I actually wasn’t planning on doing any sort of really scientific side-by-side comparison when I ordered the Jacquard, but after I printed an image on the EQ Printables and was pretty unhappy with the way the ink ran and spread during the rinsing phase, I decided to print the same image on the Jacquard to test it out. And okay, it’s still not a terribly thorough analysis since it’s not like I’m going to burn through three or four more sheets to test different kinds of images on each of these brands, but I think the results are worth sharing anyway.

Here’s the head to head, brutal comparison:(...)
Read the rest of Head to Head: EQ Printables vs. Jacquard Cotton Sheets (579 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Musings, Quilting, Tips
Tags: ink jet fabric printing

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Over the years, I’ve used many different methods, so I thought I’d share some of them here over the course of the next few posts. I can’t tell you how many parts this will have, as I’m just going to start with a couple of the methods I used way back when, and work my way through my bag of techniques and tools. Some of what I’ll share I haven’t used recently for one reason or another, but that’s not to say I won’t ever use a particular technique again, and of course someone else might find it useful.

When I was fairly new to quilting, my goal was to not actually mark on the quilt at all if it could be avoided since I was petrified that the marks wouldn’t wash out, so I spent a great deal of time figuring out how to get the quilting pattern on to the quilt without ever touching an actual marker to the fabric. (...)
Read the rest of Quilt Marking Roundup: Stitching Through Paper (628 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments
Post categories: Eye on the Machine, Featured, Quilting, Tips
Tags: machine quilting, quilting paper

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Winner #1: Sheryl H. who sent in today’s tip on The Daily Stitch, as a matter of fact! Sheryl’s won a copy of Inchie Quilts and the InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool & Ruler Set!

Winner #2: Dorothy H. who tweeted about the giveaway early on and then sent in lots of great tips right at the deadline last night! Dorothy’s won the InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool & Ruler Set!

Winner #3: Maria@Maria Michaels Designs who sent tips and blogged about the giveaway has won the InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool & Ruler Set!

I’ll contact the winners directly by email later today! Thank you ALL for playing along, and congrats to all the winners! I received so many great tips this time, and they’ll be coming at you on The Daily Stitch for the next month or so while I’m in the States. If you’re not a subscriber yet, what are you waiting for? You can subscribe by RSS or get The Daily Stitch delivered to you by email so you won’t miss out on all the great tips from fellow quilters!

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post categories: Featured, Quilting, Tips
Tags: giveaway, Inchie Quilts, InchieSee InchieDo, The Daily Stitch

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I’m just popping in to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has sent in tips, blogged and posted on Twitter about the giveaway so far! I’ve received so many tips, and they’re all pret-ty ding dang dong wonderful! My personal favorite will post on The Daily Stitch tomorrow, September 30, and the rest will follow.

Here’s what I asked for:

Any quilting tips are great, whether they’re about cutting, piecing, pressing, fabrics, threads, embellishments, unusual uses for everyday items, favorite notions or gizmos, great places to shop, or fabulous quilt shows or events. I’d also love to hear about your favorite quilting artists, especially the little known ones, so send some links and tell me what you think is cool about their work.

And oh boy, did you deliver! Yes, dear readers and friends, you’ve made my life just a little easier before my big trip to the States, and you’re all just awesome! But there’s still time—time enough to send in your tip (or tips!) to get your name in the hat for a copy of Inchie Quilts, and an InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool & Ruler Set. Every tip gets another chance to win! And I know there are more tips out there where these came from! Keep ‘em coming! Deadline is October 1, and I’ll draw for the winner on October 2!

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post categories: Quilting, Tips
Tags: giveaway, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, InchieSee InchieDo, The Daily Stitch

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Here’s the deal: I need to have about 30-40 tips for The Daily Stitch loaded up and ready to go before I leave for Quilt Market, and with everything else going on at the moment, I’m running a bit behind! Can you help me out here? Send a tip or two my way? I’d be ever so thankful!(...)
Read the rest of A Request for Help and an Inchie Quilts Giveaway (236 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Life, Quilting, Tips
Tags: Inchie Quilts, InchieSee InchieDo, The Daily Stitch, Tips

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So today I prepared step-by-step samples for making Inchies to use for demos, and then as I was edge stitching the Inchies, I got this crazy idea to make a video tutorial of the process! Talk about a complete derailment! Shooting the video was a piece of cake that took less time than writing this post will (despite the fact that it’s a brand new camcorder that I’d never used before), but the whole “how do I put this video on the web” thing took five hours! Seriously! Sheesh! (...)
Read the rest of Inchie Quilts: On the Road and YouTube (244 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post categories: Eye on the Machine, Quilting, Tips
Tags: AQS, Houston, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, Patchcom, tutorials, workshops

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Today is Boxing Day, but not the one that comes after Christmas in some parts of the world. I spent some time the other day pulling fabrics and other bits from my stash to send to Iraq for the Iraqi Bundles of Love project masterminded by Kristin La Flamme’s awesome husband Art. I pulled out bunches of yardage that I know I’ll never use, as well as some threads that were hanging around and a few trims and bias binding packages that I don’t even know why I have anymore. I’m sure that someone in Iraq will find a good use for these things!

