Happy New Year!

To welcome the new year, I'm offering a free copy and hands-on lesson for my snowflake machine applique quilt block. Quilters who visit this first week of the year will receive the pattern and a sample kit of winter fabrics to make one snowflake block. 

January 2019 QQ BOM
(Quilters' Quarters Block of the Month)

Quilters' Quarters will offer a new block with an original pattern and kit each month for 2019.  Patterns will be given free during the first week of each month, and can be purchased after that week with an accompanying kit containing enough fabric to make two blocks.   

At the end of the year, quilters will have collected enough patterns and fabric kits to make twenty-four quilt blocks, (enough to make a 4 by 6 block lap quilt.)

 This is my first attempt at designing a block of the month group, and I promise that each original pattern will offer you a new skill to learn and practice. 

I look forward to sharing these patterns and fabrics with you! 

Here is a photo of a child size lap quilt I made five years ago using my new (then) snowflake design.

A "Frozen-ish" lap quilt, made of
nine inch blocks with two inch sashings.

Thanks for signing up to follow this blog. Please feel free to share the email with your quilting friends.  Fabric discounts begun in 2018 will continue in 2019 ... all customers will receive a 20% discount; friends who become frequent customers will receive a member discount of 40% on fabrics cut from the bolt. Quilters who are working on charity projects can purchase fabrics for those fabrics at 50% off.

Wishing all a healthy and peaceful 2019.

~ Terry

Wishing you a Peaceful, Gentle Christmas!

Quilters' Quarters will not be open again now until after Christmas, but I want to thank everyone who made December a positive month for me. This time of year has always, in a teacher's life, been hectic and stressful, but the past two have been filled with changes and loss. Your visits to the shop, even if you aren't purchasing anything, keep me involved and emotionally invested in providing whatever I can, as inexpensively as I can, for quilters.

For thirty years, I would tally up at the end of the year the amounts I spent on classroom supplies, student projects, school initiatives, graduate courses, educational books and videos, bulletin board materials, and so on and so on, just in case I would be audited to prove I had spent those hundreds of dollars at my job. Living on a pension is different than having a full salary, particularly when I no longer have a partner with a pension or salary ... (teachers don't qualify for spousal SS income.) But I am fortunate in that Rick and I had finished mortgage payments a few months before he died, and had only an equity loan for the remodeling and roofing of the upper barn to pay off. It's less than the mortgage amount, and I can manage it within my budget.

The reason I'm sharing this is to reassure all of you that my giving healthy discounts to faithful quilters is not putting me in any financial distress. As I've explained to some, I've already earned my living once, and have the pension to show for it. If I can continue to pay just the utilities from the shop sales, I am content to continue to run this shop as a cooperative for quilters.

Instead of tallying up school material purchases, I've tallied my sales for the year. I offer 20, 40 and 50% discounts on all of my fabrics ... and have a rack card in the shop that tells who gets which discounts and why ... it averaged out this year to a 31% discount overall ... which means I still had about 19% over the cost of the purchases to use on utilities. So what I'm doing is working well enough. My pension covers my household expenses, and the shop is finally able to earn enough to pay for itself while still providing an opportunity to meet quilters' needs with discounts and without stretching their budgets, nor mine.


I feel satisfied in being able to do what I do ... I love teaching young and old to quilt. I love learning with them new techniques via You Tube. I love sharing ideas and beautiful fabrics and cups of tea or coffee with those who visit. I'm happiest when I'm finishing a quilt for a veteran, or a smaller one for the fire and police departments to have on hand when needed.

I would be lying if I said life is good ... I miss Rick every hour of every day. When I'm in the shop, I can feel his presence still there. When I talk with newcomers about the few remaining vintage and antique machines, I feel his warmth sharing the information with me. When someone mentions his woodworking, or his sense of humor, or his patience, strength and generous spirit, I remember his love and his confidence in us together.

 I am sad when I think about how ready he was to work in his new space ... to take advantage of the insulation and windows and light in his new workshop upstairs ... of his plans to be sorting through patterns until his shoulder would have healed enough to get back to his wood art. I intend to chase some of that sadness away in the next year or two by learning to use his scrollsaw to finish some of the work he had begun ... it is there waiting for me ... patterns afixed to panels of Baltic Birch Plywood, pilot holes already drilled and ready for the tiny saw blades ...

When good weather returns, I'll continue to spend three days in the fabric shop, but will spend some of the rest of the week upstairs in Rick's woodworking shop, with his sixties music playing loud enough to hear over the sound of the machinery. And I know he will be with me there. This, I believe. He often said, when cutting out wooden ornaments and while I painted them: "It is always Christmas at the  Palardy's house." I will make that true again, in time. There will always be little ones looking for Santa's helper shop. There will always be grownups enjoying the smell of freshly worked wood.

Meanwhile, thanks for your patience, your company and your support.

Wishing you a peaceful, loving Christmas and happy new year ahead.

~ Terry (and Rick in spirit)

What's Under Your Needle?

The second week of December begins, and for some, the push is on to finish holiday gifts. 

I would love to see, and share, photos of projects that you are finishing this month as gifts.

Send me your photos at my email (needlesandpens@comcast.net)using 'blog share' as a subject, and I will transfer the images here to the blog with whatever information you provide. If you used a specific pattern, please try to identify it to both credit the creating artist and to guide others who may want to find his/her work.

I look forward to hosting this exchange of ideas and talents!

As for me ... I continue to work on a civil war potholder quilt for a special nephew who has retired from his career as a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy.  Here are a few blocks ... 

I am quilting "as I go," block by block, some with a walking foot, and some with a hopping/free motion foot. I do some work on my Bernina Activa 125, born in this century, and some on my Singer Featherweight 221, badged in 1950. Just this past week I ordered a Featherweight Sew Steady extension table from the Henry Family in Idaho, and am having a lot of fun using it for these blocks. 

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful holiday season!

~Terry

The First Snow, and Impending Heat!

It has been a long time coming, and while it is not yet turned on, the new heater is in place at Quilters' Quarters.  A length of pipe connecting to the outside vent is all that remains to be found and fitted. And then, we will be able to share quilting ideas and stories and plans in relative comfort!

As a result of this investment, Quilters' Quarters will be able to remain open during the cold winter months, welcoming quilters who are hunkered down for the winter and looking for fabrics for their next project.

42 piece 5" squares
retail $13.00

 A few quilters were in last week, braving the cold and looking for red white and blue jelly roll strips. 

24 pieces, 2.5": x 44" strips
retail $24.00

They also noticed the Havel rotary cutter/ruler that I use there in the shop, and inquired about purchasing one. I'm happy to say that I was able to find both items and they will be shipped out early this week, from Ohio. 

Havel Fabric ruler with sliding rotary cutter
overall length 28", retail $59.95

And of course, if one is using red white and blue to make patriotic quilts, one might also want red white and blue threads ... I've stocked some cones and spools from Superior Threads to go with these fabrics.

Looking forward to seeing you and sharing the warmth of Quilters' Quarters this winter season!

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

~Terry

*As always, thanks for reading my blog. If you've received this in your email, thanks, too, for following Quilters' Quarters on the web. Feel free to share this email with your friends. And remember: every quilter receives AT LEAST a 20% discount on retail prices, and you might receive more ~ Unlike the gas stations, I don't charge a fee above the price if you are using a credit card; rather, I give an additional 6.25% discount if you use cash or checks (it's the equivalent of no sales tax!) And ALL CHARITY PROJECT PURCHASES receive a 50% discount.

Time to Vote

Quilters' Quarters customers donated another fifty dollars, collectively, these past two months, and the money went over to the school superintendent today to be deposited into the school lunch program to help students whose accounts are in arrears.  The superintendent and school committee always express their thanks to these anonymous donations at their regular monthly meetings. Thank you, all, for offering the odd change via the envelope at the shop.

