This is a great one for me. I bought myself a small tool box and some basic tools (small hammer, needle nose pliers, screwdrivers, etc.) Kept it a secret until we moved and he found it. Now I never know what will be in my box. Just decided to start a new stash of tools and hopefully he won't find them.

:hunf: :|

thanks for sharing

Well, I don't prewash, but I do test fabrics I think might bleed. I put a small sample in a pyrex cup with some water, and put it in the microwave for a few minutes. If the water turns color, I know I have to wash the fabric, but most fabric from the quilt shop is really very good these days, so I have even had blacks, blues and reds that don't bleed.

As I posted before - mine have pink handles - no guy will touch them. (I guess they think it will affect their manhood!) lol.

Hmmm - I just bought a Michael Miller black last winter from a LQS - the water was "icky" for a couple of rinses. It also shrank a LOT!

(I started to measure fabric before and after washing - just to see if it did shrink - and that was because some cat print fabrics that I KNEW I had purchased a yard of were only 35" long when I was thinking about selling some of them.)

#6 One way to tell good quality material is to hold it up to the light. If you can read clearly through it, put it back. If you can see pretty well, but not read, it is iffy. Remember it will probably pass even more light once you have washed it. If this doesn't make sense to you, try looking at men's shirts and slacks at Walmart and Penneys. You pay more at Penneys, but they will usually hold up much longer. Yes, I still buy at Walmart, but I have learned to be careful.

Sincerely,
sueinbarre

19) Borders - are a whole 'nother topic - I like mine to lay flat - and the blah blah has been covered elsewhere.

I like to wait until the center is done before cutting the strips - the instructions that say to cut a piece "42-7/8 inches long " for a border strip kind of freak me out. I'm relatively accurate in my sewing and pressing, but I sure want to give myself some wiggle room! I also may have changed my mind about the border by then, too.

I love the list. It is so very,very true.

Thank you for providing these, at the moment all of them apply but 4b did leap off the page - I always do a test to make sure I love my color combinations and work out the kinks. Otherwise it's just an exercise in banging my head against a wall... and that's never good.

none of them do... i got my oldest daugher a tee shirt for christmas last year that said "omg, my mother was right about EVERYTHING"

she even sent me a photo of her in it...