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

Hand Embroidery

I found this neat site called the Hand Embroidery Network or HEN. "The website's aim is to encourage and pomote the practice and knowledge of the art of embroidery in all its forms and to bring together like minded people who enjoy needlework and wish to learn and share their knowledge."
You will find the following:

• An illustrated hand embroidery stitch A to Z
• Focus on embroidery basics such as threads, tools and fabrics
• Free projects such as design templates and creative backgrounds
• Take part in online exhibitions
• Embroidery events
• Embroidery techniques
• Members gallery
• Embroidery forum
• Video tutorials

The network also has a blog. Check out the listings for October's Stitch A Day. The stitch samples are quite well done.