What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Picture this: You are relaxing next to a desert campfire. Rocky cliffs and towering saguaros are silhouetted by a fire-red sunset. The scent of sagebrush floats in the cool, evening air. You wrap a quilt around your shoulders and listen for the call of a distant coyote.

Of course, such an idyllic moment demands a carefully chosen quilt—and we’ve got just the thing!

Boho Blooms is a beautiful Southwestern quilt pattern inspired by the classic Squash Blossom. It comes together quickly with layer cake squares and snowballed corners. Best of all, Jenny turns the scraps into a pretty ...

Hexagon quilts can be tricky, but they don’t have to be! Simply grab your favorite jelly roll strips and our brand new 60 Degree Triangle Ruler. Almost like magic, those six-sided beauties come together in a flash—no Y-seams required!

This quilt would dazzle with any 2.5 inch strips, but we sure love Jenny’s choice of Linework and Designer Solids by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics. It’s bright, cheery, and oh so fresh! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

Can you imagine enduring winter in ancient Scandinavia? No electricity. No furnace. No corner grocery store. Just weeks and weeks of darkness, cold, and scarcity. 

During the darkest part of winter, my own Swedish ancestors adorned evergreen wreaths with white candles to celebrate Yule, or midwinter. The evergreen boughs symbolized resilience in harsh conditions; the candles, hope for the warmth and light of spring. 

3,000 years later, I think we can all use a touch of hope, so we’re whipping up a quick and easy Hourglass Wreath quilt. This simple layer cake pattern comes together in a jiffy ...

2020 is the year of staying home. It’s the year of sweatpants and old t-shirts and not knowing if I even own makeup anymore. There’s nowhere to go and no one to impress.

But sometimes I just want to feel fancy. I long for sequins and heels and sparkling diamond earrings. I want to see my husband in a well-tailored tux with patent leather shoes and a dapper bow tie. Is that too extreme for ANOTHER movie night at home? I think not! 

This week Jenny is whipping up a quick and easy Bow Tie Party quilt using ...

Have you ever given up on a quilting project? You’re not alone! Wavy blocks and unmatched seams have frustrated quilters since the invention of needle and thread!

As a result, unfinished quilts are commonly found in antique shops, and quite often, they are Morning Star quilts! This pretty star is certainly breathtaking, but all those Y-seams and tiny bias-cut diamonds have caused many a quilter to call it quits. 

Lucky for us, the magnificent Tara Faughnan designed a modern Morning Star for our MODBlock Magazine, and it’s the perfect blend of quick, easy, and exciting! Click HERE to ...

The Double Nine Patch was all the rage during the Civil War. Fabric was scarce—so scarce that every precious scrap was saved for quilts. Patterns like the Double Nine Patch transformed all those scraps into true works of art!

Back then, these quilts were hand stitched one itty-bitty scrap at a time, but now there’s an easier way! Click HERE to watch Jenny whip up a Mini Double Nine Patch quilt with quick and easy strip sets!

There’s no greater pleasure than sitting outside under a warm, cozy quilt and watching spring flowers blossom on a cool April morning. In an unprecedented time where all of us are spending more time at home, opportunity has presented itself to allow us to take a moment to appreciate the simpler things in life. When is the last time you truly stopped to smell the flowers?

Whether you’re inside or out in the garden, adding some flower power to your next quilting project is the best way to capture these peaceful spring mornings. Historically, quilters have immortalized their ...

In the olden days, laundry was scrubbed on washboards, hand-mixed bread was baked in finicky wood-burning stoves, and the Carpenter’s Star was stitched with labor intensive y-seams. It was a lot of work. Thank goodness for modern innovations!

This week, Jenny is whipping up an Easy Carpenter’s Star using big half square triangles. It’s a gorgeous quilt that comes together lickety-split! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

The shoofly block is a 19th century classic. It’s so easy, it was used to teach children their very first lessons in quilting. Now that’s my kind of block!

This week Jenny is transforming that easy block with our favorite “disappearing” magic trick, and the results are simply dazzling! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

With May right around the corner, there’s no better time to create a beautiful Mother’s Day quilt than the present! Many of us learned to sew from our mothers and grandmothers, but even if you didn’t, take some time this spring to celebrate those who helped raise us. Mothers and quilters are an incredible and caring people. Wrap mom in love this season with one of our five favorite Mother’s Day quilts!

