What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The first Project QUILTING challenge of season 14 is The First One.

I am a habitual overthinker. I have a list of things I'd like to work into my PQ challenges this season and none of them were the "perfect" fit for this challenge. So the options to meet The First One theme seemed infinite. I brainstormed some ideas and considerations with my daughter:

• my first quilt
• my first blog post
• my first IG post
• red, the first color in a rainbow
• the letter A
• the number 1
• the first PQ challenge I participated in, PQ 8.1
• fabrics ...

Giant pumpkin contests are popular, but what I was looking for was a mini pumpkin.

I liked the look of THIS ONE, but wanted something smaller. So, I started with 2-1/2″ squares and ended up with a finished quilt 13″ square.

YAY! Mini pumpkins have their place, in this case, on a wall at the house of a friend.

October is here which means we have been in our new house for almost six months. Seems like one would have all the boxes unpacked at this point but nah… there are too many other fun things to do.

For instance, we had my mother in law here for a visit last week. She had not seen the house yet. It was super fun to show her the area. Like me, she is a fan of beach combing so we spent a lovely afternoon wandering at the water’s edge picking up shells ...

When I started to collect my thoughts for this post, I realized that pink is a common theme with the projects I intend to share. This is strange because it isn’t one of my favorite colors. Hence the title to the post. Let’s see what I have been working on.

Remember I shared about a quilt show and lavender festival I attended earlier this summer? While at the show, I picked up an almost finished quilt top because I knew it would be sweet as a Mercyful quilt. Then center was complete but smaller than ...

From time to time a mini quilt is just what a person needs in their life.

And a little hand quilting, too.

It makes a quick and satisfying finish. In this case 14″ square.

Soon to be gifted to a friend.

It has been a whirlwind this past 10 days, as we traveled up to Ohio to be a part of my brother-in-law’s wedding. His bride is such a lovely woman, and we already adore her. She was absolutely radiant, in a gorgeous blue lace floor length gown. Honestly, I have never seen my husband’s brother look happier in all the years I’ve known him. He has found a rare and wonderful love that was so special to witness. Their wedding was a joyous occasion, and we were honored to be a part of it. On the way ...

Thanks for joining me for TGIFF. I am happy to finally be sharing my MQG mini swap quilt that I made for Margaret.

I started with some improv piecing including some wonky flying geese, ending in a minimalist, geometric pieced quilt top. Then I went to town with free motion quilting. I really enjoy trying a variety of free motion motifs on small projects, where the commitment is much smaller that if I am working on a large quilt.

My process for free motion quilting this piece was very organic, choosing each motif as I went. I had no overall ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I have a couple of cute patterns for you that I put together for OLFA. There's a cute scrappy mug rug and a fun heart garland. Both projects are free thru OLFA . There's still time to finish these projects in time for Valentine's Day! 

Go dig thru your fabric stash, I bet you can find some red, pink and cream fabrics that will work! 

Also, stayed tuned on Monday for the next Mondays with Marcus series III! We are all diving into color!

Have ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and I have a couple of cute patterns for you that I put together for OLFA. There's a cute scrappy mug rug and a fun heart garland. Both projects are free thru OLFA . There's still time to finish these projects in time for Valentine's Day! 

Go dig thru your fabric stash, I bet you can find some red, pink and cream fabrics that will work! 

Also, stayed tuned on Monday for the next Mondays with Marcus series III! We are all diving into color!

Have ...

I have some mini quilts that need to be bound so let’s chat about quilt binding today! I’ll show you step-by-step how I bind my mini quilts for a quick and easy finish.

I’m also announcing my new Crafty Gemini Bag Maker Subscription Box! If you want to learn more click here.

