American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine is challenging quilters, crafters and sewers across the country to Make a Pillowcase, Make a Difference. Local quilting enthusiasts will join the cause to help reach the goal of making and donating one million pillowcases to benefit local charities. Every pillowcase can make a difference in our community. A pillowcase can provide comfort for a cancer patient, hope for a foster child, encouragement for a battered woman, or beauty for a nursing home resident.

Heart To Hand, will be hosting events locally at 412 Beavercreek Road, Suite 607, Oregon City, OR 97045 (located in the Red Soils Business Park). We are also hosting opportunities on our web site.

Throughout 2010, quilters, crafters and sewers across the nation will make pillowcases at their local quilt shops. The shops will then collect the pillowcases and donate them to a local charity of their choice. A counter will track nationwide progress toward the goal of one million pillowcases.

As the owner of Heart To Hand I see the One Million Pillowcase Challenge as a way to give back to the local community. “We have worked locally with the Passages Quilt Program and Emanuel Children Hospital, Oregon Food Bank as well as making over 50 quilts that were auctioned off for Breast Cancer awareness. I am glad to be able to help our customers serve the community in yet another way.

We will be hosting pillowcase events locally and on-line. How you can participate:
1. Donate 100% Cotton Fabric in 1 yard increments to the shop to be made into pillowcases.
2. Make pillowcases at home and get them to the shop.
3. Join the Pillowcase Parties! in January and February (Click link to see dates and times)
4. Order Pillowcase kits with the pattern from Heart To Hand. These are sale priced at $6.99. Make your pillowcase and return them to the shop to help us reach our goal!

FREE PATTERNS:
Need some pattern idea for getting started. Check out this link for four free Pillowcase Patterns

For more questions call 503-230-9075, visit the store or the website at: www.hearttohandonline.com.
Happy Day!
Wendy

Well it is Summertime, and the weather is warm.  If you have kids, or even if you do not, you likely have made a pitcher or two of Kool-Aid or lemonade.  I received this great article in the mail today from Quilting Arts Embellishment Newsletter.  I knew when I read it, I just had to pass it on to you!

“Linda Sharp, whose needle-felted plum quilt was chosen to depict November in the 2010 Quilting Arts calendar, shares her technique and enthusiasm for Kool-Aid dyeing, a perfect summer activity.

Kool-Aid dyeing gives absolutely delicious colors to protein fibers,” says Linda. “This process is safe, inexpensive, and easy. The materials are readily available, it requires no special equipment, and it smells wonderful!

Materials

• Natural (protein) fibers such as wool, dog hair, alpaca, angora, silk, etc. (Loose fibers, like dog hair, can be stuffed into a loosely woven synthetic gift bag to keep them together while dyeing.)
• Dish detergent
• Packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid drink mix (Do not use the color-change flavors.)
• Mask
• A stainless steel or un-chipped enamel pot
• Water
• Wooden stirrers (such as chopsticks)

Optional: Candy thermometer, rubber gloves

Note: A good ratio to begin with is 1 package of Kool-Aid to 1 ounce of fiber. (Double this for the lemon flavor.) More Kool-Aid will give you stronger colors. You can mix colors if you’re feeling adventurous. Use unsweetened Kool-Aid and do not add sugar.

Directions

1. Gently wash your fiber with lukewarm water and a little dish detergent and rinse the soap out. Treat wool very gently or it will felt. Let your fiber soak in lukewarm water while you prepare the dye.
2. Fill the pot with enough water to comfortably cover your fiber. Put on your mask before opening the Kool-Aid package(s) to avoid inhaling the powder. Stir the powder into the water with the wooden chopsticks until dissolved.
3. Add the wet fiber to the pot and slowly heat to just below boiling (85°C or 185°F). You can use a candy thermometer, if you have one. Check periodically to see that the mixture is not boiling, to avoid felting the wool. The dyeing process is done when the water is clear. You can tell by dipping the chopsticks in the water. This process will probably take about half an hour.
4. When the water is clear, move the pot off the heat and let it cool. Then gently rinse it with water that is the same temperature as the fiber. Hang to dry. The colors will be lightfast and colorfast; no heat-setting is required.

This is a great way to get a bit of silk or wool the color you want, to overdye a batch of garish fibers, or to get matching colors. Dye many batches now, and you’ll have a cache of beautifully colored fibers that smell like summer all winter long.”

Please send picture if you try this wonderful idea!

Happy Day!

Wendy

March 21st was National Quilting Day.  Shown here is a quilt top sewn by Barbara Timby she also donated the fabric, Beth Durand donated her long-arm quilting skills and Heart to Hand donated the batting and backing.  This will be given to our local Habitat for Humanity.  Thanks to Barbara and Beth for a great charity quilt! We will let you know more details about this donation later this month.

You can still get this free pattern at the link above.

In other activities, Jan just put up a beautiful wall of purses and purse patterns at the shop.  Norma and I are teaching classes on totes and encourage you to sign up. 

Norma is teaching Six-Pack Stack Reversible Tote that uses six different Fat quarters.  I will be teaching the Birdie Sling class.  I hope you will consider coming and joining us.

Beth just finished this cute tote, using a panel from Michael Miller’s Dick and Jane Fabrics.  Very simple and so very cute! Anyone can make it and NO pattern needed!

Happy Day!

Wendy

A couple of weeks ago I started thinking about doing my first vegetable garden.  I have done container gardening off and on for decades.  But this winter I lost an 11 foot gazebo to the snow storm and now I have a huge concrete slab out back with nothing on it.  So today I worked out plans for a couple of raised beds.  I am both scared and excited.  Scared: because I hate to pour money into something that I cannot or will not be able to follow through on.  Excited: because I hope to have fruits and vegetables that I love; and to be able to share them with my friends and customers. 

