Quiltsy Cares – Sally Manke

It is my pleasure to introduce you to another of the Quiltsy Team today. Sally Manke (whose Etsy shop bears her name) is a quilt artist who presents trunk shows and teaches quilting and fibre art workshops in the USA and beyond. As a retired art and home economics educator, Sally has spent years working with fabrics, fibers, color and design. Art quilts are the perfect blend of both of her passions that come together in her unique colourful quilts.

Sally lives on the shore of Lake Michigan in northwestern lower Michigan and she chose the MunsonMedical Center Cancer and Oncology Department  as the charity to receive this donation quilt. She knows that we all have friends and relatives who have been involved in cancer treatment and feels that quilts offer immediate comfort to patients and their families.

Sally donated a lap sized brightly colored pink and green quilt. It is the perfect size to wrap around the shoulders or to cover the whole patient. It is a whole cloth quilt with a pieced back quilted on her long arm machine. The fabric department at her local Ben Franklin collects quilts each March to celebrate National Quilting Month. Every year they select a different charity. Sally's Common Threads Quilt Guild in Bear Lake Michigan participates.

 Sally has been sewing since about age 6. It was before she could reach the foot pedal on her great

aunt's Feather Weight Singer. She made her first quilt during the winter of 1974-1975. Sally joined the Quiltsy Team in the late winter of 2011 and says that this is her go to group for support both personally and professionally. She enjoys working with any kind of fiber but her favorite quilts are art quilts! No pattern, sometimes no plan, just the joy of creating. Coiled rope baskets are my my runner up favorite.

Sally can be contacted by:

www.etsy.com/shop/SallyManke
www.pinterest.com/sallymanke/
www.facebook.com/sally.manke.fiber.artist

This blog post was written by Quiltsy Team member, Kathy Kinsella

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Quiltsy Team recognized in the Etsy Newsletter

A few days ago the Quiltsy Team was delighted to read this wonderful report on the team in the Etsy Community News: May 2015 .

Etsy shop owners know they can do more good when they work together. The Quiltsy Etsy Team put this idea into practice in March when they organised a team promotion to benefit their favourite charities. Founded in 2007, the Quiltsy Team is a group of active of Etsy quilters who use their team as a virtual meeting place where they offer each other support, swap tips and advice, and grow as a quilting community. They’re also responsible for one of the most recognisable features of Etsy’s Brooklyn office: quilted banners that spell Etsy.com.

In celebration of Worldwide Quilting Day on the 21st of March, the team organised a month of charitable quilting called Quiltsy Cares. Each day in March, members of the team donated quilts or knit items to a charity they support. In total, 24 different charities received donations, including Quilts of Valor, which gives quilts to US service members and veterans, and Project Linus, which donates handmade blankets to children in need. The quilters’ stories and their chosen charities were featured in posts on the Team’s blog. “When you wrap up in a handmade quilt, you definitely feel loved,” says Team Captain Pamela Boatright. “Quiltsy Cares allowed many of us to donate to and spotlight a charity that’s important to us, so it was very gratifying. We all really love being able to help and comfort others by giving.”

Thanks to Kimm Alfonso, author of the above post, for mentioning our Team in such a great newsletter.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilt - NORTH Row Moves to Ohio

The North Row has now moved to Ohio for the remainder of its blocks. Pam Geisel of For Quilts Sake starts out the Ohio Sisterhood contingent with her block NORTH-4 from Yellow Springs, Ohio. The village of Yellow Springs takes its name from a natural spring located in nearby Glen Helen Preserve which is rich in iron ore, leaving a yellowish-orange coloring on the rocks. The spring was thought to have curative properties and spas and hotels were built nearby.

The village was founded in 1825 by approximately 100 families, followers of Robert Owen, who wanted to emulate the utopian community at New Harmony, Indiana. The communitarian efforts dissolved due to internal conflicts. The Little Miami Railroad was completed in 1846 and brought increased commerce, inhabitants, and tourism.

Yellow Springs was one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad and the village was known for its racial tolerance. Wheeling Gaunt, a former slave who purchased his own freedom, came to Yellow Springs in the 1860s and owned a substantial amount of land upon his death in 1894. Gaunt bequeathed to the village a large piece of land, requesting that the rent be used to buy flour for the "poor and worthy widows" of Yellow Springs. Although the land was used to create Gaunt Park, and thus does not generate rent, the village expanded the bequest to include sugar and still delivers flour and sugar to the village's widows at Christmas time.

Pam's background in graphic design shows through with her passion for original fiber art, with an emphasis on art quilts and quilt-related art. Pam took her first quilting class in 2001 and has never looked back.

