THEN....yesterday, I got an e-mail from Deb pointing me to this website. I read through most of it. When I read this post (specifically check out the photos, not the videos), I knew I had the answer to my problem! Yipee! Did you know that you can modify your free motion foot? I didn't break any pieces off my foot (eeek!) but I did place a few layers of corrugated cardboard in order to compress the spring on the foot a bit. Now my machine glides over the quilt top with ease! I can't tell you how much easier it is to quilt now. Amazing, I tell you. AMAZING!!! I quilted an entire baby quilt yesterday afternoon and the cardboard didn't shift a bit.
In honor of this exciting event (trust me, it made my week!) I am going to be giving away some flea market fancy fabric. One half yard of each of the green and the orange pictured below.
No need to become a follower, no need to blog or twitter about it. Just leave me a comment with your name, where you are from and your favorite quilting tip or your favorite quilting gadget. If you don't quilt, you can let me know what your favorite color is. It will make reading the comments much more interesting than reading, "pick me!" over and over.
As always, thanks for reading. xo
725 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 725 Newer› Newest»Hmm...I'm just a really new beginner quilter..so I'd say my favorite gadget is my walking foot. I have yet to try free motion quilting but I do have a quilt waiting right now..but I'm too nervous! Oh, and I'm from the Bahamas but living in Vancouver, BC right now.
Hi Amanda Jean
My name is Cristina and I'm from Portugal. This is my first comment but I'm following you since I discover you in the net. I don't have a favorite quilting tip because I found that all are great since they make our work much more easy. As a quilting gadget I think the darning foot is amazing and the things that one can do with it.
Thanks for reading.
This seems to always happen to me, write and then it all just disappears!
I'm Jenny from Sweden and I have to say needle and thread. Lots of things are very practical and useful of course but I'm a romantic and I just love the thought of autumn storms and lit candles and tea and loved ones and sitting there curled up working on something.
I'm Michelle, I live in Auckland NZ. My favourite quilting gadget is still my rotary cutter - I never, ever, get over how great it is to cut with :)
hi amanda jean
my favorite color is pink and i have just re-modeled my sewing room and had it painted that color.
i'm looking forward to using my creative space soon as it's been a work in progress for a couple of months. i have had plenty of time to finish hand sewing bindings!!
LOL! ...not my fav job!
I am usually a blue/green type of girl, but color in general makes me happy! I am a novice quilter, so I am sure any tips I have would not be of use to others -- I do, however, believe in finger pressing -- but I think it is just because I am too lazy to get up and use the iron!
I currently living in Atlanta, GA area-love it! I am new to quilting...but I love cutting the fabric with my fancy rotary cutter. I am currently working on Christmas quilts for my niece and nephew based off your stacked coins baby quilt!
I'm Marielle in North Carolina. I'm just a beginning quilter although I do sew other things. I think my favorite tip for positioning is either to use wondertape (the washable kind) for things like fussy pieces and zippers (appliques in quilting) or better yet and cheaper a regular washable glue stick. I go through glue sticks like nobodie's business to baste fiddly items.
Hi , I'm Heddyfrom Nova Scotia -- I love your blog! Check it several times a day to see if you've posted - the colours you use are so cheery!
I'm just starting quilting, so my favorite tool right now is the rotary cutter (a few years ago, when I first tried quilting, I cut all my pieces by hand - not accurate at all!)
I love the lime green fabric (and the orange too) ... 2 of my favorite colours!
Liz from Massachusetts!
Oh man, I now have that page bookmarked and have to check it out. I wonder if it will have the solution for my free-motion foot, which I'm having SUCH problems with! Ugh, almost threw the stupid thing out the window the other night.
Oh, and my favorite tip/trick is definitely chain-piecing. I'm so impatient, it helps things move along. I do it whenever possible!
Liz @ teeny tiny quilts
My name is Aimee, I live in Northern Idaho and my favorite quilting gadget right now is my walking foot. I'm still fairly new to quilting and haven't quite figured out free motion quilting yet. This post actually helps me a lot because my darning foot does not float over my quilt, and I quite honestly didn't realize there was a problem. Now I know!!! I'm going to check out that site and see what I can figure out. My darning foot looks way different than yours, but I'm sure there is something I could do differently. THANK YOU!!!
My best quilting tip: check the internet. I am a new quilter and have learned so much from just reading blogs and tutoritals. (Yours on binding was wonderful, by the way.) Lots of knowledge out there, and generous souls who share it.
Favorite gadget(s) have to be my rotary cutter and my 24" by 6" ruler. Both have become my constant companions. I love to cut, cut, cut! Not very exciting, but it's the truth...
Hello from Casper Wyoming! I love quilting and love to hand quilt. But that's only because I am quite intimidated by machine quilting. And I'm not very good at getting my fabric so aligned it doesn't pucker. I watch you in awe!
Hi this is Molly from Western New York. I'm pretty new to quilting but I've made three since June. I can't say I have a great tip yet ... BUT ... I can share something things I learned through mistakes. My most recent boo boo was cutting 40 sashing strips three inches too short. So "measure twice, cut once" is my new motto. I also am going to make all my seam allowances a tad bigger than a 1/4 " since my second quilt frayed at quite of few of the seams. I also just bought a ruler with a lip edge for my cutting mat. No more slipping rulers screwing up my cuts!!
My favorite color is orange! My favorite quilting gadget has to be my chalk tool that rolls. I have no idea what it's called, but that's what I call it.
Hello, I am Melody from California and my favorite gadgets right now for quilting are my 2.5" ruler for cutting binding (Binding Buddy) and my blue painters tape. I have been using the blue painters tape to label my pieces. Doesn't leave any residue and never falls/rubs off!
So glad you sort out your quilting problems! I know just how frustrating it can be when you know something just isn't quite right. My favorite notion at the moment is my Hera Marker by Clover, which is a fabric creasing/marking too. It is great because you can mark quilting lines on fabric without any chalk or pencil marks! Aaah so good!
Rita
Awesome! I'm a yellow fan.
I'm very much a novice, but somewhere I saw someone use painter's tape to quilt lines. I love that and plan to use it soon on a quilt I'm almost done with.
