What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

What’s the Project? Learn how to sew a microwave bowl cozy that sits right under your bowl while it heats. This easy quilt-as-you-go project uses fabric scraps and microwave-safe materials to create little handles for grabbing your hot bowl—without doing that awkward hot-hot-hot! shuffle back to the counter.

Microwave Bowl Cozy Pattern

You know what shouldn’t be surprising anymore? That the bowl you just heated in the microwave is HOT.

And yet… I still grab it.

A microwave bowl cozy solves that problem. Your bowl sits right inside the cozy while it’s in the microwave, and ...

Quilted hot pads are my go-to palette cleanser whenever I want to refresh my kitchen or whip up a thoughtful gift in a single afternoon. They are the ultimate scrap-buster and a low-stakes way to play with a new technique without committing to a full-size quilt.

I love exploring all the different ways to make them functional and fun—whether it’s adding sturdy hook loops, handy pockets, or sizing them up for large casseroles. From unique geometric shapes to interesting trims, there are so many ways to add a little personality to something you’ll use every single day ...

For the past year I have been featured in American Quilter. Every issue has one of my paper pieced block patterns, and a link to a helpful video on paper piecing techniques.

The May 2025 issue featured this Spring butterfly and daisy. You can watch all the videos on my Made By Marney YouTube channel. If you are new to paper piecing, or need a refresher, watch PAPER PIECING TUTORIAL: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT on YouTube. This is a great starting point with simple tips for easy piecing.

Try some of my favorite Cute Critters in your next project…

These are ...

This is the year of potholders, this time a String Pieced set.

I don’t know who these belong to yet, but it is good to have such presents on hand.

I love to make potholders. But I haven’t much lately. So, one of my quilting goals for this year is to make at least one a month. For January, I have two (so far).

These sewn together 2-1/2″ squares came in a scrap bag. What a perfect starting point!

In a single day (January 1), 16-patch blocks were created, layered, quilted and bound (while watching a football game). Ta-dah!

TIPS:

–You can make something similar using any 16 2-1/2″ squares. If you have a mini charm pack, you can make two, or, by adding 6 coordinating squares ...

Its time to dust off those bunny decorations. Let me help you with that!

Here are some of my favorite paper pieced Easter patterns…

All 6 of these bunny and peeper blocks are included in one pattern: EASTER TABLE RUNNER AND POTHOLDERS. Easy peasy patterns, and a great way to use up those scraps!

HAPPY EASTER DUCKY and HAPPY EASTER BUNNY are fast and easy and make great gifts.

I sewed tiny little egg buttons in the EASTER BUNNY GNOME basket. Too cute!

The LOP ...

Everywhere I go I’m seeing the cutest bunnies for Easter decorating. I found these at Walmart…cute and affordable.

For my front door, I made these moss bunny beauties from Dollar Tree items…

They were amazingly fun and easy to construct. I found this idea on Pinterest.

This is my fave paper pieced bunny block pattern… BUNNY WITH FLOWERS.

I’ve used this block in lots of projects. I love animals with flowers on their heads.

Here are some of my other bunny blocks…LOP EARED BUNNY

Here’s the same lop bunny with a bow… LOP BUNNY WITH ...

Every year I create home made gifts for my pickleball crew. There are 8 of us and we play 3 times a week, so we have gotten very close. I want this gift to be pickleball related, but also practical. This year, I used some adorable novelty fabric (Elizabeth Studios Pickleball Paddles on White 683 Fabric) to sew SWEAT RAGS. I found my fabric at a local quilt shop, MY FAVORITE QUILT SHOP, in Green Bay, WI.

I simply purchased soft terry washcloths, ripped open any side seams…

tucked the pickleball fabric under the opened seam…

and sewed the seam ...

All of my patterns include paper pieced blocks, which are constructed with scraps of fabric going in various directions. It is important to quilt over the finished block so it will not stretch out of shape when laundered. But, after paper piecing a lovely image, it almost hurts to quilt over it! My go to method is to use invisible thread.

