Chromecast is a $35 dongle, which is a small device that attaches to your HDTV, and lets your TV connect to the internet using your phone, tablet or laptop. This means you can watch the TQS Shows on your BIG screen!
The Tutorial reviews the basics of what you need on hand to use Chromecast, as it will connect to your home network.
Then, here's some great information for setting up your computer. (You'll need the Chromecast Browser and Chromecast App.)
This week's workout is to sort through your entire thread collection. Do you enjoy working in several different mediums (handwork, machine embroidery, machine quilting, etc.)? It's easy when you are in the middle of a project to toss threads into a bin or bag, only to later discover that you can't find just the color/type that you need.
Keeping all of these specialized threads from becoming one jumbled mess can be a monumental task, but by sorting them you will avoid frustration down the road. So, ask a friend over, or put on a movie and get to work. Before you know it, you will be done. When you have completed the sorting:
Take note of what colors you have/need in each type of thread.
This might be a good time to stock up on those basics (black, white, cream, neutrals, etc.) that you use most often.
Check thread company and quilt shop sales to re-stock so you are ready for upcoming projects.
If you prefer to use the same thread in the bobbin as the top, take time to pre-wind bobbins for each color/type of thread. This, again, will save time when you are ready to start a project.
Sharon Pederson has a great tip for keeping matching thread and bobbin together AND how to sort bobbins of different thread weights for easy access later.
Speaking of thread. Do you love using the "vintage" thread you inherited from Grandma? Does thread have a shelf life, or do you need to throw the old stuff out?
Bob Purcell, at Superior Threads, says:
"A good quality thread that is produced today will last much longer than thread which was produced 15 or 20 years ago. Even the best quality cotton thread of a generation ago did not have the advanced processing techniques available to us today and it would probably be best to avoid using them. However, a top quality cotton thread manufactured today, like MasterPiece and King Tut, will probably be fine to use 40 or 50 years from now. The difference is due to a higher quality cotton and advancements in spinning, dyeing, and twisting technology. Since Cotton is a natural fiber, it will degrade over time.
A good test to check whether or not the cotton threads you have are OK to use is to hold about a one foot section in both hands and pull apart. If the thread snaps (you should feel a nice, crisp break), then it is OK to use. If the thread just separates and pulls apart easily, I wouldn't use it.
As for polyester thread, the color may fade over the years with exposure to sunlight but there is no evidence that the thread deteriorates, so it will last a lot longer than we will."
Leimomi Oakes of the Dreamstress, and Fashion and Textile historian, finds that using "vintage" threads works just fine for her:
"I estimate that 90% of my sewing is done with vintage thread, and I’ve never had a problem with it. No breakages in the machine, no breakages in clothes I wear (including ones I made over a decade ago, and still wear), no funny pulls or tension issues.
Yet over, and over on the internet I hear ‘never use old thread’, ‘thread has a shelf life’, ‘vintage thread just isn’t strong enough and doesn’t work right’, ‘old threads are thicker’.
I use new thread for commissions and when sewing with students, so I’ve been able to compare new with old on the same machines, and even on different projects in the same fabrics. I’ve tested and tested, and just can’t find any substantial evidence that using old thread gives a substandard result compared to new thread.
I do match thread to fabric – I use my vintage cotton threads for vintage cotton and rayon fabrics, my slightly less old cotton thread for slightly less old cotton and rayon fabrics, and only use new poly/polymix thread for synthetic fabrics and knits and the occasional silk chiffon. Polyester thread is certainly stronger for its width compared to cotton thread, but my new cottons are no stronger or thinner than my old ones.
It can’t be that it’s just that my vintage threads were stored properly, as they come from so many different sources. I’ve got Grandma’s 20-60 year old threads, which spent their life in San Diego, Great-Aunt’s 20-35 year old threads, from Idaho and Hawaii, Nana’s 20-60 year old threads, from New Zealand, plus all the ones I pick up in op-shops around New Zealand."
The other reason given for not using vintage thread is that it creates more lint than modern thread.
First, this not entirely true – some vintage threads may create more lint than modern threads, but a good quality vintage thread still creates less lint than a cheap modern thread.
To really check, I did a test where I cleaned my machine completely and sewed only with vintage thread for a month, cleaned, and checked the lint accumulation. Then I sewed only with brand new Mettler or Gutterman, cleaned and checked the lint accumulation. The difference was negligible. So I did it again – same result! If anything, there was less lint from the vintage thread. (I know. I am such a mad sewentist! I can’t ever accept the things that sewing books say without testing). I’d have to do this a couple hundred more times to really get a totally accurate answer, but for now I’m comfortable that the difference isn’t a problem – especially for modern sewing machines, with fairly limited expected lifespans.