Gardening is a lot like quilting.  You plan the layout, make drawings and get excited about the colors.  But then the hard work begins.  Sure it is not HARD work but however you look at it, it is work, but as always the end result is wonderful and sharing it with friends makes it even more fun!

I have been working on a pieced table runner for a week and Beth quilted it.  The free pattern is from Red Rooster and then I chose some fabrics from the shop and sewed up this Lilac and Lace Table runner.  It is really fun and quite easy. 

So bring the garden into your home for the Spring with this enjoyable table runner.  Then go out and plant a little tomato plant in your yard, you will be glad you did when the Summer comes along.  I will post pictures of my garden as it starts to grow!

Happy Day!

Wendy

The theme for National Quilting Day this year is “Welcome Home”. The NQA writes: “As our country looks forward to 2009 with a new president and new hope for our country, we at The National Quilting Association thought it would be appropriate this year, to devote National Quilting Day, to the home. The housing market is in decline and foreclosures are on the rise, with greater numbers of homeless families to follow. “We would like to encourage our members, guilds, and sponsors to join together and give their effort and energy to those who may be struggling for warmth and comfort.”

The NQA has created a block pattern called,“Welcome Home”, to help all of us help others. You can get a link to the free pattern here. Send in your blocks to Heart To Hand and we will make quilts for those involved with Habitat for Humanity.  If you live in the area, join us at the shop for an all day sew in to make these blocks and quilts. You can register for this class here.

I just returned from walking Weeble.  We had an afternoon of partly cloudy weather and blue skies.  With my little pug being a little wild today, I knew it was time to take her for a walk!  So off we went.  The Crocus’ are peeking their purple and lavender heads up and signaling that soon Spring will be here.  I also have had some little Lily of the Valley trying to get out and show their pretty white flowers.  Every time we go out to get the mail Weeble goes over to smell their  aroma.  I am not quite sure if she likes it or it is just an unusual odor for her.

I was looking around for some cute Spring patterns and found this great table runner from Red Rooster called Lilacs and Lace.  Not sure why it is called that, because I do not see any lilacs or lace here but I sure like the table runner.  I hope to make one this week so we can begin to kit it for you all.  If you are interested in downloading the free pattern be sure to check it out here.

While you are downloading the pattern be sure to check out the fun Patch Abilities pattern: Easter Eggs.

Also check out our “Carrot Table Runner” Kit and the “Will Work for Eggs” Fabric Kit.

So while Spring is not really here yet, you can start getting ready by working on these great projects!

Happy Day!

Wendy

Our Stitch Every Day series begins anew in January 2009 with the Cup O’ Tea series. Monthly patterns will coordinate (but not match) with the previous year Tea Pot series. These patterns and buttons are also still available.

Here is how the program works at Heart To Hand. Buy the Handmade polymer clay buttons for embellishment of this cross stitch design and we will send you the cross stitch chart for free. Each button is reversible, and durable enough to machine wash or dry clean. Button Pack includes all buttons shown in photo. This kit does NOT include the fabric or floss for the project, just the buttons and free directions. Finished Size: 6″ square.

NEW AUTO SHIP OPTION: We will auto ship these kits to you once a month for a year if you check the auto ship option. Susan will just charge your credit card on the first of the month the $10.20. Find out about this great cross  stitch program here.

I just finished making this easy Halloween Project that you still have time to make before next week.  I used the Mummy Mambo Panel from Clothworks, black fabric, and scraps from my scrap basket. This is a very easy project for all skill levels and you can finish the top in one short evening. 

Directions:

1. Mummy Mambo Panel, if you need to trim up the panel to make it even, rotary cut ½” from colored shapes closest to the edges of the fabric.

2. Cut Three 2” Strips x Width of Fabric from your black fabric.

3. Measuring as you would for borders, frame the Mummy Mambo Panel with the black strips you cut in step two.

4. I then went through my scrap basket and collected all my Orange, Yellow, Black, and Gray scraps.  I cut them into strips that were 2 ½” wide, then sub-cut them into assorted random lengths. Some were as small as 1” and some were as long as 5”. 

5. Sew the scrap strips together making a long chain of assorted scraps that is 2 ½” wide.

6. Again measuring as you would for borders, frame the quilt top with the 2 ½” wide scrap strips.

7. Cut four 3” strips for last border out of black fabric and attach last border.

8. Quilt and bind.

You are done and your project is ready to hang in your house or on your door to greet your harvest visitors.

Happy Day!

BOGO 50% off Sale

Buy one yard ($6.99 a yard or higher)

 get a second yard of select fabrics 50% off

October 21st through October 31st we are offering a Harvest Celebration Sale. Here is how it works. Buy ANY one yard of fabric on our website priced at $6.99 a yard and up and get 50% off a yard of  your choice from the selected Harvest Celebration Sale Bolts of fabric. For more information click here.

Buy One Get One Free Book Sale Here

Quilting Kits Sale Here

Quilt shown is Tumbling Leaves from All People Quilt.  Free Pattern available here.

Fall is here, Harvest time is here, and Halloween is coming.

Time to think about making a wonderful Autumn wall hanging. We have lots of beautiful Autumn fabrics to assist you in your creations here.

Here is a list of wonderful links to some beautiful and unusual Autumn patterns.

Country Harvest from McCall’s Quilting. Reap the bounty of the season’s offerings when you sew this autumn wall hanging. Start with two fat pumpkins for the center block, and then keep adding colorful borders. Whether you add all the borders or just one, this quilt is certain to accent your fall décor.

All About Autumn: What says “autumn” better than crisp, colorful leaves? Welcome guests with these lovely wreaths in fall foliage colors. The woven background design will add a new technique to your piecing skills.