Chatterbox Quilts’ Blog
Helping Quilters Learn and Improve
I'm working on an hourglass unit. These little units are created from half-square triangles. You'll get two hourglass units from two half-square triangles. Hourglass units are versatile and I'm sure you'll find lots of uses for them in your quilts.
Block 6 of the One World Quilt Along has just been released and this is the last horizontal block in this quilt. It's actually the last full block in the entire quilt as the sashing, borders and one appliqué element will be what we're working on next month.
I saw this block as the perfect opportunity to use some metallic thread on the snowflakes in this block. I was pleased that my Janome 8900 handled the metallic thread with no problem at all. I just had to reduce the top tension on my sewing machine and be sure to use a large enough needle and it was just like stitching with any other type of quality thread.
Keith's version of Block 6
If you haven't joined the One World Quilt Along, don't hesitate to join us now. Each block in the quilt is constructed individually so you can really start working on any block - you don't have to start with Block 1. There are two subscription options: Quilter or Viewer. Check out the details here.
Keith's version of the One World quilt
If you are already subscribed in the One World Quilt Along, be sure to check out all videos that Keith and I have created. They provide tips and information to help you construct your quilt.
Have fun with this month's block and see you March 15, 2017 for the final part of this quilt.
Creatively,
This sounds like a multiplication exercise, doesn't it? Last week I showed you how to make four half-square triangles from two pieces of fabric. Now, I'm going to up the game and show you a technique to make eight half-square triangles from two pieces of fabric. That's twice as many HST's! This is the multiplication part of the episode :)
I'm going to show you how to create four half-square triangles (or half square triangles, whichever you prefer) from two pieces of fabric. Okay, maybe this also sounds like a magic trick and it really does work like magic, but it isn't.
This Telecast Thursday I'm going to let you in on one of my favourite features on the Janome Artistic Edge - besides the fact that it cuts amazingly well and is so fast too.
There are so many things that the Janome Artistic Edge can do: cut paper, vinyl, leather, fabric, apply crystals, and oh, so much more. I have been mostly using it to cut appliqué shapes from fabric and having great success using it to cut out the intricate appliqué shapes in the One World quilt. The SimpleCut software comes pre-bundled with the Janome Artistic Edge and is used to operate the machine. It has many helpful features and one of these is the "trace" feature. I use this feature all the time for two reasons:
To see more detail on how to use the trace feature, watch the video below or on my YouTube channel.
This is just one of the advantages of the SimpleCut software and the more I'm using it, the more I realize how much it can do!
If you have a digital cutter, let me know in the comments below what your favourite feature is.
Creatively,