My favorite quilting tool lately are blogs like this one. I have been inspired to try new techniques. I would have never made a "modern" quilt in the past, but, you've won me over. I made two for wedding presents this year and they were a big hit. Thanks!
PS I'd like to see the rest of that quilt you teased us with yesterday.
Favorite Color is BLUE. My favorite quilting gadget is the bent safety pin. I live in Tucson, AZ.
My favorite gadget is my rotary cutter - and "New" blades when they are needed.
I live in New Hampshire...
My favorite free motion gadget is... a piece of foam! I'll be posting it on my blog later in the week to show how it works!
Rachel from Washington (state, that is). And I am the laziest quilter on the planet; I don't even have any gadgets or fun tips, and I've been afraid to free-motion ever since the pedal on my machine broke (I've been push-buttoning it for over a year - yikes!) I do so love quilting, though, because even a "hacker" like me can make it look alright in the end!
That is awesome! I'm from Knoxville, Tn, and I'm still in my first year of quilting. My favorite quilting tool has been blogs! I have learned SO MUCH. :)
Hi, this is Stacy from North Carolina. My favorite quilting tip is to put sandpaper under fabric when you're hand-tracing templates onto the fabric. It keeps the fabric from slipping and makes the pencil show up better.
My name is Elizabeth and I'm in Ohio. I am actually in the process of quilting my first quilt (not as I type, obviously) so I don't have much in the way of TIPS. I've managed to break 2 needles on my machine, so...maybe something that would keep that from happening! :) Other than that my favorite color is blue, I love my sewing machine, your quilts AND flea market fancy!!!
I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, but I am living in Wyoming.
Put the "pedal to the metal" but slow down your hands... that's the best thing for my machine quilting... that and bent safety pins for basting. :D
The best thing I learnt that got me machine quilting was the fact that I didn't have to drop my feed dogs which meant I had more control and could go slower.
Janet from Australia.
HI :) My name is Erin and I am from South Australia. My favorite quilting tip (given I have only been quilting for about a year) is to give anything a go at least once - I put off trying free motion quilting for so long because it intimidated me. I wish I hadn't - once I sat down and gave it a go I realised there was nothing to be scared of, and with practice, I started doing it on all my quilts!!
I'm Jessica from Fort Worth and my favorite gadget isn't a gadget at all. It's my husband! He is such a great help to me as I'm learning to quilt. He helps me with math and encourages me. He also very graciously allows me to take over the kitchen table! Don't know what I'd do without him!
Isn't it amazing what a little thing can do? I'll tell you about my favorite knitting gadget. I dye yarn and fiber. My favorite thing is my electric re-skeiner. Saves my shoulder and back and makes me feel like an actual business!
My favorite quilting gadget?? The rulers and rotary cutters that make using scissors to cut material a thing of the past! (I've never used scissors, but that's how my grandmother used to do it!)
It's Kellie- from Indianapolis! Thank you for the great giveaway! My fave gadget is my tiny pin-cushion ring I found on clearance for $2 at JoAnns! It makes me feel like a queen when I wear it! (and my fave color is GREEN~every shade except forest!)
Love to you!!!!
Hi there...I'm Meg. I just moved back to Bakersfield, CA. How cool about your foot! Isn't it great when you figure something out like that without having to pay a ton of money? I was surprised how effective quilting gloves are. They really do make quilting easier.
wow gotta check out that site in a minute. I thought you were going to say you had to buy a new machine, whew.......I love my unpicker, coz I always seem to be using it, hahahahah. Have an awesome time at your retreat. Happy Stitching
I'm Robin from Hertford, NC...my fave gadget is my darning foot! I just love all how easy quilting is with it...I don't have a walking foot yet, so I use this foot to quilt everything! My fav color right now in a qulit is orange...must the fall inspirations!
Hi! I am Lynn from Massachusetts. Currently my favorite quilting color is orange. Love it mixed with reds! My favorite gadget would have to be seam ripper :-) We spend alot of time together!
Wow - no. 244!! Anyway, what a fantastic idea with the cardboard. As an amateur quilter, and one that is about to embark on the satisfaction of actually doing freemotion quilting on a quilt, ideas like this make me just looove the internet, the blogs and the way the world really is a small place!!
I live in a rural town called Ashbourne in South Australia. Rolling green hills and lots of huge gum trees. Which comes to my favourite colour... green - at the moment :o)
I love wearing red and looking at green.
Regarding gadgets and things - my magnetic pin holder. Love it. I drop pins or needles and can pick them up with it (even when loaded with pins). When I take out pins while sewing I always just put them to the RH side of the sewing machine. When finished I use the magnetic holder and pick them all up in one hit.
Also, just recently got some plastic stuff to put on the bottom of my rulers. It sort of 'grips' the fabric and doesn't slip. My left hand isn't too strong and this has been a god-send.
Thanks for your blog - love reading it and hopefully you may pop over to me once in a while.
Cheers
Mon xxx
i can't imagine not having a rotary cutter - cutting everything with scissors does not sound like fun!
Hi, I'm Candi from southern New Jersey and my favorite gadget is my cutting table. It's the perfect height to stand at and even has some storage in it.
I'm Charlotte from Texas (I tried to leavea comment already but it didn't seem to show up--sorry if I double-posted). I appreciate how candid you are about your quilting!
My favorite quilting gadgets are my Kwik Klip with colored safety pins for basting and my magnetic straight pin holder. I also like using my grandma's old thimble when I do hand binding.
Thanks!
I'm from Wyoming! My favorite quilt gadget is the bamboo skewer. It helps me guide small points into my ancient machine without getting my fingers caught!
my favorite quilting tool (but it is good for SO much more - or should I say SEW much more than quilting) is called the Dritz E-Z Hem. It is a piece of sheet metal marked with various measurements and works perfectly for pressing hems - or in the quilting realm for folding binding over. Love it! If you don't have one, go get one NOW!!
