JWD Publishing Blog

Hi Everyone,

These last few months I have been searching for the best quilting and sewing products to let you know about. I picked up this product several months ago, but I wanted to give it my own personal test before telling you about it. Now I don’t know about you, but I never have enough light when I am sewing. I ran into the Bendable Bright Light.. Yes, this is the name of it. It is a cool little light that fits on the side of your sewing machine and floods your sewing area with light! It is so small you don’t think it could do that much, but it does. One day I forgot to turn it on and boy did I miss it! I’ll never go back to using just my sewing machine light to sew.

Now here is the scoop:

• It has a non-magnetic mounting bracket that the light snaps into;
• It has a flexible arm that has an eight foot power cord with six removable adhesive clips;
• It has an amazing 100,000 hours of life and no bulb to replace!
• You can buy extra mounting brackets so you can move the light from machine to machine. You could then use it on your sewing machine as well as your serger.

This bendable light sells for approx. $49.95. You can go to www.bendablebrightlight.com and check it out. I love it. Store owners, if you don’t already carry this product, you should consider it, as your customers will love this light. Also, this light solves the problem of sewing in poorly lit classrooms.  Let me know what you think when you get yours.  If you want me to search out a particular type of product for you, let me know.

Hi Everyone,

When you read the JWD Publishing blog I hope you will either be inspired, laugh a little, learn something new, or just feel like you’ve spent a few minutes with a friend. People ask me how I find the products or subjects that I write about. Sometimes I will come up with a product that intrigues me. Other times, it is a product or an idea that someone calls me about. More often than not I will simply be surfing the web and stumble upon something new that I think you need to know about.

So here is something you need to know about— Heat Press Batting Together

Yes, that is the name of the product. What is it?? Heat Press Batting Together™ is a 1 1/2 inch cloth tape on a 10 yard roll. It will allow batting edges to be fused together with a soft fuse that stretches, eliminating the old pinning and stitching of extra batting pieces needed to fit a specific project. The product can be used on any batting content. Think of this— all of those leftover pieces from other projects can be fused together and made large enough to do another quilt. No more waste! This fused batting is easy to needle by hand or machine. What I also love about this product is that it is made in the USA!!

Go to www.heatpressbattingtogether.com and check out Heat Press Batting Together. Then, if you love it as much as I do, ask your local quilt shop to carry this great product.

Thanks for spending time with me!

Teresa

Hello to all my faithful readers,

I was starting to get calls from people saying where are you at? There is nothing new on the blog!! Sorry. I have been playing hooky. With the warm weather and the gardening and now the apples are coming in I just got side tracked. But I haven’t forgotten my promise to you to continue to bring you new and unique products.

I do have one thing I would like to share with you. It’s something sad that also caused me to delay from writing on the blog. August 25th my faithful companion Nico, a beautiful German Shepard, died. That morning she was with me in my sewing room. I was designing a new block for Quiltmaker Magazine 100 blocks series that will come out in 2011. I looked at her and said, “I should name this block after you”. She tilted her head like to say, “ya mom that would be great”! It’s a star and she is one of the stars in my life so I thought it would be appropriate. That evening she was sitting at my feet and she had a seizure. Before I could get her to my veterinarian she died. My veterinarian said it was a blood clot to the lung or heart. My husband, my other dog Mystic, and I have been sad for her leaving but are happy that she decide when to go and that we were with her. By the way, the new block is named “Nico’s Star”. I think she would love it!

Let me touch on one product I did find for you. Carol Doak’s Foundation Sheets by C&T Publishing. I have used these myself. You can use them in most inkjet or laser printers or copy machines. No shrinking, curling, or turning brittle! And the best thing is it tears away easily! What makes it different is it is lightweight so, it won’t create bulk. It’s absorbent so less ink transfer where you don’t want it. And it’s non-coated so fabric won’t slip on it! It comes in 100 sheet package for around $10.00. Check it out! See you later, Teresa

Hi everyone!

