• Summer Travel
• Help for the Newbies
• FonsandPorter.com
• Tips Galore!
• Fabric Surprises
• Sew & Tell
• Win a cameo appearance on Quilt Out Loud!
• Quilters Club of America – Community Update

Summer is always a time for travel and we’re enjoying all of the tourists stopping in to say hi. Some even show us their projects, like Nena!  Check out the Editor’s Blog to see her quilts that came all the way from Utah.

Speaking of travel, Marianne is heading to NYC next week to speak at the Quilters Take Manhattan: A benefit for the Alliance for American Quilts on Aug 5th and 6th.
Marianne will lecture on “Why We Quilt,” and her daughter Mary Fons,will follow in the program. Then, meet Jay McCarroll, first season Project Runway winner.  Tickets are still available for the events! Door prizes, refreshments, goody bags, and an amazing silent auction await you!

And if you’re out traveling  yourself, don’t forget to download the Quilt Shop Finder App. You can download this FREE app to your Apple or Droid smartphone, or view the information on your computer. Click here for more information.

Not everyone knows how to thread a machine…

Do you know a new or beginner quilter that needs to know the ropes, or just need some fresh inspiration and refreshers yourself? Check out  HeyQuilty.com. Plenty of videos and fun blogs to bring a smile to your face!

Have you ever wondered where to find the Materials List for the 1800 series, now airing on your local PBS station? Check it out here! It’s yours for the clicking!

Need a new idea for a picnic or potluck? Or just frustrated by the age old question, "What's for dinner?" Often we get so carried away with our quilting projects that we don't think about dinner until the family is walking in the door. Check out some of the Quilter’s Recipes we have on our website. Your question may be answered sooner than you think!

If you like our Tip section in the magazine, wait until you see our tip selection and archive. This handy tip is from Patti B. from Cary, NC

Quilt Shop Punch Cards To keep punch cards organized and save time spent searching through my wallet, I use a giftcard holder. I decorated the holder with quilt design card stock, and put my punch cards inside.

Would you like to submit a tip?  It’s easy! Just go to: http://www.fonsandporter.com/forms/submit_quilting_tip.html

APQS has teamed up with Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting to bring you Fabric Surprises, a booklet filled with 3 creative patterns each showing a unique way to let fabric do the work for you. To download your free copy of the booklet, visit APQS on Facebook and “Like” the page.

Fat Quarter Friendly
Submitted by Marie C., Portsmouth, RI

My interest was heightened when I saw the words “fat-quarter friendly” for the Flying Geese quilt made by Marianne in the January/February 2008 issue of the Love of Quilting magazine.

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Block Beauties and their little black bags!
Submitted by Connie F., Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada

We are the block beauties, a small group big on enthusiasm, sharing friendship and a love of quilting.

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Mom—can I have a zebra?
Submitted by Sandy B., Ripon, CA

When I receive my Fons & Porter Love of Quilting magazine, I always have to look through it right away. I went back to the September/October 2009 issue of Love of Quilting many times to see the Zebra quilt, so I knew I had to make it for our daughter, Carrie.

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To be entered in this special drawing, all you have to do is buy a ticket this month to the August 6 fundraiser in Manhattan, "Marianne & Jay on the Runway." For a $45 ticket, you will have a full afternoon of fun, including talks by Marianne Fons and her daughter Mary, plus Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll.

There will be food, goody bags, door prizes and more. Get details and buy tickets at www.AllianceForAmericanQuilts.org: when you register and are asked for "any special promotional codes," write Quilt Out Loud promotion. Three winners will be notified by July 31, and be filmed during the August 6 event in New York City.

• Be sure to check out QCA’s 2011 Summer Block Party and enter our summer quilt block contest!
• Yo-Yo quilts are so pretty and a great way to use up scraps – plus, as this video shows, they make a great portable project.
• Learning how to make a hanging sleeve to display your quilts is easier than you might think.
• We sure love seeing all the “first quilts” in the Show & Tell Gallery. If you haven’t yet, be sure to post yours!
• Want a yummy summer dessert recipe? How about this Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie recipe from Kathy D.