When I first began quilting, my then mother-in-law gave me some old blocks that someone in her family had made. She was not sure who had made them but thought they might make a good starting point for me. In the assortment of blocks were 12 turkey red and white swastika blocks, 12 Dresden Plate rings, one with a piece missing, and 12 embroidered blocks.

All the blocks looked like they had been made sometime in the 1930s and I was thrilled to have them. Not only was I entranced with the fabrics but there was some family connection there as well.

I couldn’t wait to get started on making a quilt using those blocks. My first quilt was made using the antique My first quiltswastika blocks. I even lucked out and found some new turkey- red fabric that came very close to matching the old. I sought advice from a relative of my husband’s that was a quilt maker. She informed me that no knots were ever put in the thread when one was making a quilt. Not when one was piecing nor when one was quilting. I remember being mystified by that piece of wisdom, but I was determined to do it right, which to me meant hand piecing and hand quilting that quilt.

I can’t believe it’s been over a year since we launched MY STAR COLLECTION, our pattern subscription service. It hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides, or at least it seemed so on our end, so we decided to survey our subscribers as renewal time came around.

Since many of you participate in the program, and also participated in the survey, we thought you’d like to know the results. About half of our subscribers filled out the survey. In marketing terms, that is an unbelievably successful turnout! So thank you! (And by the way, MY STAR subscribers, be sure to read to the end of this blog for a thank-you offer just for you!)

Sample Survey ResultsTo summarize, we learned that:

• 91.4 percent of you have enjoyed the patterns offered thus far.

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Diane’s been on vacation this week, which is quite a big deal because I can only recall one serious vacation she’s taken – a short one to Las Vegas – since she joined us here at Kansas City Star Quilts in October 2006. (I believe she lost money.)

So it was with some trepidation that we bid her goodbye last Friday, because it now fell to us to do her many duties while she was gone.

JackSo meet Jack. I mentioned to Jack that he was going to be the subject of this week’s blog. (It’s my occasional attempt to let you peek inside our operation here.) Jack cringed. Jack, you see, shuns the limelight like a bear in hibernation. He’s definitely low-key … so below the radar that the Defense Department could learn from his techniques.

So your youngest child is going off to college. You’re either feeling a little bit blue or you’re jumping up and down for joy and can’t wait to get the room cleared out, painted and turned into a sewing room.

Never fear, the kid is coming back. About the time you get used to him/her being gone, he will arrive at the front door bearing load after load of dirty laundry. Said laundry can be dragged home in those big, old ugly black trash bags or you can send your child off to school with a homemade duffel/laundry bag.

A laundry bag is made much like a pillowcase except you will probably want to make it deeper. Pillow ticking or denim works nicely for duffel/laundry bags. It’s a bit heavier than regular cotton and will stand up to some rough usage.

To make the bag you will need:
1 1/4 yards of pillow ticking/denim
2 yards of heavy cord

Pre-wash and dry the fabric, then press with a hot iron. Fold the fabric lengthwise with right sides facing. Stitch up the side and across the end. Backstitch several times on the corners so they are reinforced. Turn right side out.

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The floor at Jessie Hall.How’d you like to win $100 worth of Kansas City Star quilt books? You can … but first, read on.

On Wednesday, my wife Cindy and I took our son, Zach, to the University of Missouri in Columbia. He’s a freshman, so we made the trek with mixed feelings … excitement for him, because his life becomes a real adventure now! But a bit of sadness for us, too.

There’s a historic building there that caught our eye. Jessie Hall was built in 1893 and is the school’s main administration building. What nabbed our attention wasn’t its towering dome or its Corinthian-columned porticos. No, it was the first floor. More specifically, it was the floor of the first floor.

There, for all to see, was a quilt design inlaid into the floor tile. Of course, no one in the original construction crew – or I’m pretty sure even the architect that chose the pattern – thought it to be a quilt design. But there it was, reminiscent of the Six-Pointed Star published in The Kansas City Star in October 1938. (Many of The Star’s early patterns were hand-me-downs from prior generations.)

I’ve been reading my quilt magazines and have come upon a relatively new term concerning quilts: “stashbusters.” When making a stashbuster quilt, you don’t go to the fabric shop. You just use up what is on hand.

Most quilters I know would be able to fashion about a gazillion stashbuster quilts from what they have in store. I’m relatively certain that if I live to be a 192 years old, I would still have fabric left, even if I never bought another piece.

So what is it about us quilters that we keep buying fabric even though we know we don’t “need” another piece? How do we explain our stash to the uninitiated? Are we hoarders in disguise or are we just fabric collectors?

Here’s what I know. I know that if I see a piece of fabric that I really love, I better buy it when I see it because when I come back to the shop, it will probably be gone. Fabric designs come and go within six months. Moda is one fabric company that seldom reprints a fabric design once that line has sold out.

We really like our new PickleDish site here at Kansas City Star Quilts. We feel it is much improved over the old, clunky site we had. It’s much easier to update regularly, it includes many more features, and it overall just has a better design to it. And, based on visitor traffic, you do, too! We get about 200 quilters a day looking at the site. On some days, up to 700!

But we realized it’s still missing something – and that is a place where you all can vent, chat, exchange ideas, ask questions, etc.

On our old PickleDish site, we had discussion boards that many of you visited often. When My Star Collection was first launched, you came there to ask about problems you were having. When you had a question about where to find a specific fabric, you posted, and we and others answered. When you just wanted to share a quilting tip, you posted, and we all benefited! Sorry we took that way.

But it’s back, and please take advantage of it. We only have a couple of posts up there now. Feel free to start a new topic. If you’re wondering about something, or frustrated with something, or loving something, I’m sure others are too, and they’ll want to hear about it.