Quilting a Large Quilt on a Small Sewing Machine

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Lindsay Conner (Craftsy blog) wrote, "Many, many quilters regularly quilt large quilts (queen, king and larger) on a domestic machine.

But how does it all fit within the machine’s small neck? With a little practice and by following the tips on the blog post Nine Tips for Quilting a Large Quilt on a Small Sewing Machine, you should be able to get better results when quilting a bed-size quilt on your small machine."

Meeting Reminder

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Alternative Fibers

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Spinning Daily offers a free ebook for spinners that explains some alternatives to spinning wool: 

Alternative Fibers  

Sheep Days - Demonstration

Sali A. and Cinde P. set up their spinning wheels
at the Pioneer Museum for Sheep Day
April 2018
(photo by Sandy W.) 

Cinde P. shows children how the wool from sheep is turned into yarn
and then into cloth or clothing
Sheep Day - Pioneer Museum in Lander, WY
April 2018
(photo by Sandy W.)

Sali A. answers questions from the children who
watched her spin at the Pioneer Museum
in Lander, WY on Sheep Day
April 2018
(photo by Sandy W.)

Another photo was shared in an earlier post

Spring Retreat - Tail Spin Yarn

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Corrine G. Laura B., Dawna H. and Sandy W. learned the technique of creating Tail Spin yarn from Colleen J. on Saturday, May 5, 2018

Spring Retreat - Needle Felting

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Several members (Katheryn E., Dawna H., Corrine G., Rachel B., Hailey R.) gathered on Saturday, May 5, 2018 to needle-felt some animal shapes. Sandy W. taught the class.

Sheep Days Demonstration

Cinde P. (spinning) and her mother Sali A. wearing poncho
demonstrated at the annual Sheep Day at the Pioneer Museum
Lander, WY
April 2018
(photo courtesy of the Pioneer Museum)

Figuring Yardage Left in Skein

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Ashley Little (Craftsy blog) explores how to figure how many yards are left in a partial skein.

There is some math involved, but it’s easy!

How to Figure Out How Many Yards are Left in a Skein of Yarn walks you through the process. 

Single Skein Project Ideas

Sheep Among Wolves states, "If you are anything like me, you have a lot of fingering weight or sock yarn. And mostly single skeins of a colorway. I love hand-dyed yarn, whether it’s solid, semi-solid, variegated or striped. Other than socks, there are plenty of projects you can knit with a single skein of fingering weight yarn."  

All of the patterns linked on Sheep Among Wolves' post, Nine Amazing Categories of Ideas for That Special Skein of Sock Yarn are free.

Selecting an Embroidery Hoop

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Both beginning and experienced embroiderers will find Pumora's information on selecting the correct size of hoop helpful. 

Hoop Talk: All About Size

April Meeting

Fiber Guild meeting
April 2018
Pingora Yarns
Lander, WY

Yarn Colorways

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Garter Tab Cast On

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Stockinette Stitch

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Knitting Types

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How do you knit? What are the basic methods of knitting? There are several standard ways of carrying the working yarn, and of course some knitters develop their own curious variations on those. Interweave shares an overview of the best positions for different needs; perhaps there’s something new you’d like to try tonight!

Eight Ways to Knit and Why You'd Want to Change

12 Yarn Ball Types

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Interweave's article, 12 Yarn Ball Types and How to Knit with Them will clarify the confusion of the various forms yarn is marketed and their use.

Choosing a Sweater Design

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Before committing to a sweater style, read the Interweave article: Six Armholes and How to Make them Work for Your Body

Tips for Preventing Quilting Injuries

Quilter Erin Russek and certified personal trainer Michael Engman walk through ways to set up your quilting space in order to be comfortable, efficient, and pain-free. Engman focuses on body positioning and posture and the importance of remembering these things while we are cutting, sewing, pressing, machine quilting, and hand sewing.

April Meeting

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Please note the change of location for this meeting.

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Dyeing Tatting Thread

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Marilee Rockley (Yarnplayer) shares her technique for dyeing thread for tatting in her posts:

      A Dyeing Art

      From Messy to Beautiful

Hand and Finger Exercises

Hands getting tired and sore after a long day of quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, or spinning? 

These helpful hand and finger exercises will help loosen up your hands to help keep you creating.

The exercises look easy, but you will notice your hands get a little tired, but that means they’re working.

These simple 2-minute exercises will help keep your hands flexible and strong. They should be used at least once a day and as needed to give your hands some relief. Don’t forget to do both hands.

Triangle Block Cheat Sheet

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Hello Melly Designs takes all the quess work out of making Half-Square and Quarter-Square Triangles for quilt designs.

A free, printable Triangle Block Cheat Sheet can be found here

Catherine Wheel Join - Tatting

Take Note. . .

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The location for the April meeting has been changed - mark it on your calendar.

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How to Trim Large Blocks

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Big block quilts can be quick, easy and fun to stitch together, but how do you properly trim the individual blocks if the tools you have on hand are not large enough?

