What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I’m back to share the final step of making my Bling quilts that I starting telling you about last month. Check out the links below to catch up on the previous posts.

• Click here for Part 1 of Bling – choosing fabrics.
• Click here for Part 2 of Bling – cutting fabrics.
• Click here for Part 3 of Bling – quilt top assembly.

Whenever I make the same quilt twice, I like to show different fabric combos and machine quilting ideas. I quilted both versions of Bling using a walking foot but with two very different designs. I always make a quilting ...

It’s finally here!! The start of our Infrastructure Quilt Along!! I love sharing quilt alongs with you because I get such joy out of encouraging others to make a complete quilt from start to finish. To kick off the QAL first we’ll discuss a bit about the design and then prep our fabric so we are ready to start cutting and sewing next week.

• Click here to get the Infrastructure Quilt Kit – While Supplies Last

Infrastructure Design

This was a fun collaboration between me and my talented friend Heather Black of Quiltachusetts. I asked Heather to design a ...

Infrastructure quilt along begins next Monday, Sept. 9th so today is a great time to tell you about our sponsors! My co-host Heather Black (aka Quiltachusetts) has rounded up some fabulous prizes that will be given away on her blog each week.

Because Heather is super organized (like me) she’s scheduled out the prizes for the entire quilt along. Check out the schedule below and be sure to head over to each company’s website to give them some love!! I can’t wait for you to see what’s up for grabs each week!!

• Week 1 – Electric Quilt ...

Click here to be notified about the QAL each week via email.

Are you excited to make Infrastructure? The quilt along kicks off on September 9th when Heather Black and I will both hosting the quilt along and sharing tips and tricks for making the quilt on our blogs each week. See below for the supply list along with links to all of the quilt along posts as they go live.

Infrastructure designed by Heather Black of Quiltachusetts, pattern written by Christa Watson

Infrastructure Supply List

Infrastructure Quilt Pattern:

• Click here to purchase the paper pattern
• Click here to purchase ...

Now it’s time to take those yummy cut up pieces from Geo Pop and sew them together into a quilt! Although I’m making two versions of Bling at the same time, it’s really not that much extra effort to do double the amount of sewing! This is a quick overview of my process – please purchase a copy of the Bling quilt pattern for more detailed instructions.

Geo Pop Cutting in Progress

Cutting in progress for both version of Bling – in black or white

Click here to get Geo Pop fabrics, kits, precuts and coordinating patterns.

Thread Tips ...

I’m working on both versions of my Bling quilt at the same time, so it will be double the fun! If you remember from my last post, I’m making the same design and using the same Geo Pop fat quarters for both quilts, but one will have a white background and the other will have a black background. Any colorful prints will work as long as you have contrast between your fat quarters and background fabric.

Geo Pop Fat Quarter Bundle – I love working with my own fabrics!

I have more fabrics than I need since the pattern ...

I enjoy sharing my process of quilt making so that you can have more success when you make your own quilts. Over the next 4 blog posts, I’ll share my process for making Bling – one of my newest patterns featuring my 4th fabric collection – Geo Pop for Benartex/Contempo. Of course it would look great in any fabrics, which is what today’s topic is all about.

• Click here to get the paper version of Bling pattern mailed to you.
• Click here to get the digital version of Bling instantly as a PDF download.

I love this design for ...

Welcome to a “virtual” quilt show of many of the quilts I’ve made in the couple of years since I began designing fabric!

Color Weave photographed in my neighborhood desert of Las Vegas.

I’m so pleased with the reception that my fabrics have been getting. Although I always encourage you to buy my things from your local quilt shop first, I realize not everyone has access to a shop nearby, and not all shops carry my fabrics, books and patterns (yet!!!) So I try to keep a supply on hand just in case you can’t get them ...

If you missed it, click here for part 1 – tips on sewing the LatticeWork quilt top.

LatticeWork is made from charm packs; I used my Abstract Garden fabric line.

Today I’ll be sharing how I quilted my LattticeWork quilt using a super simple, fast and fun walking foot quilting design. It’s called “wavy grid” and it’s one of my fave designs when I’m on a deadline, so you’ll probably see it in lots of my quilts!

Here’s a close detail shot of what it looks like quilted with my Aurifil Variegated Thread collection. I ...

While we wait for my next quilt along to start, I thought I would share some “making of” blog posts. Think of them as process posts rather than full-on quilt alongs. Because I’m usually sewing on a deadline I have to make my quilts months ahead, but when my fabric and patterns are finally released into the world, my favorite part of the process is sharing behind the scenes of them being made.

LatticeWork by Christa Watson, 74″ x 82″ made from Abstract Garden 5″ Squares + background
Click here to get the LatticeWork quilt kit (while supplies last)

So ...

