Wednesday, November 16, 2016

NOW – STOP DOING THIS!


Not organizing your fabric scraps

Will you ever use fabric scraps if you can’t even tell what you have?  Our favorite thing is to organize scraps by colors.  If you don’t have them organized, you might as well throw them out because they won’t be used and they’re taking up precious space!

Overly criticizing your work

Do you nit-pick and over analyze your stitches and points?  Stop it.  Seriously, just stop.  You’re not doing anyone any favors and especially yourself by trash talking.  Why not celebrate that you actually made time to sew?  Congratulate that you finished a project.  Be happy that you created something that didn’t exist before.  That’s pretty cool.

Cutting the same place on your mat      

Want a quick way to wear out your mat?  Always cut at the same place.  Mats need time to heal. 

Sewing over pins

Sewing over a pin causes problems.  Needles bend, dull, or worse—break.  If you have a habit of sewing over pins because you haven’t experienced issues yet, please stop now.

Not maintaining your machine

Clean your machine regularly.  Change the needle when you see stitch quality decrease or hear a gentle thud sound.  Take your machine to the mechanic once in a while.  Be good to your machine and she’ll be good to you!

Not completing your projects   

Having too many unfinished projects is discouraging.  If you find you have a project you started, but haven’t returned to in years, probably you’re discouraged or simply not interested.  This is a great opportunity to donate your half-done project to your guild or a friend who might love a head start on a new project!

Unthreading the machine incorrectly

When you change a spool color, the first thing we normally do is just pull the spool off the machine and pull the thread backwards through the tension discs.  Easy? Yes.  Bad for your machine? Yes.  Time to break the habit and cut the thread at the spool and pull it out through the needle.

Using dull cutting tools

This is a no brainer, but sometimes you just hope our rotary cutter will make it a few more squares or that the frayed fabric edges from your shears aren’t that bad.  Sewing is much easier with crisp edges and choosing to using high quality sharps can help alleviate a lot of frustration and save time.

Using low-quality thread and fabrics

You knew this was coming!  Low quality threads shed lint, break, and may not stand the test of time.  Similarly, fabric quality will affect how long your quilt will last.  We recommend buying the highest quality you can afford.  This will make sewing and quilting much more enjoyable.
·       If you want to get good at quilting, quilt daily.
·       Stop stressing about perfection. Perfection does not exist past 25 inches! Actually, make that 5 inches.
·       Don't be afraid of your tension dial - it was put there for a reason.
·       Quilt because it makes you happy, not because you need to "finish this damn quilt!"
·       If you've never quilted before and are waiting for that perfect day when the kids are grown or you're retired,         STOP WAITING! Today is the day, now is the time, get off your butt and do it!

·       Eat, Quilt, Sleep, Repeat.

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