This is my sixth year joining in the Spring Clean and usually I show off something that I needed to sort out, along with lots of organizational tips. If you plan to use some of your safe shelter time doing a little spring cleaning, check out the prior years posts (go here for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019) as I cover organizing lots of different stuff!

And so to this year! This is how my studio looked last time I showed it to you – take note of the fabric storage drawers on the left:

I’ve had those drawers for about 20 years! They’ve made a couple of cross country moves with me, and have lived in SIX different studios. I like them, but the bottom drawers have always been really hard to pull out because of the weight of the units on top. So last October I decided to change it up for something where the bottom drawer would be easily accessible, and I bought this system from IKEA:

As it happens, the fabric moved from one system to the other pretty much one drawer to one drawer. However, the old drawers were taller, and thus the fabric was sticking up in the new baskets. This made it catch on the basket above, and made pulling the drawers out hard. Again! SHEESH.

So I decided to take each drawer and refold the contents, and also do a cull while I was at it. In my studio, have a rule that if I have more fabric than I do space, I let go of fabric – I don’t add more drawers or baskets! I find that well organized fabric generally needs less space, so I also did a bit of color organizing too.

This was the end result in the ORANGE drawers:

And now all the drawers are moving freely!

This is what the wall looks like now, and yes, I culled out all the fabric on top of the drawers. I’m selling it in my shop at de-stash prices of $5-$6 a yard – over 60 bundles so take a peek!

Here’s the entire studio with the new storage after the spring clean – I love how much lighter it feels! It will feel even better once I have all the fabric on top sent to new homes!

Please follow the rest of the blog hop here:

April 1 – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com/blog   <<<—- YOU ARE HERE!
April 2 – Marian Pena – http://www.seamstobesew.com
April 3 – Jennifer Fulton – http://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions
April 4 – Martha Wolf – http://Www.pinwheelprodns.com
April 5 – Jennifer Strauser – http://www.dizzyquilter.com
April 6 – Steph Carton – http://www.theelimonster.com/blog
April 7 – Simone Fisher – http://www.simonequilts.com/blog
April 8 – Kate Colleran – http://www.seamslikeadream.com
April 9 – Carlina Moore – http://www.alwaysexpectmoore.com
April 10 – Jen Frost – http://www.faithandfabricdesign.com/blog
April 11 – Leanne Parsons – http://www.devotedquilter.com
April 12 – Becca Fenstermaker – http://www.prettypiney.com/blog
April 13 – Sarah Myers – http://www.quilted-diary.com
April 14 – Mitzi Redd – http://www.reddhomestead.com
April 15 – Jeanette Larson – http://www.Jenonthefarm.com
April 16 – Camille Ainsworth – http://www.stitchinthenw.com
April 17 – Becky Philips Jorgenson – http://www.patchworkposse.com
April 18 – Bobbie Gentili – http://www.geekybobbin.com/category/blog
April 19 – Janellea Macbeth – http://www.janelleamacbeth.com/blog/
April 20 – Lisa Ruble – http://lovetocolormyworld.blogspot.com
April 21 – Debra Davis – http://www.tuning-my-heart.com/blog
April 22 – Rona Herman – http://www.Ronatheribbiter.com
April 23 – Sue Griffiths – http://www.duckcreekmountainquilting.com
April 24 – Sarah Ruiz- http://www.saroy.net/
April 25 – Jessica Caldwell – http://www.desertbloomquilting.com/
April 26 – Tammy Silvers – http://tamarinis.typepad.com
April 27 – Ebony Love – http://www.lovebugstudios.com/blog
April 28 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop – 2020 edition! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

This post is the first in the 2019 Back to School Blog Hop, and also a tutorial for the Colorblock LOVE QAL!

This is a tutorial for sewing long seams on any quilt.

What’s a long seam? Anything that’s longer than the space you have between the front edge of your machine or table and your needle.

Long seams present an opportunity to introduce stretch into a quilt, and too much stretch is never a good thing. So let’s look a few tips for keeping stretch at bay.

Here’s a quick 10 minute video, and in it I’ve covered all the points below – so you can either read about it, or watch it!

Sewing machine set up

One of the best things you can do to increase your accuracy in general is to expand the bed of your machine. This means get some surface in front of your needle at the same height as the machine bed. You can do this by having the machine in a drop-in sewing table or cabinet, or by adding a supporting table around it. Some machines come with a portable table, and there are some after-market companies like Sew Steady that make them for any machine (in several sizes). Your local sewing machine store will have solutions so pop in and talk to them about it. It’s a solid investment in your accuracy, as I’ll show you a bit further down this post!

Pins

Pinning is ALWAYS a good practice. And by pinning, I don’t mean using clips. Clips are a great solution for really thick things (like the top of a bag or tote with additional layers of batting), but pins are the best solution for precision piecework. Once a pin is in place, it’s very difficult to pull one of the layers out of alignment.

