newsletters_for

Hello Quilter

Welcome to our first newsletter. How to start was the big question. I’ve got so much to say that it is difficult to know where to begin.

I was raised in a quilting family, then owned a quilt shop in Dallas, Tx all before the rotary cutter showed up. Now my major activity is lecturing and teaching. Many “old time” quilters insisted that any quilt made in just a few days could not be called a “real” quilt. Using a rotary cutter was just ”not right.”

I took that theme for the preface of my second book, Quilter’s Guide To Rotary Cutting and, with a little fantasy, projected into the future. Here is what I wrote. Enjoy.

“Hundreds of years ago, women made quilts by spinning the yarn and weaving the cloth. Only then could they begin to cut and sew.

Future generations bought their fabric at the store and their grandmothers said, “Humph! In my day we made our own fabrics.”

Then came the sewing machine. Those of our grandmothers who were fortunate enough to have a sewing machine proudly used it to stitch their quilts. Their grandmothers said, “Hmph! In my day we pieced our quilts by hand.”

Now we have the rotary cutter and we’re whipping out our quilts like mad. And our grandmothers are saying, “ Hmph! In my day we cut out each piece with scissors.”

Now, let’s carry this thought into the future. I have a vision of one hundred years from now: Florabene is going to make a quilt. She hires a babysitter for little Cassiopeia (some things never change) and heads for the local quilt shop. There she selects her fabric and rents an hour on the quilting machine. This piece of equipment is about the size of a small room with hundreds of dials, buttons and slots on the front. Florabene dials her quilt pattern, colors, and dimensions, then carefully feeds her fabric into the chosen slots. With all systems ready, she now pushes a central button that activates the machine. Buttons light up, dials turn, things go buzz, whiz and cachunk, cachunk!

Forty-five minutes later, with one huge belch, this machine spits out a gorgeous, finished quilt.

And our children, now grown up and grandmothers themselves, will undoubtedly say, “Hmph! In my day, we had to use rotary cutters to make our quilts.”

I promise to get more down to earth in future newsletters.

MR. DONNA’S FAMOUS CHICKEN SOUP --My husband, who cooks while I quilt, insists every quilter (or better yet, her husband) needs this recipe!
He says, “ Properly made, this chicken soup will cure anything from hang nails to a bad cold.”

Ingredients
1 broiler chicken, approx 8 lbs.
1 lg. White onion
1 cluster celery
3 lg carrots
1 can chicken brooth
1 lg can Furmano’s Chunky Crushed Tomatos w/basil,garlic,oregano. If you can’t get this
    exact brand of tomatos use another, but the soup will not cure the entire range of
    ailments.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Remove skin and fat from chicken, discard. Seal-wrap in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 till tender. 1.5 to 2 hrs. Take from oven and, when cool, remove all bones and save all the juices.   Cut meat from half the chicken into ½ inch pieces. Cut onion and 2/3 of the celery into ½ inch pieces. Shave carrots and cut shavings into fine pieces. Place all ingredients plus all juices and cooked chicken parts and bones into a large pot and cover with water to one inch above ingredients. Lightly boil for 3 hrs. stiring occasionally. When consuming this soup you have to chew a lot because it will contain the bones, or remove bones before serving.

Q & A From the “ASK DONNA” link on the home page of our website---donnaposter.com

Q: Kathy asks “how do I know how big to cut the triangles for an on-point quilt?

A: Your best bet is to figure something like this--and this is the way I do it, too. Draw out
      the whole thing on graph paper. You can find graph paper at any school supply store.
      Since it’s rather difficult to actually draw an on-point block to a certain size, I’ve
      developed a neat trick (I’m not into pain!!!)   Draw your block “straight” on the graph
      paper, cut out the blocks and glue them “on-point” on a new sheet of graph paper. It’s
     quite easy to go from there! Have fun.

Q: A quilter from Vermont asks, “I love your Block Party quilt. Any suggestions on doing
     it as a memory quilt?