Love that fabric!!! My best quilting tip is .... if you make three mistakes in a row, pack up and walk away from it for a while (mind you I also apply this tip to other parts of my life
Hi! I'm Kelly from Australia, I love your blog, Your work is really inspiring! I'm a beginner quilter, currently working on my 5th quilt. My fav quilting tool, would actually not be a tool at all, blogs, like yours, are inspiring, they made me need to learn how to quilt, they make me want to get off the computer and on to the sewing machine. And when the blog writers are as generous as you are with tutorials, it makes it a whole lot easier to learn at home.
Hi I'm Becky from Arizona. I quilt but I just can't pick one favorite quilting gadget, they all have their uses.
Hello, My name is Lauren and I am from Melbourne, Australia. I know exactly what you mean when things dont work as they should. I was heart broken the other day when my machine fell off my craft table, I had to take it for service ( Its too young to die!! It's not even 1 yet!)luckily nothing had snapped just shifted a little. So my favourite "gadget" is my repair man because I am way to hard on my machine.
Hello, I am Stacy, we currently live in Naperville, IL. My current favorite gadget is a tabletop seam ripper from Fons and Porter. Unfortunately for me, I still make a whole lot of mistakes while sewing, this seam ripper stands upright on the table and frees up both hands to hold the seam that needs to be 'ripped'. It is also perfect to have right beside the machine to cut threads and separate the segments while strip piecing.
My name is Laura from Eugene, OR. I love my lap quilting frame. I love to hand quilt and could not live without it. It goes everywhere with me!
I am from a variety of places on the East Coast, but right now reside in the Northern Virginia area. I wouldn't say that I have a favorite tool....but I sure love it when my husband takes off with our girls and leaves me alone for a day of uninterrupted quilting!! My fave color is definitely blue, followed closely by brown and red....and all the other colors of the rainbow.
Aud from Alaska. One of my favorite quilting gadgets is my wooden iron. If I didn't have it when I paper piece, well, I don't know if I would paper piece.
Favorite color (this week): aqua.
I am Carol from Maryville TN.
I absolutely love my rotary cutter, mat and ruler. It is hard to find time to do my favorite hobby, and not have a rotary cutter would make it much more difficult.
I found this website a few days ago - it's great.
I am hoping to get a better setup for quilting when we move into our new home next week - I am going to be able to leave my machine set up somewhere, instead of getting on and off the kitchen table. I am hoping that will enable me to really give quilting a try.
My favorite colours change all the time - they are usually warm - but at the moment I love soft apple green.
I love your blog and the patterns that you share. I'm still working on my 9 patch quilts. My brother made me a wooden ruler rack and hung it on the wall for me, and I guess that is my favorite quilting aid. No more moving my rulers from here to there and back.
I thought my problem with free motion quilting was that I didn't practice enough...maybe it really is a technical difficulty! :)
Colors: It's always been red, but lately I have been drawn to blues and greens. I think I need calm.
Quilting gadget: my walking foot. I think it needs some cleaning or something, though. I think it got some basting spray on it.
Thanks!
I'm glad you found an answer to your woes. And an easy fix to. What a bonus.
My favorite quilting tool/tools are my Nifty Notions rulers. I don't think I could live without them
I'm your 266th friend, yeah! Green yup green then pink! those little snippers to keep right by the machine, instead of scissors. pick me pick me...oh sorry j.k.Sure wish I were going to Colorado!!!
My name is Holly and I'm from Philadelphia, PA! My favorite tip for quilting is to remember that the speed of the pedal should be faster than your hands moving around the quilt! =)
I'm from florida originally and my favorite quilting tool are spring clamps for basting. I baste my quilts on a table and use the spring clamps to hold the layers to the table. Since my mom introduced me to this technique I've had no problems getting a perfectly basted quilt!
glad you didn't need to take your machine in and you found a cheap and effective answer to your problem. thanks for hosting a give away too.
For machine quilting, I love my gloves with the rubber dots all over...they help with gripping the quilt, and my hands/arms are not so tired. I think my favorite NEW thing about quilting is the online world. I've just recently discovered quilting blogs, and I'm constantly finding new ideas, directions, tips ....if I have a question, chances are I can find an answer online.
Hi my names Jessica. I live in Idaho. That's such a great discovery. My husband kind of did the same thing to my quilting foot. I think that like I lot of these other women my rotary cutter is my favorite. I couldn't live with out it.
Jessica
lcjess@gmail.com
Beth from Blacksburg, VA. WOW!! I can't believe the range of people answering this question - who have so many great tips of their own!! I also can't wait to check out the website you mentioned. I'm new to quilting - just sent my ORB quilt to Heidi Elliot to quilt. I've only practiced free motion..... I love what ironing does to my seams!
I haven't had that free motion problem, but it's a good tip.....thanks!
My favorite quilting tip/tool are Machingers.....gloves you wear while quilting, I don't know how I quilted for years without them.....lol.
I'm from central Pennsylvania.
I have found a "sharps" container (purchased from a medical supply store) is the best and safest place to dispose of broken or dull needles, bent pins and used, dull rotary cutter blades. I have "little helpers" in my sewing room and I am at peace that they are safe from these items when they visit and "help" me!
JUST WANTED TO SAY I REALLY ENJOY READING YOUR BLOG. I AM NOT A QUILTER BUT WANT TO START. READING YOUR BLOG MAKES ME WANT START CUTTING AND PIECING. YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY-I KNOW ITS NOT ALWAYS. I LOVE YOUR TUTORIALS. THANKS FOR WRITING. SUSAN FROM VIRGINIA
Hi, my name is Jessie and I am living in northwest WA. My favorite quilting gadget is my quilters fabric calculator. It is the most handy thing ever for planning a quilt!
My favorite quilting gadget is my credit card! Thanks for the chance!
No doubt about it, my favorite quilting tool has to be my HQ16. It allows me to quilt even large quilts with no more back or shoulder pain from stuffing large amounts of fabric and batting through my sewing machine.
Wow! great giveaway...my favorite tip is to prewind boatloads of bobbins before i start quilting...i buy spare bobbins ever time they are on sale! love your blog!
My favorite tool is my stitch ripper. Obviously, it helps me fix things that need to be redone, but the pointy edge also helps me guide itty bits of fabric or press down bumpy places or give a little nudge in the right direction. Thanks for the chance to win!