Karen Walker explains how to trim a large block with a six-inch square ruler in a photo tutorial:

How to Trim Large Blocks for Big Block Quilts

Spray Baste a Quilt

Tatting Bobbin Shuttle Review

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Marilee Rockley (Yarnplayer) reviews the new Clover Bobbin Shuttles and Cases 

If you tat or are interesting in tatting, you might want to read her review of this product.

Standing Stitches

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Cherry Heart shares,  "A neat trick that eliminates the need to start your round with a group of chains.

Working in the round is great for many things but sometimes those chains at the beginning of each new round can make it stick out like a sore thumb, so this is a trick you can try to get rid of those ugly chains once and for all.

Normally we use those chains at the beginning of a round to get up to the right height to begin the stitches. These starts are called standing stitches because you start it from a 'standing up in the air' position."

A photo tutorial can be found on Cherry Heart: Standing Stitches

Yarn Bowls

Some quick, easy, and inexpensive ideas to corral project yarn.

Side by Side Stripes

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Another four-inch, pin loom pattern by Sue Burton

Side by Side Stripes

Crochet Hook Bracelet

Written instructions are posted on Interweave as well:  Crochet Hook Bracelet

Chain Squares

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Sue Burton shares a four inch, pin loom pattern:

Chain Squares

Crochet a Buttonhole

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Adding a buttonhole to a crochet garment can be done easily and quickly. A photo tutorial demonstrates the technique on the We Are Knitters blog.

Using PDF Sewing Patterns

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Libby from Truly Myrtle shares tips on how to use and store PDF sewing patterns successfully.

Sewing Tutorials

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Looking for the best fast and easy sewing tutorials and inspiration? Rae Gun Ramblings provides projects that can be done in less than an hour and many of them are great for beginners.

Dyeing Sources

As the weather begins to transition into Spring, we become impatient to have more color in our surroundings. Satisfy those cravings by dyeing some yarn or fiber.

Robyn Spady complied links and information to make the process easy and successful.

Show and Tell - March

Cinde P. shared two knit shawls during Show & Tell

Colleen J. brought some pelts to sell. She knit a shawl and a scarf

Dana H. brought two knit shawls to show the group

Dana H. knit a lacy shawl

Hailey R. shared several knit and crochet projects

Jeni V. displayed a bag and a knit hat

Julie W. brought several shawls she knit that were designed by
Martina Brehm 

Sali A. crocheted two shawls and a vest 

Sam G. is crocheting a coat of arms

Sweet Georgia Show

Over 70 episodes are available on knitting, spinning, and dyeing on The Sweet Georgia Show Podcast

Quilting Podcasts

Yes, podcasts are also available for Quilters

You'll find a variety of podcasts on this list of the Best Quilting Podcasts (2018)

Crafternoon Treats

Looking for a Crochet podcast?

Check out
       Crafternoon Treats 
       40 episodes

Power Purls

Looking for a "new" knitting podcast?

Check out Power Purls - conversations with knitwear designers and everyday knitters

Tatting with One Hand

Inspired by the book “Tatting With One Hand” by Helen A. Chesno, Marilee Rockley demonstrates the technique - a method of tatting for people who have the use of only one hand. She said it may also help others to understand the “flip” of shuttle tatting.  

Marilee published also published a post with still photos:  one-handed tatting a ring


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Crochet Crocodile Stitch

March Meeting

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Threading Double Heddles

Improvise a Top-down Sweater

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On Ravelry, Karen Templer shares tips on how to improvise a Top-down Sweater -  a top-down tutorial in action. She explains the top-down method as she knits a simple raglan pullover to her own specifications, without a pattern, so you’ll know how to do it too.

How to improvise a top-down sweater:
— Part 1: Casting on and marking raglans
— Part 2: Raglans and neck shaping
— Part 3: Finishing the neck and yoke
— Part 4: Separating the sleeves and body
— Part 5: The art of sweater shaping
— Prologue: The possibilities are endless

Bonus: you can save this "pattern" in your Ravelry library for future reference

Picking Up Stitches Before Ripping Back

WEBS shares how to reduce the frustration of ripping a project back to fix a mistake.

In stockinette stitch, identify the row below the row you will want to start re-knitting. Insert your needle under the first strand of yarn in the V that makes up the first stitch of the row on the right side. Continue this down the row, picking up the first strand of yarn in the V and skipping the second leg of the V. You’ll be picking up every other strand of yarn without dropping any.

This week’s tip shows us how to pick up stitches before ripping back so your don’t have to worry about the live stitches unraveling.

In garter stitch, you’ll be doing the same thing. If you stretch your knitting a bit, you can see the same V’s under the bumps of the garter stitch. Insert your needle into the first leg of the V in the garter stitch as well.

Once you have your needle inserted all the way along the row, you can pull the working yarn to rip back the rows above the needle. The stitches will be sitting on your needle ready to go.

It’s best to use a needle smaller than your working needle to pick up your stitches, but remember to switch back to the original size needle when you start knitting again.

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