Friendship News
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Vol. 6 No. 2
Coming Attractions
Meetings
Meetings are the first and third Thursday of each
month from 1:30 to 4:00 PM at the Lakes Region Library. Business meetings are held the first
meeting of each month and the third meeting as
necessary. Board Meetings will be called as necessary. Committee members are encouraged to
attend. All members are encouraged to attend
Board meetings. Their input and suggestions are
welcome, but they do not have a vote.
Happy Birthday!
February 5
“
“
February 19
“
“
March 5
March 19
“
19
Business Meeting
Installation of Officers
A “Challenging Show & Tell”
Program 1 Seam Flying Geese
Ann Snodgrass & EarleneWilliams
QYL Red or Pink
Business Meeting
Quilt a Thon
QYL Springy Green
Iris Folding - Unique and Fun
February 10 Joanne Hunter
“
12 Dee Avadada
“
12 Mary Lou Garraway
“
12 Jacqueline Morisset
“
17 Barbara Rice
“
19 Mable Ramsey
You’re a Winner!
January 15 Door Prize
Carmela Lanzano
“ 15 QYL
Betty Sperry

A Blend of the Unusual and Traditional
January brought a fabric made from recycled soda
pop bottles (unbelievable) in Barbara Wilbur’s
quilt, a baseball fan’s dream come true from Joanne
Hunter, a very pretty table topper made by Carmela
Lanzano. And a “Bug Jar”quilt was made as part of
a fund raiser by Joan Nurse who hopes her donation
will help her Canadian guild raise up to $15,000.00
for a Children’s Hospital.
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Thank you to Arlene Wilke for
her great demonstration of iris folding. I had never heard of it before
but this different technique was
sure popular with the guild members.
She very patiently guided us
through the steps of folding one
inch strips of paper, and laying them
on pre-designed numbered patterns.
Quite a lot of the ladies succeeded in
producing some pretty impressive
masterpieces.
Arlene is an annual visitor from
Maryland and is a friend of Gail
Flanders. She usually volunteers to
present us with a program each year.
She is welcome any time.
This apple is the end result of one of
the patterns. For more designs, go to
[email protected]
There is a new pattern every month.
February 2009
Page 1
New Time, Same Place
Two Bits Please
from President, Nanci Osborn
We used to have to put a quarter in a jar if we were
not wearing our badges, and we weren’t eligible to
win either the QYLs or the door prize. At the January
15 meeting, we voted unanimously to bring back this
time honored tradition. This was a lot of fun and
helped the treasury in an ever so small fashion. But,
hey! Those small drops in the bucket can add up fast!
We KNOW you want to win the QYLs or a nice door
prize. If you schmooze, you lose. Wear those badges
ladies or that’ll be a quarter please.
There is a change in the guild meeting times. They
will start at 1:30 PM instead of 1PM on the usual
first and third Thursdays of the month.
It seems the library has filled the meeting room
space with a new event until 1PM. Therefore, our
meeting time will begin at 1:30.
In a way it could be an advantage to us. We have had
the room from 1PM to 4PM for a long while and we
are usually gone by 3 or 3:30. With this later starting
time, we could be in the room until closer to 4PM,
our designated departure time.
It would fulfill our alloted hours and we are still
lucky to be able to be together to help each other
with any quilting problems that might arise, or just
enjoy each other’s company.
From The Kitchen
Cream Cheese Cake
from Betty Wohltjen
2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pint (16oz) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 pound melted butter
Whenever you make a baby quilt as a gift, save
the scraps as you’re sewing. Purchase a color coordinating stuffed animal and then use the scraps to
make a matching miniature quilt for the stuffed animal.
Use your computer for lettering embellishments.
For custom designs, choose a font and adjust it’s
size. After printing the letters on paper, use a light
box to trace them on fabric.
both from American Patchwork and Quilting April 2008
Tips from Other Quilters
Pink Light: I’ve found that using a pink light bulb
in a nearby lamp makes quilting a white on white
quilt much easier. Nannette Konstant, Flourtown,
PA. From American Patchwork and Quilting December
1998
Mix together and sift
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons flour
Cream the cream cheese. Stir in 1 cup sugar. Add
beaten eggs, lemon juice and and vanilla.
