Friday, September 5, 2014

My Quilty Little Secrets

Notice that I didn't say "10."  Please feel free to stop reading whenever you like.  ;)

Part 1 ~ I have "Quilter's OCD."


  1. My craft room has to be spotless every day before I start sewing. 
  2. I like working on one project at a time start to finish, but I like an ongoing hand sewing project.  UFO's give me a rash and make me itch. 
  3. I love cleaning the lint out of my machine, and do it frequently. 
  4. I change the needle in my machine regularly. 
  5. I never sew over pins. 
  6. I always close and lock my rotary cutter when I put it down. 
  7. I love, Love, LOVE quilty math. 
  8. I always want to know the finished size of quilts, which is why I include the statistics for my finished quilts. 
  9. I am trying to "use up" all my fabric so I can buy for each project individually. 
  10. I love patterns that tell how to press seams, because I like to press them to one side and have them nest together. 
  11. I love an accurate scant quarter inch seam. 
  12. I love perfect points. 
  13. I love the whole process of making a quilt, but my favorite part is finishing!
  14. I am a fabric snob, meaning that I only buy good quality fabric from my LQS. 
  15. I am a thread snob, meaning that I love Aurifil and other good quality threads. 
Part 2 ~ However, some things are "Good Enough."
  1. I avoid using pins.
  2. I cheat when sewing on borders, but they still lay flat. 
  3. I iron gently and use steam. 
  4. I sew my bindings down by machine or by hand.  This decision depends on the quilt, my mood, and time limits. 
  5. I only unpick when I absolutely have to. 
  6. I have no desire to try paper piecing, even if you do get better points. 
  7. I'm not very interested in English Paper Piecing either. 
  8. Doing applique bores me. 
  9. I can't wear shoes when I use the sewing machine. 
  10. I always use quilt basting spray. 
  11. Mistakes in quilts are good, because they keep you humble. 
  12. I love Best Press, but I dilute it with water. 
  13. It is more important for some things to look square than be square.  (Like with some directional or geometric prints.)
  14. I don't know if my quilts are modern or traditional.  I just know that they are quilts and I love them. 
  15. Quilting rules (even my own) are made to be broken.  For example:  I am working on multiple Christmas projects at the same time: One for each boy (including Hubby).   

There is one quote (whish I knew where I read it) which really shows my quilting philosophy.  "Perfect isn't flawless.  Perfect is finished." 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading to the end.  ;)  Also a big thanks to Amy at 13 Spools for starting this fun thing, and thanks to my friends who have posted their own list.  Check out Amy's linky party to see what other quilters confess to. 

XX,
Jasmine

15 comments:

  1. Great post, Jasmin! Loved reading your 'secrets' :) I share many of your secrets. . . except the OCD part. . . My sewing space is a mess from the fabric pull to the last stitch of the binding, no matter how long it takes :D And the quote is SO true, there is no such thing as a perfect quilt - we are all human after all.

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  2. I can relate to so many of your OCD secrets....I love to clean the lint out of m machine, and clean my sewing space regularly. I'd love to work on one project at a time but have so many ideas buzzing around in my head they sometimes burst out and before I know it I'm starting another project. Oh well - some rules are meant to be broken! :)

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  3. You will never get in my sewing room then-it's a huge mess!!! But I still loved reading your secrets :-)

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  4. We are similar on many things :) So I'm curious, does the best press work as good adding water? I just started using it and I really LOVE it. It is a bit expensive, but I bought quite a lot when it was half off at Jo Ann fabrics :)

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    1. I think it depends on your goal. My goal is to get out the wrinkles and make it slightly stiffer. So I dilute it to 50% Best Press and 50% water. This was suggested to me by more than one person at my LQS. It works great for me.

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  5. Phew! Thank goodness for Part 2. I was getting worried about you. I'm certain my quilting habits would be very disturbing to you.

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  6. You and I are polar opposites! Thanks for sharing your secrets. They are so much fun to read. Love the animal prints you are using for one of your Christmas gifts.

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  7. I really have enjoyed this whole series, and yours is no different! I don't know if I love cleaning the lint out of my machine, but I know I don't love the results if I fail to! Thanks for sharing your lists! :)

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  8. Jasmine, I always love coming to your blog and luuurve your list. It shows that you are careful and follow your instincts when doing what you love. I do a lot of your list too. I am careful because you never know when a design might be Houston worthy, so better do your best workmanship while having fun. You are balanced, and know when good enough is good enough as well. Keep it up girl! LeeAnna at not afraid of color lapaylor.blogspot.com

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  9. Great list... I only wish I had some of your habits!

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  10. Part 2 #12.... Look up the formula for "quilters Moonshine" been using it for a couple of years now and love it!!!

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  11. Great list! We're very different though :) I can't wear shoes when I'm sewing either, but I never have anything on my feet in the house anyway. These lists have been so much fun, haven't they?

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  12. That was a great list. I love the quote "Perfect isn't flawless. Perfect is finished". #14 is my favourite.....I don't think we need to fit our quilts in a style or category....we just need to make quilts, we love.

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  13. It was fun reading about you Jasmine. It makes me feel kind of messy and sloppy though. ;)

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