CATS
Keep cats off floor frames/hoops by laying a sheet of aluminum foil over the quilt. Remove it when quilting, then replace it when done. It helps to keep the quilt from getting 'furry' before it's even finished.

MARKING PENCIL
Don't drop, tap or chew on your pencil. It can make the 'lead' break inside the wood, and every time you try to sharpen it, you'll be pulling lengths of lead out instead.

HANGING MINI'S
Use small safety pins on the back of minis or small wallhangings as 'hooks' and simply hang them on nails. Easy to change with the seasons, and you don't have to sew a sleeve. And did I mention - cheap? Even better, to avoid large nail holes in your walls, gently tap an old hand sewing needle into the wall with a hammer (wear glasses or goggles!), then use wire cutters to cut off the excess length. Hang your minis, wallhangings, and even lightweight pictures - the needles are surprisingly strong. I learned this trick from an interior decorator who was constantly changing her wall arrangements, and never had to spackle. She just pulls the needle with pliers, and the resulting hole disappears into the wall.

SIGNATURE QUILTS
Iron freezer paper 1/4" smaller all the way around to back of signature square: helps to keep writing out of seam allowance. Use pens designed to be permanent on fabric, yet harmless to the fibers, such as Micron Pigma Pens. Be sure to heat set ink before washing. Use rubber stamps with ink that is permanent and safe for fabrics. If you're involved in a swap, iron their sig first, then test for permanence. Do this before you piece it into your quilt, as doing it after is too late. (The voice of experience.)

COMBINING BATTING PIECES
If, like me, you save all your odd batting scraps, there is a way to sew two smaller pieces together to make a larger piece, without it showing when the quilt is done. I learned this technique from Harriet Hargrave's book, "Heirloom Machine Quilting:" Lay the two pieces of batting so they overlap by several inches. Using a rotary cutter, cut a wavy line through both layers at the same time. Remove the trimmings. Butt the two pieces together (their curves will match perfectly), and hand stitch them together being careful not to stretch or overlap the edges. This will ensure that the batting won't 'break' in a straight line, and be visible once the quilt is finished.

PRE-WASHING FABRIC
Although there are a number of ways to reduce the amount of tangled, frayed threads when prewashing, I prefer the following 3 methods: 1) For fat quarters or 1/2 yards, I place them in a zippered mesh bag (for laundering baby clothes or hosiery), lights and darks separated, and wash on a gentle cycle with a tiny amount of soap. I hang them to dry over the shower rod, in layers, and remove them as they dry. 2) For yardage, I open the fabric completely, and fold top to bottom, and the side to side. I safety pin the 2 corners that have the layers of cut edges together, then wash as above. Un-pin and shake out to dry in the dryer or on the shower rod. Important:When folding for washing, don't just keep it folded the way it was on the bolt, as that crease will be almost impossible to get out later, even with an iron, starch or a steamroller. (Another voice of experience.) 3) Don't wash it at all, and live with the anxiety caused by the fear of colors running.

CLIPPING THREADS AFTER WASHING
Assuming you don't follow my advice, and you end up with a huge wad of fabrics held together by millions of tiny frayed threads, here's a few thoughts on what to do while you're untangling and clipping: 1) Listen to the audio book of War and Peace (though you 'll probably finish the book before you're done clipping). 2) Watch the grass grow. 3) Dictate the Great American Novel 4) Think. About the meaning of life. About the theory of relativity. About using my prewashing suggestions next time.

SLIPPERY FINGERS?
Instead of using the little rubber circles to grab your needle, or the expensive, but pretty, stretchy finger wraps sold in catalogues, go to the drug store instead. In the band-aid aisle, you'll find a very large roll of elasticized wrap called Coban. It's the same product as the one mentioned above, but at a fraction of the price. Easiest to find is flesh-colored, but sometimes they have neon colors as well. It comes in wide and narrow rolls. If you can only find the wide rolls, cut off a strip to wrap around your index finger, then cut that lengthwise to give you 2 strips. You can use it for several quilting sessions before you'll need to cut a new one.

SEAM GUIDE
For a perfect ¼" seam every time, try this: Place one of your plastic rulers under the presser foot so the needle can gently come down on the ¼" mark. Then, take a pretty refrigerator magnet, and slide it in place next to the edge of the ruler. It'll stay put, and guide your fabric so you can have a consistently perfect seam. Don't use this on a computerized machine. You'll be very sorry.

BASTING ON A QUILT FRAME
As far as basting goes, I've spray-basted wallhangings for both machine and hand-quilting; and I've pin basted all the rest, whether for machine or hand. But I just discovered a use for my quilt frame while it's waiting for a new quilt: I use it to layer and then pin baste a quilt that'll either be machine quilted, or 'hooped.' Rather than trying to do a large quilt a section at a time on my table, or crawling around on the floor for hours, I installed my backing, batting and top on the frame. (One of those Star Wars creature-looking Z44's from Grace). Then, instead of quilting, I just pin-basted the whole thing (queen size), rolling each completed section, in about 20 minutes. While sitting down - eating bon bons, and drinking a cappuccino. And, for the first time, it was a breeze to machine quilt - no odd lumpy parts, or seams-stretched-to-the-max parts. Now I can have 3 quilts being quilted at the same time: one in the hoop, one in the frame and one by machine. And all will have the same evenness and square corners as if quilted in the frame. I'm told this is called 'racking,' and you can pay to have someone do this for you.

CREASES IN FABRIC FOLD
Keep a bottle of white vinegar in a spray bottle handy by the iron....when pressing, spritz the fabric with vinegar, press the fold, and it disappears.

BLEEDING (fabrics, not you)
If you find that a fabric bleeds on your completed quilt, try Synthrapol, primarily used as a surfactant when dyeing fabrics. It also removes unreacted dye from fabric by floating it out of the fabric, and preventing it from staining other fabrics. Use equal parts of Synthrapol and water - you won't need a lot. Using a very soft toothbrush, (or even an artist's paintbrush), brush it on the stained fabrics. Let it set for 30 minutes, then machine wash in hot water, to release the dye. Check it before you put it in the dryer, and repeat, if necessary.

PHOTOGRAPHING A WHOLECLOTH QUILT

Hang the quilt so it is perfectly flat against a wall or design wall. You may have to use double-backed tape in some spots on the back that might not want to lay flat. It must be absolutely flat, with no wrinkles or waves, so that nothing unwanted casts shadows.

Side-light the quilt so all the quilting shows up: either with a good strong, clear light (like an Ott-Lite) or position it near a big window with plenty of sun (though the sun doesn't have to hit the quilt.)

Use a film that's made for indoor applications and DON'T use a flash. And use a manual focus, not auto-focus.

Try a couple of photos like that (adjusting your light source if necessary/possible), then take a couple of photos, using one of those little white umbrellas that photographers use, or a large piece of white card to bounce and soften the light a little bit.

I've shot a whole roll of film using all the variations in position I could think of, and came up with 50% acceptable. The only drawback is that the photos didn't show as white as I would have liked. More of an off-white, but at least the quilting showed up!