Val's Corner

I have been dealing with whip lash which has been quite a trial with horrific headaches.  Every day I have headaches, it's just how bad they will be.  I even ended up in the emergency room one evening it was so bad.  I have been going to therapy for a month and I am finally getting some relief.

 Of course, this has affected being able to quilt.  I am sure you all have had some kind of trial that has interfered with your quilting and know just what I am talking about.  I felt I was mourning because I had such a fun customer quilt to do but couldn't  get up there to quilt.

 Of all the things I enjoy doing, longarm quilting is my favorite!  As I quilt I refer to all that I have been taught and am grateful for Linda Taylor who has been my mentor for so many years.  How blessed I am to work with her and have her as my sister in law!

I always set the quilt out where I can see it so it can "talk to me".  By the time I start I know just what I am going to do.  The one I am working on now has applique' and as I was stabilizing it talked up a storm.  It has florescent colors and I had a YLI variegated thread that was just perfect.  My customer is so awesome as she tells me to do whatever I feel like.  She always pays for freehand quilting which of course is my favorite.

I am so thankful for some good days now so I can quilt and I know I will continue to improve.  Keeping a positive attitude is so important!

When I first started embroidering I knew nothing.  What was there to learn?  My wonderful machine threaded itself, let me know when my bobbin was almost out, if the thread broke I could go back to where that was and start again.  All I had to do was push buttons!  I was so excited I couldn't wait to start my first project! 

So I picked a beautiful flower design, some light weight fabric and some light tear away stabilizer.  Choosing all the thread colors was time consuming (I think there were like 26) but fun.  Hooping took a little bit of practice and I was off!  The design had quite a bit of satin stitching and as I advanced through the colors I noted that the satin stitch was not tight like it should be.  Now what?  My first thought was the tension, of course.  I read my manual and I had automatic tension.  Now what?  It must be wrong so I fiddled around with the tension but to no avail. 

Of course, my favorite tool is Google.  You can find anything on Google, including information about yourself.  So I Googled and Googled but couldn't quite find the specifics of what I needed.  I was frustrated. I know you know the feeling.  So I picked another design and didn't want to pick out 26 colors or have it embroider for 60 minutes, so I picked a simpler design. I was off and it turned out beautifully.

Does anyone know what my problem was?  I did not learn it for probably  a year.  The stabilizer and light weight fabric were wrong. My favorite site for designs is emblibrary.com.  I started searching on their site and found a place about stabilizer.  There it was.  There was a hint exacrly for my problem. Heavy stitching, and satin stitching is pretty heavy, needs heavier stabilizer.  It needs to be cutaway as the tear away is too hard on the stitches.   They specifically addressed the satin stitching problem.  Also my fabric was probably too light for the heavy design I picked.

So using the correct stabilizer is very important.  There are many sites that address how to use stabilizers.  I was a beginner and half the time I didn't even know what they were addressing as everyone has their favortie brand.  We bought our stabilizer through brewersewing.com and one of my co-workers gave me a link that was perfect.  It was a sample pack from OESD with instructions of how to use them.  That was a glorious day as not only did I have the explanation but I could see and feel the stabilizer and know what they were addressing.

The right stabilizer is an important thing to learn.  I love using Sulky's Dissovable and making lace book marks, ornaments etc.  Did you know that most dissolvable stabilizer is made from the jelly fish on the beach?  I learned that at an aquarium.  Once they are on the beach they will die so they use them.

I always like to just get into my projects.  I don't want to spend time learning all about it.  How many of you are like that?

Stitching in the ditch is a must for your quilts to lay and hang nice and flat.  My first big experience with SID was when Linda called me to come help her with her quilts for Season 3 of her TV show.  I agreed, got off the phone and thought "What would she have me do on her quilts?".  Then I was sure it was loading them, assisting her with what ever she needed.

When I got to the lodge she said we had 16 quilts we had to get done.  That is a lot of quilts and we knew it couldn't happen without the Statler.  We were both fairly new to the Statler back then and I didn't own one, but felt secure enough to place patterns.  Linda had the quilts all picked out and we discussed what pattern we would do on the first quilt and then of course, Linda would freehand.

Then she said you can stitch in the ditch and get the next quilt all stabilized while I am free handing.  "We have to get 3 quilts a day done to get through these quilts.  I started to panic!  I of course, stitched in the ditch on all my custom quilts, but that was in my home, in my studio and no one was there.  Especially not Linda.  I really panicked!  These were going to be on TV!