Tuesday this week is election day, though I've heard that the turnout for early voting has been significantly larger than it was four years ago.  Some say that the numbers will rival the presidential election two years ago, which is very unusual for mid term elections. I encourage everyone to give careful thought to what form of government we want for our present, and for our future. What has made our democratic republic secure these past few centuries is the system of checks and balances ... similar to that of Great Britain's Parliament, with two opposing factions learning to find concensus in the middle of the divide. 

Our three branches of government, currently, are each dominated by one of the two factions, and the system of checks and balances has been stymied, allowing one party to consistently override the other. This is not a healthy way to conduct government for our country.

But more distressing than the lopsided imbalance is the increasingly negative tone that dominates our newsfeeds ... the anger and disrespect toward our first amendment freedom of the press is only one aspect of the downward spiral ... the behavior of both politicians and their avid followers sets a very poor behavioral standard for our children and grandchildren.

Quilters are some of the most generous, good natured, kind, compassionate people I have ever known, and I wish all were more publicly visible to the larger populace. But you are not ... your charitable works, dedicated patience, and experienced wisdom remains unseen by much of America, more's the pity. One hundred years ago, such women mustered up the courage to speak publicly of their disagreements with the faction in power at the time ~ the male gender of privilege ~ the 'free, white and 21' citizens who could vote and own property, even after the turn of the century (1900.) And so they marched, and spoke, and shared their inequalities, and with patience and fortitude, they succeeded in turning the tide and gaining the right to be part of 'We the People.'

I ask that all of you vote with conscience ... vote your values, your true values, your privately held values, not the values printed on baseball caps and t-shirts by politicians' wealthy lobbyists.  Whether you vote red or blue, vote true, for your and your children and grandchildren's lives do depend on what kind of government we have ahead of us in this new century.

Vote for people who will work to rebuild our reputation as a positive environment for all. Vote for people who will rebuild alliances with like-minded countries, rather than with autocrats and dictators who care little for human rights. Vote for people you will not be embarrassed by ... vote for people whose values mirror your own. 

And be willing to live with those values exposed to the public, be they values of 'me and mine first' and 'not in my back yard' or values of 'share and share alike' and 'support the common good.'  Vote for people who will stand up for your values. I know you are all good people. You are generous, good natured, kind and compassionate.  You are Quilters. Please vote to share that goodness. Vote to encourage goodness.

Please.

~ Terry

October Pre-Holiday Idea...

I've been cutting 10" squares from Warm and Natural cotton batting.  (I'm cutting other size squares as well ... from 8" to 15" .) Why?

Last year I began seeing pot holders shaped to hug a small bowl, and while they looked pretty, I wasn't sure they would be effective as pot holders ... of course, they are meant as "bowl holders" and are great for both hot bowls of oatmeal at breakfast, or soup at lunch, or, in larger sizes, for serving a hot bowl of pasta or vegetables for dinner. 

12" bowl holder with cereal bowl

But until one of my students brought one in to the senior center last week, asking if we could work together to figure out how to make them, did the idea of giving them as holiday gifts hit me.  So we looked it over, and decided that the shaping was caused by darts in the sides of squares of fabric and batting. Once we decided on measurements, one of the quilters set to work, and within an hour, using remnant fabric donated by an upholstery shop and a piece of cotton batting, she had a very good replica of the one that she had purchased at a craft show.

I thought about videoing the process and putting it up on YouTube, and then I decided to search to see if it had already been done - and yes, it has. There are several videos showing how to make this item. The one I selected to watch had done pretty much what we had, with a difference: she used two pieces of batting rather than just the one piece we had used. When I tried it later with two pieces of batting, it was a little more substantial, and held its shape well. And they are reversible!