Add sifted mixture gradually to cream cheese
mixture.
Add melted butter and sour cream; blend thoroughly.
Pour into spring form pan, greased.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Turn off oven and leave cake in the oven with
door open for 2 hours.
To prevent cake from cracking, put cake pan in
roasting pan with water while baking.
Thank you Betty
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
Some Quilting Tips and Tricks
While I was changing my sewing machine needle,
I dropped it through the throat plate into my machine. Now, I always place a piece of fabric over the
throat plate when changing needles. Jennifer Clemenshaw, Mesa, AZ
Use blue painter’s tape to secure your pattern to the
fabric when preparing pieces for English paper piecing. Place the pattern on the fabric and tape on one
side; baste the opposite side. When you reach the
tape, simply remove and continue basting. Tape can
be reused several times. Mary Scott, Rockport, TX
From Erica: If you need some inspiration for quilting designs, try looking at the templates that are sold
for drafting and mapmaking. They are quite inexpensive at the office super-store type places.
I found a wonderful template with all different sizes
of circles - with cross hair marks - to use for marking
the “Teacup” quilting pattern.
last three tips, from quilt.com
February 2009
Page 2
New Terms for New Quilters
For the benefit of the brand new quilters among us,
here are some abbreviations for quilt terms. Even
some of us ‘seasoned” quilters might not have heard
of many of them. The more familiar ones are among
the list, and some are kind of humorous.
BITW Bears In The Woods, a group making the
titled quilt from a book
BOB Beginner’s Only Block (swap)
BOB Black on Black, also Beige on Beige
BOM Block Of the Month
FPP Foundation Paper Piecing
CMQ Commercially Machine Quilted
COC Cream On Cream (fabric print)
CQ Crazy Quilt (quilting pattern/technique)
CW Cathedral Window pattern
CW Civil War fabrics
DWR Double Wedding Ring pattern
EPP English Paper Piecing (piecing technique)
EQ Electric Quilt (a software program)
FFA Fabric Fondlers Anonymous
FFUFO Finally Finished Un Finished Object
FIFI Find It, Finish It
FQ Fat Quarter (1/4 yard of fabric, cut 18”x22”)
F8 Fat Eighth
FW FeatherWeight (model of sewing machine)
GFG Grandmother’s Flower Garden
GFOADSDNBITG Good Fabric Of Any Decent
Size Does Not Belong In The Garbage
HMQ Home Machine Quilted
HST Half Square Triangle
HSY Haven’t Started Yet
LAQ Long Arm Quilter
LQS Local Quilt Shop/store
LTP Long Term Project
MFP Mini Foundation Pattern
MLB Major League Baseball, a yearly fabric swap
MPP Machine Paper Piecing (piecing technique)
MQ Millennium Quilt
NGFISSITSWW Never Gonna’ Finish It So Send
It To Someone Who Will!!
NPN Nine Patch News
NQ/NQR Non Quilting/Not Quilt Related
NYC Not Yet Cut
PP Paper Piecing
QI Quilt Inspector
QIAD Quilt In A Day (technique by Eleanor Burns)
QIP Quilt in Progress
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
QNM Quilters Newsletter Magazine
QP Quilt Police
QR Quilt Related
QYL Quarter Yard Lottery
RCTQ Recreational Crafts Textiles and Quilting
RR Round Robin
SA Seam Allowance
SABLE Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy
SESSYHBYNKWYNI Save Every Small Scrap
You Have Because You Never Know When You’ll
Need It
SIS Sister In Sewing
SITD Stitch In The Ditch (quilting technique)
SM Sewing Machine
SnW Stack ‘N Whack
SQEX Square Exchange
SSBOF Single Small Bit Of Fabric, also called a
charm
SSS Secret Sewing Sister
TOT Tone On Tone fabric
TQS Tricky Quilting Stuff
TTART Toss Today And Regret Tomorrow
UFO Un Finished Object
USO UnStarted Object
W&N Warm and Natural (a brand of quilt batting)
WIP Work in Progress
WOF Width of Fabric
WOW White On White
WS Wrong Side (of fabric)
Some Terms still being discussed:
Full Harriet = a quilt that is completely quilted at
home using free motion and other techniques taught
by Harriet Hargrave (author of “Heirloom Machine
Quilting” and other books)
NGFIT Never Gonna’ Finish IT (send it to someone who will)
SABLE Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy
SQex Square Exchange
TANQP There Are No Quilt Police
TQS Tricky Quilting “Stuff” (to paraphrase Scott
Fisher: It’s all the things that people buy with the
illusion that it will make them quilt better.)
