Issue 7: The Joyful and Merry Quilting Newsletter

Your go-to source for quilting camaraderie, tips, and insights, as well as upcoming Joyful and Merry Quilting events and courses!

 

1. Patchwork Puzzlers!

How much quilting trivia do you know? Today's questions cover famous quilt shows. Answers are listed at the end of the newsletter!

1. Which famous quilt show is held annually in Houston, Texas?
A) QuiltCon
B) International Quilt Festival
C) Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival
D) Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

2. The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, one of the largest outdoor quilt shows in the world, takes place in which U.S. state?
A) California
B) Oregon
C) Colorado
D) Washington

3. Which country hosts the Festival of Quilts, the largest quilt show in Europe?
A) Germany
B) France
C) United Kingdom
D) Italy

4. Which event is known as a traveling trade show for the quilting industry professionals, visiting multiple cities throughout the year?
A) QuiltCon
B) International Quilt Market
C) AQS QuiltWeek
D) World Quilt Show

5. Which U.S. state is home to the American Quilter's Society (AQS) QuiltWeek events?
A) Kentucky
B) Texas
C) California
D) Pennsylvania 

2: Merry Moment

I love limericks, but to be honest, I haven’t really read or even thought about a limerick for a whole lot of years.  
I’ve thought about recipes.
I’ve thought about quilt patterns.
I’ve thought about why I didn’t particularly like the series finale to a television series I had been watching.
I’ve thought about why my dog thinks the chipmunk she saw in our drainpipe 2 years ago is still there and checks every single time she goes outside.
I’ve thought about family, and friends, and my health, and my schedule, and technology, and more…but I haven’t thought about limericks lately.

And then I did….out of the blue, I wondered if there were any limericks about quilting that I could share. By definition, a limerick is a short poem with five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth lines rhyme with each other.

Traditionally, lines one, two, and five have nine syllables (or so) each, and lines three and four have six syllables (or so) each. Of course, this is not set in stone, but it’s a guideline…more or less when we write a limerick. 

Years ago, when I was a child, I remember watching a movie called “With a Song in My Heart” starring Susan Hayward. It was based on the life of singer Jane Froman and I loved it! I’m sure I missed all of the “adult-themed” content woven into the story, but I do remember Jane singing “With a Song in My Heart” to a soldier with PTSD and touching his heart through music.

You may (or may not) have heard of the movie and you may (or may not) have heard of Jane Froman, and you may (or may not) not have heard that Jane eventually started the Jane Froman Music Camp, encouraging young people to develop their musical talent. But, it’s a wonderful testament to the power and healing that music (and creativity, and quilting, and art) can have in our lives. 

So, here’s my challenge: Do you have a joyful and merry quilting limerick in your heart? Write it and send it to me…a sort of “pay-it-forward Merry Moment”? Send it to [email protected] and maybe (if you’re ok with it) we can share the joy quilting brings to our hearts!

So here is a quilting limerick, which has given me my very merry moment today!

Joy from a Quilt

She quilted with joy and delight,
Through the day and well into the night.
Not a quilt did she keep,
For the joy was too deep,
In gifting them, her heart felt just right.

…I’m always trying to be joyful, but I will always be Mary!

NEWSFLASH: NEW COURSE Pre-Registration CLOSES SOON!
Aim for the Stars

Skill Level:  Confident Beginner 

Start Date: June 24
Watch the Video and Pre-Register Here!

Course Description: 
In this course we will explore the benefits of mastering the Half Square Triangle, the Split Quarter Square Triangle, color value, accuracy when cutting, pressing, and sewing seams, as well as sashing for beginners. You will walk through the process of constructing the Aim for the Stars quilt with written and video instruction as well as LIVE Zoom Chats. You will finish the course with a beautiful throw-sized quilt. If you would like to learn more and pre-register to start on June 24th, CLICK HERE. 

