What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Last Tuesday, I shared my newest pattern, the Sugar Skull quilt block. I tested the pattern using the Good Spirits fabric by Ruby Star Society. It’s their Halloween line, which hit stores a few months ago. If you follow me on Instagram, you’d know that I used this fabric for a quilt-along with the Fat Quarter Shop. A couple of months back, I made a door hanging with this fun fabric line.

Since I didn’t have any plans for the quilt block and still had some leftover fabric, I decided to turn it into something. I settled ...

When the bag arrived, I was immediately excited. The fabric is lovely, and the strips would save a lot of cutting and piecing time.

A variation on a Churn Dash block seemed a good solution.

Cutting directions for each 12″ Dash block follow.

1. Background: 2 5″ squares, 4 2-1/2″x4-1/2″ rectangles
2. Primary Fabric: 2 5″ squares, 1 4-1/2″ square.
3. Inner Dash Bar: 8 2-1/2″ squares (or, separate the strips already sewn together into sets of 2). NOTE: If you have a charm pack, it could be a good starting place for this quilt. Just cut into ...

Are you going to be spending more time on our sewing machines now that the weather is getting colder? I know I am! That means we have some time for a bit more in-depth learning with this week’s pattern. The pattern Twist will probably be familiar as it has been around for a while. It is basically an orange peel variation, but instead of an arch shape we are using a shape that resembles a gentle wave or a hill / slope.

The asymmetry in that shape adds so much movement in your quilt! I know that the design is ...

Tis the season for spooks, scares, scrap-busting, and sewing! These Scrappy Witch’s Hats are a quick and frighteningly fun make for the spooky season. For our Scrappy Witch’s Hats, we’re using Charm Packs and MINI Charm Packs to make adult and child sizes so that every witch and warlock in the family can get in on the magic!

1. Pick Your Size and Scrappy Fabric

We love the scrappy look for these hats, and an easy way to get that look without dipping into your stash is to pick up a Charm Pack or MINI Charm Pack ...

Fall is in the air, and if you’re like me, you’re itching to add a little no sew pumpkin magic to your home. But instead of running out to buy a bunch of decor, how about we make something fun, easy, and budget-friendly using items you probably already have?

In today’s tutorial, I’ll show you how to make the cutest fabric pumpkin using just a fat quarter of fabric and a roll of toilet paper!

You can even bulk it up with newspaper if you want to add a little extra “oomph,” but that’s totally ...

Get ready to create a charming pumpkin quilt block with our free pattern. Sewing this adorable design is a breeze, and I’ve got a bonus for you too!

Once you’ve made three of these pumpkins, you can turn them into a delightful table runner. Enjoy the fun and festivities with our free pumpkin quilt block pattern.

This traditional patchwork design is perfect for beginners and uses supplies you probably already have in your stash.

You’ll need an off-white fabric for the background and some orange or fall-colored fabric for the pumpkin itself.

No fancy techniques or notions ...

Fall weather has made its entrance and I have already grabbed my enormous fleece hoody to cocoon in in the evenings. I have started work on a Halloween quilt project which I will share in a separate blog post later this month and have taken the cinnamon tea out of the storage cupboard. Here comes sweater weather!

The Comtesse edge to edge design is airy and soft, like leaves falling off the trees in a gentle Autumn breeze. The word comtesse is French for countess, a female of a certain rank in nobility. The Comtesse design reminds me of gentle ...

Get ready to fall in love with panels: our secret ingredient for holiday decorating and crafting! With fall weather at our doorsteps and Halloween lurking just around the corner, we’ve rustled up some cute panel projects for you to try with the panel that comes in the Hey Boo Fat Quarter Bundle by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics. Take a look through your stash and get inspired to put together a panel project today!

1. Framed Squares

This 10-minute craft is a ghoulishly great way to conjure up cute decor in a flash! To make these spooky and cute ...

Tumbleweed is a bully! This invasive species is classified as a noxious weed because of its detrimental effects to nature. Each plant has thousands of seeds that get spread due to the wind pushing the plant to tumble.

