Boise Basin Quilters 2011 Raffle Quilt

Boise Basin Quilters has once again collaborated for a wonderful raffle quilt. This one was more than many years in the making but great things sometimes take time. Ten years ago, Patty Hinkel of The Quilt Crossing in Boise, Idaho made the top, then took it to Empty Spools Seminars and Fall Quilt Market for signatures of well known people in the quilt industry. In 2010, the applique border was added by members of the guild. Cheryl Little of The Cotton Club and Patty Hinkel then returned to Empty Spools and Fall Quilt Market to add additional signatures on the vine around the entire border.

Now, over 100 signatures, including such celebrities as: Alex Anderson, Judith Baker Montano, Jinny Beyer, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Eleanor Burns, Amy Butler, Hollis Chatelain, Nancy Crow, John Flynn, Marianne Fons, Diane Gaudynski, Anita Grossman Solomon, Roberta Horton, Doreen Speckmann, Patrick Lose, Paula Nadelstern, McKenna Ryan, Judy Niemeyer, Robyn Pandolph, Eleanor Peace Bailey, Mark Lipinski, Nancy Pearson, Paul D Pilgrim, Yvonne Porcella, Liz Porter, Kim Schaefer, Elly Sienkiewiez, Edyta Sitar, Ricky Tims, Kim Schaefer, Jean Wells, Phillip Hoffman and many more. The complete list is on Boise Basin Quilters website. (If in bold, now deceased.)

If you want to buy tickets they are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. You can send a check to Boise Basin Quilters or to Cheryl Little, c/o The Cotton Club, 106 N 6th, B5, Boise, Idaho 83702 . If possible, please enclose address labels for your tickets. For your ticket stubbs, please include a SASE or an email address and we will email you for your donation. Or better yet, come to the show the end of June.

Cat Acatemy BOM Block of the Month

We think Cat Acatemy is one of the cutest quilts we have seen in a long time. The artist, Karen Brow, has done a wonderful job of expressing the personality of cats with cloth. In making our kit we tried to duplicate her choices with the most current fabrics available. The blue and neutral batiks are just beautiful. Can you tell, we LOVE our kit! And, it is ready to ship!

Although you can use the applique method of your choice, she uses our favorite freezer paper, spray starch and iron method and gives directions in the pattern. Like us, for preparation, she loves a mini iron for the pressing and our favorite is the new Clover iron, because it is hotter and has an on/off switch on the cord. We actually lower our ironing board, pull up a chair and make ourselves comfortable while we prepare our pieces.

She also uses another product we love - Roxanne's Glue-Baste-It. In addition to the original 2 oz. size, now, it also comes in a small travel size and a refill.

If you want to take a look at it and other applique products in our Online Catalog, Click here.

And, if you want to see Cat Academy, Click here.

Really, when it comes to the hand applique, we can't say enough good things about AURIfil 50 weight 2 ply thread. Prior to it we pretty mostly used silk, but it was somewhat of a struggle. It would wear through quickly and become unthreaded easily. AURIfil is a dream and for us applique people, whether by hand or machine, it is fabulous to have all the colors.

If you want to know more about how to join a club and receive all the colors, Click here.