Finished -- The Good "F" Word!

I haven't posted for a while.....life happens! I have had quilt visitors in town and we all went to a four day retreat. I got a lot done at the retreat and we had a great time. One thing we discussed is finishing our projects. One retreater brought a red and white top that just needed borders. The blocks have been pieced together for over a year, and the border fabric has been stored with the top for all this time but for some reason the borders have not been attached.

I, myself, brought a backing that needed finishing. I pieced a complete a t-shirt quilt top for my daughter over a year ago and sewed two pieces of fabric together for the backing. I had 12 t-shirts prepared to applique to the backing and that is where I stopped. I brought this backing and t-shirts to this retreat because I am tired of looking at it sitting on the table in my sewing room. I vowed to finish this backing at the retreat before I started on the project I brought. Wanna know what happened?? I finished it in just under 30 minutes. Why the heck did I wait for over a year to do this and how did I get it done so fast? I think the anticipation and dread of sewing on those appliques did not appeal to me so I put it off.

I was able to finally finish this little project because my reward for finishing was that I could begin a new, fun project with a clear conscience and no unfinished project hanging over my head. One of my goals this year was to complete each project before moving on to the next one. I have always admired quilters who work on one project at a time and complete it before starting on the next one.

This year I have been able to start and finish 10 quilts: 2 service projects and 8 niece & nephew quilts. I have been able to do this because of two things:

1. I set a goal for this year to make a quilt for each nephew, niece and all their children who have not received quilts from me. These family members are on my husband's side of the family and live out of state (four different states). I didn't see them much when they were growing up but over the last few years we have been able to attend their weddings and meet them as adults. Giving them quilts is something I want to do. At the beginning of this year there were 28. When two nieces have their babies later this year, there will be 30. It is the end of April and I'm not halfway there yet!
2. I decided to start and finish each quilt before starting another one.

I really love this working-on-one-project-at-a-time thing:

• Using up scraps, kits and fabric I already have = saving money.
• Organizing patterns and fabrics into kits = a cleaner, more organized sewing room.
• Getting projects done = a really happy quiltmaker!

Here is what I've done so far:

I did two service projects but didn't take a picture of the second one. I had picked up these blocks at a guild meeting and pieced them together. this quilt is nice and bright. Love the yellow binding.

Service Project Quilt #1

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Service Project #1.

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I made two of these quilts from kits I purchased. The pattern is Swirly Girls Design Perfect Ten.

Perfect Ten Quilt for Amelia and Kristy

Read my online journal for these quils on QuiltNotes - Perfect Ten For Amelia.

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This is my Jelly Roll Race quilt. It was so much fun to do. It is for my niece Claire.

Jelly Roll Race

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Jelly Roll Race #1.

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This is for a niece, Kim. It is made from scraps from Bali Pop projects. I only had to purchase fabric for borders.

Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Scrap Quilt from 3 Dudes.

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I made two of these quilts from kits. Both are this lime green. One is quilted and one is not so far. I made one like this two years ago that was red instead of lime green. That one went to my cousin in Colleferro Italy. We visited them in June 2010. I want to go back!!

Turning Twenty

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Turning Twenty Green.

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This is made from left over strips from several Bali Pop projects. The pattern is Gemini from Blue Underground. Very easy, quick pattern to stitch up.

Scrappy Batik

Read my online journal for this quilt on QuiltNotes - Gemini.

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This Log Cabin was made from a kit I purchased many years ago. It is for my nephew, James.

Log Cabin

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Piecing Rows and Columns

Here is how I keep track of the rows and columns when piecing the quilt top. In October of 2011 I purchased Cheryl Ann's Design Wall for laying out quilt blocks. It has been one of the best purchases I've made in a while.

I cut pieces of paper and number them starting with 1.

Here is a diagram showing four rows A-D with seven columns.

