Quilting – it's a no-fail prescription for good mental health!

It’s usually a toss-up if you ask a quilter which is the most perfect season to quilt: Winter or Spring? In the heart of winter, there is simply nothing better than snuggling up on the couch with your work in progress and spending a quiet evening finishing up your hand-stitched binding. However, you have to admit, it’s hard to beat the perfect moments that come with quilting to the rhythm of a gentle spring rain.

So, if you are like us in the midwest and rain has forced you to be a prisoner in your own home, then take advantage of this ‘sentence’ and grab your favorite issue of Love of Quilting, and dig right in, we'relooking forward to the new July/August issue, which will begin shipping to magazine subscribers in just a couple of weeks. Full of new projects to help chase away any rainy day blues. You’ll find this issue has been ‘sunkissed’ with some great summertime projects, including, ‘Ginger’s Flower Garden’, a sweet little wallhanging that could be the ultimate rainy day project.

As always, be sure to visit www.shopfonsandporter.com for some special bargains and fun projects. Your newsletter member status comes with lots of opportunities to save on kits, notions, books, and more. Remember to keep in mind your quilting friends. There are always some great gift ideas for them, too.

• 

  Here’s an original and fun idea; Avlyn has put on fabric the story of fast food - all the way from the farm to the table. The Fast Food Kit uses their ‘Fast Food’ collection, piecing together a little ‘Cowtoss’ here and a little ‘Cluck-Cluck’ there ... The finished quilt size is 47” x 56”. The regular price is $69.00, but for a limited time, you can pick up one of these kits for just $55.00.

• 

  Is it possible to have too many pairs of scissors? We don't think so!, These are the perfect size to add to your sewing room—our 5½” scissors (regular price: $15.99) are on sale now for only $7.99 at ShopFonsandPorter.com! Just enter the code FPNEWS at checkout to save (these make great gifts!). Sale ends June 30th.

Online Extras … If by chance you get caught up in your new project and completely forget about supper (happens to the best of us once or twice, or maybe twenty times), you can always click on the ‘Online Extras’ section for a quick search of your fellow quilters’ favorite recipes – in fact, featured right now is a quick and easy ‘Poorman’s’ recipe that should get you out of the kitchen and back at the sewing machine in a flash. (Note: ‘On-line Extras’ has a lot of additional features like tips, free designs, Sew Easy lessons, etc.)

Does your dog, to your dismay, enjoy "helping out" in the sewing room? Now Fido can join in with your next project and have those table scraps, floor scraps, and all the other scraps he has already pulled out of your sewing wastebasket … submitted by Debbie Shanks of Grand Prairie, Texas:

“My dog, Little Burl, is an incessant chewer. He is a little terrier mix that wandered up to my fence one day. I searched, but no one was looking for him … hmmm … wonder why??? He is actually a little better about chewing now since he has gotten older, but not much. He has lots of toys, but he destroys them almost instantly by ripping them open and spreading the stuffing all around the house. He chews rugs, toilet paper rolls, fabric – you name it. He particularly loves to chew fabric though. When I’m in my sewing room, he sneaks the scraps from the wastebasket and chews and chews. So, it just made sense to make him a dog toy stuffed with scraps of fabric strips. I primarily use the tiny strips that result from straightening fabric. Now, Burl gets a fresh new toy (which he absolutely loves); and I get to use up the ‘unusable’ fabric strips I normally throw away. I’m a ‘green girl’, organic now for almost 20 years, this little trick has made both of us very happy.

p.s. Did I tell you he’s adorable? Now, I admit, it only takes him about an hour to start getting the guts out of his new ‘scrap’ bones, but, what fun he has with these things!
p.s.s. Love your work. Love your magazine. Love your PBS shows. Love Fons & Porter – wish, wish, wish I had your talent!"

Pictured with Marianne and Liz is Elizabeth Anche of Nigeria. Elizabeth is Senior Presentation Officer for Kaduna State Radio in Kaduna, Nigeria. Elizabeth visited Iowa Public Television this spring during the first week of taping for the upcoming series. The young woman is very enthusiastic about establishing a quilting community in Nigeria and was treated to some one-on-one time with Marianne and Liz. And of course, when Elizabeth made the journey back home to Nigeria, she was laden with quilting supplies and yards of fabric; even Marianne and Liz broke into their personal stashes to help with this exciting new project.

Happy Quilting!
    Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting

Give a Gift Subscription to Love of Quilting Magazine
A great gift that quilters love is a gift subscription to Love of Quilting magazine. Did you know that when you give a gift subscription, you are actually giving three different gifts?

#1. Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting
Each issue is filled with must-do projects, helpful tips, and the newest techniques from America's favorite quilting experts.

#2. Embellishing Secrets
The sewing professionals at Bernina® with Marianne Fons and Liz Porter bring you this exclusive booklet of embellishing secrets! This essential how-to guide will give you hints from the pros so you can use embellishments to create stunning quilts, bags, and wearables. Learn to use couching, decorative stitches, and surface texture to take your quilts from ordinary to extraordinary! Remember, we'll send this booklet FREE with your Love of Quilting subscription!

#3. Quick Gifts
This fun-filled booklet contains 10 SUPER quick-and-easy gift ideas you can stitch in no time. The experts at Keepsake Quilting™ teamed up with Marianne Fons and Liz Porter to bring you some of their favorite patterns for quilts, bags, and table toppers, all perfect gifts for any occasion. Each project contains color photos, diagrams, and easy-to-follow instructions to guide you through assembly. We'll give you tips and easy techniques to help you achieve success. Best of all—this booklet is FREE with your subscription!
Supplies of the two FREE booklets are limited!

Click here to order a magazine gift subscription (includes booklets!)
Click here to subscribe to Love of Quilting magazine (includes booklets!)
Click here to renew your subscription (includes booklets!)

This email was sent by: %%Member_Busname%% %%Member_Addr%% %%Member_City%%, %%Member_State%%, %%Member_PostalCode%%, %%Member_Country%%