A New Beginning

 

Welcome to 2014. Trying to keep warm in the midwest this winter is almost impossible. Today is the coldest day we've had yet. I hope all those in cold climates are finding a way to keep warm.

 

You were all so patient with me during the past year so, this year the mystery club is going to be jam packed with mysteries, hints, tips, links to quilt related topics and videos you may or may not have come across as well as special member prices for quilting services and possibly more surprises.

 

It became apparent that trying to supply mystery patterns to club members via yahoo and dropbox did not work well. Therefore, new website pages have been created for the club and will be ready to upload to it's new location soon. All members will receive the username and password as soon as it is ready to launch.

 

We are also going to quit distributing the newsletter via Yahoo. With all their new changes, we have received so many complaints that we are compelled to try something different in reaching you. Therefore, we will be posting news via this blog from now on.

 

We encourage you to subscribe to the blog so you will receive updates via email. However, if you choose not to subscribe, simply bookmark us or, visit the website and click on the blog link to keep up with news from us. Note that subscribing to the blog is the only way you will get the newsletter directly from us from now on. If you don't subscribe, it's up to you to visit directly for news updates. (Note: this applies to general news only. Club members will always receive updates via email from us).

 

Thanks for following us in the past and a special thanks to all those who purchased a Mystery Club Membership. If you are not currently a member, now is the time to join. As a member you will get all of 2013 and 2014 for the low price of one membership. To join please visit the Mystery Club page at http://www.anilee.com or, http://www.anilee.net.

 

We hope you'll join us in 2014 for lots of fun to come!

 

Sincerely,

 

AniLee

 

 

 

 



My apologies for posting this so late this month. I will definitely do better next month.

The October issue of FiberBytes is now online. Remember to send us your info if you have something to share/advertise in an upcoming issue. http://www.fiberbytes.com/menu.html



I also have some news to update about the Mystery Quilt Club at http://www.anilee.net . Because Yahoo has made upgrades, several members (including myself) are having trouble logging in and using the Mystery Quilt members list. Therefore, I have created a Dropbox for the Mystery Club members to get patterns through it. When you join or renew your membership you will be invited to join either or both venues.

 

It seems to be working better than the Yahoo list so I will continue to post there as well. Because Dropbox allows for more posting space and supplies the patterns directly to your Dropbox account, I may switchover to only Dropbox at some point in time. For now however, I will post the patterns in both Yahoo and Dropbox. As always, pattern parts will be emailed directly to members who aren't able to use either venue.

 

I have big plans to expand and improve the Mystery Quilt Club so watch for updates. My goal is to grow, grow grow in the coming months. I hope current members will stay with me as we grow. I will be contacting all current members soon with more details and an offer to earn free membership time.

 

Til next time,

 

Happy Quilting!

Publications

Man am I tired. It has been a rough couple weeks working long hours to get magazine publications done. EQ through me for a loop and put me into a spin of overtime. A word of warning, make sure the amount of pieces you have in your blocks use quilting equivalents in size.

Here's what happened. Many of my blocks used an odd number of pieces and I selected a normal size block (12"). From that point on it was a disaster. Some of the actual sizes you would need to cut would fall into the 32nds and 16ths. But, EQ kindly rounded up to the nearest 8th. Pay attention to your screen when you set sizes. There are little circles that give EQ permission to round up. There is no way to get away from it. It rounds up to either the 1/6th or the 1/8th. In my case, I was working so quickly I didn't even take notice of that selection and several of my pieces were rounded from a 32nd to and 8th. I just assumed I would select the size block I want to make and EQ did all the math.

True to a certain extent but, not close enough in this case. One might think that all the pieces are calculated the same and sewing a 1/4" all around would go together and only change the size of the block. Not so. Some of the sections in the block didn't need rounding off so the sections that did round off didn't fit with the rest of the pieces.

The quilt that was the worst had a star of eight diamonds in the center with diamonds coming out from it in all four corners. When you put 8 diamonds together that have been calculated bigger than needed, it just doesn't work.

Unless you know how to work your math, the only way I see around this is to draw the block out to the sizes you want your pieces to be. That way you can give EQ an exact block size to work with so there will be no rounding of cut sizes.

On top of that, I was using a sewing machine I don't normally use when piecing and had trouble keeping the seams a 1/4".

It wasn't a complete loss, just took a lot of overtime to work it out. I managed to get the three that go to QW completed and shipped.

The one for QN that I didn't think I would get done, went better than I expected. I had to reduce the size of the quilt and the quality is a bit less than I'm used to doing but, I did get it done and sent in on time.