A: I’ve made several memory quilts using the Block Party design and they are such fun.
     Here are some ideas.
         1. Use scraps from familiar/favorite garments.
          2. Have people sign some of the blocks. HINT: Make the pieces larger than needed,
               Back it with freezer paper, then make a “mask” with a cut-out for them to write in.
               Use a permanent marker.
          3. Phototransfers are wonderful! I used 27 one time in a Block Party quilt for my 14
               year old niece. She loved it!!
          4. If you need a bigger block just measure two finished blocks and add ¼ inch all
               around.
          5. If you need a block for a smaller photo just add fabric, then cut to a usable size.

That’s it for this newsletter. Log onto----donnaposter.com----often. You never know what you might find. Maybe even some news. Next month I’ll talk about the great stuff I found at the last Quilt Festival in Houston and just maybe if we’ve all been real good my husband (Mr. Donna) will give us another of his culinary concoctions.

Happy quilting
Donna Poster

             DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
                                               FEB. 2005

LETS TALK ABOUT TOOLS: We all have favorite tools. I’m a real sucker for the latest tool but I use just a few all the time. So, here are my favorites! I own three pairs of those lightweight black Gingher shears and I use them for everything!! I even use mine for paper and they never seem to go dull! My “Big Board” is permanently set up on a long bookcase which holds most of my quiltbook collection. Straw needles are wonderful --- long, thin and smooth! Clover’s double-ended needle threader will go through a size 12 needle eye! Bobbins were a real pain until I bought one of those flexible circles to hold them. And, best of all, the built-in walking foot on my Pfaff! Those are my favorites --- please tell me what yours are and I’ll include as many as possible in these newsletters.

TRANSFERRING FOLDY STUFF GUIDELINES: I’ve gotten so many great hints from my customers about ironing the Foldy Stuff transfers. Here are some that really work well. (1) Heat the fabric by ironing it just before laying the transfer paper on it. You’ll have more control. (2) Start with the iron on medium setting. When the iron reaches the temperature it will shut itself off and stop transferring. Push the setting up a bit to turn it back on! (3) You need to run the center of the iron (which is much hotter than the tip) over the corners of the transfer. (4) Haven’t tried this one myself, but one quilter said she gets more transfers by using a piece of aluminum foil under the muslin!

Q & A FROM THE “ASK DONNA” LINK AT donnaposter.com

Q-Nancy asks if flannel will work with the Foldy Stuff?
A-Oh my, yes --- I used flannel for a large lap throw and it was great. But not in the Pineapple, miniatures or Round Cabin --- too much fabric buildup! Also be sure to use a lighter weight (napped on one side only) flannel. I made a baby blanket using flannel that was thicker and it was so stiff I use it as a rug under my computer!!!
     And that brings up another point. The Foldy Stuff process allows the use of a wide range of fabrics because you are not sewing a ¼ inch seam and don’t have to be fussy. I’ve even used rayon. I love silk and I’ll bet organdy and batiste would be lovely.. Just stick to light and medium weight fabrics.

Q- Denise has lost her copy of the Dresden Plate book I wrote some years ago and asks if she can purchase another one. This book is out of print and we are out of stock. If anyone would be willing to part with a copy, let me know, please!

ROAD TO CALIFORNIA: I just returned from teaching at the Road to California show in Ontario, Ca--- what fun for this easterner to see palm trees and sun in January! Great show, too --- lots of enthusiasm! I taught four full days so I didn’t get to see much of the show but I did spot someone who is beautifully refurbishing Featherweights in great new colors! With cases covered in “wild” fabrics, too! I gotta get one for my collection but the yellow one said “sold” --- darn! I hope to be back at this show next year.

Heard another funny story. Lois Lauderdale and Jill Ellert signed up for so many classes last year that by the third day they were “brain-dead”. When their room key wouldn’t work and a maid let them in, they found they’d been moved to another room!! Furious, they hit the front desk demanding their belongings be returned!! After much commotion they finally realized they were so “gone” they hadn’t noticed they’d gotten off on the
wrong floor! OOPS!!

