Quilt As You Go, Simply Done

Simply Done

Marguerita

Lorraine’s Quilt Show

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Lorraine and I have been email chatting for weeks. She’s had some issues with her sewing machine, and a few questions. But early in January she sent the first pic and said

“Please enjoy with me my latest project made for my first born, Kevin”

Kevin's


















Then later in January she sent this note and pic:

Had to share my first free motion quilt, not perfect but in my grandaughter’s eyes it was.

Granddaughter's

and in the same email, she was planning her next quilt. She said “I purchased about 12 all cotton blouses from a local thrift store recently with plans of making two scrappy quilts, one for my sister’s birthday in May and the other for a neighbor bedridden with cancer.”

In early February, she sent this pic and note:





Yesterday I delivered a new lap quilt to my neighbor. When I called to let her know I was coming over, she was blown away that I had made her a quilt. That made me so happy.

neighbor's

Lorraine’s still busy, now planning a quilt for her other granddaughter.

The Sweetest Words

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From Linda P. via Facebook “Thank you. You gave me the confidence to free motion my blocks successfully and finish my quilt I started 5 years ago. I love this method!”

Introducing The Quilter’s Calendar

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… a new website to help connect quilters, guilds and quilting teachers. It’s a searchable calendar of quilting events (mostly guild hosted) that all quilters will find useful.

Quilters can easily find events happening in their own (or nearby) states.

Quilters who travel can find events in the locations that they are going to – shows, retreats, guild hosted classes and shop hosted classes.

Quilt guilds will find teachers who are already booked in their states, making it easier to arrange “piggy back” bookings with that teacher and sharing the travel expenses between guilds – saving both guilds money!

Quilt Teachers will have greater exposure for their teaching events, increasing attendance.

It’s a win-win situation for all quilters!

Here’s a short video on how to use the site. Let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions to make it better.



Meeting Friends

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This is a long story that started with trying to get caught up on my ‘not related to quilting’ list.

I’ve always admired well put together newsletters that I receive, mostly from quilters and shops but also from other businesses that I like or use often, and I’ve wanted to create my own for years. Since I started publishing (talk about tearing your hair out!) I’ve come to enjoy putting together articles, short books, magazine-like stories, brochures and also books. So, after putting it off for years, I tackled learning MailChimp for sending out newsletters. I mean, I learned how to publish books, how hard could it be, right?

Seriously, I was in tears.

It was like reading a foreign language. No, it was worse. I could have Googled a foreign language and translated it piece by piece, but when software people write about their products, they forget that humans might decide to use it.

But ‘Perseverance’ might as well be my middle name. Or ‘Stubborn’. I wanted to check that thing off my “To Do” list.

I think I clicked everything twice, and I finally sent out a bare bones newsletter, after begging for people to sign up for it. I may never send another one again. Seriously.

But the upside? Because of the newsletter I met Wenonah.

Arteria, Alice, Wenonah (in front), Kathleen and Marguerita

Well, actually I already knew Wenonah, we had just never met in person before. Wenonah was one of the very first people to upload a photo of her ‘Crazy Shortcut Quilt’ to Flickr years and years ago.

When I designed the newsletter, I put in a box that said something like “do you need help with your quilting” or something to that effect.

After a couple of busy weeks, I went back to look at what people wrote, and started sending out emails to answer questions or make suggestions. Then I got to Wenonah. She had written “need help with joining” or something close to that. I sat back and thought “Wenonah? She’s been making these quilts for years! I wonder why she feels like she needs help?” Then I wrote her an email. The good thing about that newsletter was that I got her new email address – YAY!

She replied that she could use a refresher and she had a couple of questions and could we meetup sometime? I said sure, if you ever get to Seward, let me know (she lives 150 miles away) and I said I’d do the same when I get to Anchorage.

Little did I know! Wenonah loves to travel! She organized a little “quilting excursion” with a couple of friends and they said they would be here Saturday. Since our house is in a never-ending state of retrofitting, I imposed upon my friend Kathleen, who owns the Alaska Saltwater Lodge (a heavenly place for a quilt retreat!), to let us meet in her lodge’s common room. She said sure, if she could invite a few quilting friends too.

What a ton of laughs we had!

I re-met some quilters from Seward that I had not seen for years; met new quilting friends; got to laugh with Alice, Arteria and Wenonah; and discovered that Wenonah and I have a LOT in common. She’s the group ‘travel agent-motivator’ – something I used to do when I worked in Anchorage. I used to organize trips to Cordova, McCarthy, Kennicott, Valdez, and twenty five other places too. Driving, camping, kayaking, hiking, berry picking or just hanging out. Wenonah is a gal after my own heart and I know that we’re going to enjoy many more meetups in the future.

So, we had an impromptu trunk show. I brought every finished quilt that I could find (I had NO idea that I had that many quilts) and she brought her book. We chatted, talked about techniques, I showed off quilts and told their stories.

And I had more fun than I’ve had in years with adults.

Hehehe. I’ve been ‘head down’ into this publishing business, taking time only to spend with my granddaughter, because if I’ve only learned one lesson in life, it is this: “enjoy the kids today”.

But now I’m ready for a little more “enjoy meeting some new quilters” too. Thanks to Wenonah.

This winter I’ll be doing two things I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. Travel and collect my retirement. The retirement is small, and the travel will be limited to the west coast, but it’s a start in a new direction.