All in all this past few weeks have been not-stop working but, the fruit of my labors is well worth it. I can hardly wait to see how they are photographed for the magazines. One in particular is my favorite quilt and even though I usually give all my quilts away, I just may keep this one.

Til next time, Happy Quilting!

December is winding down fast along with the special discount to the Mystery Quilt Club and FiberBytes Magazine. The Quilt Club includes lots of perks including discounts for quilting services, half price for archived patterns, 6-8 mysteries this year, a BOM for 2013 and more. Part 1 of the first mystery will be posted soon. And, we have so much planned for FiberBytes we're sure you won't want to miss a thing. View the current issue at http://www.fiberbytes.com/menu.html to see what it's like. Go to http://www.anilee.net/huntspecial.html to join.

Til next time.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays as the case may be.

Lee

With the exception of the patterns (available to subscribers only), the FiberBytes publication is now free for viewing starting with the December issue.

We'd like to invite you and your friends to check out the new FiberBytes digital publication at http://www.fiberbytes.com/menu.html.

If you like what you see and wish to subscribe, we are offering a special until Dec. 30, 2012. Just visit http://www.anilee.net/huntspecial.html .

The offer also includes a special to join the new 2013 Mystery Quilt Club.



We hope you'll join us for the fun.

Lee

After visiting Facebook this morning, I have decided to stay away today. I realize there are going to be both happy and sad voters but, being a poor loser or a gloating winner is not going to make things better. It will only antagonise and create more hard feelings between the parties. So, being the peacemaker I try to be, I will be the first to step up on the fence post and try to work with both parties. I guess you call us fence sitters.

If we look back at the last four years, regardless of who you voted for, it seems that some of the problems we have now stem from lack of cooperation among our leaders. I could be wrong of course but, I would like to believe that things might not be quite as bad if there was more cooperation to work things out rather than dropping everything just because they can't get along.

I learned during this past round of campaigning (if the TV ads are true) that many of our representatives wouldn't attend meetings or even vote on things. How is that going to help make things better. If they had at least shown up and discussed things and added input, maybe negotiations could have been reached to make things a little better.

We also have to take into account that this former office had several natural disasters (i.e. tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, etc.) across the country that money was given to help out that also contributed to the debt.

I don't disagree that frivolous spending needs to be halted but, I do think that our record of pointing fingers and blaming the last few years has done nothing to improve our situation. If democrats and republicans could learn to work together better this time around, maybe we can make this country great again.

Now, it's JMHO but, I think we should get back to quilting!

I am quilting the submission quilt today so I can bind and ship by Sat. As I was making it, I found it to be a little on the boring side so I added another fabric.

(this one)

I now have the two dark greens and two light tans mixed together. It has a sort of watercolor feel to it and I think it turned out quite nice. It isn't one of your bright flashy quilts. It has a soft, quiet feel - something to cuddle in. I will be excited to post a picture next spring when the issue comes out.

If you want to have a great day, pull out some quilting, play a cd or dvd and stay away from the TV and radio.

Here are the fabrics for my next submission quilt that I will be working on to get done in the next 8 days. Many thanks to Robert Kaufmann for the beautiful fabric. I am very anxioius to see how this one turns out. Sorry, but you have to wait till next spring when it's published. I will post the pic then for you to see.

Off to work on it. Have a great quilting day everyone!

Hello Quilters,

I was excited to get my quilt back from Quilter's World that was featured in their "Simply Solids" publication. I hope some of you will drop by and get one. Here is a peek at my quilt...

Every Which Way

Here is the link to get the book containing 12 great projects.

http://www.annieswsl.com/quilting/bed_quilts/

I am currently working on another submission. Robert Kaufman was kind enough to supply the fabric for this one. I will post more in the spring when the publication comes out.

Till next time,

Happy Quilting!

Cleaning House

I have lots of books for sale. Mostly quilting and a few patterns for half or
less than half of retail. Most are in mint to like new condition.

Prices do not include shipping. I will ship as cheaply as I can. PayPal
preferred.

Email what you are interested in along with your address and I will quote a
shipping price. If price is agreeable, I will send a PayPal money request.

Visit http://www.anilee.net/books.html for a list of the items I have for sale.
Click on any title and it will take you to a picture of the book cover/pattern.

Thanks for looking.

Lee of AniLee
located in WI

July is up and running

The July issue of FiberBytes was posted a few days ago. I waited till now to post so that everyone didn't try to access it all at once. As with everything on the net, too many users at one time can create some glitches.

