Buy quality, not quantity!!

Just because the manufacturer says you can't cut the grey mat doesn't mean you can't! You should send pictures!!! 

Well, yesterday was a total write-off when it came to sewing. In fact, I haven't touched any of the sewing machines in days! And that seems to be typical for me. I have things to sew, and hopefully that will happen today and tomorrow. 

Most of the demos are prepped - I might have said yesterday that everything is in order, and that would have been a lie. I had to open my appliqué demo box to get some things, but I didn't have time to sort it, and it needs sorting, as does the box for binding things, which I am opening this morning. 

Then I think all that remains is to pack the quilting samples back into a suitcase and I am done! Ready to leave bright and early on Saturday morning. 

If anyone is in the London, Ontario area, I'll be at Stache Fabrics on Saturday doing a bunch of demos. We start at 9 AM with tips for getting the perfect seam allowance, and there is a new demo each hour, with the last one at 2 PM. I've got loads to share, and these are a bit different from other demos I've done in the past because I'll be using a sewing machine (and my samples) to show you exactly how it's done! We'll start with seam allowances, then move on to decorative stitches, appliqué, walking-foot quilting, free-motion quilting, and, lastly, binding! 

Even if you've been around for many years, there is always something to be learned in a demo! At least in my demos! 

On Sunday, there is a morning session on learning a sewing machine's functions and how they differ depending on the level of sewing machine you have, and the afternoon will be all about quilting with your embroidery machine. You need to sign up for the two on Sunday - you'll find the link for the sign-ups here. 

OMG—did you hear the news?? 

Apparently, they have NOT publicly announced this yet, but it is public. OH MY ---- I guess that's another magazine that bites the dust. So this one ran from 1983 to 2026. Well, it's about time that I started this journey with this title and got the issues out of the house!!

First, I want to tell you my rotary-cutting story. How often do you change the blade in your rotary cutter? I never remember, so I decided to mark the date on a piece of tape on my cutter. 

The dates I change my rotary cutter blade

You probably can't read those dates, but I started marking the date on October 2, 2024. Then I next changed it on October 11, 2025. Hmmm—I still haven't changed the blade in 2026. Why? I don't cut a ton of things, but I trim quilts, etc. with that cutter - it's a 60 mm cutter. BUT I take care of the blade. There are no nicks in it because I continuously clean my cutting mat. I do need to change the blade now, but haven't had the time. So before any cutting session today, I MUST change that blade, and I'll indicate the date again. 

While going through that quilting basics box, I found these. 

Paper relating to Olfa cutters

Three printouts from the Olfa website dated 2005, and a brochure on how to use the Olfa Cutting System, including one that shows the order of disassembling the blade to change it. Honestly, it pays to buy QUALITY—I would not buy any other cutter, and I have a "few" Olfa cutters. I never need to buy another one. Nor do I likely need to buy blades again either, as I have a small stash, but maybe not the 60 mm. I'll check it out later today. 

Here is the timeline of the Olfa Story. Click it to enlarge it. 

The OLFA story

The first snap-off cutter was invented in 1956 - that's similar to a box cutter. The rotary cutter was created in 1979. OH MY -- I went to the OLFA site to try to find that diagram, but I couldn't; if you ask Google, most of it comes up if you can't read that. But they have projects on their website! Who knew? 

Anyway - I am set for rotary cutters forever and do not forget that they have a LIFETIME guarantee. Yes—I have had them replace two cutters: one that literally wore out, and the other that a student broke (a circle cutter). Buying quality means you don't have to buy quantity!!!

I've been dying to share this photo all week, but kept forgetting to take a couple of pictures. Here is the photo, and it's a bunch of fabrics (a kit) that you could purchase from Quiltmaker. 

A fabric kit from Quiltmaker Jan/Feb 94

Does your eagle eye spot anything? Probably not, unless you had purchased one of those fabrics. Well, it turns out that the top fabric in column three and the third fabric in column three are from the Jinny Beyer Eyelash collection. 

One thing to remember: fabrics did NOT turn around as quickly as they do today. I believe the eyelash collection was a staple (blender) and was reprinted over and over again. Again—if you bought quality (more money) and used it, instead of buying quantity, which was crap, you would have been better off!

