Day 2 of the Blog Hop Give-Away. If this is your first visit to my blog, welcome. And to those of you returning, I have a new tip. Don't forget to read about my give-away described below the tip! Good luck to all of you.
TIP 2
Trimming fabrics or squaring up blocks often leaves little bits of fabric threads or fibers on the cutting mat. And what about those little triangular dog ears cut from the corners of half square triangle blocks?
In the past, I have attempted to move these to one side with my fingers, but it sure takes effort and time.
I discovered that I can use my cutting ruler as a scraper to move these bits to a pile at the side of the mat and then dispose of them.
Holding the ruler edge at "an almost 90 degree" angle and scraping it on the mat, I am able to move the tidbits of fibers to a pile. This saves me lots of time because I can put the next piece down that needs trimming or squaring and get right to it.
Try it. Let me know if you find this a helpful solution.
See TIP 1 by clicking here
See Tip 3 by clicking here
See Tip 4 by clicking here
GIVE-AWAY
My give-away: Leave a comment telling about a quilting or sewing tip or tool you have discovered. Share it with us. On March 15, one random comment will be chosen and that lucky winner will receive 2 of my patterns via email--so make sure you leave an email address so I can send the patterns.
To leave a comment, click on the words: "links to this page" or the word: "comments" below and a pop-up comment box will appear.
What are the patterns, you wonder? Here are photos of the projects I made and then developed into patterns:
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| Wavy Panel Banner |
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| Love You wall hanging |
The banner is able to be modified into a table runner or placemats for a different use.You can use panels you have purchased, make your own, or use a fancy fabric for the top section. The pattern is able to be modified for various size panels as well. It is quite versatile. I am binding the table runner I made for Valentine's Day and plan to put a photo of the finished table runner on the blog this weekend.
These patterns are available for purchase at PatternSpot.com under Patchwork Breeze.
Look for TIP 3 tomorrow, here at Patchwork Breeze. And happy sewing!
9 comments:
If I really like a pattern I am making as a gift, I cut out 2 at the same time. That way, I can make one for myself later and don't have to waste time gathering the fabric.
I keep a silicone hot pad in my sewing room to lay my mini-iron on. Easier than balancing it on the little stand that came with the iron.
I never thought of this. I bought a flower shaped silicone hot pad on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Now I know what I can really use it for. Thanks.
Nancy
Saving time with your tip will allow for more quilting. I have a project organization tip coming up later this week.
Nancy
Very good tips. I use the second one and will be using the first one. Thanks.
I hope tip 1 makes quicker progress for you. I realized today that by placing my wastebasket on the flooer at the end of the table, I could scrape the scraps right off the cutting mat into the basket!
I have been working with my grand daughters and one thing I keep pointing out is you don't have to pull the fabric so far away from the machine to cut the threads. And put the thread in the waste basket not just on the floor. Thanks.
When I taught children to sew, they tried to conserve thread and cut it too close to the needle. The result was the thread coming out of the needle on the next seam and they had to learn to re-thread the machine. We all learn what an acceptable length is.
Thank you,
Nancy
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