DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
NOV. ‘07
Eliad update --- he had his third birthday on October 18, got his first haircut and is just SO handsome. The terrible twos may be over but we’re finding that at three there’s a lot more things he can get into!!! Zoe, his mom, says that when she’s busy and it’s too quiet, she just calls out, “Eliad --- whatever you’re doing --- stop it!!!”
A special FYI for my friends with small children --- a recent study has shown that toddlers & preschoolers who watch rapid-paced videos like Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, Cars, etc. are developing signs of ADD when they get to school because the pace there is much slower than what they’re accustomed to. This made so much sense that we are switching to videos like Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Thomas Train, etc. There’s also a small company that puts out excellent children’s videos on real-life jobs (farming, construction work, firefighting, etc.) You can find them at www.LittleHardhats.com <http://www.LittleHardhats.com/> Eliad really likes these --- they’re very well done.
October and November are busy months here --- lots of birthdays and the family Thanksgiving is always here at our house. Plus, Mr. Donna has informed me that it’s about time I actually finish those two new Foldy Stuff patterns I‘ve been working on for over a year.. (If they ever create a club for procrastinators, I will probably be the president!) So as soon as I’m done writing to you, I’m off to the drawing table! Then the whole pile of yardages, instructions, graphics, etc. is dumped on Mr. Donna’s desk to be made into a pattern! I’m not telling you what they are yet, but I’m really excited --- you’ll love them!
ABOUT OUR WEBSITE:
New to the site is a section containing links to other sites we thought you might enjoy. We are starting off with the following links: fabrictales.com, cottage-quilts.com, americanquilter.com, fatquartershop.com, bluebird gardens.com & animas.com. Visit our site <http://Quiltwithdonna.com/> and click onto “Here are links to some great websites” at the second page.
SEARCH ENGINES: We are launching an effort to gain better representation in the listings when folks use keywords in their search engines. You will start to see changes in some of the site pages; not to worry. All is under control.
Barbara writes:
“I have a design board which is 4 x 6 feet. I do not have the space in this room to put it up. Yesterday I drug it out of the attic to put a wall hanging which I had just finished on it to make sure it was ok before it went to the quilter. I wonder if I can do with a smaller version. What do you have? Most of my quilting buddies have none and one has a floor to ceiling one because she has the room for it. Would I be fine without one? Also, did I read in one of your newsletters that you would like photos of our latest projects? I am just getting back into quilt making and find it is great therapy for me as I lost a loved one who was so dear to me last August after taking care of him for 7 years. Hope you don’t mind all my questions. Thanks partly to you I am getting back to something I loved previously.
Barbara.”
I have an 8' x 8' design board right now because I have the room for it. But I worked for years with none at all. When I wanted to view something from a distance I would lay it out on the floor , then stand on a ladder and look down on it. A design wall is better, but, hey, this worked too! Several times I made scrap quilts and to rearrange blocks, I'd lay out the quilt on the floor, then leave the room for a while. Later I'd back into the room, then, very suddenly, turn around. If anything "jumped out" at me, I'd switch it then go through the whole process again. I'd do this till I liked what I saw.
You have my sympathy on the loss of your dear friend. I hear, so often, about quilts being made as therapy --- they are very special quilts to the people who make them. Hope you find a place for your design wall,
Donna
Judy writes:
Dear Donna,
I just completed the Flag Pattern of yours. It is absolutely gorgeous!! I'm wondering though - how do you recommend attaching the back to it? It's heavy enough - I don't think it needs batting. Do you tack it down to the backing or do you actually quilt it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Judy,
I very seldom add batting to the Foldy Stuff quilts. They really have enough "stuff" inside to qualify as a light batting. I attach the backing by machine quilting in the ditch where I sewed the blocks together --- that's all it really needs --- isn't that great! On the flag quilt, I did add several more rows to accentuate the curves --- just sort of meandered along those vague lines.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Donna
Jody writes:
I took classes from you in the past and this year, in Hershey, I brought in the big green, black and white bed quilt I made in the Amish style Foldy Stuff. My daughter loves it!
Donna answers:
I love when people bring in a quilt made from one of my patterns! I don’t often get to see them finished --- it’s a real treat for my other students, too. I took pictures of that gorgeous quilt. You used so many neat ideas, all in the same quilt
Thank you!
To view Jody’s quilt, click on “Show n Tell” then look for Jody Beitzel’s quilt.
Cute quotes:
You know you’re a quilter when you have no idea why they sell freezer paper in the kitchen section of the grocery store!
The two most comforting things in the world are a quilt and chocolate.
Someone sent me this recipe and it sounded SO good --- but I can‘t find the name of the person who sent it. Sorry about that but thank you!
Here's Grandma's recipe for Italian Banana Cake. It sounds kinda strange but is delicious and simple to make. In her later years she used a cake mix instead of making the cake from scratch. If you feel lazy, just deal with 2 layers instead of 4.
Italian Banana Cake
-- Bake a yellow cake, slice layers in half after it is cool (now you have 4 layers)
-- Smear apple jelly on top of each layer and top the jelly with banana slices
-- Repeat the apple jelly & bananas on top of all 4 layers ... don't add any jelly or bananas to the sides
It is a very light dessert and so good!
(My grandmother used to make this too, but with pudding instead of jelly. I’d forgotten about it till I received this email)
PAST RECIPES: I thought this might be a good time to list the recipes which have appeared in past newsletters. I didn’t realize there were so many.
Jan ‘05---Mr. Donna’s Famous Chicken Soup
May ‘05--Curried Mushroom, Tomato & Egg.
Nov ‘05---Sweet Potato/Pineapple Casserole
Aug/Sept ‘06--Mr. Donna’s Famous Chili
April ‘07---Cream of broccoli/Potato cheese Soup
Aug ‘07---Dutch Sausage /w Garlic Bread
Notice here that everything Mr. Donna does is “famous.”
I always love Thanksgiving --- no big hoopla of presents, tree trimming, etc. Just family, lots of food and a moment or two to remember to be thankful for all that is good in our lives. May your holidays be the best ever.
Your quilting friend,
Donna
PS-CHANGING ADDRESS: Folks often change email addresses, and this is not unusual. The way to do this and remain on the mailing list for this letter is to simply resubscribe using your new address. The old address will drop out the next time the letter is sent.