I’m thrilled with the reception that my Color Weave quit along received this spring/summer, and now it’s time to get ready for the next one! If you want to learn how to make an entire quilt from start to finish, click here to join the fun, and I’ll send you a reminder once the next QAL begins.

Infrastructure is a Modern Row Quilt designed by my friend Heather Black of Quiltachusetts. I wrote the pattern based on her design and now I’m excited to make it using my brand new Geo Pop fabric which has ...

I wanted to do a quick throwback to my Blooming Wallflowers quilt because I’ve made it twice and digitally recolored it a third time, using 3 of my fabric lines. When I design a quilt, I love iterating to see what it will look like in different fabric/color combos!

Blooming Wallflowers in Modern Marks

Click here to get the Blooming Wallflowers quilt pattern – PDF version.

Above is the original version, made completely in Modern Marks fabric. I originally made it for a magazine to promote my first fabric line when it came out. I had fun selecting the ...

We’ve finally come to the end of our quilt along and I sure have enjoyed seeing everyone’s progress so far! This week we will finish the quilt with machine binding. Now usually, I prefer the clean look of binding by hand. However, I was in a hurry to make this quilt so I decided to make the machine stitched binding an overall part of the design.

This tutorial is pretty heavy on the videos because I thought it would be much easier to SHOW you my process for binding and explain what I’m doing each step of ...

How is your quilt coming along? Remember, you can work at your own pace, so please don’t every feel like you have to “catch up!” Last week I discussed making a quilting plan and stitching in the ditch to anchor your quilt. This week we will complete the Random Crosshatch quilting.

Here’s what it looks like after I’ve stitched in the ditch in both directions and am filling in randomly spaced lines vertically. My Aurifil variegated thread adds lots of texture and I’m not stressing out too much about whether the stitches are perfectly straight or ...

I’ve been selling PDF/digital patterns on Etsy for a few months now and have been very pleased with the results so far. Now it’s time for me to test out the coupon/sale functionality. So for one week only (through 7/22)  I’m offering a super summer sale: buy any 3 PDF patterns and automatically get one free. It applies to all 18 of my patterns in my Etsy shop, with no coupon required!

 Click here to buy 3 get 1 free on all PDF patterns!

The fine print: This applies to instant downloads only purchased ...

Now we’ve reached my favorite part of the quilt-making process – machine quilting!! Quitling will be broken up into 2 parts so that it won’t feel so overwhelming. The quilting design I’ve chosen – random crosshatch, is actually very easy to do, but it can be a bit time-consuming if you like your quilting to be as dense as mine.

My favorite designs to quilt are those than can go all the way across the quilt without starting and stopping. That way I don’t have to worry about tying off and burying my threads. The random crosshatch above ...

I’m currently working on a second version of Color Weave using my Fandangle strip roll (2 1/2″ precut strips). This is what the finished layout will look like:

I’m loving how it’s looking so far. Here are my finished blocks in color order waiting for quilt top assembly:

If you are making this quilt along with me, be sure to share your progress on social media with the hashtag #colorweavequilt so I can see what you are doing. You can also share in my ChristaQuilts Facebook group along with many others. Happy sewing!!

Get the Supplies ...

One of the secrets to successful machine quilting is basting your quilts properly. So today I will share with you my favorite way to baste a quilt using 505 basting spray and my design wall. You can definitely modify this technique and baste your quilts on a table, but I prefer the design wall because I can get up close to the quilt and make sure it’s nice and flat.

Click here for my bonus tutorial – how to build a design wall.
Click here to get the Color Weave pattern shown on the wall.

Pieced Quilt Backing

Before we ...

I’m super excited about my next fabric line which is coming  soon! Geo Pop is a bold, bright, collection of 25 geometric prints in gorgeous rainbow color.

Click here to preorder Geo Pop Fat Quarters

I’m really excited to add black, white, and gray to my mix of modern prints and hope you’ll enjoy working with them as much as I had fun creating them. Best of all, they mix and match with all 3 of my previous collections: Modern Marks, Fandangle, and Abstract Garden.

I’m also excited to offer several kits shown below:

Bling Quilt ...

Happy 4th of July! I made my “Positive Direction” quilt several years ago to be a modern patriotic quilt that was suitable for year-round use. Today you can celebrate with me by getting the paper pattern at an incredible price – just $6.95 plus free US shipping. The regular price of my paper patterns is $10.95, but I’ve decided to clear out some of my older designs that were created before I started designing my own fabric. So they will remain on sale until all remaining stock is gone.

Click here to my Positive Direction quilt pattern for ...