Great tip! I am Adrienne from Florida (where it is still 85 degrees and I'm way over summer). My best tip is to make sure the dog is not laying her head on the pressure foot. It's always shocking when I think I am stopping the needle, but the machine doesn't stop. ;]
I love that site! So many good tips! my favorite tip is from Oh Fransson and using freezer paper when you make a block slightly too small. You just iron the freezer paper to the back and square up the paper and then sew away. It's a total lifesaver when I've made a couple blocks slightly too small. Thanks for the giveaway
Hi! I'm Deb from Virginia, and I LOVE my few-months-old Bernina! I know...it's not really a little gadget, it's the real thing! Every time I sit down to sew I think to myself, "I just love this machine!" I'd love to win the fabric.
I do quilt, but don't consider myself experienced enough to offer tips. Most of my quilting has been done by hand, since you go through fabric a lot slower that way! As a result, I'm not very experienced at machine quilting. Been taking a few classes to learn more. Love the website, since it's given me many great ideas. Thanks,
Anne
So glad you found a solution to a very frustrating problem!
Lately I have been feeling very greatful for all my modern quilting tools. My rotary cutter, ruler, and mat. My sewing machine. I love that I can quilt and still knit and take care of my family and serve at church and many other things. I know those tools help me quilt faster so I can do other things too and still get to quilt!
Hi Amanda! My favorite quilting gadget is my ironing board table. It sits on my tabletop so I don't have to worry about taking out the ironing board every day!
Thanks so so much for posting about this! I have had huge problems with my free motion foot and with tension issues on the back of my quilts. I can't even put the presser foot down or the quilt is just squashed and won't go anywhere! I was thinking I just needed a new sewing machine (not in the budget) but I'm going to try this! Thanks AGAIN!
what a great solution! my favorite quilting gadget is my darning foot...which I will now be playing with to determine if it can move smoother! I love to quilt & the flea market fancy would be an amazing addition to my stash! thanks for the giveaway!
My name is Kelly from Michigan and I just started following you! I am a novice quilter. I'm hoping my favorite quilting gadget is my brand new walking foot on my brand new sewing machine. I haven't tried it out yet but I have high hopes.
Gosh! I wonder if that would work on my old machine. I couldn't free motion AT ALL because the tension was so tight and I just got a new machine. I'll have to try it!!!
How very exciting! My favorite quilting tip/technique is to use the edges of the tiles in my kitchen to line up the layers of the quilt.
Hi, I've been lurking for a few months....love your quilts and your blog. I've made a few baby quilts, but nothing like your masterpieces. I'm inspired to do another when my family and I are not traveling so much with my husband's job. I need some time to land and do a big project. And my perennial favorite color is green. Many blessings!
I'm Sarah from Illinois, north of Chicago. Your blog always inspires me. My favorite gadget right now is the Kwik Klip, it has saved my fingers from all those pins! Close behind would be two little wooden tools...one that 'finger' presses and the other that pokes out a nice corner when turning things right side out. And I was so glad to be reminded by other commenters about using a small piece of fabric at the beginning of chain piecing, I'd forgotten what a great idea that is! Thanks!
Hi I'm NIchole from Iowa. I am so glad you figured out your problem...that would be so frustrating. It is hard enough pushing big quilts through the machine without added drag. My favorite quilting tip is to use unexpected fabrics here and there to add that extra sparkle. Thanks for your great blog and the FMF giveaway!
These colors are perfect for the two baby quilts I am planning this fall. One for our 2nd baby and one for a friend of mine.
As for the best quilting tip. Learning to cut the fabric right, 1/4 inch seam, ironing without steam,...
Ursa from Missouri
Congrats on working it out! I always change my needle if I'm having tension problems and it usually fixes things right away. I love that FMF so thanks for an amazing give-away!
My favorite thing since quilting would be all of these blogs! I love all of the tips and tricks that people post. As for gadgets, I just picked up some quilting gloves with the little grips on them to help with free motion quilting and they are great for control when I do small quilts. I also love my quilting frame that I got on craigslist for 150 dollars to quilt larger quilts. I could go on and on... My fav color is green!
oh boy! i love those 2 prints. the green i think might be my fave of the whole line. anyway. a quilting tip . . .
My tip isn't exciting at all: iron your seams. iron your fabric before you sew your seams. if you're lazy, you should still do it because it will look way nicer and save you more time in the end. (realy this tip is for me :)
Okay, my favourite quilting tip...when you are freemotion quilting - sing! Find a song with a good even beat and it helps to keep your quilting even. I personally like 'jingle bells' - although it does get very monotomous.......boring as its such a short song....lol but it really helps me to get into the rythm of quilting.
my favorite colour is green. I just love my clover seam ripper I gave my family them for xmas one year and have purchased 3 for my self. If I see them at the fabric store I am always tempted to purchase another...too funny Clover did a good thing
Melisa Bakos
right now my favorite thing when i quilt is the pillow i sit on. makes me a little taller and the seat softer! have a great day.
Hi I'm Jennifer from Rhode Island, my favorite color right now is dark plum. I am new to quilting, and after reading all of the comments I've decided my computer is my greatest tool, I just got 200+ tips from this post alone! There are so many talented bloggers I have been so inspired by! Thank you!
Hello, my favourite colour is orange! Being the opposite of Blue it makes a great counterbalance to a blue day to have an orange day! My favourite quilting tip is "when in doubt just start sewing". I am always unsure of my colours, my fabrics, my design, etc.. but once I get going there really is seldom a quilt that I don't like. I am from Grimsby, ON and love following your blog.
Ditto on the rotary cutter, ruler and mat. I CANNOT cut fabric straight with a ruler. It was those gadgets that made me start sewing again after all the frustration that was home ec.
That's so awesome about the trick with your free motion foot! Now you can enjoy your quilting again. I would love a chance to win your beautiful fabric.
ok, I really don't need anymore fabric. I have the green one! Bu tI had to stop by and say, pick me pick me pick me! :-) Just teasing.
