Gifting

It's time to start some serious holiday sewing, am I right? Here are some ideas I may repeat from my year of sewing.

For sure I have some Patchwork Potholders planned, as they're fun to make and oh-so-useful through the year. If you like the potholder idea, don't forget the Log Cabin Hexi Potholders - they're another of my favorites.



I'm also thinking about more Boxy Pouches. I think all my guys have a waxed canvas one now, but others might enjoy one made of quilted scraps.



Of course there will be more fabric gift bags, as that's what we do.



And this is purely a pipe-dream, as I haven't even bought fabric, but I'd love to make a slew of holiday pillowcases. Maybe next year!

So knowing time is relatively short, I've also curated some gift lists. SO many ideas - mostly for crafters, but not all. For the wider gift-receiving audience, be sure and follow along with Sew Mama Sew's Handmade Holidays 2018. Kristin's themed gift lists are always worth perusing! For your fellow-crafters, check out the following:

• 10 Great Gifts for Quilters by Cheryl/Meadow Mist Designs
• Over 50 Gift Ideas for Quilters by Amy/Diary of a Quilter
• 2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Quilters by Shannon Fraser Designs
• Stocking Stuffers for Quilters by Erica/Kitchen Table Quilting
• Your 2018 Craft Gift Guide by Abby/While She Naps

And just a reminder, I do have my own A Quilter's Table Amazon Storefront for even more ideas!

So do tell! What handmade gifts are you making this year? Or what are your favorite crafty gifts to give.... or to receive? Let's help each other out here!

10 Tips to Instant Sewing

The other day, a friend asked me to share about my processes, techniques, and practices that support me staying actively sewing and making progress with my creative projects. She was experiencing a sense of overwhelm when she often had just 30 spare minutes, unable to decide how to make the best use of the time she had to create. I've been thinking about her dilemma ever since.

I'll say up front that I have the freedom at this stage of my life to walk in the door after work and spend an hour sewing before I even think about what I might do about dinner. And weekends often allow for me to squeeze some sewing in around chores and errands and such. That all certainly helps. But personal timing aside, here's some things that I think help me walk right into the studio and pick up where I left off.

1. Make your space inviting - Favorite mini quilts are hanging in my space, which encourage the spirit of creating. My pressing surface is covered in a bright cheerful fabric I love. And the basic tools I'll use are easily accessible. 
2. Tidy counts - I keep my space relatively uncluttered, as that's the way I work best. Also everything has a home, so I don't need to spend alot of time searching for what I need. Each session when I'm done, I take just a moment to slip my tools back in their assigned places, put away fabrics I won't be using, and toss scraps in their basket.
3. Keep what you use on hand - If I run low on interfacing, a basic thread color, or machine needles, I replace as soon as possible, so the next time I need it, it's there waiting for me.
4. Use a design wall - This isn't always possibility, but if it is, do it. Leave your current w.i.p. where you can see it and pick up where you left off. Just seeing it there will help draw you in, enticing you to get back at it.
5. Don't ever think, "I don't have enough time." Maybe "I don't have all day," but see what you can squeeze in. Even 10 minutes is enough time to trim a few more blocks, press a handful of seams, or gather some fabric from your stash so it's ready to go. Each step - every few minutes - is progress, and it really does add up. I've been known to do a sort of "trade-off"....do a chore, run and sew for a few minutes, do the next chore, back to the machine.... a bit hectic sometimes, but a way to balance what you need to do with what you want to do.
6. Save something for t.v. time - In other words, whenever you have just a short time to sew, accomplish as much as you can in that time. Save the handwork, major seam-ripping, etc. for sitting on the couch or riding in the car. Ie. when you aren't near your machine and cutting table.
7. Keep a list - Know what you want to accomplish in the upcoming weeks. That way it's easy to remember to squeeze a bee block in here or making a binding in there, and feel like you're moving forward. Another trick I use, if I'm following a pattern, is to complete one step per sewing session. Whether that's all the time I have right then, or I'm just setting it aside to do something else, it's progress without the overwhelm. [Note that being an active blogger helps motive me to keep producing. If that's not you, maybe you could make a goal to post project progress twice a week on Instagram, or whatever works to help you keep creating while staying connected with the sewing community.]
8. Multi-task - Noone ever said you could only work on one project at a time, and I for one function better/accomplish more if I have several things in the works. So if I don't feel like basting a quilt, I may feel like piecing. Or if it's too hot to press seams open, it might be a good time to pull fabrics.
9. Save the hard stuff - What I mean is tackle more complicated details when you have time to really focus. You won't usually find me basting a quilt or installing bag hardware on a work night when my stamina may already be low. But that may be the first thing I attack on a weekend morning before the day's commitments begin, and yes, sometimes I even schedule it in on my personal calendar.
10. Take time to play - Oh yeah. The best motivation I know is to ignore the list, set the w.i.p.s aside and do something that just popped into my head and I'm itching to try. That's exactly how the Postcard Quilt came to be. And A Step Towards Home. Yes, and most recently, Crosscut. That's some of my very favorite kind of sewing. Let's not forget to sometimes just do what we love.

