The DNA Quilt

Perhaps you’ve noticed, as I have, how many doctors, nurses, therapists, and other medical and scientific professionals gravitate to the art of quilting for creative expression. When I first asked American Quilter contributing editor Iris Frank to write about the connection between quilting and medical professionals, I had no idea how intertwined these two disciplines are and how many fascinating scenarios we would discover. Here’s another captivating medical-related quilt story, submitted by Sandra Black of Tellico Plains, Tennessee:
“In 1953, James Watson and Sir Francis Crick published their famous paper detailing the structure of the DNA molecule. Recognized as the single most important development in biology of the twentieth century, their discovery transformed the study of genetics and paved the way for huge advances in medical sciences as well as the fascinating science of DNA fingerprinting. They received the Nobel Prize for this discovery.

I made this DNA quilt for my longtime boss of 40 years, Dr. Whelan. Since he is a prominent scientist, I knew he would like this as a gift: he was a good friend of Sir Francis Crick and James D. Watson, and 2003 marked the 50th anniversary of the double helix. The label on the back of the quilt was kindly autographed by Sir Francis Crick (who passed away in 2004) and James Watson as an extra personalized treat. I presented the quilt to Dr. Whelan at a scientific conference in Miami in 2003, where Dr. Watson was an invited speaker (seen in the photo with Dr. Whelan and me presenting the quilt). Sir Francis Crick was supposed to be there but was very ill and could not travel. Dr. Whelan was thrilled with his quilt’s historical and sentimental significance.
The quilt is machine appliquéd, machine quilted, and machine embroidered with the names of some of the scientific organizations my boss initiated and founded throughout his career. I used color-graded fabrics for the molecule. The background is stippled behind the DNA molecule and the DNA design is quilted on the outer borders.”
You can read Iris’s complete article in the March 2010 issue of American Quilter, on newsstand next week or by subscription at http://www.americanquilter.com/.

A flock of blocks

(Submitted by Marje Rhine, American Quilter pattern editor)
I admit it – I am (or was) a scrap saver. Almost no scrap was too small to go into one of my many scrap boxes or bags.

But there were way too many, so as one of my New Year’s resolutions, I decided to pare down my scrap collection. Many went into the garbage – I  don't have the patience to sew all those 2” squares together. I set aside full width-of-fabric strips for a future strip-pieced quilt. Many scraps were cut up into specific sizes for a series of scrappy quilts for charity (maybe I will write more on this later).
The rest were too large to throw out, so I cut them into squares, triangles, and rectangles. I then sewed them together into roughly 8 1/2” x 8 1/2” squares. Some of the squares didn’t lay flat until I steamed them. I didn’t worry about losing points on triangles, or having seams match up. I just had fun sewing them together any which way. From each 8 1/2” square I accurately cut a 7 3/4” x 7 3/4” square.

 I did NOT center the cut square on any part of the pieced square, as I wanted scrappy and funky shapes. Each square was then cut into quarter-square triangles by cutting on both diagonals.

From a black fabric I cut 4 1/8” x 4 1/8” square then cut it on one diagonal to make 2 half square triangles. I stitched these to the sides of a scrappy triangle to make a Flying Geese unit.

There are many ways to sew these together. I already have a row of geese and a Flying Dutchman block. So when I want to do mindless sewing, I will sit down with my scraps and soon will have a flock of blocks to sew into a scrappy and fun quilt.

Circle of Fire - a blue-ribbon winner

Many American Quilter readers wrote to me about our November 2009 cover quilt, Circle of Fire, designed and made by Pat Wolfe of San Diego, California. Some were seeking the source of Pat's black batik background fabric (no longer available, sorry to say), and some just let me know they planned to make this dynamic design. But Pauline Charles of Annville, Pennsylvania, was the first to send me a photo of her quilt: She writes:

"Hi Chris. I have just completed a quilt that I call In the Beginning from the Circle of Fire pattern, on the cover of American Quilter. I entered it in the Pennsylvania Farm Show last weekend and it took a blue ribbon in the machine-quilted wallhanging category. I am very excited! When my magazine arrived, I knew I had to make that quilt. I started it after Thanksgiving and even used it to demonstrate machine piecing at our local quilt show. What fun it was!"

Pauline continues, "I was reading your Sept. 28, 2009 blog entry (written by AQ pattern editor Marje Rhine) describing the size of the hole to cut in the framing piece...after I did it. I followed the directions exactly but walked around the project for several days. I was afraid to cut, as I only had just enough fabric to do it once.
I love your magazine. This is the first, not the last, pattern I have used, too."

Pauline, you did a great job with this pattern! Congratulations on your blue ribbon, and may you win many more in the future. Thank you for sharing your quilt with American Quilter readers.

A new look in the new year

The new year is a great time for fresh starts, so the design/editorial team at American Quilter magazine is delighted to debut a "magazine makeover" with our March 2010 issue. This issue is at the printer now, and will be arriving in your mailbox (if you're an AQS member!) in about two weeks.

