Best Quilting Gift Ideas for Christmas

Ho Ho Ho!

With Christmas fast approaching, I'm sure you are almost done your shopping, right? I'm not hearing a lot of positive responses. I am still at the beginning of my Christmas shopping, but as long as I have a list, that's okay. It's when I haven't a clue what to get anyone that things become stressful. Like this year...

If you're struggling to come up with ideas for the quilter on your list, stress no more. I've come up with a selection of gifts to fit every budget and every quilter. 

If you're looking for a practical stocking stuffer, you can't go wrong with a set of snips or a magnetic pincushion. There never seem to be enough of these around my house.

Maybe your friend loves quilting books. I've included a few of my favourites for the holiday season. Whether they love to paper piece or appliqué or just plain piece, I've got you covered.

For the free motion afficionado in your circle, you can't go wrong with a set of Machingers or a Supreme Slider: both essential to make free motion quilting the easiest technique ever.

Now, maybe you don't need to get a gift for a friend, but want to hint at a gift for yourself. Just direct your favourite quilter enabler to the list.

I hope this helps you with some quilty gifts for Christmas. Happy shopping!

Creatively,

How to Get an Accurate 1/4" Seam Allowance on the Janome 9400

What do quilters strive to achieve in their quilting? Besides perfection, of course! An accurate 1/4" seam allowance. I've heard so many quilters say that they struggle to get that perfect 1/4" seam allowance that makes all the difference in their quilts.

My Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP (Janome 9400) includes a new needle plate and foot that makes getting an accurate 1/4" seam allowance a piece of cake! 

HP Needle Plate that comes with the Janome 9400

The HP needle plate and foot work together to stitch a perfect 1/4" seam. These two can only be used when straight stitching and once you pop in the HP needle plate, the Janome 9400 automatically recognizes the stitch choices that can be used with this needle plate.

HP foot on the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP

I so appreciate this feature of the machine as it prevents me from using a stitch that would cause the needle to strike the needle plate and break and perhaps damage my sewing machine.

Janome 1/4 inch seam foot O

The Janome 9400 still comes with the 1/4 inch seam foot O too: this is the one that has the fabric guide along the side, if you prefer to use it, but I must say, that my go to combination when piecing is now the HP needle plate and foot.

Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel to see the options available when you want to stitch a 1/4" seam.

If you would like more information on the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP, you can find videos on it in this playlist.

Does your sewing machine have a 1/4" foot that allows you to stitch a perfect 1/4" seam? Leave me a Comment below to tell me how you achieve an accurate 1/4" seam when you are piecing.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that Chatterbox Quilts provides FREE content to those on our mailing list? Yes, we do! Sign up here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. You'll be glad you did :)

How to Make Hanging Tabs for Your Wall Hangings

You know I try to avoid extra work when I'm quilting whenever possible, right? This thinking also extends to what I use to hang my wall hanging. I could add a hanging sleeve to the back of my projects, but this would mean that I would have to hand stitch the bottom of the hanging sleeve to the back of the wall hanging. I try to avoid this if I can...and I can!

How do I avoid this extra hand stitching? By adding hanging tabs, rather than a hanging sleeve, to the back of my wall hangings.

These are really quick to make and work for a lot of different sized projects. While I typically use two tabs for a project, you could always add more, depending on the size of your wall hanging. 

Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel to see how to make these easy hanging tabs.

View fullsize

Do you use hanging sleeves on the back of your wall hangings? Leave me a Comment below to let me know what you use to keep your projects on the wall.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that Chatterbox Quilts provides FREE content to those on our mailing list? Yes, we do! Sign up here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. You'll be glad you did :)

Decorative Stitches on the Janome 9400

Almost every sewing machine that you can buy has decorative stitches on it. Some have only a few of these stitches on them while other sewing machines have lots of them. The Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP has hundreds of decorative stitches on it and the ability to create more of these by not only altering the length and/or width of the stitches, but also by flipping them horizontally and/or vertically. 

There are so many decorative stitches on the Janome 9400, that it could be quite confusing, but it's not since the stitches are arranged into categories, such as Appliqué, Heirloom, Utility and so on. This categorization makes it quite simple to find a stitch the will suit your purpose. 

Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel to learn all about selecting and altering the stitches on the Janome 9400.

Do you use decorative stitches in your sewing or quilting projects? Leave a comment below to let me know how you use these types of stitches in your projects.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that Chatterbox Quilts provides FREE content to those on our mailing list? Yes, we do! Sign up here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. You'll be glad you did :)