Now, A Simple, Video-Based Guide That Teaches You Step-By-Step How To Make A Beautiful Quilt - A Treasured Family Heirloom for Future Generations to Enjoy. . . 100% Guaranteed


- - - a message from m. mouse, the how-to-quilt.com siamese cat:

greetings, quilter -

just the other day, i let the cat out of the bag and told you about penny’s new video – a complete step-by-step guide for making a simple 9 patch quilt.

in this video and accompanying printed guide, you will see every step – from start to finish for making this brand new quilt block design of a robin sitting in a nest.

ever since then, the fur has been flying. my buddy, anita, pluto (the other how-to-quilt.com siamese cat), and p-nut (the boxer dog) have been scurrying around packing and mailing when penny isn’t looking.

me, well, i’ve been goofin’ off.

my official job is to distract penny so she can’t see all of these dvds fly out the door. i have to admit i’ve been masterful. after all, it is what i do best – plop down in the middle of the latest quilting magazine so penny can’t see the dog quilt, flip my furry tail in her face to remind her it’s
dinner time …. you get the picture.

anyway, these new step-by-step videos are all the rage. quilters from all over the world are ordering them. and not just beginners. intermediate quilters also have figured out that getting a look inside penny’s quilting house can give them inspiration.

you see, penny’s quilting house is just like a lot of other quilter’s homes – stuff spread out all over, fabric in the closet, sewing machine on a card table in the front room, ironing board in a bedroom at the back of the house – not a perfect ‘just for sewing’ space with all of the fabric organized by color and neatly folded and stacked.

thing is, we all live there among all of that fabric, cutting and sewing. and out from the clutter come some amazing quilts. if we can do it, you can too.

and here is your chance to see exactly how to do it. follow an experienced quilter from start to finish. see firsthand just how to sew perfect half-square triangles, measure for borders that
will square up your quilt, and sew a hidden sleeve for hanging your quilt.

in a hurry? you can get an electronic download of the guide – without the dvd or any of the other goodies, if you prefer – at a much reduced price. check it out:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/robinsnest.shtml


happy quilting!

m.mouse, the how-to-quilt.com siamese cat

p.s. just want the printed version of the guide? we’ll deliver that, if you’d like:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/robinsnest.shtml

p.p.s. must excuse that i don't type in caps - my tail hasn't perfected punching the shift key while i type. it's kind of like quilting, i guess - you get better with practice.

p.p.p.s. jump on this one quick. i can't believe how fast they are selling. penny already had to place reorders for both the dvds and the quilting goodies that go along with it. don't miss out - besides these make great holiday gifts.

Thanks to many of you who responded to my call for quilting questions. It will take days to respond to them, so you can look forward to getting useful quilting information for days and weeks to come.

Since I received several questions about the difference between quilting using a hoop versus using a quilting frame, I decided to 'spout off' on that topic first.

You will find the complete answer here:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/5005-hoop-or-quilt-frame.shtml

oooo - sorry that's such a long web address. You may need to copy and paste it into your
internet browser in order to get the whole thing.

The short answer is 'It depends' I love that answer, and it usually is the answer.

In this case one consideration is whether you will have a group of quilters working on the same quilt at the same time. If so, you will need a frame.

A second consideration is your ability to stitch in many different directions. With a hoop, you can turn your quilt around as the direction of your quilting changes. With a frame, you need to turn you or your hand in order to change direction of your stitching.

On the page, you can see pictures of different hoops and a quilting frame:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/5005-hoop-or-quilt-frame.shtml

Plus get the detailed explanation - at least from my perspective!

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

P.S. For Postcard Posse Participants - the next roundup starts now, and ends on December 7, so I can have them to our friends in Idaho by December 10. I'll be getting information and patterns out soon.

In the meantime, you don't need to wait - the theme is the Holidays - whatever you
celebrate!

Get all of the details here:

http://fabric-postcards.com/christmas.shtml

Quilting Basics - Beginner Quilting Block

Most patchwork quilts are made using a basic unit called a Block. Generally blocks are square, although they can be any shape the quiltmaker wants them to be – rectangles, triangles, hexagons, diamonds; all are fairly common. Quilts are usually made with the same shape block throughout, however, it is possible (and more interesting, although more challenging) to include more than one shape block in a quilt.

Quilt blocks are made up of smaller units – or patches. Since there is no set number of patches in a block, the design (or pattern) of the block is created with the placement of the shapes in the patches and the colors of fabric used in each shape.

A very common quilt block is a nine patch – a simple square block made up of 9 smaller squares. Because this block is so easy to make, it is one of the more popular quilt blocks for beginning quilters. All of the stitching is along straight edges, and all of the patches are the same size. What makes the nine patch interesting is the placement of color within each block as well as what the whole quilt looks like when you place the blocks next to each other.

Nine patch blocks are also great for scrap quilts in a totally random design

Using four basic shapes, you can make hundreds of different quilt blocks. As quilting has developed, many more shapes have been added, but as a beginning quilter, it is a good idea to start with these four basic shapes.

For more details and pictures of the shapes, check out:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1101-beginner-quilting-block.shtml

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles