What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I am so excited about the opportunity to share a blog post today on the Quilters Candy website. In that post, I present a few ways to create the illusion of curves in quilts and share a tutorial and free pattern for The Encompass Quilt.

The blocks in this quilt are small, so today I would like to offer tips for piecing narrow strips. In fact, you might find an idea that improves all of your piecing!

Don’t have the pattern for The Encompass Quilt? Sign up here and it will be emailed to you right away.

start with ...

Happy New Year! I've given up on any guiding words or resolutions for 2023; I decided that I didn't want to set myself up for any disappointments or failure in that arena. Instead I have set some goals, both short and long term.  With an active, growing puppy in the house, it seems right to set the biggest long term goal for this year as one that sees Augie growing into a well behaved and

Happy New Year! I've given up on any guiding words or resolutions for 2023; I decided that I didn't want to set myself up for any disappointments or failure in that arena. Instead I have set some goals, both short and long term.  With an active, growing puppy in the house, it seems right to set the biggest long term goal for this year as one that sees Augie growing into a well behaved and

Time has slipped past me while playing with our new dog and having a fun trip to the Houston show, but I have two new quilts to post here, neither of which is my usual “stuff”. First of all, while I absolutely love free-motion quilting, I’ve been wondering what it is about quilting in the […]

Have a look at my most recent finish:

If you surf the internet for quilts, you may have seen the original quilt with this design from Beech Tree Lane Handmade. It was love at first sight for me: simple but cute, this scrappy sea of 4-inch half square triangles would be easy and so satisfying to make.

This quilt turned out to be one of the most planned – and shopped for – quilts, ever. Long before this pattern came into my radar, I already had a nice collection of Aunt Grace 1930s reproduction fabrics, but things changed in 2017. After seeing ...

About a week ago, I posted the first part of a little quilt I’d begun in a class. Since that time, I’ve finished that top, as well as a second one. Unfortunately, I don’t particularly like the results, so I doubt that I’ll actually finish them. Here’s the first one, begun in class. I think […]

It’s finished! Yay! I used swirls in most of the background — and there’s a lot of background in this quilt — hoping to suggest the blowing wind. By the time I’d finished them, I was royally tired of swirls! I quilted the saguaro itself with straight-ish lines interrupted by little jagged bits to represent […]

contemporary embroidery posted a photo:

hand embroidering patches for piecing
karenannruane.typepad.com/.../from-paperwork-to...

Wow! I hadn’t really noticed how long it’s been since I’ve written a blog post, but here we go. I made a quilt top that I’ve decided I don’t like. I have it all sandwiched and ready to quilt, but I can’t seem to get to the quilting, since I don’t like it. Maybe sometime […]

So this is the last Project Quilting challenge (season 13)for 2022. As you know the challenge quilted project can be anything (from a quilted coaster to a full sized quilt) but has to be done (start to finish) during the challenge week. It’s amazing what quilters can accomplish.

I don’t have a lot of time this week, but I really wanted to make something simple so I don’t miss out on participating this week.

I used my Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) computer program to quickly design a doll quilt/table topper with a strip of flying ...

I’m still working — slowly — on the same quilt as I showed you previously. It’s slow going, since there are always (of course!) interruptions. It’s also quite a bit larger than my usual quilts, due to a lack of forethought before I started it. Thank goodness I have that wonderful suspension system to help […]

Have Fun!

With one day to spare, I am sooooooo happy to say that I accomplished my goal to have all 30 vintage tree blocks done by the end of the year!

Throughout block construction, I’ve been struggling to come up with a layout beyond the standard on-point-with-sashing-and-cornerstones variety. After all this time, nothing had come to mind until a few days ago when it occurred to me that maybe a pieced border would be the solution I was looking for. I plugged the idea into EQ and it was perfect – lots of work, but perfect.

I also combed through my ...

I started another quilt (of course!), this one called Ribbon Weave, by Basic Grey. The original pattern shows the quilt in a sort of subdued Christmas color way, but I decided to do it in purples and turquoises. I finished constructing all of the various blocks — four different kinds, as well as corner and […]

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Our younger son flew in last Saturday to spend the holiday with us, and his visit was just the boost I needed to bring me out of my funk. Here he is with John yesterday, checking the roasting chickens on the rotisserie.

We always cook two so we have leftovers and so I can freeze some of the meat for a casserole or chicken pot pie at a later date. Plus, it doesn’t take any longer to decontaminate the kitchen after prepping two chickens as opposed to just one, so may as ...

Although my Covid-induced creative slump persists, I did manage to complete the monthly vintage tree block

and finish a beaded Christmas ornament, made from a Mill Hill kit purchased years ago.

I got the binding sewn onto a very special quilt I started in April of this year and hope to post about that before the year is up.

Thanks for stopping by!