Once I have laid out the blocks how they will be pieced into the top I start with block 1 in row A. I pick up 1 and place it on top of 2 then pick up 1&2 and place them on top of 3. Continue stacking the blocks in row A until you have one stack with 1 on top and 7 on bottom.

Next I label this stack with the number 1.I pin the paper near the upper left of the top block and out of the way of any seam allowance. The picture below shows the number 6.

Next I sew these blocks together in the order they are stacked. I prefer to sew one block at a time, using my thread cutter between blocks. Now I have row A stitched together and I put it to the side. I stitch each row in the same way, making sure to pin the number before piecing. I don't press anything until all the rows are pieced.

The next picture shows several rows pieces together waiting to be pressed. I placed them like this for illustration purposes.

Here is a picture of the last few rows still on the design wall.

Once all the rows are pieced it is time to press. To alternate the direction of pressing the seams I press the odd numbered rows to the left and the even numbered rows to the right. To keep track of this, I write on my notepad "ODD - LEFT" because I always forget.

Finally, I sew the rows together. I don't always start with 1 but I make sure I keep the rows in order. Keep the numbers pinned to the blocks until all rows are finished. Remove the numbers and save them for next time.

Quilt top finished and ready to quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Gift Quilts, Who Cares What Their Colors Are!

I am a prolific quiltmaker. I have been known to start a quilt three days before a wedding and give the quilt as a wedding gift at the wedding. With tons of quilt kits, patterns and scraps at the ready and with my longarm quilting machine, I can crank out a quilt from cutting to binding and label in three days, no sweat. I'm not bragging here because most of the quilts I make are from either scraps or kits and most of the patterns I choose are of the "quick and easy" variety. Applique quilts are beautiful and amazing. I admire people who applique but unless it's hand pieced, if it takes more that a week to piece, I'm not interested. With all that in mind, I will tell you how I approach giving quilts as gifts.

A few times I have actually asked someone which quilt design they wanted and what colors they like. I have even gone so far as to let them pick out the fabric they wanted. FORGET THAT!
I did not enjoy making any of those quilts and was not happy with the finished product. For a long time now, if I am giving a quilt as a surprise or if a family member asks me to make them a quilt, they get what I want to make. I don't care what color paint is on their bedroom walls. This quilt will outlast numerous paint jobs and even a move or two or three so what difference does it make what color the room is at the moment. I choose colors I like and colors I think represent the personality of the person receiving the quilt. Most of the quilts I make are scrappy anyway so the colors are all tumbled together.

Here is a quilt called Stepping Stones by Judy Niemeyer I made for my grown niece. I know this quilt will go in any room in any home she lives in. I had fun making this quilt and the fabrics, Bali Pops were amazing to work with.

Now let's talk about  the pattern or type of quilting technique. I have had lots of clients over the years bring in quilts they pieced because their granddaughter, son, niece, whatever wanted this pattern or that t-shirt quilt. You would be amazed at the number of first time quilters choosing Double Wedding Ring to give as a gift. Often these quilts turn out to be a disaster and in the end, the makers are frustrated and unhappy with the results.

If I don't like doing applique or some other quiltmaking technique, I will not make a quilt using that technique. I don't care if my favorite family member LOVES that quilt they saw in the magazine. If they like it that much, they can learn to make it themselves. I will make my scrap quilts because the times I have made quilts using techniques I am not fond of, the entire experience is drudgery and life is too short for that.

The last thing I want to mention is the quilt size. I don't assume that all my quilts will be used on beds. Children grow from the crib to a twin or double bed and the quilt will out last those changes. The Stepping Stones quilt pictured above is 60" x 68", just a little smaller than I like but the perfect size for my short niece to snuggle under in the evening. A quilt that is easy to drape over a couch, throw in the car or carry in a suitcase will be used often. This is what I want. I love to hear "Aunt Carol, I need another quilt. The one you gave me 10 years ago has holes in it."  Those words just warm my heart!!