MY NEXT GIGS:
I’ll be at the Quilt Festival in Chicago April 6 through10 teaching Easy Peaks, French Fold Binding, Block Party, Grandmother’s Flower Garden and Piney Woods. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Saturday May 14 at the Cranberry Quilt Guild, West Hazelton, Pa. Lecture: Show and Tell of Simple Quilt Designing. Contact Grace DeGennari-(570) 455-1043

Tuesday May 17 at the Warwick Valley Quilt Guild, Warwick Valley, NY. Fun With Foldy Stuff workshop 10:00AM to 4:00PM.   Contact Barbara Berdy (845) 634-9309 or email bsb940@yahoo.com <mailto:bsb940@yahoo.com>.

Thursday July 28 through Saturday July 30 at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pa.

Monday Sept 12 and 13 at Philadelphia Quilt Guild.

In between I’m going back to California to visit one of my daughters who lives there and Mr. Donna, the soup man, is going to Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, a Thoroughbred horse racing track, for a week. He’s an avid handicapper.

LATEST SOUP NEWS.
Sarah is going to make a pot of Mr Donna’s chicken soup as her husband has the CRUD. We just heard of a fellow in Texas who broke his leg in fourteen places, bull riding. Ate two bowls of the now famous chicken soup, woke up next morning, leg all healed.

Until March
Happy Quilting

                DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
                                              MARCH 2005

IT’S A MATTER OF PRIORITIES
I was standing in a food line at the Houston quilt show and overheard two ladies trying to decide whether to buy a piece of pie. Finally one said, “Nope! That pie is four dollars. That’s a half yard of fabric!” I love it!!

MORE FREE PROJECTS
We just gave three more free projects to our webmaster so they should be on the website by the time you get this newsletter. There’s placemats done with the Log Cabin, a table runner using the Pineapple and a hexagon fussy cut quilt! We’re now up to eleven free Foldy projects
and, remember, these are not copyrighted. Go to - donnaposter.com - download them, then copy them for your quilting buddies, use them as class handouts, or whatever you like. They’re just more fun ways to use our Foldy Stuff!

A TRIBUTE
We were so pleased that Marti Michell, a good friend of ours, was honored with the Silver Star Salute Award at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. This award is presented every year to a person who has made a truly significant contribution to the world of quilting. Marti and her husband, Dick, have been developing products to inspire quilters long before most of us even thought about quilting. Congratulations, Marti, you’ve earned this wonderful honor!

USING OLD TIES
Quilters always recognize a good source of fabric so I get many questions about working with men’s old ties. ( We did a small piece about this on Simply Quilts and Alex and I were very careful not to say, “old mens’ ties”!). They’re just gorgeous in Foldy Stuff and I have a lot of hints for working with them. Just go to - donnaposter.com - click on “Foldy Stuff Ideas” at the bottom of our home page. By the way, I had to buy all mine at the Goodwill store because when Mr. Donna left the corporate world he asked if I minded if he never wore a tie again. I said that was fine with me if he didn’t mind if I never wore a girdle again. It was a great trade-off!

QUESTIONS FROM YOU FOLKS
Q - Edna asks:
Needing suggestions for transferring photos on bubble jet printer. Also care of such.
A - Donna answers:
I’d like some suggestions, too! It’s been several years since I transferred any photos and now there are so many different products to make it easier. Most, I believe, have the fabric itself and I’d love to know which products have the best fabric and give the clearest colors. For inkjet printers, too. I’d like to get back to doing photo transfers as they are great with our Foldy Stuff and Block Party patterns!

Q - Kris asks:
What kind of muslin do you find to be the thinnest or the best for foundation?
A - Donna answers:
I do a LOT of Foldy Stuff and get my muslin by the bolt. I buy either Springs or Rockland and, since no one will ever see it, I use one of their less expensive types. I do wash it first even though it claims less than two percent shrinkage. By the way, if you find one of those fabulous sales and they have a fabric light enough to see the transfer lines, buy a pile of it --- works just fine!

Q - Arline asks: I understand that on a trip you take along a clipboard and all the cut and stacked pieces for Foldy Stuff blocks. Do you sew the strips onto the grid by hand or just pin them for machine stitching later?
A - The Foldy Stuff is actually great as handwork, especially when you’re riding in a car and can’t be fussy about your stitching. I sew the pieces to the muslin base with a running stitch and regular sewing thread. You only need one spool of thread as it doesn’t have to match anything and the stitches don’t have to be neat because it isn’t a seam. Keeps it real simple! The clipboard is to give you something flat to work on.

