Quilted Thoughts

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken"

Oscar Wilde

"Be true to your own style when you quilt, there you will find true happiness"

Maddie Kertay

Leader Grips ~vs~ Spotty Math Skills

Honestly I really do know how to use a tape measure so the fact that the backing on SnowCream came out to be an inch short was a bit of a kick in the knickers as I got to the bottom of the quilt and made the rather rude discovery. Lucky for me I  am the happy user of  Leader Grips for loading my quilts so while I will admit to some foul words I did not cry ( I am such a big girl!)

Leader Grips  are an alternative to using pins and cursing at your longarm. With using Leader Grips and floating technique I can have a quilt ready to start stitching in well under 15 minutes. There is another similar product on the market called Red Snappers that work on a similar principle but are a bit more flexible and think they might be a superior product based on watching the video.. and I believe they might be a bit cheaper but in any case I think it is the fastest and most adjustable method currently on the market for loading a quilt  onto a longarm machine.

ohhhh as a note I don't get a kick back or anything fun for letting you know about these two great products... not that I am opposed mind you.. it's just not part of the gig right now.

Anywhoooooo I took the quilt off the frame ( about 30 seconds) then sewed on some extra fabric to the back and then reloaded that baby and finished up the borders.. what would have been very ugly ended up being just a P.I.A, I can live with that.

If we can get even a minute of sun tomorrow I will shoot some pictures!

It Took 8 inches of Snow....

Well it seems that it takes Mother Nature giving my city a cold snowy blanket to get me back in the blogging saddle!  Soon as I post this I will be racking up my newest quilt  SnowCream and working some  Handi Quilter Avante 18 magic on it!

As to not detract from the focus of this quilt I am going to be using mono filament on the bottom and top of this quilt. This can be a challenge for some quilters but I have had quite good luck using my Avante in this manner when I pay careful attention to how I wind the bobbin. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to bobbin filling  and monofilament. Keep the stretch to a minimum and  make sure to use your TOWA gauge to set the tension  and you should be good to go!

Gnome for the Holidays

Yep... quiet here huh?

Sorry about that, going at full tilt for the holidays and trying to get some family stuff in order. Still stitching, and thinking lots of quilty thoughts.

Want to find me quick and see what is going on.. check out the Longarm Virgin FB page

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=104841322905004

Love the gnome?..   check out the rest of this artist's work!

http://zuill.us/andreablog/2009/10/

Ha!.. Fooled You! ( and a Quilty-Sin confession )

I bet you had given up on me ever quilting again!.. and for a while it was getting a wee bit dicey I will have to say.. life just keeps getting more and more busy.. then you throw in a major holiday and then sick kids... well you get the picture!   But LOOK.. I am sewing.. I am sewing  wonky Ferris Wheels for a  stash-busting quilt to put on my new sofa in a vain hope to make it better match the room.  ( Some people also call this pattern spider web.. I don't like spiders... well i really don't like Ferris wheels either but I like them a WHOLE lot more than spiders... which in the end is a real kick in the the pants since on of my sons want to be an arachnatologist eeeeeewwwwww  isn't that interesting! )

Ok..confession time

( it's good for the soul right?)

I need to come clean about something that might mean I get my tail kicked out of the ~real quilters~ club..and if it comes to that I will just have to deal...so here it is

I don't always match my bobbin thread to my top thread when piecing!.. there I said it! In fact I often use up odd colored partially filled bobbins when I am piecing.. just feeding them into the machine one after another as each runs out until I am rewarded with a whole slew of empty bobbins that are ready and waiting for fresh thread for my next project!

Ok  your turn,

Confess your quilting sins!

Best Quilty-Sin gets a Charm Pack of Fabric from my stash!

UnCharted Waters...

Here I am back rowing the same boat... what I would not do for a local store that sold good threads for longarm quilting!!!...   While having my wonderful time in Utah I got to play with some of the So Fine! thread by John Flynn for Superior.   It is no secret I have it hard for ST King Tut, but had not had much experience with So Fine!.. but wow.. I really loved how it ran in my machine in the Handi Quilter education room so look forward to running her on my home machine.  For stitches that become the fabric.. leaving just the impression of stitching not just the thread this is one to choose... but now how to choose which colors!    Oh so difficult!

I might just have to buy them all!

Good Grief!

Well I have to admit that I never dreamed of being gone so long.. and now here we are gearing up for the holidays so things are not looking good!.. and yet I wanted to pop in to say how much I adore each of you who writes and stops by each day to see if I have gotten off my arse and written a new post!

Oh Joy!.. today is the day for that new post!

and it's the day I have been cleaning up my crafty bookcases.

 

You see I love books... I love all books but sew/quilting/craft books hold the highest place in my heart. My sagging bookcases are tribute to that fact as well as my close relationship with all the sales staff at my local Barnes and Nobel!

Alas I have hit peak book over-load and it's time to find some of these books a brand new home! Starting today you can find my ~Book-Shelf~  page at the top of the blog and it will list the books that I have up for sale. Each will be priced at 1/2 of cover price or below and that will also cover media-mail postage to your home (USA only please)

With a little luck I will add a bit of a review with each book. These are ALL great books and I am not putting them up for sale because I think they are a "dog".. these are just books that I have fully taken in and experienced and I am happy to now share with you!

Each will be linked  in my storefront. Sorry... change of plans.. the books are listed in the bookshelf but just drop me a note if there is one you want and I will use a PayPal invoice to make things easier on both of us. In most cases there is only 1 of each book so if you want it.. do it now before someone else does!

My bookcases thank you!