I also use dlf0122quilting seaming method (saw it on TV I think) and it made a HUGE difference in my points matching.

I keep one of those fridge magnet business cards you get from time to time in my sewing basket. When using pins I lay the card next to my machine magnet side up and then as I take the pins out while sewing I 'stick' them to the magnet -- keeps the pins from wandering off, esp onto the carpet where tender feet might find them.

I also keep an old ceramic tea cup in my basket which I also place next to me while sewing and into which goes all those bit of thread or other small pieces of garbage.

I try to take a picture of my quilt before I sandwich it, then you
can see if anything is wrong before you go any further.
Don't know why this works, but it does.

I am always on the lookout for organizers for my collections of quilting and sewing items. When I see a container or organizer that will work better than what I have in my room, I buy it.

One tip I think helped me get started on my projects faster, is to put all the needed thread, special size needle, and pattern or what ever all together in a large zip lock and store it with the fabric I bought to complete it. I have a couple of those plastic drawer organizers that have complete containers as drawers. You just pull it out, and get it done, or go to the class. Then I know I have everthing right there and spend less time rooting around searching.

I also keep a notepad in my purse with the list of fabric or threads, whatever I need when I am in town. That way I don't forget it in the store. (I tend to get overwhelmed in a quilt store, so many pretty things in there!) LoL!

OK just one more ... I made myself a mid calf sewing apron. I found myself at the front door signing the ups delivery slip covered with snippets of fabric and thread. Not a pretty site. When I leave the room I slip off the apron off and it tames the threads through the house trail.

Oh such good tips from everyone will use....Thank you all

I also use zip lock bags all the time for sorting threads, etc. I discovered the 2.5 gallon bags that are wonderful for keeping all you need for a project. Happy Sewing

Take some of your scraps of WS stabalizer and put them in a glass with water. Let them desolve and you can make your lace stiffer with that. Best of all it is free

Mary:

Thanks! Will be looking for it!

What a great tip. I've always had trouble remembering what needle I was using.

Hello all:
Did not know where to go to post thiese questions so I came to the tips area because that is what I need.
I would like to make my first Log Cabin block quilt in light and dark colors, so here are my questions. I noticed in the pattern I have it says to cut the strips 1.5 inches wide. Do the strips have to be this wide because of tradition? Can I use the standard jelly roll witdth of 2.5 inches? That is what I was thinking of doing because I can get the light and darks all in one pack, but I don't want to loose the look of the blocks. Would they have the same look?. All that being said, if it ok to use jelly roll witdth then how many jelly roll packs would I need to make a single bed size quilt?
One final question, I want to buy a 108 inch width fabric for the back of a single bed size quilt, how many yards would I need, less a 4 inch border? I am sorry about the measurement questions but I am absoultly terrible when it comes to figuring out these things. My next trip to the quilting store I am going to get one of those quilting calculators!
I look to the voices of experience to help me as I am a new quilter and I sure don't want to invest in this only to find it will not look the same.
Thanking you all in advance for your help,
Penny

This is a great idea!!! I can never read the size on sewing needles even with my glasses. I need to get a magnifying glass. Thank you.

pennyswings,

You can certainly use the standard 2.5 inch jelly roll width to make log cabin blocks. The block pattern will be there, but the size of your finished block will be different.

Using the 2.5 strips, each log of your block will end up 2 inches wide; using 1.5 inch strips, each log of the block would end up 1 inches wide. Depending on the size of the center square, if you use exactly the same number of logs, the 2.5 size will be about twice the 1.5 size. You would probably add fewer logs when using the wider strips, to keep your block size reasonable. If you simply follow the directions about light and dark placement, you will end up with the same block pattern.

I would make a sample block to see what size you end up liking for the quilt. From that sample block, you can figure out how much fabric you used, how many blocks you will need to make your quilt, etc.

