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Greeting quilters! This is where I would normally put some introductory blather. Not this time. I have a new book to tell you about. IT'S TIME
TO ORDER STAR HAPPY QUILTS Here's the skinny on the book: Star Happy Quilts is an easy and fun book. It's three simple star blocks arranged in lots of variable ways. I made up quilts in 5 sizes, each arranged and colored differently. I then drew 27 other variations to pick from. The beauty of Star Happy Quilts is that within a size you don't have to figure any yardage, regardless which arrangement you want to make. It's all there for you, and yet the possibilities are nearly limitless! Star Happy Quilts is 32 pages, all in color. It has 5 quilt photos and 76 color illustrations and diagrams. It has thorough and accurate rotary cutting instructions and piecing diagrams, plus full-size templates. It even has quilting motifs. All this for only $15.95 plus $4.00 shipping (or $8.00 overseas.) You can read more about it and order online if you wish at http://www.judymartin. And if you'll do me a favor, I'll be your friend for life. Forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in my new book. Thanks. VALENTINE'S
DAY Unlike most people, we do celebrate Inauguration Day. It's Steve's birthday. YET ANOTHER
TESTAMENT TO QUILTING AND ZYDECO "Who would have thought that I would be reading a quilting newsletter and come across the name Buckwheat Zydeco. I have two of his CD's - Best of ... and On a Night Like This. I saw him and his group at the Grand Emporium in Kansas City, MO. about 3 or 4 years ago. The place was packed and everyone was standing and moving to his music. You can't hear Zydeco music and just stay still in one place - especially when he is playing it. It was really a memorable evening!" HELP CLICK
OUT BREAST CANCER A FABRIC
FIND Recently I got a packet of free fabric for C) both of the above. It's the latest offering from Marsha McCloskey and her Staples line of fabric. It's put out by Fasco. I love it and already have plans to work some of the fabric into my next quilts. Next time you're at the quilt shop, ask to look at it. NORWEGIAN
COMPUTER VIRUS "Hello ... and UffDa "You have just received the Sven & Ole Computer Virus. But because we don't know how to program computers, this virus works on the honor system. Please delete all the files on your hard drive manually and forward this message to everyone on your mailing list. "Thank you for your cooperation. "--Sven and Ole" TROUBLEMAKERS
"Anyway my goal is to teach them some of the various ways to cut say, half-square triangles and then to educate them to the much easier and more accurate JMM. Thanks Judy for making this possible. My dream was to teach quilting in my home and here is my opportunity. "Excited about your new economical quilt book coming out soon. Troublemakers will promote it for sure." Thank you Troublemakers! I never thought of it as "the Judy Martin Method." I just do things that experience tell me make sense. I guess that's the method to my madness. ROTARY CUTTING
PATCHES USING THE FAMED "JUDY MARTIN METHOD" Instead, let's compare the virtues of strip piecing to those of rotary cutting patches. With strip piecing you start by cutting strips and sewing them together into "strip sets." Then you subcut the strip sets. The chief difference between strip piecing and rotary cutting patches is that in strip piecing the strips are cut, then sewn before subcutting. With rotary cutting patches, you cut the strip, make the subcut, then sew. Note that in both cases, you are cutting a strip, subcutting, and sewing. The difference is the order in which you do these things. Strip piecing is efficient. You can cut through four layers at a time. It also minimizes the number of seam allowances you need to press. Sounds pretty good, eh? It is, but there's a downside to consider, too. Subcuts should only be done through one layer because it's hard to cut accurately through bumpy seamed strip sets. (This is one of those little things that can make such a huge difference.) Also it can be tricky to visualize what you're doing since at no point are you cutting individual patches. Often it is convoluted for the author to describe what you should be doing. If you love scrap quilts, strip piecing can seriously limit the fabric combinations you use. What about rotary cutting patches, you ask? 1) It's often faster than so-called "shortcuts;" 2) sewing doesn't have to be interrupted to make additional cuts; 3) you have absolute freedom in scrap fabric placement; 4) you can reinforce each seam with backtacking, saving you the aggravation of restitching unravelled seams; 5) piecing is more straightforward, and it's easy to visualize how the desired units result from the sewing steps; and 6) you can cut through 4 layers every step of the way without having to worry about seams to distort your cutting. Like everything else, there's a downside. You'll have more pieces to feed into the sewing machine. You'll have to learn to deal with some bias edges, which isn't nearly as scary as you might think. Because the sewing comes after you've done all the cutting, it takes awhile for you to begin to see the results. For me the bottom line is this: rotary cutting patches does more to enhance accuracy and offer variety. For me it is every bit as fast as any other method, but even if it weren't, I would still do it because it yields the best results. All of the above was borrowed and adapted from my book, Judy Martin's Ultimate Rotary Cutting Reference. ONE OF
MY FAVORITE WORDS… A STUPID
AND USELESS CONTEST Now for all the disclaimer and technical stuff. This is limited to U.S. addresses. There's a layer of difficulty in sending to foreign addresses, and for a contest this meaningless, it's not worth it. Letters must be postmarked by April 30, 2001. You have to include the proper postage (34 cents) on the return envelope. No purchase necessary, though if you look at the book in a quilt shop just to get the answer, I can't imagine you won't want to purchase it right then and there! No requests for colors. You'll get whatever is on the top of the pile. Finally, this is all for fun. Anyone who takes it too seriously will be banished from the kingdom or sent to bed without supper, whichever is meaner. POST POLIO
