Category: Tips and Tricks

General Tips and Tricks for Quilting

Calculating Binding and Backing Materials

You just finished a quilt top and are elated! Then, you realize you need to find a backing material because it didn’t come with the kit you bought. Then, you have to bind it…. Shopping for the material will be fun if you don’t have enough in your stash. Then, again maybe you do but […]

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Listen to Your Machine

How often do you listen to your sewing machine? I know many of us talk to our sewing machines (or curse at them), but we don’t expect them to talk back. Machines are getting smarter, but hopefully they aren’t that smart. Regardless of whether you talk to your machine or not, it can tell you […]

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Face Mask Update

In the past few weeks, we have made and distributed over 400 masks in eight states. A good portion of these have been donated to senior centers, church groups and medical offices. We are still making masks when we receive a request. Many of these requests come from friends and neighbors. For those still making […]

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Making Masks – by A Safety Professional and Quilter

Right now, my husband and I are supposed to be on a lovely river cruise in Europe…. However, we made the right call to stay home instead. The cruise will wait until this is over and it is safe. To stay safe, I have spent the last few days making several dozen face masks. I […]

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2, 4, 6, 8 – Half Square Triangles (HST)

Have you ever had a pattern that requires multiple half square triangles (HST) with the same two fabrics? When I first started quilting, I would actually use templates and cut each triangle and sew them together with limited success. Why did I have limited success? Any time you cut fabric on the bias, not parallel […]

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Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend – Sometimes

Working on a diamond background for a wall hanging, I discovered a few tricks that make these diamonds a bit easier to cut and piece so the points match beautifully. First, I sewed either two or four strips together in the order needed. When sewing them together, I offset each strip by about an inch […]

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Thread Dilemma

Have you ever started quilting and noticed these ugly dark shadows under you light fabric. They are usually threads that naturally fray after cutting and sewing, but when they find their way under your nice light colored fabric, they can mar all of your hard work on a quilt. So how do you deal with […]

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