How to take photos of quilts: Ten photos to take of quilts by Emily of Quiltylove.com. Find out the top ten photos to take of each quilt that you make.

Want to make lovely feather motifs like this one? I decided to write a simple “how-to” for quilting basic feather types. This post is also for the students in my class yesterday who h…

How to Sew Kaleidoscope Hexagons

I confess to a weakness for good informational graphics. Edward Tufte’s books on information design and data visualization continue to fascinate me. Occasionally my eye is caught by nicely …

Learn how to make the simple Flying Geese Quilt Block four at a time. Your Flying Geese will turn out perfectly every time.

Be sure to check out my UPDATED Four-at-a-Time Flying Geese Tutorial and Sizing Tables. I think you might find a lot more success with the intermediate sizing I suggest there! Over the years, IR…

Almost 3-1/2 years ago i shared the Magic 8 method on my blog. That particular post has been pinned thousands of times, shared and re~blogged over and over. Well...the other day, i was thinking about this method and may have an idea to improve just a bit on the very popular Magic 8 method. Nothing earth shattering, but just something to consider...Plus i've created a cutting chart and sharing a slick way to trim all those half square triangles! So let's begin at the beginning. How to make 8 half square triangles using only 2 fabric squares. To make a Magic 8, first determine what size finished half square triangles are desired. For example: To make 2" finished half square triangles, Add to the 2" measurement, 7/8". Your total is now 2-7/8" Multiply 2-7/8" by 2. That equals 5-3/4". (2) 5-3/4" fabric squares are the size needed to create (8) 2" finished half square triangles. ** improvement: cut the 2 fabric squares 1/4" larger. For the above example...Cut (2) 6" squares instead of 5-3/4". This will allow you to trim your half square triangles for more accuracy. For those very accurate quilters, this step may not be necessary. Here's how to make a Magic 8 Take your desired fabric squares and place them right sides together. Draw 2 diagonal lines corner to corner Stitch a 1/4" on either side of both drawn lines Cut the stitched fabric squares apart, resulting in 8 half square triangles. There will be 4 cuts. With each cut, be careful not to shift the fabric squares. The first is a vertical cut, right down the middle. The second cut will be horizontal...again, right in the middle. The third cut is corner to corner and the fourth cut is the opposite corner to corner Voila! If the fabric squares shift a bit, the extra 1/4" will allow one to trim for accuracy. Now for a great trimming trick... Say you need to trim your half square triangles to 2". Draw a diagonal line using a dry erase pen on an acrylic ruler. In this example i've drawn my diagonal line 2" down from the corner of the ruler. If you want to trim half square triangles to 1-1/2", the 'dry erase' diagonal line would be 1-1/2" down from the corner of the ruler. Line up the 'dry erase' diagonal line with the seam, and trim. EZPZ! This trimming trick is shared from Corey Yoder of Little Miss Shabby Here's a chart to help determine what size fabric squares to cut for the desired Half Square Triangles. The unfinished size is also the trimming size which includes seam allowance. ***For a FREE printable download of these instructions, head over to my Craftsy Pattern Store HERE. Look for the Free Magic 8 Tutorial. Consider following my Crafty Pattern Store too as i will be offering more free tutorials soon! Now...go make something yummy with all those half square triangles!!

Stay stitching happens right at the beginning of the process of producing a fine garment. Learn how to sew stay stitch step by step and why.

I have become obsessed with Flying Geese! No, not the ones currently flying south for the winter. With the quilt pattern Flying Geese. It’s a quick and easy (my favorite!) quilt pattern, and it looks great in all sorts of colors! Here is the first Flying Geese quilt I made. Outer Space Astronaut Flying Geese. And a Christmas Goose. Using the 4 at a time method makes these geese quick and easy, while also making sure that all of the points line up just perfectly like they are meant to. I’ve made flying geese before, and even wrote a quick tutorial on how to make them, but as star points, rather than as flying geese. What’s the difference, you ask? The finished product is different based on how you turn your flying geese units, and other background squares, but the construction is the same. So why, you ask, am I writing another tutorial so soon after the first? You have a lot of questions! I wanted my finished geese to be larger this time. And I couldn’t remember the measurements for cutting my fabric to make a different size. As a writer of the tutorial, I shouldn’t have to go online to look up measurements. I should have that resource available at hand at all times. Flying Geese can be made in any size, the finished size is always like this, each individual goose is twice as wide as it is long. Math, I know, it’s hard! Just a warning, more math is coming! I know, I try not to inundate you with too much math, but this time around it’s necessary. Let’s say you want your finished goose to be 3” by 6”, this will make each pair of geese into a 6” square. Why 3” by 6”? That’s the size I used most recently, so it’s fresh in my mind! So, now that I’ve looked it up, I’ve created a cheat sheet chart of many different sizes, to keep for handy use. The 4 at a time Flying Geese method uses one big square (this fabric is the goose body) and 4 small squares (this fabric is the sky). You should keep it handy too, you can pin it for later and never have to go looking for these measurements again. Now that you’ve got the list of what size little squares go with what size big squares, how ‘bout a quick tutorial on what do with them once you’ve cut them? Flying Geese Tutorial- The 4 at a Time Way To make Flying Geese this way, the large square is your width dimension (6”) plus 1¼”, for a total of 7¼”. The smaller squares are your height dimension (3”) plus 7/8”, for a total of 3 7/8”. This added fabric accounts for the seam allowances (that’s the bit that gets sewn into the seam). I wanted my finished piece (remember, finished means once it’s sewn into the quilt and no edges are left unsewn) to by 3” by 6”. To make this set of 4 geese, you’ll need: 1 Navy Square: 7¼” 4 Teal Squares: 3 7/8” Draw a line with a pencil from corner to corner across the diagonal of your 4 teal squares. Take your 7¼” Navy Square and 2 of your 3 7/8” teal squares, and place the teal squares corner to corner across the diagonal of the navy square. The corners of the teal squares will overlap in the center of the navy square, and the pencil lines will match up, to continue all the way from one corner across to the other. Pin in place Sew ¼ of an inch to the right of the pencil line. Turn the fabric pieces 180* and repeat, to sew down the other side of the pencil line. Because you’ve turned it, you will still be sewing to the right of the line. Cut along the pencil line. Iron the seam, pressing towards the smaller teal pieces. It makes sort of a heart shape. Pin your 3rd and 4th small teal squares, to the remaining navy corner of each of your heart shaped pieces. The pencil line will go from the navy corner, and should go right through the V of the heart. Sew ¼ inch from the pencil line, turn and sew ¼ inch from the pencil line on the other side. Cut along the pencil line, and press, again towards the teal. Now you have 4 Flying Geese! Here they are finished and sewn into a quilt. You can do lots of things with your 4 Flying Geese (even turn them into a star!) but here is the quilt I made with the navy and teal geese used in this tutorial. If you are wanting to making this same quilt, the original pattern (not my creation!) can be found here! My version is made with 40 different fabric combos. At 4 geese per combo, that’s 160 geese total. And, one more time, in case you scrolled by it above without memorizing it, here is the chart of square sizes again. Save it. Pin it. Use it again. And again. Happy goose flying! I love, love, love the binding I chose to go with this quilt! There’s a little bit of it in the quilt top too, but I just love it as binding.