It has come to my attention that some of you are finding load time is a problem. I am in contact with the software company and we are trying to figure out why load time is taking so long so we can fix it.

The .pdf link is also given if you find loading the magazine program difficult. I will keep you posted to progress trying to get this issue fixed.

Some non-subscribers have also emailed asking to know what is in the magazine before subscribing? I am working on the website and will soon have a short description with each issue of what can be found in that issue. Hopefully this will help you make the decision to subscribe or not.

I will also be sellling off a huge amount of quilt books for half price or less. The list along with links to the picture of the book will be listed on site. This will probably happen in a couple weeks as there are a lot of books to get listed. I will post and let you know when the list is ready and how to get to it.

Well, I have a busy day ahead of me so I best get to it. I hope you enjoy the new issue of FiberBytes.

Be sure to let us know if there is something in particular you would like us to include in a future issue.

Lee of AniLee

The June issue of FiberBytes was fun to create. I hope you enjoy the site we share about quilting with Dad's ties. The quilts you will see are a great ways to get ideas for creating your own Dad's tie quilt.

We also introduced Meladora who offers fun crochet patterns as well as finished items you can also purchase.

I also asked my friend Nancy to share her Trout quilt story with us. In honor of Dad's Day, I thought it would be a fun story to share with you.

Last but, not least, are the regular articles you find each month. The Alpha-Dorable's are still keeping busy and Carol and Paul Streif are entertaining as usual.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Betty of Betty's Bytes. Her schedule has gotten so busy she is unable to maintain a monthly column. You can still see what Betty's up to and contact her through her site at http://www.bettyalofs.com . Our best wishes go out to her in her new endeavors.

Visit http://www.fiberbytes.com/menu.html to log in or purchase the issue or membership.

Till next time, Happy Quilting!

Inviting quilters to join me for my workshop Aug. 1 at MQToday in Oconomowoc WI http://www.mqtoday.com/classes/main/301.html . I have been adding more things to offer in the class as well as lots of quilting tips and hints I want to share with you. Door Prizes are planned so get registered for a fun day of quilting know how.

April FiberBytes

So far this has been an amazingly busy month and due to a long for me illness this winter I am very behind in my quilting. I rarely get sick but, I managed to pick up some kind of bug that knocked me for a loop. It took almost two week to get rid of the durn bug and another few weeks to recoop back to normal.

 

As you can imagine, I am very busy now trying to catch up and meet all the quilting deadlines I need to meet. On top of the quilting, I had a special exhibit to finish for MQX East and West and a spring quilt show to help organize and present as well as a four day retreat that just finished up. The retreat was a much needed thing as it allowed me the extra R&R I needed to be able to continue with a very busy schedule.

 

There are several graduation and wedding quilts to get done yet this month and then to market in May. I have wanted to go to market much of my quilting career and am finally able to do that this year. I will be attending Spring Market in KS and am really looking forward to it. I will also take some time to hop across the river to attend the MQS show in Overland Park. If you haven’t attended MQS I would highly recommend it. Besides a wonderful showing of quilts, they have many informative classes and they put on a heck of a banquet on Friday night (visit their site at http://www.mqsshow.org/).

 

Before I leave you this month I would like to share a little about the April Issue of FiberBytes (www.fiberbytes.com). The featured guest this month is Jim Simons who started the upper Midwest quilt show in Milwaukee a couple years back. This year the Milwaukee show has been moved to Oconomowoc and renamed MQToday (visit their site at www.mqtoday) for information and details about the show. Jim is working hard to offer a large scale quilt show here in the Midwest for those who are unable to travel to the far away shows. If you haven’t attended, you might want to consider putting it on your list for 2012. There are many wonderful teachers that will be offering some great classes you should check out.

 

I will be teaching an all day workshop on Wed. and would love to have you join me. I will be teaching bread and butter ways to quilt applique quilts, hexagon quilts and borders. I will also talk about pantograph quilting and binding on the longarm. There will also be lots of hints, tips and shortcuts that I use discussed as well.

 

Till next time, Happy Quilting!

 

Lee of AniLee

www.anilee.com

www.fiberbytes.com

Frixion - Miracle Tool Warning

I was introduced to Frixion pens at a quilt show in Wa. a couple years ago and started using them. I have since had some bad experiences I thought were worthy of a warning to quilters using this tool. I am not going to tell you not to use them. I still do but, I am more careful as to where and when.

If you quilt for yourself it isn't as much of a problem but, if you quilt for customers, you do need to tell the customer if you use it to do marking on their quilt. In one of those bad instances I used one on a customer quilt that she picked up in Jan. Apparently it was kept in a place that was cold enough for the lines to return by the time she got around to taking it out of the bag. I can imagine her horror when she found the black lines all over her quilt.

