Quilter's Nook

Asked to make donations

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:15:00 +0000

So this past Sunday after church - I was honored by being asked to make some type of item or items that cold be sold at the church's annual craft bazaar. I was so tickled - I've not been asked to do such a thing before. Maybe some people would look at that as - oh, they want something for free - but I look at it as - I get to do something I love and donate it to something I love.

I looked through some of my books for ideas last night - that always stirs up the excitement and creativity in me. And then reality hits me and I realize I don't have a bunch of time to dedicate to my quilting. Many blogs I read the person gets to work on something everyday - I would love to do that... I just don't have the time. So I am hoping that after cleaning the house tomorrow I can carve out some time to start working on these donations.

Sunday we are having some friends over for the NASCAR race - that will be fun - but again means no creativity time.

Ahhh - Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:33:00 +0000

I'm back from Vacation - it was wonderful!

It's been a crazy few weeks. Between getting ready for and then going on vacation, having a son diagnosed with some sever food allergies (soy, peanut, dairy and eggs) and trying to figure out what he can eat, and now unpacking from vacation and getting back into the routine of life.

I sure have neglected my blog and my quilting. I sure want to get back on the horse but there is so many other things to do.

Right now I have to focus on what my son can eat - which is difficult with all of the allergies he has. I have unsuccessfully tried to make bread that Jack can eat that doesn't contain eggs, dairy, soy and so forth. Wow - what a task. I have been all over the internet looking for recipes but nothing has worked (meaning resembles bread and is edible). Does anyone have any suggestions?

Florida was great - we got to visit with lots of family, visit Mickey and kick back and relax on a boat on the lake. We all got sunburned - and then came back to the reality of Vermont - COLD! I'm just glad we made it back to Vermont before the snow storm that just came up the East Coast (which seemed to miss us in Western Vermont for the most part). I could have used more time in Florida - that sun sure felt good.

It is so good to be able to get away and recharge the batteries.

A week goes by

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I was feeling horrible that I had not written on my blog - so tonight before writing this I decided to browse the 15 or so that I check and guess what - I'm not the only one! There are several blogs that haven't been active this week, so I don't feel so badly now.

It's been a busy, non-quilting, kind of week. I have only looked at my sewing machine, not touched it. Last weekend I help my hubby with a project which involved doing some button holes on my new machine, but that was it. This weekend, though, I have to get us ready for vacation. We leave in 6 days for sunny Florida. Going to see Mickey and some family. I hope I can find some time to work on my bee quilt.

NASCAR is back up and running this weekend with the Daytona 500 - we are looking forward to that. I need a quilt to hand quilt while watching races.... maybe that could be this weekend's project - come up with a small project just so I can have something to hand quilt during races. I think I have the perfecct project in mind.

In a quilt store in Chester, VT, I saw this neat idea. It was a wallhanging made up of small 2 or 3 inch squares that had collector pins on. What a great idea! I do have some of these collector pins and maybe make myself one of these wallhangings and start collecting more pins.

Okay - so who needs to pack for Florida - I got a quilt project I want to do instead!

Did anyone notice it's Friday the 13th? Does that bother anyone? I remember one year as a "tween" a bat appeared in our house on Friday the 13th! That really set the pace for the rest of them, but today has been fine.

On a sad note - let's keep the victims families of the flight that crashed in Buffalo, NY, in our prayers. Very sad story, especially so shortly after the heroics of the Miracle on the Hudson.

Have a great weekend!

My Stash

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:34:00 +0000

After reading other blogs who are participating in Sew Mama Sew "Tell us about your stash" I thought I should participate. Here are my answers to her questions:

What do you usually sew?

I just established a "quilters nook" in my bedroom. For Christmas I got a new sewing machine and sewing table and they fit perfectly in a nook in my bedroom. My stash however is in the basement (2 floors down). I sew quilts.... I have sewn pajama pants, that was fun, but I love making quilts!

