Tip Tuesday! Double Needle

"Tip Tuesday!" - Double Needle

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired!

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First of all, I know that it's been a very long time since I've posted a Tip Tuesday! Sorry about that, but life just got in the way and choices had to be made. On thing is for certain though, I've been thinking about post topics and have a few lined up so we should be good to go for a while. Thanks for your patience and welcome back.  :-)

Have you ever used a double needle? 

I have, but it's been a while and I always have to remind myself how to do it. 

You may think that a double needle is only for garment sewing, but that is not the case. I've used it to create a nice line of embellishment and have loved the results. 

Below you will find a link to a very use site for information about using a double needle. It includes what to do if you only have one spool holder and that if very helpful. 

And finally, be sure to read through the comments, as I garnered lots of information while reading them. 

Here's the link!

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2012/08/using-the-double-needle-without-the-2nd-spool-holder.html

Therapeutic Quilting

There are lots of reasons I quilt.

Of course I quilt for my family and friends. I enjoy the process of deciding what kind of quilt I want to make for them, choosing fabrics and actually doing the piecing. I feel like I am putting a part of me in every stitch and my hope is that they will feel my love every time they use the quilt.

At times, I quilt for profit. There is a wonderful feeling I get when I see the reaction of customers who see the finished quilt that they only saw as a pencil sketch, EQ sketch, or just a pile of fabric. It ALWAYS makes me smile. :-)

Many times I quilt for donation. I've made quilts for Quilts for Kids, Quilts of Valor, Honor Flight, Hands2Help, etc. I make lots of quilts for local organizations, including quilts for auction or raffles. I enjoy making these quilts. Not only do those in need get quilts, it allows me to try new patterns or techniques. I think it's a win/win situation. :-)

Another reason that I quilt is because it's therapeutic for me. Today's quilting is for therapy.

This quilt is for Brandon's family and it's meant to be a celebration of his life. He loved Star Wars and was studying to be a history teacher. Each of the squares has something to do with Star Wars, geography, history, movies, etc. He was a really nice young man who was taken from us far too early. http://www.pfeilfuneralhome.com/notices/Brandon-Preece

I started sketching this Christmas Eve night and pulled fabric last night. I cut squares late last night and started putting it up on the design wall. I started sewing this morning and now I'm auditioning borders. I think I'll add the wide grey border, a narrow dark border to the top and bottom, and then another border of one of the Star Wars fabric to make this more of a rectangular quilt. I'll add what's here and then audition the others to make my decision. I should have this finished later today and will get it quilted and give it to the family Monday.

I'm thankful to have this skill and passion. I hope that it is not only helpful to me, but to others as well.

Hug your loved ones!