What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Encouraging sensory play in the first year of life and beyond offers tons of benefits as babies grow and develop. Not to mention, it’s just plain fun for them! We love Around the Bobbin’s Sensory Toys for more than just cuteness, they contain all sorts of fun sensory surprises for little ones in a safe way.

You can make gift-worthy sensory baby toys, loveys and baby quilts from several Around the Bobbins patterns. Each pattern comes with detailed instructions for completing the projects with flannel or Cuddle fabrics that you select.

Ellie & George Sensory Toys

When I saw ...

Good times are always better when they’re shared, and we have sew much to share with you all today! And as an added bonus we have 12 marvelous quilt blocks to share, designed by the very gifted Quilterpreneurs!

Who are the Quilterpreneurs?  They are 12 talented designers and creatives led by their inspiring leader Elizabeth Chappell of Quilter’s Candy. Elizabeth is an author, a fabric designer for AGF, a quilt pattern designer, as well as the host of the popular podcast Craft to Career. When Elizabeth saw the enormous talent and enthusiasm in the students from her Quilt ...

On cold winter nights, the sky is an icy blanket of twinkling stars. The truth is … I rarely take notice. It’s just too cold for stargazing! 

But if you are willing to bundle up and brave the winter chill, you will be treated to a glittering show far brighter than any summertime stars. 

This week Jenny is whipping up a Winter Star quilt in icy shades of blue and white. This quick and easy layer cake pattern is perfect as a lap quilt or winter wall hanging.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! If you love Marcia Brady as much as we do, get excited! 

Last year, Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) visited Missouri to meet Jenny. Maureen is an avid quilter and just as sweet in person as she was on TV. (Click HERE to watch the video!)

Now, Maureen has her own fabric collection with Moda, and Jenny used it to whip up a flower applique quilt made with quick and easy half-square triangles. 

These pretty blocks can be laid out in dozens of ways. And whether you choose pinwheels, chevrons, or square-in-a-square, you’ll have a groovy ...

Hexagon quilts can be tricky, but they don’t have to be! Simply grab your favorite jelly roll strips and our brand new 60 Degree Triangle Ruler. Almost like magic, those six-sided beauties come together in a flash—no Y-seams required!

This quilt would dazzle with any 2.5 inch strips, but we sure love Jenny’s choice of Linework and Designer Solids by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics. It’s bright, cheery, and oh so fresh! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

Can you imagine enduring winter in ancient Scandinavia? No electricity. No furnace. No corner grocery store. Just weeks and weeks of darkness, cold, and scarcity. 

During the darkest part of winter, my own Swedish ancestors adorned evergreen wreaths with white candles to celebrate Yule, or midwinter. The evergreen boughs symbolized resilience in harsh conditions; the candles, hope for the warmth and light of spring. 

3,000 years later, I think we can all use a touch of hope, so we’re whipping up a quick and easy Hourglass Wreath quilt. This simple layer cake pattern comes together in a jiffy ...

They say there’s more than one way to skin a cat. (Ew, right?) I prefer to say there’s more than one way to set quilt blocks on point!

Last week Jenny taught one quick and easy way to set a quilt on point; this week, she’s demonstrating another simple method! 

She starts with an easy-peasy bear paw block and stitches it up with setting triangles. It’s the perfect pattern for your favorite 2.5 inch strips, and it comes together like a dream! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

On Mother’s Day, we shared a bouquet of fabric flowers that bloom year round! We were so excited by your response to this lovely project, that we teamed up with the creator, Missouri Star’s very own, Cassie R., to share a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these easy fabric flowers!

Follow along below to learn how to make your very own fabric flowers. These can be made with any fabric (and are a perfect scrap buster!), however, Cassie used batik fabric strips so that the back side of the fabric is not as noticeable when twisting the ...

Talking about flying geese can be tricky. Is it one flying goose or one flying geese?

Jenny’s Design

Two flying geese or two flying…geeses? We may never know!

Misty’s Design

But you know what’s not tricky? Quilting with those pretty little geese!

Natalie’s Design

This week’s Triple Play tutorial features three new flying geese quilts from Jenny, Misty, and Natalie. And these goose…er…geese blocks are as fun and easy as it gets!  Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

If I asked you to draw a cactus, you’d probably choose the most cactus-y cactus of all, the saguaro. (You know, the tall fella with upstretched arms.) But let’s not forget, there are nearly 2,000 different types of cactus, and we love ‘em all!

This week Jenny is stitching up a desert garden out of 10 inch squares. She’s using several of our favorite templates – orange peels, tumblers, and a cute little petal – to create a dazzling variety of spiny beauties! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!

Jenny wasn’t always a quilter; she was a costume seamstress! But when she took a class to learn the log cabin block, it was love at first stitch! Before the class was over, she had completed 12 quilts—and she hasn’t slowed down yet!

During those early years, there was one pattern that always seemed too daunting: the dresden.  She finally gave it a try, and guess what? It was an instant favorite! Click HERE to learn how to make a fun variation, Dresden Blooms!

When Henry Ford implemented the assembly line, he cut the production time of the Model T from twelve hours to just two and a half! The car was the same. The parts were the same. But putting it together assembly-style was so much faster!

The same is true in quilting! The Diamond Terrace quilt is made of dozens of little pieces, but they come together lickety-split with chain piecing! Click HERE to learn how to make this quick and easy strip quilt!

Have you ever given up on a quilting project? You’re not alone! Wavy blocks and unmatched seams have frustrated quilters since the invention of needle and thread!

As a result, unfinished quilts are commonly found in antique shops, and quite often, they are Morning Star quilts! This pretty star is certainly breathtaking, but all those Y-seams and tiny bias-cut diamonds have caused many a quilter to call it quits. 

Lucky for us, the magnificent Tara Faughnan designed a modern Morning Star for our MODBlock Magazine, and it’s the perfect blend of quick, easy, and exciting! Click HERE to ...

The Double Nine Patch was all the rage during the Civil War. Fabric was scarce—so scarce that every precious scrap was saved for quilts. Patterns like the Double Nine Patch transformed all those scraps into true works of art!

Back then, these quilts were hand stitched one itty-bitty scrap at a time, but now there’s an easier way! Click HERE to watch Jenny whip up a Mini Double Nine Patch quilt with quick and easy strip sets!

In the olden days, laundry was scrubbed on washboards, hand-mixed bread was baked in finicky wood-burning stoves, and the Carpenter’s Star was stitched with labor intensive y-seams. It was a lot of work. Thank goodness for modern innovations!

This week, Jenny is whipping up an Easy Carpenter’s Star using big half square triangles. It’s a gorgeous quilt that comes together lickety-split! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!