SYNDROME "Judy, you ask what is PPS? Post Polio Syndrome. It is what is happening to people who had polio in the 40's and 50's before the vaccine came out. The symptoms of the polio come back and cause neuro-muscular problems, pain, fatigue, and muscle weakness. Nerve cells to muscles were destroyed during the polio and other "sprouts" took off from the remaining muscle/nerve cells to take over. That is how polio patients got better, lived a normal life for 30-40 years, then started getting weak again. You will be hearing a lot about it very soon as the population ages. "The sprouts were not the same as the original cells and are now disintegrating, causing untold problems. It is irreversible but can be slowed down with rest and proper medical care including assistive devices (braces, canes, wheelchairs). It seems almost all polio patients became type A overachievers and worked through the pain and wore their bodies out. We were taught "you can do it" and we did! I now only go into the store for 2 hours a day and do the rest of the paperwork from my Lazy Boy. Even though I had Bulbar Polio, which is upper torso, they tell me that the PPS could eventually affect 95% of my body. People who had Paralytic Polio are having to put their braces back on and get back into their wheelchairs. "This is probably more than you ever wanted to know, but you may find the information useful some day. Even the doctors are just learning about it. If you know anyone who might have it, tell them to contact me because it is vital that their doctor know about this, especially if they have to have surgery. The different muscle mass requires special anesthetic and they could get into real trouble. Also, if they keep pushing their bodies, they will cause more damage that cannot be reversed! "We sell your books, etc at the TreadleArt stores. I really like your newsletter. The PPS support groups on the internet share jokes and keep laughing! :)" Janet If you need to learn more about PPS, or simply want to pass on a good word or a funny joke to a good woman, you can contact Janet at treadleart@treadleart.com. Her web site is http://www.treadleart.com DYE MAGNETS ALL OF
WHICH REMINDS ME… IF YOU
BLOW IN MY EAR, I'LL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE "You need to know how much I, and many many more, enjoy and depend on your newsletter and block of the month. I have been collecting them and your name is on a special folder that I keep. Thank you for the effort you must put in to this site. You all do a wonderful job. You have such great talent and humor." THE TEEMING
UNDERBELLY "I know
what the teeming underbelly is. It is the funny smell that gets
on your skin when the belly is compressed by panty hose. When
I get to my desired weight, I hope to have no more to do with
teeming anything." AN INTERESTING
SITE THE WAY-BACK
MACHINE If you are old enough, take a stroll with me, close your eyes and go back before the Internet, before semiautomatics and crack, before SEGA or Super Nintendo. Way back. I'm talkin' 'bout hide and go seek at dusk, sittin' on the porch, Simon Says, Kick the Can, Red Light Green Light. Lunch boxes with a thermos. Chocolate milk, going home for lunch, penny candy from the store, hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with keys, Jacks, Mother-May-I?, hula hoops and sunflower seeds, Whist and Old Maid and Crazy Eights, wax lips and mustaches, Mary Janes, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities in the bottom, running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty, all in black and white. When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Bedtime, climbing trees, making forts. Backyard shows, lemonade stands, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, sittin' on the curb, staring at clouds, jumping down the steps, jumping on the bed, pillow fights, getting "company," ribbon candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree, Jackie Gleason, white gloves, walking to church, walking to the movie theater, being tickled to death, running 'til you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt, being tired from playin'. Remember that? Not steppin' on a crack or you'll break your mother's back, paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington, the smell of paste in school, and Evening in Paris. What about the girl that had the big bubbly handwriting, who dotted her "i's" with hearts? The Stroll, popcorn balls & sock hops. Remember when there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds and PF Flyers), and the only time you wore them at school was for "gym." And the girls had those ugly uniforms. When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up. When nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school. When nobody owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter, a huge bonus. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny. When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces. When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, every week, and wore high heels. When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time. And you didn't pay for air. And you got trading stamps to boot! When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box. When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner with your parents. When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk a test, or chew gum. And the prom was in the auditorium and we danced to an orchestra, and all the girls wore pastel gowns and the boys wore suits for the first time and we stayed out all night. When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car.to cruise, peel out, lay rubber, or watch submarine races, and people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped dental floss or yarn coated with pastel frost nail polish so it would fit her finger. And no one ever asked where the car keys were 'cause they were always in the car in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. And you got in big trouble if you accidentally locked the doors at home since no one ever had a key. Remember laying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things like "That cloud looks like a ." And playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game. Back then, baseball was not a psychological group learning experience - - it was a game. Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals 'cause no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. And with all our progress don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace…and share it with the children of today? So send this on to someone who can still remember Tom Mix, Jack Armstrong, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and the Peanut Gallery, the Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk.as well summers filled with bike rides, playing in cowboy land, baseball games, bowling and visits to the pool.and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we all survived because their love was greater than the threat. Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!!!"
Judy Martin |