QTM Blog Hop Begins: Win Here Today!

QTMbloghoplogoToday we launch our very first blog hop! We have a stellar list of blogs (see list below) to help us raise awareness of our annual fundraising event, Quilters Take Manhattan (QTM) and the Quilt Alliance mission.

To win a QTM Moda Home Ticket via this blog, please leave a comment about why you’d like to win. We’ll pick a winner at midnight tonight (9/5 at 12pm EDT) and post it at the close of the Hop. (Other hosts will give instructions on how to win in their giveaway.)

Also visit today for your chance to win:

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD
Pat Sloan
AccuQuilt

 

hometicket2016withQTMlogocircle500wideThe QTM Moda Home Ticket provides a chance for those who can’t make it to the Big Apple to experience their own home slice of the event. Value of $35 ($30 for QA members). Winners of the Moda Home Ticket will receive by mail in late September a QTM Goody Bag, packed with samples and treats from all of our sponsors, and a chance to win select door prizes. Home Ticket holders will also receive priority access to online video of our Sunday with Sponsors event (sent via email link 2 weeks after event). Please note: this year’s Home Ticket will not include footage of QTM lectures and interviews due to the prohibitive cost. Home Ticket holders play an important role in supporting the work of the Alliance–thank you!

Drawings are open to all, but international winners are responsible for any customs fees that may be charged when shipment enters their country.

2015 QTM Goody Bag (drawing winners will receive the 2016 bag)

2015 QTM Goody Bag (drawing winners will receive the 2016 bag)

2016 QTM Tote ready for goodies from our sponsors.

2016 QTM Goody Bag ready to be filled, featuring this year’s Handi Quilter Grand Prize winning QA contest quilt by Margaret Cibulsky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the QTM Blog Hop page for full details.

Schedule of Participating Blogs

Day 1 – Monday, September 5

Quilt Alliance
Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD
Pat Sloan
AccuQuilt

Day 2 – Tuesday, September 6

Victoria Findlay Wolfe @VFW Quilts
Erin Sampson – Aurifil @Auribuzz
Freespirit Fabric
Heather Jones@Heather Jones Studio

Day 3 – Wednesday, September 7

Moda Fabrics @Moda Cutting Table
Denyse Schmidt on Instagram @dsquilts
Debbie Jeske @A Quilter’s Table

Day 4 – Thursday, September 8

Jacquie Gering @tallgrass prairie studio
Jessica Skultety @Quilty Habit
Gotham Quilts @Fabric Nerd
Handi Quilter

Day 5 – Friday, September 9

Kim Niedzwiecki @my go-go life
Leslie Tucker Jenison
John Kubiniec @Big Rig Quilting

 

Good luck, everyone! We hope to see you on our blog today and in the Big Apple for Quilters Take Manhattan in September 2017!

 

Amy Milne headshotPosted by Amy Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

Quilters Take Manhattan Blog Hop Starts Monday

QTMbloghoplogoNext week we launch our very first blog hop! We are thrilled to have the leadership of Quilt Alliance member and volunteer Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD on this venture, as we set out to raise awareness of our annual fundraising event, Quilters Take Manhattan (QTM) and the Quilt Alliance mission. Our QTM Blog Hop will include 18 different stops (see list and schedule below–you’ll be blown away by this stellar list!), including our own blog (Monday, Sept. 5). Visit any (and all) of the blogs on their day and you’ll have a chance to win a QTM Moda Home Ticket. Each host will give instructions on how to win in their giveaway.

Visit the QTM Blog Hop page for full details on how to participate.

 

 

hometicket2016withQTMlogocircle500wideThe QTM Moda Home Ticket provides a chance for those who can’t make it to the Big Apple to experience their own home slice of the event. Value of $35 ($30 for QA members). Winners of the Moda Home Ticket will receive a QTM Goody Bag, packed with samples and treats from all of our sponsors, and a chance to win select door prizes. Home Ticket holders will also receive priority access to online video of our Sunday with Sponsors event (sent via email link 2 weeks after event). Please note: this year’s Home Ticket will not include footage of QTM lectures and interviews due to the prohibitive cost. Home Ticket holders play an important role in supporting the work of the Alliance–thank you!

Drawings are open to all, but international winners are responsible for any customs fees that may be charged when shipment enters their country.