 So many of my clients bring in these huge king size quilts intended for young family members. They admit the person does not have a king size bed. What is a 15 year old who sleeps in a twin size bed going to do with a huge king size quilt? He's going to fold it and stuff it into the top shelf of the closet and forget about it. My target quilt size is 75" x 95" because it's portable. It can go from bed to couch to basement to friend's house to dorm room and be used for years to come.

Even babies not born yet get quilts in the 75" x 95" range or slightly smaller. Before they learn to walk they can be placed on top of the quilt to play or nap. As they get older they can sleep under it or cuddle on the couch with it. It's perfect for road trips and camping and visiting relatives.

Recently I have started including washing instructions and a box of Shout Color Catcher with each quilt. I used to prewash all my fabrics but over the years I have gotten lazy about this. I had some fabric bleed and ruin a quilt so now I use this stuff if I prewash fabric and I use it for the first two times I wash the quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Choosing Quilt Backing Fabric

Often when we are choosing fabrics for the quilt top, the last thing on our minds is what to use for the backing. And possibly farthest in our minds is how the quilt will be quilted. As a professional quilter I have asked hundreds of quiltmakers how they want a top quilted and many times the answer is "I have no idea!" I completely understand this. Many quilters, myself included, love the idea of choosing fabric, cutting it into small pieces then stitching them back together again. It is the process of making the quilt top that is the most fun. Quilting and completing a quilt is often not the final goal of many quiltmakers. Some of these quiltmakers call themselves "toppers". I completely understand.

But if you plan to have the top quilted and to actually finish the quilt then I ask you to consider the quilting designs, thread color and backing fabric as carefully as you choose fabrics for the top. Let me give you an extreme example of what I'm talking about. A new quiltmaker brought me a top that consisted of two solid fabrics: pure white and navy blue nine patch blocks. The finished blocks were 6" and the nine patch blocks alternated with solid white blocks. The quilt was a large king size. The backing was solid white.

The quilt top was very well pieced and was cherished by this quiltmaker.

One important thing to consider when choosing fabric and the quilting design is the quilting thread color. For longarm quilting and often for home machine quilting it is best to match the top and bobbin threads. Thread tension does not always stay perfect especially with free motion quilting so if you use white on the top and navy in the bobbin, you will have pokies, top threads poking to the back or bobbin threads poking to the top. This gives an unpleasant look.

The choices for quilting were allover design or custom quilting. Let's look at the allover design first. Choosing the design is no problem. I would suggest a curvy, swirly or flower design that interlocks and  is not symmetrical since there is so much symmetry in the piecing design. For thread color, I would suggest white since most of the quilt top and all of the backing are white. There will be a contrast of the white thread on the navy patches but overall the contrast is toned down with the large amount of white fabric.

For a custom design the client wanted a daisy type flower quilted in each plain white block and stitch in the ditch (SID) of the nine patch blocks. No problem with the daisy design because I used white thread which looked great on the white fabric for the top and backing but the stitch in the ditch was a different story!

The client only wanted stitch in the ditch so there was no compromise there. The problem comes when deciding which thread color to use. There are several problems:

1. SID means just what it says, you stitch in the ditch formed when the fabrics are pressed to one side. In many cases the seam is pressed toward the dark but it isn't always the case. That means the ditch moves from the white fabric to the dark fabric and back at different times.
2. If white thread is used to SID it will blend well when the ditch is on the white fabric but it will stick out like a sore thumb on the navy fabric.
3. Why not just stay on one fabric whether the ditch is there or not? Because then you are alternating SID with top stitching which would really be distracting.
4. Changing thread colors is time consuming and probably not a solution unless you have lots of time to get the quilting done.
5. If SID is not a requirement, one solution would be to quilt a large "X" in the nine patch blocks using navy thread. That would look nice on the top but  would you like the contrast of the navy "X" on the white backing?
6. Machine quilting, especially custom quilting, has lots of stops and starts. When using thread that contrasts with the fabric, these starts and stops are highly visible and can be distracting.