Where should you pin? In all the places that matter: at a minimum, pin each end, and pin the middle. To find the middle, fold the edge where the seam will be in half, and pin or pinch a crease into the middle. Do this on both pieces that make up the seam, and then align and pin the middles once you have pinned the ends.

After that, pin all the places that have to match up, like the points and intersections of blocks.

And then after that, add more pins until you have one every 4 to 6 inches, or about the width of your hand. Yes, this seems like a lot of pins to fuss with, but fussing with pins usually keeps you from fussing with the seam ripper. If you slow down to pin, you seldom need to slow down to rip!

How you hold the fabric

No, this isn’t some secret handshake thingy, it just about having a soft hand with the fabric as it approaches the needle. We often put tension on the fabric as it feeds into the needle – pulling away a bit – but this makes the machine try to grab the fabric while we tug in the opposite direction. And this stretches the fabric.

Instead, line up your work in front of the needle, and hold the layers together in just the space between the edge of your table and the needle, and rather than tugging them away from the needle, hold them down on the table gently as you sew up to your hand. UP TO your hand… not OVER it! And if you didn’t watch the video yet, go do that and this will make more sense!

It’s really frustrating to invest your time and money into making a quilt to have it come out stretched and fitting together poorly. It’s worth taking a few moments to set yourself up for better accuracy because sewing is always more fun when things come together well, and without too much struggle, or seam ripping. Having fun while making things is so important!

Please follow the rest of the 2019 Back To School Blog Hop! Note that these industry peeps are all over the country and world, so be patient if you don’t see their post first thing in *your* morning!

Day 1 – September 1 – Sam Hunter: Sewing Long Seams Without Stretching – huntersdesignstudio.com <<—- you are here!

Day 2 – September 2 – Susan Arnold – Joining Binding the Easy Way – quiltfabrication.com

Day 3 – September 3 – Angie Wilson – Fussy cutting tips and techniques – www.gnomeangel.com

Day 4 – September 4 – Andi Stanfield – No-Mark HST: Let your machine be your guide – truebluequilts.com/blog/

Day 5 – September 5 – Bobbie Gentili – Say YES to Y-seams – geekybobbin.com

Day 6 – September 6 – Mel Beach – 5 Reasons to Say Woo Hoo! to School Glue – pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com

Day 7 – September 7 – Laura Piland – 7 Ways to Use a Laser on Your Sewing Machine – www.sliceofpiquilts.com

Day 8 – September 8 – Suzy Webster – How to solve loops in free motion quilting – www.websterquilt.com

Day 9 – September 9 – Tara Miller – Accurate Stitch-and-Flip Corners – quiltdistrict.com

Day 10 – September 10 – Latifah Saafir – Accurate Seams Using Masking Tape! – latifahsaafirstudios.com

Day 11 – September 11 – Sarah Ruiz – The Magic of Glue Basting – saroy.net

Day 12 – September 12 – Jen Shaffer – Ways to stop your ruler from slipping while cutting – patternsbyjen.blogspot.com

Day 13 – September 13 – Cheryl Sleboda – Basics of ruching (a vintage fabric manipulation technique) – muppin.com

Day 14 – September 14 – Raylee Bielenberg – Choosing quilting designs for your quilt – www.sunflowerstitcheries.com

Day 15 – September 15 – Jen Strauser – Accurate and Attractive Machine binding – dizzyquilter.com

Day 16 – September 16 – Jane Davidson – Matching points for all types of intersections – quiltjane.com

Day 17 – September 17 – Teresa Coates – Starch and starch alternatives – teresacoates.com

Day 18 – September 18 – Jen Frost – Benefits of spray basting – faithandfabricdesign.com

Day 19 – September 19 – Sandra Starley – Getting started with Hand Quilting – utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Day 20 – September 20 – Karen Platt – Drunkard’s Path Made Easy – karenplatt.co.uk/blog/

Day 21 – September 21 – Kris Driessen – All Kinds of Square (in a Square) – scrapdash.com

Day 22 – September 22 – Sarah Goer – Planned Improv Piecing – sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 23 – September 23 – Kathy Bruckman – Organizing kits for on-the-go sewing – kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com

Day 24 – September 24 – Cheryl Daines Brown – The Secret to Flat Quilt Tops: Borders – quilterchic.com

Day 25 – September 25 – Cherry Guidry – Pre-assembling fusible applique – cherryblossomsquilting.com

Day 26 – September 26 – Laura Chaney – Getting started with English Paper Piecing – prairiesewnstudios.com

Day 27 – September 27 – Ebony Love – Cutting Bias Strips from a Rectangle – lovebugstudios.com

Day 28 – September 28 – Tammy Silvers – Working with heavier weight threads in your machine – tamarinis.typepad.com

Day 29 – September 29 – Kathy Nutley – Create a perfect facing or frame with 90 degree angles – quiltingsbykathy.com

Day 30 – September 3 – Joanne Harris – Using Leaders and Enders – quiltsbyjoanne.blogspot.com

The post Tutorial – Sewing Long Seams Without Stretching Them appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

I’ve lined up 30 stops with a great group of my industry friends and colleagues for the month of September, and we’ll be sharing tips, tricks, and techniques that will make your quilting and sewing projects a little easier.