We are excited to feature a Q&A with celebrated quilter Jen Kingwell, whose recent book release is called "Quilt Lovely." Read on to hear what she has to say about choosing fabrics, hand vs. machine quilting and more! CF: You are a master at picking fabrics. What are your tips for pairing fabric prints? JK: I love color and print. When I start a project, I choose some core fabrics first. It doesn't bother me if these don't coordinate. I then start adding others that play well and this makes the collection much more cohesive. I usually make one block at a time and I constantly add more to the mix. More is better in my world. I love mixing all genres of fabrics. I would have great difficulty if I was only allowed to just use one. My fingers would itch to rummage in my stash. CF: Where do you find inspiration for your quilt patterns? JK: A lot of my designs are based on traditional block patterns. I then just tweak them or set them however I think looks appealing. I really do love most styles of quilts, but I guess vintage quilts are my favorite. CF: How do you prioritize time in your life to quilt and create? JK: Mmmm, interesting question. If you spoke to my family, they would probably say "sometimes not very well." Family comes first, but I'm extremely lucky that I get to stitch almost every day. I have a husband who is supportive of me and is happy to cook and help me to get things done and still meet deadlines (I guess he also subscribes to the "happy wife, happy life" theory). Stitching just makes me happy. My girls encourage me to do what I'm passionate about also. Over the years, I have realized that there are only 24 hours in a day, so there are things that sometimes just have to give. I have weeds in my garden and my windows might need a clean. My sewing room is rarely tidy. I will add that I am also a last-minute princess! I work well under pressure. Glitter Quilt CF: Can you talk about your love of hand quilting vs. machine quilting? JK: I have never enjoyed machine stitching when there is a large volume of fabric involved. I remember when I was trying to make curtains for our first home. Not something I look back on fondly! I just enjoy hand stitching in every way. It's therapeutic to me. I can feel stress drain from every pore in my body. When my daughters were smaller, I was working as a midwife. In the evenings I wanted to be present and listen to stories about their day. Hand stitching was the solution. I could be doing what I loved and be part of family life. My machine was always set up in another room and to machine stitch removed me from this. I do machine piece, but in my perfect world I would hand stitch everything. Jen Kingwell is the author of "Quilt Lovely: 15 Vibrant Projects Using Piecing and Appliqué" (Fons & Porter/F+W; $26.99).

Instructions and How-To’s to Guide you through the most common sewing techniques including how to sew a zipper & insert piping into a seam.

Someone has kindly brought to my attention that in Section 6 of the quilt construction in page 28 of Gypsy Wife Booklet there is a strip missing. I am so sorry for this - I was proofing the pattern be

Hello and happy Thursday! While doing a little cleaning in my sewing room this week I happened upon my stash of orphan blocks. Orphan blocks are extra blocks made to test block patterns or blocks that were made for quilts or projects that never got used. As I was sorting through my found “treasures” I […]

Stitching in the ditch is a quilting technique, but it’s a good one to know for other sewing projects as well. I don’t use it a ton, but occasionally when I’m making …

Don't stress over the tension dials on your sewing machine. Find out when and how to set and adjust thread tension.

In the world of quilting, there are tons of quilts that have Flying Geese blocks. Actually, my quilt pattern, the Framed Folk quilt has a bunch of them so I figured I’d put this flying geese tutorial…

Hello fellow Gypsies (and everyone following along)! It’s time to finish our sampler quilt journey. I’ve really enjoyed cohosting the 2019 Gypsy Wife Quilt-Along with @ScrappyViolet . It’s a quilt I’ve wanted to make for a long time.

Home Arts Needlecraft MagazineOctober, 1935

Hello, hello! I really hope you guys are enjoying all the blocks, I know we sure are! I will soon have a preview of the finished quilt! We are working extra hard to get it finished so you guys ca…

Sleeve designs can be a little bit intimidating. Drafting them is kind of a science on its own, and it’s hard to imagine what shape you need to start with if

The Jen Kingwell Gypsy Wife Sew-along kicks off next week (August 3) and I thought it would be a good...

Inside: Sewing a straight line is so much harder than it looks. Here are the best tips for how to sew straight lines, including how to improve your sewing technique and tools to help you along faster. When I sat down to sew in my high school home economics class, I thought sewing straight lines was easy. Seriously, how

Enjoy these easy and fun cheat sheets/charts for quilters from Art Gallery Fabrics ®. No Waste Flying Geese, Magic 8 HST, basic HST, Four at a Time HST etc.

Basic Stitches Britannica Online Encyclopedia Dressmaking is a craft of making dresses. It is the basis and the start of the fashion world. When you make dresses, you will be called a dressmaker or historically, modiste. Learning the basics of...

Embroidery patterns, before and after projects, give-aways, chalkboard doodles, a bit of this and a lot of that!

It's been quite some time since I've been able to sit down, relax and look through my favorite block reference books. A couple weeks ago, I pulled out Nancy Cabot's Quilt Collection , complied by Rose Lea Alboum. You can see more about it on my blog here and ordering information here . This ti

It's time for my quilt group summer dinner party. Every summer and at Christmas we have a dinner party. It's a great evening...full of food, chatting, games and prizes.

