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Now that you've stitched and cut all those triangles, it's time to get them in the mail.  Better hurry:  the deadline is almost here!

Before you send your package off, be sure to click on the button below and review the quick-and-easy checklist that the organizers have provided for you.

____HST's folded & NOT pressed open and paper has NOT been removed.

____ HST's have NOT been put into individual baggies, but have been neatly stacked & placed in a larger Ziplock bag (or smaller if not sending that many). Remember we have to remove HSTs from smaller bags before sort day, so you do not need to separate them into colors or counts. Only the TOTAL count is what matters!

_____ If including HSTs for Queensland, Hanne or Christchurch, those have been put into individual bags & marked appropriately.

____ Screen Name, Real Name and HST count has been clearly marked on the Ziplock bag.

____ If International, contact Clara Lawrence (SN: ClaraLawrence) to get information on how to charge your return postage on PayPal.
Review the 2nd Post on the 1st Page of this Forum to determine how many & what size boxes are required depending on
how many HST's you will be having returned to you.

____ If International, include your address label or labels, depending on how many return boxes you paid for, along with a copy of your PayPal receipt. Review the 2nd Post on the 1st Page of this Forum to determine how many boxes are required depending on how many HST's you will be having returned to you. Do NOT include a return envelope because it CANNOT be used. We aleady have all the International Flat Rate Boxes required to return them.

____ For Domestic packages: Return envelope has stamps, your OWN address as both 'sender' and 'recipient'. Remember not to use P.O. Box addess as 'sender' since it will be closed after the Exchange. If your package is returned there for insufficient postage, it
may wind up in an unknown , unhappy home forever. Also, if you are the 'sender', then it will get returned to YOU for additional postage.

____ Mailing envelope is sturdy and is clearly marked with your ScreenName & HST count and it has been taped.

____ Once package is mailed, send Debbie (SN: NaneeWolf) an email to her PROFILE PAGE (not as a PRIVATE MESSAGE or Forum post) to let her know package is on the way. That way she can let you know by return email when your package arrives.

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Photo by Gregory Case Photography

We know that you who have watched Episode 806 with Verna Mosquera were charmed by her delightful designs.  Verna graciously sent TQS the templates for the poodle and purse featured in her newest quilt Mon Ami.  Check out the Projects page for the downloadable templates, so that you can make your own charming block into a pillow, purse, or mini wall hanging.  

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Photo by Gregory Case Photography

Do you own—or have your ever dreamed of owning—a home-based, quilting-related business? If so, you’ll want to hear what quiltmaker, fabric designer, and successful businesswoman Verna Mosquera has to say about the challenges of balancing business—her pattern company, The Vintage Spool, focuses on romantic and timeless quilt designs——and family life. Then Verna shows some of her beautiful quilts, and gives Ricky a lesson in hand appliqué, focusing on clean, sharp points and deep Vs. The episode concludes with a tour of our location for the day, the home of Trish and Frank Cvetovac, where you’ll enjoy a glimpse of the various rooms devoted to baseball, grandmother, and other “interesting” themes.

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Even a quilting "rock star" like Alex can learn a new trick or two. Recently TQS member littleflower commented that Alex had not yet "come over to the dark side"...that is, she didn't use basting spray in place of safety pins to hold the layers of her quilt sandwich together prior to quilting. To overcome Alex's concerns about spray basting and wrinkled quilt backing, littleflower (AKA Teri) sent this great tutorial on how to spray baste a wrinkle-free quilt. We think you might find it useful as well.

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Ask any quilter what they spend most of their money on and chance are the answer is fabric.  Fabric prices have been steadily going up over the last few months.  While quilters in the US tend to pay much less per yard for fabric than those across the ocean, prices can still sometimes affect how much we as quilters are willing to spend. 

Quilt shops are stuck in the middle in this situation trying to balance the cost of the wholesale product while at the same time not outpricing their customers.  It all has to do with the shortage of raw cotton available on the market. Cotton, like tobacco, oil, or butter is traded as a commodity on the stockmarket.  The mass floodings in Pakistan earlier this year distroyed most of the cotton that would have been harvested.  Due to this India decided to focus on keeping production of cotton for its own population, while China has been buying and paying for cotton at any price.  All of these factors means that there is less cotton to go around;  hence the higher prices.  To learn more about this click here.

We at TQS want to know how is this going to affect you as a quilter?  We want you to share your ideas on what higher prices for fabric will mean for you.  Will you begin diving deeper into your stash?  Will you re-use fabrics just as the quilter's of long ago did?  Tell us your ideas. 

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Photos by Gregory Case Photography

Join us in Episode 805 as we travel back to the 1930s with quilter, author, editor, and quilt collector Darra Williamson who sheds some light on Depression-era quilts, shares some stellar examples, and presents tips for working with those sometimes-challenging reproduction (and authentic) ‘30s fabrics.

When Alex reveals an earlier faux pas about a particular quilting icon, British quilter, teacher, and author Christine Porter joins the show via WebTV to help unveil the 21st-century model, and to share up-to-the-minute tips and techniques for working with fusibles and the machine blanket stitch. Will Alex be forced to eat her words? Tune in and find out!

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Photos by Ed Knute

It's a shame that we are unable to peek over the shoulders of the artists who created the magnificent clothing worn by privileged women of the 1600s.  Talented needlewomen spent hundreds of hours, and used only the finest materials, to create these amazing works of art. Did the women who wore these stunning pieces ever think about the incredible skill and labor involved? We will never know.
 
While not an original, the Plimoth Jacket was conceived, and its construction managed, by Jill Hall, former head of the colonial wardrobe department of  Plimoth Plantation. To view the story of its construction allows us to take a step back into another time. The jacket, which took over 3,700 hours of hand stitching and 300 people to construct, is on view at the Winterthur Museum (Winterthur, DE) through August 11, 2011.

According to the Winterthur website: "The sewing, embroidery, and lace were all entirely done by hand.The lace spangles (the tear-drop shaped sequins hanging from the lace) were created using tools made specifically for the project. The tools and techniques replicate those from the 1600s. Even the lining was hand-woven and dyed with natural indigo." 

For more in-depth viewing--and the opportunity to learn more--be sure to follow the Blog of the entire process from start to glorious finish.

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Take a look at the fabric that will bring a smile to a kid's face.