Linda went upstairs and I literally started hyperventilating.  The machines are in the bottom floor of the lodge and it was February.  That means lots of snow.  I opened the double door and went outside and started praying.  OK, there were a few tears of terror. Then I thought "Well Linda wouldn't have asked me unless she had confidence in me."  I calmed down and turned to go back in.  The door was locked from the inside!  I couldn't walk around as I had no coat or boots on and there was about 3 feet of snow.  So I started knocking.  Keep in mind this lodge is huge, 9000 square feet and well insulated.

Pretty soon I was pounding as it was very cold.  Linda came down opened the door and wanted to know just what I was doing outside with no coat!  Then I looked at her and told her I was praying as I was scared to death.  She retorted, it was just SID to which I replied "On TV Show quilts!

Just as she is in class, she told me I would be fine or she wouldn't have asked me to come and help if she didn't know I could do it.  So I chose a baby quilt because of course, it was the smallest.  It was octagons!  For custom quilting that means you go around every one of them.  I learned the easiest way to look at it as continuous lines.  Linda is so good at that. 

When I finished Linda said just go ahead and quilt it.  I almost passed out.  I said "No way, am I going to quilt on a Linda Taylor TV Show quilt!"  See Linda truly believes if she can do it we can do it.  She told me I had been in all her classes many times, quilted for customers and she had seen my quilting, so she was perfectly comfortable.  I put my foot down and said there was no way.

I stabilized the quilts placed Statler patterns and she free handed.  It was such a great experience.  I became proficient and very comfortable with SID by the end of that week.  It was so fun quilting with Linda and being taught one on one from such an extraordinary quilter.

All those quilts hang beautifully and I learned you sometimes get out the ditch, just stop and get back in and don't you dare pick out what you don't think looks right!  So remember that SID is a basic to great quilting and "you can do it!"  You also will learn to like it and know that it's ust part of quilting.  So don't forget to SID!

I have been thinking how incredibly blessed we are to be in the quiting world.  We have such great people to work with and meet others all the time.  You can never be bored with quilting as there is so much to learn and to do.  I am sure you are just like me and your "bucket" list goes on and on and is continually added to. 

Always new fabric, thread and patterns to choose from!  I love it when I get an new quilting magazine and can see whats coming and the new tools. I love the quilt shows, to go and see everyone's ideas.  The quilts are awe inspiring and take my breath away.  I am always amazed at the creativeness that go into those quilts, let alone the talent to make them.

Then on top of that I work in that field and get to live my dreams because it is "work"!  I have tons of email friends I have made over the years, who share what they are doing and include me and I them, in our quilting experiences.  They share their families and lives with me.  I make new ones weekly.

I was in the mortgage business in management for 25 years and we never shared our secrets of the business.  They were always kept confidential as that was our niche in the market.  So you can imagine when I started working in the quilting world, how surprised I was that quilters share everything.  There are no secrets, we just want to help everyone with all we learn.  Everyone is your friend not your competitor.  We want to share our secrets because it is so fulfilling and fun.

We are all truly blessed to be quilters!  Thanks to each of you for sharing with me and being my quilting friends.

I received my Machine Quilting Magazine and I always get excited when it comes.  I even have to steal it back from my husband several times.  It is so inspiring to me.  I have devoured the "Designing for Embroidery" article.  It is so fun to learn more about combining techniques. 

One of the first quilts I ever did, I used embroidery on.  I had a friend who did a wall hanging and it had wonderful borders and sashing and then some nine patch, using the border fabric and some plain purple squares.  Also there were large purple squares and the fabric was plain.  She was disappointed how the quilt turned out  because of the plain squares. So I told her to let me have it and she would be happy when I was finished.

I used the colors in the borders and embroidered butterflies in the large plain squares.  Then of course, quilted it.  She was so excited when she saw it and wanted to pay me.  I told her that she could just make one exactly like it for me instead.  It now hangs in my studio and everyone comments on it when they come.

Of course, the blocks should have been larger and embroidered before they were placed in the quilt to allow for shrinkage but there wasn't much.  It was so fun to match the colors in the borders in the butterflies.  People never guess that those butterflies didn't come on those blocks!

Now in MQU, the embroidery is for Pictorial Art Quilts.  You can even take photos and digitized them and put them in your quilts.  You just can't miss this article as Ann Horton explains how she uses, applique' with embroidery and then adds extra batting is areas  to "add texture and definition".  I can't wait to try this!

I also can't wait to read the next article "Painting with Fabric and Thread" by Kate Themel!  It makes me think the of the "Supper Quilt" that Linda quilted that is in her book "The Ultimate Guide to Longarm Quilting", also a must have book!

