I'm really looking forward to this month's Tag Sale at our Guild meeting. Ruth Anne G. and Shelly C. have done an outstanding job all year of bringing programs that entertain, educate and delight us. Their idea of encouraging everyone to clean out our quilt rooms and "turn our stash into cash" should prove to be lots of fun.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to Lisa M. for making and maintaining the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville web site. Since 2002 Lisa has been our web master. We have been very fortunate to have a guild member with her expertise about how to maintain a web site. She has also been very diligent in responding to all the inquiries the web master gets concerning HQH. Lisa is stepping down from this position and passing the responsibility to Anne T. You have probably noticed that our website has a new look under Anne's very capable leadership.The following falls under the category of "it's so simple I can't believe I didn't think of that"! Anne C. and I were talking about machine quilting issues today when she mentioned she heard an interesting, simple tip on the Fons and Porter TV show. To make sure you have the correct size sewing machine needle for the thread you want to use, take the needle out of the machine, thread the needle and see if the needle slides easily down the thread. It's simple and I don‘t have to remember numbers, and thread weights, etc. And for a geezer like me, that's a good thing!
High school graduation time is soon upon us and I‘m about to tackle yet another t-shirt memory quilt for a graduation present for my great nephew. I got to wondering what other crazy materials, besides t-shirts, have been used for quilts in the past. Two of the craziest items I've come across in researching this are cigar ribbons and tobacco silks. During the late 19th century many cigars were made and sold locally and the competition was keen. Companies often sold bundles of cigars wrapped by a silk ribbon with the brand name printed on it. American women have always been fond of collecting, and many of these ribbons were collected, stitched on muslin backing using fancy stitches like those used in crazy quilts. These strips were a natural for using in log cabin or fan quilt patterns. In the 1920's to attract more women to purchase their products cigarette companies began to include small silk pictures with their packages of cigarettes. You guessed it, these "silkies" began to be used in quilts and crazy quilts. I think I'll tell President Bush that he can turn the economy around by having companies that sell chocolate and fruits and vegetables include fat quarters of fabric with each bunch of oranges, apples, or chocolate, etc.!
Jeanne