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Challenge 2017/18 - # 35, Basket of Scraps

I love getting to the end of projects. It's such a great sense of accomplishment! This Basket of Scraps quilt was found as I was sorting projects. I store projects in process in the scrap booking boxes. I like the clear ones as I can easily see what's inside. They stack nicely and hold mostly all I need for my projects. As I was sorting, I found a package of 2 1/2" cut strips. The fabric wasn't the best quality and I wasn't sure how to use it. I ended up sewing the strips together end on end with a diagonal seam. I sewed the strip set together into a long section 4 strips wide. I added a 1 1/2" wide strip of black fabric to both long edges. The finished strip measured 10 1/2" wide. I sub-c

Prepping for quilting-marking tricks

I want to share a quilt marking trick. The trick is not just the marking, but the removal as well. I've loaded a customer quilt and spent some time before loading to mark the top. I don't often mark quilts, especially all the quilting lines I plan to stitch. I generally mark registration points or areas that I need to pay attention to. One of my favourite marking tools is a blue wash away pen. There are a number of pens available on the market. I recommend you test them to see how you like them. I prefer a thicker pen, not the fine tip as it marks easily and clearly in one pass. The customer wants me to continue the diamonds and fill each diamond with texture. So before loading the quilt, I

Thursday Thread - Mirage

Last week I posted about my Alberta Lone Star quilt that I finally finished!!!! I want to share a bit more about the threads I used for this project. For the feathers and continuous curves I used WonderFil Specialty Threads Mirage #39, Before Dark. I've looked at this thread many times, but all I saw was brownish grey. It wasn't until I was teaching a Threaducation class and a student was stitching with this great thread that I saw shades of blue and yellow. Perfect for my Alberta Lone Star quilt! Mirage is a 30wt rayon thread. Some will say rayon thread isn't strong enough for quilting, but I find it is good when I use it in combination with something else like a polyester in the bobbin. I

Thursday Thread - Master Quilter - Dark Blue

I've just written a post about one of my latest finishes, Asian Stack-n-Whack. Its lovely reds, yellows and navys needed a quiet thread just to add a bit of texture to the quilt and to hold the layers together. I used WonderFil Specialty Threads' Master Quilter to achieve the look I wanted. I use MQ#52, Dark Blue instead of MQ#49, Navy because I did want the quilting to show a bit, but not too much. Master Quilter is a 40wt 3ply polyester thread. The thread has been cottonized, that means that the thread has passed through a heat process that reduces the stretch in the thread and gives a matt finish. The thread will blend beautifully as it looks more like a cotton thread than a polyester thr