Best sewing machine gadget? beside my brain, eyeballs and all my digits? a good old needle and thread... ;-) I'm in Houston. I'm exhausted... but in a good way!
What a wonderful giveaway!!! I am such a big fan of yours!!! You are amazing - such an inspiration to so many of us. I haven't seen a quilt that I haven't liked on your blog. They are all wonderful. Thanks so much for giving me so much inspiration.
I love my rotary cutter and my huge ruler!
I just love it when I can do-it-myself. I'm a self taught beginner quilter. Actually I don't think I can call myself a quilter. I have pieced together six projects in the last couple of months but have yet quilted any of them. I have them all basted and ready but can't bring myself to actual quilt them! The one tool I am amazed with is my rotery cutter. I don't know what I was wrong with me when I thought I didn't need it, so glad a good friend made me buy it. Thanks for sharing all you do.
you must be feeling good if you are willing to part with some flea market fancy! I've been slow going with my quilting lately and its so frustrating. I need to end my excuses and get busy. Thanks for your inspiring blog!
hello! my name is ana lilia v. i'm from los angeles, ca. i have only ever made 2 baby quilts, and they were poorly made, cause i was new (and still am!) to quilting. but my two daughters love their quilts, and that's all that matters to me! i would like to make them bigger (better!) quilts now that they're getting bigger. my favorite color is robin's egg blue/turquoise/aqua/peacock blue. i know they're not the same color, but i like them all and they all are sort of in the same blue group. thanks for the giveaway! ;)
Sweet!! I am off to check out the site. I use a darning foot....I wonder if there is a difference?
Hello I am D'Ann from Farmersville, Tx. My mother use to hold me on her knee while she sewed and she was still able to make beautiful clothes and quilts. I always figured that I should be able to sew as well-- that it should be an inherited skill. Well-- not so much! But in my advancing years I have found that my joy in sewing does not need to come from perfection but just from the fun of creating. Now they even have a name for this imperfection-- Wonky. So my favorite gadget is my attitude. And I am totally a pink kind of gal.
I'm Kate from Cincinnati. I have several gagets, but I have to say that beautiful FABRIC is my favorite tool. It is certainly the only one that makes my heart skip a beat! I am really loving deep oranges and purples together these days. Congrats on being up and running again!
Hi - Katie from Vacaville, CA. My favorite quilting gadget really isn't a gadget - it's the non-skid clear vinyl tape that you can put on your rulers to make them non-skid rulers. Well, more non-skid than without the tape anyway!
I have no tips for quilting, I just set up and go. Not very well, but I'm trying.
I always start out trying to do a pattern, and always revert to stippling. Although I really loved the website you linked. Now I'm off to read the whole thing.
I just got a darning foot, but haven't mastered it yet. I'm having the opposite problem -- the foot wasn't coming back down to touch the fabric. I released all the pressure on the presser foot and then it seemed to be working, but I haven't tested it yet.
My new walking foot has got to be my favorite gadget -- I'm in awe of what a difference it made.
Wow, didn't take very long to get over 300 comments!:)
Isn't it amazing what we can learn on the internet...glad your darning foot is fixed.
I am also very new to quilting (since the ORBC Quilt-Along started) so all this machine quilting is still not natural to me...getting better though!:) But I do have a tip...always check the tension on your bottom thread whenever you change the bobbin or spool of thread!:) I just got finished ripping out about 20 ft of stitching because I neglected to check after putting in a new spool of thread....silly since the fix is so easy...rethread!:)
Thanks for the giveaway!!
Camberly. Right now I use my walking foot all the time.
Hi,Colleen from Minnesota and my favorite tip is to put some of that grippy shelf liner on the bottom of the "gas" pedal. Keeps the pedal from sliding around and me from under the table!
My current favorite quilting tool isn't EXACTLY a tool...but it's basting spray. I thought I would hate the mess, but the mess is waaaay better than unpinning a million pins.
Thanks for the giveaway, you are such a sweetheart!
Pretty fabric! My favorite tip...I think using biased binding, which is kind of an extra hassle, is just a delight because it just works with me:)
I get a darning foot tomorrow and can't wait to start practicing. My favorite so far is the scant 1/4 foot. My favorite color is blue but I quite predominantly with red. I'm from Roanoke VA!
This is Sarah from Granger, IN. My favorite quilting tip is "when in doubt, buy a pattern". If you are afraid to cut fabric you love or even afraid to buy fabric because you don't know what you'll do with it, get a great pattern and get going. You'll love the quilt more :-)
Hi, I am Angie from Hamilton, Georgia. My favorite quilting gadget right now is the circle rotary cutter by Olfa.
My name is Tami and I am from Portland, OR. I have been following your blog for just a little while now and I find it inspirational! My quilting tip is to not worry about the small stuff. Most everything can be fixed... if not it just becomes character after its washed!
Oh a give-away...
My favorite sewing item is silk thread and a short needle for applique. It moves through the cotton like butta!
Hey! I'm Christina from Humble, TX and I just got back from a quilt fair with the greatest gadget ever: Clearly Perfect Angles! It's a plastic cling that sticks to your quilt deck and lines up your angles perfectly so you no longer have to mark your triangles for precision. They are wonderful!
Hello! I'm Aimee. I live in Livermore, California. I know it sounds funny, but I love my little scissors. Perfect for trimming threads, pulling the looped thread through after threading my machine. They have gold little handles and I just love them :) I've only quilted one quilt, but another favorite gadget is my computer! I have learned all about sewing from blogs like yours! I have little ones at home and can't get out much so it works great.
I am so glad you came up with a trick to make your quilting easier! awesome!
I don't have any neat little gadgets that I use but I love to continuously feed my strips/squares through the machine instead of pulling them out every time. Makes life so much easier! My current favorite color is green and I am in Michigan.
Thanks! Kelly
Hey there! I'm Aimee from Texas and my favorite "gadget" right now is my mom's longarm quilter! There's nothing like getting those babies done for free! ;)
Perfect timing--I'm almost ready to quilt a very special graduation gift and would like to improve my stipple.
My favorite tip is to really get to know your machine. Don't just assume it doesn't do certain things well--try new adjustments, new needles, new threads, new attachments. Sometimes a small change will dramatically improve performance.
