What other tips am I missing?
 

Have you ever been given a tip that's transformed your life? (This may be a slight exaggeration.......... :D).

I learned a tip recently and it got me thinking about how many others I don't know. (Clearly been living under a rock).

I'm making a Minecraft quilt for DGS (thanks to SlightlyOffQuilter for the pattern) and the rows are 8x8. I've previously managed to figure out that rows on many quilts need to be labelled/numbered and made my own with craft beads.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]476996[/ATTACH]

The tip I didn't know about was putting a pin in the left-hand block when pairing, so you know what order they should be. I tell you this has made this quilt soooooooo much easier. Wish I'd known it years ago - duh!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]476997[/ATTACH]

I'm sure many of you will know of this one already, but I think it's a good idea to share our tips with new quilters and other rock dwelllers ;).

Please share your best tips!

thanks for the tip. this is one area where i always get it wrong.

I always put a safety pin in the first left block so that I know this is the top of the quilt when adding rows. Keeps in in order for my colors. When I lay out my quilt on the design wall will always number my rows and take them off the way in order with the left one on top and go down from their. Seems to keep me out of trouble.

Thanks for the tip of using beads. I use this method labeling the first piece at the left of the row and stacking in order) but with post-it notes which I make each time I put a set of blocks together. Seems that I'll have to visit the craft dept. next time I'm shopping.

What comes as natural to one person is not necessarily obvious to another. Being a lefty in a right hand world I have learned to adapt things to a logical way that will work for me. With quilts I like to use the logic of applying how I read a book to how I assemble the quilt. I start in the top left corner and move down line by line.

Best advice I ever received was in relation to free motion quilting. The person giving the mini demonstration I was watching said, "Really, girls, Just Do It". She was right. I had nothing more than some scrap batting and fabric to lose, so I just tried it and found I really could do it. So I pass this advice on all the time. Whatever it is in life, you won't know if you can do it until you try!

Believe me, i've done the pinning bit myself. Why, because it prevents having to rip stitches!

I have been pinning my quilts like that for a couple years now. It helps me keep them in order since I don't have a design wall.

The best tip I ever learned was the Elmer's Washable school glue. I LOVE the glue stick and keep one right by my machine when I am sewing.

When I am sewing blocks and working across a row, I use different colored pins for each pair in alphabetical order by the name of the color: the first pins are black, then blue, then green, then red, white, yellow, depending on the number of blocks.

The best tip that really changed my sewing life was how to pop the thread knot when hand sewing. I always had trouble with the knot pulling out or even the thread breaking. Put your thumbnail on the knot and then pull the thread. It works like magic.