So, it's no wonder that in 1999, when I bought fabric for my VERY FIRST OFFICIAL quilt, I used that eyelash fabric. This was the result of the first quilt class I took. I was HOOKED. I made two quilts prior, but I really didn't know a thing about quilting then. 

My first quilt when I started quilting

Shoot - I should have taken a close-up- the medium fabric - the stars and the inner border were made of the fabric in the top row (third column). Hilarious. 

I must have loved it or purchased a ton of it because I also used it for the backing. 

The backing is eyelash fabric.

But wait - the story gets even better. Remember the fabric that I recently ran out of for the block borders on my 40 Shades of Grey quilt? That is also eyelash!!!

Shoot—I can't find that photo this morning, but it's also from the eyelash collection. Sadly, I can't find the deep purple version that I need, so I guess Plan B comes into play. I'll figure out Plan B later. 

In one issue, I spotted this ad. 

Sewing tote

An ad to buy a travel companion for your quilting. A bag to hold all your supplies. And we all know that there are a plethora of patterns that you can purchase to make your own bag. It always makes me wonder - which came first: the idea from a reader/quilter (like the rotating cutting mat we saw the other day), or a company created it, and then the masses make patterns because it's "cheaper" to make your own. 

It's not cheaper, but it's a lot more fun to make than buy, and you can personalize it! That's the fun. When making anything by hand, NEVER factor in the cost. You can't compete with mass-produced items. 

And did you know that back in the day, Bonnie Leman (the founder of Quilter's Newsletter and its sister magazine, Quiltmaker) and the editor of Quiltmaker were on a PBS show called Sew Crative? I believe this was in the 90s. 

Sew Creative quilt show on PBS in the 90s

Quiltmaker magazine had great segments on using alternate colorways, which I think was amazing. I know many people who needed and still do - make the quilt in exactly the same color and even the same fabrics as in the original pattern. That's why people buy kits when they see a sample in a store. I confess that when I first started, I also needed to make things in the same color and, in one instance (Piecemaker Calendar), I "needed" to use the same fabrics. I quickly got over that! 

This was a blurb from one of the magazine designers, and her comment was: "The more you play with color placement and block combinations, the more fun you will have." YES --- 1000% yes!!!

Play with color and design - have fun!!!

Here was another comment that I loved. This was from the editor, and you can't read that, so here is the comment: "If you stretch yourself a bit, you'll find that your skills will improve the more techniques you try." 

Editor's comment - mentioned above!

OH MY GOODNESS --- that is what I keep telling people. You have to grow with this hobby - there are so many wonderful things to explore, and the options are endless. Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone --- OH MY GOSH -- that reminds me of one of my quilts. 

OK -- found that picture quickly. I truly believe this quote!!! The world is at your feet - it's up to you to take the first step. 

YES --- this is me!!!!!

Here's a great example of color options. Look at how the same block changes depending on the block's coloring (and values). It's hard to believe that it's the same block. 

Same block - two different colorways

Again - another option for color options, and you can see the original color in the top right. They encourage people to use plaid and NOT worry about the lines. Yeah!!!! Life is way too short to worry about whether the lines on plaid are straight unless it's a garment! 

More color options

Guess what? There are two more days of these magazine treasures before I can move on! Good grief—so many cool things I found and wanted to share. Hopefully you are enjoying my little adventure. If not, I'm documenting them, and that makes me happy. 

I will share the cell phone story tomorrow because I need to read something first, and I don't have time this morning because I'm off to the gym to meet Brooke. 

But here's my dentist story. I knew I was in trouble with a tooth a couple of months ago when I could feel the filling wasn't right. It felt like Swiss cheese with holes in it, but I wasn't feeling any pain, so I was OK with that. 

I kept meaning to make an appointment with the dentist, but September and October were busy months, so I put it off. 

About two weeks ago, I was eating something and all of a sudden, I was trying to crunch something very hard and realized that my filling had come out, or at least part of it. Yikes—there was now a large gap in the tooth. It's a molar, so you couldn't see that. Again - no pain. 