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

I usually go for whole yards of something I don't have plans for. I do this because I'm so afraid I won't have enough when it comes time to use it.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

Both. I will go shopping for something I need and find impulse buys. I love looking at the sale fabrics while I'm there.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

I've read about the pro's and con's about pre-washing. I have the fraying that happens. I also hate pressing all the wrinkles out. So I do not pre-wash. I think that today's fabrics don't run as much. I also use a Color Catcher in the wash when I do wash my quilts and that collects any colors that might run.

Do you iron it?

I try to remember to... other wise my quilts have creases in the fabrics.

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

I have it sorted mostly by color or type of fabric. If I have certain fabrics for a specific quilt project I keep that together.

Do you have any special folding techniques?

Nope - didn' t even know there were techniques to folding fabric. I just want it to fit in my cabient so I guess my technique would be to fold it so it fits!

How do you store your fabric?

For the most part, in a converted gun cabinet. This cabinet was my mother-in-laws and it was a gun cabinet which was converted to hold and display fabric. I love the glass door so you can see through at all my fabric (although after seeing other stash's I don't have that much). Some of my fabric for special projects I store in plastic bins.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

Look for fabrics that can be used for many different projects, like plain colors to match prints. Also - have lots of what you love.

When do you say enough is enough?

I don't but my wallet and my cabinet say enough is enough.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

Quilts - scrappy quilts. I need to de-stash so I think a scrappy quilt is next in line!

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!

I love purples and I love my bee fabric collection (for my current project the Bee Quilt)

What’s your definition of the perfect stash? (Consider sharing a picture or two of your stash & storage, or direct us to a pic on Flickr!)

Well organized, well folded, easy to get to, easy select from and most of all - full of fabric you love!

Steelers Won and No Quilting Done

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:35:00 +0000

Well, as are other Steelers fans, breathing a breath of relief after holding our breaths for the longest 2 minutes ever Sunday night. Congratulations Steelers.

However, no quilting is getting done. I'm kind of stuck - in the middle of working on my bee quilt but wanting to do something else. These times always slow me down and I end up not getting anything done. I am looking forward to Saturday though - I think I just might get an hour or so to myself at home and I plan on doing something quilt related. I hate that feeling of wanting to finish old projects but also wanting to start something new.

Wyatt is using my old sewing machine, set up right next to me at my new sewing table, and sewing up a storm when I am as well. As much as I want to encourage him it slows me down because I have to stop what I'm doing and help him with whatever problem he is having. I also tend to lose my focus and make mistakes. I do love seeing his enthusiasm though... and he loves my scraps!

Stay warm!

Go Steelers!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:31:00 +0000

Superbowl Sunday - GO STEELERS!

I've taken the week & weekend off - Thursday was Jack's birthday, in-laws arrived Friday, birthday party Saturday and Superbowl today!

I Survived The Ripping !

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:07:00 +0000

for now....

I got all of my Bee Quilt top ripped out yesterday - took me almost all day (including numerous interruptions). At the time I hated it but I sure felt great when it was over.

Today I started putting it back together and fixing what was wrong. It's starting to look much better. Amazing what happens when you slow down, measure correctly, and take your time.

Dread

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:14:00 +0000

So my Year 2000 quilt is on hold until I can get a space large enough to sandwich it all together. I have done nothing but look at my next unfinished project this week. It is a partially finished bee quilt top.

When I pulled out earlier this week, I discovered that what I do have done I am not happy with. I can tell that I rushed through it and there are seams that don't match up and there is puckering. I know what I have to do -- the dreaded seam ripping..... otherwise I will not be happy. I HATE seam ripping.

I'm sure that when I was just sitting on my bedroom floor thinking about this project and looking at it it might appear that I was doing nothing. But actually I was trying to figure out "Now what." I considered throwing it away and start over - I have enough fabric. I also considered leaving it alone and just finish it. But today, I won't do either, today I will start ripping and rethink how to put this together better.

That is the problem for me when I am not following directions. This quilt is in my head - derived from 3 other quilts that I took a little of this and that from. So there are no directions and that is my problem. I get frustrated because I don't feel I know what I am doing and then I just get impatient.