A tumbling spiky ball of sticks, now that is an inspiration for any free motion quilter, right?! read more

The Stipple design is a free motion staple! Such a versatile pattern: great as a chunky allover design, and gorgeous as a background filler.

For many of us this design is one of the first we have ever tried to learn, which has actually puzzled me over the years. Why would a beginner quilter be guided to a pattern that has no safe place to stop and start so they can think where to go next?

Stippling requires multiple skills; going in all directions and flipping the design (the inside shape can become the outside of the next shape), keeping ...

Before we delve into this week’s design, I would like to welcome the new subscribers! Some of you have joined through the Free Motion Quilting Summit that was held last week and some other quilters have found this blog through the links in YouTube. Could you please leave a comment and share, I would love to know how you have found this blog. Thank you!

It is time for an angular edge to edge design! The Mountain edge to edge is a random and dynamic design that would work well in any scale. You can use it as a ...

 I have taught many, mainly ladies, over the years to sew, patchwork and quilting. I am not very tech minded but I attempted to make a vlog about easy quick binding whilst finishing a quilt. 

So here it is. Please be kind. I now that I repeat some step twice and I did that purposely. I know that many need to see a technique or demo more than once. 

I also learnt a lot about editing my own vlogs and what format to use in the future. So hopefully my future vlogs will improve.

This design is named after a person I know who travels the world to discover its beauty and who creates meaningful connections where she goes. It flows from spot to spot with curved lines and adds sets of three loopy triangles.

This edge to edge pattern would work well on a coat or bag and table runners too. Think about projects with a theme like travelling, propellors / airplanes, connections, friendships and nature. Maybe this design looks more like a flower to you.

Pattern tutorial

This design is most dynamic when using curved lines to move around instead of straight lines ...

Get out your bright threads, especially the neon colors. I suspect you don’t use those very often. Here is your chance! This grid design Diamante is a fabulous one tot stitch out with a thread that really shows up on your fabric. Its whole purpose is to create a dazzling design.

Pattern Tutorial

The pattern is based on a diamond or triangular grid . You can use square grid instead. In general, they give the same result. The diamond grid is visually easier because you can’t get confused by the lines on your fabric.

The design is stitched out ...

To all the free motion lovers out there, have you already signed up for the Free Motion Quilting Summit that starts in 9 days? I am one of the 16 teachers who have created videos for this three days event. You can sign up for FREE, HERE. If you would like longer access to the videos and also get all the goodies, like my extra mini course, you can sign up for the All Access Pass. The Summit totally focusses on free motion which makes it unique in the quilting world. Don’t miss out!

On this blistering hot day ...

Thank you, Christine, for the name suggestion. Considering that it uses a LOT of 1-1/2″ squares (finishing at 1″) it is a postage stamp quilt.

I started it in August 2023, so a year in the making. I wish I had recorded the day…

But, in the meantime, I am rejoicing over the finish. This one will stay with me for now and is on the full size bed in the guest room.

You can see the original quilt, the tutorial, and a number of variations HERE.

I see fireworks! The kind that are positioned on a pole and twirl around, throwing off sparks in all directions. You know the kind?

This pointy and dynamic edge to edge design would quickly fill your quilt. This is a beginner-friendly pattern because there are so many places where you can stop and think where you want to go next.  I wouldn’t recommend this for an absolute beginner. Creating even curls and echoes can be tricky. But if you have those down, try it out! 

Lines can be quilted closely together as in the sample, but you can quilt ...

Free motion quilting is like doing a puzzle where you have to create your own puzzle pieces to complete the image, don’t you agree? You work yourself into a corner or you end up with a weird empty spot. In many cases, traveling along already stitched lines is a great solution to get to the area you need to be at. But travelling isn’t a skill that comes easily. This week’s design will get you some more ‘training in traveling’. I will also explain my vision on how large your designs can be when using a domestic ...