Hello, friends and happy Friday! Today I’m sharing the first of a new series for beginning quilters on the YouTube Channel and have begun it with a Quilting Basics: Tool for Beginner Quilters video. I’ll share a little bit about that today and also let you know about a couple of Black Friday Sales (including […]

The post Quilting Basics: Tools + Black Friday Sales appeared first on A Quilting Life.

Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing my annual Quilter’s Gift Guide 2020 with notions, tools, rulers, and other quilting products that I can’t live without. My list is pretty long, lol, but I’ve divided it into categories to make it easier to search…and I have a quick video sharing all of the featured gift guide items. […]

The post Quilter’s Gift Guide 2020 appeared first on A Quilting Life.

I mentioned this work table last week, it's exactly what I'd been hoping for when I'm doing ruler-work on the front side of the longarm. I had been improvising with a sheet of foam core (any port in a storm, right?), I needed something to hold my tools above the surface of the quilt while I worked my way along.Mr. Goodneedle picked up the hints that I was dropping and created the work table that

I mentioned this work table last week, it's exactly what I'd been hoping for when I'm doing ruler-work on the front side of the longarm. I had been improvising with a sheet of foam core (any port in a storm, right?), I needed something to hold my tools above the surface of the quilt while I worked my way along.Mr. Goodneedle picked up the hints that I was dropping and created the work table that

Hello friends! I hope you had a nice weekend…ours was busy. Not the typical Memorial Day weekend we’ve had in years past, but those times will come again. Today I’m sharing Sewing Machine Cleaning & Maintenance Tips that will help you keep your machine running smoothly. I’ve also filmed a step-by step video so you’ll […]

The post Sewing Machine Cleaning & Maintenance Tips appeared first on A Quilting Life.

I prepared this blog post several years ago but then totally forgot about it. Due to our season of quarantine and having two little kids stuck at home, I've been very slow on projects and have nothing to show. I thought it'd be a good time to post this instead! Despite this post being old and the links probably not all working, in a way this post is more valid than ever because I've been using these tools for the last few years to know they're holding up well.

I've been quilting on a longarm ...

Does anybody really care?

Having been retired for almost 5 years was good training for self-isolation. Being an introvert also makes it easier to stay at home although I do enjoy my quilt groups and other outings. My calendar started clearing out on March 13th with the cancellation of Jinny Beyer club for the next day. After that the cancellations came fast and furiously. I still have a couple of appointments (chiro and hair) on my calendar for April but I plan to cancel them.

Around mid-March I went ahead and made a hotel reservation for early May for my ...

Creative Grids has released a new Half Sixty Triangle ruler that is perfect for the ‘end of row’ setting triangles in my Fractured Triangles Pattern. The Half Sixty Triangle ruler is available at local quilt shops and online.  Click here to purchase online (affiliate link).   I’m also working on other patterns that use this [ ...Continue Reading ]

The post Fractured Triangles Pattern Tutorial and Ruler appeared first on Carole Lyles Shaw.

You’ve finished that wonderful block-of-the-month from last year, and now you have a lovely set of quilt blocks. Now what do you do with them?

One way to “set” your quilt is “on point”. This is when you set your blocks on the diagonal, as you can see with my quilt, September.

September quilt from Quilt Batik! ©2012 Cheryl Brown/That Patchwork Place

The confusing part of “on point” quilts is the setting triangles and and corner triangles. This post should help with that! When constructing an “on point” quilt, you lay your blocks out on the diagonal. Then ...

Using the right quilt tools makes all the difference when you are quilting.  Good tools help you cut and sew more accurately and generally make the entire process more enjoyable.

And, you don’t have to spend a lot of money–just focus on a few high quality items and they will last forever.

Here are some of my favorite tools.  No affiliate links–opinions based on personal use only.

Shop Local

As always, please check with your favorite local quilt shop or local shops with online shops before going to ‘big’ retailers. Note:  there are NO buying links in ...