If you don't subscribe to this magazine, you are really missing out.  It is worth every penny and I don't say that just because we have a direct link to it at the top of our page!  You will find nothing else like it and it is full of fantastic articles to inspire and teach.

I am pondering why it is that I have bolts, pieces, Jelly Rolls, and Fat Quarters but I never have the fabric for my next quilt.  It just boggles my mind!  I buy at the quilt store, at Markets, online and still I never have the right color!  I am sure you know what I mean.

At Houston Market I found the most beautiful batiks.  I have such a passion for them.  So of course, I couldn't resist ordering a few bolts.  Five to be exact!  Then I stopped at Troy and they were having a great special.  It goes on but I won't bore you with the details or the hours spent last week on my vacation finding a place to put it all.  What's worse is, I don't have a husband who curtails me, he encourages me!

But what I want to know is, am I the only one who does this?  Please tell me you all have a huge stash and still not the right fabric!

We all know that quilters love to share and give and we all have a story.

Yesterday I visited the dealership in Sandy, UT (for more thread of course) and a couple of ladys were taking their Beginning  Class.  They were so excited and of course trying to absorb everything they could.  It ia so fun to teach those beginning classes and catch the excitement of how it felt when we first got our machines.

After they left, the gal who taught it, shared their story.  There are 6 sisters and 1 sister's husband left her and the children.  She was able to get a minimum wage job but of course that doesn't go far and she is having a rough time.  The sisters decided they needed to get together and help her some how.  She had wanted a machine for 10 years.  They decided they would buy a machine and set her up in business so she could survive.

So they financed a machine and one sister handles the finances, the machine is in the sister's home who works.  She does her sister's quilts so she can practice and have quilting to show and then another sister will market for her.

So how loving and kind is that?  Families who are willing to sacrifice and give so that their sister is taken care of!  I just had to share that story as we all have them.  I love rubbing shoulders with such lovely people.

Whenever I hear the words "did you know?", I always think of the song at Christmas time "Mary Did You Know?"  I love this song and of course Mary knew, after all she was visited by an angel!

But today my "Did you know" is about receiving newsletters and loggin in.   I get a lot of emails that people have been receiving newsletters but can't get into thequiltingschool.com.  Our data base of newsletter members comes from Linda Taylor's classes, sign ups at quilt shows and Linda's Electric Quilters and our other teachers data bases.  It is possible to receive newsletters but you have not registered for thequiltingschool.com.  So if you try to login and it doesn't recognize you, you just have to register!

On the other hand, if you try to register and it says your email is already used, that means you are already a member.  You may not remember your log in   information and we can help you with that.  Just email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I can get you your username.  I don't have access to your password but I can reset it for you.

We want to make using the site as easy as we can.  Unlike many other sites, we have real humans to assist you when needed.  It may not be the exact moment you need it, but we will get back to you.  If we don't, your email has been lost in cyber space and please try again!

Since I handle the biggest share of customer service on thequiltingschool.com I thought I would clear up some things that I hear the most of:

We play a game each month for you to win FREE patterns of LInda Taylor's Designs.  The first game is for all registered members, which covers everyone!  The games are under "Games".  The video to be viewed is listed with a link and the questions for the video are all posted right on the site.  So it is automated.  Just click on "Games" and follow the instructions. If you are intimidated by the automation, then each game video with it's link and question are in our newsletters and you can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it your answer and I will send you your pattern.  If you need a Statler pattern, you just need to email me your controller number.

If you post on Quilt Chat what you thought of the video and email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it after you have completed you will get a second complimentary pattern.  The reason that you need to email is that your post will show your user name, which does not give mean email.  While I can email you, I cannot email the pattern through the site.   All patterns are exclusive for one year!

For additional benefits for our All Inclusive Members, you can play the registered Game and then also the All Inclusive Game.  Again, just click on "Game" and follow the instructions or email me with the links in the newsletter.  Your name will go into a drawing where 10 names will be drawn for prizes each month!

Posting on "Quilt Chat " (previously called our Forum) is done by clicking on "Quilt Chat" and then going to one of the topics for the game Click there and click on "reply" to one of the messages, type your comments and then click on "Submit". 

We hope you will all enjoy this great benefit to our members for increasing your pattern stash for FREE!  If you have any questions, please email me!

I am wondering how many quilters, crafters and embroiders are up like I am putting the last touches on Christmas.  It is now 1:20 AM!  My darling husband is up here in my studio right along with me, putting together a quilt.  Every year people ask me if I am ready.  I tell them that when Christmas gets here, then I am ready. 

