What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

When my numbers change, they change big.

I finished K’s quilt this week.  I can’t post pictures until she sees it at the end of the month.  No big usage because a lot of the fabric in the top was hers.

Yesterday was my Guild’s annual fabric sale.  I needed to replenish light fabrics in blue, green and yellow.  I also looked for binding for the beach runner and border fabric for a UFO.  I found fabrics for both and a whole lot more.

I also picked up a Nancy Halvorsen panel.  I love the whimsical nature ...

 I fell off the wagon …

The fabric-buying wagon, that is. When I had a few minutes to spare the day before we left Nashville, I mentioned visiting a shop in Murfreesboro. I checked their website the day before and found this adorable panel:

I bought two of them and also purchased a couple of fabrics (a Christmas green grunge and a black and white fabric that could pass for snow flakes). These will make great Christmas quilts that can hang in a doorway (and one will possibly stay here at our home on top of the ridge).

Christmas panel and ...

I've been away. Did you miss me?

I went to London and I went shopping...all things embroidery related.

A video show and tell. 

       

Comments

• Loved that, thanks for sharing by Liza
• Beautiful things Karen - those shopping trips are ... by Jillayne https://www.blogger.com/profile/01533504920962855079
• What fun! I don't remember the last time I we... by Magpie's Mumblings https://www.blogger.com/profile/09852241848575954128
• Lovely supplies Karen! by Anonymous
• Lovely video and goodies by sue

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• Lace cloth and hand painted embroidered silk.

 

We are nearly to my favorite part of any quilt – the machine quilting! But first we need to prep our quilts by making sure the backing is big enough, and then basting. I love making pieced backs from leftovers or other coordinating fabrics because that makes the quilt twice as nice!!

Because I had too many pictures of this process to share, I thought it would be much easier to put them all together into a super short video and talk over the process. You can watch that by clicking play below:

Once the quilt is basted, you are ready ...

How are your Daisy Chain blocks coming along? If you are just starting, be sure to grab a copy of the Daisy Chain quilt pattern and join the fun. We are currently working through pages 12-13 of the pattern. But the tips I’m sharing below can apply to any quilt in your UFO pile!!

Click here to see how I made my design wall.

The first thing I like to do whenever sewing a quilt top together is to get all of my blocks up on the design wall and spread out the color. Then I’ll take time ...

I’m so excited about my debut fabric line with Riley Blake called Quilt in Color. Now you may be wondering why I switched fabric companies? Simply put, it was time for me to stretch my wings and grow. In all of my previous 10 fabric collections, I had help with the technical aspects of design. But this one is ALL me and I couldn’t be more proud! Take a look at the color cards below:

What do you think? I poured my heart and soul into this collection. It includes 21 colorful prints + 3 machine quilting practice panels ...

And there is always the chaos factor.

Case in point: a few weekends ago I went to Marshall Dry Goods with one of the besties. I purchased flannel to make two receiving blankets for our great-grandson that's due to arrive in April. I was thinking I had plenty of time to make them. But two weeks ago, darling granddaughter landed in the ER, was admitted to the hospital due to complications, was told she would stay two weeks to allow little man to grow a bit more, then told it would be three weeks, and he was born a ...

Follow along in the Daisy Chain quilt pattern pages 8-11 as you work on this week’s quilty “homework.” Start by chain piecing your strips that create the small 4-patch units. I’ve given step-by-step diagrams to follow in the pattern so it shouldn’t feel so daunting. Just remember to take it one section at a time!

Aren’t these units so cute??

Keep all similar colors together so it’s easier to create each chain block or border unit. I’m pressing all of my seams open and sewing with a shorter stitch length so my small pieces ...

Whenever I’m sewing quilt blocks that have lots of pieces, I find it much easier to sew the smaller units of each block into larger units, then chain piece everything for speed and efficiency. Follow along in the Daisy Chain quilt pattern on page 6-7s for the images and tips shown below. I’m making two of these at the same time in 2 different colorways: Autumn & Purple Vibrations.

