by lsmith | Sep 3, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Planning for a Project Ever get to the middle of project and realize you don’t have something you need? For example, you are making dinner when you discover you are missing a key ingredient. Or you are helping your partner with a home improvement project only to...
by lsmith | Sep 2, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Every machine quilter’s worst nightmare is to be in the midst of a project and their machine malfunctions. That nightmare was a reality for me a few weeks ago. I was cruising along, strip piecing a quilt, when my machine just stopped. I pulled it apart, turned...
by lsmith | Sep 1, 2019 | Quilting Tips
A new pattern and lovely fabrics always excites me – so much that I am tempted to skip the essential preparation steps. Skipping preparation can definitely affect your project. These simple steps when done routinely, can improve your project quality and minimize...
by lsmith | Aug 12, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Christmas Quilt Square This morning, I had a wonderful surprise in my email – one of my patterns was published in the EQ Newsletter – August 2019 Mid-month Update. Each month, Electric Quilt publishes Behind the Mouse, the Electric Quilt Blog. In that...
by lsmith | Aug 8, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Ironing Pressing Have you every followed a quilt instruction that says to press your seams open for a half square triangle? If you were anything like me, you would pull out your steam iron, put it on the open seam, and run it up and down the length of the seam to make...
by lsmith | Aug 7, 2019 | Quilting Tips
There is a great debate amongst quilters – should I or shouldn’t I wash my fabrics before quilting? My answer is that it depends. I have a series of questions that may help you decide for yourself if the fabrics for your project should be washed before...
by lsmith | Jul 30, 2019 | Quilting Tips
With all of the projects I have on my plate, why would I attend a quilt show? I could spend that time and money toward finishing some of those projects… Quilt shows can provide inspiration, education and deals if you know where to find them. Well, this weekend,...
by lsmith | Jul 26, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Have you ever read a pattern or visited a website and they mention precuts? Have you ever wondered what precuts are? Precuts are usually sets of fabric pieces assembled by the manufacturer, although shops may package their own as well. Precuts aren’t really kits...
by lsmith | Jul 25, 2019 | Quilting Tips
My mom always told me that you could tell the quality of a fabric by the feel. She used to walk through the fabric stores running her fingers across the bolts. When she came to one that felt good, she would decide if she liked how it looked. Most people look first...
by lsmith | Jul 23, 2019 | Quilting Tips
Ever have one of those days when nothing seems or seams to be going right? Today is one of those days. It was supposed to be a simple day – piece a backing and load the quilt onto my longarm. Piecing should have taken me about 10 minutes to sew to pieces of...
