I've been working on a new Christmas quilt called Christmas Figs. I started with a fat quarter bundle of Moda by the same name, and then I added in more reds and greens from my stash. I cut the first few blocks before I went to a retreat in September. They looked a lot like [...]
I have one more strategy I employ when cutting up fabric to make scrap quilts. Once I've done the work of pressing, layering and squaring up fabrics that I'm going to cut, I never cut just what is needed. I make other cuts, too. Here's what I mean. I've layered these four fabrics for an [...]
Most of us would love to get through the cutting quickly, so we can move on to the sewing. I have some strategies for cutting because I don't enjoy it much. Twinkle uses many shades of green from my fabric stash. I make mostly scrap quilts—not necessarily quilts cut from a scrap basket, [...]
A few days ago, Carolyn in Florida left a comment about how much she disliked doing the cutting for a quilt project. I knew just what she meant. The cutting is never as much fun as the sewing. Over the years I have come up with some strategies that help me survive the cutting process. [...]
The first of December seems like a good time to share a few Christmas quilts with you. These are quilts I've designed and made over the years, and they're part of the Jingle Bells Trunk Show that I do for quilt groups. I hope you'll enjoy the eye candy. Very Merry This is [...]
When you've walked through a quilt show and admired the work of others, maybe you've had a variety of feelings, as I have. You're in awe. Thoroughly gobsmacked. You're inspired and can't wait to get back to your machine. You're discouraged (because your own skills don't come close). I had an interesting conversation with another [...]
A friend and I were sewing together the other day, and we both noticed a few things that we do differently from each other. My pal commented on the speediness of my method for cutting units from strip sets, so I wanted to share it with you. When you make a strip set, above, you can [...]
Happy Thanksgiving from Handi Quilter and HQ Stitch! There's so much to be thankful for, isn't there? Family and friends are foremost, but since creativity, sewing and quilting are such a big part of my life, I always include them in my Thanksgiving celebration. A few of my Thanksgiving highlights: Color: I'm grateful for color! [...]
Let me get right to the point: If you've thought about getting a straight-stitch only machine that sews like the wind, the HQ Stitch 510 is your baby, and now is the time to act. Over the past 9 months, the HQ Stitch 510 has become my go-to machine for piecing. It's fast! (Up to [...]
Every so often I run into a piecing task with tricky intersections. They're the places that cause problems if they're not sewn accurately. My quilt of spools, thimbles and buttons for Quiltmaker magazine is a good example. The piecing is not complex, but the intersections where the "thread" meets the wood in the spools is tricky. [...]