The Ultimate Quilting Foundation [From Novice to Confident Beginner] 
Group 3 is closed, but if you are interested in signing up for Group 4:
Click to Join the Waiting List Here

Course Description: 
This comprehensive online quilting course is designed for beginners who want to dive into the world of quilting with confidence. After you’ve gathered your essential quilting tools, you will learn how to select the perfect fabrics, followed by a step-by-step course of instruction that will teach you the skills you will need to embark on your joyful and merry quilting journey, with 4 live Zoom chats with me along the way. By the end of the course, you will have the ability and the self-confidence to create beautiful quilts with a basic and solid understanding of quilting techniques, tools, fabrics, materials, and terminology.

3: Quilting Secrets, Fixes and Tips

(If you have a quilting tip you would like me to share in our newsletter, please email it to [email protected].)

Mea C. contributed the following tip that was posted in last week’s newsletter. This is such a great idea, and, unfortunately, I neglected to post the name of the handles. So I have corrected the post and added a link. “Because I have rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis my hands (and other body parts) don't like to work right. I have a hard time picking up my quilt rulers but I discovered a 'hack' that made it so much easier to pick them up. I attach these handles (The COMMAND Medium Crystal Hooks) in the middle of the rulers I use the most. They're transparent so I can see the measurements underneath them. I can pick them up and spin them in my hands to use all sides of the ruler, and they're inexpensive. They also remove easily and don't leave marks. It's a win-win for me!”

4: Product Picks

Although I don’t mind putting the binding on a quilt, what I do mind is folding and pressing the strip in half and then having this LONG…LONG…binding strip laying on my lap, on the floor, getting caught in my chair, and making the final step of the quilting process rather cumbersome. I discovered a GREAT tool (actually 2 great tools) by PurpleHobbies.com that I love. Here’s the link if you’d like to see how the Third Hand Binding Tool and the Binding Wheel work:

Third Hand Binding Tool and Binding Wheel Video

Note: I used the 3rd Hand Binding tool to press the entire 200+ inches of binding in this video, and then discovered that my hand was in the way of the camera. We switched the camera angle and re-recorded the process. Someone pointed out in a comment to the video, that a section of the binding appeared to be already pressed in half…and it was…USING the THIRD HAND BINDING TOOL. It’s a great product and I love it. Take a look and see what you think!

5: Merry Musings Mailbag

This section of our newsletter is a comment to a YouTube video made by one of our subscribers.

@megharmon2298 commented on the video about Ruler Stands (Click Here to Watch):

“I wanted to thank you for all your tips using pins to help match up seams perfectly at junctures. It has increased my skills a lot! I like these ruler stands. I may look at these for my quilting rulers. I currently use a letter holder to hold measuring and specialty rulers. I can store directions with them. I saw where one quilter puts specialty rulers in page protectors and then puts them in a notebook. I am afraid I would forget I had them if I did that!”

6: Ask the Quilter

This section of our newsletter is dedicated to the questions asked and comments made by our subscribers. If you have any additional positive suggestions to add to the conversation, please comment! We’d love to have your insight.

Comment by Susan: “I made my first practice cutting 2” squares and pinning and sewing together into the larger square. Your instructions are so precise and easy to follow and I made a perfect 4.5” square with the pieces matching exactly in the center. I am going to get the pins you suggest though so they are smaller to work with. Thanks so much. Really happy I signed up for learning to make a quilt.”

My response: I'm so happy this helped, Susan!!! Thanks for sharing and welcome to the course! 

Note: The course Susan is referring to is our beginning course, "The Ultimate Quilting Foundation: From Novice to Confident Beginner"

7: Joyful and Merry Quilting News, Night Owl and Daytime Quilting Hangouts Schedule

Quilting Course News: Registration is now open for our new quilting course “Aim for the Stars!" Class begins June 24th, so be sure to reserve your spot. This course is for Confident Beginners, and as with all of our courses, it includes step-by-step video instructions and so much MORE! Go to joyfulandmerryquilting.com/stars to watch a video to see what it’s all about and then I’d love to have you register for the course. 

Newsletter News: All of our archived Joyful and Merry Quilting Newsletters can now be found in the Blog Section of our website! Many have requested a place to access all previous newsletter releases. Head over to joyfulandmerryquilting.com/blog and you'll find them all as they're released! The weekly newsletter is released on Thursdays. 

