A Stained Glass Style Wallhanging
This dramatic stained glass wallhanging can be made entirely by machine, (or you can show off your hand work.) It is most dazzling in bright clear colors, as though light is streaming through a stained glass window on a sunny day. With easy to follow instructions, the streamlined method includes fusible web, fusible or pre-made bias tape, and quilt-as-you-go technique. A full sized pattern is included. Finished size is 23″ x 30″
Pattern $10.99
A Watercolor Style Quilted Wallhanging
“Another Fence” is a watercolor quilt design adventure for a slightly experienced creative quilter. The pattern gives instructions and a general layout or “skeleton” (the fence and wall). The selection and placement choices of individual fabrics made by you, the quilter/designer, make each wallhanging truly unique. There are no two flowers in nature that are identical or “right” or “wrong,” and there is no single “correct” way of making a watercolor quilt. We hope you’ll have some fun making a wallhanging that can never be duplicated.
Finished size of “Another Fence 43″ x 63″
Pattern $9.99
Other supplies available:
Value filter $5.00
Reducing glass $14.99
Watercolor Quilts book $24.95
Watercolor Impressions book $26.95
A Watercolor Style Quilted Wallhanging
“Basket for a Dear” is a watercolor quilt design adventure. The pattern gives instructions and a general layout for the basket and the boquet. The selection and placement choices of individual fabrics made by you, the quilter/designer, make your wallhanging truly unique. There are no two flowers in nature that are identical or “right” or “wrong,” and there is no single “correct” way of making a watercolor quilt. We hope you’ll have some fun making a wallhanging that can never be duplicated.
Finished size of “Basket for a Dear 33″ x 38″
Pattern $9.99
Other supplies available:
Value filter $5.00
Reducing glass $14.99
Watercolor Quilts book $24.95
Watercolor Impressions book $26.95
An applique quilt pattern
Bold and fun, this quilt or wallhanging is easy to make for anyone with some sewing experience. By machine or by hand, applique colorful pieces of fabric to create the design, add quilting and finish with binding. Full size pattern included. Approximate finished size: 42″ x 56″. Make somebody happy with this quilt!
Pattern $10.99
A rustic flannel quilt for your bunkhouse
“Cowboy Quilt” is a primitive style tied quilt made entirely by machine with our streamlined method, in soft and comforting flannels. The addition of piping around the edges is optional but appealing, and keeps the edges flatter. “Cowboy Quilt” is quick and easy enough for beginners to make, and all your “cowboys” will love to cuddle in one. Finished size is 50″ x 70″.
Pattern $6.99
There are all brands and types and ages of sewing machines available. Some are user-friendly, some not very. But – they all have certain things in common.
PARTS TO KNOW:
1. Bobbin winder: is the pin you put the bobbin on when you wind thread from the spool to the bobbin. It could be located on the top or the front of the machine, or sometimes on the side.
2. Hand wheel or fly wheel: the round wheel on the right side of the machine. It turns as the machine goes. You can use it to raise or lower the needle. Always turn the wheel with the top coming forward.
3. Light: it shines on the sewing area so you can see what you’re doing. It could be in the center of the machine, over the needle, or both.
4. Spool pin: the spindle that holds the spool of thread in place for sewing. It could be on the front or top of the machine, and could hold the thread in a horizontal or vertical position.
5. Thread guides: channels or loops that direct the thread on the path from spool to needle.
6. Reverse lever or button: makes the machine sew backwards to lock stitches at the beginning and end of a seam.
7. Stitch length selector: used to adjust the length of stitches. In general, smaller stitches for finer fabrics and longer for heavier fabrics. The length can be measured in inches or millimeters. A normal seam is 2.5 mm or 12 stitches per inch.
8. Needle: carries the thread through the fabric. It has an eye (hole) near the pointed end. The shank that fits into the machine has a flat side that almost always faces toward the back. It must be inserted correctly. There are different sizes and types of needles that you select according to your fabric – and the choice of needle makes a big difference. The needle needs to be changed after about 8 hours of sewing.
9. Bobbin case and bobbin: the bobbin is a small spool that the bottom thread comes from. The bobbin case is the container is fits in. The bobbin case could be removable or could stay in place. Either way, there’s a bobbin tension spring that must be used to put a little resistance on the thread. Usually the bobbin tension does not require adjustment.
