As a game, chess is traditionally divided into three phases: the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame. While all three are important, today I’m going to help you start out strong in the opening. When I first learned how to play chess, I played openings that really did not help me improve and left me with an awkward start to the game more often than not. Eventually, I adopted some of the openings that I will show you in this post and my rating skyrocketed. Opening Principles The first

Chess: Undoubtedly the ultimate head-to-head mental contest, an ancient game of strategy in which  your one and only goal is to outsmart and defeat your opponent’s army (represented of course by the pieces on the board). Chess moves that surprise your opponent are part and parcel of the game, and it would thus behoove you, the player and aspiring chess move master, to learn moves that will catch your opponent off guard and bring you victory. And so, without further ado, here are 5 moves to do

Patternmaking for most beginners seems mysterious and intimidating. It is a subject a lot of sewists try to avoid. As a professional working in the fashion industry for more than a decade, I had the same fear as many of you. It took lots of trial and perseverance to overcome challenges, and carve out a successful career. The First Step is to Make Mistakes! Many of my students are worried about making mistakes. They want to be sure every step they take is correct. Multiple attempts and fai

  As the holiday season approaches, these holiday sewing projects will help you get into the spirit! So whether you're looking for some festive holiday decor or some DIY gift ideas, make sure to bookmark these fun, festive holiday sewing projects... Craft Sewing Projects   Lovely Scissor Holder   There’s no point in starting your holiday sewing projects without an organized sewing kit. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to find what you need. This DIY scissor holder wi

When it comes to sewing, if you’ve only familiarized yourself with the basic running stitch, then it’s time to broaden your horizons. There are many different types of sewing stitches that allow you to achieve certain goals. For example, if you want to sew an eyelet, you’ll want to master the blanket stitch, but if you’re looking to add a clean finish to a raw edge, go for a zigzag stitch using a sewing machine.  In our hand sewing and sewing machine stitch guide, we’ll review

Nearly 15 years ago, TakeLessons began as a platform for musicians to teach their craft. But it has since welcomed such an impressive menagerie of talent that students can now also meet an astrologist, dancer, painter or nutritionist on any given Tuesday afternoon.   Every day, thousands of specialized instructors log on for one-on-one mentorships or lively group discussions around infinite passions that bring like-minded people together. Within TakeLessons is such a surprising marketp

You may have rolled your eyes as soon as you saw this title of this post because it is 2021 and sewing a patchwork quilt is not even on your radar. You may also have immediately relegated this project to your retirement years, when you imagine that you will have endless amounts of time to learn to make a quilt. I bet if there was a fun video on a certain app about a patchwork quilt making challenge, you would have watched it and maybe even attempted it. I will do my best to make this project as

Want to improve your sewing skills? In this guest post, Yesterday's Thimble blogger Lisha Vidler shares 15 sewing tips to help you take your seamstress skills to the next level... Are you looking to improve your sewing skills? If so, you're in luck! Today, we'll be learning about some sewing tips from a sewing expert. These tips can help beginners and experienced sewers alike.  So, whether you're just starting out or you've been sewing for years, read on for some helpful advice. What

I will admit to you, the reader, that most of the articles I have written thus far assume that the reader is already a fairly avid chess player, who is aware of the basic chess game rules and thus is interested in learning more advanced strategies, traps, and tricks with the goal of decisively defeating the opponent. But, of course, not everybody is born knowing all the rules of chess---there are, in fact, many out there who are unfamiliar with the game, and need an introduction to learn

Blogs and online resources can be a huge help when you're taking sewing lessons, but which blogs are the best? Here, Glendale, CA sewing teacher Marie B. shares her picks for the best sewing blogs and online resources... In the ocean of information that is the Internet, it can be daunting to find the right information when you need it. One can easily get lost in the myriad of blogs and websites. I have put together a list of some of the best sites for sewing tips, sewing tutorials, sew