts in a New Home. "Put a Roof Over Our Head" quilts
www.centerforthequilt.org/contest.php will be at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in Harrisburg from September 6-9, 2007. In addition, 26 of the quilts will be at the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg from August 2 - October 1, 2007. To see the full schedule (which is being updated) go to
www.centerforthequilt.org/contest_schedule.php.
This one is called Carolina Sunrise and is by Robin Brooks of Asheville, North Carolina. Click on the photos to enlarge them, and have fun browsing them online!
Now for something different, did you know we quilters are an economic powerhouse? (A look in our stash closets ought to be your first clue!) Planet Patchwork wrote on December 3, 2006:
"According to the latest Quilting in America survey just released, there are now more than 27 million quilters in the United States, who collectively spend a total of $3.3 billion per
year on quilting supplies and equipment. The survey, by Quilter's Newsletter Magazine and International Quilt Market and Festival, has been conducted every three years since 1994. The survey also takes an in-depth look at the "dedicated quilter," her demographics, equipment, and spending habits. Defined as quilters who spend more than $600 per year (as opposed to the average of about $172 per year), the dedicated quilter is:
a) Female
b) 59 years old
c) Well-educated (72% went to college)
d) Affluent ($87,000 average household income)
e) Spends on average $2,304 per year on quilting (88% of total spending comes from this group, which is less than 5% of all quilters)
f) Has been quilting an average of about 13 years
The survey confirms that quilting is still a burgeoning pastime in the U.S. and not, as some have stated, a dying craft. For more information about this study and how to obtain a copy, go to http://www.quiltchannel.com
[This little house is entitled Off The Top of My Head by
Valli Schiller of Naperville, Illinois]
Hoffman has released their newest challenge fabric. As I look at it, I see the influence of those great big large prints from Jane Sassaman that challenges us quilters in how we use them. I'll let the fabric speak for itself! Head over to
Hoffman Fabrics to see the challenge rules.
On those rainy/snowy days you just don't want to go out, you can still Shop Hop. Yes, a new game (which you can buy online at
Northwest Quilting Productions) will let you add to your stash, shop-hop and do quilterly things all while you're in your jammies in front of the fire.
(In this view, the board is on the left, and the top of the game box is on the right. As always, click on the picture for a larger view.)
You can also purchase this game at select quilt shops as well. It was shown in Fons and Porter's magazine (the article is excerpted below):
Your knowledge of quilting, techniques, block names, and more is tested with 3,000 fascinating quilting questions and answers. Try to answer these questions excerpted from the game to determine your knowledge of quilting history, techniques, and patterns. To order a Sew You Want to be a Quilter game or pattern for the full-size game board quilt visit
www.FonsandPorter.com.1. What is the generally accepted "life span" of coton fabric: 70, 80, 90 or 100 years?
2. What quilt pattern commemorates the founding of New Orleans in 1718?
3. What is sometimes referred to as the "Perfect Portable?"
4. Flour and feed sacks featuring geometric or floral designs did not appear in America until what decade (19_0s)?
5. What was the first electric household appliance? (It was introduced at the World's Fair in 1893.)
6. This slave woman made two "Bible Story" Quilts--one is in the Smithsonian, the other is the Boston Fine Arts Museum. Who is she?
7. What is the purpose of the "groove" on a needle?
8. The first cotton prints in America were made by John Hewson between 1778 and 1780--what were they called?
9. Rule of thumb, it is better to machine quilt on the bias first and then with the grain last. True of False?
10. The thimble is thought to have originated in what European country?
11. Selvage runs parallel to what grain of fabric?
12. Susan B. Anthony did what at a church quilting get-together in Cleveland?
13. Does bobbin tension vary with the type of thread used?
14. Superstition: You should not quilt at all on what day of the week?
15. What is finger pressing?
16. Polyester batting was first marketed in the United States by what company?
17. When she first wrote the book How to Make an American Quilt, how many years had Whitney Otto been a quilter?
18. In reference to quilting, what is meant by the term "loft?"
19. "Gun boat quilts" refers to what?"
20. Name a stitch typically found on a Victorian crazy quilt.
Answers: 1. 100 years 2. The LeMoyne Star, named after the LeMoyne brothers who founded New Orleans. 3. The Singer Featherweight 4. 1930s. 5. The flatiron. 6. Harriet Powers, born a slave in Athens, Georgia, in 1837. 7. It allows thread to lie close tothe needle as is passes through the eye of the needle. 8. Calicoes. Originally "calico" derived from Calcutta, India, where hand-woven printed fabrics were made. 9. Absolutely False. Quilt with the grain first to stabilize the quilt, then on the bias last, as it will stretch more. 10. Holland. The Dutch are thougth to have invented a bell-shaped thumb shield used by tailors and sailors. 11. Lengthwise grain or warp. 12. Gave her first speech about women's suffrage. 13. Absolutely. Each time you use a different type of thread, check the tension. Keep a record for future use. 14. Sunday 15. Using your finger to press a seam quickly without an iron. 16. Stearns and Foster (Mountain Mist) in 1955. 17. Zero. She is a novelist, not a quilter. 18. The amount of "puffiness" in a batting. 19. Quilts that were made by southern women during the Civil War to raise funds to buy gun boats. 20. Feather stitich, satin stitch, outline or running stitch, french knot.
As is often said, sometimes the best laid plans go awry, but then there are often surprises that come in their stead and all is well again, hence the need for this query.
