Blog | National Quilters Circle

What Kind of Quilter Are You? Part 1: Understanding How We Categorize Quilts

August 20, 2014 By Heather Thomas & filed under Blog, Tips & Ideas.

“Nomenclature is a system of names, or terms, and the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts, or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to internationally-agreed upon principles, rules,, and recommendations that govern the formation, and use of the specialist terms used in…

Ensuring a Square Quilt

August 6, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Tips & Ideas.

Do you want a “square quilt”? That is not to say that your quilt is literally a square shape (unless of course you want it to be a square shape); what this means is that your quilt will lie perfectly flat with no puckers, tucks, or unwanted pleating after it has been quilted. So how…

Your Sewing Thread Under a Microscope

July 22, 2014 By Nancy Purvis & filed under Blog, Quilt Supplies.

This article has been re-posted with permission from Owen’s Olivia. The author has not been paid by any thread company and this article is not intended to influence you to one brand or another. It’s just for fun! After purchasing my first sewing machine, it sparked a desire to learn more about sewing thread quality…

How to Prevent Fabric Bleed

July 3, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Quilt Care.

To stop quilting fabric from bleeding in your finished quilt, be sure to machine wash your fabric (sorted with like colors) and dry before cutting. Yes, that does mean you will have to iron or press your quilting fabrics as well! I tend to be that person who never washes their fabric before I begin…

Quilting on a Budget

June 30, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Tips & Ideas.

Every time I get a new quilt student I see their eyes glaze over in shock when we talk about how expensive quilts can be to make. I’ve developed a new shock therapy that snaps them right out of that dazed look: I teach them some money saving skills that encourage and challenge them to…

The Course of Creativity: Finding Others to “Play” With

June 3, 2014 By Heather Thomas & filed under Blog, Tips & Ideas.

They say happiness is contagious. So is creativity! Surround yourself with passionate quilters to let your ideas flow. I’m one of the lucky ones and if you’re reading this, you’re probably lucky too. In this case, our luck comes from having found our bliss; our creative bliss. Though all humans have the innate need and…

Organizing Your Sewing Room Part 4: Kits & Projects

May 21, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Quilt Supplies.

When we had moved 8 years ago I thought it was a brilliant idea to separate all of my children’s possessions into individual containers. That way when they left home, they could just take them with. Wrong! Not only did they not take the totes then, they have no interest in taking them ever! I…

Organizing Your Sewing Room Part 3: Quilting Tools

May 13, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Quilt Supplies.

I have more rulers and scissors than any one woman should own – and even worse – could possibly use at a given time. But as I always tell my husband, “Does a woodworker or auto mechanic only have one tool box?” So the magical question of the day is, what is the most efficient…

Organizing Your Sewing Room Part 1: Thread & Bobbins

April 30, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Quilt Supplies.

There I stood in front of my very-unorganized sewing room, staring off into a churning sea of fabric and threads. If I didn’t do something quickly I was going to lose it – I was already having problems finding what I was looking for and my sanity could only hold out so long! I’m sure…

Quilt Care Part 3: Storing Your Quilts

April 29, 2014 By Kelly Hanson & filed under Blog, Quilt Care.

My father passed away recently and upon a visit to my mother I noticed the quilts I had made him were nowhere to be found. I asked Mom where the quilts were and her reply sent me reeling: she had decided to put them in her attic crawl space in a garbage bag. My mom’s…