So far I’ve arranged to meet up with some traveling friends, Shirley and Donna, and they are they are going to introduce me to their quilting friends Sharon, Cherylin and Leanne in Fort Nelson, BC, Canada (along our drive south) and I’ve looked up quilt guilds that I can visit along the way and emailed a few friends in the Seattle area. While I loved presenting the Trunk Show, I am not just looking for work, I’m just looking to say “hi” and chat a bit about quilting, travel, grandkids, and maybe make some new quilting friends along the way 🙂

I’ve posted our tentative travel schedule on a page here called Classes. If I get a chance to teach, that’s great, but if I just get half an hour to meet a new quilter, I’ll be even happier. Let me know if you’d like to meetup, okay? You can leave a comment here or drop me a note at MMQuilts @ gmail.com I hope to meet you soon,



Cutting Fabric for a New Quilt

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Hi Quilters, I was giving a trunk show a couple of weeks ago and the topic of fabric cutting came up. So, when I started cutting my fabric for a new quilt I thought I’d video it and share the process that I use for cutting my binding and all of my joining-sashing strips from the same length of fabric and, most importantly, why I do it this way. It’s a little on the long side but I hope it has a few tips that might help you.





Four Gorgeous Quilts!

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Marion (from Toronto) sent me pics of her quilt (she used our “Easy to Go Crazy” pattern from Crazy Shorcut Quilts) and her fabric colors are so warm and beautiful! Here’s the note she sent – and I love the ending

I have been quilting for about a year and a half and have made about 50 quilts. Not as big a deal as it sounds. I am retired and I only make small quilts for babies and wheel chair lap quilts. My mother has been a quilter for over 50 years and I never had any interest. Now I am addicted.

I saw a video of yours on youtube and thought this was the answer to my problems with quilting as I would like to make larger quilts.

Attached are photos of my first try (not perfect).

I’ll take gorgeous over ‘not perfect’ any day 🙂

Marion’s Quilt

A peek at the back







Barbara send me a pic of her Jelly Roll Quilt, from the video and the new book – Quilt As You Go {reimagined}, along with this note

Hello Marguerita!

I just wanted you to know that I FINALLY finished my jelly roll quilt. ..(from) last year… lol! Anyway, I wanted to send you the pics of my quilt. I wanted to send a pic of me holding it up, but I’m too *shy* 🙂 Thanks for your time and your book! I have a Kindle Fire now, like you, and want to get your next book as soon as I can!

Take care!

Barbara R

Barbara’s Jelly Roll Quilt

Her own unique design!


















Now, for some bright and bold – Elaine sent pics of her and Jess’s quilts – in stunning colors

Elaine’s Black-White-Red Beauty

Jess’s – with a hint of pink and great border












My thanks to Barbara, Marion, Elaine and Jess for sharing their quilt photos.

Quilt As You Go {reimagined}

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4 New Quilts – Endless Possibilities

I found a way to hide the joining strips – sashing, in our first book – and I played with the concept until I had 4 quilts made.

Of course, my idea is that there are LOTS of quilts we can make using this new innovation, but I wanted to get it to you now! So, we wrote and published a smaller book {only 78 pages} with just 4 quilts in it, but I’m pretty sure that when you see the quilts, you’ll imagine how you would make yours, using some of our techniques and your own adaptations.

Each of the 4 quilts has options for changing it and I hope you’ll give them a try.

Meanwhile, we have several more in the works – watch for pics of them here as they are finished.

The new book is available on Amazon, in print (on white paper, not glossy) for $18.95 and for the Kindle Fire for $8.95 (which you can read on any device with their Kindle-for-devices app). I must say, I like the look of the Kindle version (on my PC) best 🙂 You can read more about the book here, and see the quilts that are in it.



Please Sign Up for Our Newsletter

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I’ll start off by saying that I have only the barest idea of what I am doing here, but I’ve created an account at MailChimp to begin sending out newsletters.

As a blog reader, web surfer and email addict, the one thing that I like most is content that I’ve asked to receive, right in my in-box. I don’t have to remember to visit anyone’s blog or website, and email newsletters are getting prettier and prettier all the time! So, I thought I’d set one up for you, if you’d like, and I’ll use it to show you new quilts, new projects, and of course, our newest books.

My intent isn’t to send one out very regularly, or to push any products, but more to let you know if there’s an update to a technique that we use and to show you, or link to, pictures of quilts we make and pictures of quilts that YOU send us!

I’d love it if you would sign up – you can click here –

Sign up for our free newsletter!

But you don’t have to sign up. You will still find pics and updates here, but if you life is getting busier and you want to be sure that you don’t miss out on anything important, please sign up 🙂

I find that I am very much enjoying writing and designing books, for print and for the Kindle Fire, and I’d like to try designing a pretty newsletter too.

I am in Seward, Alaska (freezing, as usual) working on some new quilt designs and a new book, and Sarah is in Anchorage, busily settling into her new home, a house that she and her husband have wanted to buy for years. They have just moved in and are still unpacking and getting their old house ready to go on the market. Tom’s busy modifying a boat, and the saddest of news is that our sweet bunny is no longer with us. I miss his companionship a lot, so Sarah let me borrow her bun (Maizy) while their home is being sorted out.