I hope you follow along! And a quick note… these industry peeps are all over the country and world, so be patient if you don’t see their post first thing in *your* morning!

Here’s the team and their topics:

Day 1 – September 1 – Sam Hunter: Sewing Long Seams Without Stretching – huntersdesignstudio.com

Day 2 – September 2 – Susan Arnold – Joining Binding the Easy Way – quiltfabrication.com

Day 3 – September 3 – Angie Wilson – Fussy cutting tips and techniques – www.gnomeangel.com

Day 4 – September 4 – Andi Stanfield – No-Mark HST: Let your machine be your guide – truebluequilts.com/blog/

Day 5 – September 5 – Bobbie Gentili – Say YES to Y-seams – geekybobbin.com

Day 6 – September 6 – Mel Beach – 5 Reasons to Say Woo Hoo! to School Glue – pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com

Day 7 – September 7 – Laura Piland – 7 Ways to Use a Laser on Your Sewing Machine – www.sliceofpiquilts.com

Day 8 – September 8 – Suzy Webster – How to solve loops in free motion quilting – www.websterquilt.com

Day 9 – September 9 – Tara Miller – Accurate Stitch-and-Flip Corners – quiltdistrict.com

Day 10 – September 10 – Latifah Saafir – Accurate Seams Using Masking Tape! – latifahsaafirstudios.com

Day 11 – September 11 – Sarah Ruiz – The Magic of Glue Basting – saroy.net

Day 12 – September 12 – Jen Shaffer – Ways to stop your ruler from slipping while cutting – patternsbyjen.blogspot.com

Day 13 – September 13 – Cheryl Sleboda – Basics of ruching (a vintage fabric manipulation technique) – muppin.com

Day 14 – September 14 – Raylee Bielenberg – Choosing quilting designs for your quilt – www.sunflowerstitcheries.com

Day 15 – September 15 – Jen Strauser – Accurate and Attractive Machine binding – dizzyquilter.com

Day 16 – September 16 – Jane Davidson – Matching points for all types of intersections – quiltjane.com

Day 17 – September 17 – Teresa Coates – Starch and starch alternatives – teresacoates.com

Day 18 – September 18 – Jen Frost – Benefits of spray basting – faithandfabricdesign.com

Day 19 – September 19 – Sandra Starley – Getting started with Hand Quilting – utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Day 20 – September 20 – Karen Platt – Drunkard’s Path Made Easy – karenplatt.co.uk/blog/

Day 21 – September 21 – Kris Driessen – All Kinds of Square (in a Square) – scrapdash.com

Day 22 – September 22 – Sarah Goer – Planned Improv Piecing – sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 23 – September 23 – Kathy Bruckman – Organizing kits for on-the-go sewing – kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com

Day 24 – September 24 – Cheryl Daines Brown – The Secret to Flat Quilt Tops: Borders – quilterchic.com

Day 25 – September 25 – Cherry Guidry – Pre-assembling fusible applique – cherryblossomsquilting.com

Day 26 – September 26 – Laura Chaney – Getting started with English Paper Piecing – prairiesewnstudios.com

Day 27 – September 27 – Ebony Love – Cutting Bias Strips from a Rectangle – lovebugstudios.com

Day 28 – September 28 – Tammy Silvers – Working with heavier weight threads in your machine – tamarinis.typepad.com

Day 29 – September 29 – Kathy Nutley – Create a perfect facing or frame with 90 degree angles – quiltingsbykathy.com

Day 30 – September 3 – Joanne Harris – Using Leaders and Enders – quiltsbyjoanne.blogspot.com

I’ll see you back here to kick it off on September 1st!

The post Coming soon – the Back to School Blog Hop – 2019 Edition! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

If you’ve followed me on this in the previous years (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) you know that I’m not a terribly messy person. I find a tidy studio really inspiring and welcoming. I also frequently have friends over to sew at the weekend, or run classes in this space, so I’m always changing things around to fit the work or the people, and thus mess never lingers.

The first rule of tidying up is you have to do what WORKS FOR YOU. Please don’t use my tidy studio as a way to beat yourself up! There is no perfect way to do this – for me it happens when I hit some level of critical mass, often precluded by having a pile of something fall over on me!

I know people who find a lot of inspiration in spaces that have a lot going on in them – I just don’t happen to be one of them. In this world of so much perfect imagery coming at us, the most important thing is YOU DO YOU. Find out what needs to happen in your space to make you feel happy to be in it, and creatively motivated, and THAT is your perfect studio, or kitchen, or home!

