Things to come and another something for nothing quilting

I'm working on several new projects.
I have been wanting to start an internet business for a couple of years now. I've racked my brain as to how I can do this and until lately, NOTHING has presented itself as the solution to my quest.

Lately, things seem to be coming together on this point. I'm working for a friend whom owns an internet business, doing her data entry. So I'm learning a lot about how the data is stored and used on the website and what programs she uses to make it happen. I've acquired a CD on how to start an internet business. Then this past week, my daughter found Virtual University. We both signed up for courses. You may take up to 3 courses for $18 - total! Few of the classes require buying a textbook. Almost everything is on line.

I'm taking HTML - used to construct web pages (free to use); Perl - a language used to create hit counters and other little programs (free to use); and Corel's Paint Shop Pro - I'm learning how to use this program (that some one gave me!) to work with integrating pictures, graphics and text. I also am in contact with someone whom mentors people starting new internet businesses - the author of the CD.

Hopefully, these tools and resources are building within me the skills I'll need to finally get a business launched.

When I posted last, I forgot another great way to get a quilt. It's a rather old fashioned way. I've seen quilts that were just large remnants of fabric that were sewn together for the top and sometimes the bottom. You know all those pieces of cloth that you bought to make whatever (and now you don't even remember what it was you were going to do with it)? This is a great way to use them. You don't need to bother to cut them into smaller pieces. Just use several pieces to make the top as large as you want it.

I had a friend who was quite poor and she wanted to give me something for a wedding present. She didn't have any money, but she had access to large squares of cloth (about 36"x36") that were being thrown away. So she hand-stitched these pieces of fabric together and made me a quilt top. She told me that to finish it, I could take an old sheet and use it for the back. I could either not use anything for the batting or to take an old blanket (or several old receiving blankets) and use that for the batting. Then I was to lay the fabric either on my bed or on the floor and roll the edges towards the middle, until I had a small square left open, with all the edges rolled towards it. I could then start in the center and make a small stitch there. Then go outward making small stitches in the corners near the rolled edges - about every 4". Then I could unroll the edges once and stitch where I had just unrolled. Keep doing that until I got to
about 2" from the edge. I could then either fold the bottom edge over the top, tucking the raw edge of the bottom piece inside about 1/2" - 3/4" as I sewed. That makes it so that the bottom piece of fabric will show on the top side and it will have a finished edge. I could also fold all the raw edges to the inside and sew the edge closed, making sure I had folded the material inward by 1/2"-3/4" so that I could make a smooth edge on all 3 layers. I would be looking at a seam that when you looked at it sideways, all three layers would be showing a little. Or I could have used bias binding, in which case, the binding would be showing on top and bottom.

To do this on a machine, I would roll up my edges until I had about an 8" square. Then I would use a safety pin or spring-type clothes pin to hold my edges rolled. I'd slide one edge under the foot and sew the center of the square in what ever design I'd like - or I could just tack it like I would be doing if I hand sewed it. When the center part was sewn, I'd unroll each side one time, re-pin or clip it to keep the rest of that roll tight and sew that larger square. Keep doing this until you get 2" from the edge. Finish as above.

Either way, you have something useful for nothing.