At our last guild meeting, we heard a program from Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.

She is an engaging speaker, and I came away with numerous ideas for new designs or ways to reinterpret existing ones.

One of her statements was this….

“THROW OUT THE HERO!”

Honestly, we all looked at her with puzzled expressions, but then she explained.

As a way to pick fabrics for a project, we often pick a focus fabric, also called a “HERO fabric”.

As an example, I picked out this “Moda” fabric to be my “Hero”…

I carried it to my overstuffed shelves and spent an enjoyable 15 minutes, searching for fabrics that would match the colors in this bold print…..

These are what I came up with…..

Or, to look at it differently……

I think that we can all agree that making a quilt with those fabrics and using the Hero print as a border would make a stunning quilt.

But, now comes the kicker…..

THROW OUT THE HERO……

What do you think?

Would the quilt be just as nice (or maybe even nicer) without the bold print?

I will never make this quilt, but it was a FUN exercise that I intend to repeat!!

I LOVE painter’s tape, and everything that you can do with it. Happily, I discovered a new use for it this past week.

When I am making a quilt that needs to be a specific size, I would use pins and yarn to mark off the size on my design wall….

….and then fill the area…..

A few weeks ago, I started playing around with this idea….

As I pulled it out to work on again, I decided to select a size and mark it out, but this time I used painter’s tape!!

I was thinking about 40 x 60-inches, so I measured a 40-inch piece, and placed it on the wall…..

….followed by the other three sides…..

But, when I laid my piece on the board, I knew that the aspect was wrong….

It was so much easier to make the change when I could actually SEE it……

I will definitely use tape to mark out future projects as well!!

…

The other day I watched a YouTube video from “Gettin’ Stitchy by Steffanie” about using school supplies for quilting purposes. You might want to check it out……

BUT…. there was ONE hint that struck me.

She suggested using plastic folders or dividers to make templates….

Previously, I have used plastic cutting mats from the Dollar Store, and while they work well, they can sometimes be fairly stiff and hard to cut.

The plastic folders normally have some transparency that makes tracing the design a breeze….

….cutting is fast and easy…..

…and the stiffness of the plastic is perfect for tracing onto the quilt!!

Now I need to hit Walmart before they sell out!!

Are there school supplies that you stock up on for quilting purposes??

..

We all know about Brook Benton and his “Rainy Night in Georgia”….

…but the last few days have been rainy “ALL THE TIME” in Georgia and, consequently, we have lost electricity several times!!

So, I have been finding non-digital and no-electricity needed things to accomplish.

Yesterday morning, I pulled backing fabrics and batting for several smaller projects that need to be finished soon.

I have found it hard to keep my batting bits neat and especially hard to find the size that I need….when I need it!!

Several years ago, I purchased a small whiteboard, attached it to the inside of my studio closet….

…and started using it to keep track of my batting pieces!!

I don’t list the smaller pieces. Those reside in a large storage box….

…but I do keep track of anything that could be used for a medium-sized or larger project.

So, today I was pulling batting for the table runner for my upcoming scrap class….

It measures 15″ by 48″.

A quick look at the board showed me that there was a “Warm & Natural” batting that was 16″ by 94″…..

Sounds perfect to me!!!

After I finished cutting the needed batting, I rolled up the leftover, grabbed a fabric strip from my “dog-bed stuffing” bin…..

…..tied it all up and added a folded post-it note that tells the remaining size….

The last thing to do was to change the board….

….stuff it into the bag with other rolled batting…..

…and toss it back into the closet…..

I really do like this system and, as long as I am consistent with keeping track of changes, it seems to work!!

What systems do you use to keep track of your “Quilty” things?

…

At our last guild meeting, we had a “garage sale”. Individual members could pay $10 for a table and then sell anything that they wanted!!

It was fun to see what we quilters were trying to get RID of.

BUT, one table was full of hand-made items, and of course I had to take a look.

This is what caught my eye…..

It looked like a plain old pincushion, but what are those tabs on each end?

THAT is the genius part of this product. It allows the pin cushion to be PINNED TO YOUR DESIGN WALL!!

So, instead of this…..

…..or this…..

…. I can simply do this…..

SOOOO much nicer!!

I used a “Floral Pin” to attach it to the wall….

….and it can be easily moved as needed.

If you are like me and would prefer to BUY one rather than make one, contact me and I will forward the maker’s information to you!

As usual, the simplest solution is always the best!!