Tips for Quilters and Stitchers

Tip of the day:
Over the years I have been asked to offer advice on what's the best sewing machine to buy. That's a difficult question to answer as there are so many great machines on the market. However, I do advise people to make sure they have easy access to maintenance and repairs. At one point, the dealer for my sewing machine, in St. John's, closed and there was no one closer than Nova Scotia who could do a necessary repair on my computerized machine. That was an experience I won't repeat. So go to your local dealer and try out the different machines they have and decide from there.

Here's some sites with great tips related to quilting and sewing:

• How to Make Your Embroidery Thread Behave (for hand & machine sewing)
• Save The Spools
• The Right Tools for the Job
• Quilting & Sewing Tips & Hints
• Quick Tips for Quilters
• Quilting Tips Archive from Fonts & Porter
• Sewing & Quilting Tips from Sew Mama Sew
• Tips for Sewing Quilt Blocks
• Tips on Sewing Miniature Quilts
• Sewing Tips, Tools and Tricks

Your Machine!

This is a very quick post about sewing machines - probably one of your most prized possessions! Threads Magazine has an excellent article about easy sewing machine maintenance that you can do to keep your machine running smoothly. Quilt artist, Frieda Anderson, also posted about this on her site. Check it out as it never hurts to refresh your memory on these things. It might actually pay for itself in the long run! For example, do you always cover your machine? If not, now is the time to start. Check out some past posts about machine covers HERE,  and HERE.  Enjoy!