My fav quilting tip is the gripper gloves for free motion quilting--made it sooo much easier!
A close second is to use freezer paper to make fun applique shapes.
Thanks for the giveaway...my fabric budget is nonexistant now so I have been cutting up old clothes = ) it would be fun to hold some "really good stuff"
hi, i'm from florida and i love thimbles for handquilting. not exactly cutting edge, but i feel so peaceful when i put one on for a cozy handstitching session!
Oh my goodness, I have been having this same exact problem and a kind reader just forwarded this link to me. I hope it works for me too! I am going to look into it tomorrow. Boy, I would feel like celebrating too!
My favorite quilting tip is from your site...when free motion quilting push hard on the treadle but move the fabric slowly. Worked like a charm to even out my stitch size and tension.
that is so awesome you got things to work out. i would love to quilt but don't think my basic machine is anywhere near to being able to do that. keep up all the great ideas and projects you keep doing.
My favourite quilting tool is my brain :D I love to work things out and I love to do the maths (i'm a nerd i know)... there's nothing more satisfying than sitting down and working something out theoretically and then have it successfully come to fruition!!
Cool idea! And thanks for the giveaway.
I'm a very new quilter (not even done with my first yet!) so I don't have much experience, but my favorite quilting trick/gadget so far is the 1/4 inch foot. Fabulous!!!!
I'm just starting into quilting so don't have any tips . . . but I'm hoping to pick up one of those feet for my machine that pulls both the top and bottom of the quilt through evenly! :) I know, a basic, but you have to start somewhere!
Favorite color is red!
Best,
Sarah
Since I am new to quilting I don't have a favorite tool yet. But orange is my favorite color. Since I joined the quilting world after the craziness that is FMF I would love to win if for no other reason than to say that even though I came late to the party I still got to use some FMF in at least one quilt :)
I am new to quilting...and have never actually quilted a whole quilt...I have just made tops so far. But I love bright vivid colors! I love your blog...it always gets me excited to quilt some more!
Wow--cool trick! Do you find that you are skipping stitches more with the foot higher off the quilt sandwich? Sometimes with my Juki I skip stitches when I'm making curves, and I *think* that if my presser foot pressure is really light it's worse, but I'm not positive. Also, recently my Juki's motor has been sounding funny when I have been free-motion quilting for a while. It seems to help when I oil it at the tops though my service lady said it should only need oil every 1-2 years everywhere except the bobbin (which should get oiled every other bobbin). She is a reputable bernina service woman who comes highly recommended. The manual says to oil everywhere indicated every day it's used though. Not sure what to believe. Anyway, as to my favorite gadget: it's the foam sticky seam guide at Joanne's (Dritz brand I believe). I stick it right next to my 1/4" foot on the Juki and it helps me keep the seam allowance consistent. Peels off, and I get rid of the residue with Goo Gone. My 2nd favorite gadget is rubber-dipped gardening gloves for free-motion quilting. Email is bekhyt(at)comcast(dot)net.
I'm Jodi in Alexandria, VA! I'm new, new, new to quilting, but someone just showed me how to use scraps of fabric to start and end my piecing with. Saved my life! I was getting so frustrated with my machine always unthreading. Can't believe you're parting with that fabric, BTW...and for free even!
YOU are my favorite quilting tip :-)
I have learned so much from you! (thank-you) As I was browsing through the quilts in the fall festival (I'm only at about 150 - so I still have a ways to go..) I kept thinking ~ I just like Amanda Jean's better....
My favorite quilting tool, right now, is my daughter's light table! I am into redline and applique and it's just the ticket to design, draw, trace and stitch.
I think you can find the answer to every problem on the internet!! Congratulations on fixing your foot without spending a dime...
My name is Donnelly. I am from Twin Falls, Idaho. I have two favorite tools right now. One of them is freezer paper as I am piecing a grandmother's flower garden wallhanging. My other favorite is painter's tape. I am using it to hand-quilt my current quilt.
I also love all colors. I have no specific favorite. It could change from day-to-day, or minute-to-minute!
Thanks for the giveaway.
Have a great day.
Hi AmandaJean! I am sooo excited about this give away! I adore that fabric. I am new to quilting. I am in the process of putting my first quilt top together - I used your pattern from Moda Bake Shop and I'm using the panache fabric. Its going to be so cute! :0) Thanks so much for all the awesome inspiration!
I just finished a beautiful table runner for my dining room and I used your binding tutorial. It came out PERFECT! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Looking forward to using it again. My favorite tool when free-motion quilting is my needle nose pliers. I use them to pull the thread up when I start a new section. I also use them when I change a needle. Tracy
i'm originally from ohio, but live in tokyo. i don't have a lot of room in my apartment for gadgets but the two things i use the most are my rotary cutter and my seam ripper. one of these days i'll venture out from squares and straight lines, but they seem to require my seam ripper enough that i can't imagine what curves would do to me!!
I just finished my very first quilt top! I'm just getting ready for the quilting process and want to do free motion quilting, but am a little hesitant.
Bailey from Idaho
Hi - Kate from Pittsburgh PA, and i am also new to quilting - i love the freemotion quilting foot, and this sounds really lame, but my big cutting mat. yes, that does sound lame. oh well, i love that fabric.!!!
I'm Meredith from Tulsa, OK. My tip: Never mix a glass of wine with a quilting project. Dangerous in so many ways :)
Neat! Reminded me of Mc Gyver. :}
Great find on the Wed site. I am trying to learn free motion. Still keep making quilt top after quilt top. So 1/4 foot is my best friend at this point.
Ching from California. The one can't figure out the ROYGBV---:O
I am Heidi from Arizona - my favorite gadget would have to be my walking foot. I went for years without one and I didn't know what I was missing. It has made life sooo much easier!
Hi! I've recently found your site and LOVE it. I started a quilt about 20 years ago and I never finished it!!! Your blog makes me want to quilt again. I sent it to my niece who quilts. I love white to show off all of the beautiful colors of a quilt.
carol
I love the knee lift on my Bernina. Makes moving around the quilt so much quicker and easier.