So, Mr. IBOL Guy, there are four boxes headed your way this week! I know that a couple of these boxes are bigger than I think you’d like, but you know how it is ’round here. You can’t always have exactly what you want when you want it. These were the only boxes I could find! And can I just say one more time, “You’re awesome, Mr. IBOL Guy, and an inspiration to the rest of us!”(...)
Read the rest of Operation IBOL–Packaging Up the Love (74 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post categories: Inspiration, Life, Quilting, Tips
Tags:

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Bear with me, I know you’re wondering where I’m going with this. After Shadow recovered, I wrote about this on my blog, as I often do when it’s something like this that I think people should know about. Over the next few months, I noticed that that blog post was receiving many hits from search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. People were searching for “cat reactions to vaccinations”, “severe cat reaction shots” and other similar phrases. I edited the post, and added the following in bold lettering at the top:

NOTE: If you have found this post through a search for “cat reactions to vaccinations” or something similar, STOP!

If your cat (or dog) is experiencing any of the following symptoms after a vaccination, take your pet back to the vet IMMEDIATELY:

* vomiting
* diarrhea
* whitish or pale gums in the mouth
* facial swelling or hives
* rapid or difficult breathing
* restlessness or difficulty settling down

The above symptoms may mean that your pet is going in to anaphylactic shock and needs IMMEDIATE medical attention to survive!

Severe reactions to vaccinations can be life threatening and are a medical emergency! Don’t wait and wonder, have your pet checked by a veterinarian ASAP!

I wanted people to have the most important information that they needed to save their pet’s life if necessary without having to read through my entire story of Shadow’s reaction. Even the few minutes it could take to read the whole post could make a difference to their pet. This morning, I received a comment on that blog post from Ann:(...)
Read the rest of Blogging, SEO, and Saving Lives (1,212 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments
Post categories: Cats, Featured, Life, Shows & Contests, Tips
Tags: AQS, blogging, Google, quilt shows, search engines, SEO, workshops

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I received the prototypes of my tools from Rulersmith two weeks ago, and let me tell you, they are awesome! They are every bit as wonderful as I hoped they would be in the beginning, and the quality is, of course, perfect. The ruler is absolutely perfect just as it is, and the tool only requires a very minor modification to be perfect as well. If only I’d been able to find this company before I’d gone so far with the first one! (I looked, I really did, but somehow didn’t find Rulersmith until the second go round, and I don’t even remember how I found it then!) My experience with Rulersmith has been completely opposite in every way to the one I had with the other company.

I sent Dave at Rulersmith pdf files of my designs (instead of the original Corel Draw files, Photoshop files, graphics and fonts, etc.), and from just those pdf files, his team drafted the designs and made the prototypes that were perfect and nearly perfect. (...)
Read the rest of Quilt Ruler Manufacturing Report–Good News at Last! (378 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Favorite Things, Featured, Quilting, Tips
Tags: cool tools, Inchies, InchieSee InchieDo

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I adjust the seam allowance when I sew the binding down with the machine so that when the binding is flipped to the back of the quilt, the folded edge just barely covers the bobbin thread, and the edge of the quilt fills the binding nicely without being bunched up and lumpy inside. I adjust the seam allowance, sew for 3-4″ and then flip it and check it on every single quilt because this setting can vary so much depending on the fabrics in the quilt and the binding and the batting used in the quilt. Even the weight of the thread can cause a variance in this setting from quilt to quilt.

Once you’ve sewn the binding all the way around the quilt, flip the binding to the back of the quilt and secure temporarily with binding clips. The binding clips really do make the hand sewing easier. Thread your needle and knot the end of the thread; use a single thread, not a doubled thread. Secure the end of the thread under the binding in the edge of the back of the quilt where it won’t be seen. (...)
Read the rest of Tutorial: How to Hand Stitch Binding Invisibly (373 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 27 comments
Post categories: Featured, Quilting, Tips
Tags: binding, handwork

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