The 3-Yard Quilt Along Series has been going great! We’re on our 5th month for the free pattern download. Click on this link to find out the details and to download your free monthly 3YD pattern, 3YD Romeo.
10 Thousand, Wow!
We have 10k subscribers to our monthly email. I can’t even get 10K steps in daily. It boggles my brain that 10K people voluntarily signed up. Not coerced or threatened, right Lora? Why does she look guilty? Coerce your friends, I mean, invite your quilting friends to check out Material Girlfriends. We have a lot to share and we love what we do.
Our Promises to our Subscribers
- We will NEVER share your email with anyone. We’ll protect it like it was our own.
- We will NEVER spam your in box. Generally, we send an email once a month around the 15th. Once in a blue moon, we might send a second email if we think there is something you’ll want to know.
- We will NEVER hold your email box hostage. We have an easy unsubscribe button in every email. You can easily unsubscribe. We get it and won’t have hurt feeling if you need a break from us.
If you think you’re missing your monthly email, check your spam folder. Sometimes newsletter type emails land there. Just mark our email as NOT spam. Otherwise, Join Our Tribe banner at the top of the page. You’re safe with us.
Celebration Sale!
To celebrate 10K subscribers, enjoy 10% off the entire web store, as well as our Etsy store with this coupon code, 10KWOW. Enter the coupon code at checkout. The items that are already on sale will get an additional 10% off on the web store, but Etsy will only allow one sale code. Coupon code expires May 30, 2024.
Basically Speaking
How are your blocks turning out? Are your points pointy? Blocks turning out the right size? Frustrated with your results? It takes just a little detective work to figure out the culprit of a mangled block.
Basically, there are Four Elements to Accuracy. The four elements are NOT an expensive sewing machine, a pricey iron, specialty rulers, or bougie quilter retreats. Although those four are plenty of fun and we sure wouldn’t say no. However, those won’t make your blocks any different than they are right now. If you want a bit more accuracy in your quilt block construction, consider these four elements.
The Four Elements of Accuracy
- Cutting
- Alignment
- 1/4″ seam
- Pressing
Most quilters assume the error of their ways must be that allusive 1/4″ seam. Nay, nay. I find when checking blocks for my students that the biggest culprit is the pressing! If you’re interested in learning more, see our YouTube channel for sewing tips! We have over 90 videos.
For Accuracy, check out our YouTube playlist, Quilting Tips for Accuracy. You’ll find four videos on each of the elements of accuracy; cutting, alignment, 1/4″ seam, and pressing.
Close Enough Club
I teach accuracy. However, I never require accuracy – not from our students, not from Lora, and not from myself. We all need to be members of the Close Enough Club. If a point is off by 1/8″, I’ll fix it. I’m very familiar with my seam ripper! However, if I’ve seam ripped twice, it stays the 3rd time no matter how off. I give myself 1/16th grace too. I don’t fix it just because it isn’t perfect. 1/16″ is close enough for me. 1/8″ might be close enough for you. 1/4″ might be close enough for your quilting friend. That’s okay! We aim to help you obtain the results you want.
The Misadventures of the Material Girlfriends
Quilt room disaster.
Two weeks ago, we helped move our parents from their home in Lodi, CA to Brentwood, CA. Yay! They are so much closer to us – just 6 miles from me (Lisa), 4 miles from Lora, and 6 miles from our brother, Mike.
The family assembled “and we loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly” as the song goes. I can just laugh at the imagery. Ha! There was a snaggletooth caravan of trucks and trailers hauling their precious cargo.
We affectionately call the grandsons the “Brut Squad” from Princess Bride. Mom and Dad moved into their new Brentwood home in just a day. A hard day, but moved in. The Brut Squad was amazing. They kept great attitudes, joked, and encouraged each other through what could have been a miserable move day.
The boxes were everywhere. Unfortunately, if anyone didn’t know where a box or item went, it was dumped in Mom’s new quilt room. Oh, what a mess! We had about 3 square feet of carpet that we could move around in. It was worse than the photo below. Mom had worked a bit at it before the photo. Let’s play Where’s Waldo? Can you ‘spy with your little eye’ a sewing machine, cutting mat, collapsible sewing box, and 24 UFOs? Why is the kitchen dinette in the sewing room?
Two weeks after the move, Lora and I came to help set up Mom’s quilt room. Fortunately, Lora took the lead. I was at a loss as to where to start. It was so overwhelming.
Move everything out of the room. Lora had us move everything out. We stacked it in the dining room. Then we arranged the furniture where Mom wanted it. The kitchen dinette did not go back in the quilt room!
Make a plan. We (mostly Lora) talked through the room. Where were the fabric, the projects, the computer, the printer, the sewing machine(s), the ironing board, the cutting mat, etc. going to go? They all needed a home and a workable area. We needed to establish where they belonged. Lora ‘organized’ the spaces in the sewing room.
Do what we can. We determined there wasn’t enough storage at the moment. Mom’s previous quilt room had an upright cabinet and three upper cupboards. Can’t snap our fingers and make those appear so we did what we could with what we had. First off, we put away the fabric bins. Then we sorted through her numerous projects. We had a lot of fun poking fun at her orphan blocks and seam-ingly abandoned projects. She had decluttered a lot before packing for the move, but she found quite a bit more she decided she was ready to be rid of. We then put her projects away on the other side of the long cabinet.
Time was up. We set 2.5 hours to make progress. We made quite a lot of head way! We tidied up, and left mom with a list of shopping items she’ll need to pick up for her new quilting room.
Sew, if your quilt space has gotten out of control, remember How do you eat an Elephant? In small bites. Don’t choke on a huge project. Make a time limit, for us it was 2.5 hours. Then clear out some space, organize, then put it back. Declutter as you go.
Stay tuned for Mom’s sewing room next month. We’ll keep you updated on her progress!
Happy sewing!
Lisa Norton and Lora Zmak