Her work is currently being shown as part of the Women's Voice Out Loud show in Yellow Springs during March 2011, and the Uncommon Threads V exhibit at the Dayton Metro Library. Her Fireflies artquilt will be traveling later this year as part of the Ohio Designer Craftmen's Best of 2011 exhibit.

Pam's work is also on display the galleries Urban Handman and Frame Haven. In addition to being a long time member of Quiltsy Team, Pam also belongs to the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network, the Miami Valley Quilters Guild, the Dayton Visual Arts Center, Ohio Designer Craftsmen, Fairborn Art Association and the Monday Morning Artists (of Yellow Springs).

To see more of Pam's goodies, please visit her etsy shop ForQuilt'sSake.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilt - Tejas Row Begins!

One row in our Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilt will come from a single state. With over 25 million residents, it stands to reason that our Quiltsy Team population also reflects many members from the Lone Star State.

The name Texas comes from the Spanish translation (Tejas) of a native Caddo Indian word that means "friends" -- therefore Texas is "the Friendly State."

It was not coincidence that Ann of QuiltingFrenzy begins our row with her beautiful block. She hails from San Antonio, a place that figures prominently in the early history of Texas. It is also where I was born and since Ann and my mother share the same name (first AND last names), it just all adds up to Ann starting out our Texas travelog.

Ann wanted very much to photograph her block in front of that most hallowed symbol of our state, the Alamo. Unfortunately she pulled her back out and was unable to get over for the photo shoot. We'll just have to pretend! :)

This Spring marks the

175th anniversary of Texas independence and many of San Antonio's special events will center around the famous Battle of the Alamo. Click here to learn more about them.

Ann has been sewing for over 30 years and quilting for nearly 20. She likes to let the fabric speak to her to guide toward the finished products. Recently Ann has been making a lot of custom quilts, including photo memory and memory quilts made from clothing.

Ann has pieced quilt tops for quilting icon Eleanor Burns of "Quilt in a Day" fame -- one of which was used in her Victory Quilts trunk show. Ann also tested a new quilt pattern by piecing a quilt top that was quilted by Judy Jackson and featured on page 52 of her "Lover's Knot" book.

Having had the privilege of participating in a holiday show with Ann, I can attest that she is a very accomplished and prolific quilter. Do check out Ann's shop Quilting Frenzy, and stay tuned for the next installment as the Tejas Row travels up I-35 to our lovely capital.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilt - SW Row so far...

The gals in the SW Row have been busy working on their blocks!

The first block, made by Dede of PeppersAttic has already been received and added to by Gail of QuiltSewPieceful. Cindy of cindyrquilts has completed her block and mailed it to catch up with the row in Colorado.

Cindy lives in Beit Shemesh, Israel across from Kibbutz Tzora there. She is pictured standing in front of the ancient wall at Tel Tzora with her quilt block. The wall is just a few minutes from her house and is famous for Samson and Delilah. Samson is believed to have been buried in Tel Tzora overlooking the Sorek Valley. There reside two large gravestones of Samson and his father Manoah. Nearby stands Manoah's altar (referenced in Judges 13:19-24). It is located between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.

Cindy is known for color coordinating her wardrobe and accessories though she didn't realize (until I'd pointed it out) that she'd coordinated her hat with her block. :) Purple is her favorite color and it tickled her to know she'd subconsciously coordinated. Cindy has been quilting for 16 years and concentrates primarily on landscapes of Israel. She also makes lovely cosmetic bags, purses, housewares like trivets and hotplate covers and beautiful wearable art like vests and hats. Add cindyrquilts to your favorites!

Dede named her shop PeppersAttic in honor of a much-loved cat who kept her company in her attic studio back in Alaska. Sadly, Pepper the cat has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but his memory lives on in some of the quilts in Dede's home. Dede now lives in warmer Southern California where she continues a life-long love affair with fabric, quilts, vintage linens, textiles, yarn and fiber. She has been making wonderful creations for over 40 years and loves putting heirloom quality into all she makes. Dede does a lot of custom work and her Rag Bags are getting famous -- right now they are featured in 45 treasuries!

Gail of QuiltSewPieceful has been quilting for almost 20 years. (The second block above is Gail's) Gail specializes in beautiful pieced quilts that she finishes on her Gammil Classic long arm quilting machine. She also does machine embroidery on her Bernina 830, has a line of her quilt patterns (check them out!) and teaches quilting at a local quilt shop. In her spare time, Gail is Wonder Woman! j/k

Please check out these shops for some wonderful items!

