Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
Discover 26 brilliant, creative and thoughtful DIY items to handcraft to donate to your local nursing home.
If you have a collection of Vintage Linens you will love this roundup of 15 Cute Ways to Repurpose and Upcycle Vintage Linens. (#9 is my favorite!)
Whether we know it or not, there is always some influence that triggers a quilt. It could be anything. This blog shares my quilts and the journey of their creation.
Learn how to create a perfect mitered fold while sewing corners by using an easy double fold hem method. Stacy Grissom shows you how.
Have you ever made a “One Block Wonder”? To make one you place 6 layers of the same fabric on top of each other lining up the patterns exactly, and then cut them into triangles then sew each group…
Quilt frames may seem complicated and expensive to someone just beginning to quilt, however, with these simple steps anyone can make their own inexpensive quilt frame.
10 Ideas for Repurposing Old Jean from A Cultivated Nest. A great collection of creative ideas for repurposing those old jeans.
You can make a photo block quilt to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or other memorable occasion with this Photo Memory Quilt Tutorial.
Today let's take a look at this Broken Window quilt block from the Kansas City Star publication. Once again, there are other blocks out there called Broken Window - that's just the way it is. This block isn't very difficult - if you can do Half Square Triangles and Flying Geese, you're good to go! Let's get started.
I have two true statements for you: It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to link up those projects you've been working on this past week. I am also in fact not Lee. She has faithfully entrusted to me the keeping of WIP Wednesday this week (oh man!) and I am hoping to not make her regret it do a
You can follow along with the video tutorial below for how to free-motion quilt on your Singer Featherweight or read through the text further down. Click Here To Order Embroidery Foot Click Here To Order Embroidery Foot The foot I am demonstrating today is a new, all-metal, low shank embroidery and darning attachment. If you have a 221 Featherweight, you will need to cover your feed dogs so that they are disengaged, enabling you to move around and stitch in any direction. We now have a feed cover plate replicated from an original. It works perfectly by snapping in place over the feed dogs on your Singer 221. Featherweight 221 Model Click Here To Order Feed Cover Plate If you have a 222, then you will need to lower your feed dogs by moving the front lever from “Sew” to “Darn”. Featherweight Free-Arm 222 Model When adding a feed cover plate to the 221 model it decreases the space under the foot ever so slightly. This minimal difference can alter stitch formation when using the exact same embroidery attachment on a 221 versus a 222. That's why it is important to specify which machine you will be free-motion quilting when choosing the appropriate attachment. The attachments designed for the 221 are made to accommodate this spatial constraint so that you can still move your quilt freely under the needle and likewise for the 222. Embroidery Attachment and Feed Cover Plate for a Singer Featherweight 221 Sometimes called a hopping foot, the embroidery attachment lifts with the rise of the needle allowing you to move in any direction. As the attachment falls with the needle, it holds the fabric momentarily in place as the stitch is placed. The placement of the foot as it holds the fabric is affected by the spatial difference and whether there is or is not a feed cover plate. So, definitely specify which model you need the attachment for. As you can see in this comparison photo it is fashioned similarly to a vintage embroidery attachment from about the 1930’s. The new one is a better design, however, because instead of a narrow wire which has a tendency to shift, this new one is very sturdy, capable of handling lots of movement – great for free-motion quilting! You can attach the foot to your machine in one of two ways. I have gotten used to just pinching and gripping with my right hand, but this can be a bit tricky and hard on the hands, so my husband, Carmon, helped show me a second and much easier way (thanks, honey!). I photographed it for you below. Either remove the needle and attach the foot without the needle in place or make sure the needle goes through the center of the foot. Set the foot just below the presser bar and center the hole on the foot with the needle hole. Lower the needle bar as far as it will go, making sure the spring bar rests above the needle bar as indicated by the arrow above.Tilt the foot so that the forks are situated and aligned over the screwhole on the presser bar. Screw the foot in place using your machine thumb screw.Raise the needle bar, thread your needle if you haven't already done so and attach the feed cover plate for your 221 Featherweight or lower the feed dogs on your 222 Featherweight.Things to remember: Quick, long movements will gain longer stitches in your quilting. Slow, short movements will result in shorter stitches. Increase the tension on your presser bar when working with thicker, heavier fabrics. I realize it may seem counter-intuitive to increase the pressure on the presser foot, but it is usually required to compress the multiple layers of fabric just enough so that a proper stitch forms. The batting ultimately acts like a spring, pulling the thread loop at the eye of the needle closed. This causes the hook to miss the loop resulting in a missed stitch. This increased pressure is released, however, with each up-stroke of the needle (and hopping of the foot) allowing the fabric to be moved in any direction. Start out practicing on smaller projects, such as a mug rug or placemat and work your way up to a table runner or baby quilt. When doing a baby quilt or anything larger, you will need to take frequent breaks so as not to heat the motor for too long of time periods. Breaking a baby quilt into quarters and letting the motor cool completely in between each section is recommended. Larger thread spools are advantageous for continual sewing, but they greatly affect tension due to their weight. Therefore, it is recommended that you use a Thread Stand designed for your Featherweight because it lifts the thread up off the spool and loosely guides the thread to the needle without any added tension. Send us photos of what you make! Happy Featherweight Sewing!