I also considered putting it back away and doing something else - Lord knows I have enough projects I want to do. I might still consider that as I go pick up my seam ripper.

Year 2000 Quilt Ready To Put Together

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:07:00 +0000

I'm so excited - while watching history in the making today on TV - I got my Year 2000 Quilt all pieced, front and back, and ready to put together and quilt. I got to stay home today from work and watch our new President be sworn in... then off to the sewing machine I went.

You know how you have all those little time consuming projects you want to get done but none of them are very important - well I got some done today - mostly getting photos in the photo album. I had about 8 months worth of photos that I needed to get organized an in the photo album. Today was a great day to get that done. Sit in front of the TV and get the photo album fixed up. One problem, I ran out of photo album, so I have to go get a new one - so the project didn't get totally done, but it is much closer and I don't have photo's laying around everywhere.

Now I just have to find a place big enough to lay out my mammoth Year 2000 quilt to sandwich it together!

My Little Helper

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:24:00 +0000

My little sewing partner, Wyatt, is using my old sewing machine, now that I have a new one, and is sewing up a storm. Yesterday I sewed for several hours and he was by my side a good bit of it making his own stuff, and learning what the machine would do. He sewed some 2 inch blocks together, he sewed some scraps together and made his own pillow. It's so cute!

Meanwhile, I have almost the entire backside of my Year 2000 quilt done. I need to add 2 more boarders and I will be ready to put it together to quilt. The problem is, it is so huge that I need to find someplace large to be able to lay it out and put it together - I don't have that kind of space at home unless I move stuff around. I cannot wait until this quilt is done, I am so ready to move on to another project. So many projects in my head and so little time!

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Time

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Okay, I have to brag for a minute. These are my two fella's and they are in cub scouts. I am the den mother of Wyatt's den. Last night we had our annual Pinewood Derby Race. Jack (in orange) came in 2nd place in his Den. Wyatt (in yellow) came in 1st place in his Den then went on to race the other 1st place finishers in the pack and won! We're so proud!

Pajama Pants Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:23:00 +0000

Guess what I did this weekend, nope, didn't quilt - I made pajama pants. Three pairs!

Wyatt's pair of Jeff Gordon NASCAR pajama pants...

Jack's monkey pajama pants...

And then a pair for me. I think my hubby felt a little left out so I will have to go find some fabric for him. He's 6'5" so his pair needs a lot of fabric.

I had gone to JoAnn Fabric because they were having a huge sale on fabric and I got all these fabrics for 70% off. I think I understand how to make them now.... took me a little bit but by pair 3 I didn't have to look at the directions.

Unlike quilting directions, clothing directions assume you know a lot.... which I don't. Quilting directions tell you 1) do this with the fabric, 2) sew these 2 pieces together this direction, 3) do this and cut here or sew this way.... However, clothing directions are like 1) sew this seam 2) sew this seam 3) sew this seam and that's it. Sounds simple except when I got to "sew outside seams together" it didn't tell me how the fabric should be and I totally sewed it wrong the first time, ripped it out and had to figure it out on my own. I guess they assume you need to put one leg in the other leg and so forth - I didn't know that - but I figured it out!

I think I will stick to quilts, and maybe a few more pairs of pajama pants now that I got the hang of them. They are cute and easy (once you figure them out) and quick!

I should be getting my sewing table Tuesday - according to an email sent to me. I can't wait!

I'll have a busy week this week, I have a cousin coming to crash at our place while he ski's Vermont. It will be nice to see him. Have a great week!

Year 2000 Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:41:00 +0000

I am so close to having my Year 2000 quilt done. I have so many squares left to use that I am piecing the back but to make it easy I am doing a row of pieced and then a strip, as shown below:

This quilt is getting so big - I want it to fit my queen size bed and it just seems to big.... but when I lay the top on my bed it fits and really could use a few more rows on the sides.

