I’m currently visiting various sites to find an inexpensive, basic sewing machine just so i can finish these projects quickly (especially the quillow). It’s great that people can add comments about their experiences with the products they’ve purchased such as on Target and Walmart sites. There seems to be a lot of good feedback for Brother brand sewing machines, more so than for Singer. I also found a site called FixYa where you can ask a question but then for a fee they will give you the answer to help trouble shoot or fix the problem. This is a good site though to help you determine what machines are prone to breaking down easily, etc. Replacement manuals are also available for $15 from the Singer site (my current sewing machine ), i may have to get one if i can’t find mine. If you are looking for a new machine, hope some of these sites and their info can help you out.

hope you can join the chat tonight!

I’ve also started a quilt for Karina using the same pattern as the first quilt i made. as soon as i can get ahold of a camera i’ll post photos to go along with the blog postings. Karina is a wanna be hippie and she picked out some great fabric, very retro – flower power. Bought it at a fabric shop we found where the fabric is 1/2 price from the quilt store. Large selection and many people there, some were even from out of town and were going to ship their purchases home.

Choose a color thread that will match your fabric. Measure the amount of crochet thread needed by holding across the fabric to be gathered and then double that amount.

Fold the thread in half. On the looped end of your thread, stitch it to hold it in place a couple of times across (by pressing and releasing reverse button) as shown in first photo.

Cut thread and then turn (see second photo) in order to zig zag down the row of threads (keeping both threads within the zig zag stitch). You may need to adjust the width of the stitch in order for both threads to fit inside the stitching. Stitch completely down the row of thread, leaving about a half-inch at the end. Once done, just pull on both ends and you should easily be able to ruffle and gather your fabric without breaking your thread!

 I can’t wait to try this technique with ruffles for pillows I’ll be quilting. I got a couple of great free patterns and you can too by signing up for the Quilting Weekly newsletter.

you’ll want to hurry over for the giveaway ends tonight at 10 p.m!

Inspiration and creativity come together in this little quilt shop located in the square of the historic Old Downtown area of Carrollton, Texas. 

They offer a large variety of 100% cotton fabrics  and quilting notions. You can also find an array of classes for the beginner to the most experienced quilter. There are even classes to help you improve your techniques in other areas such as making pants that fit, making patterns that fit and photo quilts among many others.  

Wanting to join a quilting club? They have those too – including a book club  featuring books with storylines on quilting of course! I recently joined what they call Moda U. One Saturday a month, members get together to see the newest fabrics from Moda, play Quilt-O (Bingo) to win a free pattern, see the latest kits, share tips and show finished Quilts – whether it’s your own or a family heirloom. It was quite fun and I’m looking forward to next month’s meeting.

 There is also have a post office located inside the store for fast and easy shipment of purchases to anywhere in the U.S.A.

Whether looking to learn a new skill, ideas for new projects or an opportunity to make new friends – this little shop is a gem. If you are ever in the Dallas, Texas area you’ll want to stop by and peruse the place just off Interstate 35, take Beltline exit.