Last year we started in August making quilts for our grand kids, you know the 14 of them.  We were determined we would get them done.  Well obviously that didn't quite happen, as I also did three queen size and quilted them.

So we decided that they would get them for their birthdays.  The first one is in January and he got his all done except the binding.  Not bad.  The second one was in February and it was made just needed quilting, and I fell and tore my ACL and Meniscus!  So no standing. No quilts out for birthdays this year but all the tops are done. Next year is another year.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I just have a few things to finish.  OK, here is the confession, I keep findng things that I would really like to do.  That is why  "when it's Christmas, then I am ready!

     Last year I was flying home from Houston and my seat partner happened to be a quilter!  I love that when it happens.  We had such a delightful conversation and I learned she was a hand quilter.  That is such a great art and needs to be passed along. Not something I would do, but I admire that beautiful work.

     As the conversation continued, we shared quilts we had made and what I had quilted and she shared a story that just broke my heart.  She made a Double Wedding Ring for her MIL.  Keep in mind this was hand sewn and hand quilted.  Later that summer they went on a picnic and the MIL brought the precious quilt for her picnic blanket!  I was appalled let alone what my new found friend felt.

     I expressed my horror and she hers.  Then we discussed how when we make a quilt there is so much of ourselves poured into a quilt.  Each one has a piece of us.  We spend hours working on it and they become like a part of our family and a piece of our heart.  Even as we quilt the patterns in our family's and customer's quilts, a piece of who we are goes in.

     Later that year I made and quilted quilts for my son and my two step children.  As I made them, I thought about them and my love for them and that same love poured out into the quilts.  Do you know what I mean?  As I quilted them I thought of how they would feel about getting homemade quilts for Christmas.  I felt so much joy to be able to give each of them a valued treasure to remember me by.

     Russ' daughter has made quilts so I knew they would be very excited as she knew what it was like.  Of course, that is exactly what it was when they came for Christmas day.  We had to give them just their top as I ran into problems and my SD had done the same with us with wall hanging before; and sure enough there were oohhs and awws.  I have quilted quite a few  quilts for my SD's other side of thefamily,. so she was very excited of how "the life" would be breathed into the quilt when it was finished.

    My son's wife paints and sculptures so I knew she would understand the feelings that go with giving our "art" away.  When they opened their quilt, she was so excited she cried.  She said she had wanted to ask for one but knew what it took to paint a picture and knew the time it must take to make a quilt.  My son was right along with her with teary eyes.  Then she disappeared.  I hoped she was OK.  In a few minutes she called from upstairs that we needed to come quick and look.  We went up and there it was on their bed and she was standing there with tears running down her face and saying "Isn't it just beautiful?  I just never imagined how beautiful they are!"  We were so humbled by her graciousness in receiving this gift.

     We had to mail Russ' son his quilt.  Christmas day they called and thanked us for the quilt.  They didn't know what they would do with it since it didn't go in the bedroom but thanked us.  I was a little taken back since it was their gift it could be used anywhere or even on a quilt rack.  A few days latter they called and Russ' son said he was using it on the couch to cover up with when he got home.  I don't know exactly what I expected but honestly I was in a bit of shock.  It was a queen size so quite a large cover up.  I counseled myself again that it was their gift and I had to realize that they probably didn't understand the value of a hand made quilt.

     Then there it was, my thoughts flew to my friend on the airplane.  I must have felt just as she felt.  Hours and hours of cutting (by my dear husband),  piecing and quilting and it was a throw on the couch, not a family heirloom.

     It hit me then that not everyone understands the process of making a quilt.  So they don't know of the hours.  My SDIL didn't even own a sewing machine, so she hadn't ever had the experience of making something from the very scratch for someone.  I then knew that whenever we make a gift, we have to understand that the receiver might not begin to understand what went into that gift. But it is theirs now and they have the privledge of using it how they wish.  That quilt will still have a piece of my heart and they will have my love and the quilt will wrap my family on cold nights and maybe, just maybe they think of us as the cuddle under that quilt!

Hi Everyone!

I have a blog!  After a pow wow, it was decided that since I am down in the trenches quilting for customers, Customer Care and an avid embroiderer, it would be helpful for me to blog.  That way things I help quilters with on a daily basis could be shared with everyone.

So today's topic is embroidery thread since I am very involved in that for the holidays. We know that we have many embroiders and we want to be able to offer something for those talents also.