What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

We all have that one quilt top tucked away, right? The one we’ve spent time, money, and effort creating but just can’t seem to quilt because we don’t feel “ready.” I hear it all the time: “I’m not at the skill level to quilt this top yet.”

But here’s the truth—you’ll never feel completely ready.

Even after 15 years of quilting (and winning awards!), I had a quilt top that sat for over five years because I was afraid to quilt it. I convinced myself I wasn’t skilled enough. But guess what ...

Grab your spot on the QG Design Academy Waitlist!!!

check out the Disappearing Dresdan!!! Looks so intriguing.

Make sure to leave me a comment about what you are working on this weekend!!

Forgot to say that I’ll be at Olde City Quilts in NJ on Sat 9/21 from 10-12!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Grab your spot in the is FREE quilting summit. Learn from 16 different instructors teaching 16 different techniques. When you ask??? August 21,22 and 23rd! Click here for all the details!

https://summit17–marygoroundquilts.thrivecart.com/summit—all-access

Need your help with ideas on blocks to design for!

I do a 3-day design boot camp a couple of times a year. The charge is minimal for the amount of value in it, and I absolutely love doing them. The purpose of the boot camp is to give quilters a taste of what my teaching style is like, to further their quilting journey, and to encourage them to join me in either the QG Design Academy and/or QG Creative Design Society.

As you all know, I have reduced the price of the Society from $24.97 to $9.97 to make it accessible to everyone. My hope was ...

The past couple of days I have been procrastinating on doing my business finances. Now, this is not altogether new, as this is NOT my favorite part of business.

My reason for this delay is wholly in part to the price decrease of my monthly membership which I did almost a month ago now. I knew this decision would have financial implications. Now I have to face what those are and I am delaying it for as long as possible. LOL

Time to face the music, wish me luck!

I just finished a 3-day juice cleanse and will be happy to NOT see juice for a while.

Why did I decide to do it? There were a couple of reasons. I have been working out 3 days a week since December and have not lost any weight; I have gained weight. I have heard muscle weighs more than fat, and I am building muscle, but I also think menopause has a lot to do with it.

I also wanted to reset my gut. I have stomach issues and always feel like I ...

I have been saying this for years. There is enough room in this industry for all of us. Whether you are a longarm quilter, a teacher, a quilt competitor, or a ruler creator, you are worried about your competition. I have been through all these things and learned there is room for us all! When I started quilting for customers, I was worried whenever someone got a new longarm. I thought… there goes my business. Same thing with rulers, teaching, and even competition quilting.

I realize that my competitive spirit, shall we say, sometimes ...

Personal growth is never easy, but they say anything worth having is not easy. Over the past 6 months, I have learned quite a bit about myself; not all have been an easy lesson.

I know I do not like conflict, but I don’t know anyone who really loves it. Although I’m sure they are out there. I was pretty explosive as a teenager, but that did not serve me well. I tend to pull back and think before I speak, but then, many times, I “get over” whatever it was. My ...

I was in therapy a couple of weeks ago, and my therapist asked me what gym I go to. I said, “Just Planet Fitness.” She asked me why I used the word “just.” She said not to minimize your workout by saying, “Just.”

It made me think of how often in life I do that. People ask what I do for a living… I typically answered, I just have a little quilting business. read more

So today, I turned 55 and spent the day at Paoli Hospital getting x-rays of my hands, feet, and knees. Fun time! I have had pain in those areas for the past year. I got blood work done last year, and my ANAs were high, which I guess is a sign of inflammation in the body. I got more bloodwork done over a week ago and am still awaiting the results. The X-rays don’t show anything abnormal. The results say normal mineralization, whatever that is.

The worst is every morning waking up ...

I have now been 126 days alcohol-free. I continue to feel great about this decision in my life and wanted to share with you what I think is the number one benefit. There are many benefits but I think clarity is the one that I love the most.

Eliminating alcohol has given me clarity in work, friendships, and family.

I have thought about lowering the price of my membership, QG Creative Design Society for some time. I knew that I wanted to make it more affordable for everyone and that it wasn’t at the current price. The task of ...

I have just completed phase 1 of the $9.97 membership, QG Creative Design Society. The sales page is up, and you can sign up for it now. If you are a current member and pay more than the $9.97/month, your membership has been canceled, but wait til you receive an email from me as you have a credit! So please be patient.

As I was canceling 200+ memberships, I got a pit inside my stomach that maybe this was crazy and I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills. read more

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says the meaning of this word is

a: being without company: LONE

too many lonely nights at home

b:  cut off from others: SOLITARY

the train stopped frequently at lonely little stations—Robert Hichens

2: not frequented by human beings: DESOLATE

a lonely spot in the woods

3: sad from being alone: LONESOME

He was feeling lonely without his wife and children.

4: producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation

Over the past couple of days, since my realization that going alcohol-free can be lonely, I have thought a lot about ...

There isn’t much I love better than teaching, other than a well-struck iron shot into an elevated green. The Creative Design Society is my ongoing membership, and it focuses on all things machine quilting. Someone asked me what is the thing I love about it the most. That is an easy question to answer. It is all of the members. While the primary focus is on quilting, we have supported members through some trying times. I, for one, leaned on all of the members when my mother passed away. The support was incredible. Other members have had falls, cancer ...

Hi all,

First, I would like to thank you for the overwhelming support on my alcohol-free journey. Between personal emails, Facebook messages, and responses to blogs, I feel your support. read more

That’s right… we, meaning me, are changing the name of the monthly membership. So I am enlisting your creative minds to help me! Quilter’s Groove TRIBE will live on with a new name. So far, a few suggestions… Quilter’s Groove Society, Quilter’s Groove Insiders, Quilter’s Groove Clique, Quilter’s Groove Guild, or Quilter’s Groove Posse.

What do you guys think?

On the back end, I will combine the Design Decision Dilemma and QG TRIBE. I don’t even think many people know about the Design Decision Dilemma membership, so by combining them, when I ...

I have been teaching quilting since MQX in 2006. I quickly realized that I absolutely love to teach and so I never looked back. When the pandemic hit, it hit hard. Our industry was forever changed. I had to pivot to online classes and in the process learn a bunch of new technology.

Quilter’s Groove Design Academy is my signature class; it is 10 weeks of design “training.” I break down how to design the quilting for your tops week by week. Many students say they never look at a quilt top the same way again. This makes my ...

It’s hard to believe Quilter’s Groove TRIBE will be three years old in June! It has been fun, frustrating, and rewarding all at once! The pandemic sure did a number on our quilting industry. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I got a divorce in 2019, and in 2020, I was scheduled to have my most profitable year yet. I was set to travel almost every other week, so I would travel the weeks I did not have Brody (my youngest son). Then, in March 2020, life, as we all knew it, came to a screeching ...

It has been a while since I’ve taken a class but I need to have a kick in the ass to get going. It is no secret that I love whole-cloths. I’ve created quite a few of them over the years. So when I had some QG TRIBE members tell me about Lady Jane Quilting’s mystery whole-cloth class, I was intrigued. Here are a few of mine.

So I have my backing fabric picked out. If you aren’t familiar with Debra Linker Dyes , you are missing out. she created the beautiful backing for my “Oh, my ...