Second, even if your vintage thread is creating more lint, it’s not an issue. Simply clean your machine regularly, which you should be doing anyway."
Thread has qualities, like the number of twists, loose fibers, and how smooth the thread is, which make a difference when it comes to lint. Check out what a number of threads look like under the microscope. Nancy Purvis, at Owen's Olivia, shares the results when it comes to lint. Is your favorite under the microscope?
We'd love to hear your comments on this thread issue. Share your experience with "vintage" threads.
Generation Q Magazine is donating a wonderful Victoria Findlay Wolfe prize package with a value of over $500 for International Quilting Weekend!
Generation Q Magazine seeks to inspire, delight, challenge, instruct, reflect and report on what makes us creative stitchers tick. Sometimes cheeky, other times insightful, their mission is to entertain and inform the masses, to convert the most stalwart sewing critics into fiber minions and to ultimately take over the world with quilts. Their magazine features patterns, games, features, product reviews and so much more. Their eZine and eNewsletter offer up-to-the-minute news and trends from our quilting worlds. Check out GenerationQMagazine.com and join the fun!
Check out the slide show below to see all 10 of the fabulous prizes from Generation Q Magazine!
Susanne Jones is excited to announce a Call for Entries tentatively entitled “HERstory," honoring the amazing accomplishments of women in the past century.
Here's what Susanne has to say about the exhibition.
You studied history. Help me tell HERstory. Throughout history women struggled to have a voice and in 1920 we got it, the right to vote. Let’s celebrate the amazing things that women have accomplished since then. We all have women that we admire who are courageous, intelligent and ground-breakers. Who inspires you?
I am so excited to announce my Call for Entries tentatively entitled “HERstory”, honoring the amazing accomplishments of women in this past century. This collection will be published in a book by Schiffer Publishing in 2019. I would like to invite you to submit a 24”W x 30”L quilt about a woman who has done something amazing since 1920.
We keep talking about International Quilting Weekend, but did you know that it all started withNational Quilting Day 25 years ago? According to the Quilt Alliance, in 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized a "Quilter's Day Out" on the third Saturday of March. In 1991, the National Quilting Association was so impressed with the results they voted to take it to the National level.
The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992 and has grown into a global celebration for all quiltmakers and quilt lovers. In recognition of the global celebration, The Quilt Show is sponsoring the International Quilting Weekend. The Quilt Show, hosted by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, captures the world of quilting in TV Quality Shows and teaching classrooms where you can learn new skills, be inspired and even be entertained.
More on the history of National Quilting day can be found at the Quilt Alliance.
At The Quilt Show, we are celebrating by opening over 200 shows and inviting YOU to see all we have to offer! Check out International Quilting Weekend to learn more and get ready to ENTER for Prizes on March 18!
Give your phone the rest it deserves with a quick and easy project from Laura at SewVeryEasy. Make Phone Pillows for each room of your house and you will always know were your phone left your phone. Once your phone is resting on it's pillow, it's easy to see and use. This is a great project for new sewers, just a couple of seams and filler. The best part? You can make if from your scraps!
Negative remarks from a college art professor caused Katie Fowler to resolve to fight fear and negativity. To prove her point she does something startling on The Quilt Show...
Enter the Contest:
Want to find out what Katie does? Enter the contest and you could win one of 5 Full-Year Memberships to The Quilt Show to watch this show, 26 brand new shows and over 220 more shows with the world's top quilters.
Mary & Garry Olson are a quilting couple. Garry designs the quilts (he majored in art) and Mary sews them. Many of Garry’s designs are based on a combination of Jacobean, Persian and Celtic influences. He demos how a design takes shape, from an initial sketch to a finalized drawing. Mary takes Garry’s designs and makes a pattern, often adding appliqué elements. She shares using trapunto to increase interest and blue painter's tape to create cross hatch designs. Mary claims she sews at the speed of a turtle, but she and Garry are winning top prizes with their quilts.
Next, sister team Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson of Me and My Sister Designs have a long history: they have owned a quilt shop together, written books and patterns, and designed fabric lines for Moda. They share a clever four-patch technique that will impress you!
Myrtle Farrell is 106 years old, is still quilting and selling her quilts. She may be the oldest businesswoman in North Dakota. Learn about the woman who was born when Teddy Roosevelt was President and where every day, she cuts, stitches, and in the last three years has made over 300 baby quilts.
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