To see a larger view of each quilt mentioned, click on the underlined text or the small view of the quilt.
We invite reader letters and slides for this column. Part of the fun of any quilting bee is seeing the faces of the people who share their thoughts and quilts, so we encourage you to put yourself in the picture with your quilt. Please send submissions to:
Quilting Bee Quilter's Newsletter Magazine
741 Corporate Circle
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Golden, CO 80401
Dear Editors,
When my daughter's fifth-grade class had to make something for a school auction, I offered to help make Mr. McDonald's School of Fish.
I used Jennifer Paulson's idea from Quilts in the Classroom (QNM issue 316). A friend helped me hand dye the fabric, and the kids designed their own fish. We used a fusible grid foundation to make it easy for the kids to sew their own blocks. I pieced the blocks together and added a black border to make the quilt look like a fish tank. Everyone had fun making the quilt, and we had a successful auction.
Pam Justin
Camarillo, California
Dear Editors,
I was inspired by Sharon Malec's book The Dog Lady Speaks to design my own pattern and make
Wahle and the Primroses. My roommate and I have a boxer named Wahle (pronounced Wally) who loves to pose for pictures. I took a photo of him when the evening primrose was blooming. Wonderful golds and yellows appeared in his coat when the photo was developed, and I soon had everyone out scouting "Wahle colors" and bringing me fabric scraps. Using Sharon's glue stick technique and ingenuity, I soon had Wahle finished. His left eye alone has nine different pieces of fabric to make it seem so real.
I entered the quilt in the Horry County Museum's annual quilt show, and it won first place in the small wall quilts category.
Joyce O'Kelley
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Dear Editors,
In her article Ten Favorite Tools for Machine Applique (QNM issue 343), Robbie Fanning suggests asking your local librarian for help in learning to use the Internet. Not all libraries are so fortunate to have sufficient staff available for that service. The library system for which I work cannot afford enough staff to teach the public about computers and continue to perform our library duties. We offer a list of local tutors, community colleges, senior centers, and other agencies that teach computer use for people who ask. We also suggest that novices work with Internet-savvy friends to learn the ropes. If your local library staff is unable to teach you, they may be aware of other resources in the community for computer classes.
Jan Cook
Lakeport, California
Dear Editors,
My favorite quilts are patchwork quilts, and I'm always looking for unusual patterns. I came across a picture of a quilt in the book Quiltmaking & Quiltmakers by Marilyn Lithgow and decided to make one like it. I had no pattern or instructions, so I made a chart using graph paper. Quilt of a Thousand Prints is all sewn by hand. The project was a real challenge that I enjoyed because it incorporated patchwork and lots of quilting.
Betty J. Metzler
Eugene, Oregon
Dear Editors,
For me, the best part of quilting is the fabric. For Japanese Bali, I selected patterns from Kumiko Sudo's book Circles of the East because they allowed me to use large pieces of fabric. I made each block from my favorite Bali fabrics without any regard to whether the finished pieces would go together. I combined the blocks with some Japanese-style fabric that I couldn't bear to cut into small pieces.
I have saved every issue of QNM, and when I can't wait for the next issue to arrive, I pull out an old one and reread it. Thank you for a wonderful magazine. It makes me feel like part of the quilting community.
Gail A. Brennan
Tully, New York
Dear Editors,
I helped my grandson, Matthew Waltz, make 3D Bow Ties. He was nine years old when we started the quilt. He finished it in time to enter the 4-H competition at home in Harlan County, Kentucky.
Marge Nunley
Alpine, Texas
Dear Editors,
My guild, Letort Quilters in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has a challenge contest every two years. The theme for 2001 was "A Favorite Holiday." We were required to use the colors olive green and salmon, the Streak of Lightning block, a fence, and a right triangle. Since I was born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the home of the groundhog, I chose Groundhog Day, February 2nd. A Favorite Holiday--Groundhog Day depicts the groundhog welcoming viewers to the town, almost hidden by the trees, from a place near his den on Gobbler's Knob. His shadow forecasts the weather for the following six weeks. I am a longtime subscriber to QNM and save every issue.
Vivian Leidy
Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania
Dear Editors,
A pattern by Susan H. Garman called The Garden Lady languished in my closet for a couple of years because I didn't care for the border. Finally, I decided to make the center panel and trust that some appropriate border design would come to me. And it did! QNM issue 330 had a perfect border design in Hollyhocks Remembered by Margrit R. Hall.
I divide my year into spring and summer gardening and fall and winter quilting. I named my variation of the garden lady theme Two Faces of Beauty: the Garden and the Quilt.
Laura G. Fischer
San Benito, Texas