Have you ever wondered what the little ball is for on your seam ripper? Learn how to use a seam ripper and the little red ball.

I used to think that sergers were super expensive machines. Then I snagged a cheap Singer ProFinish Serger, and I don't know how I ever lived without it.

This sewing basic tutorial will teach you how to sew a gathering stitch for perfect ruffles every time.

Everything you need to know about what is interfacing in sewing, types of interfacing, how to use interfacing -including interfacing tips you have to know if you sew.

Learn How to Make a Perfect Economy Quilt Block with these simple instructions. Free downloadable tutorial instructions included.

Earlier this month at our March NYC Metro MOD Quilt Guild meeting we introduced quick demos - 20-minute sessions with members teaching members techniques, tips, and tricks. An email requesting volunteers was sent out and our VP, Bernadette, requested someone demo Y-Seams, more specifically me! To demo Y-seams I've used an 8 point star (45° points) and I've put together some info here about working with angles around a centre point: The centre of anything has 360° around it - you can add as many pieces as you want around a point and they'll all join up perfectly as long as the angles of each all add up to 360°, English Paper Piecing works in the same way. Your quilting ruler often has basic quilting angles marked on it - 45°/60°/90° or you can use a protractor to really start playing with your angles. Check out large sized protractors in your local DIY store, they're often cheaper than identical tools sold specifically for quilters and artists. Moving on now to a step-by-step photo version of my Guild demo - created for our guild members to refer back to and shared here so you can use it too. Beginner's Guide To Sewing Y-Seams Rather than marking your fabrics as above it's so useful if you can simply use the markings on your sewing machine foot to tell you when to stop sewing. Sewing machine manufacturers know how much quilters love their 1/4 inches so most add markings or grooves to their patchwork/1/4" feet to make life easier for us. Take a look at your 1/4" foot - does yours have markings? If it doesn't you might want to treat yourself to a new foot for your machine that does, it saves you so much time and improves accuracy so could be a worthwhile investment. Aren't those Y-seams easy after all? I hope my beginner's guide makes you want to give Y-seams a go if you do let me know how you go on and share your work too I'd love to see it - Chris :D Featured on: Clicking on an image will take you to a new page of crafty goodness :) Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own. Click to follow me on Follow Linky Parties This post may be linked to some great Linky Parties, always a great source of inspiration too. If you click through to my 'Fave Linky Parties' page you can see where I like to share my work.

Half Square Triangles are the blocks of choice for this week in the Jen Kingwell’s Gypsy Wife Quilt Sew-along. I...

THREAD, DON’T DREAD Do you dread to thread? Overlockers or sergers of all kinds have a reputation of being impossible … More

YouTube sewing tutorial on how to sew straight using different seam guides for your sewing projects.

Learn How to Make a Perfect Hourglass Quilt Block. This classic block is a great scrap buster and one of the easiest quilt blocks for beginners.

What is a serger and how do I use it? This is a question I hear all the time. Today we are breaking it down and telling you exactly how to use this sewing machine.

Learn how to adjust the armscye to remove excess fabric and create a garment that fits you perfectly, including under and around your arms.

I know I always underestimate how long it will take me to complete a project, but we’re talking whole new levels with the La Passacaglia quilt. (If you don’t know what quilt I’m t…

Welcome to Technique Tutorial Tuesday. This is a long post so sit back, relax, and read awhile! Today I will be presenting an introduction to Free-Motion Quilting (FMQ for short). I will cover topi…

Top US quilting blog, Diary of a Quilter, shares their No-Waste method fo make Flying Geese Block and 8 point Sawtooth Star Quilt Block. Click here now!

Hey guys! Welcome to the second post in our fabric series. I don’t need to repeat to you how much I love fabrics, that’s pretty obvious by now isn’t it? If you missed the last post you can read it her

Tips for making traditional Flying Geese Quilt blocks - including 4 at a time no-waste method and foundation piecing with Triangles on a Roll.