There was some miscalculation with the wide, outer border but I didn't let that discourage me. Those borders are pieced, but just a little bit. Then I got it loaded onto the longarm frame and ready for quilting. This one will take a few days.
There was some miscalculation with the wide, outer border but I didn't let that discourage me. Those borders are pieced, but just a little bit. Then I got it loaded onto the longarm frame and ready for quilting. This one will take a few days.
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 ...
read moreWe 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 ...
read moreI popped over to my local quilt shop to pick the perfect border and some backing fabric. I also grabbed some of their marked down remnants and a few yards of that fun green for charity quilt backing.
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 ...
read moreWordPress 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?
read moreLevel 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!
read moreReady 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 ...
read moreLearn 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 ...
read moreThis week’s machine quilting tutorial takes the traditional paisley design and modernizes it by adding filler motifs inside the design! It’s a fun way to change things up. Click the image below to watch on my YouTube channel:
Make This Quilt!
Throughout this series, I’ve loved showing how I quilted these designs on actual, real quilts. The quilt shown in the video behind me is called Star Struck and it’s fun to see how different it looks depending on the fabrics that are chosen. Complete, start to finish instructions for this pattern are included in my ...
read moreFor this week’s tutorial we are back in business with free-motion quilting! This design, Hourglass, is basically a geometric and modern version of an earlier design: Cursive L’s. The technique of these two designs is very similar, so if you got one down, you can easily do the other!
Dot n’ Dash Quilt – Pick Up Piece and Quilt With Precuts
I admit I haven’t actually made a full-size quilt with Hourglass – that is on my bucket list! However, I’ve quilted a similar design on Dot n’ Dash, the featured quilt of this week. I call this ...
read moreAre you excited to make Daisy Chain along with me? See below for the complete quilt along schedule. Although this event will be quickly paced, I’ll leave these blog posts up indefinitely so you can work on your quilt any time you wish. I’m here to help you each step of the way!
- Click here to get the Daisy Chain Quilt Pattern – Digital PDF Download
- Click here to get the Daisy Chain Quilt Pattern – Printed Hardcopy

Daisy Chain – Autumn Colorway

Daisy Chain – Purple Vibrations Colorway
I made both versions of this quilt using fat quarters of Riley Blake ...
read moreWant to level up your walking foot quilting game? Try combining straight lines and decorative stitches to create unique motifs that are super easy to do! Click below to watch my latest video tutorial and be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think!
Get My Book – The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting
In the second book I ever wrote – The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting – I first explored this idea of combining straight lines and decorative stitches. The book itself includes 10 patterns and 20 quilts (each pattern is made 2 different ways). It was fun ...
read moreLet’s kick off the new year right with a new pattern and Quilt Along! Check out Daisy Chain, a super fun pieced pattern shown in 2 colorways, with multiple sizes.
It’s been awhile since I’ve made a quilt completely from solids, and I chose to work with Riley Blake Confetti Cotton solids for both colorways. It really shows off the quilting and I’m thrilled with how they turned out.
I thought it would be fun to host a quilt along to make this quilt completely from start to finish. The quilt along will kick off right ...
read moreFor this week’s tutorial, we have two geometric spiral designs: Square and Triangle Spirals. These two free-motion designs can be used separately, or you can combine them in the same quilting plan to give lots of texture to your quilt. If you want to check out this video, click the link below:
Piece and Quilt with Precuts
The quilt I feature in this week’s video is called Starstruck. I used both Triangle and Square spirals on this quilt, but you can choose any designs from this series, as the busy pattern for this quilt and fabric choice can ...
read moreAs in will she get anything done?
HAPPY NEW YEAR! New Year's Day was the 33rd anniversary of my quilting life. Again, glass half-full girl here, hoping she can accomplish more than last year, and that 2026 is not the dumpster fire that was 2025.
NESTY - From last year’s hopeful list to this year’s: The Sierra log cabin quilt designed by Jennifer Sampou. This one will not leave me alone; I think of it constantly. Ergo…WIP - That Girl Done Gone Plum Crazy—a project from the digitizing refresher class I had last year. The top is ...
We’re back to walking-foot quilting this week with another decorative stitch design! This time, I’ll teach you how to quilt a round spiral. If you need a refresher on how to stitch the straight-line version, refer all the way back to episode 24. It will go over all the steps needed to start a spiral on your domestic machine. If you want to learn more, click on the video below:
Optical Illusion Quilt Pattern
This week’s featured quilt is called Optical Illusion. The pattern is inspired by a real life parallel line optical illusion. Yes, that’s ...
read moreDecember has been a busy month for us. It’s that living in the moment thing again.
One of our nieces contacted the Hubs a few weeks ago and told him that while she apologized for the late notice, she was graduating from nursing school in a couple of weeks and that since she was our favorite niece (her words), she knew we’d come anyway! And we did. It has been many years since we visited Hubs’ hometown and we squeezed in all the visiting we could along with attending Lauren’s graduation ceremony and celebration party. We played ...
read moreIn this week’s episode of 99 Machine Quilting Designs, we’re bringing back swirls with a modified, or “squished” spiral that resembles a woodgrain texture. Refer back to episode 25 for how to quilt a basic swirl design. This might be a helpful refresher, since squished spirals is basically just a variation on this design. It’s a great way to add realistic texture to your quilt, so check out the video below if you want to learn more:
Get the Swanky Spirals Quilt Pattern
This week’s featured quilt is a fun, modern improv quilt called Swanky Spirals ...
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