I had a cleaning scheduled for next week, so I was going to wait for that. My dentist texted to ask if I could move my cleaning to this week, and I said yes since I had time. I also mentioned the filling that fell out. 

It was a glorious day yesterday, so I put shorts on and ventured out to the dentist. I can walk there, and it was beautiful. 

Despite flossing more than usual, the hygienist reminded me to floss and brush better. And the amount of digging she did - well, obviously, I'm not doing something right. But that's OK. I didn't get the lecture per se - she didn't even ask me how often I brush or floss, which is usually the first thing they ask. 

I was expecting the worst news about the tooth and had visions of $$$$ running through my head to fix the problem. They took an X-ray, and the dentist came in and looked at it. He said there was enough good tooth to fix it, but there was a second filling in that same tooth, and a cavity had formed under that filling, which is likely why the first filling fell out. 

Then he starts talking about freezing, and I was like, WHAT?? He said that they had booked time to fix the tooth right then. Did I have time? Well, sure -- I'm here - why not!!!!

That sneaky receptionist! She didn't tell me that, but I truly appreciate her booking the time because now the tooth is fixed in only one visit. The entire bill was covered by insurance, so i walked outof there a happy camper. Don't get me wrong—we LOVE the dentist receptionist, and I teased her about doing that without telling me! OH - I need to tell you the toothpaste story, but I'm running out of time!

But I need two crowns replaced, and that is going to be $$$$. So I hope to get that done before the end of the year. 

All I can say is that dentistry has changed since I was a kid. Pain? They didn't care how much you hated the pain; they were torturers!!!! Thankfully, I'm good at the dentist now- the only thing I dislike is a needle in the palate, which is very tender. But enough about that. 

Then I watched some online videos for three hours, and I'll have to share that story tomorrow. So now you know why I didn't get any sewing done! 

It's time to get moving and get to the gym to find out what torture awaits me there!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

A Pandora's Box of quilting things

I have to laugh at how DH and I are the same and yet we are different! Obviously, we have quite different jobs, and our personalities are almost polar opposites. BUT, the underlying gel that holds us together is so similar. 

I am a storyteller - I think you all know that, and I was really hoping to be finished with these couple of magazines I went through the other day, but alas, you are going to get one more day of the stories from those couple of magazines tomorrow. Then I hope to be done!

Anyway, I try to spin a story about what I've discovered or want to learn or whatever. DH has been lamenting the fact that one of the people he works with just isn't a storyteller. The first time he mentioned it, I was floored. What the heck is he talking about? AHA—it seems that in his job, as they create presentations for their consumers, they NEED to tell a story. And this poor fellow just can't get it. 

I'm sure DH is completely tired of me telling him how good a storyteller I am! 

Anyway, as I mentioned yesterday, a very bad thing happened in Studio B, and I unleashed Pandora's Box - well, so to speak. It's not nearly as bad as I make that out to seem. 

I am prepping for my demos on Saturday and a couple of lectures on Sunday, so I need to go through the finished samples and boxes of accessories and small demo samples to assemble things in some sort of logical order. 

I have MANY pizza boxes that have served as demo boxes over the last 20+ years. This one was labeled Half-Square Triangles (because there are so many ways to make HSTs), but it also held my samples for piecing, pressing, and cutting. General information on the basics. 

My demo box for the basics of piecing. 

In the past, when I opened that box, I pulled out what I needed and left the rest. The new me, the one that wants to get rid of clutter, decided that it was time to clear out that box. So all the fabric and stitchouts are now collected together and sorted into plastic bags. I packed those into a small tote to take with me for the weekend. 

The rest of the stuff? Oh god!!!

The box is filled with stuff I collected when I started quilting.

I found not one, but TWO Angler 2s. I used this a lot when I was first learning to sew. It's a template that you tape to the base of your sewing machine to help sew diagonal lines. Why do I have two? No idea. But they are up for grabs if anyone wants one or two. I now use different tools to make stitch-and-flip corners, flying geese, and half-square triangles. 

TWO Angler 2s up for grabs

I also found this marking tool for marking both stitching lines for half-square triangles. If anyone wants it, it's yours. Again, I have different methods now. The ruler is called the Quick Quarter. 

