Quilt Basting Tips

Quilt basting has to be my very least favorite part of quilting.  I love to piece, I love free motion quilting, I even love the feeling of satisfaction I get from slapping a binding on a quilt, but basting... blech.  That said I am always after a tip or trick to make the process easier.  I have a number of quilts to baste in the coming days and I thought I would check and see if there were any good video tutorials on youtube that gave basting tips I hadn't heard of before.  I found four great ones- and the tips are just fantastic.  I can't wait to try some of these methods.  My guy is thrilled that I now have a way to spray baste without his help- and pin baste too for that matter- and my dogs will be thrilled that I can do pin basting on a table top now instead of zoning off an area of the house for floor basting which results in grumpy dogs and grumpy me with a sore back and sore knees.  I loved Nancy Ziemans tip for fusible basting with a mini iron- what a great idea!  I would love to know how you baste your quilts and if any of these videos were helpful to you.  Let me know in the comments below!

 

Nancy Zieman's favorite basting techniques

 

Spray Basting with out pins or help on your ironing board!

 

Basting any size quilt on any size table top!

Love Theme Pillow Inspiration for 2015 Free Motion Quilting Challenge

Hello Everyone, I am so sorry I have been absent for the past week.  I got sick and have a very big deadline for a super secret project coming right up, so I have been a bit busy behind the scenes over here.  But things are getting done and I am feeling better and I thought I would share a pillow and a blog post I did a few years back as many of you are hopefully thinking about your Love Theme pillows for the January part of the 2015 Free Motion Quilting Challenge with Quilt Shop Girl.  I made this pillow when I was much newer to FMQ and it isn't perfect, but I think it was a fun challenge at the time and is a great tutorial for making your own pillow.  Check it out, and maybe you might find some inspiration to make your own.  If you are considering entering the challenge and haven't decided yet I really hope you do, it is a great skill builder for all levels of FMQ and will help you connect with other machine quilters out there, which is so great and a real key to your success as a new quilter. 

click Here to see the blog post showing you how I made this pillow.

In other news Grandma is officially on vacation for the next few weeks and so the thread review I have promised you will have to wait- sorry about that, it was a surprise trip as a gift and I am so excited she gets to spend some time with her sister.  I got the link for a commercial that Brewer Sewing filmed for my book at Fall Quilt Market 2014- I think it is pretty fun, and even though you can tell I am uncomfortable in front of the camera, hopefully it helps detail what the book is all about.  Let me know in the comments if you are entering Quilt Shop Gals FMQ Challenge.  I would love to see your pillow if you do, so please shoot me an email, or contact me on my Facebook Page and let me see!  Hope you all have a great week!

Happy New Year and we interupt this thread review for an important announcement...

It's 2015 already and I can't believe it!  I am a person who loves new year, a new beginning and the chance to make resolutions and work towards new goals.  I never want to stop learning and improving and have always thought the yearly process of making goals and resolutions were also a great time to stop and view the progresses and failures of last year.  It's a great time to reflect on your journey as a quilter, what you learned, what inspired you, what you failed at and what you could do differently if you tried it again...These reflections can really help make next years goals and remind you of how far you have already come.  I had a lot of fun in 2014 but am really looking forward to this new year and all it will bring.  I hope for happiness and health to you all in the coming year, and thank you so much for your support and following me on my quilting journey throughout last year. 

I had planned on sharing a thread review with you today, and I will come back in the next few days to do that, I promise, but a few days ago I was approached by Darlene, formerly of SewCalGal, and now moving to the new blog name QuiltShopGal.  She had done a lovely review of my book which I shared with you all a few months ago.  If you haven't checked out her blog for the absolute plethora of machine quilting information she shares for free I strongly suggest you do.  You will find amazing tips and suggestions as well as many opportunities to meet other machine quilters and share your work.  She is hosting a Free Motion Quilting challenge for the entire year of 2015.  I am so excited for the great opportunity it will provide new quilters to get connected with each other and good teachers and inspiring people in the free motion quilting community.  I am also honored and excited to be the featured expert for the month of January.  If you have my book already you can make the pillow in my book and enter it in the monthly challenge to enter to win some pretty great prizes!  Click over to read all the details and please think about entering the challenge.  The beginning of the year is a great time to make new goals and if getting better at free motion quilting is one of your goals for the new year then this challenge will be the perfect motivation you need to practice and learn and get better.  You will also benefit from lots of great tips, access to free patterns, and the chance to win amazing prizes all year long.  I hope you all check it out, and enter the challenge.  If you use my book to make the pillow for January, or use some of the quilting designs I teach then send me a picture of your work via email or my facebook page and I will share it here this month on my blog! 

The winner of the last book giveaway is QuiltingTangent... I tried sending you and email but the link didn't work so please contact me so I can get you your book!

because every post needs a picture... here is an applique mini quilt I made for Grandma for Christmas... before I quilted it.. I forgot to take a picture of the after.. I will have to get one from her.