What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Before I show you my new finish, I thought I'd show you what is going on in the studio. It is not a happy sight, is it? Ahh, that's how it goes. Chances are that it's never going to embroider again. 

1. Artistry (creating and designing, use of color, fit and form)
2. Chemistry (fiber content, treatment and care of fabrics, glues)
3. Color theory (using ...

I had a 3 flight journey to Jacksonville, Florida from Aberdeen – Manchester – JFK New York, arriving at the hotel just before midnight. All went fairly smoothly despite my trans-Atlantic seat neighbour man-spreading, gripping the seat arms and trying to persuade me to love Jesus. Clearing passport control and customs took forever at JFK, possibly even longer than I have experienced at Paris Charles de Gaulle!

We had an early start on Monday morning at the opening launch of Bernina University. It was a huge event with hundreds of dealers and educators from Bernina of America. There was a lot of ...

There was much that did not go according to plan this week! I downloaded a pattern for a pair of dungarees/overalls from Helen’s Closet and set to making a toile to check that I had picked suitable size. I traced off the pattern a size bigger than my dress size but the fit was too small. Rather depressed by my measurements I then made a much larger size to accommodate my hip measurements but found that this time the fit was enormous. I will have to either make a size in between or work out how to adjust ...

I decorated my local quilt shop! We have a new/old quilt store in Pasadena, CA, thank heavens, after a seemingly infinite interval when there was none.

Quilt'n'Things Fiber Arts, which used to be in Glendale, was sold and moved to Pasadena, on upper Lincoln Ave. The fabric and yarn collection is primo. Lana Norton, the new owner, has a fabulous eye, although I'm biased because she asked me to teach a class there. Also, because two of my skyline quilts are hanging there (they won't be there much longer, since the class is over).

Thanks for the comments or e-mails that you write on the blog or send to me. I still have a couple to respond to and I'll address them in an upcoming post about books! Oh yes - books. There are days when I just want to rant and rave about something, and I do try to behave most days. Some days I don't and you are all there to keep me in check! Thanks.

It's Monday and I get to go to Monday sewing today. I'm excited as it's been a couple of weeks that I ...

Phew, what an incredible pace I kept up this week – I had two dedicated DIY quilters here over 3 days, using both longarm machines and 12 quilts were completed! We were so busy that I did not stop to take a single photo of their marvellous efforts. 

On the other two days it was my mission to master the basics of Qmatic, the Bernina Q24 automated system. I laid out 3 sets of instructions, watched corresponding Youtube videos, wondered why I just can’t comprehend written instructions, scrutinised Facebook Q24 group comments, made progress, and forgot how I got there ...

Ever wonder what the inside of a long-arm looks like? My Innova had a little exploratory surgery. 

First you have to find a good-looking husband with a knack for fixing things and knowledge for solving problems. 

So, there's Richard.

belts and gears in the backside

brain and electrical on the side

rod that makes the ...

I've been looking at a few of the straight stitch only machines for a while now. There are a couple that were very similar and I thought I might like for piecing and bag making. One was the Brother 1500 (series). The other was the Juki TL-2010Q.

I got a new machine--a dedicated embroidery machine! I had no plan to purchase any machine, but then sometimes luck just taps you on the shoulder and has good news to boot!

Since they first arrived in homes in the early 19th century, domestic sewing machines have changed the way we work, live and create. To mark Sewing Machine Day 2018, we asked Camelot staff & friends to tell us about their own machines. Read on to see what they shared with us! Tammy Joho Here’s a

Remember the little Singer machine that I bought in Paducah? Well, no one guessed correctly, so I thought I'd show you.

I made this video so you could see it in action. Oh, what fun it is!

This month's Island Batik Ambassador challenge was to try a new-to-us technique using the fabrics provided in our Ambassador boxes. I chose to try out bias tape applique and I made these four blocks before I went on vacation: