Soon we who live south of the Canadian  border will begin to think of our own Thanksgiving celebration, which takes place on the fourth Thursday in November. This is  a beautiful time of the year to celebrate the historic 1621 autumnal harvest feast with the Wampanoag Indians and the colonists of Plymouth sharing food and giving thanks for those who had survived  the harsh living conditions in their new colony. It was definitely  a time for abundant thanks.

Although we celebrate Thanksgiving in remembrance of the Pilgrims and their small colony, our country’s annual celebration did not begin until our country was in another crucial period of time—–the Civil War. In 1863 with our country in crisis, President Lincoln proclaimed a day of national thanksgiving take place each year in November. It was our 16th president, then, who brought us our traditional Thanksgiving holiday. We earnestly hope your Thanksgiving will be a time of thanks for all that is most precious and important to you.

We Give Thanks pattern

Because we love Thanksgiving, we hunted for a Thanksgiving pattern to bring you.  We found a perfect pattern created by one of our favorite applique artists, Charlotte Warr Andersen. (If you have an   opportunity to take a workshop from her, do so. You will learn a lot!)

Charlotte Warr Anderson designed this classic Thanksgiving quilt many years ago. We so loved it here at JWD Publishing that we asked Charlotte if we could put it into a pattern. She happily agreed.  Charlotte’s Thanksgiving quilt is called  We Give Thanks

We Give Thanks is a full size pattern. We think the pattern is superb and we love this quilt.  We hope you do too. This pattern is designed for machine applique.  If you are a hand appliquer, you can make this quilt by adding seam allowances and reverse the applique pieces.

For further information about this pattern, go to the We Give Thanks page. If you are a shop owner and you would like to order this quilt for your customers, contact us.  If you are a quilter who is unable to purchase this quilt from your local quilt store, you can purchase this pattern online by going to the We Give Thanks page.

Enjoy creating this quilt!

If you call the Steady Betty company, you will be greeted with a warm friendly hello from Kathy Purdy, owner of Steady Betty. Her company is located in Texas, so she has that wonderful Texan accent. She is very passionate about her Steady Betty products. Kathy gave me detailed information about all of them, which I will share with you over the next few weeks. From what I understand the first product came out about four years ago. That was The Steady Betty Board. Let’s start there.

What is The Steady Betty Board? That is what I first asked Kathy. Here’s her answer: It is a board that is covered with a special material that gently holds fabric in place, making perfectly pressed seams. This board keeps fabric from distorting or stretching. It is especially great for bias edges or bias bindings too.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the Steady Betty Board has a cool-to-the touch surface. For example, if you were making the string of lights on Alex Anderson’s Holiday Lights quilt, your fingers would not get burned, as you pressed these appliquéd pieces. This board does get warm, but your fabric doesn’t get hot and difficult to work with or touch.

The Steady Betty Board would work perfectly with these appliqued tree lights from Alex Anderson’s Holiday Lights quilt. Alex would love this board for her applique pressing—-well, the pieced tree-pressing too.

When I first saw the board, I didn’t think it would work—- but let me tell you it does everything it claims to do. I love it!! The Steady Betty Board comes in three sizes.

Now I know you are wondering the same thing I wondered when I spoke to Kathy.  If her name is Kathy, why isn’t this board named after her? Well, you’re going to have to check back next time I feature one of Kathy’s products to learn the answer.

Until then, happy quilting!

Teresa

Congratulations, Camilla. Your appliqué is superb!