 9" bowl holder and cereal bowl in progress
(see the darts on the sides?)
nesting in a finished 12" bowl holder with serving bowl

I learned, too, in watching that video that folks who had done this project with polyester batting were disappointed, because putting polyester batting into the microwave flattens the batting - one quilter even reported having a fire because she used polyester fabric. Thread was also discussed in the videos ... polyester thread was said to be at risk of melting in a microwave.

A few of the videos mentioned specialty cotton batting made to withstand long moments in a microwave, such as that used to make 'potato bags.'  Most said a good quality cotton batting is what is required. I'm pretty sure Warm and Natural fits that caliber of batting.

So have fun ... if you want to buy pre-cut batting squares to try this project, you'll find them at Quilters' Quarters.  I'll also cut fabric to size if you ask. I thought about creating prepared kits with fabric, batting and cotton thread, but I believe you would rather choose your own colors and prints, so I resisted doing that for you. 

Here's a photo of my favorite one ... I made it to hold my bowl of frozen yogurt, most often eaten while sitting on the couch watching the nightly news!  And, as I like chocolate sauce and whipped cream on my yogurt, the fact that these all-cotton bowl holders are washable and dryable is a bonus!

8" reversible bowl holder.

As always, thanks for reading my shop's blog. Please feel free to forward this email (if you're reading this in email) or share the URL of the page with your friends and family. And if the posted schedule  doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can set up a time more convenient to your own schedule.

~ Terry

Topsfield Fair's 200th anniversary!

Click here for Topsfield Fair information

The Essex County's famous Topsfield Fair starts today (Friday September 28, 2018.)  I had the pleasure of assisting the judging of the quilt entries again this year ... 80 quilts are hanging in the Coolidge Building, and one of my young students has submitted hers for the second year. Last year she won best of show with her Jaguar's Jungle quilt, and this year's entry is titled Galileo's Galaxy.  I am not a judge of the quilts ... just one of a dozen helpers who record the judge's scores and comments, or hold the quilts up for the judge's eyes, or, in my case, hold the judge to a limit of three minutes per quilt. I learn a great deal at these sessions, listening to the comments and seeing how the various components of the quilts are judged. Of course, I can't reveal the judge's results until after the show has opened ... but I can tell you that it is an impressive assortment of quilts made by talented sewists of all ages!

Click here for MVQ show information

Also opening today (Friday) is the Merrimack Valley Quilters Guild Show, in Newburyport, MA. This is a two day show and features quilts made by members of the guild, along with tables of boutique items, a room full of 'white elephant' sale items, raffle baskets filled with fabrics, notions, batting and various other items that catch visitors' eyes. I don't attend the guild's show as my shop, Quilters' Quarters, is open on those two days and Rick is no longer here to spell me while I would attend. All guild members are asked to donate at least two hours of their time during the show to man the various displays, work as 'white glovers' to turn quilts and allow visits to view the backs, and demonstrate various skills.

As I'm unable to be in two places at once, I try to donate items to the show to be raffled off ... this year I've given a few antique sewing machines, including a beautiful Singer model 66 Treadle machine with Red Eye Decals in a multi-drawer cabinet, which I'm sure will garner a lot of attention!

I had a wonderful surprise this week at Quilters' Quarters ... a woman called and said she had some juvenile fabrics that she wanted to donate, as she had learned that I work at making comfort quilts for the local fire and police departments to carry in their vehicles for children who are at fire or accident scenes ... she came this morning with three full crates of beautiful fabrics! I'm looking forward to bringing some to the Georgetown Senior Center to make quilts with the volunteers there.  I'm sure we'll have enough to continue to provide the public safety building supply and also donate to a homeless shelter nearby. 

Wishing you all an easier season this autumn ... looking forward myself to cooler weather!

~Terry

As always, thanks for reading my shop's blog. Please feel free to forward this email (if you're reading this in email) or share the URL of the page with your friends and family. And if the posted schedule  doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can set up a time more convenient to your own schedule.

