What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Over the millennia and different cultures, people have created labyrinth designs on walls and floors. This ancient tradition endures in new buildings, parks, computer games and from today also in quilting! read more

When I saw this panel by Rubin Design Studio “Intricate Illustrated Kitty” of EQuilter, my heart skipped a beat. I just love the colors, the curves and the movement in this panel.

The panel measured 29″ x 43.5″. I could have cut 3.75″ strips for 6″ finished hexies and trimmed the panel to 42″. But, I decided to cut 3.25″ strips for 5″ finished hexies using my Star 60 Ruler. I would need to trim more of the panel, but I felt a smaller strip would make more interesting hexies. There is some stretching with bias ...

Have you ever made your own free motion bunting?

A basic bunting design is pretty easy ‘to put up’. Before you start, add some guidelines on your fabric so you know the curve of the bunting. Use chalk or a fabric marking pen.

Begin by stitching out the arches of the bunting, freehand or with a ruler. Then go back in and add the zigzag line for the little flags. It doesn’t matter if you start the zig zag from the right or the left.

My grand parents had a smallish cherry tree in the corner of their garden and every Spring it would ‘dress itself in a pink fluffy ballgown’ and it would sprinkle pink leaves with every little breeze. I loved that tree and I told myself that I wanted one of those in my garden when I grew up. I haven’t made that come true yet, but there are plenty of other brightly colored flowers, bushes and trees in my garden. I can’t resist a bright bloom!

Learn how to make a large quilted hot pad that will fit your casserole pan. Instead of bumping up a few hot pads, this large hot pad is perfect for the 9×13 baking pan.

This is a simple quilted hot pad. One that you can make in around 30 minutes or so. Won’t take long at all!

I’ve even made hot pads using quilt blocks, tried a new technique by sewing it together exposing the raw edges, scraps of fabric and extra large hot pads.

You can find a whole collection of hot pads here.

Sew Hot ...

A Journey into Deep Colors, Scrappy Quilts and Wonky Hexagons

Welcome quilting friends! A few weeks back I shared with you my newest pattern, the Inflorescences Quilt. Today, I’m excited to take you on a whimsical journey as we unveil the back of that quilt. A creation that boasts deep, dark colors reminiscent of a starry night and mysterious galaxies, made with fabric scraps. How is this scrappy quilt possible you might ask? With a Wonky Half Hexagon template.

Let’s break the quilt down into three different half hexagons and talk about using templates ...

This quilt started as an experiment with fat quarters. I had seen a few similar quilts and wanted to give it a try.

This version uses 9 fat quarters. Three prints and 6 solids. The quilt finishes at 40″ x 48″. Each block has a center cut at 4-1/2″ x 4-1/2″, some plain squares, and some created as hourglass blocks made of two squares starting at 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″. The outside of the blocks is two rectangles 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ and two rectangles 2-1/2″ x 8-1/2″.

It went together quickly and is ...

In the Netherlands we have saying about the month of April being fickle: ‘April doet wat hij wil’. Strong winds yesterday, pouring rain today and forecasts indicate that we will get a taste of Summer this weekend.

To celebrate sunny weather on the horizon, let’s fill our fabrics with flowers! This weeks design ‘Finnish Flowers’ is inspired by fabric designs by the Finnish company Marimekko. Their bright and bold designs always brings a smile to my face. I have two pieces of Marimekko fabric in my collection that I have found while thrifting.

The Finnish Flower free motion design ...

Learn how to sew the quilted hot pad with pockets for your casserole dish! This ingenious pot holder not only protects your hands from hot dishes but also adds a touch of handmade charm to your culinary space.

With its curved corners and two convenient pockets, one at each end, it’s both practical and stylish Double Pot Holder with Hand Pockets.

Whether you’re whipping up a family feast or simply adding flair to your kitchen, these quilted hot pads are a must-have.

Crafted with love and attention to detail, these handmade pieces are not just functional, but also ...

From Scraps to Fabulous

Let’s turn trash into fun!! One of my favorite things is turning scraps into something usable. I do this in many ways. My favorite way, and the one that I have been doing for the longest, is creating dog beds out of the fabrics too small to do something with and the bits of batting that are not useable. I also love turning my scraps into larger quilt sandwiches so I can practice quilting. Then there is always the quilt back. The perfect way to practice improv quilting and put a dent into the scrap ...

Nothing yet!

I started sowing flower seeds a few weeks ago but so far nothing is coming up! I have all the right set up but it just hasn’t been sunny much. I do hope to see some seedlings soon! Most of the flowers I am sowing are brightly colored and they always turn out way bigger that the package says. For instance the cosmos that should be about 2 to 3 feet high, turns into an 6 feet giant.

What is your favorite flower or greatest sowing succes?

The garden is slowly showing the first Spring flowers. The sun is showing her face more each day, but the mornings are still frosty. The hellebores have been in bloom for over a month, the hyacinths are popping up and the daffodils are almost ready to show their crowns. This time of year has always brought me joy, but this last week I had trouble to find the spark. My cat Toby went missing on Tuesday. He didn’t come home for his dinner, which is highly unusual. When it started to rain and he didn’t come running home ...

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 ...

We are back this week with another Fat Quarter Frenzy quilt tutorial!  We've been discovering new ways to utilize fat quarters in quilts, and if you're like me and have way too many, a way to use up some of the stash!  So far, we've used 48 fat quarters (!) - 16 in Meet Me in St. Louis, 14 in Kaleidoscope, and most recently 18 in a new version of Supernova.  But I'm still overflowing with fat quarters, so today we will be exploring a new tutorial, this time for a quilt I call Woven.  Let ...

Lemon, lime, oranges or mandarin oranges.

I adore the scent of citrus! Cleaning products, candles, bath products, you name it! I love a wedge of lemon in my coke and add in all the ice cubes!

Do you have a scent or flavor that you adore?

The design Lemon Slices is based on an orange peel grid, and it creates a lovely texture which keeps your quilt nice and cuddly. The design can be stitched out with a quilting ruler if you want to. It depends on how smooth your curves turn out and what size grid you are using ...

This Orange Peel Stars design has several stitch paths to choose from. The first one is based on one of my tutorials from 2017.

Stitch path 1:

Stitch out an orange peel design first to stabilise your fabric. Best results are achieved by using a ruler, but I am known to free hand them if the shapes are small (blue lines in drawing below).

Once you have filled your block with Orange Peels, enter the space inside of the Orange Peel, starting from the left. Echo around that space in an inward spiral (green lines in the drawing below). Once ...

 I was minding my own business, making a whole lot of improv triangle kaleidoscopes, like this.

I'm only using solids for this quilt. The smallest scraps were filling my "toss" bin.

But then the Create Whimsy newsletter arrived in my email. Lynn Woll, its curator extraordinare, had an article titled "Scrap Happy Confetti Quilts," with  Valentine's Day projects. Oooooo! It looked like so much fun...and I knew I had loads of fresh scraps. 

I plucked the solids from my "discard" bin and sent them into plastic bags, organized by color. 

Then I cut out a 4" square ...

I. Am. Late.  So sorry!  And I will totally blame this on the state of my studio - it's a flipping mess, with about twelve quilt tops waiting to be quilted, a customer quilt just off the frame, a t-shirt quilt in progress, and now a new quilt started for a wedding shower gift.  My brain feels like my studio looks, and I just completely forgot what day it was yesterday when I should have been writing this post.

That being said, welcome back to Fat Quarter Frenzy, where we are exploring simple quilt designs made from fat ...