Q - Kathy writes: I just finished the top of a Foldy Stuff Pineapple quilt and would like to know the best way to quilt it.
A - I just machine quilt in the ditch where I’ve sewn the blocks together. It’s all you need with most battings these days. Besides, the Pineapple quilt is so heavy you won’t be using batting anyway!

Q - Barbara writes: I have finished the top to a Foldy Stuff project. I would appreciate any help you could give on finishing. My friend says she serges the edges of the blocks. Also, will copies of old newsletters be available?
A - I don’t do anything to the edges of my blocks (and I do have a serger) There is a 1/2” seam allowance included in the block and they’ll be backed so they’ll never fray. I just figure, why bother! Getting copies of old newsletters will be no problem. We just started in January and our webmaster said he’d archive them so they’ll all be available at any time!

Q - Sheri writes: I took your Mega Peaks class at Road to California and am about finished with what I started in class. Since I am fairly new to quilting, do you have any suggestions as to the best way to finish the project. I’m machine quilting it myself and don’t want to overpower the design with quilting.
A - So glad you liked the Peaks pattern --- that was a fun class! Hope I get to do it again next year. As for quilting, I’m a fairly lazy quilter as I’m always anxious to get to the next project. So most of my quilts (including the sample you saw) are machine quilted in the ditch where I sewed the six inch blocks together. It’s enough!

Gotta go now --- I’m in the middle of number six of the five hundred and thirty projects I’m planning to do next!

I’ll write you again next month. Meanwhile, do you have any great hints, any favorite tools, any new ideas, etc.? Let me know and I’ll pass them on!
Happy quilting
Donna Poster

     DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
                                                           MAY 2005

PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS SAVED; did you know that you can find all previous newsletters at our website---donnaposter.com---. The link “Newsletter Archives.” is on the home page directly under the logo. If this link does not work for you use the following from your browser---
            http://www.appliqué design.com/newsletters.html.

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

DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
                                               JUNE 2005

Whoo---I think May was three months long! Besides the usual household, family and studio routines I spent a week at the Pfaff Training Center in Cincinnati, then gave a lecture in Hazelton, Pa, followed 48 hours later by a workshop in Warwick Valley, NY. Arrived home tired, but happy, only to find our fifteen year old ailing poodle had to be put out of her misery. To help our sadness, we went looking at new puppies and, big surprise, we found one! So our days are now spent training (playing with?) our little three pound Maltipoo, Corky!

I had a wonderful time at the lecture and workshop. Quilters are such super people and these two groups of ladies were a lot of fun to be with! Almost all signed up for my newsletter, too, so a special, “Hi and thank you!”

The gals at Warwick came up with some great exercises for quilters. My favorites are, “When they come up with a heavier needle I’ll be getting more exercise” and, “The running stitch is an aerobic exercise”. I love it!!!

I can’t believe I was one of the fourty-eight national and international teachers invited to attend a three day training session at the Pfaff sewing machine headquarters in Cincinnati, Oh. We were treated to three whole days of doing nothing but “playing” on their finest machines. The instructors were marvelous, the machines were terrific and we are all hoping we’ll be invited again!

I now have a few weeks before teaching at Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pa. Most of my classes are filled I’m told, but there is one I have asked to be reopened to accept more students. It’s called “Who, Me, Teach? OK!” The class developed when I began looking at how I had improved my teaching skills over the years and I realized that I could recognize the points of growth. It’s becoming a very popular class for both new and experienced teachers. Join me for three hours of great hints, Q & A and hilarious stories! For details check out--quilt odyssey.com--or call Missy at (717) 423-5148.

BE PART OF OUR NEWSLETTER
Have a FAQ and now have the answer, or a special technique you have developed, or something unusual? Share it with the world. Send it to ---donnaposter@aol.com--- <mailto:---donnaposter@aol.com---and> we will try our best to incorporate it into this newsletter.

ABOUT FOLDY STUFF YARDAGES
The telephone rings, it’s a call from a shop owner. “I have a customer and we are picking fabrics for one of your Foldy Stuff projects, and the yardages in the pattern must be wrong” a voice says.

