Pro Guide to Quilting and a new basting tool

 

Have you seen this new ‘bookazine’?
The Pro Guide to Quilting is the latest in a series of guides from the same people who make Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine.

It’s actually much more like a book than a magazine and is absolutely packed full (163 pages!) of information, tips and tutorials all about patchwork and quilting, including this hand quilting tutorial from yours truly.

Loving that ‘expert guide’ tag at the top!!
This is an excellent primer for a relative newbie, but I think even an ‘expert’ will still learn something new from this publication and get inspired by the projects. It costs £9.99 and you can buy it in big newsagents or supermarkets and online here.

And speaking of learning new quilting techniques, I tried out a new tool recently. This is a micro fastener for basting. It’s a mini version of the tool we call a ‘kibble gun’ in the shop, and used for price tagging certain items (like textiles). This one is specifically for crafters and takes tiny tags and has a finer needle. You can just see the tags in the photo below.

It certainly seemed quicker than pinning (and more fun!), but I think it needs a bit of practice. Not all the tags went all the way through to the back, and though the whole thing stayed to together fine for machine quilting (I am now adding some hand quilting to finish), there will now be loads of little half tags lost in the middle of the quilt. Also I think it will be a tedious job finding and cutting all the tags when I’ve finished (but then I didn’t have to stop and take out pins while I was quilting).
I will try it again to see if I can improve my ‘prodding’ technique for the next quilt, and will report back.

I am basting the Stitch Gathering Ticket Quilt here, and hope to have it ready to share with you on Friday as part of the Blogger’s Quilt Festival!