Night Owl Quilting Schedule: 
Monday, June 24 at 10pmCDT
Monday, July 8 at 10pmCDT

Daytime Quilting Schedule: 
Wednesday, July 3 at 11amCDT
Wednesday, July 17 at 11amCDT

8: Shop Hops, Quilt Shows, and More

If you have a local shop hop, quilt show, or another quilting-related event that you would like to share, please email [email protected] one month prior to the event and we will include it in this section of our newsletter.

CALIFORNIA BAY AREA SHOP HOP: Shop by the Bay; June 19-22, 2024; 10am-5pm Here’s the link with all the details: shophopbythebay.com

9: Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild Corner

The Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild will open registration again soon - stay tuned! Here's what we're working on...

*NEW GUILD NEWS*

SHOW AND TELL:
If you have something to “Show and/or Tell” at one of our Guild Meeting, please send a good quality photo to [email protected] and we will add you to the schedule. It’s difficult to show our quilts at our live Guild Zoom meeting, due to lighting, space, etc., so we will screen share the photos and then call on the guild member  submitting the photos to give us the details during the meeting. Don’t be shy! We would love to share in your joy as you show share your creativity with the guild! Photos must be submitting in advance just to make sure we have enough time allotted for those members who will be sharing. 

FREE BACKPACK PATTERN DATE CHANGE:
Please note a date change for our free backpack pattern. The free backpack pattern will be available on June 27th and will be introduced at our “Extra Guild Meeting” so be sure to watch for it. Again, FREE PATTERNS are a few of the many perks for being a Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild member! Enjoy!

JULY HOLIDAY SCHEDULE:
Please note that our July 4th Guild meeting will be moved to Wednesday July 3rd at 7pmCT to accommodate for the US Independence Day Holiday. The registration link is available on the Guild Resource Page. Register now and you won’t have to think about it later! Of course, it will be recorded in case you are unable to attend.

SAMPLER BLOCKS OF THE MONTH CHALLENGE: 
The Sampler Blocks “Churn Dash” and “9-Patch Variation” training videos are currently available on the Guild Resource Page. Blocks are revealed at each guild meeting, but the training videos are revealed on the 2nd Thursday of the Month with the videos for the previous two blocks. All videos and pdf patterns will be available on the Guild Resource Page, and will eventually be available in our “Block Library” once it's created. You are welcome to make the block using the pdf, but if you would like step-by-step instruction, you will need to wait until the 2nd Thursday of the month when the training videos are available.

*GUILD REMINDERS*

CALENDAR:
Just a reminder – all of the Joyful and Merry Quilting Community Guild Meeting Zoom Links are available on the Guild Resource Page of the joyfulandmerryquilting.com website. You also should have received an email with the links as well. Be sure to register and we’ll see you at our next guild meeting on June 20th. I’ll be in Hamilton MO on the 20th so I hope to be able to broadcast our meeting from QuiltTown USA! See you then!

EXTRA GUILD MEETINGS:
Our next “EXTRA” guild meeting will be held at 7pmCT on Thursday, June 27th. Chat opens at 6:30pmCT. We will be working on our Outdoor Oasis Picnic and Beach Quilt. Your assignment is to have completed all the steps through Page 6, Point #4. We will begin to add our rectangles to our two-patch pieces. Also, I will introduce our free backpack pattern.

FREE PATTERN:
Remember that our FREE Outdoor Oasis Picnic and Beach quilt pattern will be taken down from the website soon – so make sure you have downloaded it to your computer. The free backpack pattern will be available on June 20th so be sure to watch for it. I’ll show it at our guild meeting as well. 
Again, FREE PATTERNS are a few of the many perks for being a Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild member! Enjoy!

JOYFUL AND MERRY QUILTING COMMUNITY CARE CORNER: 

This will be a spot in our newsletter for members to share their needs and concerns, whether they're related to health, personal challenges, celebrations, etc. It will be a place where we can support and care for one another, share joys and struggles, and provide encouragement to each other regardless of our beliefs or backgrounds. We want it to remain a place of inclusivity while still fostering a sense of community and support within the guild. In this spirit, let’s turn our attention to those in our community in need of some extra support right now:

By coming together and offering our support, we can ensure that everyone feels valued and cared for within our guild. If you would like to offer Donna some personal support, please comment in the community “Feed” of our Joyful and Merry Quilting Guild Chat Forum. If you would like to post in our Community Care Corner, simply send your “Community Care Corner Request” (one sentence) to [email protected] and I will post it in the next newsletter. You can post anonymously or add your name - totally up to you.