10. Feed teeth or feed dogs: the metal teeth that the fabric rides on when you’re sewing. They move the fabric under the needle to prepare for the next stitch.
11. Presser foot: holds the fabric down against the feed teeth as you sew. There are differently shaped feet for different purposes – again, the selection of foot makes a big difference.
12. Presser foot lifter: Located at the back of the machine behind the needle, it lifts up the foot so you can insert or remove fabric. You must have the presser foot down when you sew.
13. Needle plate: metal plate with an oval opening for the needle to pass through. It should be smooth with no nicks, which could snag and break thread.
14. Tension control: controls the amount of resistance on the thread as it passes through the machine. If it needs adjustment, a higher number means more tension and a lower number means less tension.
15. Take-up lever: goes up and down as the needle moves up and down. It pulls thread from the spool to make stitches with. It should be at its highest position (turn the hand wheel to move it) when you start and stop sewing.
16. Check spring: small metal spring near the tension control. On newer machines it is usually hidden in the threading path. On older machines it is exposed and can easily get bent.
17. Foot control or foot pedal: the pedal that you push with your foot to start the machine sewing and control its speed. It’s the equivalent of the gas pedal in your car.
THREADING A SEWING MACHINE
1. Raise the presser foot.
2. Put the spool of thread on the spool pin. If a horizontal spool pin is available, it is usually preferable.
3. Pull the thread through the first thread guide.
4. Pull the thread down through the tension mechanism and the check spring.
5. Bring the thread up through take-up lever.
6. Pass the thread through the one or two thread guides above the needle.
7. Thread the needle from front to back and pull the thread tail under the presser foot and out toward the back.
8. Insert wound bobbin in bobbin case and pull thread into bobbin tension.
9. Raise bobbin thread above the needle plate, by holding the end of the top thread and turning the hand wheel forward one revolution. A loop of bobbin thread will be brought up. Pull the bobbin thread under the foot and out the back along with the top thread.
10. Lower presser foot. Begin sewing at least 1/8” from the edge of the fabric. Take 3 or 4 stitches forward, then 3 or 4 stitches backward, and then proceed with sewing forward. At the end of the seam, take 3 or 4 stitches backward.
TROUBLE-SHOOTING FOR A SEWING MACHINE
1. If the machine is not sewing well, first rethread it and insert new needle. If it’s still not sewing well, use a different spool of thread. (It may be a thread problem, not a machine problem.)
2. If there’s a “nest” of extra thread on the underside of the fabric, it’s probably not bobbin thread. This usually happens because the upper thread is not threaded correctly, or the tension knob is turned to zero. Rethread the machine.
3. If there are small loose loops of thread (not gobs, as above) on the underside of the fabric, turn the tension knob up one unit to tighten the upper thread and lift up the loops. If there are loose loops of thread on the top of the fabric, make sure the bobbin tension is threaded. Don’t try to adjust the bobbin tension, just loosen the tension on the top thread (turn knob to smaller number) so the two threads are in balance with each other.
4. If the thread is breaking, it could be bad thread or a bad (rough) spool. Try another spool of thread. Check for rough spots on the needle plate (nicks where the needle has hit the plate). If you find any roughness, gently smooth with fine sand paper or emery cloth.
5. If the needles are breaking, it’s probably because you are pushing or pulling the fabric through the machine. Don’t override the machine’s feeding system. You have to push wood through on a table saw – not so on a sewing machine.
6. If the stitches are uneven –some long and some short – the needle is in backwards or it’s the wrong needle for the fabric. Stretchy fabrics require a ballpoint needle
7. If the needle goes down through the hole in the needle plate and fails to make a stitch or hits something, take the machine to the repairman. It could be a timing problem, which cannot be fixed at home.