Lots of things to consider!

Here are pictures of the front and back of a scrap quilt I recently completed. I used variegated thread in the top and a coordinating thread in the bobbin.







For the backing, I pieced together 5 different fabrics. In the picture below you can clearly see the quilting in the light color fabric but it blends in with the busy print fabric.

Keep some of these things in mind when choosing fabrics for the top and backing. Have a general idea of what quilting design and thread color you might use to complete the quilting.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Jelly Roll Race Quilt - Finished!

I finished my first Jelly Roll Race quilt that I first told you about Jelly Roll Race - Tips From A Winner. 

This was a great quilt and I know I'll do more in the future.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Rail Fence

This is a great quilt pattern for beginners and experienced quilters will find this a quick way to use up scrap strips of fabric.

Rail Fence Scrap Quilt With Borders

Strips are cut 2-1/2" from the width of fabric then sewn into sets of three. For variety you can cut strips in different sizes or sew your strips into sets of 4, 5, 6 or more!

Have yardage of two or three fabrics, use just those fabrics for a not-so-scrappy look.

The pattern shows two different block settings.

For beginners, some very basic tools include a rotary cutter, a cutting mat and ruler. The perfect set I found for beginners is the Fiskars 3 Piece Quilting Set. This set includes a 45mm rotary cutter, a large 18" x 24" cutting mat and a 6" x 24" cutting ruler.

Download the pattern from our Free Quilt Patterns Page

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Oh, I Don't Know, It's About Twin Size!

This is the answer I often got when I asked my quilting clients "How big is the top?" They wanted an estimate of my quilting charge which is determined by the size of the quilt top. Since they didn't know the measurements, I used 75" x 95" as an estimate which is my idea of a twin size. When the client showed up with the top, the actual measurements were more in the neighborhood of 88" x 102". One quilter's twin size quilt is another quilter's queen size quilt.

So just how big is a twin, full, queen, etc size quilt anyway? There is no "standard" quilt size. If you're planning a quilt to fit a particular bed, then measure that mattress and determine how much over hang you want on the sides, top and bottom.

The mattress dimensions shown below are probably good for our purposes. In order to get exact measurements measure the mattress yourself and use those measurements to make the quilt the required size.

1. Start with your mattress dimensions. In our example we will use a full size. Add the mattress thickness for each side and for the foot of the bed. Mattress thickness can range from 4 – 22 inches so you will need to measure this yourself as well. In our example we will use a 16” thickness.
2. Determine how much extra you want the quilt in addition to the mattress thickness. These include if you want the quilt to cover a box spring, cover side boards or reach to the floor. Add these measurements to the sides and foot of the quilt.
3. If you want to be able to cover the pillows with the quilt or if you want to fold back the quilt at the head of the bed, add extra for that to the length measurement.
4. Finally you’ll want to add a few inches for shrinkage due to quilting and washing. The more heavily quilted it is, the smaller the finished quilt. The batting can shrink once it is washed. In this example I used 2” for each side but this is probably a bit much and can realistically be cut in half.

 In this example I was very generous when adding to the length and width, especially for the shrinkage amounts. The final quilt size of 98" x 117" seems quite large. Be sure to give your final quilt measurement the sanity check. Drape a large tape measure across the bed to see where the actual measurements fall and adjust as needed.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Easy Editing of Your Quilt Photos

I'm not a photographer so when I take pictures of my quilts I usually take 4 to 5 and hope one of them is usable. With the cameras and even smartphones we have today, the pictures are of very good quality and very large. I usually need to resize them for the computer so they don't take forever to download. I have been using Paint.NET, a free photo editing software for a few years and it is powerful yet simple and fits my needs very well. Download Paint.NET. The features I use most are crop, resize and canvas size.