Here is a website with standard measurements for quilts: http://www.thequiltcenter.com/measure.htm . They give the usual size for a twin size (single bed) quilt as about 69 inches by 90 inches. In reality quilt sizes vary depending on pattern repeats, border sizes, whether you want the quilt to hang over the sides, etc.

If you make your quilt to the 69 x 90 dimension, you would want to order 2 yards of the 108-inch wide fabric for backing.

Mary

To Penny:
I have El Burns Log Cabin Book and it uses 2 1/2 strips.
For a double it calls for 1/4 yd for centers. uses 2 strips
1 7/8 yd for light uses 24 strips
2 1/4 for dark uses 29 strips
That is just for the blocks.
It makes 20 one color repeat blocks.
I have only made one log cabin quilt and using her book it came out right and it is a nice quilt.
I buy her books at Joanns and use coupons for a good price.
The book has all the different layouts and borders and detailed instructions.

Mary;
Thank you so much for your help. Your answer was what I needed to help me figure out what I want to do. Looking again at the pattern that called for the 1.5 inch strips that made the finished block 7 inches, that was with a finished 1 inch center block. So if I use 2.5 inch strip with a 2 inch center block that should make the block 14 inches am I right? I like your advice about finishing one and seeing how that looks.
Thank you again for you help and for the website. I have booked marked it for future reference.
Sincerely,
Penny

Rosemarie:
Thank you for your reply. The measurements help a lot. Will have to wait until I come up to NY in July to look for that book. May buy on line and send to my son's house before I come. I may have to do the same for the material. I am retired and living in Argentina and unfortunately they do not have anything like a JoAnne's here, in fact they don't even sell 100% cotton in prints. I do most of my ordering over the internet and if shipping prices are resonable I have the material sent here if not I send it to my sister and she mails it to me. Of course you could not have known that but your advice was great. I will look for the book.
Sincerely,
Penny

Wonderful idea!! I had heard of making mini-pincushions of different fabrics to represent what used sewing machine needle was stored. Ex: small denim pincushion for denim needle, small knit pincushion for ball point needle, etc. Your idea of the tomato pincushion is even better!

I also put my needles, pins and such together with the fabric for an individual project. I like keeping everything together.

Also, When handquilting in my circular frame, I always loosen it a bit and pop the top off on one side to let the quilt rest overnight. That way, I don't end up with circular frame marks all over my quilt.

Yes, that's right. With 14-inch blocks, if you lay them out 5 blocks across by 6 blocks down, you will get a quilt size of about 70 inches by 84 inches. You can add borders as desired to get the size you want.

Just be careful to see if you can get the overall design you want from this combination of squares. There are many different log cabin layouts. The same size and layout made with 14-inch blocks can look quite different when made with 7-inch blocks. Smaller blocks create more design repeats.

What I have loved about log cabin blocks is that, once I have the blocks made, I always seem able to make a pleasing arrangement with them. I usually make a few extra blocks so I can experiment with different layouts. With the larger blocks, you may end up preferring a different layout from the one you have seen.

Mary:
Did some research on the internet this afternoon and found a great site that has lots of free patterns, mostly using small pieces of fabric like 2.5 and 4 inch widths. She has some beautiful patterns and they are all free. If you don't know about it here it is http://quiltville.com/index.html.
I got some great ideas and can use the jelly rolls to do them.
Thanks again for your response.
Penny

This tip doesn't have a thing at all to do with quilting. When the temps are low enough that your windshield washer fluid hoses are frozen, I keep a little spray bottle of it in the house and take it to the car with me. When I'm parked, I can spray down the windshield, use my wipers and my windshield is clean.

Forgot all about it until I needed it today. Sure came in handy.

Prism99:
Thank you for your reply. I am new to quilting, I have only made 8 quilts so far, except for one which was a rainbow quilt by Moda, they have all been my design.

I love the Log Cabin light to dark squares so I thought I would give that a try. Since I am new I do not have a very big stash of fabric and that is why I thought the 2.5inch jelly rolls would make it easier for me to create the colors and look that I want without having to buy yards of material.

