Quilting: Perfect Fabric Disk

One great thing about quilters is that all you have to do is ask for help and lots of talented and generous folks come to your aid. I needed help with making a fabric disk for the center of my Dresden plates. I wanted perfectly crisp edges and a perfect circle, and no matter how I tried, I just could not get it PERFECT. Although many shared their favorite methods with me, this is the one that I finally settled upon that worked perfectly for me. (Thank you Sue Dague!) You may have found another way that works just right for you; there are many ways to do most things and you just have to find one you like best. Here's the method I like best for the project I'm working on right now.

Quilting: I love this iron...

All you quilters will understand the infatuation I have with my mini Rowenta steam iron.

I made 240 of these little wedges for my new quilt project. My big Rowenta iron would have been total overkill. This little baby has the same tapered tip as its big sister, and the size and weight are much better for pressing small pieces.

Oh, by the way, the handle folds down neatly against the body of the iron, and the whole thing fits into its own little zippered bag for taking to quilt retreats, which is why I bought it originally. Now I'm using it at home, too!

You can click HERE to find this iron on Amazon, and it's a great price, too. (I'm such an enabler, aren't I?)

DIY: Thread Catchers

Thread catchers, or paper clip holders, or wedding favors filled with rice or birdseed for throwing, or cups for nuts or candies....I can see lots of good uses for these, depending on the fabric and the buttons! Members of my quilt guild are making these for a fall retreat, and I just finished my 10 this morning and thought I'd share the instructions. (I'm not a tutorial-blogging gal, so no pictures of each little step; just a list of instructions. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help.)

I used scraps of fabric that I have left over from other projects.