Photo-taking Tips From An Amateur

• My camera and my phone both take more picture than what shows up in the frame so I fill the entire frame with my subject. Later, I crop out what I don't want.
• Try to keep the camera level. Then taking pictures of quilts or blocks, line up the bottom of your frame with the bottom of the quilt or block. Always look at the picture to check for straightness. If it is way off, take another one.
• Sometimes my pictures are out of focus and the lighting is off. I think this has to do with the automatic settings I have. I just take another picture and eventually I get a good one.
• Lighting is one of the most important things to think about. If you don't have good sunlight, turn on all the lamps in the room.
• I like to take several shots of the entire quilt, then several close up shots of the fabrics, blocks, quilting, label, whatever you want to remember.
• When you are editing a picture, always keep the original by using File > Save As... You might want to use that picture in a different way later.
• Beware of the vanishing quilt. If your quilt is hanging at an angle where the top of the quilt is against the wall and the bottom is away from the wall, the picture will show the quilt narrower at the top and wider at the bottom. Same thing happens if you put the quilt on the floor and you take the picture while standing on the floor facing the quilt. Try to keep the camera parallel to the quilt.

Crop
Cropping takes out the extra stuff you don't want in the picture such as Fred the dog or your child making faces at you. Here is how you crop in Paint.NET and in most photo editing software.

1. Display the tool bar by clicking Window > Tools. The first three tools in the left column are for selecting areas on the image: rectangle, lasso and ellipse. I use the rectangle which you can set to normal, fixed ratio or fixed size. Normal gives you more freedom to select but I like the fixed ratio or size because I often need a square image such as when adding items to the QuiltNotes database, a square image looks better on the computer screen. I have been adding LOTS of items to the QuiltNotes database.
2. Once I'm happy with the area I selected I want to take out everything outside that area. Choose Image > Crop to Selection. If I like the results I choose File > Save As... to save this version of the photo. The original version remains unchanged.

Resize
When resizing an image you want to keep the length and width proportion. If you don't, the resulting image will be stretched or squeezed in one direction or the other.





Choose Image > Resize to open the Resize screen. The option checked here is By absolute size and Maintain aspect ratio is checked. This means that if you change the width or height, the proportions will remain the same and your image will not be distorted.













The option checked here is By percentage. This option will also keep the proportions the same.


Make the changes you want then click OK.

Canvas Size

When I have an image of a rectangular quilt but I need a square image I change the canvas size.

This is Pat Sloan's free quilt pattern download  It's Five O'clock Somewhere.

When I added this pattern to the QuiltNotes database, I wanted a square image, otherwise this image will be distorted.

Changing the canvas size adds white space where needed to change the image how I need it.

Click Image > Canvas Size. Check By absolute size: only. Here we do not want to maintain the aspect ratio.

Look at the Width and Height numbers. Here the width is 250 and the height is 313. We want to make this image square so we take the largest number, 313 and change the smallest number to equal that. So change 250 to 313 then click OK.

This adds white space to the sides, making the rectangle into a square.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Easy Quilt Block To Make From Strips

Somehow I stumbled upon two really great internet sources for techniques and free patterns. First I found a YouTube video from Missouri Star Quilt Company showing how to use jelly roll strips (or any strips) to make a quick and easy quilt block. Jenny Doan, one of the owners of Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton Missouri, is the star of this and, I believe, all of the 123 videos on the channel.

The video is called Amazing Jelly Roll Quilt Pattern by 3 Dudes! There is a link below. In the video Jenny talks about the technique she uses for making pinwheels and how a similar technique is used by 3 Dudes Quilting in Phoenix Arizona.

Sew strips together in sets. The strips don't have to be the same width but it is more efficient if you use strips cut from the width of fabric.

I used three in a set but you can use as many as you like. The more strips you use, the larger your finished block will be.

Cut each strip set into squares. My strip set finished up at 6-1/2" so my squares were cut at 6-1/2". Mix up the squares. Take two squares and place one with the seams going horizontal and another on top, right sides together, with the seams going vertical.

