Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Tell Me Tuesday?

Okay, so the title is goofy. It's not going to be a regular event here on my blog, but a few random questions for you today...

1. I received these 4 coordinating fat quarters for Christmas. I'd like to make something incorporating all of them, maybe including a solid of some sort, but I need suggestions. Give me ideas, or link to your favourite quilty tutorials or whatever! I don't want these lovelies to just sit in a nice pile somewhere looking pretty.


2. I was emailing back and forth with Katie about this yesterday. Maybe there isn't an answer but I thought I'd put it out there. Why is it so difficult to find out the suggested retail prices of sewing machines, online? I'm not talking about purchasing a machine online, I just want to be able to do my research at home, in my price range, before going into a machine shop and being completely overwhelmed. It kind of seems like they don't want you to know!

3. Do anybody else's "straight" pins look like this? And here I pride myself on being someone who doesn't sew over pins. Almost never. Really. Eh, who are we kidding? At least I change my sewing machine needle frequently!


4. The saleslady in one of the sewing machine shops I visited yesterday told me that you should never sew off the edge of your fabric because the feed dogs can damage the bottom of your presser foot. Is this true??? This is something I feel like I do all the time!! Especially when chain piecing.

So please, comment away!!

9 comments:

Leslie said...

hmmmmm....
1. not sure what to do with that lovely stack of fabrics...If I see something I will let you know! ha!
2. I agree...they don't want you to know...I had to walk into a Bernina store and ask, cringe at the prices and then hubby purchased one months later! ;)
3. Yes, my needles look like that also :)
4. I did not know that about sewing off the edge of fabric, I do that all the time too! yikes if it is bad?!!
Sorry, not much help here :) ha!

Kate said...

1. Hmm, they're rather large-ish prints, so I would do something simple that lets the fabric shine.
2. Go to a quilt show - lots of prices and less pressure to buy than at a quilt store. Of course, you have to find one...now...nearby.
3. Nope. I don't pin, so I don't sew over pins. ;) I did step on one today and now it looks like that!
4. I chain piece all the time and I've never heard of that! Now I want to go check the bottom of my foot!

Unknown said...

1. I have no good suggestions for layouts right now. :( I do love bowtie quilts, though, and they work well with large prints.
2. I'm pretty sure prices aren't listed online bc they want you in the store where they can sell you on the machine before you know the price.
3. I sew over pins. And I keep using the bent ones.
4. I think the woman at the sewing machine place is crazy. I do know someone who sewed so much that it wore down her feed dogs and she had to have them replaced. But that was after 20 years of sewing! And she didn't damage any feet. :P

Toni said...

Oh my, I have a feeling I'm going to be scrolling up and down to remember the questions!
1. I'll have to think about it a little more. Maybe a small quilt like Kati's one that she just finished that looks like an arrangement of picture frames? I'll get you a link if you have no idea what I'm talking about...
2. I've noticed at the few quilt stores I've been in that they always have the "manufacturer suggested retail price" then their price is a couple hundred dollars lower. So maybe the LQS can basically set their own prices, so they manufacturer doesn't want to have an outrageous price listed? Not much help here, either...
3. I have so many pins like that. I started putting all the bent ones on the green part of my tomato pincushion so I could keep them separated, but my kids like to rearrange the pins so I gave up.
4. Never heard of anything like that. I think she's weird.

Katie B said...

1. Hmm. How about some snowball blocks? Or garden fence blocks.
2. For real! I'm heading to a dealer tomorrow to do some scouting.
3. Haha, my pins look EXACTLY like that!!
4. I've never heard that either. Sounds kinda crazy.

LesQuilts said...

Hi!
1. What if you try something like this quilt
http://www.lesquilts.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
it is 5 inch charm squares with a neutral sashing and a coordinating cornerstone block? The block and the sashing need to be the same width, but you can pick any size you would like! Would give you a chance to maybe use a rust or orange sashing and then a coffee or brown for cornerstones? Unless you want to calm down the squares and use coffee or lt brown sashing and orange, rust cornerstones, would pick up the colours in the fabrics. You should get enough 4 or 5 inch squares from the fat quarters to make at least a lap size or table size quilt!
2. Prices, they are always changing to keep up with other companies, and then the sale prices always seem like a good deal! My opinion.
3. Yes, my pins look like that. I sew over my pins, but mine look like that from pinning, especially lots of layers!
4.I chain piece as much as I can. When I'm at the end of the chain, I either use a leader/ender block part or a piece of left over stripping so I am sewing over 2 layers. I am stingy with my gutermen thread and don't like to waste it on things like thread ends. It also prevents damage to your starting fabrics when they get caught up in the feed dogs and also keeps your tension and your 1/4 inch seams true!
Take care, Leslie

Kimberly said...

My hand sewing needles look a LOT like your straight pins! Maybe it's just me, but somehow they seem to sew better with a little curve in them!

Alli said...

1. How about something like this? You might have to add a couple of solids for the little blocks, though.

2. I have no idea, but it drives me nuts, too!

3. Mine do! And I don't even sew over them -- I bend them when I'm careless while pinning thick layers. >_<

4. Pfft, I think that saleslady got hoodwinked at some point.

Debbie said...

1. definitely something to show off those beautiful large prints - how about jaybirds chopsticks pattern??
2. I agree - they don't show prices so shops can do their own thing, and get you in and looking first.
3. I do get bent pins occasionally, and do sew over them occasionally, but I just toss & move on!
4. I have never ever heard that. I do it ALL the time. crazy.