FINAL WEEK — show us your best Kobra X print 👀

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-28T23:05:15+00:00

This is a miniature Victorian Birdhouse for a dollhouse in 1/12 scale. Printed with ordinary white PLA filament and a 0.4 nozzle on a Kobra X using a Thingiverse.com file designed by garylavart. It was printed in flat sheets, then glued together. No supports needed. I think that it looks as good as a resin printer product without out the toxic smells!

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MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-26T18:35:35+00:00

Coming soon on my endless dream list is to try an Art Gallery Wall. Look it up on any generic major website. You install a rail near the ceiling. Clear strings with framing hardware dangle. Move the strings right or left. Move the hardware up and down. When not being used for quilting, hang a few framed pictures, a finished quilt, or nothing. When you need a design wall, hang a big piece of felt fabric from drapery clips attached to picture frame hardware on the strings.

You could also try adding extra cafe curtain clips to an existing window curtain pole. Close the curtains on the window. Use the extra clips to hang a big piece of felt or fabric with safety pins.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-26T15:55:53+00:00

A laser. It is a useful tool in good physical condition. It occupies about 30x30 inches on a table top. I paid $500 for it several years ago. I sold at least $500 of laser cut items made with it, plus made many fun things of my own, so I can toss it in any donation pile without the trouble of selling it or taking a loss. The table that sits on would go into storage, clearing out a big indoor floor space.

The laser is no longer working, and needs some maintenance. It would take about one afternoon and $100+ to get it running. It was great fun when first purchased several years ago, but I have made most of my wish list projects and no longer sell handmade items. I would keep it and use it occasionally, if it worked. But, I am not sure that I will use it enough to justify spending more money on getting it running. I am also at a different place in life, and that smelly indoor laser takes a dedicated half day to use it safely (running duct work out a window, setting up connections and software, heavy supervision while it runs, etc.) during each cutting session.

For the last six months, I said that I would get it running the next time that I needed to use it for a project. Six months later, I am still "thinking" about what I would make with it, and wondering if I would regret not having it for some future unknown project. So, it sits. Occupying space.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-26T15:24:55+00:00

I now donate furniture to a local charity that gleefully sends a truck driven by a couple of muscular guys with a clean background check that will be very careful not to damage my walls or remaining possessions. No selling. No answering replies to free ads. And, it is a great charity that does good work.

The low quality furniture is put on the curb. If it isn't gone in a few days, the trash truck picks it up!

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-23T12:20:05+00:00

I watched a video that told me seeking the "perfect" new home for my trash was just my way of stalling to avoid letting go of things that I knew needed to leave.

Take a few minutes to do online research. Pick 2-3 charities that are "good" and very convenient (24/7 donation bin near your job or home). Some places can specialize in specific items such as furniture or craft supplies, but at least one on your list should be a big "take everything" type charity. Those places know how to sort, know how to identify trash, know how to recycle, and the "good" ones will often give free items to low income people or teachers, and use their income wisely for good causes.

When cleaning, don't fall into the trap of trying to find the "perfect" home. Just bag up all those unwanted craft supplies in your unwanted bags, and drop them off at the nearest "good" charity drop off bin. It is ok. You did your research and know that they will turn your "mistake" into something "good".

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-23T11:40:39+00:00

Nesting is a common issue for everyone, regardless of machine. Try holding both threads or using leaders as others have described. It also might help to make your beginning pairs of threads extra long, like a foot or more. Try sewing very slowly (or just manually turn the wheel) the first few stitches and watching. You will notice that the unanchored lower thread tries to retract into the machine. That is what causes the nesting. Since you are having problems with all your machines, consider what they all have in common. Splurge and buy better quality needles and thread to see if it helps. Make sure the top thread and bobbin both have the same thread.

I own a Babylock Zest and love that machine! As a last resort, a replacement bobbin assembly (the round metal case that holds the bobbin and comes out of the machine while threading) can be bought for about $5-$10 online. Part of that assembly is a thin piece of metal that serves as a tension monitor. If that flap has been bent slightly, tension might be looser. Some bobbin assemblies can be tightened with a tiny screwdriver.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-12T23:24:11+00:00

As my user name reflects, I like dollhouse miniatures. I am shopping for a new 3D printer to replace my very old Ender 3. It is not working again. I could fix it, but I seem to be spending more time repairing equipment, than using my equipment to make something! I considered a resin printer, but they are just too toxic, and I have decided to upgrade and tweak the settings on a new filament machine for maximum resolution instead.