Despite keeping a clean studio, I can have other stuff pile up on me, and in the last few months my books have been piled everywhere. On the kitchen table. In the living room. In the office. On the floor of my bedroom. So I decided to take care of those for this blog post – and I was happy to have a motivating deadline for getting it done!

I keep my bookshelves in my bedroom, and they were beginning to feel overloaded, and like they were looming over me.

No one pile was really out of hand, but the sum of the parts was making me a bit crazy.

First I went through each section and pulled things that no longer interested me. Either I’ve read it and I’m done with it, or I bought it when I was interested in something I’m no longer pursuing. And let’s face it, if I get interested in it again, I can always find the book again if I need it.

• Quilt books – I culled those that I no longer use for reference. They’ll go to my guild’s book library.
• Art technique books – I pulled those for art techniques I’m not working with any more. I doubt I will ever try landscape watercolor painting again!
• Language reference stuff – when I bought these books, I didn’t have a smartphone in my pocket, and now a lot of the information in those books can be found on the internet in seconds.
• Old travel guides – if I go back to those countries I’ll buy an updated version.
• Old magazines are off to the doctor’s office. I have a huge stack of Uppercase Magazine too… I love them, but I think I might need to gift them on as the evidence says I don’t usually go back to them once I read them. I’m several issues behind, so I might need to re-evaluate buying a subscription again, although dang, I do love to support a woman-owned publication!
• School books – I still had a few dusty art theory books from when I did my MFA in 2010. Trust me when I say some of these are the kind you only read when they’re assigned for homework, so the chance of me reading them again is zero!
• Entrepreneurial books – many of my entrepreneur friends often recommend this book or that, and I dutifully go buy them. And then they sit on my shelf for years. One wise biz friend (whose project planning methodology I use) told me instead to just look for a book to solve a problem when I was actively trying to solve the problem, and not to buy things that weren’t in the “working on this NOW” category. Good advice for keeping the book budget in check, and the clutter down.

The second rule is that you shouldn’t get rid of the things that make you happy, even if no one else sees the value of them!

I have more than a passing interest in mid-century pamphlet-style cookbooks. They were often published by a food manufacturer, and the books stretched to include that brand or ingredient in every single recipe. One of my favorite finds was this one, whose recipes all include salt. I know… salt?!

I also love the delightful mid-century illustrations:

And most of all, I find such humor in the recipes that sound just dreadful:

Once I had the books pared down, I re-grouped them by subject (I would LOVE to do it by color, but not having them categorized would make me itch!)

And then I shifted the placement for some of the subjects… I used to have quilting on one side of the room, and embroidery on the other. Now I feel like my categories flow a bit better, which means they can share shelves if needed. In the process, I reclaimed another shelf on which to store quilts, too.

Now it looks like this:

And this is the pile that I’ll be donating to my library once my friends have had a chance at them:

Oh… and here’s my tidy studio!

Please take a peek at the rest of the studios on the hop – you’re likely to find inspiration there!

April 29 – Linda Bratten – http://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
April 30 – Sandra Johnson – http://www.sandrajohnsondesigns.com
May 1 – Jennifer Schifano Thomas – http://www.Curlicuecreations.com
May 2 – Becca Fenstermaker – http://www.prettypiney.com
May 3 – Sue Griffiths – http://www.duckcreekmountainquilting.com
May 4 – Kate Starcher – http://katiemaequilts.com/blog
May 5 – Jo Westfoot – http://www.thecraftynomad.co.uk/blog
May 6 – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com <– you’re here!
May 7 – Simone Fisher – http://simonequilts.com/blogs/news
May 8 – Elisabeth DeMoo- http://www.brownbirddesignsquilts.com
May 9 – Sarah Myers –  http://www.quilted-diary.com/blog
May 10 – Amy Bradley – http://www.purplepineapplestudio.com
May 11 – Kathy Nutley – http://www.QuiltingsByKathy.com
May 12 – Carla Henton – http://createinthesticks.blogspot.com/
May 13 – Sherry Shish – http://www.poweredbyquilting.com
May 14 – Kate Colleran – http://www.seamslikeadream.com/blog
May 15 – Pamela Boatright – https://www.pamelaquilts.com/
May 16 – Cathy McKillip – http://wishuponaquilt.com/blog
May 17 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio – 2019 appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

I hope you check in on all the participants – see below for a list with links! So many people have some great solutions to working in all kinds of spaces – you’re sure to see a tip or trick that will really inspire you!

To see my studio cleanup in prior years, go here for 2015, here for 2016, and here for 2017. These post also containing links to many of the posts I’ve written about how I keep my studio tidy.

So, to my current space…

This was what was going on in my studio a month or so ago, when my friends Heather and Chris of RemnantPDX (a vintage furniture company) posted a picture of a fun and funky filing cabinet:

Just look at all that 70s color! And it had ORANGE doors too!