Quick Quarter ruler

And then there were the Tech Tips handouts I wrote and handed out at my demos. I packed those in my bag for this weekend in case anyone wants one. If I come home with any extras, they are going in the recycling.

I found some pre-printed papers to make half-square triangles, as well as some interfacing that also was marked with lines to make half-square triangles. I think I will repurpose the interfacing for something else, but the papers are still good. I believe they make 3" finished HSTs. If anyone wants them, they're yours. 

Papers and interfacing to make half-square triangles

Then I found papers! Articles I photocopied from books or magazines about different piecing techniques. Did I ever refer back to them? I am slowly sorting through it- actually, I think I culled all the piecing technique articles. I'll finish the job today. Most of this, OK—all of it — will go in the recycling, but only after I check it out. That's me—one day, I won't need to do that, but right now, I do. 

Paper in that demo box that is not necessary to keep

I also found information on rulers and how to cut various shapes from the BASIC rulers. That's what we did back in the day because we did NOT have all the specialty rulers that we have today. So yes—I appreciate someone coming up with a specialty ruler their followers can purchase, but the basic rulers do the same thing, take up less space, cost less, and you use them every day!!! And YES—there are duplicates—of course there are duplicates!!!

Information about cutting fun shapes with regular rulers

OH—and I took this picture to remind us all about the dangers of picking up FREE things. Yes—we love free, but guess what? Most of the free stuff you get from companies is junk!! A brochure to encourage you to buy more of their product, some gadget that was a flop and they are trying to get rid of it, or just something with the company name on it (they call that swag), and quite frankly, I think we should ban all swag (or a good part of it) for the sake of our environment! 

Free stuff isn't always the best thing.

There is one swag item that I love, and I'll try to remember to take a picture of it tomorrow. 

I found a diagram with different bed sizes. Have I ever referred to this diagram? I doubt it, so it's also gone. 

A diagram for different bed sizes

And then a blurb about the HARD, dark grey cutting mats. I've never used that mat for cutting. They even say in this blurb that because you don't cut the mat (it's so hard), you are only cutting your fabric, which makes your blades last longer!!!

Information about cutting on the hard, gray mats

I also found the picture and swatch sheets for two quilts that I made YEARS ago. Look how neat the one on the bottom is. And then I just went for practical in the top one. I made these with the Marti Michelle Template Sets (A and B for the bottom, and maybe C and D for the top one). I believe I taught both quilts at The Hobby Horse. 

Swatch sheets for two quilts

Both were big quilts, and I gave the bottom one to my parents. When we cleared out their house, I found the quilt folded up and under piles of stuff in their bedroom. They barely used it because it was HEAVY. That seems to be a complaint of older seniors. They don't want anything heavy on them. I guess I am far from an older senior since I like to sleep with a big duvet and a heavy T-shirt-on-two-sides quilt! 

Anyway, my sister-in-law washed it after I removed the label, and it got donated to a women's shelter. I can only hope that someone is still snuggling under it. If not? Guess what—I gave it away; it's no longer my quilt. 

I also found some other papers on the rotary cutter which I realize I forgot to photograph, but that's OK. I'll chat about the rotary cutting stuff from the Quiltmaker magazines, and I'll take the other pictures and add them tomorrow. 

Let's just say that when this box goes back on the shelf after my demo, there will be much less in it! And all the demo bits will stay in their plastic bags, so it's easy to grab. But I use that box less and less, so it will have to go one day. Like only the fabric samples and probably nothing else. How many of those boxes do you have in your sewing space? OH - and I removed some samples for weird piecing techniques that I will NEVER demo again, and those bits got put in the pile of scraps. 

At the very least, I can start sorting, processing, and emptying those demo boxes. Since I no longer do many demos, there is MUCH that I can get rid of. That would be a start! Yes—have you realized that I am slowly encroaching on the treasures in Studio B, and one day it will be clear, but it's going to take a long time. I'm OK with that - I'm slowly detaching myself from the treasures that I thought I could never live without. 

Here's the cover of the next Quiltmaker magazine that I'm partway through. YES -- that is a nice scrap quilt on the cover. Take note of that for anyone in the scrap club!!! Well, actually scrap class. 