You'll notice in the next picture how I incorporated my Year 2000 fabric: (okay I can't get that picture to upload - I'll try later).

I am thinking that since this quilt is so big I might try my hand at machine quilting. I found places that I can rent time on a long arm machine and I would like to learn to use it. Not that I want to stray from my fondness of hand quilting - just get this quilt done quickly and learn something new. It will be so easy to quilt and it will be done!

I'm still waiting on my new sewing table to arrive - it's taking so long (or I'm just being impatient.) I can't wait to get it and get everything organized and start having a good system, working on the bedroom floor just isn't working anymore!

Family is the Music of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Cline) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:18:00 +0000

This one was made for Beth's Mother and Father. It's approximately 30"x30".

God, Grant me the Serenity

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Cline) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:10:00 +0000

Beth made this quilt for my mother this year for Christmas. I really like the border's print. It's approximately 30"x30".

QuickLink - Free Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Cline) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Happy New Years!

Looking for a new quilt pattern? Head over to this site for a few free ones. This place links to thousands patterns available in down loadable .pdf format.

Enjoy!

Moving Furniture, Making Room

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:12:00 +0000

I got it - I ordered my new sewing table! I ordered it online because I couldn't find anything locally that met my needs (nor do I have the time to to go to all the stores). I saw several online and had to consult the hubby on what to get and he left it up to me. I never dreamed the vast price range.
My hubby was wanting me to invest in a nice piece of furniture, solid wood. but they just cost too much. So, I went with what had what I wanted and looked nice. It is by Sauder. I can't wait for it to come.

This afternoon I went up to my "Quilters Nook" in my bedroom to sew and ended up rearranging my whole bedroom to accommodate my new sewing table. I think that it will look nice once the table arrives but right now it's a bit of a mess. I'm so excited I will have a nook that will be organized, I won't have to cut fabric on the floor! I can't wait! However, I will have to wait about 6-7 days.

The hubby will be out of town on business for the next few days and although I have to work I plan on getting lots of sewing done. The boys are going to be going to the local recreation department program while I'm at work, they love it, but when we get home I want to have a sewing marathon. It would be so much better with my new desk - but I have to take advantage of the time I have.

Happy New Years!

Quilters Stimluating the Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:54:00 +0000

Well, I did my part to help stimulate the economy, post Christmas, and I wasn't alone.

The day after Christmas I decided to go to JoAnne Fabric and see if I could find any deals. Wow, they had great deals on Christmas fabric for $1.99 a yard (regularly $8.99).... and I wasn't the only one enjoying the great prices.

I was looking through the ones left on the shelf thinking that there wasn't much left. I grabbed 2 arm loads of fabric bolts and proceeded to the cutting table. Low and behold - that's where it all went. The lady in front of me had so many bolts I couldn't count and was buying all the fabric left on the bolt! I heard her total in fabric was $150 - that's a lot of fabric at $1.99 a yard!

The lady next to her had numerous amounts of Christmas fabric as well but was not buying the whole bolts. When she was done, I peeked in to the fabric bins and got a whole new selection of Christmas fabrics to pick from. I behaved, I didn't spend a fortune but I got some great fabric!

You can count on quilters to stimulate the economy!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 23:38:00 +0000

Aww, it's beautiful here in Vermont - all that snow! This morning I sat on my couch with a cup of coffee and looked out my sliding glass door to a beautful sight. My deck is covered with about 8 inches of snow and it was just coming down. Beyond my deck are pine trees covered in it as well. Just beautiful! All it takes is a cup of coffee and a few minutes to sit and look outside to bask in God's beauty!

I got to use my new sewing machine for the first time yesterday. I really like it! It took me a few minutes to find everything and figure it out. I didn't figure out the needle threader - I had to wait until my hubby could show me how to use it.... technology - not always that easy for me - but once I get it I love it! I grabbed blocks from my Year 2000 UFO to work on and get use to my new machine. I'm so excited. However, I do believe I need a better work space, I might have to come up with something.

