There are a couple of quilty blogs that I subscribe to and enjoy reading. Whether I read them every morning or sort them into a folder to enjoy later, reading these blogs is something I enjoy doing before I start my busy day.
This morning, I had to laugh when I woke up and went through my morning reading routine and saw the latest blog post from Christa Quilts titled 10 (or 11) Quilty Little Secrets. In this post Christa aired her quilty secrets, following on the heals of Amy Garro from 13 Spools, who also posted a quick blog about her 10 Quilty Little Secrets. I enjoyed reading both of those blogs very much! Thank-you Christa and Amy.
Edit: Found another one! Thanks Molli! For sharing you 10 Quilty little secrets!
Christa invited others to play along, so I thought I would join the fun too! Here is my list – Just for fun and in no particular order.
- Sure – I love taking classes, but I enjoy teaching myself a new technique just as much. The internet is a great place to find free tutorials! Yes – free!
- I always take my shoes off when I’m sewing. I like to feel the pedal under my foot. I’ve stepped on many pins as a result and my family jokes that going barefoot in my sewing room is at your own risk!
- I believe the idea of Quilt Police is an Urban Myth. I’ve heard they exist, but refuse to believe that there is a higher authority ruling my creative process. Along those same lines, I really do sense the presence of an Inner Quilt Buddha – she’s a lot like me, only more care-free!
- I enjoy the freedom of string piecing and making wonky blocks. I love the free-form designs and they lend to my tendency to use bright, funky colors and patterns. And, most of all, I don’t have to match points as in traditional piecing.
- Finding time to sew is sometimes hard to do. I find that waking up early and sewing before I go to the office is my perfect creative time. I call it my creative escape.
- I piece my batting together. I lay two pieces lengthwise and rotary cut a gentle curve and then but them up and zig-zag them together. By the way, I like Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 in my quilts, but I also use Warm and Natural (White) when I have coupons.
- When I’m done a project and have left-over scraps, I cut them into varied width strips for my ‘Someday‘ quilt. I sort them in long hoagie boxes by value. I have 3 boxes full of strips for that quilt. 😉 Who wants them? Seriously – write to me and they are yours because that someday quilt is just not happening.
- I am Gadget Girl. I love to buy new rulers, tools, notions, and embellishments. But, for the most part, I still use the same 3 rulers all the time. The others are gathering dust on a shelf.
- I do not like to bind quilts. It is my least favorite part of quilt making. I created a ‘Binding Agreement’ with myself to give me motivation to finish 5 quilts this summer. I have two done, the other three are still begging for attention! (sorry to disappoint!)
- To Prewash or not to Prewash? This question comes up all the time. I confess, I don’t always prewash my fabrics. In my opinion it makes it harder to use the fabric in smaller pieces, so i prefer not to prewash.
Feel free to list your quilty little secrets in the comment section or keep this blog post rolling on your own site! And go check out the blogs by Christa, Amy and Molli!
These are great! I forgot about removing my shoes to sew, LOL! I guess now I have 12 🙂
Christa – you sew barefoot too! So funny, I wonder how many of us do that. Thanks again for publishing your blog – I enjoy it!
To pre-was or not to pre-wash… In the case of red fabric (especially when next to white fabric) I say prewash! After I washed it, my high school graduation quilt bled where the red fabric meets the white.
Sorry the fabrics bled Lisa – try washing it again in cold water and using a COLOR CATCHER sheet. It should help. And thank-you! I will start pre-washing fabrics. 🙂
Woo hoo! Thanks for airing your dirty laundry! I would say keep that binding coming… get those quilts done!
What a great post, Patti – I share a few of your ‘secrets’ too! You and the other quilters have inspired me to write a post of my own. Thanks for the great idea!
Thanks! Its been a fun thread to follow. There are so many great lists now! I’ll be sure to check back to read your list…