Number 39 - September/October 94

OK -- so you are reading this here first!!!! This blurb came from the above magazine, and it's hilarious when you read it. Some quilters have never quilted without a rotary cutter. I guess it's like our cell phones. Our kids can't imagine what a rotary phone is. And I've got a story about cell phones for you!

And now they have added rotary cutting instructions to their general quilting instructions. 

But what I find hilarious is that, at that time, they only substituted cutting instructions for SQUARES or RECTANGLES. No one knew how to cut or make triangles, except with a template. Notice the rotary-cutting instructions are indicated on the little rotary-cutter handle in each template!!!

Rotary cutting instructions

What does that tell you? The same as I keep telling people in everything they do. You can't learn to do everything at once! Just cutting squares and rectangles with a rotary cutter would have been revolutionary, but to cut triangles? You had to have someone figure it out and then actually provide instructions. Rome was NOT built in a day!!!

The other "naughty" thing that they did back then, and many people still do it, is to include cutting the borders to the "correct" length. I'm sorry to say, but there is no CORRECT length, except the actual length of your quilt. So if you pre-cut your border lengths, stop. Measure your quilt top, then cut the borders to match. I know back in the day, borders were often cut parallel to the selvage (selvage was also spelled selvage), but it's perfectly OK to cut strips and join them. I think back in the day, people did get a bit too technical. 

Cutting the borders to the mathematical length, which wasn't always the correct length

I'm sure I told this story before, but I remember we were making a raffle quilt for one of the guilds I belonged to. I was in charge of buying the fabric. Somewhere along the way, I learned how to do the calculations to piece it horizontally or vertically, depending on whether the fabric was directional or which way used the least fabric. One of the ladies piped that you are ONLY supposed to piece the back horizontally or something to that effect. GASP—since I am doing the backing, I am allowed to do what I want!!! 

Which brings me to the story of the math and how to figure out how much fabric you need to make a quilt. Guess what? I found the very same calculations (right to the width of fabric that I use) in that magazine from 1994. I don't know if I figured some of this out on my own or learned it from the magazines, but I was NOT quilting when this came out. My method is NOT new, but it's logical, and that's how my brain works. If you can't read this, you can always click on the picture to enlarge it. 

Math to calculate yardage

Note: I do NOT draw the diagram - I write it on a piece of paper, or I visualize it in my head. 

If you are doing meters, then substitute the 36" for 39". Easy peasy!!!

And there you have it. The next time you want to figure out how much fabric you need for anything, that is the math required. It's simple, and anyone can do it—it's basic math. 

OH MY GOSH - speaking of readers' tips, here's a doozy. I know that some of you track your fabrics like the sample below, or keep track of what comes in and what goes out. That's WAY TOO MUCH work for me. 

Keeping track of your fabric?

I can't even manage folding it uniformly, so doing that extra step above would kill me and my creativity. BUT our brains all work differently, and if that step lets you sleep at night, then you do it. I'd rather be sewing! 

Was anyone quilting back in 1994? Look what I found!!!! A Canadian Quilting Retreat, in Minaki Resort, which is WAY UP NORTH in Ontario. 

Quilt retreats are not new!

WAIT -- that means that quilt retreats are not new!!! Who knew!!!!!

The last photo is the status of my Conqueror Challenge for 2026. Without even trying, I am on track. I haven't even glanced at these monthly updates until this one, although a while back I did go into the website to check after months of not checking. I'm on track and should easily get the last 600 KM. But that means I get 10 KM per day. So I'd better keep an eye on that! All is good. It would be a shame to get so close and then not attain the goal. 

Progress on my walking challenge

OK—so I'm off to the gym, and I'll edit this chicken scratch of a rough draft when I get back. I wonder what amazing ideas I can dream up as I do my mobility exercises today. It's a silly thing, but the fact that if I hit the first street light before 6 AM, it changes within 5 seconds of arriving is a very motivating factor to not dilly dally. Let's hope that everyone has some silly little motivator in their life to get them to whatever events they need to get to on time! 

