Hey Everyone, welcome back to Technique Tuesday on Wednesday. I am so under the pump getting my Purely Canadian Quilt Pattern written, edited, tested and ready for printing by early next week that yesterday totally blasted past me and well, Technique Tuesday didn’t make it.

I wanted to take a slightly different tack with this week’s post. I know this is really a technique, but I thought this would be pretty valuable advice, especially for new or occasional quilters. I have learned all of these lessons personally and I’m sure you all have some of your own that haven’t made it to this list, so please add your rules in the comments and I’ll add them with your name to this master list.

1. When tired get up and walk away from the sewing machine – if you keep going it pretty much means reverse sewing will be in your future.

2. Change the blade in your rotary cutter often – when we do there is always a thought of why didn’t I do that earlier.

3. Change the sewing machine needle every 8 hours of sewing or with each new project – a dull needle never sews very well.

4. If your machine is making a strange noise, stop sewing and see what the problem is – it is never good to keep going and have damage that requires a visit to the repair man.

5. Always close the blade of your rotary cutter when not in use – a visit to the local ER for stitches just slows down progress.

6. Never sew over a pin – takes out the timing on the machine or an eye which equates to lost quilting hours.

7. Use an appliqué sheet when using fusible webbing as the glue is horrible to get off the iron.

8. Never allow someone to use your sewing machine without a full induction and competency test (especially your spouse!).

What rules have you found to be dead-true? Do you have a story to tell about the how you discovered your rule? Please share with us in the comments below.