May Day Baskets

The month of May starts off strong with the celebration of May Day! Traditionally, May Day baskets are full of freshly ...

Your sewing machine is probably capable of oodles of decorative stitches…but have you ever used them? Now is your chance to take those flowers, hearts, and loop de loos for a spin!

We’re working on a project inspired by Jenny’s favorite antique crazy quilt. And like a traditional crazy quilt, Stars and Stitches is just begging for some fancy stitchin’! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

Social distance. It’s a new phrase – and a new way of life – for most of us. But I think it’s a bit of a misnomer. Because even though we’re separated physically, we aren’t really alone! From video chats with grandkids to friendly greetings from across the street, there are a million ways to connect every day, and I’m sure grateful for that! 

One little girl spent hours decorating the sidewalk with chalk. She drew a hopscotch that stretched from one end of her house to the other. As the neighbors walk by, they can’t ...

Adding curves into a quilting project has generally been considered a daunting task reserved only for the most skilled and experienced quilters. Curves don’t have to be a challenge anymore though! Jenny has stitched up some beautiful projects that include curves, but as always she has made them easy, approachable and fun!

Push your quilting skills a little farther and challenge yourself with some of these lovely projects, all of which feature curves that will make your quilt stand out from the rest. If this week’s Triple Play proves anything, it’s that curves don’t have to ...

We’re quilting with curves, but don’t you worry! The Drunkard’s Path block has just one simple seam, and when you master that curve…the sky’s the limit!

Jenny’s Design

For this month’s Triple Play tutorial, Jenny, Natalie, and Misty each designed a brand new Drunkard’s Path quilt. (I can’t wait to hear which is your favorite!)

Misty’s Design

These gorgeous projects are made with charms, yardage, and our new Drunkard’s Path template.

Natalie’s Design

Three tutorials and three different takes on a classic design! Click HERE to watch the ...

The periwinkle plant is so resilient, it can survive extreme heat, drought, pests, you name it! Those pretty little flowers just bloom and bloom—even when life isn’t perfect!

So here’s my new motto: be like a periwinkle! Don’t give up if your stitching isn’t straight! Don’t despair if the seams don’t match up perfectly! Just do your best, and have fun creating your own Stretched Periwinkles with Jenny! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

(Psst! Watch all the way to the end for two bonus projects that are made from the scraps!) 

They don’t make them like they used to. Many of us were fortunate enough to have learned the art of quilting from our ancestors; parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles have long since been the best teachers to pass on the gift that is quilting. They stitched differently, as limited resources required more time and perseverance with each block. Each stitch was made with love though and the quilts survived, being passed down as family heirlooms for generations to come. Those beautiful patterns, bound in time by thread, became classics of the quilting world.

These projects have carried with them ...

The Irish Chain is one of my favorite classic quilts, but Jenny’s Irish Change is even better!

• This quilt was designed for pretty fabric. The 10-inch squares are left uncut, so favorite prints can really shine!

• This quilt is HUGE! At 101 inches square, it’s the perfect size for a queen bed! 

• This quilt is delightfully quick & easy! The secret? All those criss crossing “chains” are made with simple strip sets!

Ever heard of the LeMoyne Star? It’s a tricky block with y-seams galore. (In other words, it’s not for me!)

Jenny’s Lemon Star has the same 8-point star, but it’s made with easy half-square triangles! Click HERE to learn how to whip up this simple quilt using your favorite charm packs!

(Do you recognize this block from our fun new “All Stars” Block of the Month? Click HERE to see if you can spot it!) 

February is the perfect time to start dreaming of warm summer days in the sun. When the cabin fever of being cooped up indoors starts to really set it, take that opportunity to begin planning your summer projects! With summer months right around the corner, now is the perfect opportunity to begin work on wedding quilts, graduation gifts and those fun projects that make us wish for warmer weather!

Needing some inspiration? Here are some great summer quilting projects that will have you stitching up sunnier days in no time!

The Road Trip Quilt

Document your summer travels and never ...

Andromeda, our next-door-neighbor galaxy, is named after a mythological Greek princess known for incredible beauty. It’s made of 1 trillion stars dancing through space in a massive, brilliant swirl.

While our Brilliant Swirl isn’t quite so epic, it sure is pretty! Learn how to make this quick and easy quilt using your favorite 2.5 inch strips! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!