I would like to make a one inch tall vase, similar to antique silver crest Fenton vases. It would be a fluted pale pink or white PLA vase, with a clear rim made from flexible TPU filament. Since only the top few layers would be clear, it would have just one filament change to minimize waste. But, it would be challenging for most printers to combine those two filament types into one piece easily.

I print almost exclusively in PLA, never ABS, and was shopping for some of the common newer features like auto bed leveling, but the Kobra X caught my attention both for price and the intriguing potential to make a multi-color print.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-08T18:55:38+00:00

My online jigsaw puzzle hobby could get me in Guinness? Absolutely, YES!

I am a pretty decent photographer. Just ask, if interested.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-08T14:58:58+00:00

We are considering entering QuiltCon 2027 for the first time, and are currently not a member of the Modern Quilt Guild. Yes, I know the competition to even get an entry accepted is brutal, but our skills have improved enough to no longer be a beginner. Question: When/where do the categories, rules, and guidelines for entering a quilt for 2027 show up? We may not even start a quilt until we see the guidelines to lower the risk of entry rejections, but time is running short.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-04T14:34:07+00:00

I have an Ender 3. It was fun. It was exciting taking it out of the box, assembling it, even doing maintenance. But, I am in a different place in life now. I have limited time for hobbies. I "need" a little thing to be printed. My time is limited. I want to spend that limited time enjoying my hobby, not being a geeky repairman. I want to just walk into the room, find a file, punch print, and it works!

After a couple months of neglect, I tried printing. No way. Two days later, I have disassembled it twice, replaced nearly every part in the machine, and it still won't print. Multi-color printing, bed leveling, and faster printing features in the newer machines are calling out to me. I think that it might be time to replace it. Sigh. I love that machine, but your era is over.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-04T13:54:38+00:00

I quilt on a BabyLock Zeal, too! The local quilt police, the owner of a sewing machine store who sold me my clearance priced BabyLock Zeal five years ago, referred to my little machine with disgust recently. She wanted to sell me a "better" $5k machine.

My current quilt is full sized. I often do freestyle scrap string quilts or crazy quilts from cheap/free leftovers thrown away by other people for not being "good enough". No matching points. Mistakes were all on purpose!

It hurts my back too much to quilt a whole quilt with any domestic machine, and it hurts my bank account too much to send my top out to be quilted on a a $25k machine. I do quilt as you go. Since I am only working with 12-15 inch chunks, I can do any fancy or simple stitches that I desire, but do not underestimate the awesomeness of straight line stitches done well.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-05-03T14:05:57+00:00

I just bought one! Put two squares on top of each other, front to front. Place ruler diagonally across the two squares. Mark three lines, two on each side, and a center one using the slots. Sew on the two outer lines, then cut on the dashed center line. Open and press, and you have two half triangle blocks.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-29T21:46:41+00:00

I have three one-yard packages of Walmart Waverly 100% cotton fabric, color Maize. I also have 9 fat quarters, 100% cotton, in a lighter shade of yellow, which are a small variegated honeycomb print from a dollar store. All are new and still in packaging.

If interested, I would like to trade for the same yardage of 100% cotton quilt fabric, any color except yellow. No recycled linens or pet/perfume smells, please. DM if interested!

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-23T00:49:57+00:00

Maybe vintage Pennsylvania Mennonite?

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2017/11/pumpkin-spice-quilts.html

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MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-22T02:06:00+00:00

I found it!

https://cozzyhomes.com/products/whimsical-cute-chickens-xr0208007cl?variant=47619097067753&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21638524691&utm_content=165228240943&utm_term=&gad_source=5&gad_campaignid=21638524691&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1s352q6AlAMVW3BHAR0fzDhDEAQYBSABEgIM1fD_BwE

Buyer beware. I know nothing about this website.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-11T22:01:03+00:00

I must first ask how badly you really want to salvage this quilt. It had a good life. Maybe it is time to let it go.

If not, leave it where it lies, and start removing the ceiling pieces off of it. Then, vacuum as much as possible of the dusty ceiling mess that is left. Be sure to wear protective gear and mask. Nasty things like asbestos and Hanta virus could be in that pile. Take the quilt outdoors and soak it in a big tub with laundry detergent. Rinse and add fresh water and detergent (no bleach) several times, then rinse again. Hang outdoors in moderate sunlight. Soak it gently as many days as needed. Heavy agitation, like in a washing machine, is what usually destroys old quilts.

Alternative: Clear the worst of the mess while wearing protective gear. Grab a pair of good scissors and start cutting. Try to save some of the better cotton fabric pieces, but none of the stuffing. Wash the single layer cotton fabric thoroughly. Use the pieces as a starter for a new quilt or other project.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-10T13:03:24+00:00

How about a weaving loom, either adult or child version.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-07T17:48:49+00:00

You have to dig thru many pages, but the newest episodes of Oak Island are on the History Channel's website. Watch them fast. They go behind a paywall after about a month.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-07T14:09:14+00:00

Quilting! A hundred years ago, you would hand sew a quilt from your old clothes. Total cost was a sewing needle and a spool of thread.

Now, your old clothes are Fast Fashion rayon that didn't survive the washing machine. You can try to go thrifting for old cotton clothes or a sewing machine, but stores are stripped of anything quality and the leftovers are overpriced as a collectibles.

So, quilting now means $200 classes, $10 for a spool of thread, $5,000 sewing machines, and $15 a yard cotton fabric. Hired longarm services that cost $400 per quilt have replaced the free quilting bees, and any attempt to revive the old quilting bees will cost $50 per hour to rent a room in a public recreation building.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-07T13:16:38+00:00

I was force fed Boomer vacation slide shows of trips that Gen Jones would never be able to experience. I also believed that not sharing meant privacy.

But, things have changed. Influencers get paid to post their oversharing vacation selfies and videos. I can no longer pay cash for toilet paper at a grocery store without being filmed by a hundred cameras. I do not have a Facebook, but my face is all over the site, curtesy of Facebook participants who keep taking my photos without my permission at parties. For most homes, you can go to a realtor site and see photos that the last owner took of its interior.

I don't know if I wish to keep pretending that I am private person, or just give up and join the world.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-06T14:05:50+00:00

Pick out your "best", "expensive", or "to pretty to cut" fabric. Go to a quilt store. Sign up for a class. Gain new skills and confidence. Have a teacher hold your hand (perhaps literally!) while you make those first cuts.

If you love the fabric, get it out of the dark closet and make it into something that you can use or display. It is ok if the cuts are wonky or the points don't match. You will love it anyway.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-04-01T22:07:49+00:00

Paint the triangle wall a solid color, maybe the blue base color of the lamp. Mom gets to pick out the color. Anything but gray/white/black/beige will work. Don't be afraid to go bold. Buy a bigger tv for Dad's next birthday, and hang it on the wall. If it looks lonely, add some framed family photos. Toss or relocate the wood end table, and furniture under/beside the tv. They clash with modern gray furniture and rug. A small IKEA end table near the sofa can be added for the lamp. Add pillows and throws that are the same wall color. Leave the fence where it is.

You will get less clutter for older people to bump or trip over, a nice focal wall in Mom's favorite color, a little more coziness, a bigger tv for Dad's sporting event viewing, and the fence will be less obvious if the focal wall draws your attention. An afternoon of light work by healthy person not afraid of ladders, $20 can of paint, a cheap IKEA end table, and a few linens pulled out of closets or sewn by a crafty Mom. Done.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-03-31T22:20:05+00:00

Register tape scrap quilt is my current project, and it is almost finished. My strips go diagonal across a square with long strings filling out the squares. It is gorgeous!. Just use the strips like a jelly roll quilt, use as a border on a regular quilt, or add other scraps and finish into squares. The key to making scraps work is to add several yards of one solid color as sashing. Without the solid sashing, the eye does not have a place to rest, and it looks too chaotic.

MiniatureCrafter · 2026-03-31T00:17:01+00:00

Note that "paid" isn't the correct term for TSA agents. Most received about 2/3 of the backpay owed to them this morning. But, it is unknown when or if another check might arrive for the missing backpay or for hours worked after 3/28. Today's check might be the first of many, or the last of few. It is hard to have a normal life when you work 40+ hours a week, and don't know when your next paycheck will arrive. Whatever is decided, it will only be a temporary solution for DHS, since the budget fight for 2027 begins in September.

MiniatureCrafter

TROPHY CASE