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 five Quilting Acronyms. We all know the HSTs (half-square triangles) acronym, but do you recognize these? Some are common and some are not quite so common. 
Answers are listed at the end of the newsletter!

1. Which term describes a situation where a quilter accumulates more fabric than they can use in their lifetime? 
   A) BOM
   B) UFO
   C) SABLE
   D) WOMBAT
2. When quilters go on a road trip specifically to find fabric, what acronym describes this activity?
   A) FQ
   B) BOM
   C) FART
   D) OBW
3. Which term describes the feeling of relief quilters experience upon completing a challenging quilt block?
   A) HST
   B) UFO
   C) FFO
   D) SQST
4. In quilting, what does the acronym OBW stand for, which is known for its kaleidoscopic designs?
   A) Onward Binding Whip
   B) One Block Wonder
   C) Overlay Block Weave
   D) Open Binding Width
5. What does the acronym PIGS stand for, referring to unfinished quilting projects?
   A) Projects in Grocery Sacks
   B) Patterns in Grand Stitches
   C) Pieces in General Stock
   D) Patches in Great Supply 

2: Merry Moment

Last week I posted a Quilting Limerick and invited each of you to write one, if you felt so inclined. Thank you to those of you who sent me your fun and VERY creative limericks! Limericks are one of those little quips that seem to always make us smile when we read them. Smiles bring us joy, and joy makes us merry! I cannot tell you how “merry” I felt as I read these beautiful little poems. I would like to share my joy and I hope they will do the same for you! Here was mine, in case you missed it plus the others that were submitted. It’s not too late! If you feel like taking a few minutes to write a limerick, please do – and send them to [email protected].

Joy from a Quilt
by Mary of Joyful and Merry Quilting
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.

The Quilter’s Stream – a Joyful Tale
by Diane H.
Mary, the quilter, was full of joy
She lived in the state of Illinois
She wanted to build
An inclusive guild
So now she streams with Alex, her boy.

Nostalgia
by Cindy V.H.
The thread and the notions and fabric,
She cleared out these things from the attic…
It’s now time to sew,
Those memories flow…
As quilting brings with it some magic.

The Quilter’s Cure
by Marie P.
As costly as quilting may be,
It’s worth it, it “seams” to me,
When you stand back and look
You’ll be glad you partook,
‘Cause it’s cheaper than therapy!

Echoes of Joyful Stitching
by Lisa with assistance from AI Co-pilot
In a cozy nook by the fire's glow,
A quilter stitched with joy, you know.
Her needle danced, her fabric swirled,
Creating quilts that warmed the world,
And laughter echoed as stitches flowed.

And here’s one more from Mary:
Mary stitched with a grin, wide and merry,
In her quilt room, where joy wouldn’t tarry.
With each patch and each seam,
She followed her dream,
Spreading cheer with each quilt she would carry!

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

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].)
Here’s a great tip from Angie G. from NC: 
“When I cut out a quilt and the pieces need to be labeled, I use light scrap pieces of fabric and mark the pieces with a heat-erasable marker pen, e.g. Fabric A, strip 1, etc. That way, I can reuse the scrap pieces over and over! I'm too stingy to buy labels.”

4: Product Picks

There are many pressing solutions on the market right now. There are a wide variety that are “starchy” , there are those that are homemade, and those that are no starch and more simply “wrinkle relaxers” . Who knew there were so many choices??? But, I have found that each has its own purpose. The most recent product I tried was Terial Magic Fabric Stabilizer. I love it. I use it half strength, mixing ½ cup water with ½ cup Terial Magic. I mix it half and half as full strength does make the fabric very stiff – too stiff for my needs. I like to use a Mister Spray Bottle to dispense the solution on my fabric. The price is right when I purchase it by the gallon on Amazon AND then dilute it to half strength. If you haven’t tried it, it does go on sale at JoAnn Fabrics on occasion which makes it an even better deal and the Amazon price plus diluting it half strength makes it quite affordable.

5: Merry Musings Mailbag

This section of our newsletter is a comment to a YouTube video made by one of our subscribers. 
KathyG posted the following question to my video on Pressing Markers: Have you had any shrinkage of your blocks using the solution? Because I found it did. Just wondering if it was just me.

My response: “I have not found any shrinkage and I have used this method on many, many seams. My caution would be to be very careful when using the pressing marker that you don't put an excess amount of solution on the seam. It takes a small amount of solution to flatten the seam, but if you either pass along the seam slowly, releasing more solution than needed, or if you push down on the marker tip frequently, releasing solution that saturates the fabric, you may experience shrinkage. In addition, Kathy, I always press my fabric pieces with a pressing solution BEFORE I cut them, so any shrinking happens during the first spray and press, prior to sewing and pressing the finished seams.”

Here’s the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlEfbD_HQLI

After Kathy asked this question, I decided it would be helpful to test the pressing marker, using the method I outline in the video, and see if there is any shrinkage when the seams are pressed. Stay tuned to our YouTube Tuesday Quilting Tips videos for further discussion!

6: Quilting Tips Tutorials and Ask the Quilter!

