What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Stripy String Quilt

A little while ago Carla from Creatin in the Sticks put a call out to those of us that love stripes - any size any way, striped fabric, striped binding, strips of fabric to make stripes (here's where I come in) literally anything goes! 

There are so many fantastic bloggers taking part over the week(schedule at the bottom) and a whole host of different projects, ideas and inspirations that you can read about and try out - I hope you will join in and show me your stripes!

If you have read by blog for a while ...

Sure it’s not stocks like we may have been watching in the news, but have you ever been a part of a block trade? Once upon a time when we were still working our office jobs, we found that there were others who enjoyed or wanted to learn about our quilting hobby. Perhaps you have similar where you work or live? Pandemic conditions have certainly added a layer of difficulty to this kind of thing.

At any rate, we decided to get together once a month for lunch. Bring your own meal, met in a conference room or other ...

My Foxy Valentine paper pieced block is featured in the January/February issue of QUILTMAKER magazine.

This Foxy block pattern is only available in the Quiltmaker magazine at this time.

I’ve included a pillow pattern in the magazine, too. I have my Foxy Valentine pillow on my sofa this month.

Here are some other cute Valentine patterns.

These 2 block patterns are in my newest book PAPER PIECING ALL YEAR ROUND. I’m using them in my hanging towels. This project is included in the book, as ...

So many customers are asking for more GNOMES. If you are looking for a paper pieced gnome for every month of the year, you can pick and choose the 12 you like the most to make your gnome quilt….choose a Gnome for every month. Here are some of my newest gnomes.

For the EASTER BUNNY GNOME I lucked out and found a scrap of this great basket weave fabric. The most fun was finding some adorable Easter egg buttons from Hobby Lobby to fill my basket. Click on HOBBY LOBBY if you want to find the ...

Here’s a cute paper pieced mug rug pattern just in time for Valentine’s Day. You will find it in the January/February 2021 issue of McCalls Quilting.

This HEART BANDIT MUG RUG is cute, cute, cute! The magazine has full instructions for paper piecing the raccoon block and consructing the mug rug.

The sassy little raccoon block is easy to complete in a day. You could have some sweet Valentine’s gifts done in no time.

Wrap up this mug rug with a coffee mug and some hot cocoa!

One of my customers, Nickola, requested a ...

I managed to finish another block. This one was fairly simple and I didn’t have too many mistakes. I knew I wanted to put the stone print fabric to good use, even though I wish it had been smaller stones and more of an orangey color.

You can see the outlines where I’ve drawn with black marker. It helps me to see the shapes and the scale.

I used a white fabric for the sky, since this photo was taken on an overcast winter day. I found a leftover bit of sparkly white (angel costume, could you guess ...

Here are my latest additions to my paper pieced Gnome collection.

GNOME IN A TRUCK is a combination of my 2 favorite things…red trucks and gnomes! I was so happy with this sweet gnome, that I made his girl friend…

GIRL GNOME‘s braids have small pieces, which makes this an intermediate level pattern.

This GNOME WITH A HEART has been very popular for Valentine’s Day projects. I’m making a sofa pillow. What are you using it for?

Happy Valentines Day … will you be ...

January is always a tough month for me…getting through 5 weeks of winter can be grueling. I stay in Wisconsin, and take advantage of the snow with some cross country skiing and snow shoeing. AND I decorate with paper pieced snowmen. They can stay in place until Valentine’s Day or beyond, so it’s an easy decorating theme.

These 2 cuties are from my newest book, PAPER PIECING ALL YEAR ROUND. With 24 block patterns and lots of cute projects, this book is a good bargain.

I have ...

I’m so excited to share this quilt block with you! The pieces aren’t too tiny on this block (I know I’ve done some tiny piecing in past blocks), and when you make several to put together, they make a super fun “chain” quilt design! You can make yours simple, as I’ve shown in the illustration […]

Yes, I know…I should be drinking coffee with Bailey’s and putting my feet up for the holidays, but NO…instead I am designing even more Gnomes.

Some of you want Gnomes for every season, so I am adding these new designs to my evergrowing list of gnome paper pieced patterns.

SANTA GNOME works perfectly for the holidays. He has his sack full of toys near by!

REINDEER GNOME is Santa Gnomes best buddy. They will make a cute couple as potholders!

GNOME WITH GIFTS has my sweet gnome juggling packages for ...

Quilting has a long and storied history stretching back as far as ancient Egypt, piecing together a timeline of humanity from which we draw our crafting skills. While the quilting we know and love today is worlds different from the functional quilting of our past, it still holds a unique place in our hearts and in our history. For generations we’ve warmed ourselves and our families beneath quilts. They’ve been there to protect us, remind us of our past, and comfort us in difficult times.

While it’s not ...

2020. It goes without saying that this year’s global events have required strength in the face of uncertainty. Businesses and individuals have relied even more heavily than before on data to bring understanding and actionable insights to their families, teams and communities. One tricky part of doing this is to create a visualization that can be understood by a wide population.

I feel fortunate that I have been able to buckle down and work on my Master of Science in Analytics (remotely), support my family at home while they moved back and forth with ...

We’d like to introduce the latest pattern in our Classic & Vintage series, the Blazing Star Quilt!  In our Classic & Vintage series, we focus on traditional quilt blocks and add a modern twist. The Blazing Star is a beautiful design, and we’ve simplified it so you don’t need to worry about matching seams. It’s time to blaze a trail right through this vintage quilt block!

The Blazing Star Quilt Pattern gives instructions for making crib, lap, twin and queen-sized quilts. The FREE Blazing Star Block Pattern makes a 9.5″ x 9.5″ unfinished block. To make ...

Especially when you get Great Presents!

It's no secret I have an addiction to fabric - so this is always a sure win when buying a present for me, but as a quilter I quite often get asked what 'good presents' to buy are. So I thought I'd put together a little list of things that have caught my eye recently or that I generally can't do with out in case anyone was struggling with what to buy for the quilter/sewer/crafter in their life.

This is not sponsored or affiliated in any way, simply my opinions ...

The first Welcome Home quilt is complete.

The blocks finish at 10″ and it only takes 48 to make a nice size (60″ x 80″) quilt. Perfect for a large, cuddly throw, a Quilt of Valor, or a twin size quilt.

Jennifer, who donated her quilting time, used an overall flower pattern with multi-color thread. LOVE IT!

We have another finished top waiting to be quilted, and more blocks in the works. To celebrate the season of giving, I am joining Susan in committing to make a block a day to #LightTheWorld. The Welcome Home block tutorial will be posted ...

It’s not too late to sew some christmas magic! Here are some of my newest Christmas paper pieced patterns. Most of these patterns were designed after hearing feedback from my wonderful customers. I appreciate your input and requests!

This Volkswagon Beetle is delivering the Christmas tree. You could use your own photo and put yourself in the driver’s seat in BUG WITH TREE. This pattern is stinkin’ cute!

I designed this holiday potholder set for a Christmas blog last year, but it has been such a popular pattern. CAROLING BUDDIES is a sweet ...

This adorable handmade paper pieced DOG QUILT is being offered in an online auction, benefits to go to the Street Dog Foundation.

The quilt was lovingly paper pieced by Janet, using my dog patterns, of course! She donated all of the materials and her time for the Street Dog Foundation’s benefit. It would be great if you would show your support by placing a bid on this lovely quilt in the next 2 weeks, after which bidding will end.

And speaking of dog patterns, here are my 4 newest dogs just in time for the holidays ...