Make a Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern, by Eleanor Burns, was the first quilt book I purchased, and the Log Cabin pattern as demonstrated in that book was used in the first 12 quilts I made. I followed her instructions precisely, and appreciated her invaluable tips and great pictures. The next book by Eleanor I bought was Underground Railroad Sampler, followed by Still Stripping After 25 Years, then Quick Trip Quilts, It's "El"ementary: Quilting Tips and Techniques and, finally, The … [Read more...] about Quilt in a Day
Tips
Machine quilting with Walking Foot
There is so much quilting one can do with the walking foot. Look at the table runner to the right. I could have opted for an edge-to-edge quilting motif and used the Stitch Regulator from Bernina (I work with it all the time!) to quilt it with. However, the pattern landed itself to SITD with the walking foot quite nicely, and the results were great - as you can tell from the back of the runner. Just remember to always have monofilament as top thread when stitching in the ditch, so if you go off … [Read more...] about Machine quilting with Walking Foot
Showcasing inspiration fabrics
If you have a fabric you really love but do not want to use it in a complicated pattern where its beauty may be overshadowed by other fabrics, or its motif cut into small pieces, try the pattern I used on the quilt pictured here. Simple rectangles surrounded by alternating borders, with the inspiration fabric used as border also. I wasted a bit of fabric when I was fussy cutting the borders as I wanted to show the beautiful teal leaves. I did not heavily quilt it, resulting in a much softer lap … [Read more...] about Showcasing inspiration fabrics
Surgical tweezers in my studio?
Well... who knew? Another tool I cannot live without is a stainless steel pointy tweezer. It offers great help when I can't pull pieces of threads from quilts, if I must pull stray pieces of thread from my sewing machine, or to remove paper from seams. I even use them to grab my sewing machine needles when I can't pick them up with my nails. Handy!!! … [Read more...] about Surgical tweezers in my studio?
What is a bodkin?
A bodkin is a tool I cannot live without in my studio! It is perfect for smoothing out the corners of anything you sew and need to turn inside out, as one of its end has a ball and the other is straight. I use it with applique pieces which have been sewn to Pellon fusible interface, when making stuffed animals, etc. The other day, my son Ryan came to my sewing room, and as he was talking with me, and absentmindedly, he picked up my bodkin and proceeded to bend it (remember Uri Geller?). I could … [Read more...] about What is a bodkin?
Pinning a seam
I am working on my flannel quilt (Woolies). Since it is flannel, most of the seams are pressed open as it will reduce the bulk at quilting time. Below is a picture of how I ensure the seams align. Pin diagonally from the left side of the seam to the right, then pin straight on the right side, so the fabric won't move as you sew. Use thin quilting pins which won't break the needle as you sew over them. Remove pins only after you have sewn the seam. It works (almost) every time! Do the same for … [Read more...] about Pinning a seam