What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I’m excited to share my Stripology Ruler product review with you today! I had heard such great things about this new Creative Grids ruler from customers and my co-workers, that I had to try it out for myself. And it did not disappoint. I’ll share what I like most about it and why I think it’s a great tool to consider purchasing (or adding to your Christmas list).

Note: This is not a sponsored blog post, but any Amazon links are affiliate links. If you have a local quilt shop near you or a favorite online quilt ...

If you have a quilter on your gift list, then you’ll definitely want to read my 20 gift ideas for quilters. It’s difficult to know what to buy a quilter, especially one that seems to have everything already! And if you are a quilter, you’ll want to show this blog post to your family and friends before they go shopping!

I’ve broken my list into two parts. Part One is made up of gift ideas under $50 and includes quilting notions and gifts that might be considered “beyond basic”. In other words, not every quilter will ...

Do you use starch to prepare your fabrics for cutting and piecing? I always do because it gives stability to my fabric and more accuracy during cutting and piecing. Today, I have an exciting new product to tell you about, so I thought I would give a product review of Magic Quilting & Crafting Spray. This is not a sponsored blog post, but any Amazon links are affiliate links.

I’ve been using Best Press for years and I’ve been fairly happy with it, but I always knew that something better would come along. And it has! I really like ...

I couldn’t help myself. I joined in with Fat Quarter Shop’s All The Trimmings Mystery Sew Along. It looks like it’s going to be so cute! Plus I have a fat 1/8 bundle of Christmas Morning by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics just calling my name. This is a free sew along that is being released on Tuesdays. It started on September 7 and ends on October 8. You can find the pdf patterns (two so far) here.

I have some catching up to do, but row 1 is finished. These Christmas berries are adorable and ...

{I love the idea of “paying it forward”. I think the world would be a better place if we could spread some joy and acknowledgement of good deeds done by others. I try to do that once a month for my Sew Thankful Sunday posts. I highlight some great content that I’ve found on other people’s blogs that I hope will inspire you and reward the originator by bringing traffic to their site. If your blog has been mentioned without your consent, please let me know and I will take you off the current list of featured bloggers ...

Here’s a helpful hint for flat seams while making quilt tops!

When making blocks that have a four-patch construction, use a “split seam” technique when pressing to help the seams of the quilt top lie flatter. Press the first seam allowances toward the darker fabric. After sewing the two units together, pull the center to pop the last couple of stitches from the original seams.

Press the “split” seam open in the opposite directions. You’ll see a tiny four-patch unit where the seams come together.

This technique works for all blocks with a center seam: pinwheels, double 4-patch ...

Hello, friends! Recently I’ve received a lot of questions and emails from new and beginner quilters asking about Quilting for Beginners. I’m excited to share lots and lots of information on this topic today. I’ve also filmed a video and am including links to lots of posts with even more information on the topics I […]

The post Quilting For Beginners: 25+ Essential Resources appeared first on A Quilting Life.

 So this month we officially became empty nesters!  If I'm being honest, I really haven't gotten used to the idea yet.  For 24 years, it's been the 3 of us, through thick and thin and to think it's just two now...well, feels sorta surreal!  I bring this up because it has inspire a good bit of cleaning, clearing and refreshing in my old Victorian.  With that I started looking at how many quilt pieces I have stored flat on my spare bed and how many I have up on the walls.  The bed won even ...

Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing a little bit about How to Use Quilt Panels in Your Quilting & Sewing Projects. I’ve enjoyed making some quick to finish projects over the past couple of years using these panels and thought I’d share some of my ideas with you. Additionally, I frequently get questions on this topic, […]

The post How to Use Quilt Panels in Your Quilting & Sewing Projects appeared first on A Quilting Life.

Hello, friends! I’m looking forward to beginning a new quilt along next week. (Be sure to read to the end of this post for some important details about the Sampler Spree Sew Along). But first, I thought I’d take a little time today to share How to Prepare for a Quilting Sew Along: 5 Top […]

The post How to Prepare for a Quilting Sew Along: 5 Top Tips appeared first on A Quilting Life.

Last week I cut a rainbow of 3 3/4″ squares using fabric from each of my scrap bins. I was preparing for a project I’m doing with my daughter’s 5th grade class (she’s the teacher) involving hexagons and tessellating shapes. I’ll give you the full report on that later next week. Anyways, it turns out that 2 1/2″ squares will work better, but I didn’t want to trim the previously cut squares. Too much work and who wants to waste fabric? I had a bunch of mini charm packs that were perfect and ...

Lately I’ve been making lots of flying geese units for various blocks. There are so many ways to make flying geese, but my favorite way is to make them oversized and them trim them to the correct size. Today I’m going to show you my two favorite methods for making oversized flying geese and several ways of trimming them. I’ve also included a cutting chart for each method that you can download and print for handy reference!

Method 1: 4-at-a-time oversized flying geese

The 4-at-a-time method of making flying geese is my favorite way to make them ...

Every time I free motion quilt something, I find there’s a lesson in the process. Today I’m sharing FMQ lessons learned (the hard way) during my most recent finish. This wall hanging was a bonus project from a class I taught last year. I wanted it to have lots of open space for free motion quilting, giving me the opportunity to practice more. I’ve been “practicing” for 20 years!

I’m really happy with how this turned out overall. In general, I practice a design on a whiteboard until I feel comfortable with it. Often I will ...

Happy Wednesday! I’m in that place where I would love to start a new project, but I’m forcing myself to finish a UFO (or two) before I do. That sounds reasonable, right? If I did that all the time, I wouldn’t have such a long list of UFO’s (unfinished quilt projects). I think this could be another one of those perfect mottos, Finish a UFO before starting something new. It’s right up there with Finished is better than perfect.

Last week I finished my Possibilities Quilt with a flanged binding (my second this month) and ...

When Diagonal Seam Tape was first introduced a few years ago, I thought it was a brilliant idea. I purchased a roll and placed a piece of it on the bed of my sewing table and waited for the magic to happen. It worked great for diagonal seams that I stitched directly on top of, but I had a hard time using it as a guide for half-square triangle seams. Last week I tried adding additional tape guidelines and it worked! So, today, I’m sharing a magical tip so you can use it perfectly too.

What is Diagonal Seam ...

Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing a few new Simple Quilt Hanging Ideas. I’ve recently (finally) started to get more of my quilts up on the walls, and thought you might be interested in some of the methods I’ve been using. I’ve also filmed a quick video so you can see exactly what I’m describing for […]

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Inside: Make your quilt borders spectacular!

I’ve used heavy rulers, I’ve used cans of soup, I’ve even used a person on the other side of the machine, hands keeping the area flat. What am I doing? Trying to long-arm quilt a border that is far larger than the center of the quilt!

Borders! They’re that misunderstood step to finishing your quilt that will make or break it.

The most common problem I see as a long-arm quilter is borders that have stretched larger than the pieced quilt top. This happens when borders are added to a ...

Introducing the Turned Up quilt! This fun quilt is easy to make using the Perfect Rectangle Ruler by Creative Grids. What’s that you say? No rectangles in sight on this quilt? I know! But this ruler cuts those perfect half-rectangle-triangles to complete the Turned Up quilt. The quilt is made using seven half-yard cuts of […]