I hope you are enjoying the trip down memory lane with the magazine stuff. I'm loving it, and with the stack of stuff I have to go through, the content can entertain us for years. But once I get past these early editions, I doubt there will be much to entertain us. It's just going to be eye candy. 

WAIT -- I forgot to mention that I have only ripped out the picture of three quilts so far. Nothing else, so that is good. And I have filed those pictures in the appropriate spots where they will be handy. I really don't need instructions anymore, or at least not for the quilt pictures I pulled. I just want the inspiration or the concept. 

On that note, I'm off to catch a traffic light!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS -- As I was driving home from another amazing workout, a solution to a problem I have with a project popped into my head!

The roots of quilt techniques is deep! And not new!

That's one way to stop fights when the Christmas catalogs came in—get one for everyone in the family! That was the BEST time of the year, but alas, I had to share between two brothers and Mom. My gosh -we bought Christmas candy, and well, I don't remember all that we coveted. I grew up in a very small community, and that catalog was my ticket to the world! There was no such thing as looking at store window displays. There was no toy store nearby - shopping by catalog was all we had! We did have an Eaton's in town, about 30 miles away; we did get to go there and look at things in wonder! 

I am prepping for some demos for this weekend at Stache Fabrics in London, Ontario. Inadvertently, I opened Pandora's box. I'll explain more tomorrow. Oh my god -- this stuff has to go!!!

Here are the covers of the other magazines I'm looking at. I'm showing them because some of you may recognize them! As if!!!! But it's fun to see the cover quilts. I forgot to mention that you are welcome to come along with me on this journey!!! Get out any Quiltmaker magazines you have and start processing them!

Early spring 90 - $3.95

January/ February 94 - Number 35 $3.95

July/August 94 - Number 38 $3.95

And sometime in the early 90s the magazine went from semi-annually to four times a year to bi-monthly. And as I mentioned earlier, it's back to four times a year. 

Remember bumper pads for baby cribs? That's a thing of the past!!

Bumper pads - a thing of the past

I found this very strange in a US-based magazine - a conversion chart for yards and meters! This is a very confusing thing since much of the world uses metric, but all our rulers and most of the patterns are in yards. We are very bilingual when it comes to shopping and using fabric! I was just surprised that's all. Actually, this was listed on a shop insert in the magazine - more on that shop another day, and this was to help ALL customers know what they were buying!

Conversion chart for yards and meters back in the 90s

In the 90s, they also started including other non-quilt projects in the magazines. My Mom got hooked on those and, well, sadly, some of them had to go. 

Covered album covers

And how about this kitchen set for the BBQer in your life! 

Kitchen set

The pattern pages became more colorful in the 90s and more similar to what we see today. 

Nice pictures and WORDS!!!

And the instructions were much more comprehensive than in earlier issues. 

Comprehensive colored instructions to assemble a quilt

But what surprised me is that many of these patterns were not for the faint of heart, especially in the earlier magazines. Look at this one. Seriously? That would have taken forever, and would likely have had to be done by hand. 

I think I'll pass

And look at those instructions. What instructions? So never say pattern instructions are bad today—at least you get more than just the templates and a diagram!

The templates AND the instructions

Speaking of diagrams, here are a couple. 

Diagram and instructions!!!

I swear that every pattern in the early days had some form of wonky piecing - whether that was curved piecing, Y seams, or partial seams. 

Diagram for partial seams

At least, they did have instructions on those Y-seams, which they called Set-In Patches. 

How to sew Set-In Patches from Early Spring 1990

And how techniques have changed - the blocks haven't changed, but the techniques have. 

This is a wonky block. In the past, you had a template, cut out each shape, and sewed it together. God forbid that you wasted any fabric. Today? Sew on a wider-than-you-need strip, and once that round is made, take your ruler, rotate slightly, and cut the block wonky! Fast, but more wasteful. 

Assembly for a wonky block

And when I saw this picture, I almost died laughing. 

Template for a long cabin block

It's hard to see in the picture, but the pattern is for a log cabin block. To save space, they have stacked the log templates on top of each other! That picture reminds me of a very famous quilt maker who designed rulers and templates for every pattern imaginable. And she had a log cabin ruler that looked just like that diagram. You cut your pieces starting with the longest, move the ruler to the next length and cut, and so on until you've cut them all! One ruler - easy peasy!

