This is the last blog post for 2018. I have had one goal with this year’s theme Quilt with Excellence: Go back over the quilting basics and hone in on those skills. As any coach (athletic, academic, or art) will tell you, repeating the basics, practicing the fundamentals over and over again is really what […]
If you’re a devoted Disney fan and have had the opportunity to go to one of the Disney parks, you may be aware of a little game that visitors can play called “Hidden Mickeys.” Scattered throughout the parks are various Mickey Mouse logos. They can be hidden in tile work, stones, art work, or even […]
Besides the double-fold binding, there are four other binding options available for non-art quilts. Those are the knife-edge finish, prairie points, single-fold binding, and bias binding. We’re going to take a look at all three, the pros and cons of each, and when you may want to think about using them on your quilt. Knife-Edge […]
One of the last details sewn onto a quilt is the binding. Loosely defined, “binding a quilt” is any method the quilter uses to encase all three edges of the quilt top, batting, and backing. In most circumstances, this refers to the narrow strips of fabric that are used as binding, but there are other […]
Still talking about bias tape this week. However, I promise this is my last words on the subject. Another bias tape tool that I really like is bias bars. These come in varying sizes. Some are made of metal and some are made of heat resistant plastic. The bars usually come in sizes 1/8 inches, […]
At some point in your quilting experience, you may have to deal with bias tape — especially if you like to applique. Stems and vines are generally constructed out of some type of bias tape. For those that like to make Baltimore Album quilts, I’ve seen tiny, tiny bias tape used as rigging on boats. […]
This week we’re continuing our discussion on fabric, and now I would like to discuss fabric value with you. There are a couple of ways fabric value can be defined. The first definition, and honestly this was probably the one that immediately popped into you head, is money – the value of your fabric. This […]
Today we’re talking everyone’s favorite topic…fabric. I’ve written some pretty exhaustive blogs on fabric…whether or not to prewash it, how to chose it, where to buy it. In short, this “Material Girl” has hit the inventory at the LQS, Big Box Store, and On-line Shops pretty hard and in much detail. However, since this is […]
Do you press, or do you iron your seams? I know I’ve covered this topic before. We discussed it a few years ago, but that was on an old Blog Spot. Since we’re hitting the basics really hard this year, I feel like we need to re-visit pressing and ironing, since the difference between the […]
We’ve covered a lot of quilting ground this year. By now, I hope you’re changing up quilt patterns to suit your tastes or better yet, designing your own quilts. You’re fearlessly “mathing” the borders and setting triangles and doing all kinds of things that six months ago you never dreamed of. I can imagine quite […]