Siggies Squares of fabric with signatures or other
information written on them.
Squishy Envelope filled with swap fabric/blocks
(squishy is the way they feel)
from epainke online, Quiltpox.com,Quiltersbee.com
February 2009
Page 3
Sizing Up Your Quilt
from thequiltcenter.com
Basic Measurements Relating Quilt sizes to Mattress sizes
The mattress measurements given in the chart below are from an article by Gammill from the above
website. They correspond with the up to date mattress sizes from Sleepy’s website. Sleepy’s is a chain of
mattress stores. The quilt to mattress measurements represent an approximate conversion. When making your quilt, please allow extra yardage for error.
Standard Measurements in Inches
Standard Mattress
Bedspread
Comforter/Quilt
standard drop of 21”
Crib
27” x 52”
36” x 60”
Day Bed
Twin
Full
39” x 75”
39” x 75”
54” x 75”
69” x 90”
69” x 90”
84” x 90”
81” x 110”
96” x 110”
Dust Ruffle
standard drop of 14”
57”x 89”
90” x 110”
Queen
60” x 80”
102” x 115”
90” x 95”
102” x 115”
Dual/King
76” x 80”
120” x 115”
106” x 98”
120” x 115”
California King 72” x 84”
120” x 115”
106”x 98”
100” x 98”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For the benefit of most quilters, this chart is a good representation for quilt sizes.
You can make your quilt any size you want it to be, to your own personal preference.
There are no set rules which are carved in stone when it comes to quilting.
Sizing Your Quilt Top
from quiltersreview.com
When you see the term “drop” in the above chart,
this means the amount of quilt you’ll need to hang
over the edge of the mattress on each side and at
the foot.
How a drop is determined.
If you are making a quilted comforter, you can
find the drop by measuring the depth of the mattress,
then adding 3” to cover where the mattress meets the
box spring. For example, a mattress depth of 10”plus
3” to cover where the mattress meets the box spring
would give you a 13” drop.
If you are making a quilted bedspread, then your
drop is the measurement from the edge of the mattress to the floor.
Compute the Width: Now that you know the size
of the mattress and how much drop you need, you’re
ready to compute the width of your quilt.
Add your drop twice to the width of the mattress.
(You’re adding the drop twice because the quilt
needs to hang down both sides of the mattress.) For
example, if you are working on a quilted spread for a
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
queen size mattress, add 60” (the mattress width)
plus the drop on one side (13” for example), plusthe drop on the other side (13” again). This gives
you a total quilt width of 86 inches.
Compute the Length: Start by adding the length of
the mattress to the drop.
If you’re going to put your pillows on top of the
quilt and use pillow shams, you’re done. For example, a queen size mattress (80”) with a 13” drop
would give you a total length of 93 inches.
If you want a pillow tuck, you have to add another
12” to 16” (depending on the height of your pillows
and how deep a tuck you like) to the length. So, for
a queen size mattress (80”) with a 25” drop and a
14” pillow tuck, the length of your quilt would be
119 inches.
If you are going to make a quilt for a gift and only
know the nominal size of the recipient’s mattress,
(double, queen, king, etc.) then your best bet is to
make it a comforter, not a spread. Since you can buy
pre-cut batt for the common mattress sizes, simply
make the quilt top 6” smaller than the length and
width of the batting sold for that particular size bed.
