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Stain Removal Guide
Fri 27 Nov 2009
Stain Removal Guidelines for textiles and other items. compiled by Kris Driessen from information discussed on the Quilt History List. Before attempting to remove a stain, please be sure to determine that you really need to. Read our primer first. Some stains are better off left alone. Keep in mind you may damage your item irrevocably. If it is an important piece, seek the advice of a professional first. We recommend that you use products containing the ingredient Sodium Percarbonate. This is a white, free flowing granular chemical used in the formulation of laundry products and many other cleaning products. ... Read More...
Quilty Sayings
Fri 20 Nov 2009
A Lifetime's not too long to live as friends and a quilt is not too small to sew them in! A quilt is something you make to keep someone you love ... WARM! A Quilt Will Warm Your Body and Comfort Your Soul A creative mess is better than tidy idleness A day hemmed in prayer seldom unravels A family stitched together with love, seldom unravels. A family is a patchwork of LOVE. A yard a day keeps the blues away. A fat quarter is not a body part A quilt is something you make to keep someone you love...Warm! ... Read More...
Are You a Fabraholic Addicted to Fabric?
Fri 13 Nov 2009
SELF TEST TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE TRULY ADDICTED TO FABRIC OR JUST A SMALL TIME COLLECTOR by Fabric Collectors Anonymous Check all that apply. ____You subscribe to two or more fabric related magazines. (Yes, quilting magazines count.) ____Every bed in the house has fabric stored underneath it. ____You tell the salespeople at the fabric store to mind their own business when they ask you what you are planning to make with your fabric purchase. ____The trunk of your car has a least one sack of fabric that you are waiting to bring in when no one is looking. ____You ... Read More...
EQ Tips - Tips and Tricks for Using Electric Quilt
Fri 23 Oct 2009
These tips are taken from the Electric Quilt mailing list and customer questions. They are sorted into the categories shown below. Click here for information on ordering EQ5 and EQ products Electric Quilt 6 is here! Click here for more info. Update EQ6 here EQ6 Tips for the EQ5 beginner EQ Frequently Asked Questions Using Electric Quilt EQ on an Apple Mac EQ5 Importing Tips EQ5 EasyDraw Tips Patchdraw tips for Electric Quilt Using Layers EQ5 Notecard Feature Using EQ5 with XP Using the Dear JaneCD with EQ Blockbase Tips Foundation Paper Piecing Tips Printing Tips EQ and Quilt Pro Comparison Tips for the EQ4 Beginner EQ4 Tracing Tips EQ4 Country Set Tips EQ4 Wreathmaker Tips Free Downloads: Lesson of the Month Palette of the Month YesUcan for EQ6 YesUcan for EQ 5 EQ Show for EQ5 KeepFive Database for EQ5 Electric Quilt Doctor for EQ4 BlockBase Screensaver EQ6show Read More...
Quilters Ten Commandments
Fri 16 Oct 2009
Thou shalt not do buttons. Thou shalt sew 1/4" seams. Thou shalt leave no bolt unturned. Thou shalt not rip - only un-sew! Thou shalt not envy they neighbours stitches. Thou shalt never pass a quilt shop. Thou shalt cook and clean but once a week. Never quilt tomorrow what you can quilt today. Thou shalt not covet they neighbors stash. Thou shalt not reveal funds spent on quilting supplies. Read More...
Murphys Law for Quilters
Fri 09 Oct 2009
by Judy Grow On any given day the number of employees in a quilt shop is inversely proportional to the number of customers needing quick attention. Every quilt will take twice as long as you expect and be ½ as beautiful (we are never satisfied). There are only 2 kinds of masking tape: that which won't stay on and that which won't come off. In cutting an intricate multi-piece block, your ruler will slip on the last side of the last patch. When there is no time to do something right, there will always be time to do it over. ... Read More...
Copyright Concerns
Fri 25 Sep 2009
The subject of copyright as it applies to handmade items is a subject dear to the heart of someone who is making a living through their creative efforts. A copyright protects an authors income by giving them the exclusive right to control the reproduction of that work, whether they have created patterns, music, art, books or any other specialized design. For work to be copyrighted, it must be significantly original. An item or a technique so common it can be considered in the public domain cannot be copyrighted. It must be something unique and distinctive already in existence. Facts and ... Read More...
In Search of Imperfection
Mon 04 May 2009
In the Fall of 2007 I saw two quilts shows in Tacoma. I drove down I-5 from Seattle to view the internationally acclaimed Gee’s Bend quilts at TAM (Tacoma Art Museum). Then I walked a block to the Washington State History Museum to see a show of contemporary quilt art. At TAM, I paid my money and went straight upstairs to the Gee’s Bend exhibit. The show spanned early quilts to ones that had been made in the last decade. The most graphic of the quilts were my favorites. I was surprised that the craftsmanship of the quilts hadn't improved ... Read More...
Calibrate the Color on Your Monitor
Fri 13 Feb 2009
Are the colors you are seeing on your monitor true? If the fabrics you order don't seem to match the fabrics you receive, you may need to calibrate your monitor. Click here for special tips for AOL users. Take a look at these two pictures. If your monitor is properly calibrated you should see 21 distinct and equal steps of each color in each one. If not, check the manual for your monitor to learn how to adjust it. Photoshop has a calibration facility if you have v.5 or above. Click here for more information. AOL Users! Did you know ... Read More...
Misc Tips
Fri 09 Jan 2009
Buy the grid grip they sell in stores to put under your items so they will not slip and/or line your kitchen drawers? It looks and feels like rubber with hole running through out the material. You cannot slide anything across it -- pretty stable with an awesome grip. Make a cover out of it for my foot pedal. That way whatever shoes I am wearing or even bare feet may not slip off. I have started doing some research on the web about sewing tables and sewing room layout. This is some of the interesting stuff I have found ... Read More...