Yes, It's Been a Busy Week!

Customers, not so much. But community needs were high this week ... three towns not ten miles away from Quilters' Quarters were involved in what federal agencies called " Absolute Devastation" when the natural gas pipes leading to 8000 private homes and businesses in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Massachusetts (known as The Merrimack Valley) were overpressurized and caused three major explosions and more than 70 structure fires, simultaneously.

Fire fighters, local and state police and first responders answered the first alarm call for mutual aid from scores of towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire; Red Cross set up shelters in local public buildings in each area, and the governor of Massachusetts declared all three municipalities in a state of emergency. Homeowners were told to evacuate the areas and relocate in those shelters or with relatives or friends out of the area. Schools were cancelled ... all non-emergency municipal workers were asked to stay home and away from the area. Highway exits were closed for the weekend to the affected area, and all electricity was turned off to avoid any further sparks, as leaking gas pipes was a strong possibility. After all the fires were out, teams made up of a firefighter, police officer, gas company representative and electric company representative were assigned to go door to door and make sure that ALL 8,000 GAS METERS WERE TURNED OFF. Modern homes have gas meters on the outside, easily accessible ... but many homes in these areas are older, and entrance to the home had to be made ... hence, the police officer on each team. And then street by street, permissions to return to homes were given by the officials who deemed dwellings safe to re-enter. 

This all began on Thursday afternoon. Permission to re-enter was not given to most until Saturday evening. Even then, there were Facebook reports of a new fire that started because a returning homeowner's meter had not been turned off, and upon entering and turning something on, a fire was ignited. Unconfirmed reports that the street of that home had been 'missed' and the meters were not turned off began to circulate. The public's confidence was shattered by this report. Some are still being cared for in shelters, waiting for a safe return.

I learned Friday that a local resident in the next town would be bringing supplies to the shelters in Lawrence to assist those homeowners staying there for the duration.  I  'pulled an all nighter' Friday (something I hadn't done in decades) and was able to make up five juvenile quilts and got them to his home early Saturday morning in time to be included in the delivery. I was astonished at the collection of bottles of water, packages of disposable diapers, boxes of infant formula and so much more that he had gathered in those overnight hours ... I did put out a call to local quilters to join in the effort, but if they saw the call on Facebook they were unable to respond on such short notice ... it is likely that some were able to make quilt donations directly to shelters near them. I choose to believe that. Quilters are like that.

There was one death ... a young man sitting in a car outside one of the homes that suddenly exploded;th e home's chimney fell on top of the car he was sitting in. Some victims are still in hospital ... some were able to receive care and be released, but not to their homes ... The kind man who delivered the goods to the Lawrence shelter, including my humble quilts, told me they had an infant at the shelter with the mother, who had just come home from the hospital the day before the explosions happened. My heart broke for that family, but I was glad,knowing he would get one of those quilts to the baby.

There is a larger catastrophe currently in process ... flooding and evacuations facing families in the states of North and South Carolina. If I hear of a nation-wide call for donations (as I did and responded to a few years ago for the Idaho wildfires) I will let you know here or on Facebook. Though the needs are great, I believe our communities of quilters are up to the calls, and invite you to tune in and share what you can.

Love,
Terry

As always, thanks for reading my shop's blog. Please feel free to forward this email (if you're reading this in email) or share the URL of the page with your friends and family. And if the posted schedule  doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can set up a time more convenient to your own schedule.

Happy Labor Day!

And happy back to school week for most families. Whether you have children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews or even the great-grands, there are always children to quilt for. And many adults appreciate quilts as gifts, too!

Quilters' Quarters is involved in a few quilting groups. Some of us meet twice a month to work on the Juvenile Emergency Comfort Quilts that we provide to the Georgetown MA Fire and Police vehicles. Another group meets once a month to collaborate on lap quilts and/or wall hangings to be presented to our local military veterans.  And when I hear that someone in town is reaching the age of 100 years, I make them a Centennarian Quilt!