I was at a quilting event and there was a lot of chattering about a really cool ruler called Rapid Fire Hunter’s Star. Well, I had to find out what this was all about. You are not going to believe this―Have you ever been afraid of making the Hunter Star block because of the matching in the middle? Not a problem anymore! This Rapid Fire Hunter’s Star ruler makes piecing the block fast and easy. It is based on using strips of fabric. So all those jelly rolls you have around now can be put to good use. It’s easy to use two, three, or four colors in this block with this ruler! 

The ruler comes in two sizes. There is the petite-size ruler for 5″ - 8″ blocks. The larger size makes 7″ – 10″ blocks. Deb Tucker is the “creative kingpin” and she got this right! This is not the only quilt you can make with this ruler. Deb has many other patterns on her website― may I say they’re soooo beautiful too. Instead of me trying to explain how to use this ruler, I would rather you go to www.baysidequilting.com, put Hunter’s Star ruler in the search bar, and  then see a great demo on how to use it (they have Deb’s permission to do this and they did a great job). Then mosey over to Deb’s website, www.studio180design.net and see all of her other products and fabulous patterns. I have two other rulers that Deb has created that I am going to review for you too, but you will have to come back…… The cat needs feeding, so I have to go for now. Everyone stay safe and keep quilting.

Teresa Fields

Hi Everyone,

I couldn’t wait to tell you about the fabulous thread that I was given to test for you. It’s Razzle Dazzle Thread by Ricky Tims and Superior Thread. Oh my gosh!! If you need just a little “bling” in your project, then you have to go to your quilt shop and get a spool of this fabulous thread! It is used for bobbin work, couching, and serging. The thread is an 8 weight. It comes in 25 really cool colors! Now you know that I am going to tell you the facts. Quilters, it was soft and pliable. It was not bristly or stiff. It is 100% polyester with metallic running through it.

I used a color called Irish Eyes. It is a beautiful green with flecks of metallic. So cool!!! I just tried it on some scraps, but I can think of several things that I could use it on. You can use it as a decorative top stitch on a jacket or a bag and it would make it look so high-end. Oh course, you can use it on your quilts for just that little “pizzazz.”

Tip of the day: Need a quick dip to take along on a quilting retreat? Mix 8 oz. of cream cheese with Marshmallow Creme―You know, the stuff that comes in the jar. It makes a great fruit dip. I was in a pinch one day and put it on top of cupcakes! Yum!

See ya later!

First, let me thank C&T Publishing for letting me review Beth Ferrier’s new book More! Hand Appliqué by Machine. What a wonderful book! I sat down one evening to look it over and before I knew it, I had read the whole book. I don’t usually read my quilt books like that, but it was so interesting that I did just that.

Beth starts out telling you how to do appliqué the usual way with freezer paper. Then she surprises you with another easier way that is over the top! She worked with C&T Publishing and came up with a new product called Wash-Away Appliqué Sheets. This stuff is great! To quote Beth in her book, she says, “For some time, quilters have had water-soluble paper that we can use instead of freezer paper, and it works okay. Without a fusible side, this paper must first be glued to the fabric and then glue basted―a fiddly process. But now C&T has come out with Wash-Away Appliqué Sheets. This iron-on stabilizer will soften and practically disappear with washing. In other words, it’s like water-soluble freezer paper. I know! How awesome is that?” 

And Beth is right, it is awesome!

Now if you are frugal and are wondering if there are other uses for the sheets, I can help you out with that also. It is a stabilizer, so you can use it with trapunto or paper piecing. You can run a sheet through your printer for paper piecing and you won’t have any paper to tear off!! Fantastic!!

The book is full of tips and a few personal stories that I especially enjoyed reading. The patterns! Oh, I didn’t mention the beautiful patterns that are in the book. This is another item in my “things you never knew you needed” category. You need this book and a package of the Wash-Away Appliqué Sheets. There is just too much in this book to tell you about. You just have to go to your favorite quilt shop and pick it up. You won’t be sorry.

Tip of the day comes from Beth Ferrier:  Don’t forget both sides of the fabric! Sometimes the perfect shade can be found on what is commonly called the “wrong side”. Using both sides of the fabric instantly doubles your fabric stash! Thanks Beth! Everyone have a great day and keep quilting!