Stitch a 1/4" seam allowance along each outside edge of the blocks. Shown here in black.

Using your rotary cutter, ruler and mat, cut the block in half twice diagonally. You will have 4 smaller blocks from each sewn set.

Here are 3 blocks after cutting. These are not from the same block set. The block set started out at 6-1/2" and when it was cut, these squares were 4-1/4".

Here are the blocks sewn together.

You have to be careful when stitching these blocks together because all the edges are bias but it does help to match up the seams.

This is the almost finished quilt. I will be adding borders today.

Missouri Star Video Link

3 Dudes Quilting has a free quilt pattern download using this technique. The pattern was designed by Ray Steeves, one of the 3 Dudes

Let's Strip It: Majestic Mountain Quilt Free Pattern Download.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

Jelly Roll Race - Tips From a Winner!

OK first I have to admit I did have a slight advantage to winning my first Jelly Roll Race.....I use a Janome 1600P-DB for piecing quilts. The 1600 stands for 1600 stitches per minute! I finished the race in under 27 minutes and the second place finisher took about 5 minutes more. Kudos to her, she even had to change a broken needle!!

What is this Jelly Roll Race, you ask! Oh my gosh it is so much fun you won't believe. You take one jelly roll or Bali Pop or whatever they call a set of 40 strips of fabric cut 2-1/2" wide x the width of fabric. Generally these sets are each from one fabric collection and each fabric company has their own name for them.  Sometimes, but not always, some of the fabrics in a collection are duplicated in the set.  

Preparing for the Race
I was at a guild retreat for my race. There is some prep work required before the race.

1. Take all the strips from the jelly roll and stitch them together end-to-end to make one long strip of fabric that is about 1600 inches long. You have several choices to stitch the ends together. You can use a straight seam, diagonal seam or stitch squares of fabric between the strips. I chose to stitch diagonal seams.
2. Press the seams to one side.
3. From one end (doesn't matter which end) cut off about 18" of fabric. This prevents the seams from lining up as you stitch.
4. Take the two ends and put them right sides together. Essentially you are folding this long strip in half. You will be stitching the two layers together down the ENTIRE length which is about 800 inches now. Don't worry if the strip gets twisted. You will take care of that as you reach the fold and the end of the first round of stitching.

Roll It Up

1. As I matched the edges together for the first round, I wrapped the layers over a large rotary cutting ruler, starting with the open ends and ending with the fold. Pin the fold to the wrapped fabric to hold it in place.
2. Now slide the roll off the ruler until the race is about to start.

The Race
When it is time to get ready to race you are allowed to put your fabric under your presser foot with the needle down. This next step tells you how I prepared for the first round.

1. Remove the pin from your wrapped fabric and start unwrapping it into a pile on the floor in front of your sewing machine. The fold will be on the floor and all the rest of the fabric is unwrapped on top.
2. End with the open ends under your presser foot.
3. As you stitch the first round the fabric will always be coming off from the top of the pile.

Note: Several people in our group rolled the fabric onto a small cardboard or tube. This turned out to be a disaster because as the fabric was unrolled, the roll itself rolled and bounced around, making a large tangled mess.

Round One
This round took the longest time and was fairly easy. You need to concentrate on keeping the sewing edge aligned and keeping track of your 1/4" seam allowance. I moved back away from my machine and held the bottom fabric in my right hand and the top fabric in my left. I was able to match layers and align seam allowance with very little movement and hardly no stopping.

When you are nearing the fold at the end, stop stitching. The fold will probably be twisted. Use your scissors to clip the fold as close to the end as you can. I slipped one of the scissors blades into the loop to get as close as I could. Don't worry if the edge is jagged. It will be trimmed later. Finish stitching to the end.

