Consider joining me, and many others, in making blocks for Many Hands Many Hearts.

These are a truncated version of the potato chip block. Fun use of scraps. Go together quickly.

Mine will be in the mail very soon–24 blocks.

 Today I've got a flannel rag quilt finish to share.Yes, it's July. Yes, it's hot. Yes, a flannel quilt in summer makes no sense. Yes, that's how I roll.

Learn how to make a simple jelly roll quilt that’s perfect for showing off your favorite fabric collection without spending weeks cutting fabric. Since the strips are already cut for you, you can get right to the fun part—sewing.

Jelly roll quilts are one of my favorite projects when I want something relaxing to work on. The coordinating fabrics do most of the work, and before long you’ll have a quilt top that looks like you spent a lot more time planning it than you actually did.

Whether this is your first jelly roll quilt or you ...

If you’ve been here a while, you know that I jump from projects to projects, and I basically have many projects going all at once. Yup, I have a squirrel mind. Many projects, many tabs open, many things going on at once. I know that about me, but this week, something clicked, and I’ve found the way to really embrace and make the best of it. 

The Week That Started It All

First, a little peek behind the curtain. There has been a whirlwind happening on the backend of this blog. I’ve been working ...

My Designer Mystery 2023 Quilt Top Is Finally a Flimsy!

Well, quilty friends, it’s done… the top is done, anyway! My Designer Mystery 2023 quilt has officially reached flimsy stage, and I have to tell you, getting here took a little more grit than I expected.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember I shared the progress of this quilt back in my Block of the Month post. This quilt is the Fat Quarter Shop’s long-running Designer Mystery program, and for this in particular is the one for the year 2023 with that gorgeous Camille Roskelley ...

Lorelai’s First-Time Quilter’s HandbookFrom Basics to Beautiful QuiltsA Complete Guide to Quilt Making232 pagesLandauer Publishing (a division of Fox Chapel – $24.99Lorelai KueckerPigs in a Blanket Quilting Lorelai’s work has come up in my big picture book app more than once. Smitten with her quilted garment construction, it’s hard not to be smitten with her… Continue reading The Book Report

It has been one month since I shared my newest leader-ender project: The Double Four Patch.

I have completed 84 blocks. As Gretchen said, “They add up.”

It started as a second chances possibility that Debra shared with me. I was able to incorporate most of the partially pieced blocks into this version of Jessica Dayon’s Scrappy Sampler Sew Along earlier this year.

I practiced a few important skills at Jessica’s encouragement: PRESS HST SEAMS OPEN (that was the big one), and delay pressing blocks until later in the process. That was counter-intuitive, but it does help in certain situations.

The quilt is planned for a young man whose mother recently passed away. I hope he will enjoy it. He likes strawberries.

You walk into a fabric shop, or more likely, you open a browser tab at midnight…. and something happens in your brain. A little light switches on. Your pulse picks up just a tiny bit. And before you know it, you are adding things to a cart with the quiet confidence of someone who absolutely has a plan.

Do you have a plan? Sort of. The plan is joy. And honestly? That counts.

The Feeling That Starts It All

Here’s what I think is really happening when we buy craft supplies ...

Because I wasn’t thinking of writing a step-by-step process tutorial as I started playing with leftover bits of fabric, I don’t have everything needed to be a true TUTORIAL. But I do have this, and maybe it will inspire you to build something similar yourself.

Stars Surrounded

19-1/2″ x 19-1/2″

MATERIALS

64 high contrast HST 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2 (you can use cutoffs from a previous quilt, or create to order from 2″ squares)

41 background squares 1-1/2″ x 1-1/2″

16 colored strips 1-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ (I cut mine in pairs ...

Cherry Home, a Crooked Fence, and a Lesson in Trusting My Gut..

Hi quilty friends!

I’m finally deep into Lori Holt’s Hometown Applique quilt, and I have two blocks done! If you’ve been following along, you know I’ve just started this project a few weeks back and I am happy to say, I have cut all the little pieces, but I’m fusing them with HeatBond and finishing everything off with a machine blanket stitch a few blocks at a time. 

And of course… it wouldn’t be a proper lesson without a mistake or two ...

A sort of pinwheel star block made with 1-1/2″ cut off HST.

Mini!

First I tried straw, then I teased out wire scourers to apply as mulch, splitting open the end of my thumb but NOTHING seems to stop the pesky slugs that are trashing my strawberries. I have been out at dusk with a trowel, waging war against the slimy pests. My next strategy is to put out beer traps, otherwise I will not be able to eat a single homegrown strawberry without biting into something vile and squelchy. 

It was all-systems-go at work with customer quilts. I think 4 different ones were on the frames this week ranging from brightly coloured ...

It All Started With a Magazine

Remember waiting for your quilting magazine to arrive in the post or when we get to enjoy browsing them on the newsstand while we do grocery shopping? Flipping open those pages — the scent of them, the weight of them — and just… sitting with it? No scroll, no algorithm, no one trying to sell you a fake pattern. Just beautifully curated stories, project ideas, technique tips, and the quiet joy of a community that took the time ...

I Finally Started the Home Town Quilt (And Here’s What Happened)

There’s a quilt kit that has been sitting on my shelf since 2024. Every time I walked past it, I’d give it a little smile — a quiet, slightly guilty smile — and keep walking. You know exactly what I mean, don’t you? read more

Why is it called the Topper Quilt? Because it started out as a TUTORIAL from Free Motion by the River. Great use of Mini Charms (one per block, or a bunch of scrap-cut squares.) AND, if you get carried away, suddenly you have a quilt top. With pillows.

NOTE: This is the front yard of my home. And you are seeing my locally-famous front yard garden. Keeps me honest about weeding…

I love how each block came together and how I was able to use fabric I had on hand. If you have mini charm packs without a purpose, each ...

This Bottled Water Quilt block is a fun and simple make, and so easy to customize! The large blue labels finish at

The post Bottled Water Quilt Block appeared first on Always Expect Moore.