There are no rules in quilting—other than standard safety concerns such as rotary cutting safety guidelines. Pressing depends on two things—personal opinion and what’s best for the current project. Pressing Seam Allowances to One Side Most quilters usually prefer to press seams to one side because a little bump called loft forms when two layers of fabric are pressed together along the length of a seam. Lofts of adjoining seams are ideally pressed in opposite directions so they will butt against each together when placed right-sides together for sewing, helping to create perfectly matched seam intersections....

The question is, would you need to buy all these tablet and laptop devices? Thankfully, the answer is NO! Good news is that now you can test your website online to check how it would look on difference screen sizes. There are a number of free online services available for this purpose. Before we take a look at these services, let me tell you that nowadays it is very important that your website has a responsive design....

Rookwood Pottery ranges in value from hundreds per piece to thousands. The price is often determined by the artist’s cipher found on each piece, when present. These marks were used on Rookwood’s desirable hand decorated wares, but will not be found on the company’s monotone pastel production lines. Kataro Shirayamadani, a skilled ceramics artisan, began decorating pottery for Rookwood in 1887. His work represents some of the company’s most valuable wares....

The Blank Tile The game has two blank tiles that are unmarked and carry no point value. The blank tiles can stand in to be any letter. Once laid on the board, the choice of the letter that it stands for is fixed until the end of the game. If a blank tile is placed on a double-word or triple-word square, it causes the corresponding scoring to be applied to the word or words that are created as a result....

Sashiko embroidery has been used in Japan for centuries, dating back to the Edo era of the 1600s to the 1800s. The Japanese word sashiko means “little stabs” and refers to the small stitches used in this form of needlework. This style of embroidery and the “sashiko stitch” was used to reinforce or repair worn fabric or tears with patches, making the darned piece ultimately stronger and warmer. In addition to the basics, Purl Soho has a few fun projects that feature sashiko designs....

A typical quickpoint project can be finished in half the time it takes to needlepoint on smaller canvas sizes with customary fibers and threads. Not only is the quickpoint the easiest way to learn the art of needlepoint; it’s also the perfect canvas embroidery craft for kids. You can usually find inexpensive quick point kits in the toy section of many department stores. Needlepoint Supplies for Quickpoint You can turn any charted needlepoint design like the Reindeer Pattern in the above image into a quickpoint project by changing the size of the canvas and adjusting the weight of the thread....

We’ve compiled the most challenging, entertaining, beautiful, satisfying, and fun jigsaws on the market. Our favorites include a colorful candy scene from Springbok, a wooden owl from Hartmaze, and an iconic museum on full display from The MET. Here, the best jigsaw puzzles available. With candy shop imagery, it’s sure to satisfy almost anyone’s tastes—but you might want to put some actual candy out on the table to sweeten the experience....

The story began before the pottery was produced, however. While the soap being sold was the focus of John Durrant Larkin, his brother-in-law Elbert Hubbard, who was a salesman with the company, spearheaded the marketing plan that ultimately resulted in the now-famous pottery by devising a gift-with-purchase concept. Silk handkerchiefs, silver, and imported china were given away for years before Buffalo Pottery was conceived. By that time, Hubbard had moved on and was nurturing his Roycroft community....

There is much debate over the color temperature of blues. While blue is generally thought of as a relatively “cool” color on the palette, one shade up from violet, within the range of blues, a blue can either be comparatively cool or warm. Which relative temperature a particular blue is, however, is open to interpretation. Some artists say that ultramarine blue is cooler, while cerulean and phthalocyanine blue are warmer; but others say the reverse....

1937-D Buffalo Nickel–Three Legs1935 Buffalo Nickel–Doubled Die Reverse1924-S Buffalo Nickel1919-S Buffalo Nickel1880 Shield Nickel1927-S Buffalo Nickel1918-S Buffalo Nickel1867 Shield Nickel–Proof With Rays1920-D Buffalo Nickel1917-S Buffalo Nickel1913-D Buffalo Nickel–Type 21916 Buffalo Nickel–Doubled Die Obverse1926-S Buffalo Nickel1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel–Doubled Die Obverse1913 Liberty Nickel–The Olsen Specimen Pay attention to the photos and details below to see if you have one of these valuable nickels in your piggy bank. Grade: NGC MS-67 Sold: November 2009; Bowers & Merena, The November 2009 Baltimore Auction The 1937-D Buffalo nickel is one of the most significant coins of the 20th century....

Unfortunately, there has been a dramatic shift in the value of first-day covers. Over the years, collectors have made it clear that they prefer their first-day covers with cachets. Added Value of Cachets A cachet is an informative illustration usually on the left-hand side of an envelope or postcard. The cachet is designed to be attractive, educational, or humorous and supports the stamp by usually giving a little information about the featured stamp....

What Is a Biscuit? A biscuit is a thin, oval-shaped piece of compressed wood shavings, typically made from beech wood. When glued into slots precisely cut by the biscuit cutter, and the moisture from the glue causes the biscuit to swell and tighten the joint.Biscuits commonly come in three sizes: #0: 5/8 inch by 1 3/4 inches#10: 3/4 inch by 2 1/8 inches#20: 1 inch by 2 3/8 inches Biscuit cutters should have the ability to precisely cut all three sizes....

Types of Poplar Poplar wood is considered a hardwood by species, but this can be somewhat confusing, as it is typically softer than pine, a common softwood. In most instances, poplar (or at least the wood sold as poplar in home centers) is actually the wood from the tulip tree. It is a creamy white-colored wood with brown or gray sections or streaks through the grain. Garden-variety poplar wood is also sometimes referred to as yellow poplar or whitewood, but you may also find stocks of poplar that include European black poplar, cottonwood, or some types of aspen....

Siri also provides a group of app suggestions based on your location and few other factors. These suggestions appear on the lock screen at the bottom left corner. For example, suppose you are in the habit of checking your official email every morning when you wake up, the email icon will appear when you start your day. Besides the lock screen, the app suggestions appear on the app switcher and the Notification Center as well....

Take some time to carefully examine examples of several different marks used by the original factory, along with others from the numerous companies that rekindled the Capodimonte tradition in the 20th century. More information on these new makers, which manufactured most of the Capodimonte discovered by collectors today, can be found in Capodimonte Collectibles by Catherine P. Bloom (out of print, but available online through used booksellers). These are the marks collectors will encounter most often when shopping for Capodimonte today....

Power Pro does not need to be pre-stretched, conditioned, or waxed before use. It is ready to use off the spool like similar threads such as FireLine. The Durability of Power Pro One of the biggest advantages of Power Pro thread is its durability. Power Pro is a great thread to use when you stitch crystal beads or other beads with potentially sharp edges. Power Pro is also recommended for designs that receive a lot of wear, or pulling and tugging, such as beaded finger rings....

History Delving further into raku’s history, it dates right back to the early 1550s as mentioned specifically for the Zen Buddhist Masters in their ceremonial teaware. It’s been well documented that this was the favored method of ceramics for the Zen Buddhist masters as raku ware touches on many of the things that Zen philosophy embodies, most notably its simplicity and naturalness. Raku firing really is one of the most natural techniques that you can encounter in pottery....