As you can tell by the title of this post that we have been battling sickness. Thankfully they have been of the short-lived variety. However they involve small children and massive amounts of time in the bathroom. The real downside was that it hit our household twice. Blech.
So with that being said, today's tip is to wash your hands often. It will help you to avoid illnesses and that leaves more time for quilting. Since you will be washing your hands often you may want to invest in a good moisturizer or a good moisturizing soap. Having a good moisturizer in your sewing area would be a good idea though. That way you can keep your hands nice and smooth and feeling good. Plus you get a little bit of a hand massage when applying and that can only help with keeping our fingers limber and from getting sore. I know it seems strange, but after having a job where I worked with lots of paper I noticed that my hands would be come drier and drier from handling all that paper. That has encouraged me to always be on the look out for good lotions and to avoid overuse of hand sanitizers containing alcohol as they will also dry out your hands. After all we really count on our hands to do a multitude of things, especially with our quilting. We need to take good care of them so we can enjoy many more years of quilting!
Hope everyone out there is avoiding being sick, but be sure to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest anyway.
Happy Quilting!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Will we ever really feel like spring is here?
I'm seriously beginning to wonder. We had snow yesterday. Seriously, we had SNOW! It is April and it snowed. Okay, so there wasn't even enough to cover the ground but still it was falling from the sky. I wonder if it will ever really feel like spring. Of course when the heat of summer arrives I'll be wishing for some of that snow we had yesterday....
I think what I am missing most about not feeling like spring is here, is that we seem to shed in spring. Our bulky clothes go away and can outfit ourselves in less layers that are thinner. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels a little bulky during the winter months with t-shirts and sweatshirts and coats and scarves and gloves. It almost feels like going down a size when the nice weather arrives and we can go without most of those things. Maybe you feel the same way.
This week's tip has to do with selvage. Perhaps this is something that you already know. On our selvage we often see colored dots. The more colors in our fabric the more dots on our selvage. Those dots tell us what colors are in our fabric. So, as we are out and about we can take the selvage strip with us so we can match color. Sometimes that's a little easier than carrying around snippets of fabric. You can simply tie it around your wrist while on a shop hop and have easy access to what colors you might be looking for with regards to a particular project.
Some quilters prefer to take a snippet of fabric with them while shopping. You certainly can and there are all kinds of creative ways to do so. A binder with page protectors to house the pattern and snips of the fabrics you have for that project. Perhaps you staple those snips to a piece of paper and put that into a page protector. Maybe you are a cross-stitcher or embroidery queen and have those little baggies holes that fit onto a ring. You can certainly carry snips of your fabrics in those as you shop around for that oh-so-right fabric that you are missing. Perhaps you have your own system that you use while shopping for fabrics that will finish out what you need for a particular project. Please share! It's always interesting to see what others are doing too! You just may inspire someone else.
Happy Quilting!
I think what I am missing most about not feeling like spring is here, is that we seem to shed in spring. Our bulky clothes go away and can outfit ourselves in less layers that are thinner. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels a little bulky during the winter months with t-shirts and sweatshirts and coats and scarves and gloves. It almost feels like going down a size when the nice weather arrives and we can go without most of those things. Maybe you feel the same way.
This week's tip has to do with selvage. Perhaps this is something that you already know. On our selvage we often see colored dots. The more colors in our fabric the more dots on our selvage. Those dots tell us what colors are in our fabric. So, as we are out and about we can take the selvage strip with us so we can match color. Sometimes that's a little easier than carrying around snippets of fabric. You can simply tie it around your wrist while on a shop hop and have easy access to what colors you might be looking for with regards to a particular project.
Some quilters prefer to take a snippet of fabric with them while shopping. You certainly can and there are all kinds of creative ways to do so. A binder with page protectors to house the pattern and snips of the fabrics you have for that project. Perhaps you staple those snips to a piece of paper and put that into a page protector. Maybe you are a cross-stitcher or embroidery queen and have those little baggies holes that fit onto a ring. You can certainly carry snips of your fabrics in those as you shop around for that oh-so-right fabric that you are missing. Perhaps you have your own system that you use while shopping for fabrics that will finish out what you need for a particular project. Please share! It's always interesting to see what others are doing too! You just may inspire someone else.
Happy Quilting!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
It's almost tax day.
And boy will we be glad that is all over with for this year. It's always so stressful - although I am glad that there are tax professionals who are able to handle such things for us. Once the 15th passes I'm sure we can all breathe a sigh of relief and really welcome spring with open arms!
Perhaps you have already welcomed spring with open arms in the form of bright colors from your stash or maybe you have even had a chance to get out to your local quilt shops to see what luscious offerings they have available with new spring lines.
Having a quilt tip each week sounds like a good idea. After all, this hobby of quilting seems to change so fast. There are always new ways of doing things. Some work well for us and some don't but there is always something new to try.