All of the girls have given me really good advise and some great resouce material too. Your reply gave me something else to think about, how the pattern will lay out with the larger squares. I did not even consider that, duh, the voice of inexperience. But this is how you learn and that is why I came here for help. Probably best to draw out the design on graph paper and use someone else's suggestion of coloring in with colored pencils to see how they will look. Then I can also decide how many jelly rolls I will need to complete the quilt as well, based on the number of squares needed to complete the pattern.

Thanks to you, and all the women who have replied, again for your advice.
Sincerely,
Penny

Ever vacuum out your bobbin case and under your threadplate? All you need is your vacuum hose, a plastic lid and a drinking straw.

Take a plastic lid larger than the hose of your vacuum and slit an x in the center, but not too large because you want the straw to fit snug. Unscrew the foot plate. Turn on the vacuum and place the plastic lid over the hose - the suction holds it on. Insert the drinking straw into the slit of the plastic cap and hold on to it! Place the open end of the straw into your shuttle case and vacuum! You can smoosh it flat and vacuum the area gently, even getting up around where you put your needle in. Works great!

Marcia, you are a total genius !! I'm goiing to pick up a "tomato" the next time I go to WalMart. I've tried the magnetic board but the needles keep moving around and get misplaced.

For another "faraway" look at your quilt to see how the colours are working together, etc, go to the lumber yard and buy yourself one of those peepholes for doors. Use that to look through at your quilt layout for a great overall look.

Two great tips.

I use Q tips to clean around my bobbin, they just draw out all that llint and fuzzy stuff.
I also have read not to use air, but use your vacuum clean to bring the stuff out not push it in.

Have a wonderful quilty day,

simple quilter

I, too, have read about not using the air cans. Also, I was told by a "sewing machine person" not to blow (with your breath) the lint out around the bobbin area (and also in the serger) because of the humidity of your breath. It's almost a natural thing to do when I see lint. I want to blow it out. But I have to try to remember that it's a NO NO.

I ordered from the Clotilde catalog a little "gizmo" that attaches to my vacuum cleaner hose. There are very tiny attachments that reach down into the machine and the serger. I love it.

When I find a pattern that I will be using more than once, I always

iron interfacing on it before I cut it out. Then I don't have to be so

careful and it won't tear as easily as the plain tissue paper pattern.

It was suggested to me by a quilting teacher that I keep a pipe cleaner handy to get in and around the bobbin case. It does grab a lot of the dust but I think the vacuum cleaning methos is probably the best for getting it all out.

a make shift handle for my grids

my 1/4" guide...layers of painters tape

Heres a tip...I keep forgetting which end is the top...here is a tip that you may know..I cannot believe I did not think of it earlier....I place a safety pin on the top square...now I know which block not to sew and also how to lay it back down once sewn....so much easier...and no fear of sewing the wrong end.

Anyone have any tips that has not already been posted?

Thanks for the reminder! I struggled with tangled thread yesterday. Will grab a dryer sheet before I start sewing today.

I use empty coffee cans I decorate for all the pieces of thread and snippets of fabric, have one by my iron, cutting
table and sewing machine. Small baskets can be used too.

Wow, I'm having a hard time describing this. Pretend you're hand-quilting a circle. We all know how much fun that is, especially in a floor frame!!
I don't make a knot but pull 1/2 of the thread at the top of the circle then quilt down one side until it becomes uncomfortable, then start again at the top and quilt down the other side. It's a big time and thread saver. And I hope that makes sense!!!

What a GREAT idea! Thank you!

Use rubber fingers you buy at office store to pull needle through when hand quilting.
Use Q-tips to clean machine.
Store needles in pill bottles.
Use plastic oblong containers that salad comes in to store scraps.

My distributor told us that with newer, especially computer machines, using the air can blow dust and lint into areas where it could cause serious problems. We were told to use natural bristle brushes.

Linit is another brand of liquid starch and carried by Shop Rite in the laundry aisle.