Welcome to another fabulous Friday!! Today is the day where I combined both of my Friday features into one..."Find a Friend Friday Linky Party" and "Ask the World a Question". It's the best, because it's all about YOU!!!
Add your blog to the linky party below AND ask all your questions in the comment section! Details for each are below. The question section has been such a popular feature, I hope you can join in too!!
Come on in and make a new friend...
Here's how it will work...
This is easy to participate in. You are just linking to your own blog. No Pressure!! No projects to sew, no furniture to paint, no cookies to bake or pictures to take. You are just sharing your site and then friends will stop by for a visit.
That's it...super easy. Have fun checking in on all the new blogs. Come back, because more are added all the time!
Don't forget to check out the comment section too...there are ALWAYS great questions and helpful answers.
Happy Blogging,
~Karen~
Add your blog to the linky party below AND ask all your questions in the comment section! Details for each are below. The question section has been such a popular feature, I hope you can join in too!!
Come on in and make a new friend...
Question and Answers
Here's how it will work...
- post your question in the comment section. You can ask anything at all...from sewing, cooking, family, vacationing in other countries, crafting, blogging, photography, decorating...anything goes
- everyone will read the question
- if someone has a helpful answer, that person will click the "REPLY" button right under THAT particular question and post the answer!!
- that way everyone can read the answer too!!
- this is helpful for those who don't like to share their email address or who are "no replies" and there isn't an email address to respond to
- just come back to this post to see if your question has been answered!!
Find a Friend Linky Party
This is easy to participate in. You are just linking to your own blog. No Pressure!! No projects to sew, no furniture to paint, no cookies to bake or pictures to take. You are just sharing your site and then friends will stop by for a visit.
- at the very end of this post, click on the "click here to enter" link...way at the end, after the last blog that has been linked. See it way down there at the bottom?
- copy and paste or just type in your blog address...example: http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
- enter title of link...your blog name or phrase to grab attention
- add a photo of you, your profile picture or your blog button or whatever you think will grab some one's attention...(I'm thinking a picture of a big piece of chocolate cake, but that's just me LOL)
That's it...super easy. Have fun checking in on all the new blogs. Come back, because more are added all the time!
Don't forget to check out the comment section too...there are ALWAYS great questions and helpful answers.
Happy Blogging,
~Karen~
Thanks, Karen! Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, thank you for hosting :) I added a link to my new tutorial where I show you how to create some fabric flowers using an old t-shirt. Have a nice week !
ReplyDeleteMarisa from http://passionetcouture.blogspot.ca/
Thanks Karen for hosting this... hope someone asks questions today too! I posted about my hand quilting adventures and enjoy your blog a lot! Kathi
ReplyDeleteI am a beginner quilter. Learning how to sew also. When I buy fabric how much do I purchase to get a " stash" started? How much do I purchase for backing fabrics? I have figured out there may not be definite answers but was curious what the averages are with quilters.
ReplyDeleteLori, I started building my stash with fat quarters and have been very happy with those as a beginning. I felt I was able to collect a nice variety at an affordable price. And there are many fat quarter friendly quilting projects out there! (The pinwheel Classroom Monster quilt I linked up was made from fat quarters.) Val from myplvl.blogspot.com
DeleteLori, if you are new to quilting build a stash by making a quilted project of your choosing... maybe a quilt or a pillow top or a wall hanging... fat quarters are affordable and fun but buy the ones that you can use in a project... then watch it come to life and those fabric "scraps" will have a whole new meaning to you and the future quilted items they will go in... and your stash of scraps will grow as your projects do :)
DeleteFat quarters are a good way to start your stash but sometimes you just need more. If you find a good basic background fabric you like, buy a couple of yards. You will need it for a lot of reasons. Depending upon the size of the quilts you are making 4 yards is plenty for most. Most quilters will tell you if you see a fabric you love buy 3 yards and buy it when you see it, if you can. Most fabric companies print lines of fabric only once, and when it's gone...it's gone. A lot of designers lines will compliment the previous lines so you can be saved by finding something complimentary, if needed. Enjoy the process and remember, "there are no quilt police".
DeleteWelcome to the world of quilting Lori, glad to have you join us. I agree with Michele. The problem I have run into with my stash is that I never have "blenders" I buy a ton of novelties, so when you are shopping grab those blenders too, and buy in all shades. I have heard alot quilters tend to lean toward either Light, mediums, or darks, I tend to lean to the mediums, and am always looking for lights, particularly yellow, the stores never have much yellow.
DeleteWhen it comes to backing it depends on the size of the quilts you are making if lap size or bigger, I just did one that was 70 inches square, I had bought 3 2/3 yards for backing, small 1 1/2 inch border and binding. Welll I got the small border and the binding, I had to buy new backing. Now when I buy backing I go 4-6 yards, push come to shove any extra will be stash.
I have a GREAT stash, lol, I have a sign that says I don't sew I just collect fabric, lol.
