Alex Anderson 8/8/2002

HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat room. Alex Anderson, quilting expert and host of Simply Quilts, is here to answer your questions. Hello, Alex!

Alex Anderson: Hi everyone! I hope you are all staying cool?

Question: I am not a quilter. I have been looking everywhere (in vain) to find Celtic quilts I could purchase... or even better, someone to create an affordable original for me, using the family tartan. Any suggestions?
AA: Hey, thanks for hanging out--even though you are not a quilter. Several seasons ago, we had a guest on who specializes in these quilts (Celtic design). Her name is Philomena Durcan, and her work was featured in QLT-309 (episode number). She has a website: www.celticquilts.com. Her work is astonishing, therefore I am not sure if it is affordable. But at a minimum--contact her. She is a very dear person.

Q: My question is this: First of all, I watch you twice a day: How do you use the quilt blocks in doing scrapbook pages?
AA: I'm not quite sure what your exact question is... however, this next season there will be a show with Gwen Marsten who makes fabric books using blocks. If you are talking about scrapbooking, in the classic sense, my concern would be to provide the longevity and care of the blocks. For example, using acid-free paper. This is an interesting question you've posed, and personally, I will look into it.

Q: When do you mark for quilting--before or after putting together?
AA: It depends. If you are using premade plastic templates in some cases you can mark as you go. As for myself, I draw the quilting designs on paper and using a light box, transfer it to the pieced top before I baste all three layers together. By the way, my next book--Spring '03--will be on how to handle the quilting designs and how to create them yourself.

Q: When using paper foundation piecing, how important is it that the grain of the fabric be "with" the edge of the block?
AA: In a perfect world, that would be nice; however, when I paper piece I don't remove the paper until the entire top is sewn together and all biased edges have been surrounded with fabric on the straight of grain, for instance, the border.

Q: Hi, Alex. I know your first love is hand quilting, but I wanted to try machine quilting. Any suggestions on what type of thread to use, and should I use the same for the bobbin? Thanks.
AA: There are a million different options. I would suggest purchasing Harriet Hargrave's book on machine quilting. Unfortunately, this is an area that I am not well-versed in. And I count on the expert help of my machine quilter, Paula Reed.

Q: Hi, Alex--Pam from Fremont here. Looking forward to 9/28. How many quilts is Freddie planning to hang?
AA: I, too, am looking forward to Quilting in the Garden. I know Freddie has access to over 100 quilts. The challenge is how many clotheslines can we hang under the oak trees. By the way, quilts from the Pentagon (9/11) will also be on display. I am honored they are letting us show them. For Livermore, Calif., Alden Lane Nursery, 925-447-0280--Sept. 28th 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Q: The other day you posted a question on your web page about when did you learn how to sew. When did you learn?
AA:Actually, my husband found a picture of me sitting at my grandma's knee at about the age of three or four! Isn't that amazing? But my love affair with the sewing machine started about the sixth grade. In fact, my eighth grade graduation present was a sewing machine and a silver thimble.

Q: Is there available a complete index of your shows?
AA: Yes, on my website: www.alexandersonquilts.com. Go into the TV show area and there is a special link.

Q: What is a good book for beginners?
AA: Mine! LOL... It is written for those with zero knowledge of quilting. If the person has a little knowledge, check out Quilts, Quilts, Quilts, or Fonns n' Porter's book.

Q: Heard about your partnership with Bernina at Bernina Club the other day. What are you going to be doing for them? Did you get to play with the new machine?
AA: I'm not quite sure what I'm going to be doing with them, but I bet you've seen the ad. And YES I have played on the new machine--in fact, next week, I get to really hang out with it for a while. I'm very excited.

Q: I am considering buying a sewing machine that is for quilting. Are they better than regular machines? My current machine is very nice and does a good job.
AA: The thing about buying a machine is that it is like buying a car. What works for me may not work for you. For instance, my minivan days are over. Find yourself a REPUTABLE dealer, and then go test drive. A sewing machine is a sewing machine--the more expensive, the more bells and whistles. Assess your needs and then you can make a decision.

Q: Where can I find the 'postcard ruler' used on today's show?
AA: Call up the Cotton Patch at 925-284-1177. Ask for Sherri, and she will take care of you. She'll be back on Monday (she's at a seminar right now). It's called The Add-A-Quarter Ruler.

Q: I learned to press my 1/4 seams to the side, but I find that I have better accuracy if I press seams open. Do you press seams to side or open and can you explain why my accuracy is greater with open seams?
AA: That's interesting because typically I have better luck when it is pressed to one side because the seams can go in opposite directions, and the intersections can but nicely together. I press open when six or more seams converge in one area. But, hey, do what works for you.

Q: How do I find N. R. Callaham who was on your June 4 show? I would like a pattern of his applique quilt he showed at that time.
AA: Go to the hgtv.com site find Simply Quilts page and type in Robert Callaham. or show number: QLT 445. His work is awesome.

Q: Is there a chance you could do a show on the quilt as you go method, where you piece and quilt each block and then sew them all together at the end? Thanks.
AA: This next season we did a show called Divide and Conquer, and it is an adaptation of it. I think you will like it.

Q: Can you tell me what color experts mean when they say to add mud to a quilt? Are they talking about dull colors, browns, or something else?
AA: Well, that's a new one... I hope they don't mean the dirt in your garden! LOL! My quilts are really bright, and I've never heard that expression before. Very interesting. My guess is that they are talking browns.