With all the snow that we have and are yet to get I bet there is not school tomorrow, then they will go back Tuesday and then off for over a week. Wish I had the same work schedule! Maybe I should have been a teacher instead of an admin assistant!

The gift of GIVING

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:34:00 +0000

I can hear it now - awwww - both of my sons do basic quilting. Wyatt does more than Jack. Jack was really into Thomas The Tank Engine but is kind of growing out of it. While at the fabric store he found Chrismas Thomas fabric and wanted some "to make a quilt." So, nothing fancy, I just folded the fabric in half, put in batting and machine quilted alittle bit. I gave it to him and put it in a hoop and he did a little hand quilting.

Tonight he said "Mommy I want to wrap the Thomas quilt and give it to someone." I was a little disappointed. I said, "Well, okay, but I thought you really liked it." He said he did but he wanted to give it to someone he loved. So he took it and wrapped it in Christmas paper and brought it to me and said it was for me. awwwwww. Arn't kids the best?

And The Winner Is...

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:30:00 +0000

I got a new sewing machine - I'm so excited! The winner is:

Singer® Confidence Quilter 7469Q Sewing Machine

I got it from the Joanne Fabric store here in South Burlington, and it was on sale! It has most of the things I wanted and in the price range I was looking for. No, it's not the fancy Bernina that would have been great to get, but baby steps to get there. I'm just excited I get something modern and didn't go into debt to get it!

I'm sad to say that it sat in the box for a while since I've been busy with other things but today I finally cracked open the box and pulled it out. I did the responsible thing and got the owners manual and read most of it first. It will take some getting use to it because I really know how to use my old machine - but I know once I master this one I am going to love it. I can't wait to get started, unfortunately it won't be tonight. Well, maybe I can stitch 2 blocks together on an UFO I have sitting next to my machine.

Now, I need a better workspace.... hahahaha.

Got The Tree Up

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:33:00 +0000

I finally got the tree up yesterday! I normally have it up the day after Thanksgiving. However, this year we travelled to Ohio and celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays with family and friends for a week and I didn't get the decorations up until yesterday!

These are my precious boys this morning before church. (No I didn't let them eat candy before church!) I was trying to snap a photo to stick in Christmas cards. Marty was suppose to try to get a family portrait for us to put in the cards and he ended up on the flu like illness list taking him out of commission. So I hurried them through a short "here, stand by the tree, look like your happy" session.

We just have a pencil thin tree, nothing fancy. I would like to go bigger but don't have room right now. I asked Marty if he had any interest in a live tree this year and he quickly said no, so back to old faithful.

The quilt behind the tree was made with Christmas colors but is the quilt I made when Marty and I got married. I put it out each Christmas since the colors go with the holiday, however, we didn't get married at Christmas I just choose those colors when I made the quilt.

I switched to putting LED lights on the tree this year and threw out all the other ones I had. Since we've moved to Vermont I've learned so much about saving energy, replacing light bulbs with CFL's and recycling. I also work with fire fighters and learned about regular lights getting too hot and that being one major reason there are so many home fires this time of year. So we went safe with LED lights which don't get as hot. I had purchased 3 strands (the normal amount for this tree). However, while getting them out and putting them on the tree I realized they are MUCH shorter than my old lights. So I had to bundle everyone up (it was single digits outside) and back to the store we went for 3 more strands. I wasn't sure I would like the LED lights - I'm kind of old fashioned when it comes to Christmas trees. But they look great - I'm glad I made the switch and I recommend you think about doing the same!

We are starting to look like Christmas around here now. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Beth

The Search Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:05:00 +0000

I spent a good amount of time surfing the internet last night looking for information on sewing machines, particularly ones that can machine quilt. There is so much information out there and so many different kinds of machines.

I stumbled upon a cute website called:

Quilt Bus, The Quilt Store that Comes to Your Door

www.quiltbus.com/sew.htm

They had a great page on what to consider buying a sewing machine. After reading through that page and many more I decided to go to the Singer, Bernina, Brother and Pfaf webpages and see what they had to say.

