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May 21, 2017 By Mandy 11 Comments

Trimming Your Quilt with Tools from the Hardware Store

This post does not contain affiliate links.  Despite our best efforts–or perhaps because of them if we’re improv piecing!–our quilts are not always square. This happened to me recently as I was working on a quilt from scratch. I was not paying attention and miscalculated a few blocks, so there were some dangling bits and […]

Filed Under: Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: modern quilt, quilt square, quilt tips, quilting, quit, squared corners, squaring up a quilt, trim quilt

October 19, 2016 By Mandy 5 Comments

New Pattern in the Shop! And a Sneaky Marking Technique

I am delighted to present Midwinter Mandala available as a PDF download in my shop.I have had this idea for a snowflake design running around in my head for a while now, so when Betz White asked me to participate in “A Banner Year”, a seasonal sew-along project for our School of Wool Facebook group, […]

Filed Under: Applique, Construction, embroidery, Patterns, Technique of the Week Tagged With: #schoolofwool, #SOWabanneryear, Applique, embroidery, hand embroidery, School of Wool, slow stitching, wallhanging, Wool Applique, wool felt

February 8, 2016 By Mandy 12 Comments

Quilting with Aurifil Lana Wool Thread, a Tutorial

  When Bari J. sent me this quilt top to do up for Fall Market, she said I could do whatever I wanted, and since it was so simple, maybe do something fun.  “OK, but, can I use wool thread,” I asked?  “Whatever you want,” she replied. Delightful words! As I was looking at the top, It […]

Filed Under: BERNINAusa, Practicing, Q24, Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: Art Gallery Fabrics, Aurifil, Bari J, BERNINA, Lana wool, Millie Fleur, Q24, quilting tutorial, wool thread

December 2, 2015 By Mandy 1 Comment

A tip on keeping bobbins tidy

I have a post over on the BERNINA blog, We All Sew where I talk about how I keep my bobbins neat and the thread from unwinding all over the place!  Head on over and check it out, and while you’re there, be sure to check on the posts for their Countdown to Christmas. While I […]

Filed Under: 31 Day Blog Challenge, BERNINAusa, Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: BERNINA, bobbin, sewing tip, thread, thread organization, we all sew

March 30, 2015 By Mandy 12 Comments

Quilting Technique of the Week: When fabric bleeds

As my mom would say: “Oh honey, it was so sad.” I was on my way to teach a quilting class at my LQS last week, and had a big plastic bin of things to share with me.  It’s been a long, gross winter, and that day it was raining and foggy. All the parking […]

Filed Under: Construction, Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: fabric bleeding, how to fix fabric bleed, mandalei, quilting tip, quilting trick, sewing tip, sewing trick

March 19, 2015 By Mandy 1 Comment

Sewing tips and tricks the hard way

Here are a few amazing sewing tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last few years, followed by a scream then a good laugh: Glue basting is AMAZING, as long as you sew the edge you basted (did this today). Don’t put your spray starch and spray glue side by side. Never square up your […]

Filed Under: Random Thoughts, Technique of the Week Tagged With: sewing tip, sewing trick

September 22, 2014 By Mandy 3 Comments

Great video on how to spin seams with Cristy Fincher

Technique and knowing how to do things properly when piecing is important to me. I’m always reading and practicing new techniques to see which ones work for me, and which make the best finished quilt.  I know it sometimes seems like a Catch 22, that I’m a modern quilter who loves improv but also loves […]

Filed Under: Construction, Technique of the Week

August 13, 2014 By Mandy 32 Comments

Crayola Washable Markers and Quilt Marking, Technique of the Week

It’s been a hot topic on the professional longarm forums lately: what do we use to mark quilts?  Blue pens that are water soluble?  Purple pens that disappear in air?  Washable pencils?  On a whim, I decided to try the new “ultra clean” Crayola Washable markers, and to run a little experiment. My hypothesis: Crayola […]

Filed Under: Construction, Practicing, Random Thoughts, Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: Crayola marker, quilt marking, quilting

March 6, 2014 By Mandy 1 Comment

This technique has to do with frogging quilting. Just sayin’.

Some weeks you’re sewing like a rockstar goddess and everything is perfect, and true and right with the world.  You are the mistress of all that you see!  And then, the sewing gods step in and show you that, dude, you need a reality check. We al know frogging (extensive ripping out of seams or […]

Filed Under: Technique of the Week Tagged With: frogging, seam ripper, seam ripping

February 20, 2014 By Mandy Leave a Comment

Practice sheet for background fill

Look at me, learning how to use the arc tool in Illustrator!  Ahem.  Celebrate the little things. Anyway, here is a PDF version of the swoopy grid I used in the tutorial below.  Print out as many as you’d like. The first one has dark black lines: OnionBackgroundFill And this one has lighter grey lines:  OnionBackgroundFillGrey

Filed Under: Technique of the Week, Tutorials Tagged With: domestic, free, longarm, quilt, quilting, tutorial

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Copyright © 2023 · mandalei quilts

This blog is my own, and I write all its content. Links to Amazon and Craftsy may contain an affiliate code, since I am part of their affiliate programs. While I am a Bernina Ambassador, the machine I use is one that I have purchased prior to becoming an ambassador and is my property, not Bernina's; I am an ambassador because I love my machine. I do have free things that are sent to me from time to time, and if I use them I will always fully disclose that. All opinions are mine, and I will give them honestly. I am not paid by the people who send me things to write reviews.