Instead of a Monday fabric post (sorry!) I'm sharing a starch recipe today. I shared this on Instagram this past weekend: I'm working along, making a bazillion flying geese for my next Little Miss Sawtooth quilt, when in the middle of things I run out of starch (I always buy the cheap kind from the grocery store). Making flying geese or any triangle piece of patchwork without starch is a ...
quilt makers toolkit
Getting to Know Havel’s Sewing
Today was scheduled to be about scissors from Havel’s Sewing, but I’m changing things up a bit and making this post more about getting to know Havel’s a bit better. As you may know, I am a Havel’s ambassador and have been since early this year. Here and there I’ve been trying out their products and writing about them. Other Havel's Posts I've Written: How to use the Snip a ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – The Topstitch Needle for Quilters and Tips for Solving Your Frustrations
I don't know about you, but there are times when I think my machine is a janky tyrant out to make my life so much harder than it could be. We go through the steps: re-thread, change the needle, clean the bobbin, maybe oil the machine, and still it doesn't want to work correctly. You get mad, bad words spill from your mouth and eventually your crying with tears spilling on your precious ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – The Bottom Line + MicroQuilter Threads by Superior Threads + King Fisher Stitch-Along + a GIVEAWAY
Hiya, quilty peoples! As you know Rachel from Stitched in Color has been hosting a stitch along for everyone to learn English paper piecing and make a GORGEOUS quilt called "Kingfisher" that she and Jodi designed. I spoke about this last month in this article. A couple of weeks ago, she asked me if I would try stitching with some threads that she is using and post my thoughts on them, so ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – Havel’s Ruler Cutter – video tutorial
Hiya! Today I'm doing a sponsored post on a product that I'm newly in love with from Havel's Sewing. It's their ruler cutter! Find it in their shop here. I've got a video tutorial for you to watch me use this gadget. Don't mind the fact that the whole time in my video I'm calling this a rotary cutter and am tongue tied every time I ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – Thread for Quilt Makers
A couple of weeks ago I asked you about thread. You responded in an incredibly helpful way. You mentioned threads I'd never tried before and I feel like I learned an incredible amount. I browsed websites, learned about using particular needles with certain thread weights, and I'm feeling something of a thread obsessed chicky now. It'd be impossible to know everything, but I have definitely ...
Testing Threads + Your Thoughts
Hey sweet friends! I've been quiet this week, I know. I've been battling un-inspiration. That may not be a word, but it's definitely a thing. I have felt zero desire to sit at my machine and get my quilts completed. Instead I've been sitting in different places, like my sofa, my front porch swing and my lounge chairs out back. I've been dragging around an old completely handmade quilt and ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – Havel’s Snip-a-Stitch Seam Ripper ( video tutorial ) + How to use a seam ripper
Hello, lovelies! I hope you are having a wonderful day. We've got sunny skies and warmer weather here, so I've been doing lots of porch sitting and slow stitching. It's been nice. Today I'm talking to you about seam ripping. Ugh. Yes, I know. Seam ripping was always going to be doomed to be something you hate doing. I mean if you are doing it, it means you have made a mistake or done ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – Havel’s Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat ( product review ) (sponsored post)
I was planning on writing a post about the cutting mats I use since I feel they are so very important to the exactness of cutting fabric. I was going to tell you that I have two cutting mats: a huge one that measures 36x59" and sits across our old dining room table that I claimed years ago and moved down to my studio for the sole purpose of a cutting table, plus a very small one that measures ...
The Quilt Maker’s Toolkit – my favorite batting – The Warm Company
There are so many of us quilt makers that have strong feelings about our batting and I am no different. I have tried several different kinds of batting. There was just something about them that wasn't exactly what I needed. Once I found The Warm Company's batting, I quit searching. This is the only batting I use and I'm going to tell you why. As you know, I wall baste all of my quilts, ...