Products and projects used:

• Turnstile Quilt Block PDF- 10 different sizes: https://craftygemini.com/shop/turnstile-quilt-block-pdf-10-different-sizes/

• Crafty Gemini 5″ x 10″ Ruler: https://craftygemini.com/shop/crafty-gemini-5-x-10-ruler/

• OLFA 28mm Rotary Cutter: https://craftygemini.com/shop/olfa-28mm-rotary-cutter/

• KAI Scissors- Assorted Sizes & Styles: https://craftygemini.com/shop ...

About a year ago I participated in the I Spy book release blog hop by making these two quilt blocks from the book. Each is a paper pieced block in which I chose to use solid fabrics.

It is season 13 of Project QUILTING and as much as I love to participate, I really have been focusing on finishing works in progress. I'd convinced myself that instead of participating in this season's one week quilt challenges by conceiving, starting, and completing a quilt in a week (for each of the six challenges) I would choose a WIP from ...

The International Quilt Museum in Nebraska recently ran a “Modern Meets Modern” challenge where makers were invited to create a 16″ x 16″ mini quilt from several possible antique inspiration quilts. After initially thinking I wasn’t going to enter, I decided I wanted to make a mini after all, and Spaghetti Junction is the result, and my final finish for 2021!

This mini is based on the Carpenter’s Square inspiration quilt. As it happened, this is a design I’d already created after flipping through my quilt block encyclopedias earlier this fall. I’d been working on a ...

A friend recently made a quilt with her mother out of fabric that the mother had brought back from the Far East several years ago.

The quilt with stay with the mother, but there were a few small scraps. I suggested she give them to me.

Using the picture of the top as a guide, I made a matching mini.

Yes, a few solids were added, but hopefully the spirit of the quilt has been maintained. The mini will probably hang on the wall of her sewing room and remind her of a wonderful weekend with family.

A small quilting gift for my friend Jennifer.

Based on THIS pattern from All People Quilt, but made miniature. The small squares started at 1-1/4″.

And a little hand-quilting, which is not a strength of mine, but the stitches did get better with practice.

My friend Ellyn and I are both inspired by architecture for our quilt designs. Earlier this year we decided it would be fun if we exchanged photos as our inspiration for mini quilts.

The photo that I gave Ellyn was of a door at the Rock of Cashel in Ireland. I took so many photos of the great architecture (and nature) while on my trip to Ireland in 2019.

Her mini quilt is 13" x 13 1/2". I enjoy how she emulated the uniformity and angle of the elements of the door in her piecing. And her quilt laying ...

  Let me show you my sweet applique design Juggling Snowman... I love Christmas and the whole holiday season so I drew up this whimsical snowman. He such a happy fellow, juggling snowballs. Of coarse I had to find a way to use my favorite embellishments, buttons and yo-yo's...

Juggling Snowman

  Let me show you my sweet applique design Juggling Snowman... I love Christmas and the whole holiday season so I drew up this whimsical snowman. He such a happy fellow, juggling snowballs. Of coarse I had to find a way to use my favorite embellishments, buttons and yo-yo's...

Juggling Snowman

Welcome to my stop on the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog tour!

In 2018, I created Citrus Beach Retreat, my version of Kelly Young's Beach Retreat pattern from her first book, Stash Statement. Today I'm sharing a mini quilt from her latest book, Scrappy Improv Quilting. Both books are available from Kelly's Etsy shop or from large retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

One of my favorite ways to use fabric scraps is to sew them together into what I call a Scrappy Slab. My newest guild offering is a live lecture/demo on Zoom demonstrating my ...

Hey there, friends!  I am so happy that today I get to give you a little overview of the final sections of my new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting.  The third section of the book is titled Seasonal Sensations and contains six adorable little seasonal quilts.

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I'm almost finished with the Halloween Spiderweb quilt I shared last week.  I just need to finish up the binding and get some great photos, but today, I have bigger news!  The official release of my new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting, happened on Monday.  YAY!

The official blog hop to celebrate the book release begins next week, but today I want to give you a quick overview of everything the book has to offer.  Scrappy Improv Quilting is the perfect way to dip your toes into improv if it's new to you ...