Here's a picture of the log cabin quilt. The logs are NOT all the same width! But it's very cool. 

The log cabin quilt

Let's not forget the Quiltermaker's market. This was where people bought/swapped/traded or whatever. Imagine doing that today by snail mail!!! I spotted the Market page in the 1994 issue. 

The Quiltmaker's Market page

They had also started the reader's page. I think this one came from a fall /winter 94 magazine. I haven't shared the cover of that one yet. 

The reader's page

And of course, you can't forget the tips submitted by readers. This is how the rotary mats came about -- read this tip!!! OH MY GOSH ---- this is amazing! 

Reader's tip for rotating mats

Finally, some FAST quilts to make. 

The promise of speedy piecing

And this is when they introduced strip piecing. And notice the rotary cutter? I have way more to tell you about that tomorrow!!

Instructions for strip piecing

More instructions on strip piecing. 

More instructions for strip piecing

I did find one mistake, but this could have been the situation at the time. It's related to appliqué. Thappliqué that the satin stitch is a compact zigzag, and I believed that for years. I didn't know any difference - I got my education from these magazines. However, a satin stitch is NOT a zigzag. Its stitch path is different. I will elaborate one day. That's why if you have a built-in satin stitch on your machine - USE it - it's much better than the zigzag for finishing off raw edge appliqué. 

A sappliquén stitch is NOT a compact zigzag.

But I love that they were encouraging quilters to experiment. Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten how important that is. I am shocked at how many people are looking for the FAST way to do anything - ask a question instead of looking it up; they want step-by-step instructions to learn a complicated technique, instead of starting with the basics and building! 

You need to play to learn! 

But excellent instructions for stitching appliqué with a turned-under edge. And you know what? That hasn't changed, and probably never will! This is how to use the blind hem for appliqué. 

Use a blind-hem stitch for appliqué

Aappliquéused the starch method way back in the 90s. I love the starch method for turned-under edges. Again - a technique that has not changed and will not change. Maybe some of the tools we use change - like thin applicators on the glue bottles and smaller, non-steam irons. 

Instructions for Starch and press appliqué

Iappliquéeading the readers' comments. This was in a 1994 magazine. Imagine what this woman (a quilter for 45 years) would think if she saw all the changes today. She talks about all the areas to explore fabrics, etc. She would be in her glory today!

Oh my -- how the world would change for this lady if she were still alive today

Another reader comment, and this means that the world of machine quilting was starting to happen. She stitched in the ditch with her machine! This brings back good and bad memories. In the day when we started to machine quilt, the only thing we knew was stitch-in-the-ditch with the walking foot, OR stippling in free motion. Both are extremely hard to do well. Thankfully, there are so many other types of quilting that one can do! 

Machine quilting is making a debut in 1994

I know machine quilting has been around for many, many years before 1994, but people were coming out of the closet, and it was becoming "acceptable." The hand quilters were not happy and did not consider these machine-quilted quilts to be real quilts!! 

And what about this comment regarding computers and quilting? This was back in 1994. 

Even back in 1994, quilters used their computers to connect and SWAP fabrics!

I started quilting in 1998, and I remember the dial-up modem so I could check the chat in a Yahoo group I belonged to!!!! 

I love how we coveted our stash back then. Well, this is a play on words, so to speak! They are actually talking about the VALUE of fabric, not how we value our fabric!

The value of fabrics

And the last picture for today is all about NOT rushing to finish. 

That's so important. You don't want wavy borders because you didn't measure. YES --- we can tell!!! And you need to be careful how you sew that binding on so it's not wonky as well!! Quilting is a hobby, not a race! Be sure to enjoy the journey!!!!

And that's a wrap for today. I still have more to share tomorrow and likely the day after, and then I can go back to browsing through more magazines. 

I've been off doing other things, which I hope to have time to share tomorrow as well. 

On that note, it's going to be a busy day—of course it is; every day in my world is a busy day. By busy, I mean I have things to do. I won't be sitting around eating bonbons! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!