Making Stitch-N-Flip Units

So the first thing we are doing is sewing all of the stitch-n-flip units which will make the petals of each daisy flower block. You can either ...

One of my favorite free-motion quilting techniques to do is combining two different designs for a unique stitch combination. That’s what I did in this week’s video. Combine spirals and pebbles to make Swirls & Pearls! Watch the video on my YouTube channel by clicking the image below:

Make My Block Chain Quilt

This week’s featured quilt is called Block Chain. I’ve made it twice over the years and it’s the perfect pattern to showcase a set of charm packs. Pair them up with light and dark accent fabrics for a quick make! You can grab ...

We hit the low 80s on Friday and Saturday, but it's supposed to cool off today with a chance of showers. We need the showers, but that's not looking too lightly right now.  Unfortunately the higher temps have meant more pollen so my allergies have been keeping me up at night.  Afternoon naps have been my theme all week, but that didn't keep me from the sewing room.  

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/Feb = 28/28 days
• 15 minute days/2026 = 59/59 days
• Success rate = 100%

Welcome to Week 1 of Daisy Chain quilt along! We will dive right into cutting all of our pieces to make this quilt. I’m making 2 versions of the quilt in the throw size, but you can make any size you wish!

If you are just joining in, be sure to ask for the Daisy Chain quilt pattern from your favorite local quilt shop! (Shops can order it through Riley Blake, Checker, or EE Schenck.)

Stay Organized!

We will be working through the cutting charts on pages 2-6 of the quilt pattern. There is a LOT of cutting for ...

Check out my latest video from my 99 Machine Quilting Designs Series – Episode 54 – for 6 fun variations. Watch and learn below:

This week’s featured quilt is one of my free patterns called Beaded Lanterns. It’s another one I’ve made several times because it’s just so darn fun to stitch! 

Click here download any of my free quilt patterns.

While supplies last you can check out my kits to make Beaded Lanterns as well as many other fun designs made from my fabrics!

Click here to view all in-stock quilt kits.

Just Getting Started Free-Motion Quilting ...

WordPress recently notified me that I’ve been blogging on this site for 18 years. First of all, where did that time go? And secondly, there is a need to post with greater frequency. So here I am today blogging away with my favorite movie in the background. Tidying up my studio from four weeks of… Continue reading Well, where did that 18 years go?

Level up your walking foot quilting with another fun decorative stitched design: Geometric Spirals. Watch and learn below:

Make This Quilt

This week’s featured quilt is called Blooming Wallflowers and I’ve made it more than once! See two different versions below:

• Click here to grab the PDF versions of my quilt patterns.
• Click here to grab the printed versions of my quilt patterns.

I hope you are enjoying these video tutorials and inspiring quilts to make. I’m excited to be your cheerleader for domestic machine quilting!

Ready to practice your modern machine quilting? Try these 2 fabulous free-motion fills and see how you can tweak them to make them your own. Click the video below to watch:

Featured Quilt – Surplus Strips

I turned the bumps from clamshells into a floral swirl design by combining them with a basic swirl technique. Then I quilted it edge to edge on the white version below Grab the Surplus Strips quilt pattern to make one for yourself!

Bonus Video – Quilting Surplus Strips 2 Ways

See how I quilted both of the quilts below using 2 different free-motion motifs. You can ...

Learn to quilt two innovative designs with your walking foot: decorative-stitch wonky squares and decorative-stitch spiral maze. Watch & learn below:

This week’s featured quilt comes from my book, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting that I co-authored with Angela Walters. You can grab the PDF download to see how I quilted Fractured Squares using only walking foot motifs.

Bonus Walking Foot Quilting Video

In case you missed it, check out the pre-cursor video showing how to quilt the exact same designs using regular straight-line quilting, below:

Please let me know how you are liking these videos – I only have ...