After getting in my mind what models I like I started the shopping around. I looked at several different webpages, comparison shopping, reading reviews, and narrowing my decision. I believe I have narrowed it down to a Singer. First of all I have a Singer and have had no problems what so ever with it. Second of all, the prices are more realistic. Third of all, I don't need a whole bunch of bells and whistles because I hardly sew clothing (except pajama pants) I will be using this for making quilts! There were a couple things I was hoping to find in my price range, like it ending needle up, LCD screen, longer arm for holding the quilting projects, walking foot, 1/4 inch foot, drop feet and maybe needle threader. I am leery of the needle threader, even though I think it's a great idea but I suspect it might take longer to use the needle threader than to just do it myself.

In reading reviews of a few machines on multiple web pages it was interesting to find out that my suspicions about the needle threader are true - several people commented that it was longer to use it than to just thread the needle themselves. However, my family has a history of eye problems and my Grandma can no longer quilt because she can't see, so I suspect it would be a good thing for me to have a machine that will thread the needle for me - better than not sewing at all!

The search is on.

How Much Does a Sewing Machine Cost?

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:33:00 +0000

Okay fellow quilters - I need your help.

I am making plans for my Christmas money and I am thinking maybe a new sewing machine. My machine is a Singer and is great - just over 15 years old. I took a pajama making class and got to use a new Berninia... very nice - but out of my price range. So here is my question - how much do sewing machines cost? And what is a good sewing machine for what I need?

Here is what I need - I make quilts. I do hand quilt but would like the opportunity to machine quilt with a walking foot. So this sewing machine needs to have a walking foot. I really don't want to spend more then $500 - is that possible.

I just started my internet search tonight and it really is overwhelming. I need your help. If you have any good or bad experiences with purchasing sewing machines please share them with me. I have no clue what I am doing! Please help a fellow quilter, there is nothing like the advice from fellow quilters!

Thanks so much!

Oh, by the way, we had a great snow storm last night and today - we have real snow now! How excited are we? We love snow here in Vermont!

A Gift of Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:56:00 +0000

This hand appliqued quilt is a beauty. The finished top was given to me by my Great Aunt Mary (I've shared other quilts by her previously) who appliqued it herself. This large queen size quilt top was conveniently already marked for quilting so all I had to do was put the layers together and start hand quilting.

I had not hand quilted a quilt this large with this much quilting on it before, but since I didn't have to worry about marking it and what design to do it went really fast. I found that quilting a quilt top with a sparse pattern and lots of open space is so much fun because you get it in your hoop and off you go. There isn't a lot of stopping and starting. I think someday I really want to hand quilt a whole cloth quilt.

I love the bright colors Aunt Mary used in this quilt. I am assuming it was a kit and the fabrics probably came pre selected but I don't know that for sure. I tried to follow up with the bright color theme on the back of this quilt. I found a great bright fabric that was full of tulips. This quilt really looks nice on either side of the quilt - I guess you could say it's reversible. It's a great quilt for Spring time, it really brightens up the room.

I love that this quilt is queen size. Most of the older quilts that I have acquired were square and hardly fit a double bed. This quilt top was probably made in the 60's or 70's as a guesstimate. So to make it this large was a great feat!

Every time I sit down at my machine to piece a quilt, I think of the women who pieced their quilts by hand. I know some fellow quilters still do. I attempted this once very unsuccessfully. I guess I like the built in 1/4 inch on my machine foot - that keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I feel like I'm always crammed in a "nook" (hence the name of my blog) of our house somewhere and don't have room to spread my creative wings but maybe some day I will be able to have a dedicated space to release that inner creativity. I find I love to browse other quilter's blogs and see their "studios" or work spaces, although I admit I do get jealous occasionally. However, I remind myself that perhaps that quilter started in a "nook" as I did. I also remind myself that generations of women made quilts in one room cabins and their workspace was probably a chair and a basket. We sure have come a long way!