February 2009
Page 4
Sizing up Your Quilt - continued from page 4
Quilts for premature babies can start at 24”x24”. You
can make a baby quilt with just one yard of fabric.
They can start at 27” and sizes can vary. The older
the child, the bigger the size, to any width or length
you prefer. The same principle applies when we
make quilts at our Quilt a Thons. Some of our members prefer to make their donation quilts 45” wide x
50” long. Again, the sizes can vary.
For brand new quilters as well as our other quilters,
quilts in magazines or books can range in sizes as
well. If you find a quilt pattern you really like, all the
information you need is listed with the pattern, including the size of the finished quilt.
There are no hard and fast rules as to what size quilts
must be. As mentioned in the previous page, you
have the choice to make whatever size quilt you
wish. The only constant is the size of the mattress
which helps you decide which size quilt works best
for you.
February 19 - One Seam Flying Geese
Please bring one 3” x 5 1/2” rectangle of fabric in
one color, and two 3” squares of fabric in another
color to guild. These are all you’ll need for this
program. It will be part demonstration and part
hands-on. You have a surprise in store when you
see the finished geese/goose unit.
Frugal Tips and Tricks
I think most of us are feeling the economic pinch in
one way or another. For this reason, and even if
we’re doing ok, it’s kind of fun to see how we can
find the “flip side” of pricey quilt shops once in a
while. Here are some money saving tips. You may
recall some of these from the past but they may be
new to some of our members.
If you’re machine quilting, use garden gloves with
the small rubber dots on the the palms and fingers.
They cost about $2.00 to $3.00 compared to the
gloves in quilt shops which can cost around $7.00.
They work just as well as the more expensive ones.
You can make quilt templates with the cardboard
from cereal or food boxes. Card Stock works too.
These are useful when you’re ready to put your design on your quilt. Draw your design on the cardboard, cut it out, place it on your quilt and trace
around it. This is especially handy when you’re
quilting in larger patchwork spaces in a quilt.
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
Soap slivers work great when you’re marking dark
areas in a quilt. Marking small areas at a time is recommended. Your needle will slide through the layers
easily when you start hand quilting.
When you’re rotary cutting strips of fabric, put
blue painter’s tape on the measured line of your
ruler. It’s bright and can be easily seen and helps
prevent cutting the wrong strip width when you’ve
got a limited amount of fabric. It’s a good alternative
to the pricier marking tapes found in quilt shops.
Light weight upholstery fabrics make attractive
quilts. Go to a furniture store or a design/decorating
establishment and ask if they have any outdated
swatches. They may be glad to give them to you.
Yard sales can be good sources for fabric, and it can
usually be gotten for a very reasonable price. You
can even find “pre-owned” cotton shirts, dresses or
even bluejeans that can be cut up for patchwork. This
would be a good way to start your quilting “career”
if you’re a beginner.
Believe it or not, quilt shows can be a place for bargains. Many groups package spools of thread in storage bags, sell quilt magazines or books for small
prices, or even bundle fabrics together. Some guilds
at these shows sell assembled quilts or other items at
fairly reasonable prices. Treasures can be found if
you poke around enough.
Put small disks of fine grained sandpaper on your
ruler to make it skidproof. Your ruler will not move
when you’re cutting fabric. You can find sandpaper
at dollar stores at reasonable prices. Look for what is
known as the grit. For example, 200 grit is finer than
80 grit. The higher the number is, the finer the sandpaper.
Pizza boxes are very handy for your finished quilt
blocks, which stay nice and flat inside. Many shops
will give you a new box, or charge you a very small
amount of money. These boxes stack easily if you
have more than one quilt going at a time. Super
handy for all those UFOs hiding in your closet or
under your bed!!
Use the small coupons/cards found in magazines
for English paper piecing.They can be useful for
other applications as well.
These tips and tricks are just a small sample of
ways to help you save your “greenies.” Over time
more will be offered from other sources. Your frugal
tips are very welcome, so please share them with our
guild members. They will be greatly appreciated.
