What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

This week was so hot that I wished for a Scottish summer, although it was hot there too. I was glad of the neck fan and bedroom fan that I had bought. One night it was 28 degrees and even my stone cottage was hot upstairs. There is no air-con at work and we were sent home at 4pm where all I did was water my garden, marvel at how fast runner beans got and try to beat the slugs to the odd strawberry.

Goosey Quilters, based in Tavistock, is celebrating its 40th anniversary so some of their members came ...

If you read Monday’s blog post, you know that a sweet blog reader sent me a quilt top that only needed to be bound. I’ve been on a roll, trying to finish as many things as I can. This quilt went straight to the sewing room, and I bound it on Monday afternoon. Here it …

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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

We have some bolts of fabric left to clear out of inventory so let’s see what’s left and I also need help choosing a craft item to make for this weekend’s craft swap. I’m thinking I may do a small zupper pouch or some rope bowls. Chat with us live and tell me what you think I should make.

All fabric on sale is on clearance while supplies last! If you have some projects coming up tune in today and see if any of these prints will help!

Join us for a laid back chat about ...

Earlier this spring I dug into my flannel bin, determined to clean it out and get the 15-30 year old fabric into quilts. I posted about the project HERE.This is the first of those quilts...Leap FrogThe tan, speckled fabric isn't flannel, it's cotton, but it was perfect so I just threw it in.Such a simple design - no pattern - I just tried to make the best use out of what I had. It finishes at 56"

The new motor for the longarm arrived and My Sweet Babboo installed it, along with a new belt just for good measure. I was nervous to use it, as we had no guarantee that this would solve the problem of blowing fuses. It was the most likely culprit as we had eliminated just about everything else. To have the machine just shut off and stop while moving it risks a tear in the quilt. So, I needed to assure myself that it was probably fixed. I removed the bobbin case and the needle, set the machine for stitch length and ...

Here we are at the cusp of summer and progress is being made. 

Either last Wednesday or Thursday I picked four cucumbers; Hubs found another lurker. We picked the first one a few days earlier, immediately ate it, and declared it to be the best cucumber we ...

I have this collection of fabrics with a French theme that are begging to be made into something. My thought is to make them into a pieced background, and then add a collage applique. I haven’t yet decided how to cut them up, what size to make the squares, or rectangles, or maybe use a variety of sizes and shapes to make it more interesting.

With all the pink in one of the prints, it seemed logical to select pinks as the collage color for the applique. In watching some videos on how to do this, I learned that ...

 This quilt has been on my list since I first saw it in this bookAnd I thought it would be fitting to make it in patriotic colors as America celebrates 250 years so I pulled out this bin. There are a lot of cutting instructions and I'm starting with scraps and small pieces of well seasoned yardage so this is going to be a labor of loveI'm also going to leave the stars 1/2 blue,

No change in the numbers.

The runner I call Harlequin is now basted.

The blocks came from a class I took in 2017 on improvisational curved piecing.  This is the third quilt from the blocks made in that class.

A lot of the fabrics are my hand dyes.  I didn’t have enough of the blue or green for the border.  I got lucky and found the blue solid at my Guild’s fabric sale.

I could do simple quilting and finish it quickly, but decided to play around with the quilting on this one.  Except for the black and ...

This week at work was all demos, teaching and customer quilting as well as cracking out the machine inventory, preparing the classroom and all of my usual dashing about. Every evening I did some extra hours for my Friday job because they were short staffed. I was glad when the weekend rolled around and I did not have to set an alarm.

Consequently, last week’s laundry still has not been folded, my “sewing room / office” is in a muddle and I have been eating the same thing every day to save time. 

The Slug Pub was not a success ...

Quilting the Quilt of Valor went off the rails this week. When we left off, I had the quilt loaded on the longarm. The backing is a blue background print with a patriotic theme provided by the QOV chapter, along with the batting of 100% polyester. The batting is not my favorite, but it was provided by the chapter. It does have the advantage of not shrinking when washed.

The next task was to audition and choose thread color. I decided on white Glide for the upper thread and white Bottom Line for the bobbin.

The pantograph I chose this ...

Hello Friends! Today is check-in 1 for Patriot Dream QAL! I am so glad for those of you who are making this quilt with me. I have to say these blocks are a bit addictive!

Click here for pattern info: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ivoryspring?search_query=patriot+dream

Click here to shop for patriotic fabrics: http://tidd.ly/3JohDZR – search for patriotic fabrics – there are SO many pretty ones this year! I am using Moda’s Independence Day fabrics, picture below.

Here are shops that are selling kits using Riley Blake Designs’ INDEPENDENCE fabrics:

Preorder – Patriot Dream Quilt Kit ...

This past weekend, our car club sponsored a Quilts of Valor event. We honored seven veterans, all with Vietnam service. It was the ceremony where this quilt I made with donated stars was awarded to a friend.

You may also recognize this quilt top, sent to me by Mary Ellen. I quilted it for the same ceremony.

Mary Ellen’s quilt went to Edward R, third from the left. My quilt went to Dave B, on the end on the right.

We had a wonderful reception for them following the ceremony, with trays of good things to eat. The buffet ...

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 ...

Have you ever wondered why we have so many idioms and metaphors related to bees?

I’ve had a bee in my bonnet for some new designs inspired by the colorful pollinators. The hexagon, or beehive structure was a natural selection for creating strong cutouts in my product walls because they reduce the wall density and material usage while maximizing the structure left behind to carry loads. It works out perfectly for some of my newest 3D printed designs. It was a little harder to pull off the hexaons on my couched throw pillows and the fine laser cut details ...

In our town of Hendersonville, we have a yearly art walk exhibit of bears decorated by local artists. The bears are on the street downtown for the summer, then auctioned off to benefits local charities in the fall. This year, several of the bears feature quilt patterns. This one had quilt blocks in mostly blues over its back and legs. The bright colors are eye-catching.

This bear wears a sweater with quilt blocks down the front and back.

This one was my favorite, a patchwork of pastels. There are 20 bears in all, four on the corners of five intersections ...

The heat and humidity are here, flowers are blooming, veggies are growing, and I can’t get enough sewing time. 

You are invited to participate in Creative Spark’s Online Learning Event – Patchwork Power!

Let’s Explore Making One Block Wonder Panels Together

If you love the idea of creating spectacular quilts from panels, I’d love to have you join me at Patchwork Power.

In One Block Wonder Kaleidoscope Panels, we’ll talk about strip sizes, feature-panel layouts, and how strategic cutting choices can create beautiful, swirling effects.

Receive 20% off coupon on Event Price of $59.00 when you Register with code PP26Jackie at:

I’ll be teaching One Block Wonder Kaleidoscope ...