Q: What is easiest way to learn values?
AA: I had such a hard time with that when I started quilting, so I appreciate your question. Here's a game for you to play: Go to your stash of fabric, pick up two pieces of fabric (then forget about color). Hold them together and decide which is lighter and which is darker. Value is determined by what fabric the other fabric is placed next to. It's a relationship thing. A great tool on the market is a ruby beholder (simply see-through red plastic). It can help you determine what is light and what is dark just by holding it to the fabric and looking through it.

Q: Alex, when are you going to have new shows airing?
AA: My guess is the beginning of October. It's that summer repeat thing--sorry...LOL.

Q: Can you explain how to finish a quilt?
AA: Unfortunately, in this forum--you are basically talking about a 47 page book. We try to hit all the different facets of quilting on the show, so with patience everything is all there on Simply Quilts.

Q: Hi, Alex! Are you going to be at Fort Washington, Penn. in Sept. 12-15 2002?
AA: My next two gigs are at the Marin Quilt show in California on Labor Day weekend, and then Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane.

Q: What is paper piecing a quilt?
AA: It is using printed patterns on paper as a foundation to sew on. It helps with intricate piecing and weirdo shapes.

Q: I have many scraps of material. What can be done with them and what size should be thrown away?
AA: Everybody has their own rules of conduct, so you have to decide what is worth your while of saving. You might try storing them in boxes labeled "sizes". I will say this, we are doing a show next season on working with 5-inch squares of fabric. So you never know.

Q: Hi Alex! How do you name your quilts? I seem to get stumped on naming my quilts--any tips or hints? Thanks.
AA: Because I work traditionally a lot of them I identify with the block name. But get this: next season, we did a field piece on a woman who numbers her quilts. That'd make life simple, wouldn't it? I can't even remember my kid's names, at times, LOL...

Q: Alex how many months do you tape the shows?
AA: It depends on how many HGTV orders. This year, we did 39 in 10 days--yikes! It scares me just thinking about it.

Q: You hosted a quilt artist who displayed fabric that graduated color from dark to almost white. Do you know what line of fabric that was?
AA: I don't remember, but by the time the show airs, you can bet the fabric is no longer available...especially when we are into summer repeats.

Q: I know you quilt by hand, but how do you mark your quilt for quilting? Do you use pencils, marking pens, stencils, etc. Please be as specific as possible. This is the spot where I get stumped the most.
AA: This is actually what my next book is about. I use a silver Verithin pencil. I create my own patterns. It is incredibly important to pay attention to how others handle the quilting designs on their quilt. My greatest teachers are the quilts of the Amish. I study and pour over these designs and imagine what the quiltmaker was thinking when she decided to mark. It is a difficult area for many people. And hopefully this book will help. I don't feel comfortable plugging, actually, but watch for it next spring.

Q: Hi Alex--How do you hang the antique quilts brought by guests to the set--surely they do not have a sleeve on the back?
AA: The prop guys went to Ikea and bought rings with little pinchy ends on them...probably curtain ring holders. Shower curtain holders. And they slipped them over dowels. This system seems to work quite nicely. Actually, this next season, I address this question.

Q: Alex, thanks so much for exposing me to Jean Wells and the Sisters Quilt Show. This summer I went with a busload of other quilters to visit the show and the area. What a wonderful experience! And thanks go to you!
AA: Well, thanks goes to Jean Wells for hosting this event for over 25 years! Just imagine this: from a few dozen quilts in the beginning to over 1000. WOW. What an accomplishment! Glad you enjoyed it.

Q: Did you get to the Nashville AQS show this past week? I saw Mr. Flynn demoing.
AA: I love John Flynn! He's such a great guy. And no, I didn't get to go. :^(

Q: Hi from Sacramento Alex--just wanted to tell you what an inspiration you have been for me. My quilts are very much improved since watching your show.
AA: Thank you, and I must confess, the show has been an influence on me, too. The thanks go to all the wonderful guests that are willing to travel from all over the world to visit and show us their wonderful things.

Q: Love your show! I have been given 50 or so quilt blocks by my mother-in-law that her mother and grandmother did. They are butterflies made with seed sack fabrics and embroidered around the edges and body lines. I wonder is I can quilt one or several of my 50 antique butterfly blocks at a time instead of as a large quilt. I would like to do it myself by machine, outlining the butterflies, instead of sending it out to someone that could quilt over the entire design.
AA: We did a show on this Butterfly Quilts from the Depression with a woman named Beverly Donovan a few years ago. These quilts symbolized hope during difficult times. I am going to say something, and I want you to know it is coming from the kindest place in my heart: If it were my grandmother's blocks, I would want to finish them in the manner they would have been finished in her time frame. Yes. You can do block at a time--the technique is called Quilt-as-you-go. But I would be troubled that you are compromising the original intent of the maker. So I would think twice about this, and maybe even a third time. I hope I haven't hurt your feelings--I just want you to think about it and not rush into it.

Q: Alex, I'm making a remembrance quilt for 9-11. It is the envelope quilt. Do you have any suggestions of where to send it when I'm finished?
AA: Well, I know for a fact that the Pentagon is gathering a nice collection. You might want it to be included there. I would have never thought to make the envelope quilt for 9-11--but it is perfect. Because think of all the things you could put into each envelope. Email me through my website and let me know what you decide: www.alexandersonquilts.com. June Forte is gathering these quilts and is incredibly respectful and understands the significance and value of these quilts.

HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thanks for sending us such great questions today. And thank you, Alex, for joining us this afternoon.

Alex Anderson: Thanks everyone for hanging out! The questions today were excellent. Thank you, thank you, thank you.