Since you are stash building one tip I would like to pass on to you is fabric storage. Years ago I found out about making mini bolts with comic book boards, they are thin, archival safe, acid free, and 100 of them are around $7-$8, I wont mention how many I have bought. There are several links on the web that talk about how to do this, I simply lay the fabric on the cutting table, bring the fold up to meet the selveges, yes you have to straighten them, then simply lay the board on one end and begin flipping it down the fabric wrapping it around the board. You can pin the end if you are not in a high humid place, but I don't find it is necessary. This allows you to stack them on shelves like books, they stay nice and neat, or if you want to keep them in boxes they can go in like files so you can look and very easily see what you have. They fit perfectly in the boxes computer/copy paper comes. Here is a link for how to do it. http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2010/11/mini-fabric-bolts-and-some-studio.html
Start now while your stash is small, it took me a couple of weeks to get my original stash done, 700 boards at that time, lol. Also makes it easy to figure out how much you have by counting the folds, and no piles of fabric falling over or wanting that piece at the bottom of the stack.
Not sure where you live but if you ever get to Charlotte NC, plan a trip to Maryjo's it is a 33,000 square foot fabric store, and unlike the "J" store no lawn furniture or other ETC stuff, fabric!! Go with a list it is overwhelming the first time, I walked around drooling for 20 minutes, and she has fabulous prices on quilt store quality fabrics.
As you can see I can go on and on about stash, lol.
for stash building i always buy 1/2 yard or more. Its personal preference. Fat quarters can only make 1 project before they become scrap pieces... with 1/2 yard i can usually bind a quilt, use it in a big quilt, do more than 1 thing with it. I rarely buy fabric for backing, i use vintage sheets or sheets (call the quilt police!!! I know they say not to but I do)
DeleteI'm old school and really like to wash my fabrics before I use them. Because of that I buy one yard quantities. Happy stashing!
DeleteHi quilting friends!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for a fun quilt pattern and fabric collection to make for my classroom. Any ideas?
See my link: Classroom Monster Quilt.
im very computer dumb , how do i add links and buttons to my blog ...?
ReplyDeleteHi, Kate! Karen, on this blog, has tutorials that will answer many of your questions. Look at the top of the page under Blogging Tips and I'll bet you'll find just what you need.
DeleteHappy Blogging!
Nancy
My question is ~ where in the world does Ree Drummond (aka~The Pioneer Woman) find such beautiful peasant-style tops that she wears on her shows??? I would love to know, even tho' I probably can't afford them, ha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for any info!
Tanya
Tanya, if you go to her web site and search tops it will bring up posts about her tops. Sometimes you can see the manufacturers in the pictures, I then would google the manufacturer, you then shoul be able to find a source. Happy shopping!
DeleteHi, it's early days for me in the blogging world... A blogging baby! Do you download your images directly onto your blog posts, or do you use a image hosting website... And if so which one? A question to Karen and any other bloggers out there!
ReplyDeleteHi Nilupha! Welcome to blogging! I just save my pictures on my computer and upload them to my blog from here. I can edit them some..thats all I can handle! HA! I have a Blogspot blog.
DeleteI've been having trouble focusing on just about anything. Does anyone have any advice about what I can do? It's been driving me crazy!
ReplyDeleteIs this a crafting or Life question? Do you have too much going on in your life (who doesn't)? Try making an "appointment" with yourself to do what you want. If that's crafting, then make it that. Make the appointment for the same time each week so that you always have that time for you. No matter what! The first time you do it, use the time to write down all the things you want to do...say it's crafting: make Christmas cards, quilt a small piece, create a Halloween costume, create cards for friends' birthdays ...whatever it is you like to do. Then the 2nd time you have the date, take the one that interests you the most. That will help you focus.
DeleteHi Eileen, I can so relate to your question, as I have been feeling very much the same myself in many aspects of my life, it drives me crazy too.
DeleteThe way I have been trying to deal with it is to firstly write things down. You may, like me, have too many thoughts buzzing around in your head about all the need-to-dos and the want-to-dos, so I use a notebook and make lists. I write headings on the pages such as quilting, crafts, home, home maintenance etc and then, as thoughts come to me, I make a note on the list about that topic.
Secondly, each day or as often as possible, I will choose some things to work on - it might be just a couple, or a few, depending on what time I have, and then I set a timer on my phone and work on something for a period of time. For example, my list today is 10 minutes folding washing and putting it away, 10 minutes tidying up my craft table, 10 minutes tidying up in my bedroom, and then 10 minutes to sit with a glass of water and relax (read, watch a bit of a dvd, browse the internet etc). I do this 'schedule' several times throughout the day working on the same things, or if I have finished them, I pick another task to work on. At the end I feel like I have achieved quite a bit but it doesn't feel like it has taken a lot of effort. On a Saturday or Sunday, I might choose 3 things of 10 minutes each, then give myself 1/2 hour of sewing time.
If there is a bigger task which I have been feeling very resistant to doing, I decide to do it for 15 minutes. At the end of that time, I give myself permission to stop, but I often find that once I have started, I have the momentum to go on, and do an hour or more.
The Flylady website is a good source for this kind of thing, and is where I learned about using a timer and I find it very helpful.
Hope some of these ideas help. Good luck and best wishes!
I have a few kitchen appliances(electric) in white. They are in perfect shape and work absolutely fine. Over a period of years they have become 'yellowy', I have googled and tried everything to whiten them but failed. Does anybody have a similar problem? How do I clean them so that they don't look yellowy?. Need help in this regard. Thanks.
ReplyDelete