This week's tip is about piecing thread. Sometimes we see thread on sale and pick it up because, it's just thread. However, just like in fabric quality can make a big difference in our finished product. Have you noticed that often times a pattern will call for a scant quarter inch? That's because our thread takes up space in our seams. If we are using a thicker thread it will take up more space. It may not seem like much, but this will add up considering this would be every seam in out entire quilt top. What does that mean? It means you might to think about what thread you are using when it's time to buy a new cone or spool. Is there any one thread that is better than another? Sure, there are some brands that are better than others, but there are lots of good ones so it comes down to a matter of personal preference. If you are concerned about that quarter inch seam, you will want to think about the weight of the thread you are using - thread is gauged like wire. The larger the number, the thinner it is. Do I have a personal preference? Of course I do. Mine is for Superior brand thread in either Masterpiece (which is a 50 weight thread) or Bottom Line (which is a 60 weight thread). For me, they both work wonderfully. Of course you will have your own favorite, and I don't want to tell you that it is not a good one. Only to suggest that thread isn't just thread. It is something that can have a big impact on your finished quilt.
Perhaps you have already welcomed spring with open arms in the form of bright colors from your stash or maybe you have even had a chance to get out to your local quilt shops to see what luscious offerings they have available with new spring lines.
Having a quilt tip each week sounds like a good idea. After all, this hobby of quilting seems to change so fast. There are always new ways of doing things. Some work well for us and some don't but there is always something new to try.
This week's tip is about piecing thread. Sometimes we see thread on sale and pick it up because, it's just thread. However, just like in fabric quality can make a big difference in our finished product. Have you noticed that often times a pattern will call for a scant quarter inch? That's because our thread takes up space in our seams. If we are using a thicker thread it will take up more space. It may not seem like much, but this will add up considering this would be every seam in out entire quilt top. What does that mean? It means you might to think about what thread you are using when it's time to buy a new cone or spool. Is there any one thread that is better than another? Sure, there are some brands that are better than others, but there are lots of good ones so it comes down to a matter of personal preference. If you are concerned about that quarter inch seam, you will want to think about the weight of the thread you are using - thread is gauged like wire. The larger the number, the thinner it is. Do I have a personal preference? Of course I do. Mine is for Superior brand thread in either Masterpiece (which is a 50 weight thread) or Bottom Line (which is a 60 weight thread). For me, they both work wonderfully. Of course you will have your own favorite, and I don't want to tell you that it is not a good one. Only to suggest that thread isn't just thread. It is something that can have a big impact on your finished quilt.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Spring has Sprung!
I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I think Spring has finally arrived! Although I will retract that if we happen to get more snow. (I know, bite my tongue!)
Has spring inspired you to dig into your stash for brighter colors or for a particular project? With our newest little man, it is hard to find time for sewing right now, but hopefully soon we will have a better routine down and I can get back into my sewing room. So, for now I will have to live vicariously through you! Share your photos! We love show and tell here.
Hopefully you will all be finding some time to get outside to enjoy the much needed sunshine.
Today, we are going to leave a little quilting tip. When sewing a sew and flip block, there are a couple of ways to do your trimming. You probably don't want to leave all 3 layers of fabric there as that creates some bulk that may cause some issues when it comes to quilting time. If you are a scrap collector, you can sew another seam 1/2" from your original seam (towards the outside of your original seam and before flipping). Then you can trim between the seam lines and have a 1/2 square triangle all ready to go in another project. If you don't have a 1/2" between but still want to do this, you can cheat your seam allowance however much you feel comfortable.
Or, you can cut out only the middle fabric after flipping. This leaves your base fabric (or the larger piece you sewed onto) completely intact. The benefits of this is that with your base fabric still intact you will still have the original size that you are sewing/flipping onto and helps minimize any error from sewing or fabric stretching as you do your sew and flip. Plus it leaves a nice crisp corner for you to work off of.
I'm going to give credit for the second half of this little tip to Billie Lauder (who has a wonderful little book called "Quick Quilt Tricks" which you can find here) as I believe that is where I learned it.
Hopefully you learned something new! Happy Quilting!
Has spring inspired you to dig into your stash for brighter colors or for a particular project? With our newest little man, it is hard to find time for sewing right now, but hopefully soon we will have a better routine down and I can get back into my sewing room. So, for now I will have to live vicariously through you! Share your photos! We love show and tell here.
Hopefully you will all be finding some time to get outside to enjoy the much needed sunshine.
Today, we are going to leave a little quilting tip. When sewing a sew and flip block, there are a couple of ways to do your trimming. You probably don't want to leave all 3 layers of fabric there as that creates some bulk that may cause some issues when it comes to quilting time. If you are a scrap collector, you can sew another seam 1/2" from your original seam (towards the outside of your original seam and before flipping). Then you can trim between the seam lines and have a 1/2 square triangle all ready to go in another project. If you don't have a 1/2" between but still want to do this, you can cheat your seam allowance however much you feel comfortable.
Or, you can cut out only the middle fabric after flipping. This leaves your base fabric (or the larger piece you sewed onto) completely intact. The benefits of this is that with your base fabric still intact you will still have the original size that you are sewing/flipping onto and helps minimize any error from sewing or fabric stretching as you do your sew and flip. Plus it leaves a nice crisp corner for you to work off of.
I'm going to give credit for the second half of this little tip to Billie Lauder (who has a wonderful little book called "Quick Quilt Tricks" which you can find here) as I believe that is where I learned it.
Hopefully you learned something new! Happy Quilting!
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