February 2009
Page 5
Back to the Future
Since the internet has become an integral part of our
lives, some websites have already found their way
into the “News” with the sources found for most of
the articles you read. With this in mind, there will be
a renewal of web sites that used to be offered, that
might be of interest to those members who have
computers and like to “surf the web.”
There must be literally hundreds of sites about quilting, and it’s a challenge to read them all. So, we’ll
start small and give you a few each month.
To get us started, Caroline Pratt has submitted three
sites that might of interest to some of you. The first
one offers lots of fabric with a price range of about
$5.00 They even have bargains at the $1.00 to $2.00
range. Go to www.thousandsofbolts.com
The second site, www.quiltville.com is full of
scrappy quilt patterns. You’ll find them listed on the
right side of the page. Some fun quilt names
are,”Basketweave Strings”, “Bricks and Stepping
Stones” (what to do when the bins of 2” and 3.5
scraps strips are overflowing), or the one called
“Crumbs, Crumbs, Crumbs” (adventures in crumb
piecing). This is a fun site and a great source from a
lady named Bonnie Hunter who says little pieces
make her happy. She does trunk shows and lectures
too. Her snail mail address is 136 Teague Ct. Winston Salem, NC 27107. Ph. 336-749-3202.
The third on-line site is www.eeschenck.com Go to
“Quilts and Projects” for free patterns.
Thank you Caroline
These three sites should keep you busy for quite a
while. Please ladies, if you have some favorite web
sites, either email them to me or give them to me at a
meeting. It’s always fun to share more ways to find
sources for more quilting.
To Stash or Not to Stash....
Is That the Question?
By Juanita K. Bard
(With apologies to Shakespeare’s HAMLET)
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous mis-organization,
Or take arms against a sea of clutter
And by opposing end it? To organize?
To give away? To sew not more?
Nay...To sew I must...perchance a new patchwork
Or try a new paper piece pattern
For who can bear the whips and scorn of
The ever present 1/2 price sale ads
That make a calamity of our credit cards
To file or not to file my patterns
To group by pastels and darks
And by organization to say we end
The heartache of rummaging around
for just that right piece of fabric
That our sewing is heir to, ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d...to organize
To conceal in boxes...and boxes galore
In plastic containers that overflow on the floor
To organize, perchance to achieve it...ay, there’s the rub
For in that grand organization of fabric what dreams may
come
When we have shuffled off this mortal unorganization
Must give us pause there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so organized a sewing room
For who can bear to whittle down her Stash...
The pangs of that separation of fabric
To grunt and sweat under the strain
Of not seeing forever the beloved Stash...
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d boxes...from who boundary
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather think we have
To give to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make swappers of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Mum’s the Word
At the January 15 meeting, the Challenge
was announced for 2009. “It isn’t Just a Log
Cabin Anymore.” Turn the traditional into something
unique and give this venerable pattern a “twist.” A
lot of members have signed up, so join the group and
give it a try.
For years the custom has been to try to keep your
Challenge a secret until the big day when it is revealed. This can be kind of hard for some members
who like to share things but it also makes it fun to
“keep ‘em guessing.” When everyone sees your masterpiece, they may say, “You did that? Wow, I never
thought of that! What a nice surprise!”
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
Gives way to the pale thought and enterprises
Of that great moment with this regard
To our current Stash...Organize...give away!!!!
And lose the name of clutter...Soft you now!
Oh, fair quilters...in their prisons
be all my Stash memember’d.....
“A lifetime's not too long to live as friends and a
quilt is not too small to sew them in!”
February 2009
from quiltbus.com
Page 6
Quilt Shows Near and Far Away
February 27 & 28
“Pieces of Paradise”
Punta Gorda
Admission $6.00
Friday, 10AM to 5PM
Saturday, 10AM to 4PM
The February quilt shows are pretty far away but if
you’re a die hard fan, you may want to try to go to at
least one of them.
February 20 & 21
“Razzle Dazzle 2009”
Vero Beach
Sunbonnet Sue Quilters present their 9th Biennial
judged Quilt Show
Indian River County Fairgrounds, 7955 58th Ave.