As it happened, I had been pondering how to get more shelf space into my studio, but I wasn’t keen on having another open wire rack. And as usual, the chaos was building up on top of my fabric drawers. This is always the catchall for heaps of studio stuff, and it makes me a little crazy (I don’t like working in clutter). I didn’t need a filing cabinet for paperwork (I keep as much as possible electronically) but the shelving possibilities it had were intriguing.

I was also feeling like the art on my wall was in need of a good shuffle. A quick measurement of the space showed me that the filing cabinet would fit, so I made an appointment to go look at it.

I absolutely loved it! And Chris kindly delivered it the next day!

The first task was to break down the wall art and move everything out of the way. And sweep behind everything I could reach while I had the chance!

The cabinet squeezed into the space available – I didn’t have to scoot the bulletin boards.

Then the fabric drawers went back in, and I started moving things into the cabinet. Note that I use flat-headed extension cords to keep access to the power sockets that always seem to end up behind things.

One of things I really like about the cabinet is that the doors swing up and slide back, out of the way. I also love that I can CLOSE the doors to hide messy piles if I need to, as I use this space as a dining room when I invite friends over to eat.

Lastly, I put the art back up on the walls, adding some new pieces and moving some to other places in my home.

This is the current view (I’m still secret #sewingatthespeedofsam for quilt market so I can’t show you the rest!) I’m really loving that bright pop of colors in the room, and the extra storage has been so useful for keeping my projects together while they are queued up for attention.

Another thing that got sorted out during this shuffle were my small solids boxes. I had everything crammed into 8 small boxes, and things were so tight it was painful to find anything in them.

I expanded them to 12 boxes, which allowed me to better group the colors, as well as pull one piece out without the box exploding at me!

Please stop by the rest of the blog hop participants to see how they are managing their studios!

April 23 – Lori Crawley Kennedy – http://theinboxjaunt.com/
April 24 – Jennifer Thomas – http://curlicuecreations.blogspot.com
April 25 – Robin Koehler – http://nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com
April 26 – Andi Barney- https://www.andibarney.com/
April 27 – Misty Cole – http://www.mistycole.com/blog
April 28 – Carolina Moore- http://alwaysexpectmoore.com/
April 29 – Heather Pregger – https://heatherquilts.blogspot.com/
April 30 – Linda Bratten – https://lindabcreative.blogspot.com/
May 1 – Lisa Reber – https://dippydye.blogspot.com/
May 2 – Teresa Coates – http://www.crinkledreams.com
May 3 – Lisa Chin – http://www.lisachinartist.com/
May 4 – Jamie Fingal – http://www.jamiefingaldesigns.com/
May 5 – Sam Hunter – www.huntersdesignstudio.com     <<——- you are here!
May 6 – Jessee Maloney – www.artschooldropout.net/blog
May 7 – Randa Parrish – http://www.sewartsyfartsy.com/
May 8 – Sarah Vedeler- https://meaningoflifedesigns.com/
May 9 – Jessica Darling – https://jessicakdarling.com/
May 10 – Melody Crust – http://www.melodycrust.com/
May 11 – Debby Brown – http://higheredhands.blogspot.com
May 12 – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop 2018 – a vintage cabinet joins my studio! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

Welcome to Day 1 of the Back to School Blog Hop! I’m kicking it off with a video tutorial on how to spray baste a quilt that’s bigger than your table.

The video is the entire process in one take. If you’re pressed for time and need to skip through some of the repetitive parts of basting a large quilt, here are some places to fast-forward to for catching the high points:

• 00:30 Different clip options for different tables
• 01:15 Start basting down the center of the quilt
• 08:30 Moving the center of the quilt for the first time
• 13:00 Moving the center of the quilt for the second time
• 17:00 Moving the center of the quilt for the last time
• 20:30 Center of the quilt is finished, rotating the quilt and moving to the sides
• 24:30 Moving the side of the quilt up
• 27:30 End of first side, moving to second side

I mention some clamps/clips in the opening that work on the thick, white, plastic tables. You can get those here.

If you’re using regular binder clips, buy the big 2” variety (1” capacity).

My favorite spray baste is 505 Spray and Fix Temporary Fabric Adhesive.

All links are not affiliate

(Huge thanks to Cheryl for loaning me a big quilt to baste!)

I hope you follow the rest of the hop as there’s some fantastic content coming your way! BTW, the contributors are from all over the world, so please be patient is everything is not posted at bright and early in your exact timezone! 

Day 1 – August 15 – Sam Hunter: How to spray baste a BIG quilt – www.huntersdesignstudio.com <—- you are here!