She decided to wash it right away instead of calling me. Of course, she washed it in cold water so, the lines did not go away. She then called me and I had her come over. We tested and the lines did iron out again. I told her to take it home and place it in her freezer or somewhere very cold for 24 hours to make sure they didn't come back. Fortunately, when I talked with her again, all seemed to be ok.

I have to say that I was lucky in that instance but, I have not used them on customer quilts since unless they are also good friends and I ask them first.

In another recent incident, some friends were helping me make quilts for a special exhibit (we are in the north so it was cold when we were making them). One of my friends used the markers and ironed them away. Then held the piece up to a window to try and trace something she missed. The cold just from the window made the lines come back. She then washed the quilts in hot/warm water in hopes to remove the lines permanently. Hopefully that is the end of the lines but, until it gets very cold again, we won't really know.

I think those who want to use these marking tools need to be aware and very careful. Another instance to be very careful would be something you are entering in a quilt show exhibit. If the quilt were to get cold enough (think about the cargo bay of an airplane that gets very cold) or, shipping to a show late in the year when it's cold, even placed too close to air conditioning or in a very cold room, the lines could possibly return and I'm sure the judges would just pass it by.

My suggestion as with all marking tools is to test, test, test and then still be careful. I myself did run tests when I first found them and all seemed ok. However, each time I freezer tested the lines got fainter sometimes taking several ironings to remove completely. Over time now, it looks like different fabrics can react differently so you need to be careful. I am even finding that their are variations of outcome due to the color of ink you are using.

I would also suggest that you visit and read another warning at http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/warning-frixion-pens-t108544.html .

Bottom line, BE VERY CAREFUL! You don't want lines appearing on your masterpiece every time it gets cold.

Works for me

Have a great day!




(click picture to view larger image)

Yesterday VS. Today

Have you ever heard a song for the first time thinking it belonged to the artist singing it only to find out later that the song is much older and was originally done by someone else? Well, this is proof that designs in the quilting world are no exception.

I have been working to learn EQ7 for several months now and stumbled across something I found interesting.

I teach a class called Quilted Applique' for longarm quilting (soon to be offered in our online Quilt Club) and found that using applique' motifs from the EQ library made it possible to produce some handouts for students to practice drawing different quilting designs. I have been teaching this class for three years and the motif shown below is one I use in the handout.

I recently decided that my quilt magazine collection is way out of control (more than 1,000 and counting) so, I decided to sort out some that I will be offerning for sale at our Holiday Quilt Show and Sale this November. As I was looking through them to decide which I would keep and which I would sell, I stumbled across a quilt on page 35 of the May 1982 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine using this motif in a setting just slightly different from the EQ setting.

As I look through my magazines I will now be on the lookout for similar incidents. I encourage you to take some time to look through some of your old magazines and see what might catch your eye.

This is the EQ applique' motif I use in my handout.


This is the block setting from the EQ block library.


This is the way the quilter in 1982 used the block.
A slightly different setting but clearly the same motif.

I'm anxious now to try some layouts of my own to create another look with the same motif.

Till next time,

Happy Quilting!

Holiday Greetings!

Starting to catch up on things so my plan is to blog more in the coming year. I will be working hard to improve the Quilt Club - to offer more patterns, quilting instructions, hints, tips etc. If you want to join the club at a reduced rate skip on over to http://www.anilee.net/clubhouse/mystery/mystery.html and check it out. The special lasts till the end of the year.

If, you subscribe to the mailing list http://www.anilee.net/clubhouse/mystery/mystery.html - wait until Christmas day for a special surprise!

With the stack of quilting I had in-house almost caught up, I should have plenty of time to expand the website http://www.anilee.com/ and Quilt Club. We have some exciting things in store so please stop by after the first of the year and check it out.

May you all have a Very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year!

Lee of AniLee

Nature Fighting Back?

Just glad I didn't get caught in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFv2W7Duqiw&feature=player_embeddedth_spaceset02_free.jpg

Video of the Week

How little did he know that in 1969 he was predicting the future.

http://media.causes.com/604250?p_id=79965486&amp

Tip Of The Week

I'm a little late with Monday's tip so I am going to try and post a tip of the week but not necessarily always the same day of the week.


This weeks tip is about orginizing. I have to admit that several things have put my life in turmoil. Having to house two buisinesses as well as a home under one roof, you can imagaine how my household is out of control. There is absolutely no room for everything and everything is so disorganized it is difficult to keep track of everything.


