To Buy or Not to Buy Since I began quilting as a serious hobby I have had many people ask me if I own a long arm quilting machine. When I answer “no”, they seem surprised and often reply with comments such as, “Don’t you need a long arm to quilt?” Or. “I thought every …
Moving Past the Square As a beginning – intermediate quilter, each day I am more appreciative of the time saving value precut fabrics have to offer. Sewing together 5″ squares is quick and easy but there are times when you want to create a pattern with more variety and visual interest and yet not …
Fibers to Fabric Fabric…my favorite “F” word and one of my favorite things in the world. Should a situation occur that requires the rate of my heart to beat faster all I have to do is walk into a fabric shop! It may even skip a beat or two but there would be nothing to …
Is It Cat Friendly? Answer: That really shouldn’t be a consideration but for cat lovers out there, I’m throwing in this one for free! For the rest of us… Each year the heads of sewing machine industry gather around a large table putting their heads together to generate strategies to lure every …
What? Make a log cabin quilt block in just 10 easy steps? Why not? If you have been following along, in previous posts where I concentrated on the very basics of cutting and sewing fabric and discussed the benefits of using pre-cuts as a quick and easy way to learn how to piece together your …
What do quilting and social media have to do with each other? This is no doubt a question you didn’t know needed to be answered until it was asked. The answer has to do with productivity, time management and automation – concepts common in both elements – quilting and managing / leveraging social media. It …
To the Summit and Beyond The past weeks have been a series of many starts and stops. Like climbing a mountain – taking a break now and then to survey the landscape, catch my breath, plan my next move then climb some more. Reaching the mountain’s summit and feeling like the descent back …
I’m going to continue to use my Woodland Critters Baby Quilt to demonstrate the necessity of using a design wall with all – or at least most – of your quilting projects. Right now, I have each of the 12 blocks and bazillion pieces for sashing in place, in sequential order and ready for …
It’s Critter Time! Finally, things are beginning to come together – on all levels. I have finished the applique process for all six “Critters” and here is what they look like up on my design wall each patiently waiting to be squared into 10″ blocks. You can review my applique process here or use Erin’s …
And Do I Need One? In my last post I discussed my “Dream Quilting / Sewing machine” and thought I had covered all its positive elements and functions. However, I did omit one important item – the thread holder. The Juki TL2000Qi is designed to hold the larger spools and cones of thread …