This section of our newsletter is dedicated to the Tuesday YouTube Quilting Tips Videos and 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.

PREVIOUS TUESDAY QUILTING TIPS :

•  Pre-washing or Not? A Quilter’s Guide to Prevent Fabric Bleeding
•  Pressing Perfectly Flat OPEN Seams on a 9-Patch: The Best Methods
•  Organize and Store All of Your Rulers
•  Master Split Quarter-Square Triangles in Quilting: Full Tutorial

Comment by Michelle R: Hi Mary! Thank you so much for your video. You explain everything so well! I have a question about the suggested rulers to square up the QST and HST. Do you need both the Bloc Loc ruler and the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer or will the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmers work alone? I wasn’t sure if I needed to purchase both or will one do the work of two. Thank you!

My response: I believe the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer works really well for both the HST and the QST as well as the Split QSTs. I do like the Bloc-Loc for HSTs, but the Clearly Perfect really does the trick just as well, in my opinion. I would try the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer first [since it works well for QSTs] and see what you think.

7: Joyful and Merry Quilting Course News, Previous Hangout Topics and Links, Night Owl and Daytime Quilting Hangouts Schedule

Quilting Course News: Registration for our quilting courses “Beginning Quilting: From Novice to Confident Quilter” (for quilters who are just learning about this great hobby/art and would like to learn more) and “Aim for the Stars” (for quilters who are confident beginners and ready to tackle the next level of quilting) are both closed and currently in session. If you would like to be added to the waiting list for either course, please email [email protected] and we will notify you when registration opens again. Both are fun courses and great learning experiences. More courses are coming, and I would love to have you join in. Keep watching the newsletter for details.

Night Owl Quilting Hangout and Daytime Quilting Hangout Schedules with links to previous hangouts:

Previous Hangout Links:
Wednesday, June 19 at 11amCDT Topic: Pressing Marker Q&A
Monday, June 24 at 10pmCDT Topic: MSQC Treasures and Thread Catcher Tutorial

Night Owl Quilting Schedule: 
Monday, July 8 at 10pmCDT
Monday, July 22 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.

EUREKA MONTANA QUILT SHOW: This is an Annual Outdoor Quilt Show held since 2005. It’s always held on the first Saturday in August. Submitted by Jolene Myers.
Time: 9 am - 4 pm
Admission is FREE
Hundreds of quilts are on display and line our Main Street through town
For more information go to: www.Eurekaquiltshow.com

PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL QUILT FESTIVAL: This festival will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center from July 24-27 with vendors, classes, quilts and more. Submitted by Cindy VanHoy.
For more information go to: https://www.quiltfest.com/upcoming-shows-and-events/pacific-international-quilt-festival/

BIENNIAL ANDERSON AREA QUILT SHOW: Friday, July 19, 2024 and Saturday, July 20, 2024
Time: Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place: Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center located at 3027 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Anderson, SC, 29625.
Daily entrance is $6 plus applicable taxes and fees. Visit our Facebook page @Anderson Area Quilt Show for more information.

BATTINGSUPERSALE.COM: If you are interested in learning more about batting and quilting tools and how to make the best choice for your current project, Lyn Heilman can help! Lyn owns battingsupersale.com and in addition to GREAT prices and EXCELLENT service when it comes to batting, she also offers monthly lectures and classes on batting. Go to www.battingsupersale.com and click on “Lectures and Classes” for information.

• “What Needle Should I Use?” by Rhonda Pierce Schmetz is an upcoming FREE class. The date is yet to be determined, but you can register on Lyn’s website and she will notify you when a date has been set.

9: Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild Corner

The Joyful and Merry Community Quilt Guild will open registration again on August 1st and we would LOVE to have you in our guild! Registration details will be forthcoming. Here's the latest guild news and reminders:

NEW GUILD NEWS:

JULY 3rd 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] before July 1st and I 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 "Jelly Roll Friendly" BACKPACK PATTERN DATE CHANGE:
Please note a date change for our free backpack pattern. The free backpack pattern will be available on the Guild Resource Page on July 11th and will be demonstrated at our July 18th 11am CDT 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 7pmCDT 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.

AUGUST SCHEDULE:
Don’t forget to register for the Zoom, as always! Links will be available on our Guild Resource Page as soon as they are scheduled.
• August 1 – Guild Meeting 7pmCT
• August 8 – Training Videos Released
• August 15 – Guild Meeting 11amCT
• August 22 – Extra Guild Meeting Sew-a-Long

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 tonight (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. There will be no Extra Guild Meeting in July.

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:

• Katy – the Greenland Quilter asked for support with regard to a family situation involving her son and grandson. If you are interested in learning more, please go to the Greenland Quilter YouTube Page and watch the Beautiful Quilt Fundraiser Video.

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.com website
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 tab. 

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 newsletter! Have a joyful and merry week of quilting!

ANSWERS to this week’s PATCHWORK PUZZLERS:

1. Answer: C) SABLE (Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy)
2. Answer: C) FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip)
3. Answer: C) FFO (Finally Finished Object)
4. Answer: B) One Block Wonder
5. Answer: A) Projects in Grocery Sacks