So, this weeks tip is about getting organized. I have found that my computer files have become just as disorganized as my household. I ran across this site while surfing and thought I would share it with you. Take a look and see if it is something that can help you get organized.


http://springpadit.com/home

KOALA'S ASKING FOR WATER - TOO PRECIOUS

At 120 degrees in Australia, it was so hot for a week that koalas were asking people for water. It's never been seen before.

One went to a house to try to hide from the heat and get a bit of shade and here's what happened when the owner gave him something to drink. It's really cute.

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."

Video of the week

Hero of the Day. This is so amazing I had to share it with you all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofpYRITtLSg

Have a great day!

Tip of the week.

I've let myself get so busy with work I haven't been taking time to post here. I came across an idea I thought was interesting. Then I thought, why not share it with others.

Then I thought, why not carry it a bit further and try to bring you a tip of the week. So, I will do my best to find a new tip to share with you on Monday's.

This weeks tip is about getting out of a rut. It only takes 20 minutes. I have to admit that I thought it was silly to think that setting a timer for 20 minutes could do any good. Well, it not only gave me time to think about something other than work, it let me come up with this idea.

If you want to know more about the 20 minute techniqe to getting out of a rut, visit the link below. Give it a try and let us know how it worked for you.

http://makegreatstuff.com/getting-jump-started/

I hope you enjoy the tip this week. Now to set my timer and see what I can come up with for you next week.

Have a great quilty week!

Treasure Hunt In Full Swing

WOW, the treasure hunt just started yesterday and more than a hundred of you have already collected your clues. Hope you enjoyed the hunt and the pattern you earned. If you missed the invitation the other day, you can visit the hunt here http://www.anilee.net/island/island.html . Have a great day.

A Special Invitation

First I'd like to thank everyone who followed my train adventure and made comments along the way. I'm sure you didn't enjoy it as much as I did but, all you need do to experience the fun is take a train trip some day. I do think you will enjoy it.


I'd also like to invite you all to participate in our 24th Mystery Quilt Treasure Hunt. We opened our door to new designers for this hunt and are proud to present our Holiday Stroll pattern designed by Stephanie. It is a wonderful six part pattern designed to be used as a fall/winter decoration or given as a gift.

We have been hosting these hunts for almost 10 years. Hunters have had so much fun visiting shops and collecting clues to the Free Mystery Pattern. Gifts are also awarded both during and at the hunts conclusion.


To register and collect your free mystery pattern parts while qualifying for the gifts visit http://www.anilee.net/island/island.html for details.

Note: Information and emails you provide when you register are never used by anyone but us. They are used only for remembering the clues you register and notifying you if you have been chosen to receive one of the gifts being given away. You will not receive junk mail from us by registering.


I hope some of you will have the time to join us. Have a great day and Happy Quilting!

Train Trip part 21

Well, that was our train adventure. Yes, I would definitely do it again with a soft cushion of course. However, I do think it might be time for me to try and get over my fear of flying. Who knows, the next adventure you hear from me might be my first plane ride. I hope you enjoyed my story. Have a great day and take the train some day if you get the chance. It is worth trying. Time to get back to work now.

Train Trip part 20

Oh, I didn't mention, the trip out actually took 38 hours because our connecting train to Tacoma from Seattle was held up. Apparently it got stopped at the Canadian border where they had to take someone off. We never heard why they took them off. Anyone out there hear anything on the news about it. It would have been the 14th or 15th of September.

Train Trip part 19

Arriving in Mnpls. at 7:05 a.m. we were able to meet up with my daughter, her husband and a friend for breakfast. After breakfast we stopped at The Quiltworks in Minneapolis to pick up a roll of batting and some fabric (and other supplies). Then returned home to get busy at the quilt frame. I have many customers anxious for me to get caught up as quickly as I can. Hopefully before the Christmas rush.

Train Trip part 18

Got situated in our seats and visited and read until dinner time. Had another wonderful dinner. For the trip home, the train was quite full for most of the trip. Did not get to spread out to be more comfortable. Did I mention this was a 37 hour trip. The sitting was the hardest part of the trip. While a soft cushy for the tushie is a must, I think I just may have gotten over my fear of flying for long trips.

Train Trip part 17

I forgot to mention that my friends sister lives near Seattle so her husband brought her on thurs. and we spent the day at the docks and looking around the town there. She stayed with us the rest of the week. He picked us up at checkout time sun morn and gave us a tour of Tacoma where he grew up. Then we had lunch and they dropped us at the station to catch our train home.