10AM to 5PM
Admission $5.00
Children 10 and under free. Please no strollers.
Both days at 2PM: Miniature and Small Quilt
Auction. Proceeds go to local charities.
Appraisals by appointment for a fee.
Vendors, boutiques, quilts for sale, trash & treasures, Vignette Displays, demos, and food available
Contact: [email protected]
February 20 & 21
Titusville
9AM to 5PM
Admission $6.00
Sponsored by the Space Coast Quilters
Brevard Community College, in the gymnasium.
North Route US 1 near Parrish Memorial College.
Contact: Rosie [email protected]
February 27 & 28
“Quilting Under the Palms”
Clearwater
9AM to 4PM
Admission $6.00
Quilter’s Crossing Quilt Guild 11th biennial show
Countryside Recreation Center, 2640 Sabal
Springs Drive. Map is on website.
200 quilts plus wearable art. Vendors, door
prizes, Hoffman Challenge, free demos, opportunity quilt, boutique. Small quilt auction, People’s
Choice awards.
Sue’s Bay Area Sewing will raffle off a brand new
sewing machine.
Website: www.quilterscrossing.net
Ground Hog Day and
Valentines
February 20 & 21
“A Festival of Quilts”
Sebring
9AM to 4PM
Admission $5.00
Presented by the Highlands County Quilt Guild
at Agri Center, Highway 27 at George Blvd.
Door prizes, vendors, boutique, mini-raffle, raffle
quilt. Refresments available
Contact: [email protected]
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
The Peace River Quilter’s Guild present their
10th Biennial Quilt Festival
Charlotte Harbor Event Conference Center
75 Taylor Street
Judged show, over 250 quilts.
Free parking, buses welcome
Wheel chair accessible
(Contacts are not accessible)
February is already here and it
looks like we’ll have six more
weeks of winter because Punxsutawney Phil saw
his shadow again. This makes it especially disheartening for the folks who live in the northern
states. But, think positive thoughts because before
you know it, the winter months will be over.
So, smile and make the block of the month, a Valentine to lift the spirits.
The block can either be paper pieced or made with
templates. Both patterns are printed for you.
Enjoy and Happy Quilting!
February 2009
Page 7
Things From the Heart
Cutting Directions for 2 blocks
Eight 6 1/2” x 2 1/2” Light fabric (background)
Eight 6 1/2” x 1 1/2” Valentine scraps
Eight 3 1/2” x 3 1/2” Valentine scraps
The Center design should measure 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”
when it’s completed.
Assemble your center design either by paper piecing
or using templates. If you are paper piecing, you will
see dotted lines around the perimeter of the center
design on page 9. They are the 1/4” seam allowances. Be sure to sew the fabric pieces beyond those
dotted lines. Your square will be trimmed to include
the 1/4” inch seam allowance.
The individual templates also have the dotted lines
around them for the seam allowances. When you assemble the design, your finished center square
should also measure 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”. (Please disregard the printing outside the small assembled template image on page 10)
Sew the long sides of the light fabric 6 1/2”x 2 1/2
rectangle to a 6 1/2”x 1 1/2” valentine fabric rectangle. Press away from the the light fabric. Make four
of these units for each block.
Sew one of the previous rectangle units to the sides of each center section. The valentine fabric will be on
the outside edge. Press away from the center.
Sew a 3 1/2” x 3 1/2” square to each end of the remaining rectangle units. Sew these units to the top and bottom of both
blocks with the valentine fabric on the outside edge. Press away
from the center of the block. (See the top assembled block
graphic for correct placement of the patches.)
The quilt on the left includes sashing and cornerstones between
the blocks which are the same color as the border. These elements of your quilt can be the same color similar to this design
or a different color.
Your fabric does not necessarily have to be valentine fabric.
There are no wrong colors for this design.
This would be a good opportunity to use scraps from your stash.
from azpatch.com/bom/bom2005/02feb05/bom05feb.htm
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Page 8
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Page 9
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Page 10
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Page 11
Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild
February 2009
Page 12