This Month's FabShopHop ends July 31 so don't miss out!

Most of us love to windowshop for fabric sets, and windowshopping on the Internet is great for generating ideas or stimulating your muse.   That's why you find such a long list of fabric resources on this website.   I can't tell you how many times I've gotten ideas that boosted my energy level just by browsing a few online stores.

And when I'm visiting the family in a rural area (where the nearest fabric resource is more than 10 miles away), having access to great selections by a few clicks of the mouse is wonderful!

Be sure to read the contest rules -- you must visit a large number of shops online to qualify for any of the prizes. But it's a FABulous way to get a look at what's out there.

But I didn't want to make that EXACT quilt.  I wanted to make one in a Pirate theme for my grandson Derek (who was 6 at the time).  I wanted the "top" to be water, and the closets to be under-the-sea or inside the ship.  Pretty grandiose for a beginner.  Even my instructor-friend Sue cautioned that I was stepping into some deep stuff.

I had to agree when I looked closer at the instructions in the book, but that didn't deter me from gathering swatches, fat-quarters, snippets, and other yardage whenever I ran into something that looked like it would be usable "behind the door".

What's worse, as the collection grew, I kept changing what I wanted.  Derek kept growing, too.  I have a storage tub of fabric "for the Great Pirate project".  Derek had his 8th birthday a couple months ago, and wonders if I'm going to have his Pirate Quilt done by Christmas.

I'm beginning to wonder if he'll be too old for some of my original fabric choices, so I've changed out a few of them.  And finally I've got the book out to make a few practice blocks with scraps fabric and test my ability to produce what I have in mind.

Yikes! The instruction is missing some critical information -- like what pieces to sew together at what point.

Has anyone made one of these things yet? 

(copied from Dec.2007 Forum entry)

We heard from a lady who recently lost an aunt and was asked to help clear out the closet and spare the husband from the chore.

She told of keeping several cotton clothing articles and a few in satin and velveteen. They were out-of-date long ago, but she knew most of the younger generation in the family would remember seeing the aunt wearing them.

She disassembled the garments into fabric yardage and is using it to make "Memory Quilts" for those who were close to the aunt.

What a wonderful version of the Memory Quilt Theme! I hope she'll accept my invitation to send in photos when she has put something together.

Is anyone else working on anything similar?

(Copied from Nov.2007 Forum Entry)

Grandmother's Flower Garden is the primary pattern to use the forms (see it on the left side of my avatar photo), but a friend of mine is using them to create an "art quilt" wall hanging that is impressive. Are any other members working with QuiltPatis?

(copied from 2008 entry on Forum)

I really thought I could "learn" to make the beautiful quilts I see winning blue ribbons and accolades. But I've discovered one of the side-effects of a macular problem I've had for years has an odd effect on my quilting projects.

When others see a straight line, I see one just slightly curved to the right in a wide arc.

That includes cutting strips, sewing seams, and anything else more than a few inches in length. I don't "see" the curve when I'm doing it. But I sure see the result when I'm putting pieces together!

So my Lemonade Quilts have a slight "off" visible at long lines. In a contest they'd be flaws.

I prefer to think of them as signatures.

After the long list of emails from my friends who don't want to "go public" in the forum format, I'm trying out the BLOG format to see if everyone likes it better.

I do love your suggestions.  Thanks everyone for your input.  Let me know if you find this format easier to follow.

Thanks, LLoni

This was my answer to "Janie" who left a message on the forum near the end of 2008 asking for help with a quilting project.  She asked visitors to click on her "link" to see what she was working on.  Turned out the link was to a commercial website.  See my answer below:

Hi Janie - your request for ideas has been left on the forum for quite some time now. Could you share with us some of the suggestions you've received? Or if you've decided what design to use?
That's the real purpose of this forum --- for all of us to learn by sharing.
If your purpose was only to draw our visitors to your site, then I hope you'll recognize the discourtesy that poses to our members. If we don't hear from you by March 15th your post will be removed.