A new year is here! It’s time to prep for a new year of quilting and sewing. We need to take stock of our UFOs, sewing and quilting projects queue, and wish list of new skills to pursue. The holidays are behind us, and a full new year is spread out in front of us. Now is the time for stash and machine maintenance, planning, and assessment!

We’re sharing the 5 ways we like to prep for a new year of quilting and sewing. You probably have a few of these on your checklist already—if you need even more guidance, stop by and let us help in person!

1. Strategize New Skills

As quilters, it’s important to keep learning new skills and techniques. It keeps our brains active and engaged, and our interest focused on our beloved hobby. You’ll never feel bored if you continue to learn new ways to quilt and sew. 

What do you want to learn this year? If you’ve just started quilting, we regularly host a 4-week class called Beginning Quilting Mosaic. It’s a great place to start learning the basics of quilting, from reading a pattern to rotary cutting, ¼” seams, piecing and more. We work from one of our favorite books, Fat Quarter Style, and make a quilt together. Our next class starts on February 17. 

Want to master machine embroidery this year? We just launched a series called Embroidery on Everything. Part lecture, part demonstration, Embroidery on Everything meets every month to demystify a different machine embroidery technique. We’re covering the basics, including hooping techniques, stabilizers, needles, threads, and proper machine setup. For February, we’re talking about in-the-hoop projects!

Whatever skill or technique you’re interested in learning, Thimbles likely has a class for it. Explore our upcoming class list now to be inspired!

2. Plan Projects

Have you thought about what you want to quilt and sew this year? It’s a good time to get realistic and nail down your project load. We all want to quilt and sew all the things, but December comes each year as a harsh reminder of the UFOs we have left sitting in our craft rooms. 

Your projects for this year might tie into a new technique you want to learn. For example, we’re hearing a greater desire from our quilting community to invest in and make their own garments. That requires a different approach than making a quilt, so you might need some guidance for that. Consider a class like the upcoming Tamarack Jacket (seen above) as a good place to start. We’re using the Tamarack Jacket pattern as a jump-off point to help quilters create panels or repurpose a quilt for the jacket.

Investing in a good kit, with everything you need, is also a great way to plan for a wishlist project. If you’ve always wanted to create a collage quilt, consider the Sewing Scissors Collage Kit (above left). Or maybe you want to finally make a toy this year—the Cuddle Critter Kits (above right) include everything you need to start making your first plushie. 

Explore all of Thimbles available project kits to get inspired!

3. Replace Rotary Blades + Needles

We know you know you need to replace your rotary blades and sewing machine needles. This is here as a reminder in case you haven’t done it yet. As a reminder, you should follow these general rules of replacement:

• Replace rotary blades every 20-40 hours, depending on the quality of the blade and whether you use a quality cutting mat. A less expensive rotary blade, or a blade that has also cut paper or rolled over pins, or a blade that has cut through massive layers of fabric, will need to be replaced sooner than a quality rotary cutter blade used to cut thin fabric layers on a soft, self-healing mat. 

• Replace sewing machine needles at the start of each new project.

Shop rotary blades and blade replacements and sewing machine needles.

4. Service Your Machine

After you replace your rotary blades and sewing machine needles, it’s time to think about servicing your machine. With each use, your machine collects dust, dirt, lint, and bits of fabric and thread in most of its working parts—under the thread plate, around the bobbin and feed dogs, etc. All of this can potentially muck up the works and lead to performance issues and costly repairs.

The more often you clean your machine, the less likely it is to break down and ruin your sewing and quilting. In addition to cleaning your machine, you should also be oiling your machine regularly to keep it running smoothly. Just be sure to check your machine manual first to make sure your machine needs to be oiled—not all machines require oiling.

If all of this sounds like a headache you’d like to avoid, come in to the store! We have Joe on hand, ready to service your machine, and we can certainly help you learn how to clean your machine regularly. You can send us your questions about machine maintenance or give us a call at (815) 836-8735. 

5. Organize Fabric Scraps & Stash

We left this dreaded subject for last. We all have a deep stash of fabric and fabric scraps, and organizing it is definitely not the fun part of quilting and sewing. 

Never fear—we have some ideas for helping you organize your fabric stash. You don’t have to necessarily toss your scraps—you just have to keep them tidy! First, check out these fun projects that help organize your sewing space. They include sewing storage boxes with fun, free patterns; a tutorial for making a peg board; a tutorial for hanging storage baskets; sewing machine mat tutorials for even more storage space, and more.  

Second, with your scraps organized, it’s time to find some scrapbusting projects. And boy, do we have a ton of suggestions. From Tammy’s Scrappy Denim Jacket (which you will NEED come spring) to portable paper piecing projects to our ongoing lists of scrapbusting quilting and sewing projects, you can explore literally hundreds of free projects for scrap fabrics on the Thimbles blog. 

Are you ready to start a fresh new year of quilting and sewing with Thimbles? What are you working on making this year? Join the Thimbleful of Sewists & Crafters group so we can cheer you on!