What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

In the heart of every quilt, there lies a story. It whispers of patience, creativity, and love stitched meticulously into every seam. Susan Ache and I celebrate our new book, Celebrate with Quilts for this very reason. We both make quilts to captures the essence of celebrations and wanted to share a resource to be able to make a quilt exactly as featured in the book but also a design book to create your own variation.

Quilts hold a special place in the realm of gift-giving. They are more than just pieces of fabric sewn together; they are tokens of ...

Do you like Christmas quilting for decoration or gifts? Here is an idea to turn the blocks you have already made into a finished project!

You saw this quilt before it was quilted and bound (click here for the post), where I worked with 12″ blocks I had made to test quilt patterns. It has become part of my work process: test patterns using similar fabrics so that, one day, I can turn those blocks into a quilt.

It reminds me of the “leaders and enders” process, where you begin and end chain-piecing with scraps of fabrics that you then ...

You can find all the info for this sew along on the

Sampler Spree QAL ~ Main Page

I am sewing along by numerical order in the book.

These are all 6.5" unfinished blocks.

In the layout in the book, the small blocks are sewn together

 into larger blocks of four. 

I think I am going to wait to sew mine together.

I may decide to sew them together in order, also.

These are fun blocks to make.

What are your quilty plans this weekend?

May you have a happy and safe ...

Make quick Christmas Quilts with 12-inch Quilt Blocks that you forgot you had! Simple layouts translate into fast gifts or holiday decor.

Last Saturday, after writing a pattern I decided I wanted to spend the rest of the day sewing. I actually wanted to see if I could make a quilt with some test blocks I had. You know that when I test blocks I try to use similar fabrics for many of them so, down the line, I can just put them together into a quilt. That was my mood that day.

The quilt above was the first one ...

Choose your favorite star blocks, a fabric collection, and make a sampler quilt with stars like we did. Exchange blocks once a month!

I am calling this my Friendship Star quilt! Deb, Lisa, and I agreed to work with the Gretel fabric collection by Amy Smart for Riley Blake Designs. I love Amy’s fabrics! Deb suggested our blocks should be 12″ stars, any stars we liked. So, we met every month or so to exchange the blocks we made.

We would choose a design, make three blocks of it, and share. We each had purchased a fat quarter bundle ...

My Summer Sampler 2020 quilt is complete, and I couldn’t be more pleased! (Click here to get the pattern.)

I just loved working with this color palette – I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more variations on this palette from me in the future. Creating this palette—and the fabric pull that brought it to life—was a labor of love, with tons of tweaking and refining as I went. Often, by the time I finish a long-term project like this, I’m tired of the colors and I’m ready to move on to a new palette ...

It must officially be fall, because the final Summer Sampler 2020 block has been released! Here’s a round-up of all the blocks that have been released since my last post for our annual summer quilt-along. (Want to get the Summer Sampler 2020 pattern? Click here!)

Block 7: Diverge by Nicole Neblett of Mama Love Quilts
This is such a fun block and gives you a great opportunity to use lots of colors and prints. Really the only tricky thing about this block is keeping track of where the colors go as you make your Flying Geese units.

Block 8 ...

Another week, another month; they keep sliding one into the next, seemingly without much change, but time's marching ahead and here we are in September already. We've been dealing with the COVID craziness for six months and I've never moved so many projects onto the done list. If everything cloud has a silver lining, the stack of accumulating quilts around here is proof! I did finish up two

Another week, another month; they keep sliding one into the next, seemingly without much change, but time's marching ahead and here we are in September already. We've been dealing with the COVID craziness for six months and I've never moved so many projects onto the done list. If everything cloud has a silver lining, the stack of accumulating quilts around here is proof! I did finish up two

I decided that my May UFO would be the Splendid Sampler blocks that have been lurking in my cupboard since 2016. Having made a Dear Jane quilt and being someone who enjoys making tiny blocks, I thought it would suit me well, but life got in the way.

When I started it, I soon realised that I was not going to make a hundred blocks. and I reset my goal to fifty blocks, partly because of limited time and partly because some of the blocks did not inspire me. I chose to make it pink because I wanted to sew ...

