What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

How are you all? I'm keeping very busy in the house and in the garden. Here is a view of the wooden house from the right side. I let that Birch tree grow from a tiny sapling and now I wonder if I should have done that. I love Birches and they don't have the longevity that other kinds of trees have so it won't be there forever. I thought it provides a little shade and privacy too. Anyway, it is now as tall as the roof!

This fun sunflower quilt block is a take on a Dresden fan pattern, without having to make a single Dresden! This block

The post Sunflower Quilt Block appeared first on Always Expect Moore.

Life has overtaken my life. HA!! Don’t you feel that was sometimes?? Well things have settled down a bit. The grandkids are back in school. Rick has settled into his new schedule with classes. I checked off a whole bunch of doctor appointments so I’m in the clear to start getting back to me things…and …

Getting Back in the Swing of Things Read More »

 These monthly Under the Needle posts really help keep me on track. I still sew what I want to sew, but I don't feel so scatterbrained and I often start writing them at the beginning of the month, giving me something to aim for. Shall we begin with the mess in my sewing room? I really need to address this. Sigh.I made all the blocks for my Americana 250 quilt last month, but I pieced it into

I had another unusually busy week long arming which makes me happy! There was a house quilt, postage stamp squares and a Kaffe Fassett diamonds one. In addition, there was class preparation to do and sewing machine demos plus an interesting phone call where the customer was irritated by me asking what brand of thread she was using – all she could tell me was that it was “cotton”. 

So now for some Big News… I am moving to Norfolk! It all boils down to Big Family Stuff and I want to be around so I can help out. Plus Nella ...

Here is a twist on our beloved quilted Welcome Wreaths! Download this Modern Log Cabin Wreath Pattern and hang it year-round in your house!

Welcome Wreath Quilt. Purchase the pattern here.

I am in love with my Welcome Wreath! It measures 28″ x 28″ with blocks that finish at 10″. It is a perfect scrap buster, too!

For this project, I worked with fabrics from the Chromatics collection by FreeSpirit and Lower the Volume by Blank Quilting, as I was going for a pastel look. Whatever fabric you decide to use, I recommend tiny prints of contrasting fabrics, so each ...

I don't spend a lot of time watching television or scrolling through social media, but I do watch the girls at the Fabric Patch and a few weeks ago they mentioned this Tres Leches quilt pattern and they casually suggested folks whip one up and they'd do a show and tell on October 1st for fun. Sure. I can do that.Simple pattern. Easy stitching. Plenty of choices in my fabric pantry. And yet, I

Every so often, questions and comments come from readers, and I think others would like to hear my response. That’s when I feature them on the  blog. This is one of those days.  I have had two different blog readers recently ask me about hanging quilts off my porch. They were curious to know what I …

Ask Jo: Hanging Quilts on my Porch Read More »

I’ve been a little lost this year, well, probably the last 18 months. This week, in a artist development group we answered a few questions around our art practice and my answers left me questioning everything. The questions I really struggled with were:

What do you think you are talents & skills?
I struggled to answer. A: Having ideas/concepts to design to initial work.

What questions go through your mind while you work? This one as an over thinker was interesting…A: How do I grow? What’s next? How do I keep up? Why do I need to ...

I was watching a video lecture on CTPub.com by Paula Nadlestern. Wow she is amazing, a true quilt artist! She inspired me to try some something. I whipped out my Star 60 Tool …

I dug through my OBW stash and found this fabric by Laura Heine called A Bird in Hand. It had already been cut into 18″ repeats.

I cut my strips 3.25″ to yield 5″ finished hexies. I always use my First Choice ruler to cut my triangles.

I am constantly looking to see what else I can make from my 3.25″ strips that can ...

 A friend of ours and his wife had their first baby a few months ago. He is an avid hunter and was our Safari Club chapter president for a few years. He's also the service manager at the Ford dealership and I laughed when we took our truck in last month for a recall issue and DH and he poured over maps of an area where DH drew a tag for an Orex in January before they even checked in the

I had an enjoyably busy week working on customer quilts and also making a sampler with some fun OESD e2e designs. One of the quilts only just fitted on the frame but I got through it in the end:)

I long promised you a free pattern. I finally got it done. You can find the pattern HERE. This is the quilt that I wrote the pattern for… It was very popular on the blog when I showed off my finished quilt. I want to point out a few things to you. The quilt is …

16 Patch Star Free Pattern Read More »

Pollinators by Robin Pickens for Moda Fabrics is absolutely beautiful and will be in shops in December 2026.

I cut my strips 3.25″ yielding a 5″ finished hexie. I love my Studio180 Design First Choice Rulers for cutting the equilateral triangles, it is fast and accurate. I cut diamonds for 5″ Star 60 units that make 10″ stars to add to my garden.

The bees are a buzzing in the garden created for them! I added 5″ and 10″ Hollow Cube 60’s made with my Star 60 Tool and Hollow Cube 60 Technique Sheet. I think they look ...

The quilt is simple–Half Square Triangle blocks alternating with Four Patch blocks.

It is the colors and the layout that make it special.

You can make the design with a couple of charm packs, or a combination of scraps cut into 5″ squares and 2-1/2″ squares (I cut them in pairs). The finished size is 36″.

It was a treasure hunt, searching for this scrap and that one to see what would really work. The finished quilt is in the donation pile for the children’s hospital.

I made all sorts of different things this week, not all of them easy or useful. At work I have made some ruffled samples to prepare for a forthcoming class. People seem to have mixed feelings about whether ruffles are IN or OUT;)

I tested out the new 790 Ultra to see if it did all that it claims to. It performed very well but I think if I had several thousand pounds to spend I would still opt for the top of the range 990 which has a camera and can do pretty much anything.

I gave 2 new ...

Next Wednesday until Friday the Free Motion Quilting Summit will take place. This event takes place online, so everyone from all over the world can take part. You can participate for FREE!

The Summit is organised by Mary Davis of Mary Go Round Quilts. I am lucky to have been asked to teach for the third time in this awesome online event. There are over 20 different teachers taking part, talking about all kinds of different aspects of freemotion quilting.

From design tutorials to ruler work, from freemotion embroidery to gorgeous feathers, there is surely something in there for everybody ...

I know, I can't believe it either!

I started the quilt in 2016; I think it became a flimsy in 2016 and it went on my longarm in 2017. Two moves and 10 years later, it's finally finished.

Tada!

The flimsy in 2017

Everything I could tell you about it was disclosed in previous blog posts; just search for Girl Gang and they should come up for you. I smile every time I see it and the song immediately pops in my head--it's a happy song and it is now the name of the quilt: Let Me ...

Well, that was fast! After I wrote a few hours ago that I was trying to figure out how to get a photo of the Exploding Heart quilt I’d recently  made, it hit me that someone at my local quilt shop might be able to help! Sure enough, one of the taller women who works […]

Last fall I went to the Houston Quilt Festival and saw a new-to-me paper piecing company called LegitKits. They had show-special prices, and I was lucky enough to win a further discount, so I bought one of their kits, called Little Hummer. The pattern comes with all of the necessary fabrics and, of course, the […]