Recap of Quilt Con 2017 in Savannah,GA.

Learn how to craft beautiful baby quilts with easy-to-follow techniques. My comprehensive Quilting for Beginners eBook offers step-by-step instructions and insider tips that will help you accelerate your learning curve. Get started on creating stunning quilts today!

Looking to step outside your quilty comfort zone and try a modern abstract design? The Cloud Surfing quilt pattern is for you! This curvalicious quilt will have you wishing you’d tackle curves sooner! Never sewed curves? Fear not. I've got you covered!

Hello! :) Well . . . I still haven't cut the fabric for the strips and blocks yet. :( Maybe this weekend??? I have got the next row o...

Hello Everyone, This is the beginning of the tutorials for the Block of the Month for Marcus Fabrics called ARRTI - A Ribbon Runs Through...

I have been working kind of sporadically the last few days. I have not had studio hours for appointments over the holiday ’cause technically I am on vacation, but if I am home I can’t s…

Adventureland is the best modern quilt pattern for a beginner quilter. You can use yardage, a jelly roll or scrap fabric!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and make a purchase. I'm back today with a new Fabric Refresh blog post! It's been a couple of months since I've done one of these posts. There hadn't been a new fabric collection that made me want to play with it in EQ8. Okay, that's not completely true. There have been several new collections announced lately that I absolutely love, but they won't be in stores until 2024. I don't feel like I should share mockups with fabrics you can't buy yet. Or maybe I should, so you can preorder your fabrics? Let me know in the comments if you think I should feature future fabric collections in these posts. Anyway, back to today's featured fabric collection. I came across Tula Pink's new collection for FreeSpirit Fabrics called Besties while online fabric shopping last weekend. It's full of bright and cheery colors along with your favorite furry friends and non-furry non-human friends. Dogs, cats, turtles, rabbits, fish, hamsters, plus some great blenders. Tula Pink often has large scale prints in her collections and Besties is no exception. My Stay Square pattern is definitely one of the best of my patterns for allowing large scale prints to shine because you don't have to cut your fabrics into really small pieces. Stay Square is a layer cake friendly pattern but there are also fabric requirements and cutting instructions for fat quarters included in the pattern. I made all of my mockups in this post as if I were using fat quarters, but it does look like layer cakes (and other precuts) are available for Besties if you prefer to go that route. There are not any low volume prints in this collection so you shouldn't have to worry about not having enough pieces in your precut to contrast with your background if you're using white like I did. Sometimes the hardest part of making fabric decisions for a pattern is deciding what fabrics to use for the background, any accent, and binding. For Stay Square, it's usually the accent (the areas that form what looks like a nine-patch) that I have trouble deciding on. The mockup above uses the blue heart blender print from the Besties collection. I also tried out the mint green heart print for a little less contrast and a little more brightness, plus a solid black that really pops! Another pattern that works well with large scale prints is Treasure Hunt. The pieces are a little smaller than Stay Square, but still bigger than might be typical. Especially since I had figured out a way to make these blocks that are much simpler and more streamlined than you might expect! There are 22 prints in the Besties collection so if you grab a fat quarter bundle, you only have to pick two prints to exclude. That's always a bonus when all the prints are great! For the mockup below, I left out the two dog prints because they seemed to be larger scale than the others. That also left 10 prints with animals on them and 10 without. I alternated between animal and non-animal prints for the backgrounds to keep the busier animal prints from clashing where they touch each other. Another fun fat quarter pattern that doesn't have small pieces is Shining Stars. One of the fun things about this pattern is that I generally use white for the accent (instead of the background as I'm more apt to do) so the background can be whatever color you want and changing the background color can completely change the overall look of the quilt. It makes it easier to make it yours! You can use a solid for the background, but I really like using a small scale print to add some extra interest. Besties has a cute small scale heart print in four different colors. I tried out each of them and adjusted the star prints slightly in each to stick with the prints that contrasted with the background the most. Which one is your favorite? Even though Besties does have several large scale prints, that doesn't mean that the collection is off-limits for patterns with smaller pieces. Sometimes the overall look of the collection, the colors, the style can still result in a gorgeous quilt even if you can't necessarily make out the large prints (a full animal, in this case). I mocked up my latest pattern, Wayward in Besties using the fat quarter requirements in the pattern (it's also jelly roll friendly). The variety of bright colors contrasting with a bright white background results in a really pretty quilt even if you can't often see animals (you actually can see quite a few rabbits in the mockup below but that is likely due to the way EQ8 uses the fabric swatches, which are just a small section of the fabric. You probably won't get that same result with real fabric). One last pattern that I mocked up in Besties is Ophelia, another jelly roll friendly pattern that includes fat quarter requirements. I stuck with mostly the smaller scale prints and only included a few animal prints. The first mockup below with the solid white blackground looks great, but since there is a lot of white, I decided to also try using Tula Pink's Fairy Dust print in white. I like that even better! Which background would you choose? That's all for today! Are there other patterns of mine that you would like to see mocked up in Besties? Let me know in the comments below and I may be able to include them in a future Fabric Refresh blog post! Until next time, Amanda