2015 QTM Goody Bag (drawing winners will receive the 2016 bag)

2015 QTM Goody Bag (drawing winners will receive the 2016 bag)

2016 QTM Tote ready for goodies from our sponsors.

2016 QTM Tote ready for goodies from our sponsors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule of Participating Blogs

Day 1 – Monday, September 5

Quilt Alliance
Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD
Pat Sloan
AccuQuilt

Day 2 – Tuesday, September 6

Victoria Findlay Wolfe @VFW Quilts
Erin Sampson – Aurifil @Auribuzz
Freespirit Fabric
Heather Jones@Heather Jones Studio

Day 3 – Wednesday, September 7

Moda Fabrics @Moda Cutting Table
Denyse Schmidt on Instagram @dsquilts
Debbie Jeske @A Quilter’s Table

Day 4 – Thursday, September 8

Jacquie Gering @tallgrass prairie studio
Jessica Skultety @Quilty Habit
Gotham Quilts @Fabric Nerd
Handi Quilter

Day 5 – Friday, September 9

Kim Niedzwiecki @my go-go life
Leslie Tucker Jenison
John Kubiniec @Big Rig Quilting

 

Good luck, everyone! We hope to see you on our blog on Monday and in the Big Apple for Quilters Take Manhattan in September 2017!

Amy Milne headshotPosted by Amy Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

Topo Designs Rover Pack Review

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. — John MuirThe Pacific Northwest, sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Though no agreed boundary exists, a common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into far Northern California and east into Idaho and Western Montana, western Wyoming, and western Alberta, to the Continental Divide. Narrower conceptions may be limited to the Northwestern U.S. or to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region’s history, geography, society, and other factors.

The Northwest Coast is the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest and the Northwest Plateau (also commonly known as “The Interior” in British Columbia and the Inland Empire in the United States) is the inland regions. The term “Pacific Northwest” should not be confused with the Northwest Territory (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) or the Northwest Territories of Canada.

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Half of what we know about coffee is wrong

Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Unroasted beans contain similar if not higher levels of acids, protein, sugars, and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste of roasted coffee beans due to the Maillard and other chemical reactions that occur during roasting.

Process

The vast majority of coffee is roasted commercially on a large scale, but small-scale commercial roasting has grown significantly with the trend toward “single-origin” coffees served at specialty shops. Some coffee drinkers even roast coffee at home as a hobby in order to both experiment with the flavor profile of the beans and ensure themselves of the freshest possible roast.

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What brings you here? A photo story.

The first successful North American transcontinental trip by automobile took place in 1903 and was piloted by H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker, accompanied by a dog named Bud. The trip was completed using a 1903 Winton Touring Car, dubbed “Vermont” by Jackson. The trip took a total of 63 days between San Francisco and New York, costing US$8,000. The total cost included items such as food, gasoline, lodging, tires, parts, other supplies, and the cost of the Winton.

The first woman to cross the American landscape by car was Alice Ramsey with three female passengers in 1909. Ramsey left from Hell’s Gate in Manhattan, New York and traveled 59 days to San Francisco, California. Ramsey was followed in 1910 by Blanche Stuart Scott, who is often mistakenly cited as the first woman to make the cross-country journey by automobile East-to-West (but was a true pioneer in aviation).

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What brings you here? A photo story.

The first successful North American transcontinental trip by automobile took place in 1903 and was piloted by H. Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker, accompanied by a dog named Bud. The trip was completed using a 1903 Winton Touring Car, dubbed “Vermont” by Jackson. The trip took a total of 63 days between San Francisco and New York, costing US$8,000. The total cost included items such as food, gasoline, lodging, tires, parts, other supplies, and the cost of the Winton.

The first woman to cross the American landscape by car was Alice Ramsey with three female passengers in 1909. Ramsey left from Hell’s Gate in Manhattan, New York and traveled 59 days to San Francisco, California. Ramsey was followed in 1910 by Blanche Stuart Scott, who is often mistakenly cited as the first woman to make the cross-country journey by automobile East-to-West (but was a true pioneer in aviation).

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The rise and fall of American politics

The United States is a federal republic in which the President of the United States, United States Congress, and United States federal courts share powers reserved to the national government. At the same time, the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.

The executive branch is headed by the President and is formally independent of both the legislature and the judiciary. The cabinet serves as advisers to the President. They include the Vice President and heads of the executive departments. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch (or judiciary), composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial power (or judiciary). The judiciary’s function is to interpret the United States Constitution and federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government’s layout is explained in the Constitution.