So that's what came to my mind right now. I (and my friend) would love to hear what works for you, so please feel free to share in the comments!

Love It or Hate It?

 

Several months ago, Sew Mama Sew asked me to round up some quilting tutorials, and so far, I've shared 12 Fundamental Quilting Skills and 8 Modern Ways to Back a Quilt. Today you'll find 15 Best Binding Tutorials, a pretty exhaustive collection. {Just click here.} There's a few of my own {striped binding and straight and angled matched binding} plus a dozen more, several of which I'd never seen before. You know I like to put a twist on my quilts' bindings, but even so, I was surprised and impressed at some of the techniques I found, and I'm pretty sure you'll find something new to try, or a tutorial to make your favorite method even better.

Binding a quilt is one of those things you swoon over or dread. {I'm a swooner!} For some reason, I am just intrigued by how folks finish their quilts. So much so, I've taken 2 online surveys this year here on A Quilter's Table, just to feed my curiosity. The first was about your binding decisions {survey and results}, where the second was more about your actual technique {survey and results}. Interesting reading for sure - and a good resource when you're considering your binding options. And this new round up will be a terrific added resource.

Thanks to those who gave permission for their techniques to be shared, and remember, I also recently posted Emma/joworimakes' tutorial for hand blanket-stitched binding - another to add to your own personal round up.

So have you tried some of the tutorials I mention in my Sew Mama Sew post? If so, or if you have another we should all know about, please share in the comments. How you finish your quilt can really add to the overall effect. Isn't it great to have so many options?

A Postcard Collection

Have I yet admitted my real passion for postcards? Well, I collect them! To the point that when we used to go on family vacations, we'd send one to the cat. Yes we would! And now that the kids are grown and the cat (miss you Blackie) is gone - well we send them to "Home Sweet Home". haha. It's true!

So when the thought of a postcard quilt came to me last summer, I just had to make it right up.

Then I made a quick and easy block tutorial {here}, shared it, and in response to the positive comments, started up The Postcard Quilt Along flickr group a few days later. Over 30 Postcard Block quilts and other projects are currently in some stage of completion, but today I'll show off all the completed ones so far! {Name/flickr name are below each photo. I've included links to blogposts when available.)

Ellyn/Ellyn Z; bloggged

 mimi'sdarlins 

Katrin/makatrin

 Tiffany/t.anne

Lynne/pieceful1; blogged

coasters by M-R Charbonneau (Quilt Matters); blogged

M-R Charbonneau (Quilt Matters); blogged

M-R Charbonneau (Quilt Matters); blogged

Jennie/Jennie's Threads; blogged

Debbie/aquilterstable; blogged

Ginny/Ginny F; blogged

Karen/mrscummings2u

Debbie/aquilterstable; blogged

Eileen/Di Pietro Eileen

Carol/carol.funicelli

Letty/Lettyb; blogged

QuiltdivaJulie; blogged

Mathea/Crafty Mathea; blogged

Marta/Polka Dot Classic

Wow! Isn't that something?! I love how folks made it their own - with fabric choices, block placement, and other design details. Perfect! Thanks to everyone that joined in The Postcard Quilt Along! Feel free to keep adding your finished projects to the flickr group, and I'll share more another day.