This list of 50+ of the best beginner sewing projects that you can start sewing right now. These beginner sewing projects are among some of the best on the internet and can be made super

Block: 22 Friendship for Anne Brydges LeFroy by Becky Brown Anne Brydges LeFroy 1749-1804 A miniature by Richard Crosse with her death date engraved on the frame. Madame LeFroy, as her neighbors called her, became a good friend to Jane Austen. Young mother Anne LeFroy initially invited Jane to the Ashe parsonage to play with her children but the rapport developed between Jane and the woman who was twenty-five years older. Ashe House. In 1783 Anne’s husband took over this rectory two miles from Steventon Rectory. Ashe is the green star Isaac George LeFroy (1745-1806) Anne LeFroy, a published poet, a reader, a sophisticate, acted as mentor to the young writer, offering her something her family did not throughout Jane’s adolescence and twenties. Anne was an intellectual, a“bluestocking,” a type satirized (note the stocking) in the humorous Dr. Syntax series of the times. During the winter of 1804-1805 Anne’s death was the first in a sad series of events. On Jane’s 29th birthday Anne fell from a run-away horse. She hit her head and died within twelve hours. Jane, living in Bath at the time, was heartbroken. A month later Jane’s father died. Two important links to her childhood were gone. Friendship by Bettina Havig Riding sidesaddle with both legs on one side of the horse. Jane Austen never cared for riding. We might imagine Anne LeFroy bolting over the head of her horse but it is more likely she became entangled in her side saddle. In Jane Austen’s England women rode in special contraptions designed to protect their feminine anatomy. Despite the dangers in riding sideways and off balance, a woman riding astride risked her reputation. Risking one’s neck was considered the better bargain. Woman strapped into a side saddle, fashion plate, 1807 Jane was fortunate to have such a friend as Anne, whose obituary described her as a “lovely, accomplished, and most extraordinary woman.” We can remember Madame LeFroy with Friendship, a nine-patch given the name by Kansas City Star in 1934 BlockBase #1648 Cutting a 12” Block A - Cut 4 squares 4-7/8”. Cut each in half with a diagonal cut to make 2 triangles. You need 8 triangles. B – Cut 12 rectangles 1-7/8” x 4-1/2”. C – Cut 1 square 4-1/2”. Sewing: Friendship by Becky Brown Read more about Anne LeFroy at the AustenOnly blog: http://austenonly.com/2012/09/16/the-rectory-at-ashe-home-to-mrs-lefroy-jane-austens-beloved-friend/ See my posts on last year’s Grandmother’s Choice blog about bluestockings: http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/2013/02/24-true-blue-too-smart.html And side saddle: http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com/2013/05/38-nonsense-anatomy-lessons.html Friendship by Georgann Eglinski

Star Crossing Star Crossing is quickly becoming one of my favorites! With 5" checkerboard blocks quick to sew, it measures 47" square finished. I always love swags with stars for a patriotic look. Haven't done a patriotic design for a long time & it's so fun with browns rather than blues. Hope you like it, too! See us in Booth #2137 in Salt Lake City next weekend! Auntie's Tablerunner And I'll bet you can see Auntie's Tablerunner on your table soon since it's so quick & easy! 18" x 43"

Are you a Quilt Diva?  Make this fun quilt for yourself or a friend and accessorize her with buttons, sequins, pins, and more.  Quilt Diva pattern includes full-size patterns, placement sheet and instructions to make the 24" x 49" wall hanging.  The 3" Pink Quilt Diva button is included.  The technique is fusible applique.

