Have you seen the latest at U-Stream? This is the coolest thing out there. You can now broadcast you very own live television shows or whatever you want. A web cam and a computer and your off and running. The site is totally free!
Many people who have radio shows can now add another element of interaction to their already live shows. But for the rest of us we can use this to interact with anyone we like. You can pick your topic and broadcast time and go live in minutes.
Now for me, this can be another way to reach my quilting audiences. I set up my account and tested things out with a recorded video clip. It introduces me and my website for now. But I plan to do mini classes or lesson here for anyone who wants to learn. The best part is it is live, and you (the viewer) can interact with me by way of a chat box during my broadcast. So you can ask questions and I can answer them right there. Way cool huh?
My show will be titled Quilting Weekly Live, (of course since my website is Quilting Weekly, what else would I use) Here is a link to the introduction I recorded. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. (Please be kind this is my first attempt)
I would be curious to know if I ran weekly broadcasts, what day and time would be best, and what topics would be of interest. If you have any suggestions on that let me know by leaving a comment here on my blog. If I use your suggestions I will send you a free fat quarter of lovely fabric from my personal stash. All it takes is a usable comment here and you get free fabric. As quilters we all love free fabric!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Quilting Weekly has a new teacher!
I just wanted to post a quick message here to let you know we have added a new teacher to our online classroom.
Quilting weekly has been my passion and my baby for the past year. As you know I love everything about quilting, but teaching quilting to others is now what I do. I have been the only teacher for the site this past year, which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Time is a funny word. And something that I need more of. Which is why I am focusing my efforts this year on finding talented teachers to help me in my efforts to provide quality classes and personal support to ensure you succeed in all your quilting projects.
I am proud to announce our first addition this week is Tennye Giotis. Her first class will be "Trapunto'd box of chocolates". This unique style of quilting can be used for so many quilt projects that you must give it a try. The class is not quite ready to release yet. (Sorry) I expect to have it done by this weekend and start registrations next week. Once it is ready I will put an updated link to the class information. But in the mean time you can have a look at her introduction.
We have just added a teachers page to the site as well. Her complete bio, and photo should be up there in a few days. She will use the teacher page to keep you posted on all of her quilting adventures, and future classes. I expect she will also be posting some of her own tips and secrets too! (at least I hope she does)
Take a look at our site, if you are new here, you won't be disappointed! There are so many exciting changes coming to the site in the next few months that you will want to bookmark the site and check back often to see what's new.
Quilting weekly has been my passion and my baby for the past year. As you know I love everything about quilting, but teaching quilting to others is now what I do. I have been the only teacher for the site this past year, which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Time is a funny word. And something that I need more of. Which is why I am focusing my efforts this year on finding talented teachers to help me in my efforts to provide quality classes and personal support to ensure you succeed in all your quilting projects.
I am proud to announce our first addition this week is Tennye Giotis. Her first class will be "Trapunto'd box of chocolates". This unique style of quilting can be used for so many quilt projects that you must give it a try. The class is not quite ready to release yet. (Sorry) I expect to have it done by this weekend and start registrations next week. Once it is ready I will put an updated link to the class information. But in the mean time you can have a look at her introduction.
We have just added a teachers page to the site as well. Her complete bio, and photo should be up there in a few days. She will use the teacher page to keep you posted on all of her quilting adventures, and future classes. I expect she will also be posting some of her own tips and secrets too! (at least I hope she does)
Take a look at our site, if you are new here, you won't be disappointed! There are so many exciting changes coming to the site in the next few months that you will want to bookmark the site and check back often to see what's new.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
How can I use up batting scaps?
This week I though we could look at some creative ways to use up your batting scraps.
Did you know that you can join smaller pieces together to create larger ones? Just like with fabric this works best if you are joining the same type of batting. For example you would not want to join high loft polyester with low loft polyester. Even though they are the same fiber, one is much thicker than the other and therefore not a good choice. Another bad choice would be to mix fibers, like polyester batting with a natural cotton batting. Again the mixture of fibers would not work. Some batting stretches more in one direction than the other, so make sure that both pieces are going the same way. This is really important for wall hangings.
To join your pieces you simply butt the edges together, do not overlap them. And then you can sew them by hand or machine. The best stitches are a “Whip Stitch” or a “Zigzag Stitch”.
Here is are some websites that might help you with that.
E-How explains one way to connect batting scraps.
And Sew Inspired shows you another method.
Both of these methods will work fine. Take a look at the instructions and determine which one will work best for you.
