patricej

i have tried two different electric blade sharpeners. blech! for me, they were both a waste of money.

i had the first version of the TrueCut mentioned above. not bad. i didn't regret spending the money.

however, i always end up going back to the manual "twisty" sharpeners. such as this one:
https://www.weisnerssewingcenter.com...harpener?gQT=1
they are waaaaaaay more expensive now than they were when i bought mine. [gasp!!]
also, you have to buy one for each size of blade.
the upsides: they work well if you put in the manual effort; if you don't wait too long to sharpen the blades, they're good for more than one sharpening; they do "pay for themselves" compared to always buying new blades;

i've never tried this one but it does look tempting ... i didn't find one that sharpens 60mm blades, though, which is what i use 99% of the time.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Quilt...ssType=REGULAR

patricej

i've pieced backs many times, but was never clever enough to just use up the pieces [then add other fabrics] even if they don't go together for the back size needed. i am sooooo going to steal this idea! :-)

Onebyone

I have two of the Grace long sharpeners. One was a door prize and one I found at thrift store new in box. I was gifted a package of Wawak rotary blades to try. I have been using one of them for over three months now. I sharpen it before a cutting session. A friend gave me an Olfa Endurance blade to try and other than supposing to lasting longer it cut like the other brands I have used. The brand I have had for over a year and still using is Headley titanium coated 15 pack from Amazon.

cashs_mom

I make a lot of my jackets and tops. I love using drapery fabrics. I live in Houston and the weather is so warm in general that you don't need lined jackets. drapery fabric is the perfect choice. It's nice and heavy so you don't need a lining and stands up to lots of wear. I even found that you could wash your drapery fabric before using it if it's cotton. I've done that and ended up with a nice texture to the fabric which makes a more interesting jacket. And, yes, I buy the fabric wherever I can find it. There used to be an interior fabric outlet near my house. I bought fabric to make drapes for both of the houses we've had for under $8 a yard! Score!

Pam S

I came across a box of Orphan Blocks while cleaning out my sewing room. I don't usually make test blocks, but sometimes I make too many blocks for a project or they come out the wrong size or I don't like the color combination, took a class I decided I didn't like, etc. Decided to add borders or more blocks to make doll quilts for the Salvation Army doll drive in the fall. Have finished 3 in the last few weeks and have a few to go. Since I hate to throw out fabric, I feel good about doing this.

cashs_mom

That's a great use for those orphan blocks. I hate to toss out things that could be used by someone else. It's much easier for me to clear stuff out if I feel it's being used.

Lena1952

I used the leftovers to make an After quilt and decided I liked it so much it would become a top! And I love taking orphan blocks a puzzle piecing them into a quilt top. Because my color choices are all over the color wheel, I sort through the orphans to put them in groups that work best together. Then choose the largest group to put together.

stitch678

I find l can often use the back of a fabric for some hard to find shades/ colours. This has saved me from shopping several times. 🙂

QuiltingPandaBear

@stitch678 i did this recently, I needed just a few pale green and yellows in ~ 5x5 size. I just flipped over some brights from my scrap bin!

today, while my brain is recovering from a very stressful week and I’m not feeling like doing anything complicated, I tossed on an audiobook and pieced a bunch of leftover batting scraps into Frankenbatting. It felt productive and tidied my space and was very zen and chill. These will be used for my wall hangings or other small projects.

QuiltMom2

I join leftover batting strips and try to keep anyone's unused thread/fabric scraps out of the landfill.