Why a defined space is best By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador In my recent post about building new habits, I talked about doodling to become a better machine quilter. And I promised to explain why it's better to doodle in a defined space rather than on a blank piece of paper. Doodling over [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I've been quilting on the HQ Capri every day recently and I continue to learn—sometimes the hard way. But I know that is part of it, and my experience over a lifetime has been that lessons stick best when they come at a cost. I really like this [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador There are many times when you need to know exactly where the needle of your sewing machine is going to enter the fabric. It's true with a domestic machine like HQ Stitch and it's true with a longarm quilting machine. These times call for target practice! I love [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I'm mostly happy with my recent finish, this baby quilt in peachy pinks, yellow-greens and grays. I pieced it at a retreat a few years back but wasn't motivated to quilt it until now. I am surprised and delighted to find that I actually want to quilt my [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador On Saturday I made a quick mini quilt for my great-niece who turns 13 next week. It started out with a piece of indigo blue fabric I bought several years ago, on which a bunny had been created with a resist. It was about 10" x 12". I [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador The difference between sewing with a dual-feed accessory and a regular presser foot is significant, and it's worth making sure you understand the difference. Knowing when to perform each kind of sewing will make your work more accurate, and I think that makes creating more fun. When you [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I'm continuing to get ready for the arrival of my twin granddaughters in Hong Kong sometime soon. A few weeks back, I wrote about making blankets for newborns. This week I tried something a little different. I've had sample swatches of 100% cotton voile for ages. Several fabric [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I'm working on new class samples for a Pine Burr class I'm teaching in the fall, and I had several pieces I wanted to applique to a textured background. I've had consistently good performance on the HQ Stitch 710 for machine quilting, so that's where I turned again. [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador We're ready to applique our Dresden Plate to a background block. I always cut my blocks a little larger than necessary and then trim them up after the applique is complete. If you're working without a pattern, measure across the Dresden Plate and add 3" as a guideline [...]
What's that you say? A practice sandwich? Yes, that's right. You need a sandwich of fabric, batting and backing so that you can practice new machine quilting ideas, warm up your muscles and your memory, and try out all kinds of stitches before you put them on your quilt. My oft-used practice sandwich is [...]
