How to Work

After chain piecing both sides of the squares and you are ready to cut them to make the half square triangles.  Lay a length of chained pieces on your cutting mat, now lay your ruler down the middle of the squares( so you should have a triangle on each side of the ruler) Run your rotarty cutter down the ruler and you will cut your cutting time in half.

I use dryer sheets for foundation piecing. I recently bought new ones, put them in a lingerie bag to wash out the fabric softener.  I then sewed my fabrics onto them using the stitch and flip method.  They are strong, soft and worked like a dream.  Plus they had a wonderful fragrance.
Now I just save my used ones.  They are perfect for fabric collage, they aren't as bulky as muslin. As a bonus they are the perfect size for fabric postcards. I get to recycle, reuse and save the landfill.  It's a win, win!
Fran Wessel
McAllen, TX

  I like to do hexagon quilts, So I have more than one going all the time. I find small zippered cases at the thrift store. Make sure they zip all the way open. Then I keep some hexagons, thread, ( I wind it on a bobbin- cause it is smaller) thread cutter, and when I get stuck waiting I always have it in my purse. I usely never work on it till I am out. You never know when you will need something to do... Sometimes someone else is waiting and will help make a few... You also can do Yo Yo's or maybe a hand piecing block...  Quilted diamonds work well for this too.... Cindy Wolfe

When dealing with silky fabrics or fabrics that move when you are sewing, buy double sided tape. Don't tape where you will sew, tape inside your sewing line. This keeps fabrics from shifting, puckering and the dreaded ripping it out. It might take a few extra minutes but in the end you have a perfect seam.

Instead of spending big bucks on the special paper for paper piecing I use inexpensive lined notebook paper. It isn't as heavy as paper for your printer but still goes thru evenly. This makes it much easier to remove the foundation when you are finished with your quilt.

When you are ready to remove the paper from your foundation patterns lightly spritz the paper with water. Allow the papers to dry to your touch. You can easily remove the papers without pulling out your stitches.

I like to use the clear plastic storage boxes for my quilt projects.

I precut fabric and  copy patterns and store everyting in it's box.

I put the persons name on it also.

this is good for the times you want to sew but don't have big blocks of time for the prep time.

I like to spend a weekend doing prep all at one time to get it out of the way.

thanks

catherine

After cutting the proper size strips for a paper-pieced project, I stick a small post-it note on each stack with the name of the block, the letters and numbers of the section of the block, the position number, and, finally, the dimentions of the strip.  Then, I put this stack of strips in the little half-size baggies.  It is so easy to find exactly which fabric is sewn next.

When I am foundation piecing I sit in a swivel chair and have my ironing board set up to one side at the same height as my sewing machine so that I can easily turn in the chair to press each seam. This also works well for regular piecing.

When using a foundation piecing method to create the blocks in your quilt, try using plastic coated paperclips to hold block pieces together. These items work better than pins for securing fabric pieces, since pins can distort the image because they bunch the fabric in order to secure it. Make sure the paper clips are plastic coasted because this buffering will protect the fabric. Metal paperclips with sharp edges may tear or damage the fabric when removed and the metal may stain light-colored fabric.