Another good use for smaller scraps, especially the cotton batting scraps are good for dusting. If the size is right, you can attach them to your “swifter” and dust your floors with them. You can even wash and reuse them if you like! I just throw them away; after all I will always have small leftover scraps.
If you are doing trapunto work, why not use some of the small leftovers to add the extra fluff you need without having to cut up new larger pieces of batting.
What about making postcards? Or quilted bookmarks? If you make pillows, and want to quilt them you can use these smaller pieces as well. And finally how about making some pot holders? Or how about making a doll blanket? Make a few practice quilt sandwiches for machine quilting is way to use them.
There are many other little projects you can make quickly and easily with small batting scraps. So don’t throw them away, create something with them.
Enjoy your quilting and don’t forget to tell your friends about this site. If you would like to get tips like this sent directly to your e-mail, head over to the classroom and register. It doesn't cost anything, and you can then participate in our weekly discussions in the general forum.
Did you know that you can join smaller pieces together to create larger ones? Just like with fabric this works best if you are joining the same type of batting. For example you would not want to join high loft polyester with low loft polyester. Even though they are the same fiber, one is much thicker than the other and therefore not a good choice. Another bad choice would be to mix fibers, like polyester batting with a natural cotton batting. Again the mixture of fibers would not work. Some batting stretches more in one direction than the other, so make sure that both pieces are going the same way. This is really important for wall hangings.
To join your pieces you simply butt the edges together, do not overlap them. And then you can sew them by hand or machine. The best stitches are a “Whip Stitch” or a “Zigzag Stitch”.
Here is are some websites that might help you with that.
E-How explains one way to connect batting scraps.
And Sew Inspired shows you another method.
Both of these methods will work fine. Take a look at the instructions and determine which one will work best for you.
Another good use for smaller scraps, especially the cotton batting scraps are good for dusting. If the size is right, you can attach them to your “swifter” and dust your floors with them. You can even wash and reuse them if you like! I just throw them away; after all I will always have small leftover scraps.
If you are doing trapunto work, why not use some of the small leftovers to add the extra fluff you need without having to cut up new larger pieces of batting.
What about making postcards? Or quilted bookmarks? If you make pillows, and want to quilt them you can use these smaller pieces as well. And finally how about making some pot holders? Or how about making a doll blanket? Make a few practice quilt sandwiches for machine quilting is way to use them.
There are many other little projects you can make quickly and easily with small batting scraps. So don’t throw them away, create something with them.
Enjoy your quilting and don’t forget to tell your friends about this site. If you would like to get tips like this sent directly to your e-mail, head over to the classroom and register. It doesn't cost anything, and you can then participate in our weekly discussions in the general forum.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I won free fabric and "love" tag
Wow I am so excited! I won some lovely hand dyed fabric squares and a handmade metal tag that says "love". All I had to do was comment on this blog, and tell her what I will do with them if I win. Simple idea, and there were about 136 other people who wanted to win this too. But I was picked. Yippee!
The blog that I am talking about is Tangled Thread "tags & Tie-Dyes" take a look at what I am getting. Some lovely yummy fabric oh I can not wait to see it, touch it, and admire it before I put it into an art quilt to hang on my wall.
I know she has done other contests as well so check her site again who knows maybe you can win too!
Here are her other sites:
The blog that I am talking about is Tangled Thread "tags & Tie-Dyes" take a look at what I am getting. Some lovely yummy fabric oh I can not wait to see it, touch it, and admire it before I put it into an art quilt to hang on my wall.
I know she has done other contests as well so check her site again who knows maybe you can win too!
Here are her other sites:
Friday, May 9, 2008
Help!! fabric scraps are taking over!!!!
Are your scraps taking over the sewing room?
I know mine are! As a long time sewer, and quilter I find it hard to part with my fabric scraps. I mean I save everything from small to large, from strips to squares, and even blocks that did not make it to a quilt. Help! If I don't do something soon I feel that the scraps will take over the room.
Does this sound familiar? I know you are not alone here. After all you paid good money for that fabric, so why would you want to throw it away, right? But now that you have this overwhelming stash of scraps what do you do with them?
Here are some suggestions to help you take charge of your scraps. First of all you need to take the time to go through them. Sort your scraps into piles.
