The boss lady thought last week’s handy tips went so well, we should have more!

Tip#1: We all like the convenience of chain piecing. I often say… whoever thought up that quilting technique…bless them! I love to chain piece whenever I can to save time. To make chain piecing even more efficient, consider pairing up the pieces you are stitching and stacking them so you can just grab and feed!

Tip #2: So, you have a cutting mat and ironing board covered with threads (or cat hair too in my situation!). An easy way to clean those is with one of those rollers with the sticky paper that you use on your clothes.

If you don’t have one of these tools, never fear! Pull out some packing tape, wrap it around your hand and you’re ready to clean.

Our cutting mats are an important tool so we need to keep them in the best shape. For more tips on cleaning and maintaining you mat, here’s good information from Olfa:
How to Clean your Mats

Tip #3: Reinforce applique templates for a project so they’re reusable. I like to use my home printer to copy the applique template sheet from a pattern onto a heavier card stock paper. Once that is done, I cut them out and I can trace around them as many times as I want. They won’t crinkle or curl up like regular paper.

Now for storage, I will just slide the template pieces into the pattern bag with the pattern. If there are templates that are too big for the pattern bag, I put them in a larger bag and put the pattern in that bag with the templates.

Tip #4: Use a kitchen magnet to corral pins in the sewing room and keep them handy by the machine. For this, you’ll need one of those rectangular magnets where the entire back is magnet.

If you want this new pin collector to stay in one place, use some double-sided tape to affix the magnet to your machine. Now the pins will be within easy reach. **Edit** As noted by quilter, Angela, be careful if your machine is computerized because a magnet can interfere with it’s function. Thanks, Angela!**

Tip #5: Do you struggle with where to put a pattern you are working off of while you are sewing? Here’s a simple and convenient solution. Find an old clipboard, attach the pattern and lean it by you so you can easily refer to the pattern as you work!

So that’s my quilting tips for this installment. If you have some tips to share, write a comment and you will be entered in a drawing for a copy of the Primitive Quilts & Projects Fall 2019 issue with my pattern in it!

Drawing will be on Monday, August 5th. Good luck! ***We have a winner! Congrats, Eugenia Read!****

Happy Quilting!
Deanne