Encuentran la belleza en las imperfecciones y en lo incompleto. Confeccionan las prendas una a una y con tejidos crudos que tratan ellas mismas. Hablamos con Mariona y Jorgina, impulsoras de esta firma alejada de convencionalismos. Mariona Puig, fotógrafa, y Jorgina Carrera, patronista, supieron conjugar ambos mundos profesionales y aunaron, a la vez, […]
Back in March I started a Clamshell quilt. See here and here. I Googled one day to see what was out there about the Clamshell - NOT MUCH.....but, I did come across Jossie's blog and discovered she was forming a CLAMSHELL CLUB.....YES, I joined!!! The last day of each month we post our progress. Today is the first post and I decided to give the tutorial everyone asked about in March when I first posted about it........SO......here goes! The above photo shows to pick your pattern. My Clamshell pattern measures 5 inches across it's very widest and is 6 inches long. If you clicked on the 2 here's above, you will find the history on where and when I got my pattern from. I made 2 patterns pieces just alike.....trimming the top seam allowance off of one. I use self laminating pages to help stabilize my pattern pieces. Using one of your patterns with all the seam allowances, trace onto your fabric, making sure you line up the grain of your fabric with the arrows on your pattern....very important! I use what they call a mechanical pencil...the kind you add your own lead to...for tracing my patterns. These pencils make very sharp thin lines. I also use a quilters Sandpaper Board to lay my fabric down for tracing. These are soooo great, your fabric stays put and doesn't pull or bunch up while you are trying to trace. Cut out using a small rotary cutter. The blade on this cutter of mine measures 1'' across. Now.....take your pattern that is minus the top seam allowance and line up the bottom edges. I simply used my left hand to hold down......... then I used my right hand index finger/fingernail to fold down the top edges to form a nice crease all along the rounded tops edge. You could also use a hard object like this small ruler to form you crease, but I found my fingers worked better and it was a lot faster. I usually started at the top/middle and worked my way all the way down. See the nice crease I made all along the top! You could then use a washable glue to tack it down......be careful......too much glue will make your fabric sooooo hard and stiff you won't be able to get a needle through it. There are some nice glue pens out there, but I am just using what I have on hand. Or your could hand baste it down like I've shown. I take one Clamshell and lightly fold in half at the top and bottom and line it up vertically using my creases as a guide to help line it up using the graph lines on my June Taylor mini ironing pad.....remember, at this point I am working from the backside. Take 2 other Clamshells and place as I've shown. Using the graphed lines and 'eye-balling' the 2 pieces, you can line them up fairly straight. I am not overly concerned with having pristine straight rows......after all, who is going to 'whoop' out a straight edge to see if you are all lined up. I am still 'mulling' over some other ideas to improve this step. I'll let you know if I work out something better. I then use small tiny sequin pins to attach my 3 pieces. I guess you could use glue here too....I've not tried! UPDATE: I ended up using dots of glue to piece the clam shells together instead of using the pinning method. You must be careful not to use too much glue or get the glue too close to the edges for it will make the fabric hard and you will not be able to get a needle into it. I liked the glue method. It made the pieces stay together a lot better and there was no slipping around with your placement. If you do get too much glue and it turns hard, I filled my washing machine with cold water and put my top in and just let it have a good soak to remove the glue. NO washing, just soak and then let your machine drain and spin at the end of the wash cycle. I then took it outside