Andi from Melbourne :-)
PS Pick me!!!
Hi, I am Debbie from Purcellville, VA, and like many others, my favorite tool is the rotary cutter. I can't start a quilt without it and it makes cutting so much faster and more accurate! The cutting mat would be the next best tool. Thanks!!
I live in Virginia Beach. Since I am new to quilting and am always on the internet LOOKING for tips, my favorite color is burnt orange.
Greetings! My name is Valerie and I live in West Michigan, about 25 miles north of Grand Rapids. My favorite quilting tool is my spinning color wheel --- I'm crazy in love with boldly patterned fabrics and the color wheel is a real lifesaver when it comes to choosing what best to go with my particular "bold" of the moment. I love that I am given three options at once, depending on the look I'm going for... *grin*
Good for you! I am glad you were able to solve the dilemma! I am not a quilter, but I have signed up for a beginning class at the end of next month! Can's wait! Lately, I have been drawn to oranges and reds.
Nice fix! I'm Anne from Boulder, CO, and my favorite gadget is my walking foot. Life-changing.
That site is great isn't it. Very inspirational. I've been looking at the wonderful array of differnet designs. God job you seemed to fix the problem.
My best quilting tool is my 12.5 inch ruler. Perfect for making sure my bee blocks are squared up properly.
I love the color purple. I an so new to quilting I haven't even got out my quilting foot yet! Soon, though, very soon....
I'm Emilee from Dallas. My favorite color is red, and I love to chain piece. So smooth, so quick. love it.
Hi there,
Peta from Australia. Glad you fixed the problem with your darning foot.
My current fave quilting tool is my set of Westalee cutting rulers.
Perfect for me...as I have a bad habit of misreading the marks on a ruler and many is the time I have cut a heap of strips only to find that I have cut themm all short by 1/8th inch ! AAARRRGGHHH!
Using these rulers I pre-set the required cutting width and voila ....perfectly measured strips
and no fabric wasted !
I have the straight rulers as well as the 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch rulers.
I love reading your blog for inspiration...thanks for sharing with us all !
Mandy from Boise - I LOVE hand quilting. I'm too scared to try free motion quilting!
My favorite gadget is my walking foot. I'm a pretty simple quilter but up until now I haven't ever used one. I can never go back. Keri from: sewincrediblycrafty.blogspot.com
It's great that you were able to repair your darning foot without too much trouble or cost.
Here is my comment for the giveaway. My name is Rene'; from Orlando; don't really have a favorite quilting tip. I'd say favorite gadget is my 1/4 inch foot.
Thanks.
Hi! Kirsten from Arizona here...I really can't decide what my favorite tool or tip is, but I definitely have a love/hate relationship with my seam ripper! But really, what quilter doesn't? I did just discover paper piecing, and I'm enjoying it a lot!
I am enjoying reading the comments.
I love my "purple thang" great tool!
Angie
From Texas
Hi, I'm Lori from Texas. Best tip I have was one I got off the internet, and helps with marking your hand quilting designs. Print out your design on paper, then use a piece of GLAD press and seal, sticky side down on your paper, and punch tiny holes along the lines of your pattern. Then take the press and seal, place on your quilt sticky side down, and with a chalk pounce, mark your design. Peel the press and seal away, and voila, you've got your design marked on your top.
Fave color: blue.
Hi, I am Lexi from Australia and love following you. I love to hand piece but am always inspired by your work. My new favourite colours are green and pink, I guess a new daughter will do that to you after 2 boys!
Simple but true...rotary cutter. Oh, and my Ginger 4 inch snips. So cute, so sharp (kinda what I hope I can be on a good day).
Melinda, from Ferndale, WA.
I recently learned that you can still be called a quilter and have beautiful quilts even if you've never paid to have one STIPPLED..stitch in the ditch is a very acceptable way to quilt your masterpiece. I felt VALIDATED by the owner of my FAVORITE QUILT SHOP (Stars and Scraps in Corona California)...pick me for the fabric and I'll make a really cute not stippled quilt!
Oh, what a great site! Thanks for pointing it out.
My favorite quilting gadget is just my sewing machine. I love it so. Well, I guess the gadget part could be the BSR on it. Love.
I'm Ann from Ohio. I don't have a quilting tip (too new at it), but I love shopping for fabric and my favorite color of your give-away fabrics is orange, otherwise I'm always drawn to teal.
Gotta love it when a tip makes such a difference to your quilting! I'm Sandra from Ontario, Canada - my favorite tip was learning about generic machine feet - for years I thought you had to buy Baby Lock feet for Baby Lock machines ... and Singer feet for Singer machines ... that tip saved me a FORTUNE! I just wish I'd learned it before I spent $70 on a B.L. walking foot, lollllllllllll!
I love to quilt, love my bernina, and also my brother embroidery machine. your ideas have been an inspiration to me, using my scraps to make something beautiful.
Oh, I would love to win some new fabric!!!!!! I like blues and greens the best, but I love most of your quilt combinations, no matter what colors are involved. I think colors are beautiful, and wish I had the time to create such wonderous art as you!
Not really a tool - but my hardwood floors are very handy when it comes to basting a quilt! I just basted the zig zag quilt for my little one's nursery this morning!
I'm Mel and I'm from Florida. I am a new quilter and am almost done with my second quilt, which is actually the first one I started. I put it aside after many, MANY sorry attempts at machine quilting it. I started and completed piecing another quilt in the meantime. I also took my machine in for repairs. The sewing machine place claims that nothing at all was wrong with my machine but I got it back and it works so well! I sat down and quilted the entire baby quilt in an evening. I was sooo happy! I quilted the second one last night and was not quite as pleased. I'm working on the binding tonight. I can't wait to start another one!
no need to enter me...i have enough fmf. (can't hardly believe i wrote that!) don't you LOVE THAT SITE! I've been checking it every day...so inspiring!
I love to read your blog and I also love that fabric! A cool tool I like to use when marking fabric (especially for half-square triangles) is a hera marker because it doesn't leave a permanent mark on the fabric and you don't have to remove anything from the fabric afterwards.