Etsy Banners go to Chicago!

Our beautifu quilted banners have been spotted in Chicago this week! This was a cooperative project and was worked on by many members of the team, and we are all so proud of them. They really are beautiful and it is wonderful to see how Etsy is putting them to use at different venues as well as serving as a room divider in their offices.

Great Gift Idea - Cranberry Lone Star Sweatshirt

Are you looking for a special gift for your friend, sister, mother or even yourself? Check out this quilted sweatshirt by Bear Creek Creations. This family own business meticulously hand makes each design on JERSEES brand prewashed sweatshirts. Their excellence in production is evident in each sweatshirt that they make. With a variety of patterns as well as colors and sizes, Bear Creek Creations offers many choices and beautiful quilt patterns. Check out the whole story of their family business here.

Beautiful Batiks from JackieSewingStudio

I love batiks, and this Autumn inspired quilt by JackieSewingStuio really makes the most of some beautiful richly colored ones. I really like the modern look of this quilt and the blue border makes the greens, browns, and plums pop! This would be a great quilt to fold over the back of the couch, and the nice thing about batiks is that they go with everything. For more wonderful quilted items, check out JackieSewingStudio on Etsy!

Heirloom Baby Quilt by LashonneAbelDesigns

Today's featured item is a gorgeous wholecloth baby quilt made by LashonneAbelDesigns. I love the classic look of this traditionally styled quilt. The feathers show beautifully through the dense background quilting she has done. LaShonne designs the quilting herself, and you can get this quilt with any monogram you like. Wouldn't this be a beautiful gift for that special baby? I am sure it would be treasured as an heirloom by any new mom, and would look perfect in any nursery.

To see this quilt, and others by Lashonne, check out her etsy shop: LaShonneAbelDesigns.

Quiltsy Featured in "Storque"

Remember our banner project a while back for the Etsy.com offices? Well, the banners are finished, hanging in the Etsy offices, and some pictures and a nice write up are featured in the Storque!

Check it out (it has a great picture of the "E" with our very own ForQuiltsSake posing next to it.)

http://www.etsy.com/storque/etc/the-great-etsy-office-move-of-2009-our-quiltsy-quilts-6328/

Jabaro Designs Treasury on Etsy Front Page!

Jabaro Designs created a great green themed treasury that made it to the front page of Etsy this morning!

Block Swap squares are arriving!

Oh MY Goodness! A couple treasures arrived in my mailbox today! I received 2 sets of blocks for our swap!

Let me just tell you all...THEY ARE JUST GORGEOUS, WONDERFUL & AWESOME! I was just in awe of all of these when I opened up the envelopes. Each one was an "oh my!"

Here's a sneak peek sampling:

Look at the crisp points on these from CottageQuilting



SerenStitches created 16 different blocks!


Here is the original post with all the swapping details!
http://teamquiltsy.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-first-quiltsy-block-swap.html

Quiltsy Block Swap is underway!

Thanks to Kimbuktu for posting pics of her block! Oh boy, what fun to think about all these different blocks!

Please note our numbers have changed. Each swapper should send FNQ 16 blocks. Full details are here: http://teamquiltsy.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-first-quiltsy-block-swap.html

Happy Stitchin!

Treasury Roll

Morning Quiltsy fans!

I have added a new feature to the blog today....it's not a blog roll, but instead a treasury roll! Be sure to check out all the treasuries made on Etsy by your favorite quiltsy members!

I will keep this list updated so you can come here & just click away!

Happy Stiches!
FabricsNQuilts

Our First Quiltsy Block Swap!

The participant list has been finalized and we have 16! We will each be making 15 blocks to trade and 1 to keep for ourselves. This is the list of swappers and the guidelines for this swap:

serenstitches
fabricnquilts
pamelaquilts
kimbuktu
whimbrella
noduplicates
cottagequilting
moranartandquilts
quayandco
quiltnmama
DebiDesigns
MountainHomeQuilts
babyannequilts
QUILTSRUS08
RagAMuffinQuilts
lmkquilts
quiltingmama

Mail date: September 15th

Theme: green & blue (going for a two-color quilt look)

Block Size 6.5" (for a 6" finished block)

Each swapper will make 1 block for each "swap sister" (the more variety the better, so feel free to make different blocks).

There are 16 signed up, so each swapper mails 16 blocks (16 other than you-but don't forget to make yourself a block too!).

All blocks mailed to FNQ with return postage.

I'm looking forward to seeing the different blocks that come out of this swap!

This swap is now closed, but rumor has it that a Chrismas Swap may be starting up, so keep your eyes open so you don't miss out on that one!