A Stained Glass Style Wallhanging
This dramatic stained glass wallhanging can be made entirely by machine, (or you can show off your hand work.) It is most dazzling in bright clear colors, as though light is streaming through a stained glass window on a sunny day. With easy to follow instructions, the streamlined method includes fusible web, fusible or pre-made bias tape, and quilt-as-you-go technique. A full sized pattern is included. Finished size is 23″ x 30″
Pattern $10.99
A Stained Glass Style Wallhanging
This dramatic stained glass wallhanging can be made entirely by machine, (or you can show off your hand work.) It is most dazzling in bright clear colors, as though light is streaming through a stained glass window on a sunny day. With easy to follow instructions, the streamlined method includes fusible web, fusible or pre-made bias tape, and quilt-as-you-go technique. A full sized pattern is included. Finished size is 23″ x 30″
Pattern $10.99
A Watercolor Style Quilted Wallhanging
“Picket Fence” is a watercolor quilt design adventure. The pattern gives instructions and a general layout or “skeleton” (the fence pieces.) The selection and placement choices of individual fabrics made by you, the quilter/designer, make each wallhanging truly unique. There are no two flowers in nature that are identical or “right” or “wrong,” and there is no single “correct” way of making a watercolor quilt. We hope you’ll have some fun making a wallhanging that can never be duplicated.
Finished size of “Picket Fence” is 30″ x 39″
Pattern $9.99
Other supplies available:
Value filter $5.00
Reducing glass $14.99
Watercolor Quilts book $24.95
Watercolor Impressions book $26.95
note: “Picket Fence” pictured on page 107
An applique quilt pattern
Bold and fun, this quilt or wallhanging is easy to make for anyone with some sewing experience. By machine or by hand, applique colorful pieces of fabric to create the design, add quilting and finish with binding. Full size pattern included. Approximate finished size: 42″ x 56″. Make somebody happy with this quilt!
Pattern $10.99
A Stained Glass Style Wallhanging
This dramatic stained glass wallhanging can be made entirely by machine, (or you can show off your hand work.) It is most dazzling in bright clear colors, as though light is streaming through a stained glass window on a sunny day. With easy to follow instructions, the streamlined method includes fusible web, fusible or pre-made bias tape, and quilt-as-you-go technique. A full sized pattern is included. Finished size is 23″ x 30″
Pattern $10.99
A Stained Glass Style Wallhanging
This dramatic stained glass wallhanging can be made entirely by machine, (or you can show off your hand work.) It is most dazzling in bright clear colors, as though light is streaming through a stained glass window on a sunny day. With easy to follow instructions, the streamlined method includes fusible web, fusible or pre-made bias tape, and quilt-as-you-go technique. A full sized pattern is included. Finished size is 23″ x 30″
Pattern $10.99
Why is it that fabric costs more at quilt shops than in the chains? First, the chains buy in larger quantities – the fabric quilt shops buy may not ever exist in such large quantities, so you don’t see the same fabrics coming and going. Mostly though, it’s because the goods are significantly different.
Fabric manufacturing begins with gray (greige) goods, the blank material that designs are printed onto. The better the gray goods – threads per inch, quality of threads, etc. – the better the finished product and the higher the cost. As for the design, the more intricate the design, the more colors (screens) they are printed with, the more exacting the work, the higher the price. Companies can buy prints off the ‘print market’ and print them on any gray goods, using any methods they like.
Cheaper fabrics are stiff or ‘board-y’ to the touch, because they haven’t had the benefits of the finishing processes that make good fabric feel so silky. The major manufacturers sell their first run first quality fabrics only to quilt shops. If too much of a particular fabric is printed, occasionally some ‘good’ fabric might end up in the chains.
Your time and your money are hard to come by. Make sure your quilts will withstand use and laundering. Don’t risk your time on fabric that won’t hold up, or whose dyes bleed or fade too fast. Here’s a case where quality really counts — your time and talents deserve the best!
A Watercolor Style Quilted Wallhanging
“Through the Aspens” is a watercolor quilt design adventure. The pattern gives instructions and a general layout or “skeleton” (the vertical trees.) The selection and placement choices of individual fabrics made by you, the quilter/designer, make each wallhanging truly unique. There are no two trees in nature that are identical or “right” or “wrong,” and there is no single “correct” way of making a watercolor quilt. We hope you’ll have some fun making a wallhanging that can never be duplicated.
Finished size of “Through the Aspens” 41″ x 55″
Pattern $9.99
Other supplies available:
Basic watercolor packet $29.99
Value filter $5.00
Reducing glass $14.99
Watercolor Quilts book $24.95
Watercolor Impressions book $26.95