Thread Theory
Fri 28 Nov 2008
The latest quilt trend is in Fiber Arts, the art of embellishing a textile with various fibers to create a work of art. Fiber Art can take many forms and use a myriad of materials especially created for the artist. This article is about Threads, both specialty threads for embellishment and regular, average, every day thread. There are so many different types of thread available! How do you choose which one is right for your project? Start with the reason you will be using this thread and go from there. Generally, a 20 - 30 wt thread is used for ... Read More...
Quick Gifts
Fri 07 Nov 2008
Countdown to Christmas! Do you have time to make a quick, personalized gift? Sure you do! Think pillows, pillow shams, quillows, quilted bags (totes or handbags), pot holders, scented coasters, ornaments, stockings, casserole covers, book covers, tea cozies, card holders, rice bags - the sky is the limit. Here are links to easy projects: Rice bags to soothe those aches and pains Rice bag poems, too. Acorn Pincushion Yarn snowmen Gift Tags Twelve days of Christmas - free patterns Gift Coaster Project Quillow directions and poem Fabric Origami Tea Cozy Free Table topper pattern like the one at right Christmas ... Read More...
Redworks
Mon 13 Oct 2008
This is an informational page. If you want to purchase redwork patterns, click on Quilting Bee Redwork Patterns Redwork is a form of embroidery which uses red floss to trace simple line drawings. Traditionally, animal themes, children's themes, nature themes, and kitchen themes. Redwork can be done in other colors, changing the name to greenwork or bluework, etc. Redwork done in black is called Black Redwork because Blackwork refers to a specific single thread embroidery technique. It became popular during the Victorian era as women searched for new ways to decorate their homes. The idea of Redwork came to America ... Read More...
Quilt Tips and Terms
Mon 13 Oct 2008
Album Quilt Amish Modern Amish quilts made for resale can use any fabric in any design, but retain the excellent quilting. Although there are Amish people in all 50 states and several Canadian provinces, the Amish quilt resale trade is generally found in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Indiana. AOL Users! Did you know that your graphics were compressed? Go to your settings, then click on preference and Internet Properties WWW. AOL Internet Properties should come up. Go to the Web Graphics tab and pick "never compress graphics" and click okay. Be prepared to be amazed at the quality of the graphics ... Read More...
You Know You Are a Quilter When...
Sun 12 Oct 2008
NOTES ABOUT THIS PAGE: These were collected from both E-Guild Lists and individual contributions and were compiled and maintained by Laura Starr of the UFO-rphanage for Quilters for many years. Laura has generously donated this page to the QuiltBus for your continued enjoyment. WARNING: This is a long file...approximately twelve pages! New additions are added at the end of the list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A paper cut (or other minor finger bleeder) is as devastating as a broken ankle. A book of block patterns sits on your bed stand instead of a novel. A "fat quarters" sale makes everything else on Your ... Read More...
Games for Quilters
Wed 01 Oct 2008
If you find yourself in charge of planning games for quilters for an upcoming club meeting, retreat, or party, you have a fun task. All you need is a little imagination, which you already have since you are a quilter! To plan games for quilters, get inspiration from your children's parties. An age old kids' favorite is "Pin the Tail on the Donkey." How about a quilter's version, like "Pin the Block on the Quilt" where players try to get as close as possible to pinning into place a missing block from a paper version of a 9-patch - blindfolded, ... Read More...
1930 Newspaper Quilt Patterns Filled a Need and Entertained
Wed 01 Oct 2008
Americans relied on their local newspapers for more than information during the United States' Great Depression. Newspapers during that time also provided a service to quilters. Many newspapers published quilt patterns for their readers during the Great Depression. 1930 newspaper quilt patterns were very common in rural U.S. states. The Kansas City Star actually began printing patterns for quilters in 1926. The newspaper carried on the tradition until 1961. The quilt patterns were published weekly at first, then as interest seemed to dwindle, the patterns were printed monthly before being pulled from the publication all together. In all, just over ... Read More...
Sue Garman Quilt Patterns
Tue 30 Sep 2008
With applique and piece quilting, Sue Garman quilt patterns really do offer something for everyone. Sue Garman quilt patterns often make use of appliqu?Applique is a sewing technique in which a design is stitched on top of another piece of fabric, usually using an appliqu?titch, blanket stitch, zig zag or satin stitch. Garman says that appliqu?s her favorite technique, but she also likes intricate piece quilting. One of the Sue Garman quilt patterns that immediately comes to mind is "The Monster Quilt." It would be a great gift for a child who is afraide of monsters hiding under the bed ... Read More...
Dog Quilt Patterns Come in Many Breeds ...varieties
Tue 30 Sep 2008
If you want to make a quilt for a dog-lover, you will certainly have fun with the project! There are almost as many dog quilt patterns as there are breeds of dogs. If the recipient of your quilt loves Scottie dogs, you will find various Scottie dog quilt patterns available for free online. Some are appliqu?uilt projects and others are foundation quilting projects. There's also a very good Scottie dog block quilt pattern design for those who prefer traditional block piecing. If you enjoy applique quilting, you can find just about any breed you'd like to create your dog ... Read More...
Why to Start a Quilting Business Now
Tue 30 Sep 2008
If you have ever considered starting a quilting business but don't feel good about America's tough economy, I challenge you to think again. There are plenty of reasons to start your own quilting business now! Money spent on quilting supplies in 2006 increased 45.4 percent. That year, quilters spent $3.3 billion in the United States alone. Statistics further show that the average quilter spent just over $2,300 for supplies in 2006. Some will argue that times have changed since 2006. It's true. Times have changed and those changes make this a great time to start a quilting business of your ... Read More...