January 2, 2021
Greetings!

Happy New Year!
Normally in the January newsletter, I start off by telling you about visiting with my grandchildren and all of the cooking we’ve done. This year, it was very different. For many of us, it was a quiet Christmas. Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon for an end to this awful pandemic with the start of the vaccine distribution. For the quilting industry, the slowdown is easing and the manufacturing of products is picking up. A few days before Christmas huge flakes of snow right outside my kitchen window helped me to get into the holiday spirit.
Let me thank you, once again, for supporting us and being patient. I hope having the craft and artistry of quilting helped you get through these difficult times. I’m looking forward to 2021 as a year of rebirth and renewal and we all just have to hang in there a little longer.
Revisiting Red Fort

While the Taj Mahal may be the most popular tourist attraction in India, I've always been drawn to the beautiful Red Fort with its sandstone walls and intricate architectural designs. This amazing structure inspired me to make a quilt named after it.

Featuring fabrics from my Malam V batik collection, Red Fort, creates a fabulous 3D illusion from sixty-degree diamonds with the specific placement of lights, mediums and darks in each block.
This quilt comes in two colorways, Twilight and Sunset. It is perfect for hand piecing or can be easily pieced by machine.

Click here for more information on my Red Fort quilt.
Tips for Designing with and Piecing Diamonds
Periodically throughout this new year, I will be featuring some of my favorite quilt designs using 60 degree diamonds. This month as we are featuring the original Red Fort quilt (shown above), I decided to see how this quilt would look with the fabrics from our Urban Sunset Grand Bundle. (Mini-bundle #5 of these fabrics is on sale through Tuesday.)

Whether using one of our bundles or putting together your own from your stash of fabrics, it can be difficult for many quilters to figure out how to start. In this blog post, I show you, using the Red Fort quilt as an example, how to sort through a large number of fabrics and to begin with small units first before moving onto larger ones.
Quilters often shy away from diamonds for several reasons one of which is simply having to deal with a shape other than a square or rectangle. Several years ago, with that in mind, I created my Perfect Cut 60° Tools to make the job of cutting diamonds quick and easy.

Another issue which can cause a bit of wariness is the fear of inset seams or joining multiple points. On my Tips and Lessons page, you'll find these tutorials with information to help you with Red Fort or any diamond quilt:
Upcoming Web Specials
Here’s a peek at what we have coming up for you this month.

•   We love our batiks! Jinny has selected a large stack of these fabrics to put on sale for one week only.
•   Fat eight bundles are great additions to your stash and perfect for those scrappy quilts.
•   Don’t miss the reds, whites, and blues we have on sale in honor of Inauguration Day.
•   Being stuck at home this winter is a wonderful time to learn new skills or brush up on old ones. We have all the notions you need to start piecing by hand.
Fabrics will vary from those pictured
Video Lessons and More

Many of you have visited my YouTube video channel for video lessons on working with border prints, mystery quilts, and various quilting techniques. In addition to these videos, you can visit my website for even more lessons, both video and written, covering piecing, choosing fabrics, hand quilting and more.
You will find my YouTube channel here and make sure to hit "subscribe" so you don't miss a single lesson.

For additional quilting lessons, visit my “Tips and Lessons” page here.
 717A Walker Road
Great Falls, VA 22066
(703) 759 0250