This listing is for a PDF pattern download, not the actual needle book. Covered in threads, beads, charms and buttons this is an embellisher’s dream needle book. Make your own unique piece of art and practice a technique you can use in your next art quilt. If you’re new to embellishing this small project is a good place to begin. The thread magic background acts as a backdrop for your favorite beads, charms or maybe an old loved pin you don’t wear anymore. The owl pin, pictured here, was my mom’s and now I will think of her whenever I use the needle book. I named this needle book “Thread Magic” because you start with snippets of loose thread which magically come together to become a beautiful foundation to showcase your embellishments. Join me and create a needle book you’ll be proud to take to you next class or guild meeting. Features include: Four felt pages for needles and pins, scissor pocket, needle threader pocket, bookmark for added cuteness and thread tie fastening. It finishes at a convenient size of 4 x 3 ¼ inches. The PDF pattern has 14 pages of step by step instructions, color photos, pattern pieces and materials list. You need to be able to do free motion stitching on your sewing machine to complete this project along with basic embroidery and beading skills. Sewing Level: Confident Beginner I’d love to see your finished needle book. Be sure to share on Instagram and tag me @bluemoontonidesigns hashtags: #bluemoontonidesigns #threadmagicneedlebook This pattern ©Toni Lockhart, Blue Moon Toni, all rights reserved. Do not share, distribute or publish any portion of this pattern. Please credit Blue Moon Toni with products made from this pattern.

A step by step guide to the star stitch

Possible block for Hive 14 --- it's definitely a traditional block, but I have high hopes that modern fabric will push it over the top! I was reintroduced to this block thanks to the Summer Sampler Series, a quiltalong hosted by Lee of Freshly Pieced, Faith of Fresh Lemons, and Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt.

I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.

Digital downloads are non-refundable. No Physical Pattern (or bag) will be mailed. This is for an instant download sewing pattern. Looking for a stylish, easy-to-sew crossbody bag sewing pattern? Look no further than the Betsy Bowler Bag! With its exterior front slip pocket, back slip pocket, and interior zipper pocket, this bag holds all of your essentials. Plus, it's finished with binding for an extra polished look. And don't forget about our hardware kit available. SEWING PATTERN INCLUDES: ✂ PDF Pattern, Projector & SVG Files✂ Step by Step Written Instructions with Photographs✂ 6 Video Sewing Tutorials via YouTube Channel (links below)✂ Immediate Pattern Download at Checkout BETSY BOWLER FEATURES:✂ Front Slip Pocket with Flap Closure✂ Back Exterior Slip Pocket✂ Interior Zipper Pocket✂ Adjustable Crossbody Strap SKILL LEVEL: Confident Beginner-IntermediateFINISHED SIZE: 9” H x 10.75” W x 4.25” D        ·        23 CM x 27 CM x 11 CM RELEASE DATE: 3/25/2022 Don't forget to check out the hardware and supplies needed to create your Betsy Bowler Bag. SEWING VIDEO TUTORIALS BY:SEW YOURSSIAH SWAGMOREMEKNOWOKLAROOTSBEAN’S BAGS & HANDICRAFTS CO.BAG FINE DAY (Thai) COPYRIGHT: Do not reproduce, distribute, sell or share any part of this pattern. In writing, express written permission must be requested to produce and/or sell acrylic templates of any Sew Yours pattern. You can sell bags you make with Sew Yours patterns. Youtube video tutorials are welcomed. Please don’t give out measurements. Please give credit to Sew Yours in the video and provide a link to the www.sewyours.com  website so fellow bagmakers can purchase the pattern. Credit is appreciated when posting photos of your work on social media.

I’m officially decorated for Christmas. Notice how late I am. Again. It’s the same every year. The truth of the matter is if I lived all by myself, I would probably buy a few more pink poinsettias and a Norfolk pine and call it a day. My whole house and multiple rooms is now swathed...

