What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Heading to Paducah next week ~ yes, I get to make the trek to Quilt Mecca!  Paducah is home to the National Quilt Museum, and with vendors, classes, events, and a quilt show... well,  I'm just a little giddy.  Besides, my Soldier's Star quilt is on display in it's last AQS quilt week stop after being on the road for nearly a year, so I might as well go, right?  That's as good an excuse as any. :)

I'm getting all packed, and I'll be taking one or two CARPETBAGS with me - (sometimes referred to by ...

Hive 17 Progress

Have you had a chance to look through our latest issue yet? The April/May 2014 issue of Quilters Newsletter (available at the Quilt and Sew Shop if you haven’t got a copy yet) is full of all kinds of cool stuff, but I want to talk about a single block that appears in the issue. One of the fabric lines featured in Staff Picks is the brightly fabulous Flower Power collection by Red Rooster Fabrics. I was lucky enough to use these fabrics to make the block that’s pictured. The fun thing is the block pattern is ...

Have you been on the fence about joining a guild? You searched for reasons to join a guild and cannot decide? Here, we give you our top ten reasons to join a quilting guild.

Ten Reasons to Join a Quilting Guild

Guild Name Tags and Postcards Pattern

1. Gain friendships from like-minded quilters. The first reason to join a quilting guild is that doing so will offer you the opportunity to meet quilters and sewers who are just like you. Do you sometimes feel that nobody else “gets” you? Being around people who would rather quilt than do almost anything ...

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on the Paper Boat pattern we released on Wednesday!

In the meantime, more days have passed so more designs have been made.

3-18: feathered hues and blossoming hues – Playing with minimalism and repeats. I like that the one on the right evokes a cherry blossom feel without being too literal.

As of today, I’ve been making a design-a-day for two months. Wowza!

3-19: sprouting hues – I was inspired by the way ivy climbs up a wall which is both beautiful and destructive.

I feel like I’m starting to find my style, and ...

Lisa Mullenburg creates adorable quilts that feature dogs, dinosaurs and owls among many other characters. Her story is interesting. She started designing quilts for her Mother to make, so that Mom could make quilts for each of her grandchildren. She quilts with a method she calls “counted quilts” which is a no applique quilt method, and also is the name of her quilt business.

The technique is simple, yet brilliant. First, you cut your fabric into strips.

Next, you cut the strips into pieces following the instructions in the pattern.

Finally, you assemble the pieces using 1/4″ straight seams ...

Shake up Five Placemats Pattern

Hobbies like sewing and crafting have long been recognized for their health benefits. Engaging in arts is relaxing, engaging and can have significant health benefits. But quilting, a study by Glasgow University found, is “uniquely” good for you. Read on to discover this unique study on quilting for health.

Quilting for Health

Rose Moss Quilt Pattern

Students interviewed a small group of  30 quilters and found that quilting improved their cognitive, creative and emotional well-being. 

The study concluded that the use of bright colors was ‘uplifting’, the activity distracted  from the stress of work, and ...

First of all, our website had some technical difficulties on Monday, but there was a new color theory post that went up in case you missed it. Analogous colors are my favorite go-to color scheme, so I really enjoyed chatting about it!

Second of all, thank you everyone for your kind words and great advice in regards to my design overload post. Sometimes I really need to be reminded to stop worrying so much!

I’m still ruminating on some of the advice, but I will continue to post all the designs, even if they’re a month old when ...

the truth is after the first two times i did rag quilts i wasn’t a huge fan. but, then again, i did use 2″ squares…on a twin size quilt. and i didn’t use the right scissors. seriously. what was i thinking?!? i’ll skip the long story between then and now but this is what i’ve come up with… isn’t it cute?? so here’s the tutorial […]

So excited my bargello class has launched on Craftsy!! I got this fabulous opportunity to be filmed in Denver, for a week. Quite an experience, really–have your hair and makeup done every day, wear clothes that aren’t wrinkled and baggy(okay, you all know that Madison picked out my wardrobe!) and actually eat dinner based on what you want, not what place has a good kids menu!

And that doesn’t even get into why I was there! To talk bargello of course! I got to talk about three different bargello projects while everyone listened attentively–well they ...

Below is a guide or some pointers we came up with when working with those two categories of Fun Fabrics! Not hard to do, just a little different than the regular quilting fabrics.

Fun Fabrics Guide

Please also see a previous post with the Cuddle Tutorial if you’re working with those plush fabrics!

Daughter #1 and #2 gave up their quilts for a photo–dog would like to steal them!!

Eggs, flowers, pastel colors. All things we like to see in Spring. And why not add some butterflies, as a reminder that the hot Summer days are not so far off? The free pdf pattern can be found here, in French … Continue reading →

Most of the time I want to make interesting and attractive quilts, which require a fair amount of time, patience and thought, but sometimes I’d just like to get one done already. I was at sort of an in-between place recently, where I’d finished an involved project and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to get into another detailed and time-consuming quilt just yet. I wanted to make something quick, easy and fun.

So I turned to my WIPs. Lori has her PIGS (Projects In Grocery Sacks), and since I don’t tend to keep my stuff ...

Happy Easter Garland Pattern

Designer Barb Sackel of Rose Cottage Quilting has introduced her fun, new line of garland patterns that are easy fast and fun! Here is what we love about Barb’s new garland patterns. 

1. They are no-sew patterns. We all love to sew. But sometimes creating something that doesn’t require a machine, needle and thread is just downright fun. It’s refreshing that these new garland patterns require few supplies and can be created fast.

Merry Christmas Garland Pattern

2. They are great for novelty fabrics. OK, so you bought a yard of sports themed ...

FREE Wheelchair Tote Pattern

Quilting for charity can be a wonderful way to give back while putting your skills to use at the same time. While we enjoy quilting, we enjoy the act of presenting our creations to charitable causes that much more. Take a look at three charities we love.

Project Linus

Since 1998, Project Linus has donated over 5 million blankets to children in hospitals, shelters and social service agencies. National President Carol Babbitt and Vice President Mary Balagna direct and orchestrate the activities of Project Linus chapters located across the United States. Both have been involved with ...

Thanks to all those who took the time to comment on the giveaway the other day to share how you began your quilting journey - and what quilty things you did in celebration of National Quilt Day this month!  Wonderful stories - lots of creating and sharing going on in the quilt world - one stitch at a time.

Around here, we definitely honored National Quilting Day/Week/Month, all month long!  Here are some highlights: