Quilting and Craft Tutorials with Kym Delmar

Kym Delmar was a quilter “before it was easy,” she says, “in the early 1970s, when there were no rotary cutters, and quilting cottons were hard to come by.” She is primarily self-taught, gleaning knowledge from “books, quilting shows, and friends who quilt.”

She now shares that knowledge with others on her blog Fabric Fascination. Each month in 2012 she will feature new quilting-block tutorials in a post called “Block of the Month.” For craft procrastinators that may need further motivation, Kym’s saved you a step: She sells pre-cut kits at her Fabric Fascination shop at Etsy.

The steps in Kym’s tutorials are easy to follow—which makes sense since she also hosts Totally Tutorials, a blog dedicated solely to craft how-to guides. The blog offers photos and directions for thousands of projects from accessories to wreaths. It even offers a tutorial on tutorials! [Click here to download the Post‘s featured craft tutorial by Kym Delmar.]

Totally Tutorials began three years ago and was created by Kym’s friend, Dotty Raleigh. “I’m craft crazy,” says Dotty, when asked how this project began. “And … I wanted to create a place to gather them [crafts] together and to categorize them. … Crafters find what they’re looking for … and tutorial creators reach people that wouldn’t have otherwise found them. I’ve loved helping bloggers reach a wider audience—especially those just starting out. … I never expected it to grow to reach so many people. Since Kym’s taken over, it’s grown even more!”

“Dotty made it really easy for me to take over,” says Kym. “I have kept the format pretty much the same. I did restart the Tutorial Exchange Program [which offers craft products in exchange for online tutorials] and redesigned the look of the blog. I also set up a sponsor page and started offering direct advertising.”

With over 2,600 craft tutorials, it’s hard to imagine running out of weekend projects. And every month Kym receives more. “It’s a blast to open up my email and see the new tutorials,” she says. “I have many favorites. I especially love when someone takes a commonplace material and uses it in a whole new way.”

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