That's it! Your almost done. Take your large pieces and fold neatly by color, put them in a clear tub so you can see them. Mark your tub "Large Scraps"
Next take the strips and put them in a container too and mark then "Strips"
For the odd pieces I suggest selecting a size square you use often. And you could do several sizes depending on your scraps and your quilting preference. I find that 5.5 inches are a good size to work with and make the best use of my scrap piles. Sometimes I will cut smaller ones if I like the fabrics and can not get 5.5 inches from the scraps. Now put the newly cut squares into a container by color. (This is the best part) because you will now have precut squares all looking pretty in the box, and no more messy scrap piles.
Now that you have the hard part done..........reward yourself by making a quick quilt from all those lovely pre-cut squares!
One last thing, if you are the ambitious type, you can cut up your box of larger pieces of fabric into squares of a larger size too!
Now don't let your fabric scraps just sit looking messy, do something with them so that they find their way into a lovely quilt.
For ideas on making scrap quilts try these sites.
Scrap Quilts
Quiltville
Scrap Saver Patterns
UFO-rphanage for Quilters, Scrap Quilts
Happy and Scrappy this is a quilt class for making a scrap quilt. But the cool part is the class is done all online! And the best part is the class only costs $21.50 for a full 2 months subscription. That's 8 weeks to work with the lessons, download and print them out to work at your own pace. Not bad!
I know mine are! As a long time sewer, and quilter I find it hard to part with my fabric scraps. I mean I save everything from small to large, from strips to squares, and even blocks that did not make it to a quilt. Help! If I don't do something soon I feel that the scraps will take over the room.
Does this sound familiar? I know you are not alone here. After all you paid good money for that fabric, so why would you want to throw it away, right? But now that you have this overwhelming stash of scraps what do you do with them?
Here are some suggestions to help you take charge of your scraps. First of all you need to take the time to go through them. Sort your scraps into piles.
- Sort by color
- Then sort each color into piles by size.
- One pile will be all pieces smaller than a 2 inch square. And here is the hard part....throw these away! Unless you do miniature quilts then you are allowed to keep them.
- One pile will be for all the largest pieces of fabric
- Then the third pile will be for strips that are more than 2 inches wide and long enough for use in either bindings or strip quilts.
- Now you are down to the odd pieces. I suggest keeping only the pieces that can be cut into squares. Nothing smaller than 4 inches.
That's it! Your almost done. Take your large pieces and fold neatly by color, put them in a clear tub so you can see them. Mark your tub "Large Scraps"
Next take the strips and put them in a container too and mark then "Strips"
For the odd pieces I suggest selecting a size square you use often. And you could do several sizes depending on your scraps and your quilting preference. I find that 5.5 inches are a good size to work with and make the best use of my scrap piles. Sometimes I will cut smaller ones if I like the fabrics and can not get 5.5 inches from the scraps. Now put the newly cut squares into a container by color. (This is the best part) because you will now have precut squares all looking pretty in the box, and no more messy scrap piles.
Now that you have the hard part done..........reward yourself by making a quick quilt from all those lovely pre-cut squares!
One last thing, if you are the ambitious type, you can cut up your box of larger pieces of fabric into squares of a larger size too!
Now don't let your fabric scraps just sit looking messy, do something with them so that they find their way into a lovely quilt.
For ideas on making scrap quilts try these sites.
Scrap Quilts
Quiltville
Scrap Saver Patterns
UFO-rphanage for Quilters, Scrap Quilts
Happy and Scrappy this is a quilt class for making a scrap quilt. But the cool part is the class is done all online! And the best part is the class only costs $21.50 for a full 2 months subscription. That's 8 weeks to work with the lessons, download and print them out to work at your own pace. Not bad!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Why you should join a quilting group
This week’s tip is one that a new quilter or even a seasoned quilter should follow.
If you are not already involved in a quilt group you should be!
Joining quilt groups like guilds or quilting bees can offer so much to the quilter and your quilting experiences. I can not imagine not belonging to one or even several if you have the time.
The group can be small or large in size, but the goal is the same. Along with meeting other quilters in your area, you can be exposed to many learning opportunities (as quilters love to share what they know) and you will get plenty of encouragement for your own work as well.
Larger quilt guilds can offer many lectures and workshops from national and local teachers. They give you plenty of time for show and tell. (Who doesn’t like to brag just a little about their quilts?) Then there is the opportunity for charity work. This is done through large guilds and smaller groups as well. Some of the smaller groups are set up specifically for doing charity work. (It always feels good to give back to the community.)
Where can you find these groups?