The fabric companies love us. Because strips are pleated and overlap some extra fabric is used. This results in the need for a little more fabric than you are accustomed to using when sewing a ¼“ seam. The Pineapple, with its extra catty-corner rows, uses a lot more than the other Foldies! The good news is that very little batting is needed, none for the pineapple design, and the amount of quilting needed is drastically reduced. In the ditch around each block is plenty.

RIPPING IT OUT
My beginning students always ask, “How do I know when to rip out a seam?” I always tell them the following:

Be as accurate as you can while still having fun. Remember, this is your hobby not your job, and the chances of your first quilt hanging in the Smithsonian are slim, so don’t spend time ripping out every seam that’s not a perfect match. If you enjoy your first quilt, you’ll make more of them, and as you do, you’ll get better at it.

If you need to do some easing to get seams to match, don’t worry. The quilting hides a lot of errors in the “puffies.”

Know what is important and pay attention to that. For example, learn to maintain a scant ¼” seam allowance. Careful cutting is important. Learn to adjust your sewing machine to maintain a good tension. Use a small size (70/10) sewing machine needle for piecing, and change it every time you start a new project. Use good quality fabrics and thread.

Pay attention to these things and you’ll be amazed at how easy it all fits together.

                                    IT’S Q & A TIME

Q: Marla asks--I have just finished a pineapple Foldy Stuff quilt. I used a lot of white fabric and it needs to be cleaned. Can I wash it in my home washing machine?
A: I assume it is backed and quilted. Just take it to a laundromat and wash it in one of the large front-load machine in the usual way. This is a very sturdy quilt.

Q: Sandra asks--My 13 year old grandaughter (Abby) has received her first sewing machine. I’d like her to try her hand at quilting. Which Foldy Stuff pattern would you recommend for her first attempt?”
A: Definitely the Log Cabin! Not just because it’s the simplest but because it has the most possibilities for playing with the finished blocks and that is exciting. By the way, The Foldy Stuff makes wonderful scrap quilts and would be so interesting and fun for her to work with. You two are in for some great times--enjoy!!

THE CURRY MUSHROOM/EGG/TOMATO RECIPE (by Mr. Donna)
Ok, all the ingredients are in the May issue and I have already gotten a lot of grief from my wife over this “to be continued“ format, so, please, be kind . These newsletters are archived and you view them by going to----donnaposter.com----and clicking on “Newsletter Archives” at the home page. Ingredients are in the May issue.

A word of warning. This is not a dish to be thrown together and wolfed down between TV shows. We are talking serious eating enjoyment here.

Cook the rice. Hard boil the eggs, cool and cut in half lengthwise. Melt butter or margarine in a large (10”) skillet, add onion and cook until onion is just short of being tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Try to undercook everything in the recipe.

Add the spices (coriander, salt, turmeric, ginger and cumin). Cook and stir about 1 minute. At this point the mass in the pan may get a little dry depending upon the grit of the spices. Don’t panic. Just add a little of the chicken broth. Boy-O-Boy, I’m wondering how this would work if I used the broth from my own famous chicken soup. I’ll have to try that--awesome. Anyway, two things here: 1. Use as little chicken broth as possible throughout the cooking process, so the curry flavor will not be diluted, and
2. The turmeric will stain anything with which it comes into contact, so be careful.

Stir in tomatoes and some more broth, heat to boiling, reduce heat and
Simmer, uncovered, 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully place the eggs in the skillet and spoon the juices over them. Simmer, uncovered, until the eggs are hot, 3 to 5 minutes, do not stir. The contents of the skillet should not become a sauce.

If you are using shrimp and bay scallops now is the time to put them in the skillet. Just push them under the liquid between the eggs and tomatoes. Cook for about one minute. Add lemon juice just prior to serving.

Serve over rice with a garnish, a small salad or side of apple sauce. Pop the cork on a bottle of your favorite white wine, an

      .

DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
JULY ‘05

WHAT HAPPENED TO JULY
I can’t believe July is half gone! We’ve had such a busy month! First of all, we spent way to much time standing in the yard waiting for our new puppy to “piddle”! But she’s getting the hang of it and she is adorable! Mid-June our daughter got a call with the news that the adoption agency she is working with had an eight month old boy she could adopt, if-IF-she could be in Russia in two weeks!! She hadn’t expected the call so soon and portioned out all the chores that needed to be done. Mine included buying packaged food for her and toys for the baby!!! Now, it’s been about fifty years since I’ve bought baby toys. Oh, my goodness, they have wonderful toys these days!! She’ll now return to the states and wait while the paper work is finished. Then back to Russia, stay for three weeks, complete the adoption and bring the little fellow home. We are so hoping that all goes well and we’ll soon be cuddling our first grandchild!

STORIES QUILTERS TELL
I love the stories quilters share with each other! A well known teacher tells of the time she and a friend were setting up a booth at a quilt show in a northern state. They arrived in the middle of a snowstorm and freezing temperatures, only to find that the heating system in their hotel was not working! She and her friend spent a cold night. The next morning, as they prepared to help set up the booth, they realized they had spent a miserable night while over a hundred quilts lay neatly folded at the foot of their bed.

ORGANIZING YOUR WORKSPACE-CONTINUED
I sit on a 24” high stool when I’m at the sewing machine For some reason it automatically keeps my back straight. This is SO important to me, because several times I’ve sewn for seventeen hours straight (deadlines) and I don’t even get up to eat. Mr. Donna sets plates of food next to the sewing machine and I snatch bites between seams!! How’s that for fun!! By the way, do you have any idea what’s on the TV at three o’clock in the morning. Aaaaaghhhh!!!

SEND A GIFT
The Send-A-Gift program is just around the corner. It should be up and running by the Aug. newsletter. From the website---donnaposter.com-----. you simply pick the items you want to send using the shopping cart , then fill out the Send A Gift screen. You will be asked for a name and address, to choose a card and supply the message. Upon receipt of your order the card will be printed including your message and sent with the order to the person named. There is no extra charge for this service and there is no increase in the shipping charges or items. It’s just something we decided to do.

APPLIQUE PATTERNS
I know there is a lot of information in these newsletters about the Foldy Stuff designs, probably because they are so popular. However, we also have over fifty applique patterns and other items all of which can be found at the website. Our applique patterns have a few unique features. Each design is presented as a full size drawing plus separate piece part drawings number keyed to the full size drawing. In most patterns the numbers indicate the order the pieces are placed on the backing to form the design.

IT’S Q & A TIME

Q: Lena asks
Are the Foldy Stuff patterns in quilt shops in Ohio?
A: Although Holiday Designs (our production company) sells to individual shops, their main business is selling to distributors (there are six) and catalogs. Distributors then resell to their customers. The result of this is that we never know which shops carry the patterns. You can obtain the Foldy Stuff patterns, and any of our products, by going to your quilt shop and having them contact either us or their distributor, or go to our website---donnaposter.com---and order directly from there. The advantage of having your quilt shop get them for you is that you will save the shipping cost.

I need to mention about using your credit card with Pay Pal at the website. Pay Pal is the company transferring money from your credit card account to our account within Pay Pal, and that’s how you get to pay for the order. Well, Pay Pal is not the easiest, and there are a number of screens to go through. Be sure to keep on going until the last screen. Go to the bottom of each screen to see if there are other screens. Folks are having a bit of a problem here. If it doesn’t work out just download an order form, (link at bottom of Home Page) and write out the order, include a check or money order and send it along.

Q: Sandra asks
I received my Foldy Stuff order today which included the Hexagon, Pineapple and Log Cabin designs. Two questions: First, are your yadages based on 45 inch fabric?, and second, what do you suggest about pre-washing the top, backing fabric and muslin
A: So glad you asked about the Foldy Stuff, I love doing it! The yardage
charts are based on a 40 inch width of usable fabric after shrinkage from washing, trimming, etc. Most fabrics are 45 inches wide as purchased but I must also include fabrics that are of a “skimpier” width.
As for pre-washing, here’s how I see it. I will do to all the fabrics used in a project the worst things I think my family will do to the quilt in the next twenty years! So, if it is to be used I will prewash, but if it’s going to hang on a wall I generally don’t. While we are on the subject, most of my quilts are made to be used and even abused! It pleases me to see people enjoying them. I do have a few special ones that were a lot of work and usually costly. I make sure my family knows which ones they are.