Wall Street is on thin ice with the American people.

Two political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although there are also smaller parties like the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Constitution Party.

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Thank you, Quilters Newsletter Magazine

Since 1993, the Quilt Alliance has been committed to documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers. We care about keeping quiltmaking alive, but also celebrating its history. We shared this passion with Quilters Newsletter Magazine, the grandmother of all quilt magazines, in print since Bonnie Leman began the publication as a black and white newsletter produced out of her home in 1969. We at the Quilt Alliance were saddened to hear that F+W, the magazine’s parent company, announced that the magazine would cease publication.

QNM_cover

Quilter’s Newsletter, September 1973. Michigan State University Museum Research Collection, courtesy of Primedia, Inc. Image from Quilt Treasures, a partner project of the Quilt Alliance, Michigan State University Museum, and Matrix, the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at MSU.

I admittedly don’t read all the quilt magazines. But QNM was one I paid attention to in large part because it cared about quilt history. It regularly published features that celebrated quilt heritage, quilt documentation projects, museum exhibitions, and summaries of quilt scholarship. The magazine, like the Quilt Alliance, perceived the stories of the quilts and quiltmakers of the past as integral to quiltmaking’s future. I was lucky enough to publish a few times in QNM, and always felt honored that a popular publication with large and faithful readership would feature articles by a historian like me. And that’s part of QNM’s legacy.

QNM is part of our shared quilt history which the Quilt Alliance aims to preserve. The magazine was instrumental in the late twentieth-century quilt revival, not just through its publication, but through its outreach into the burgeoning world of quilt enthusiasts and its leadership in the quilt industry.  For example, QNM sent a touring Quiltmobile around the country in 1976, exhibiting quilts and teaching quilting, which no doubt helped fuel the quiltmaking excitement surrounding the American Bicentennial (we here at the Quilt Alliance are inspired by this… we’ve had our eye out for a camper to drive around the country recording quilt stories). These stories are worth saving, but we can’t do it alone.

QNM_Quiltmobile

QNM’s Quiltmobile, 1976. Courtesy of Bonnie Leman and Mary Austin. Image from Quilt Treasures, a partner project of the Quilt Alliance, Michigan State University Museum, and Matrix, the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at MSU

In 2002, Quilt Treasures—a partner project of the Quilt Alliance, Michigan State University Museum, and Matrix, the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at MSU—interviewed Bonnie Leman. Our partners created a mini-documentary and web portrait, but the technology supporting this presentation is out of date. watch an excerpt of Bonnie recalling the origins of Quilters Newsletter from her Quilt Treasures portrait.[space height=”10″]
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Like Quilt Treasures, our oral history project Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories (QSOS) is now in need of conversion to a new platform, so we can continue to fulfill our mission of not only documenting, but also preserving and sharing quilt stories. Please join us as a member today or make a donation. Consider it a subscription to our mission, one that requires fuel and tending to document and sustain our community for years to come. We hope you can help.

SmuckerPosted by Janneken Smucker
President of the Board of Directors, Quilt Alliance
jsmucker@wcupa.edu

Members get to vote!

Logo for Playing FavoritesIf you’ve been looking for the perfect excuse to become or renew your Quilt Alliance membership, we have just the thing! In our annual contest members get to vote for one of the top prizes. This year’s theme–“Playing Favorites”–generated some amazing quilts. We’re not surprised, since that’s what happens when you let creative people do what they love to do. We can’t wait to hear what your favorites are!

Anyone who renews or joins by 5pm EDT on June 6 can cast their vote (due by June 7 at 11pm EDT). The Members’ Choice winners and the HandiQuilter Grand Prize winner will be announced on Monday, June 13.

All contest quilts will be auctioned off in our annual auction, which generates valuable funds to sustain our projects. Stay tuned for details in the Fall.

It all started with the typewriter

Philosophy of design is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of design. The field is defined by an interest in a set of problems, or an interest in central or foundational concerns in design. In addition to these central problems for design as a whole, many philosophers of design consider these problems as they apply to particular disciplines (e.g. philosophy of art). Although most practitioners are philosophers, several prominent designers and artists have contributed to the field. Graphic design has seen many changes and influences. But foundations remain the same. Society heavily pressures graphic design to assimilate to the era. The history or foundation for graphic design has influence from what was depicted to the author during that time. The foundation of letters, that can be designed specifically for communication.

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