In my family, I've made many quilts for 60th birthdays, and others to comfort those facing significant illnesses or surgeries. Grandchildren, of course have each received a few from me, as have several newborns in my extended family. And friends with grandchildren sometimes need a hand in making quilts.

One of my friends was surprised when she asked me to make a T-Shirt quilt from her collection ... my answer was the surprise. I told her I would gladly coach her through the steps involved in such a project, as the memories in those T-Shirt belongs to her and her husband, and deserved their attention and care. As we worked together on cutting and stabilizing and arranging the shirts, the stories flowed, the memories blossomed, , her pride in her accomplishment shone and the quilts will have so much more meaning as a result. 

Another customer came and asked if I would help her make a wedding wall hanging for her niece, and in a matter of a month she had learned how to cut with a rotary cutter and ruler, how to add sashing to a block, how to shirr fabric to border a machine-embroidered center, and how to back, quilt and bind the piece. It was a lovely accomplishment for someone who had little time but much desire to provide a special heirloom for her niece. The wedding invitation sent by the bride was the focus for the colors and theme of the wall hanging ... serendipity!

So if you are wondering what type of quilt you might make, or wishing I had provided more photos of these individuals' accomplishments, come into the shop and I'll show you the fabrics involved in such quilts.  Sometimes an idea comes from a family photo, or from a favorite fabric, or even an article of clothing.

As always, thanks for reading my shop's blog. Please feel free to forward this email (if you're reading this in email) or share the url of the page with your friends and family. And if the posted schedule doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can set up a time more convenient to your own schedule.

~ Terry Crawford Palardy 

Another Way to Repurpose and Recycle...

Quilters' Quarters has several bolts of fabric book panels, with adorable illustrations and vivid colors that entertain our youngest friends, children and grandchildren. But it seems that once the little one reaches pre-school toddler age, the fabric books are put aside as being too 'baby-ish.'

Why not recycle that fabric book into quilt blocks? Or, why not purchase two panels and make both a lap size quilt AND a matching fabric book?

Come in and have a look at the many book panel fabrics in stock at Quilters' Quarters ... they are priced reasonably, as most are less than a yard in length, and of course the 20% discount and tax discount for cash or check purchases makes the cost even more pleasing. (25" length = $7.50 less 20% = $6.00 per panel!)

There are usually blender fabrics bought specifically to coordinate with the book panels, and the shop has an abundance of other brightly colored juvenile fabrics that will also enhance a toss pillow, or a toddler or lap quilt featuring the books' pages.

I'm happy to show you how to make, and then, if wanted, 'un-make' and reuse the book pages panel.  Re-use, Re-purpose, Re-cycle ... with many options to choose from~

Starry Starry Night

I my previous post, I offered to lend a Deb Tucker Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star template to anyone interested in trying it out before purchasing it. This week, I'm offering free hands-on lessons in the shop using the ruler to make various sized eight pointed stars.  I find the ruler invaluable in making blocks for our local Georgetown Quilters group using red white and blue fabrics for local veterans' quilts and wall hangings.  Come in and try your skills in 'making and taking'  a block of whichever size will fit your project, or make one and donate it to our quilt group for the veterans. And if you want to 'quilt as you go' with your new star block, I'll help you free-motion quilt your block using a portable domestic machine in the shop, outfitted with feed dogs that go down and an embroidery/darning/hopping foot. (I don't stock the feet but can help you find and order them online or from a dealer who sells only those parts she  has pre-tested.)

6 1/2" and 8 1/2" Rapid Fire
LeMoyne Star blocks in holiday colors

Made with Deb Tucker's precision templates

12 1/2" blocks for veterans' quilts 

7 1/2" Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star block

7 1/2" LeMoyne Star blocks interspersed with flag blocks
cut from a panel at Quilters' Quarters
makes a veteran's attractive wall hanging

Come and visit Quilters' Quarters to see and use these templates. Fabric for on the spot lesson provided free. All  purchased fabric is discounted 20%, unless you are making a charity quilt, in which case fabric is sold at wholesale price of 50% off retail. The shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from noon to 5pm. If those hours do not fit your schedule, call Terry at Quilters' Quarters to arrange another time for a visit. 