Day 2 – August 16 – Mandy Leins: Thread Dread: removing stray bits after quilting – www.mandalei.com

Day 3 – August 17 – Nancy Stovall: The Sweet Creamy Filling – www.justquiltingpdx.com

Day 4 – August 18 – Ebony Love: 7 Indispensible feet for your sewing machine – www.LoveBugStudios.com

Day 5 – August 19 – Michelle Freedman: Machine throat plates – www.designcamppdx.blogspot.com

Day 6 – August 20 – Teresa Coates: Edge/Under/Top stitching – www.crinkledreams.com

Day 7 – August 21 – Kelly Cole: Ten ways to regain your sew-jo – www.vintagefabricstudio.com

Day 8 – August 22 – Megan Dougherty: Choose to Fuse: tips for working with fusibles for applique – www.thebitchystitcher.com

Day 9 – August 23 – Kim Lapacek: Tricks to being productive while hauling your kids around – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 10 – August 24 – Yvonne Fuchs: Circuitboard quilting on Domestic and Longarm Machines – www.quiltingjetgirl.com

Day 11 – August 25 – Sandi Hazlewood: Chain Piecing Quilt Blocks Tips – www.craftyplanner.com

Day 12 – August 26 – Juliet van der Heijden: Paper-piecing with children – www.thetartankiwi.com

Day 13 – August 27 – Maddie Kertay: Fabric folding for any storage solution – www.badassquilterssociety.com

Day 14 – August 28 – Cath Hall: Working with Lawn fabric – www.wombatquilts.com

Day 15 – August 29 – Tracy Mooney: Tips for the perfect seam – www.sewmuchcosplay.com

Day 16 – August 30 – Teri Lucas: How to bury thread – www.terificreations.com

Day 17 – August 31 – Debby Brown: Securing machine quilting knots – www. higheredhands.blogspot.com

Day 18 – September 1 – Flaun Cline: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 1) – www.ipleadquilty.com

Day 19 – September 2 – Jessica Darling: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 2) – www.jessicakdarling.com

Day 20 – September 3 – Trish Frankland: A bigger blade really IS better?! – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 21 – September 4 – Robin Koehler: Tips on how to travel with handwork – www.nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com

Day 22 – September 5 – Jane Davidson: How to make scrappy HSTs – www.quiltjane.com

Day 23 – September 6 – Linda Pearl: Low cost tips for organizing your sewing room – www.onequiltingcircle.com

Day 24 – September 7 – Christa Watson – Top 10 tips for quilting on a domestic machine – www.christaquilts.com

Day 25 – September 8 – Sarah Nunes: To Starch or Not to Starch – www.berrybarndesigns.com

Day 26 – September 9 – Suzy Webster: Testing fabric for bleeding – www.websterquilt.blogspot.com

Day 27 – September 10 – Sarah Goer: Machine bind your quilts like a pro – www.sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 28 – September 11 – Vanda Chittenden: Beginner paper-piecing tips – www.chittenden.co.za

Day 29 – September 12 – Cheryl Sleboda: Needle threading tips – www.muppin.com

Day 30 – September 13 – Kim Niedzwiecki – Different thread weights and when to use them – www.gogokim.com

Day 31 – September 14 – Sandra Healy: Conquer Your Fear of Machine Appliqué – www.sandrahealydesigns.com

Day 32 – September 15 – Sandra Starley: The Basics of Antique Quilt Collecting – www.utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

The post How to Spray Baste a Quilt that’s Larger than your Table – Back to School Blog Hop Day 1 appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

The Back to School Blog Hop (for sewists) returns next week! It kicks off with me on Tuesday August 15th, and then we get 32 days of wonderful tips and tricks from my industry colleagues.

Check out the line-up:

Day 1 – August 15 – Sam Hunter: How to spray baste a BIG quilt – www.huntersdesignstudio.com

Day 2 – August 16 – Mandy Leins: Thread Dread: removing stray bits after quilting – www.mandalei.com

Day 3 – August 17 – Nancy Stovall: The Sweet Creamy Filling – www.justquiltingpdx.com

Day 4 – August 18 – Ebony Love: 7 Indispensible feet for your sewing machine – www.LoveBugStudios.com

Day 5 – August 19 – Michelle Freedman: Machine throat plates – www.designcamppdx.blogspot.com

Day 6 – August 20 – Teresa Coates: Edge/Under/Top stitching – www.crinkledreams.com

Day 7 – August 21 – Kelly Cole: Ten ways to regain your sew-jo – www.vintagefabricstudio.com

Day 8 – August 22 – Megan Dougherty: Choose to Fuse: tips for working with fusibles for applique – www.thebitchystitcher.com

Day 9 – August 23 – Kim Lapacek: Tricks to being productive while hauling your kids around – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 10 – August 24 – Yvonne Fuchs: Circuitboard quilting on Domestic and Longarm Machines – www.quiltingjetgirl.com

Day 11 – August 25 – Sandi Hazlewood: Chain Piecing Quilt Blocks Tips – www.craftyplanner.com

Day 12 – August 26 – Juliet van der Heijden: Paper-piecing with children – www.thetartankiwi.com