CARING FOR YOUR QUILTS
This last question prompts me to include here a little piece I wrote in one of my books, it’s called “Caring For Your Quilts.” Here it is:

“Machine Washing and Drying
Machine washing and drying work fine provided you have used a bonded batting and have a washer and dryer large enough to accommodate your quilt. Use the gentlest cycle and mild detergent. Use your dryer on delicate cycle only. Dry only to a slight damp stage. Remove the quilt and finish the drying process flat on a blanket or bed.

Hand Washing And Drying
Fill the bathtub half full of lukewarm water. Use a mild detergent. Squeezing gently, swish the quilt around in the water. But never lift it by the edge while it is wet. The weight of the quilt at the bottom will snap the quilting threads. Rinse several times. Squeeze as much moisture from the quilt as possible. Do not wring. When lifting a wet quilt, fold it into a bundle and carry it in your arms. Dry your quilt on a blanket spread out on a large flat surface, such as the floor in a spare bedroom. Outside on a sunny day works well, but be sure to put the top side of your quilt down to prevent fading.

Storage
Fold your quilt loosely and wrap it in a sheet or pillowcase. Never store it in plastic. Air must circulate around the quilt to preserve it.

My next gig is Quilt Odyssey held at the Hershey Convention Center July 28-31. Gotta go now--have some exiting new projects sitting on my drawing board!

Happy summer activities,
Donna

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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

DONNA POSTER NEWSLETTER
OCT. ‘05

ELIAD
He’s here! Our little Eliad has finally arrived! Thank you all so much for your congratulations and best wishes on our first grandson. So many of you have asked for news about the little guy and, as a first time Grandma, I can hardly wait to tell you.

He’s now eleven months old and a happy guy. Having spent his first ten months in an orphanage, he seems to view the whole world as a great adventure. Which means he isn’t too happy about giving that up for sleep--and he’s got an incredible set of lungs!! He’s a hopeless flirt, a great eater, can’t wait to walk and loves to give his Grandma and Grandpa big smooches!!

The stories I could tell are hilarious! Just use your imagination on the following scenes.

Zoe, the adopting daughter, received the call from the adoption agency to go to Russia much sooner than expected so the family was assigned to set up a nursery while she was gone. So, there we are, in the baby store; my sister (her youngest grandchild is ten) a friend (his youngest child is twenty-eight), Mr. Donna and me (our youngest is forty-seven)! And the mother is in Russia. The four of us are trying to choose from 30 cribs, 40 strollers, 15 high chairs---and where are the playpens? And what the heck is this thing? Oh, look, they have things that go jiggle & rock automatically. Ooops. Says only up to 28 pounds. Anyone knows what he weighs? Etc. etc, etc. It was a riot.

This next scene takes place in Moscow. Our youngest daughter, Laura, arrived in Russia the day before Zoe was to pick up the little one at the orphanage. She came to help during the week’s stay in Moscow and on the trip home. Our daughters are very creative, thank goodness, because in their late forties neither has ever fed or diapered a baby!!! And there they are, in a hotel room, in a foreign country with a little guy who is about to kick up a fuss---and they don’t know why. So, as intelligent modern day females, they run for the instructions!! (They had asked the orphanage to write down his schedule and they followed it like a bible) Then they discovered that babies eat a lot! And poop a lot! And are messy! They went through his entire wardrobe in the first twenty-four hours. and the only laundry facility was the bathtub. Their solution was, eventually, to feed him naked in the bathtub! He loved it.

The stories are endless! They did get to see a lot of Moscow, though, as Eliad loved his stroller and they had a wonderful interpreter with them. Zoe was required to spend a number of weeks there previous to the adoption and stayed in an apartment. Having a lot of free time she came to know the Russian culture in ways that tourists never do. An incredible experience.

