What is it? – Chances are either you or someone you know has a box full of fabric yo-yo’s under the bed or in a closet. And chances are either you made them or they were given to you by your grandmother or an aunt. It’s surprising how many people tell the same story. But why do so many people make fabric yo-yo’s? The answer is actually very simple. It’s FUN! Sit down in a comfy chair, grab a handful of fabric scraps and get your creativity flowing. Colors, patterns,…

What is it? – How do you make a Kanzashi flower? Place a piece of fabric in the template, fold it closed, trim around the edges, take a threaded needle through the holes in numerical order, open the template and pull the thread tight. Petal complete. Repeat four more times and your flower is done. Could not be easier and no heavy equipment required. With all of the different sizes and shapes of Kanzashi Flower Maker templates and the vast and always changing selection of fabric patterns, colors and textures…

What is it? – Stick weaving is a traditional art form made modern by Clover with Weaving Sticks. Just how old it is no one can truly say. Not even Wikipedia knows for sure when or where it came to be. There is little doubt that this simple method of weaving was initially utilitarian by nature intended primarily for making clothing and other needed implements by ancient ancestors. Weaving Sticks are so simple to use that anyone, regardless of age, ability or skill level, can create beautiful and useful woven…

What is it? – Check out “stiletto” in the unabridged dictionary and you start reading about stylish heels or a long narrow knife with a sharp point.  Look it up in the Clover dictionary and you read about something entirely different.  The Hold It Precision Stiletto is an incredibly useful sewing tool designed by Clover in conjunction with Joan Hawley. Modern sewist require precision cutting, sewing and pressing.  Unfortunately some of these activities put our fingers in precarious proximity to either hot things or sharp things or both.  Done incorrectly…

What is it? – So much of what we do in sewing requires precision ironing. Careful pressing equals flat hems and seams. However, tiny hems, seams, points, appliqué and delicate creative shapes allow little space for stabilizing our projects while we press. The problem arises when we get that hot iron in close proximity to our cool fingers. Too close and it’s sailor talk and nobody wants that. So how do we accommodate the creative demands of our project while protecting our fingers? Simple, put Clover’s Iron Finger to work.…

What is it? – In a recent class we discussed how easy it is to create perfect half-square and quarter-square triangle blocks for quilts using the No Hassles Triangles Gauge. Well, that’s great and it allows us to make a seemingly endless array of quilt designs. But they’re all straight lines. What do we do if we want to make quilt blocks with curves or circles? Old school requires joining apposing curves cut from a template. That is not only labor intensive but requires a great deal of skill to…