and laid it flat out on the grass in the sun and let it dry naturally. When it was dry I lightly pressed it to make it smooth so I could sandwich it with my batting and the back. Here is the side you will be hand stitching the pieces together. I simply try to match my applique threads with the printed Clamshell fabric and use a basic applique stitch. I start at the right hand side there and stitch down to the bottom middle and then back up again to the left hand side stitching the 2 muslin pieces to my vintage printed piece. Here is a view of how your back side will look after you've stitched them together. I usually work in groups of 3's and 5 Clamshells. I find it is more 'portable' this way and can be good handwork when I travel. My design wall here shows you the different size groups I work with. When I have a more extended period of time to work on them I sew all the groups together to start forming my rows. So far, this has proved to be a very fast and easy system for me. I hope this is clear and simple enough to follow. Please feel free to email with any questions you might have. OK.....I'm off to work on 'a few' before the day is over. Run over to Jossie's and check her sidebar and click on some of the gals who are also creating this little Clamshell project. HAPPY CLAMMING YA'LL!!!!
Lacemaking has gone all organic this month. Here at Adventures HQ I have been captivated by the lace art work of Hungarian artist Agnes Herczeg. Herczeg
What to do with tiny fabric scraps aside from bottom of the basket or bin. Do join me on the blog today for my crafty answer...
Learn how to fix your clothes in a unique and fun way with our visible mending tutorial. Start upcycling your wardrobe with Gathered.
It's been over a year since our last Ombre Puff Quilt along and I've really been itching to do another! So far I've made two Ombre Puff quilts and I have an idea for a 3rd one, so I'm excited to make it alongside ya'll! The fun kicks off Oct. 24, 2022 and wraps up a few weeks before Christmas! If you haven't already downloaded the pattern, you can do so below, and keep scrolling for more details! Ombre Puff Quilt - FREE PDF . Click below to take you to that week's information. Week 1 - Plan - Oct. 24 Week 2 - Cut - Oct. 31 Week 3 - Sew Pockets - Nov. 7 Week 4 - Create Rows - Nov. 14 Week 5 - Stuff Rows - Nov. 21 (2 weeks) Week 6 - Baste & Quilt - Dec. 5 Week 7 - Bind - Dec. 12 . . If you want to sign up for weekly email reminders, click here! . GIVEAWAY If you plan to participate, share the image below to your Instagram profile and use the hashtag #puffQAL2022 and #loandbeholdpatterns and you'll automatically be entered to win a $50 giftcard to our shop! You have until midnight PST on October 23rd to enter. Your account must be public, otherwise we will not see your entry! . . .
Soulshine Quilt I have a new quilt pattern coming out late February called Soulshine. I designed this one early summer 2021 and wrote the pattern for it that fall. I’m ridiculously in love and plan on making it all the ways. Pre-order Soulshine quilt pattern here. About Soulshine Quilt Pattern When I was designing this...
Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
I taught a series of classes in Atlanta that used Kaffe Fassett fabrics. As you can imagine, we had leftovers! After about 5 workshops I dev...
Get tips on how to prepare a quilt binding. Tips that will help make this step in the quilting process less tricky.
Back in the fall of 2020 I saw the Birch Bella Lawn line come out and the second I saw it, I had to buy it! It is by Birch Fabrics and is organic lawn which is the softest fabric ever. Bella Lawn is silky and the drape is gorgeous and comes at 56" wide instead of the regular 42-44" wide quilting cotton. The main differ
I now have a video tutorial to walk you through this post! Sewing accurate 1/4" seams will make all the difference in your quilt tops!
Want your quilting to look just as good as the professionals? Using stitch in the ditch might be what you are missing! Continue reading to find out how!