Watch our Facebook page for more free lessons at Quilters' Quarters! Thank you for reading this, and please feel free to share this with your friends who enjoy learning quilting techniques.

Happy Quilting!

Terry Crawford Palardy

PS: The New England Author Expo is this coming Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 at the Danversport Yacht Club/Marina ... free admission to the public, many authors of childrens and adult books of all genres, illustrators with samples of their artwork and more! Go to this 2018 NEAE Facebook link for details and directions.  I'll be there with my ten titles! I'd love to meet and greet you.

Launching this, my tenth title, at the NEAE in Danversport, MA
Also available at Amazon.com

What's under your needle this month?

Each week, I post something at the Quilters' Quarters Facebook page ( you can always find the link at the top of this blog's homepage, but for those reading in an email, I'll post it for you here:
https://www.facebook.com/QuiltersQuartersGeorgetownMA/

This month, I've continued to work on comfort quilts for our police cruisers, ambulances and fire trucks, and also on blocks that will be used by the Georgetown Quilters group making lap quilts for Georgetown's large number of military veterans. The group has presented more than twenty in the past few years. Quilters' Quarters provides fabric at cost to the group of quilters, and when possible donates full bolts of red, white or blue fabrics. We get together once a month to share ideas and work on quilts. This past week I made some LeMoyne Stars using a strip pattern with specialty ruler by Deb Tucker's Studio 180.

Deb Tucker's Studio 180 Rapid Fire LeMoyne Stars
12.5  inch blocks

This retails for 32.50 at quilt stores, but at Quilters' Quarters, you can borrow before purchasing!

I've been quilting for more than forty-five years now, and have acquired my favorite notions and fabrics one by one, spreading the cost of each over a number of quilts made for family and friends ... for new quilters, the cost of templates like this one, added to the cost of retail fabrics and threads and daily notions like needles, pins, seam rippers (I call those 'froggers,' because I "rip it, rip it, rip it") can discouraging buying and trying these quilting tools.

I teach quilting to youngsters and seniors alike, and want to help them begin building a collection of tools, fabric and threads.  I can discount the fabrics and threads, but many manufacturers of templates require that the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) be honored wherever their items are sold. Rather than discourage quilters with these prices, with so many templates to choose from, I want to encourage them to try them out, and am beginning to stockpile a lending library of such tools in the Quilters' Quarters shop.

I also encourage new quilters to stop in for a free lesson on a quilt block now and then ... this past week, I've been sharing instructions for the "Ten Minute Block" designed by Suzanne McNeil, who has written several pattern books using this and other blocks. The Ten Minute Block has only three seams and looks much more complicated than it actually is. Suzanne tells in her you tube videos how to roll back a seam to form a cathedral window curved look, using all straight seams. I've played a bit, using five inch charm squares for veterans' quilt blocks, and ten inch squares made of 2.5" jelly roll strips for a Christmas quilt:

The center block appears after the third seam is sewn;
here, it looks like a cube or square.

    

Here, with a rolled edge topstitch, it appears to
have been formed by curved seams. 

These 2.5" strips are from Hoffman's
 'Jingle Pop' collection, in stock 
at Quilters' Quarters. The solid center block
is from a bolt of coordinating fabric.

An optical illusion occurs when the blocks are joined together ..,. stop in to the shop to see what happens to those center blocks!

As always, thanks for reading my shop's blog. Please feel free to forward this email (if you're reading this in email) or share the URL of the page with your friends and family. And if the posted schedule  doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can set up a time more convenient to your own schedule.

~ Terry Crawford Palardy