Lodestone Quilt Pattern: A Digital (PDF) Pattern Includes Fabric Requirements, Cutting and Sewing Instructions for this striking 60" x 72" couch/throw quilt. Strip piecing makes this pattern easier than it looks. I've listed this pattern as "Intermediate to advanced" because the ruler skills and cutting techniques required are considered advanced. IMPORTANT: You will need either a 90° triangle ruler or a straight rotary cutting ruler with 45° lines on either end of it. Instructions and pictures are included for both rulers. PLEASE Read all instructions carefully before cutting. Includes lots of PICTURES to demonstrate techniques of cutting and putting the blocks together! The first photo is a finished quilt top, the additional photos are computer generated to show different color ways. The PDF Pattern can be downloaded immediately upon receipt of payment. Important: there are NO refunds on patterns. The Lodestone pattern is not offered on paper at this time. THANK YOU!!

Petal Signature Cotton® Design #1943267 42" wide, 4.4 oz per sq yard Everyday-use cotton for quilting, crafts and apparel Estimated shrinkage: 5-6% in length and 2-3% in width Perfect for quilting, craft projects, costuming, toys and accessories.

The quilt-along starts Saturday 30th September- see below for more details! When I first started quilting back in 2019, it was via a lot of hacked together Youtube videos. But quilting brings me SO much joy that I want as many people to do it as possible, hence why I pulled together my free Quil

I’m officially decorated for Christmas. Notice how late I am. Again. It’s the same every year. The truth of the matter is if I lived all by myself, I would probably buy a few more pink poinsettias and a Norfolk pine and call it a day. My whole house and multiple rooms is now swathed...

Here we go...Block 1 Whirlygig Go to Lynne Hagmeier's blog for the free pattern http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/ No need to sign up! Just visit us each week for the next pattern. Jo, Lynne, Jan, Lisa and Carrie. All of our links are below so visit all our social media listings. A new Facebook group has just been created Moda Blockheads and you might like to join! All blocks in our Block of the Week are 6" finished blocks. Share photos of your blocks and tag me! Be sure to use the #modablockheads so others can easily see your blocks. Isn't social media amazing? This 48 week journey will be exciting and sew fun! Are you joining me on this journey? My first week is next week. My fabrics are a combination of Hope's Journey which is in shops now and Rachel Remembered which will be in shops in April. Lynne - Blog - http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KansasTroublesQuilters/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lynnektq/ Betsy - Blog - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betsy.chutchian Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betsy_chutchian/ Lisa B - Blog - https://lisabongean.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/primitivegatherings.quiltshop/ or https://www.facebook.com/lisa.bongean Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisabongean/ or https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_quiltshop/ or https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_ca/ Jan - Blog - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jan.patek.79?fref=nf Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jan_patek_quilts/ Jo - Blog - http://jomortonquilts.com/jos_journal/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jomortonquilts/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joquilts/ Moda - Blog - http://blog.modafabrics.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/modafabrics/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/modafabrics/ Until next week~ Betsy

The Supernova Quilt is a beginner friendly quilt comprised of half square triangles. The visual interest comes from the offset star feature that draws the eye away from the center of the quilt creating some movement. The quilt design looks so much more complicated than it actually is to sew. You might be surprised to […]

Are you a Quilt Diva?  Make this fun quilt for yourself or a friend and accessorize her with buttons, sequins, pins, and more.  Quilt Diva pattern includes full-size patterns, placement sheet and instructions to make the 24" x 49" wall hanging.  The 3" Pink Quilt Diva button is included.  The technique is fusible applique.

I'd like to make a storm at sea quilt but am not sure of the layout. I plan on using two units from Carol Doak's Simply Sensational 9 Patch Stars Book. Can anyone tell me if I have the layout right as far as where the light, medium, dark and white would go? Thanks!

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In my June 2018 post, I showed you how to perfect the flying geese block using the PFAFF creative icon while making a modern throw using the wonderful Canvas collection from Northcott. In the last post of the week, I started the quilting portion and showed you how to use the…

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click a link and make a purchase...