What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

As quilters, sometimes it is fun to get back to the basics.  With all of the intricate and beautiful quilt patterns available, it’s nice to do something simple, and quilt block tutorials are a great way to refresh, or learn, quilting skills.  That is certainly the case with this tutorial.  New Quilters brings us a perfect pinwheel tutorial for getting back to the basics.

The pinwheel block is one of the most common and traditional blocks used in quilting.  It first became popular in the early 1800’s.  It is also a good way to hone your quilting skills ...

Who wouldn’t want to get this absolutely adorable mini heart quilt?  It’s charming and would be perfect for Valentine’s Day.  Designed by Jedi Craft Girl, the free pattern is provided by Thermoweb and can be found on their website.

Ideal for jelly rolls or 2.5″ strip sets, this quilt pattern provides step by step instructions for each unit of the heart and star block.  Besides the standard quilting supplies listed, you will need Heat ‘n Bond adhesive paper which can be purchased here. This is needed for the appliqué heart shapes.  You will also need about ...

Are you interested in doing a little bit of improv quilting?  Sometimes it’s fun to just go with the flow and not follow a particular pattern.  This helpful tutorial from 3rd Story Workshop shows you how to make improv birch trees.

Of course, this improv technique is not just limited to birch trees.  One could easily change up the look just by changing the fabric used.  Just look at all of the variations that are shown at the end of the article.

As you will see in the tutorial, the designer uses her birch trees to border a beautiful ...

Remember those cute little fabric yo yos (or Suffolk puffs) that your grandmother used to make?  They were in every color imaginable and she made all kinds of fun things out of them.  Well, I have rounded up 20 tutorials to inspire you to make your own.  From earrings to table runners, you are sure to find a project that you will love.  There are even a couple of tutorials to show you how to make a yo yo if it’s a new skill for you.

1. Molly and Mama brings us this beautiful and detailed tutorial demonstrating how to ...

Whether you are a beginner quilter or just need a refresher on something, sometimes it’s nice to get back to the basics.  That is exactly what this tutorial is, a nice, easy, and tremendously versatile quilt block called the Economy (or square in a square) block.  This pattern is for an 8″ block and is brought to us from Leila Gardunia.

I mentioned this block’s versatility earlier, and it definitely is.  It can be used as a joiner block for other ones, or it can stand along.  It is often used in “I Spy” quilts for children.  It ...

If you are  a bit of a fabric hoarder like Claudia and myself then the chances are you have a whole lot of colour coded baggies of scraps of fabric just desperate to be used. This tutorial by CreatewithClaudia shows you how to turn your scraps into workable fabric yardage that be be transformed into larger projects, quilts and blocks.

The Flying Geese quilt block is a traditional one that is a favorite of many quilters.  What is interesting is just how many variations and ways of making it are available.  We’ve rounded up 15 free tutorials showing many of these methods.  There are even a couple of quilt patterns to show off those flying geese that you worked so hard to make.

1. Make a lovely tree with this design from Sew What Yvette
2. Show off those special fabrics with this giant no-waste flying geese tutorial from Reanna Lily Designs
3. This pretty block from Quilting Daily has goslings running ...

Suzy from the blog Suzy Quilts shares her view on 4 of the best quilting rulers. Her review is detailed and explains why each ruler is the best for the type of quilting that she does. You may be using your child’s homework ruler and thinking life is good enough, but with the proper quilting ruler you can really lift your quilting A-game.  Read her full article on Quilting rulers here. 

Don’t you just love this cuddly lap quilt?  It was originally intended for a man and it was made to highlight a fabric line from a manufacturer.  It is more masculine looking, but it can be for anyone.  And like any quilt, the look can easily be changed with different fabrics.

This project is an easy one, and should only take about a day to assemble. You will need seven fabrics in varying measurements.  To make it super cuddly, use fleece fabric like the designer did.

The finished quilt measures 54″ x 70″ and is made up of large ...

Have you ever wanted to try out big stitch hand quilting?  Not everyone is familiar with it, but it’s basically a different hand quilting method.  Larger stitches are used, not only to hand quilt a piece, but to add an additional design element to it as well.

It used to be (and still is for many people) that hand quilters would try their very best to get the smallest and most even hand quilting stitches they could.  However more and more people are doing big stitch quilting.  Usually it is done with perle cotton and in colors to compliment ...

Rag quilts are all the rage right now.  Depending on the pattern, they are fairly easy to make and they look great.  I have always liked the texture that rag quilts have, with those fluffed up seams.  To me they are quite warm and cozy.

If you have ever wanted to try making one, or if you’re looking for a new design to try, here are 12 free rag quilt patterns to inspire you.

1. Inspired Quilting by Lea Louise brings us a method for making a blue jeans rag quilt with no backing.
2. Soft and cuddly, this rag quilt ...

Are you familiar with, or have you ever wanted to learn about, machine reverse appliqué?

If you aren’t familiar with it, a good example is a mola. A mola is a textile craft that originated in Panama by the Kuna people.  The artists make all kinds of brightly colored designs.  From animals to geometric shapes, many of the pieces can be quite intricate.

Basically, unlike regular appliqué, where a fabric shape is sewn onto a larger piece of background fabric, reverse appliqué is done the other way around.  The larger piece of fabric is on the top, a shape ...

Sometimes we get so carried away showing our readers amazing quilt designs that we forget to go back to basics once and a while for all the newbies to quilting. That is how we came across this very detailed article about paper piecing. You can read the full article here. Once you have read this article you will have a complete understanding of paper piecing and how to use it in your quilting habits.

You don’t have to be part of this Quilt along to learn a valuable lesson in quilting. This tutorial guide is all about appliquéing a perfect circle onto your piece. The tutorial is detailed and full of tips and tricks to help you. Sometimes you have to teach an old dog new tricks so that we can improve our abilities and more importantly pass our knowledge and experience on. You can read the full tutorial here.

For those of you who have clicked thru wondering why we are talking about nipples, then I am sorry to disappoint. We are not talking about those nipples. We are talking about nipples, ripples, tufts, bumps and lumps that appear in your quilting projects when you can’t or don’t know how to get those nipples tight. This tutorial shows you how to get rid of those quilting nipples for flat projects.