• Start Small – It's a Win-win for Everyone!
• Be Sure to Stop By, Visit and Shop, or, Just Say Hi!
• WANTED: Quilts for Teen Boys and Girls!
• Gallery Features First Speaker
• Sew & Tell
• Quilters Club of America – Community Update

Making that special quilt for a child is and always will be a favorite on any quilter's list of things to do. First of all, it's just plain fun; and second - it offers a chance to dabble in those bold and crazy new fabrics you’ve been collecting. And, since the finished quilt size will be small, it’s the perfect opportunity to try interesting new  techniques and patterns. After all, a new challenge is never nearly as daunting when you only have to make a few blocks. Who knows, when you pick up our next Quilts for Kids (exclusive to newsstands, due out mid May), and see the fused appliqué technique (Yippee Daisy by Cyndi Hershey), or the 3-dimentional quilt with flowers popping right off the quilt (Play Day by Heidi Pridemore), you may just find yourself scouring the neighborhood for even more kids in need of a new quilt.

Stop by QNNtv.com and Mary Fons' blog (or watch her FREE online show Quilty), she’s blogging about trying to come up with an original quilting design for the Windy City, and she needs your help!

And, visit Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting online and check out the contest announcements often to see what’s coming up next – Hint: $500.00 is coming soon to a quilting fan, shouldn’t that be you?!

Shop often at the Fons & Porter’s shop, there are always new deals and offers that you won’t find any where else … like our new DVD – 10  years of Love of Quilting – there’s over 700 patterns for you to try at less than 10-cents each … really? Really!

And, remember to say Hi before you leave by jumping onto our Facebook page and touching base with your fellow quilting buddies, or do like Denise and get inspiration from the photo gallarys: Facebook friend - Denise Brady said: U know I was looking at the pictures posted here and there are a lot of talented people out there. I love to look at other quilts and get ideas about patterns and colors.

For over eleven years, Quilts for Kids, Inc., based in southeastern Pennsylvania, has been distributing handmade patchwork quilts to seriously ill children nationwide.  And, with over 6-million children hospitalized every year in the U.S., that is a huge challenge for the quilters who volunteer to sew for us.

On a recent visit to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, founding president, Linda Arye, was struck by how many older teens were being treated there, many of whom have been battling cancer for years.  As she watched a nurse quietly spreading a new quilt over a 17-year-old patient as she slept, Linda decided to send out an appeal to quilters for more age-appropriate quilts for this older group of kids.

You can help by looking through your stash and putting together a comfort quilt for teens…or any other age group.  Guidelines and patterns can be found at www.QuiltsforKids.org as well as information on chapters in your area.

Another way to help Quilts for Kids turn tears into smiles for hospitalized kids is to shop for our brand-new line of fabric, Animal Party Too!, designed by Amy Schimler for Robert Kaufman, in stores now!  Visit www.RobertKaufman.com for more information.

In 2010 Quilts for Kids distributed over 20,000 quilts to hospitalized kids, all hand-made with love by volunteers.  These quilts make a tremendous difference in the lives of the patients and their families, so if you already sew for Quilts for Kids, thank you!  If not, please visit www.QuiltsforKids.org to learn more.

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Baby Lock is encouraging you to Bee Happy this spring, with plenty of free, trendy projects that will have you buzzing with creativity! You’ll find free projects and videos for imaginative projects, like this easy-to-create ruffled top with fashionable flair  that any little girl will love!  

With Baby Lock Sergers like the Evolution, projects like the ruffled costume have never been easier to make. And, with revolutionary technology like ExtraordinAir Threading, Baby Lock sergers are the easiest to thread in the world. Visit your retailer today and see for yourself! 

Baby Lock is an official sponsor of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting TV. Visit us at www.babylock.com.

Our new gallery will have its first talk by art quilter Daphne Taylor on Tuesday, May 3, from 6 to 7 pm. Her show, Quilt Drawings, runs through May 27. Here is what she will be talking about:

Growing up in a Quaker family, the practice of silence and simplicity have long been a part of my vocabulary and continue to inform my work today. I have always sewn and drawn and I was trained as a painter. It was a conscious decision to leave painting and to study the tradition of quilt making as my medium for creative expression. My work is about line and shadow, markings and quiet moments. The practice of hand quilting encourages a deeper awareness of time, patience and reflection.

Daphne is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and heads the Art Department at the Friends Seminary School in Manhattan.

The ArtQuilt Gallery•NYC is the only gallery in New York devoted to quilts. Our second show features the amazing Noriko Endo, who’s Impressionist Quilts will be featured from June 16 through August 6th.

The ArtQuilt Gallery•NYC will showcase the best quilts from around the world, and will demonstrate our belief that quilts are a compelling art form. We have faith that quilts can hold their own as world class art and we think people will be amazed by the quality of work from these textile artists--and not what people tend to think of when they think of “quilts.”

This is The ArtQuilt Gallery·NYC's web site.

I think I can, I think I can … I did it!
submitted by a Pat Harber, San Francisco, CA

This quilt was inspired by your TV show. I have always loved bargello as needlepoint, and then in my first quilting class about 4 years ago, we made bargello placemats. Since then, I have taken a class every winter at a park in Arizona, but was still afraid to start anything on my own. However, last summer, I did a small wallhanging for a neice, and then started looking for my next project to do. I was inspired by your show, and ordered the DVD series. In Arizona, we live in a large trailer with little wall space. I had my strips pinned to a folding cutting board and nobody believed I would ever complete a queen-size project like that. But, I did. I had it machine quilted, and am truly delighted and impressed with myself. I could not resist sharing the photo of my finished quilt. Now I am more confident and have many more projects in mind – despite my 82 years.

Wish List – spread the word!
Submitted by Jane and Dave Brown, Randolph, WI www.CountryQuiltsNCrafts.com

This is a really neat program that we are trying to let people know about.

Last month we were contacted to quilt a patriotic-theme quilt for a reading program at a base in Afghanistan.   The base has set up a scene with a bookcase, table and light, and a rocking chair; the quilt will be hung behind the chair. The soldier will read a book and it will be recorded on a CD.  With the aid of the USO, the CD and book will then be sent to their child, younger siblings, niece, nephew---

Attached is a picture of the quilt pieced by the St. Albert's Quilt Guild in Sun Prairie, WI.   It is being held up by Dave Brown and Major Jenn Mahoney who is spearheading this project for her base in Afghanistan. 

How can we help? They have everything they need except a continuous supply of books.  Below is a link to a wish list on Amazon.com.  You may just purchase a book(s) through this link and they will be shipped to Major Jenn.  I am sure the children will love getting books and the CD of their loved one reading it to them!!!  What a great way to keep connected!!!

Please help spread the word. 

We love seeing what quilters from around the world are doing, and were especially inspired by Caroline’s Gallery. She is from France and combines beautiful embroidery work with her quilting.

Should Hilary turn her living room into a quilting room? Will her husband care? Find out in this funny thread entitled “Quilting Ethics.”

If you need to bone up on your web writing shorthand, then OMG! We’re sure this guide will be your new BFF! Or at the very least, it will have you ROFLOL! J

Looking for a new dinner recipe? How about Crock Pot Lemon Chicken from Kathy S? Sounds yummy and refreshing!

And last, but not least, here’s a simple (yet effective!) video tip on safely disposing sharp sewing needles from Nana.