RECORDED MEETINGS:
Please keep in mind that our recorded meetings will only be available for 3 months or until we run out of room on our Zoom Account, whichever comes first. So, if you missed a meeting, be sure to watch the recorded version ASAP, so you don’t miss out.

WEBSITE MONTHLY TABS:
Once we move into a new month, we will have a tab that will take you to the archived files from previous months…just in case there’s something you want to review. Depending on how often our members access this feature will decide the length of time the previous months will be available. We hope you enjoy this feature!

GUILD MEETING TIMES AND MISSED MEETINGS:
We want to make sure you take note of this information. We are still having members access the meetings at the wrong time, and accidentally missing out on the guild and quilting fun.

TIME ZONES: Please keep in mind that our Guild Meeting Times are listed in CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME. If you live in another time zone, make sure you double check (and triple check) the guild time and then adjust it to accommodate for your time zone. We continue to have members join our guild meetings an hour or two early or an hour or two late and in the process, miss the actual meeting. The meetings are recorded, but if you want to join the meeting LIVE, please make sure you have the guild time adjusted to YOUR particular time zone. 

CHAT SESSIONS: If you have time, please join us half an hour before our guild meetings for our Guild's Community Chat sessions: 6:30pm CDT for evenings and 10:30am CDT for daytime meetings. This is such a fun time getting to know each other and I hope you’ll join us when you can. Please note that entering before the designated time strains our recording time allotment, so we have instituted a waiting room where members will be admitted to the meeting once the host is there and the chat session opens.

JOYFUL AND MERRY COMMUNITY GUILD FOUNDING MEMBER CHAT FORUM: 

We have been enjoying our Community Chat Forum! It's a great alternative to Facebook, where all guild members are included in the chat. Here's how to get to the Chat Forum (or you can click here):

1.  Go to the joyfulandmerryquilting.comwebsite
2.  Click on your “LIBRARY”
3.  Click on the “JOYFUL AND MERRY COMMUNITY QUILT GUILD FOUNDING MEMBER”
4.  Click on “FEED” and you will be taken to the Chat.  You can post pictures, questions, comments, etc.  It’s a great place to get to know our Founding Members and share our love of quilting!
   
   

EMAIL PREFERENCES: 
Important: Guild Membership is Non-Refundable
Please do not mark any guild emails as SPAM or unsubscribe from them. Since this is a virtual group, email, Zoom, and our website are the primary ways to stay involved. Unsubscribing or marking emails as SPAM removes you from the email list, and by law, we cannot reverse this action. Some members who have marked our emails as SPAM or unsubscribed have requested a refund, which we cannot provide. All information sent via email is also available on our website's resource page. If you prefer not to receive emails, you can still access all guild information, links, patterns, etc., by visiting joyfulandmerryquilting.com and clicking on “Library,” then the Guild icon. Some members still experience issues with not receiving emails. The most common problems are unsubscribing, your email provider sending our emails to your spam folder, recipients marking emails as SPAM, or using different email addresses for the guild and newsletter subscriptions. Please email [email protected] if you continue to have issues with email and we will do our best to help you remedy the situation. Please be very careful with emails from joyfulandmerryquilting.com through our Kajabi email service. If you no longer wish to receive them, simply delete them. Do not unsubscribe unless you intend to. By law, we cannot re-add you to our email list, and you will no longer receive any correspondence from us. If you label our emails as SPAM, your email address will be permanently removed from our list. Additionally, if you forward our emails and the new recipient clicks Unsubscribe or marks them as Spam, your email address (not theirs) will be removed from our list. We understand mistakes happen, but some cannot be corrected. Please be careful. Thank you!

That's it for this week - I'll talk to you soon! Happy Quilting!

ANSWERS to this week’s PATCHWORK PUZZLERS:

1. Answer: b. International Quilt Festival
2. Answer: b.  Oregon
3. Answer: c.  United Kingdom
4. Answer: b. International Quilt Market
5. Answer: a. Kentucky