Happy July! Now that summer is in full swing, I’ve been talking with a lot of my friends about how this has really been a “silver lining summer.” We’ve had so many wonderful stop-and-smell-the-flowers type activities with family and close friends that never would have happened if our usual busy summer had gone off as planned. Things aren’t perfect, of course, but we’ve had unexpected moments of magic too. I hope you’re experiencing the same thing! But in the meantime, in the quilting realm …

Here are six “easier than they look” quilt blocks—that you ...

That’s right, Summer Sampler 2020 launches TODAY! Are you ready for a summer of low-stress, easy piecing? Something tells us you are!

Would you believe that this is the 5th annual Summer Sampler Series?! Katie and Faith and I have so much fun putting this together every year, and it’s grown so much—more than 1,500 of you participated in last year’s “Piecing Bootcamp” skill-builder-themed sampler. It was beyond our wildest expectations!

This year, for our 5th annual Summer Sampler, we’re bringing you a laid-back summer of low-stress piecing. We know quilting is one of ...

It’s April, right? I’m kind of losing track over here, having not left the house in 4 weeks. LOL. At any rate, let’s assume it’s April, which means it’s time for the April Paper Chain block.

You guys, I adore this block. It was designed by Christopher Thompson (The Tattooed Quilter) for Summer Sampler 2018, and the design was inspired by the Chrysler Building. We didn’t know it when we set the Paper Chain block schedule, but there could hardly have been a better choice for this month, while so many of our hearts ...

Well, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that it’s been a crazy month for me. We’ve been isolating for about two weeks now, and today was Day 1 of my girls’ online school, which involved no shortage of frustrations. But I’m trying to forge ahead and catch up on some blogging anyway—might as well carry on as normal in those few areas of life where we can! So without further ado, here are the February and March Paper Chain blocks.

First up, February’s block is X Spot by Faith Jones. This is ...

This finish has been a long time in the making. This small quilt is the result of the Temecula Quilt Co. 2015 Summer Sampler Sew-Along. I was diligent (in the beginning) about keeping up with the blocks as posted on their blog.  I decided to do mine using the black and white scraps (generously sized leftovers!) that I fell heir to after my mother finished her own black and white quilt.  She

This finish has been a long time in the making. This small quilt is the result of the Temecula Quilt Co. 2015 Summer Sampler Sew-Along. I was diligent (in the beginning) about keeping up with the blocks as posted on their blog.  I decided to do mine using the black and white scraps (generously sized leftovers!) that I fell heir to after my mother finished her own black and white quilt.  She

Happy new year! If you’re looking to add another project to your 2020 sewing list, our Paper Chain Block-of-the-Month program begins TODAY! If you’re already a subscriber, check your email inbox for the January block pattern!

If you’re not already a subscriber: Twelve months, 12 foundation paper-pieced blocks—that’s so doable, right? Me and my Summer Sampler co-conspirators, Katie and Faith, have created this fabulous quilt, and it really wants to be your project in 2020. : ) We’ve got a great Facebook community for everybody who’s participating, and we’ll give you lots of paper-piecing ...

After my fabulous weekend away at the Quiltville Inn Retreat*, even with all the distraction of the beautiful and incredibly accommodating setting, there's more; believe it or not I actually finished quilt tops and have show and tell of my own! This little beauty (quilt measures 45" square) is the 2012 Summer Sampler Sew-along from the Temecula Quilt Company blog. I had half of the 4" blocks

After my fabulous weekend away at the Quiltville Inn Retreat*, even with all the distraction of the beautiful and incredibly accommodating setting, there's more; believe it or not I actually finished quilt tops and have show and tell of my own! This little beauty (quilt measures 45" square) is the 2012 Summer Sampler Sew-along from the Temecula Quilt Company blog. I had half of the 4" blocks

You guys! I have an exciting announcement this morning: We’re unveiling a Paper Chain: A 2020 Block-of-the-Month program, and you can reserve your spot right now!

Yes! I’m once again joining forces with my Summer Sampler girls—Katie and Faith—to create another fun program for you all, which will take you allllll the way through 2020! So many of you have loved the weekly Summer Sampler blocks that we wanted to give you a monthly option for next year. And it features a favorite technique of the three of ours: Foundation paper piecing.

Just $24.99 total ...