My one request was to bring back a Russian dress pattern but Zoe couldn’t find any fabric stores. What she did find were shops where the customer picks out a picture and fabric. Using this information and the customer’s measurements, someone in the store cuts out the garment and the customer takes the pieces home and sews them together! She did bring back a newsstand magazine with pictures of garments and a huge center section of the patterns for these garments. But the patterns are all superimposed on each other with each pattern being defined by a different series of lines & dots. She never found anything at all about quilts!! Hey, we need to get something going in Russia.

Click onto the following link to see what all the fuss is about.

SCISSORS
What a wonderful response to my question about counting the number of scissors you own!! I was amazed to find that most of us have at least one pair that has great sentimental value. It also made me much more aware of the scissors I use. I’d never even noticed that my fifty year old pair of dress shears, bought in college, is now rusty and hanging in the tool shed to cut twine. Oh, my. I love reading all the emails and next month I’ll put some in the newsletter. Thanks, and keep them coming.

HGTV-SIMPLY QUILTS
Checkerdist.com is a good website to see the month’s programming of HGTV-Simply Quilts. There is a link on the Home Page. Checkers is one of the main distributors in the quilt and sewing industries selling to retail shops. They usually have the new month’s programs on the site by the third of each month.

ABOUT THOSE FREE PROJECTS
On occasion, someone will contact me for the instructions for the free projects. These projects are just that--projects, not patterns. They are used in addition to the projects contained in each Foldy Stuff pattern and you need to have the basic pattern to do the project. If you have problems printing the projects or you do not have a color printer just let me know and I will be glad to send a copy.

CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
If you change your email address for any reason and want to remain on the newsletter list just go to the home page of---donnaposter.com----and resubscribe using the new address. You will get a conformation and your old address will just drop out the next time the letter is sent. If you are using two addresses and want to delete one let me know and I will have it deleted.

Q & A
Marge Asks: I am doing the Fussy Cat free project. Why does it call for an extra piece of muslin under the center when there is already a muslin printed lining?

Answer: Boy, oh boy, oh boy!!! Fussy “Cat” was spelled Fussy “Cut” when it went out. However, it goes through several other folks before it gets on the site and we didn’t catch it. I do, however, have to admit to being rather lazy about chasing down and correcting these kinds of errors It calls for a piece of muslin under the center square because you need a bit of extra weight added in areas that don’t have pleats. Otherwise, that area is kind of “floppy.”

GUILD LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
You have no idea how this hurts but several months ago I decided not to visit guilds anymore. The only ones I’m doing are those I committed to more than six months ago.

It hurts to say no, after all these years, because I really enjoy the guild experiences---you gals are always so much fun---but something just had to come off the schedule. I will still be teaching at local stores plus doing five or six major shows around the country. I’ll keep a listing on the website and perhaps we will meet at one of them. The reason I had to find more time--besides Eliad--is I have so many ideas for new patterns and free projects. It won’t happen fast because they take a lot of time, but I’m working on some neat ones right now!!

HINTS
Great idea! One of my students had her machine tilted forward, but instead of a gadget made for that purpose, she just used two rubber doorstops under the back of the machine. Inexpensive and easy to carry to a class.

Most of us have a huge fabric stash of pieces too small to use but too big to throw out. That’s fine with me because I absolutely adore scrap quilts! You don’t need special books or patterns either, because any quilt can be made as a scrap quilt. You can vary the looks by the way you use the scraps. My personal favorite is to use darks and medium darks with very light fabrics, creating a sort of two color look. Some quilters like to just reach into a paper bag and use whatever they pull out next, resulting in a truly scrappy, fun quilt. Fabric scraps are the most fun!

I recently saw two quilts that really intrigued me. The basic design element was cut from fabric created from selvage edges. The quilter had overlapped strips cut from selvages (cut edges underneath) and stitched them together, forming a piece of fabric. She then used this to cut out diamonds and triangles to use in the quilt. I took note that her strips were of varying width, most were light in color and many contained the manufacturer’s information on it. They were very interesting and quite adorable!

Gotta go---have a whole pile of new flannel fabric to make a little quilt for Eliad!!

There’s a nip in the air these nights so the leaves should be turning soon. Our mountain is extra beautiful then. Hope you’re all having a gorgeous autumn.

Your quilting buddy,
Donna