My name is Elizabeth from Montgomery Alabama and my favorite quilting "gadget" is my Bernina BSR foot. I just finished a quilt today for my niece using Mendocino fabrics in pinks and orange and it turned out so cute! Thank you for sharing your many, many quilts that are inspiration to me!
I am Francis from Indianapolis. I use Christmas wrapping paper that has the one inch squares on the back to design blocks, quilts, etc. I designed an applique quilt using this method. Easy because the paper is long and the squares are perfect.
What a great tip!! I wish I'd read this last week when I was quilting my zig zag quilt for ORB :-0 I think my favorite quilting gadgets are those bendy safety pins.
Thats awesome it works so well! My favorite "aha" moment in quilting was when Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio told me her secret to getting her quilting lines so straight (since my stippling wasn't going so well)--painters tape. She said, and now I do, to just put the tape from corner to corner and stitch along it, then move it over and stitch again--genius!
I'm Holly from way-up-north, UTAH! My favorite gadget is my little "Finger-Cots". They help me pull the needle through when binding quilts! I buy them from the drug store in the pharmacy section. Saves wear and tear on the fingers.
Am I too late to enter? Those fabrics exactly match my in-progress nursery. Fingers crossed!
I just started quilting, so I don't have any favorite techniques or anything yet. I do have lots and lots of favorite fabrics lines, though--FMF (obviously!), Katie Jump Rope, Riley Blake Just Dreamy, Sandi Henderson Farmer's Market, Park Slope, and the list goes on. If my husband knew the extent of my fabric stash when I've just barely finished one table runner and have just started a second project, he'd probably croak! Thanks for the fantastic giveaway! Your quilts are always inspiring!
I'm Lily from Singapore =P
Sincerely, anything about quilting come from you, it is the place where I obtain most information from.. really! I know nothing about free motion quilting till I accidentally 'pop' into your blog and now I am 'glued' here everyday enjoying every post of yours. Thanks for your generosity in sharing whatever you have done!
Isn't it wonderful and empowering when you can fix your own stuff! I'm Mary from Colorado, and I think my favorite quilting gadget is my Fiskars ruler/cutter combination. I use it ALL the time.
I'm too chicken to break off a bit of the roundy part yo make an open toe free motion foot.
Oh how I would love that green one on the right. I just bought 2 yards of the one on the left. And let me share with you that I found the FMF seedlings in cheddar for 1.99 a yard. Wanna know how much I got? 4 yards. :)
I'm Liz, I'm mum and quilter in New Zealand.
My favourite gadget would have to be my rotary cutter and 6.5" x 12.5" quilting ruler... LOVE THEM. I'm currently going crazy over Christmas fabric, so am trying to add non Christmas fabric to my stash so i will have something to do come January.
ok I'm relativly new to quilting so my favorite gadget is the rotary cutter. I originally learned the art of quilting from my grandmother...she used a silver off-set handle of shears that she had sharpened religiously...I never knew there was any other way...they I saw the light! I would love to receive the fabrics, because I never win anything! Thanks
I'm Sarah from Knoxville. I still haven't mastered blind stitching the back of my binding so the best tip I've found is to use a blanket stitch to attach the binding. It mostly disappears, if you use the right thread, and takes me a lot less time than hand sewing (plus I really don't know how to do it right anyway).
I have no idea whatsoever what that thing is that you have pictured with the cardboard in it! I actually have problems with the height of my pedal, so I put a book by the pedal (a Bible, no less, as it is the perfect thickness) where I rest my heel and then just my toes press the pedal. No more sore ankle!
I love that tip! I'm Lisa from Henderson, NV and have just started quilting, so I don't have any great tips yet... My favorite colors are any Autumn colors!
I'm Alice from Utah. My favorite gadget is Havel's Ultra-pro seam ripper--it's the best! And my favorite tip: If you won't notice it from the back of a galloping pony, DON'T UNPICK IT!
Hi! I'm Lauren from Mississippi. My favorite new gadget at the moment is my quarter inch walking foot. I love bright colors and have always loved blues and greens, but I've recently discovered that I now like orange (which I previously hated)! I love your blog -- thanks for the time that you put into it!
My favorite tool is those pretty long quilting pins with glass heads. They are so smooth and my blocks have improved greatly using them consistently.
Also, I really dig starch!
That is so neat you fixed your machine all by yourself!
I got a Pfaff Grand Quilter with the frame and quilt all my quilts on it...I guess I wouldn't consider it a gadget but oh..do I love it. I got mine a year or so ago when they weren't as expensive...now they have really raised in price. I really admire you for quilting with your regular machine. My shoulders used to get SO sore from quilting when I did it on my regular machine. You can see a few photos of my machine and quilts on the rack over at my blog www.joscountryjunction.com
Mel from Upstate SC here. Newbie at quilting. Only done a couple of squares so far, but I've got several pages from your blog tagged for future reference--much easier than finding the instructions buried in a quilting book, LOL. Favorite tool so far is any printed instructions with pictures--I'm a visual learner. And favorite color is navy blue.
This is Chase. Original from Taiwan, but live in Iowa now. I am still learning to do free motion quilting. unfortunate, my sewing machine doesn't allow me to adjust tension. My is almost computerized.
Thanks for sharing the tips!
This is Chase. Original from Taiwan, but live in Iowa now. I am still learning to do free motion quilting. unfortunate, my sewing machine doesn't allow me to adjust tension. My is almost computerized.
Thanks for sharing the tips!
Flea Market Fancy - YEA!
Heidi from Ohio
hmmm... best tip or tool. Right now I am really into the silicon pressing sheets. They are wonderful if you work with any adhesive backing (steam-a-seam, heat-n-bond, wunderunder, etc.) No more gunky irons!
Hi Amadajean, I'm Karen from Nevada. I am working on my very first quilt right now. I have my squares cut and am ready to start. I don't have a favorite gadget yet, but am loving the rotary cutter and the t-square thingy. I love brown, and am loving your blog -- so much inspiration. Thanks and Blessings!
Emily
from western Iowa
My favorite gadget is my binding tool for make continuous binding. I also love my Sidewinder!
emily_jcp(at)hotmail(dot)com
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