Round Two
When you finish round one, the sewn strip will be in a pile in front of your machine. You will take the end you have in your hand (the fold you just clipped) and match it to the beginning of the strip that's at the bottom of the pile in front.

This round is the hardest to stitch because you must open the top layer and the bottom layer then match the edges to stitch. Sometime during this round I ran out of bobbin. This was the only bobbin change I needed.

When you reach the end it will probably be twisted as well so use the same method to clip the fold.

Rounds Three, Four and Five
Each of these rounds gets easier because it starts to lie flat and it's easier to match the edges. It is better if you can try to match the edges without twisting the entire thing because your edges might be very ragged. When you get to the end of each of these rounds and if it is not twisted, stitch all the way off. Lay the fold flat and use your scissors to cut the fold.

It's Finished!
After round five and after trimming, my quilt was about 48" x 65". Here is a picture:

I will put a small yellow border then a larger I-don't-know-what-color border.

Happy Quilting!
Carol Thelen

5 Ways To Efficient Quiltmaking

When talking with a friend recently I told her about all the quilt projects I was working on and the ideas just floating around in my head. She told me she felt the same way about her art. She said she felt like a puppy on a polished floor. OMG that exactly describes me and quilting! Here are a few ways to give the puppy in you a little traction when working on your quilting projects.

Assemble and Organize

This is the assembly stage where you gather everything you'll need for the project. Make a checklist of all the supplies you'll use including patterns, thread, fabric, templates and any special tools or gadgets. Once you make your list, look in your collection to see if you already have any items listed there. Check off each item and put everything in one place as you gather them. For fabrics that you already have, cut a little swatch and glue it to the checklist. Take the checklist with you when going to quilt shops and shows to find the items you still need. Download and print Quilt Project Checklist and use it while you assemble your next quilting project. This checklist corresponds to the information used to begin your quilt journal in QuiltNotes.

 Package It Together

I use three large plastic containers to store projects in various stages of completion. The containers keep everything together. They are 6" deep so they hold everything I need and they have a carrying handle so they are portable when I go to sew days or retreats. Once I finish the project, all the unused tools and supplies are put back where they belong. At least, that's the idea but it doesn't always happen that way! Here is a sample of the containers I use.

Market Basket

I like to keep an ongoing handwork project or work on bindings so I keep handwork in a large woven basket with fold down handles. This not only looks good around the house but it is easy to pick up and take to a guild meeting, sew day or even waiting rooms. Some of these baskets are stained wood so be sure the stain won't transfer to your project. Look for unstained or lined baskets to be safe.


Work on One Project At A Time

OK I know this is a really good idea and there are many quilters who can do this but I keep trying. When I have tried this it works and it's a good way to finish projects quickly. But someone just polished that floor again and this puppy's off in another direction! Some quilters in my Friday Sew group work on just one project each Friday. That way they know the project will get done as long as they go to Friday Sew Day. These ladies really do get projects done using this method.

Make Space or at Least Clear A Path

I have seen some of your sewing rooms and they range from nothing-out-of-place to let's-clear-a-path to get to the sewing machine. I am somewhere in the middle but I can easily become a "clear a path" person if I don't put things back when I finish them. My point here is that we always get more work done if our work area is clear of distractions and easy to move around in. We all have interruptions but a clear work area allows us to stop where we are then easily start again later.

Keep a Quilt Journal

Keep notes of what you plan to do, what you did, what problems you had, who helped you, etc, etc. Years from now you can remember people, places and things you experienced. Quilting is so much a part of many of our lives I can sometimes look at a quilt and remember events in my life that happened while I was working on that quilt. QuiltNotes provides an easy way to journal as you complete each quilting project. You can document all the fabric, notions and patterns you used, you can include pictures and write about anything you want to remember all in one place.

Not a member of QuiltNotes.com yet? It's Free so sign up today and start adding your quilting products to your Collection. Keep a Journal of your quilting projects including pictures.

Happy quilting!

Carol

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