What's different? Starting with the cover, you'll notice a fresh, more modern layout and font style. A stunning full quilt or quilt detail photo is presented as a full-page image, rather than just one corner - easier for you to see the stitching and details. The short cover headlines (letting you know what's inside) are grouped in one highlighted area, handy for the 94% of readers who keep and refer to their back issues indefinitely.

There are lots of improvements inside, too. The articles and patterns feature a new "lighter-weight" font. Pattern layouts are simplified, most diagrams are a bit larger, and yardage charts have a softer, cleaner look. At the top of each page of editorial content, you'll see a heading that identifies the page, making it easy to locate articles that "jump" to another page.

But some things have not changed! That includes our emphasis on interesting quilter lifestyle articles, helpful techniques, and distinctive patterns and projects. If you like Carol Taylor's cover quilt, try her technique for creating sheer layered images, all detailed with how-to photos in this issue. Traditional piecers who want to improve their technique will find Jan Krentz's article on eight-point intersections extremely valuable. And of course there's quilt "eye candy," in this case the 20 top winners from the AQS Quilt Expo in Des Moines.

I'd love your feedback after you receive this issue. We listen!

Easy Fabric Dyeing

(Submitted by Kathie R. Kerler, American Quilter magazine contributing editor)

Hand-dyed fabrics are popular among quilters. Some use hand dyes because they like the mottled effect, while others want a gradated range of shades within a single color for a project. Many quilters think only of immersion dyeing and are not familiar with a product called Dye-Na-Flow by Jacquard. This product offers an easy way to dye or color fabric without using tubs or baggies, large quantities of water, or salt and soda ash. Other products may be similar to Dye-Na-Flow, but this is what I have the most experience with. It is available online or at many retail shops.
Dye-Na-Flow is a concentrated liquid color that can be used on any fabric, natural or synthetic. I have colored silk, organza, and most often cotton. After dyeing with Dye-Na-Flow, the hand of the fabric does not change. It remains soft and easy to stitch.
To use, simply mix a small amount of the Dye-Na-Flow concentrate with water in a cup. Tape your fabric down over a sheet of plastic and paint on the color with a sponge brush. It doesn’t take much concentrate to color a large piece of fabric. Add a little Dye-Na-Flow to a small amount of water, maybe ¼ to a ½ cup at a time, until you obtain the intensity desired. Because it doesn’t take much product, the smallest jar at 2.25 oz. lasts a long time. While the manufacturer does not make any claims, I have had some jars for more than ten years, and the product is still fine. The finished fabric is heat set for 2 – 3 minutes with an iron.
You can manipulate the fabric and Dye-Na-Flow for a variety of effects. If you spray the fabric before applying the colors, as I did, they will mix more. You can use salts to create bursts of color. Or you can do what I did on the sample shown here and scrunch up the fabric so that as it dries, the colors pool in the “valleys” and leave striations. This is not an exact science—experiment to get the look you like.

Time for baking, not quilting

Over the weekend, my mother and daughter (in the photo) joined me for a fun afternoon of Christmas cookie baking. One cookie tradition in our home is the making of pizzelles, a southern Italian cookie that is quickly baked in an electric "press" similar to a waffle iron. Made of flour, sugar, butter, and flavorings (we prefer anise), these crisp, lacy confections just melt in your mouth. And they are so light and pretty, I'm sure they can't have many calories - especially the broken ones where all the calories have leaked out. If you'd like my recipe and the name of my preferred pizzelle maker, just e-mail me at aqsmagazineblog@gmail.com.

By the way, my daughter also designed the adorable Play Date quilt pattern, recently published in the January 2010 issue of American Quilter magazine.

Whether your family celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, or just New Years, I wish you a lovely holiday season and sincere good wishes for happy quilting (and baking!) in 2010.

Round quilt hanging sleeve

(Submitted by Gail Garber, www.GailGarberDesigns.com)

Here are instructions for making a sleeve to hang Cartwheel Constellation (the cover quilt pattern from the January 2010 issue of American Quilter magazine) or any other round quilt. This method will work with even small round quilts.

Calculate 1/8 of the diameter of the finished quilt. Then determine the width of the quilt this measurement (1/8 of diameter) below the top. Cut a strip 8-1/2" wide and 2" longer than this width measurement. Hem each end and then stitch into a long tube, wrong sides together. Press seam toward one side, centered along the back of the tube. Position the tube a distance of 1/8 of the finished quilt diameter down from the top of the quilt, at the center. Slip stitch in place.
I use this method when hanging all circular quilts, positioning a sleeve close enough to the top to evenly bear the weight of the quilt, but not far enough below the upper edge to allow the top to flop over. I then insert a very thin piece of molding, about 1" longer than the sleeve. This is placed on two small nails that extend out of the wall just far enough to hang the molding. Generally, the quilt top will stand up nicely against the wall. In those rare instances where it still wants to flop over, I insert one tiny straight pin through the quilt and into the wall. Another option is to sew a small tab near the top of the quilt on the back side and pin that to the wall.