Download the FREE Ombre Puff Quilt Pattern here! If you've been around for any amount of time, you might've seen my Puff Quilt that my grandmother made for me. I love this thing SO much. She used various scrap fabrics and clothing to create this very dense, yet very snuggly quilt. . . . When I look at this quilt, I see something new each time. Recycled tablecloths from the 80s, pieces of my grandfathers button-down shirts, left-over fabrics from previous quilt projects. The list goes on. Some fabrics are used multiple times within the quilt, while other fabrics are only represented once. I love looking over all of the puffs and finding all of the similarities and differences between the squares. . . . My Granny made this for me when I was 7 years old. I absolutely LOVE that she created a tag for this quilt. I also love that she referred to the quilt as a
Looking for somewhere to donate your quilts? Check out these awesome organizations that distribute donated quilts to the community.
I told myself I'd never make another puff quilt. Yet, here I am.....sharing about my second puff quilt. (haha!) Don't get me wrong, I loved the process of making my first puff quilt, which you can read about here, but I honestly thought that we'd never have the need for another one. Well, over the last year, I slowly forgot how much work they are (haha) and I started getting the itch to do the process all over again! Peter uses my original puff quilt alllllll the time. He loves the weight of it, but his only complaint was that it wasn't long enough. I made the
Have you ever heard of chain piecing? What about chain piecing your rows? This is probably my BEST tip for quilting, especially for my Vintage Lace Quilt pattern or really any other pattern that has vertical and horizontal rows. It makes things super organized and efficient, which lets you have quicker finish. It leaves less room for error, since you are creating the same row over and over again and overall, I think it's a lot of fun. I think you'll like this method, too! Let's jump in! . VINTAGE LACE Like I said, I originally wrote this tutorial for my Vintage Lace (seen above), because the construction is so much more efficient than sewing each panel together one at a time. If you are looking to use this method for Vintage Lace, then instead of chain piecing the rows of your panels (Rows 1-6) x 8 , you'll chain piece all of your Row 1s, then all of your Row 2s, then so on. Keep reading and it'll make a little more sense! . VIDEO TUTORIAL Here's a video of the entire process. Keep scrolling for written instructions! . HOW TO CHAIN PIECE ROWS: I'm revisiting this tutorial to adapt it to my FREE Patchwork Squares quilt pattern which will be available next week! This pattern is just squares, so it's super beginner friendly and easy to sew together. It get's even quicker and easier if you use this method! So here's what you'll do: 1. Layout all of your pieces in the segment that you are creating. Make sure that there is an even mix of your fabrics, or if you are using a specific pattern, make sure that everything is in it's proper position and rotated correctly. . 2. Place your first and second pieces of the beginning of each row right sides together. Then, starting with the first two pieces, stack them on the next two pieces and then so on to create a pile. Set that beside your sewing machine. . . . . . 3. Then create a second pile of the remaining squares in this segment. Starting in the top left corner again, place the first square on top of the square directly below it. Then place those two squares on top of the third square directly below them. Continue to stack that column until you get to the bottom, then bring them up to the top of the next column and continue to stack them. NOTE: it's very important that they stay in the correct order and do not accidentally become rotated (if direction matters in the quilt that you are creating). . . . . . 4. So now you have 2 different piles. Starting with the first pile, sew the first two squares together using a 1/4
Jelly rolls can make it so easy to quickly finish a quilt top, but how many jelly rolls to make a quilt? Jelly roll fabric strips are 2 1/2" wide by the width of the fabric, making it pretty nice when it comes to sewing straight lines.
Here is my last post for the About A Quilt Sampler! This quilt uses the ‘Quilt-As-You-Go’ technique.Thank you for keeping up with me, it was a lovely journey of documenting this QAL. If…
What is a Quilt? A quilt is a cherished keepsake passed down through generations marking special life events like a wedding or birth of a child. In this Beginner Guide, we share the history of quilts, examples of classic designs, and a basic overview of the process of quilting.
Quilts are made by pure cotton and we used new fabric for make. It's can also use as a comforter.