Finding these groups is as easy as buying fabric. Just visit your local fabric stores or quilt shops and ask them. Some groups meet right at the store while others may meet at churches or libraries. (Well then ask at your church or library as they may know about a group that meets there.) Park districts or community centers are another place to find these groups.
One other spot (a little less personal) is online groups. While they offer some of the same things as face to face groups do, you just miss the faces. As many people on line prefer to keep their identities private and may use graphic images rather than their own pictures. They may not even use their real names. But none the less these groups are popping up everywhere. Simply type in “quilting forums” or “online quilt groups” or even “online quilting communities” and I am sure you will find plenty! Yahoo or Google groups have hundreds of these types of groups/communities. Online groups do not give you the face to face contact, but you will still get a wealth of knowledge and meet plenty of interesting people from around the world that share your same passions for quilting. (Oh wait, Quilting Weekly and Creative Quilting are two of those groups! What a coincidence. LOL)Ok this is a self promo for my online classroom, and the site that a majority of my members came from.
Both of these sites offer you a place to interact with other quilters, and gain knowledge from their experiences. While Creative quilting offers some free memberships it is primarily a paid membership site now. For the reasonable memberships fee you get so much information and access to many parts of the site that free members do not get. They have forums, and chat rooms, helpful links pages, member interviews, and members galleries to show off your work.
Quilting Weekly however is totally free to join, and you get access to the entire site for free. Which include our tips pages, forums, chat box, galleries, latest news sections, and more. The only thing you ever pay for is the classes you take. You get plenty of help in our forums, and through our weekly tips. (like the one above that I posted here.) Most of the tips eventually get posted here, but if you join our mailing list, you can get them sent to you by e-mail, once a week. Timely, and convenient. (no cost involved I promise and I will always respect your privacy and never misuse your e-mail address. I hate spam as much as you do)
Ok enough promotion have a good quilting week and I hope to see you back here again real soon!
If you are not already involved in a quilt group you should be!
Joining quilt groups like guilds or quilting bees can offer so much to the quilter and your quilting experiences. I can not imagine not belonging to one or even several if you have the time.
The group can be small or large in size, but the goal is the same. Along with meeting other quilters in your area, you can be exposed to many learning opportunities (as quilters love to share what they know) and you will get plenty of encouragement for your own work as well.
Larger quilt guilds can offer many lectures and workshops from national and local teachers. They give you plenty of time for show and tell. (Who doesn’t like to brag just a little about their quilts?) Then there is the opportunity for charity work. This is done through large guilds and smaller groups as well. Some of the smaller groups are set up specifically for doing charity work. (It always feels good to give back to the community.)
Where can you find these groups?
Finding these groups is as easy as buying fabric. Just visit your local fabric stores or quilt shops and ask them. Some groups meet right at the store while others may meet at churches or libraries. (Well then ask at your church or library as they may know about a group that meets there.) Park districts or community centers are another place to find these groups.
One other spot (a little less personal) is online groups. While they offer some of the same things as face to face groups do, you just miss the faces. As many people on line prefer to keep their identities private and may use graphic images rather than their own pictures. They may not even use their real names. But none the less these groups are popping up everywhere. Simply type in “quilting forums” or “online quilt groups” or even “online quilting communities” and I am sure you will find plenty! Yahoo or Google groups have hundreds of these types of groups/communities. Online groups do not give you the face to face contact, but you will still get a wealth of knowledge and meet plenty of interesting people from around the world that share your same passions for quilting. (Oh wait, Quilting Weekly and Creative Quilting are two of those groups! What a coincidence. LOL)Ok this is a self promo for my online classroom, and the site that a majority of my members came from.
Both of these sites offer you a place to interact with other quilters, and gain knowledge from their experiences. While Creative quilting offers some free memberships it is primarily a paid membership site now. For the reasonable memberships fee you get so much information and access to many parts of the site that free members do not get. They have forums, and chat rooms, helpful links pages, member interviews, and members galleries to show off your work.
Quilting Weekly however is totally free to join, and you get access to the entire site for free. Which include our tips pages, forums, chat box, galleries, latest news sections, and more. The only thing you ever pay for is the classes you take. You get plenty of help in our forums, and through our weekly tips. (like the one above that I posted here.) Most of the tips eventually get posted here, but if you join our mailing list, you can get them sent to you by e-mail, once a week. Timely, and convenient. (no cost involved I promise and I will always respect your privacy and never misuse your e-mail address. I hate spam as much as you do)
Ok enough promotion have a good quilting week and I hope to see you back here again real soon!
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