Day 13 – August 27 – Maddie Kertay: Fabric folding for any storage solution – www.badassquilterssociety.com

Day 14 – August 28 – Cath Hall: Working with Lawn fabric – www.wombatquilts.com

Day 15 – August 29 – Tracy Mooney: Tips for the perfect seam – www.sewmuchcosplay.com

Day 16 – August 30 – Teri Lucas: How to bury thread – www.terificreations.com

Day 17 – August 31 – Debby Brown: Securing machine quilting knots – www. higheredhands.blogspot.com

Day 18 – September 1 – Flaun Cline: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 1) – www.ipleadquilty.com

Day 19 – September 2 – Jessica Darling: How to put some sparkle in your fabric pull (part 2) – www.jessicakdarling.com

Day 20 – September 3 – Trish Frankland: A bigger blade really IS better?! – www.persimondreams.blogspot.com

Day 21 – September 4 – Robin Koehler: Tips on how to travel with handwork – www.nestlingsbyrobin.blogspot.com

Day 22 – September 5 – Jane Davidson: How to make scrappy HSTs – www.quiltjane.com

Day 23 – September 6 – Linda Pearl: Low cost tips for organizing your sewing room – www.onequiltingcircle.com

Day 24 – September 7 – Christa Watson – Top 10 tips for quilting on a domestic machine – www.christaquilts.com

Day 25 – September 8 – Sarah Nunes: To Starch or Not to Starch – www.berrybarndesigns.com

Day 26 – September 9 – Suzy Webster: Testing fabric for bleeding – www.websterquilt.blogspot.com

Day 27 – September 10 – Sarah Goer: Machine bind your quilts like a pro – www.sarahgoerquilts.com

Day 28 – September 11 – Vanda Chittenden: Beginner paper-piecing tips – www.chittenden.co.za

Day 29 – September 12 – Cheryl Sleboda: Needle threading tips – www.muppin.com

Day 30 – September 13 – Kim Niedzwiecki – Different thread weights and when to use them – www.gogokim.com

Day 31 – September 14 – Sandra Healy: Conquer Your Fear of Machine Appliqué – www.sandrahealydesigns.com

Day 32 – September 15 – Sandra Starley: The Basics of Antique Quilt Collecting – www.utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

The post 2017 Back to School Blog Hop for Sewists appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

A couple of years back, Heather Powers of HKPowerStudio interviewed me about my studio space. Back then, it was a slender room in a friend’s bigger studio. I recently moved, and dedicated my new, larger living room to be my studio. When I told Heather about it, she asked me to give her an update about the new space.

She split the information into two posts that you can read here and here (and the original interview is here). She asks a lot of great questions… not just how I do things, but the philosophy behind my choices too!

I’ve had studios both in my house and outside, and I find they both have their benefits. I really like being able to look at something on the design wall while my first cuppa of the day is brewing, so having it in my home is a great solution for me. It can also mean that it’s hard to stop working though, and sometimes if I can see my messy kitchen from the sewing table I’ll get tempted to go clean up!

The studio I have now is probably my largest, and I’m loving having a huge design wall, and the ability to have a half dozen friends over to sew on the weekends. I’ll be teaching small classes from here soon (local Portland OR peeps, watch this space for a special signup to be on that list).

I’ve also written some posts about how I store things inside my studio (lots of ideas for small spaces):

Studio Process

Storage ideas – Part 1

Storage ideas – Part 2

And twice I’ve participated in the Spring Clean Your Studio blog hop hosted by Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com for the last couple of years – I hope she does it again this year as the people who participate always have some great tips for tidying up!

My 2015 Spring Cleaning

My 2016 Spring Cleaning

The post Inside My Studio appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

When Cheryl Sleboda asked me to join the Spring Cleaning hop again, her timing was perfect. I’m in the middle of #SewingAtTheSpeedOfSam for Spring Quilt Market, and she caught me on a very messy day. So I took a few pix for my before shots!

I was in the middle of too many things at once… working on a new quilt on the design wall, another getting bound and sleeved, materials coming in (that big box is a bolt of Warm ‘n’ White batting), and packaging orders to go out. This is NOT a level of chaos that makes me happy!

As I wrote last year, I tend to be a pretty tidy person as it helps me stay creative.

One of the things that was bothering me (as usual) were stacks of fabrics that weren’t put away. I don’t mind them being out when I’m working, but once the project is done the decks need to clear. This time, rather than just shoving things into drawers, I took the time to really organize the colors in the most offending drawers:

Not only does this make me happy, I love how inspiring it is to see runs of color together… I’m already mulling new ideas from looking at these!

Since last year, I’ve acquired a couple more storage pieces from Ikea to make things a little easier around here. The first was a trusty Billy Bookcase. It squeezed into the corner of my studio, which used to be full of boxes of art materials I’m not currently using. I put them into my patio storage shed, and then shifted a few things onto the new shelves. In case you didn’t know this, Ikea now sells extra shelves for the Billy so that you can really customize the space. They also sell an extender for the top of the book case so you can squeak out another vertical foot if you need it. I used both the extra shelves and the extender on this one:

The second thing I bought was the ever-so-trendy Raskog Cart. I’ve been eyeing these, and had been plotting a reason to own one for a while. I filled it with materials related to handwork and embroidery, and it’s so great to be able to roll it next to the chair I sit in to bind or stitch, then roll it away when I’m done. I LOVE the retro turquoise color!

Here’s a pano of the tidy space – aahhhh… that feels better!

Follow along with my friends below, and don’t forget to link up with Cheryl on April 29th!

April 20th- Toni Smith – http://www.quiltoni.com/tonis-blog.html/

April 21st – Sam Hunter – https://huntersdesignstudio.com/

April 22nd – Tracey Mooney – http://www.sewsupportive.com/

April 23rd – Pepper Cory – http://peppercory.blogspot.com/

April 24th – Lisa Chin – http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com/

April 25th – Andrea Davis – http://www.sewtofit.com/

April 26th – Misty Cole – http://www.mistycole.com/blog/

April 27th – Amalia Morusiewicz – http://funfromatoz.com/

April 28th – Jenelle Montilone – http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/

April 29th – Cheryl Sleboda – http://blog.muppin.com

The post Spring Clean Your Studio 2016 – Come On In! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.

I know that a few of my friends had some technical difficulties (why the heck do people hack other people’s websites????) so if something was missing when you looked for it on the posting day, know that it’s all there now – thank you all for your patience!

I’ve updated all the links below to send you DIRECTLY to the BTS posts (not just the blogs), so you can bookmark this page for fast and easy future reference:

• Sept 1: Peta Minerof-Bartos of PetaQuilts – So, Does that Diagonal Method for a Pieced Backing Really Work
• Sept 2: Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com – The Quilter’s Knot
• Sept 3: Teresa Coates of Crinkle Dreams – The Importance of Pressing
• Sept 4: Cath Hall of Wombat Quilts – Color Coding for Paper-piecing
• Sept 5: Sam Hunter of Hunter’s Design Studio – How to Calculate and Cut Bias Binding
• Sept 6: Melanie McNeil of Catbird Quilt Studio – Credit where Credit is Due
• Sept 7: Mandy Leins of Mandalei Quilts – How to Keep a Perfect 1/4” Seam Between Different Machines
• Sept 8: Rose Hughes of Rose Hughes – Fast Pieced Applique
• Sept 9: Megan Dougherty of The Bitchy Stitcher – The Care and Feeding of the Domestic Sewing Machine
• Sept 10: Lynn Krawczyk of Smudged Design Studio – Make a Mobile Art Kit
• Sept 11: Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty – Log Cabin 101
• Sept 12: Sarah Lawson of Sew Sweetness – Zipper Tips
• Sept 13: Jane Victoria of Jolly and Delilah – Matching Seams
• Sept 14: Jemelia Hilfiger of JemJam – Garment Making Tips and Tricks
• Sept 15: Ebony Love of LoveBug Studios – Curved Piecing Without Pins
• Sept 16: Misty Cole of Daily Design Wall – Types of Basting
• Sept 17: Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams – Setting your Seams
• Sept 18: Christina Cameli of A Few Scraps – Joining Quilted Pieces by Machine
• Sept 19: Bill Volckening of WonkyWorld – The Importance of Labels
• Sept 20: Jessica Darling of Jessica Darling – How to Make a Quilt Back
• Sept 21: Debbie Kleve Birkebile of Mountain Trail Quilt Treasures – Perfectly Sized No-Wave Quilt Borders
• Sept 22: Heather Kinion of Heather K is a Quilter – Baby Quilts for Baby Steps
• Sept 23: Michelle Freedman of Design Camp PDX – TNT: Thread, Needle, Tension
• Sept 24: Kathy Mathews of Chicago Now Quilting Sewing Creation – Button Holes
• Sept 25: Jane Shallala Davidson of Quilt Jane – Corner Triangle Methods
• Sept 27: Cristy Fincher of Purple Daisies Quilting – The Power of Glue Basting
• Sept 28: Catherine Redford of Catherine Redford – Change the Needle!
• Sept 29: Amalia Teresa Parra Morusiewicz of Fun From A to Z – French Knots, – ooh la la!
• Sept 30: Victoria Findlay Wolfe of Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts – How to Align Your Fabrics for Dog Ears
• October 1: Tracy Mooney of 3LittleBrds – Teaching Kiddos to Sew on a Sewing Machine
• October 2: Trish Frankland, guest posting on Persimon Dreams – The Straight Stitch Throat Plate
• October 3: Flaun Cline of I Plead Quilty – Lining Strips Up

The post Back to School Blog Hop – wrap up, with direct links! appeared first on Hunter's Design Studio.