These 3 invisible threads are brands that I have used and I think they are all do a good job. Superior Threads makes MonoPoly, Aurifil makes a 100% Nylon variety, and YLI makes this Monofilament 100% Nylon Invisible Thread ...

I've been on mental vacation for the past couple of days, because I just wrapped up a couple of big projects.  So I started procrastinating the next big thing on my list by cleaning up my studio and selected portions of my home. 

But then I wound up procrastinating my procastination with this gift project idea, just in time for the holidays: Wall art/kitchen art/potholders from old freemotion quilting practice pieces! Here's some of what I've made so far, in the guise of cleaning up my house:

As Halloween is approaching, you might be looking for some cute and spooky patterns. Here are some of my faves….

BOO COLLECTION, a pattern with 6 blocks including these…

This collection of 6 Halloween paper pieced block patterns is so clever! Included with the blocks are patterns for a table runner and potholders. These 8″x 8″ blocks can be used in so many fun ways. Be creative and construct an entire Halloween quilt! Here is a quilt put together by Donna for her daughter, using some of these blocks….

The WITCH HAT pattern is very easy and would be ...

Quilted hot pads are great for making when you want to refresh your kitchen or whip up a quick gift. Hot pads are perfect for using up scraps of fabric or trying a new technique on a smaller scale.

I love incorporating lots of options with a variety of hot pad styles for example: hook loops, hand pockets, large casserole size, unique shapes, and interesting trims.

10+ Free Quilted Hot Pad Patterns

Orphaned quilt blocks make for great hot pads too. Be sure to use protective layers such as insul bright batting, extra layers of regular batting or thicker fabric ...

Quilted hot pads are great for making when you want to refresh your kitchen or whip up a quick gift. Hot pads are perfect for using up scraps of fabric or trying a new technique on a smaller scale.

I love incorporating lots of options with a variety of hot pad styles for example: hook loops, hand pockets, large casserole size, unique shapes, and interesting trims.

10+ Free Quilted Hot Pad Patterns

Orphaned quilt blocks make for great hot pads too. Be sure to use protective layers such as insul bright batting, extra layers of regular batting or thicker fabric ...

I needed a quick gift and a potholder seemed like a good idea. Plus, there was only a little of this cute sewing fabric.

You can use THIS tutorial, or just start with any 8″ block. I really like sawtooth stars.

And, before you know it, there is a gift. YAY!

I am always asking my customers to send photos of the things they create using my patterns. Today I am sharing some of my favorite photos.

This adorable wall hanging was sewn by Carol Cheesman using LUMBERJACK GNOME, SANTA GNOME, and GNOME WITH GIFTS.

Elise Brasseale made these cute little mug rugs using the elf from SEW YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, and GNOME WITH LANTERN.

Crafty Judy Miniclier created this adorable GNOME QUILT, using assorted GNOMES FROM MY SHOP. Beautiful!

These Christmas blocks were shared by Joyce Albers. She is creating a holiday quilt. She used HO HO HO ...

 Just popping in today to share a quick little finish.

I recently taught one of my Scrap Mixology workshops and we were talking out making holiday gifts.  We decided the Two Bit block would make a fun potholder.  So when I got a chance, I made a couple to toss in my training bin to share at future workshops.

I pulled the mini 9 patch out of my spare parts and the rest of the fabric came out of the scrap bins.  I think they turned out kind of cute.  They are purple...what is not to love!

As summer approaches, I am anticipating playing my newest passion in the park, Pickleball. All winter I have beaten the blues by socializing with 8 friends at indoor pickleball, while wearing masks.

I even sewed matching “pickle masks” for our teams. But I can’t wait to get back outside and play at some of the local courts in our city parks.

So when my son Brady suggested I create a Pickleball Gnome, I knew he was absolutely right. How had I forgotten to make a gnome doing my favorite sport?

You can get both patterns as ...

Making new potholders usually falls into my schedule in the January time frame when all the organize, renew, and refresh vibe is going around. It's okay that I did not get to this until November. My poor old potholders from two years ago got a real workout. There were holes and a few good burns on them.