http://hiddenthreads.today.com Quilting Tips, Tricks, and Stories From the Ditch Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:38:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've spent part of the weekend in the closet pulling out quilt tops to finish. As the weather gets blessedly cooler, the idea of keeping a quilt on my lap long enough to bind it doesn't seem so nasty. One thing I've noticed is flaws in my previous work - ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/09/07/revisiting-your-older-quilts/ I've been considering keeping a quilting journal.  You know, one of those little books with handwritten notes, drawings and clippings.   When I envision a good journal, it has lots of drawings and mixed media, and the prospect of creating all of that is a little intimidating, I suppose. I think ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/09/03/quilting-journal/ After a much needed summer holiday, it's back in the saddle, or sewing chair as the case may be.  It's fall, or close to it, and I'm itching to get into those great amber, russet and brown fabrics.  Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine always does an entertaining ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/09/02/back-to-quilting-for-fall/ In Quilting and Patchwork today (the B5Media blog) Mary Emma Allen talks about special quilt projects commemorating the upcoming Olympics. She asks us to share any projects we have planned. I found this so interesting. I've always thought of quilting as an individual or community venture, offering ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/08/06/quilting-the-world-and-everything-in-it/ Ever wondered where your quilts will be in 80 years? Every time I finish a quilt, I wonder if what I'm really doing is placing a note in a bottle and throwing it into the ocean. I've even considered printing something on a piece of muslin and including ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/08/05/quilting-for-the-ages/ I'm trying to slowly amass a reference resource for quilting information as well as offer up some funny stories . . .hopefully funny, anyway. It's great to have access to sites with hundreds of block patterns, but eventually you are going to need to cut some fabric, and after ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/07/25/fabric-yields/ Do you have a really great quilting area to work in? Is your home graced with a studio where you can work undisturbed? For most of us, the answer to both questions is no. We work on the dining room table, or anywhere we can balance a ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/07/24/quilting-room/ After I started quilting, I began to notice quilts . . . everywhere. There was one in the reading room of my local library, in the showroom of the local bedding store, in my favorite episode of Friends, and there is a quilt in at least one of every ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/07/23/i-spy-a-quilt/ My productivity drops quite a bit during the summer months. I'd like to say it's because of all the barbecues and cross-country trips, but I think it's actually because of the heat and humidity. Here in the Midwest, I have a hard time thinking about quilt assembly when ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/07/22/summer-quilting/ Need some quick calculations for corner-setting triangles?  The table below should help you sort it out.  If it doesn't list your block size, use this formula to calculate the size square you should cut. Divide the finished block size by 1.414 and then add .875. Remember, you will be making ... http://hiddenthreads.today.com/2008/07/21/calculate-corner-setting-triangles/