Archive for the ‘Quilting and Sewing’ Category

Through the Woods Paper Pieced Quilt

It’s finally here!!

I’m so incredibly excited to present to you my newest design: Through the Woods.

This paper pieced quilt pattern has certainly been a labor of love, but every stitch was totally worth it! Before I even get started on all the details, I want to say thank you to all the pattern testers who made one (some made two already) top to make this an amazing pattern. Your feedback and input is priceless and helps make a great pattern for other quilters.

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A few weeks ago, I released my new FREE pattern: Oven Octo, this week I want to show you how to sew binding onto those weird angles! I haven’t done this before and after having a few difficulties with mine, I thought it would be well worth my while to research and report back to you on what I found! It’s actually pretty simple, I’ve made a few diagrams to make it even simpler! So, here we go: how to sew binding onto different angles… (Continue reading…)

easy modern potholder

“So…somehow I’m the activities director for the guild,” I sheepishly explained to my husband after my very first guild board meeting – I had just agreed to shadow at the Modern Quilt Guild for a position in 2019. So, I’m really not sure how it happened, but I was indeed appointed to be the activities director for 2018. I was actually pretty excited about the whole miscommunication, the only problem: I’d have to participate in the activities! And if you know anything about me, you’ll know that I’m a little busy. So, I justified my appointment and reassured myself that it would all work out, I’ll just make each project and blog about it! Double points for having fun, using scraps, and getting work done. So, over the next few months you’ll see some fun smaller projects on the blog that are perfect for small gifts, guild events, and swaps!

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There’s so many fun products out there, but today I’m going to tell you about my current favorite: Insul-Bright! It’s a really neat type of batting that you can use in so many ways; ironing board covers, oven mitts, hot pads, casserole caddies, lunch boxes…really the options are endless!

Now, this week’s pictures are a bit boring, and well…white. But I promise, next week will be a fun and colorful post that you’re sure to love! (Continue reading…)

How to make perfectly flat pinwheel blocks

Last week I showed you how to make Half Square Triangles (HST) fast, using the Magic 8 Method. Today, we’ll add to that with a full tutorial on how to get pinwheel quilt blocks that are nice and flat.

It’s important to get your pinwheel seams as flat as possible so that when quilting you don’t run into bulky seams that could distort the quilting, break the thread, or even damage the needle. Longarmers are probably jumping for joy upon reading this post! So, go ahead, impress your longarmer with your fancy pinwheel seams…

Let’s get started!

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The perfect little gift for babies on Valentines Day! DIY in under an hour, using what you have at home.Although my little love bug won’t understand the notion of a valentine from her mama, I still want to do something special for her this year! I’ve created a sweet little toy that she can enjoy for many stages: For now, I’m sure the giant buttons hidden inside will probably be the big hit. Later, as she learns how to put buttons through holes, zip and unzip, it’ll be a great skill-builder. And much later, when she’s sending imaginary letters to her pen pal, I’ll be so glad I took an hour or so to create this special gift for her. What will you come up with? (Continue reading…)

How to Make Eight Half Square Triangles at Once!

the fastest way to make half square triangles

The Magic 8 method is certainly not original with me, but I thought it was worth sharing since I’ve been using it religiously on one of my newest designs (It’s called Breezy, and you’re going to love it! It will be releasing sometime in April.) Anyway, there are lots of ways to make Half Square Triangles, but this method is the fastest and most precise that I’ve found.

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How to Get a Perfect Corner on Your Quilt Binding Tutorial

Binding can make or break your quilt. You could have done it all right from start to finish: getting straight cuts, squaring up each block, snipping every thread, and pressing every seam perfectly. But your binding might make all that hard work go unnoticed! Nothing is worse than a wonky corner on your binding. So, let’s make sure that your quilt is as good as it can be: here is a full-picture tutorial on how to get the perfect binding corner on every quilt!

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Today I want to share  one of my favorite patterns with you and explain how to use it. It’s a newer concept that I came up with & sometimes quilters have troubles knowing what to do with it. I’m talking about my Grow With Me sewing pattern, of course! If you’re not familiar with this pattern, let me explain, I bet you’ll love it once you understand it: (Continue reading…)

Coffee, Cake, and Quilting—the perfect night at the quilt guild to take a project that needs ripped out. Yep—I was in a rush to finish a project, got sloppy, and decided to rip half of it out. If I had to rip seams, I might as well do it among people who know my pain and can chat with me while I endlessly rip. I found a seat, hunkered down over my quilt, and dug into my project. I looked up and saw Diane making her way over to me and she quietly asked, “Do you want me to show you a better way to rip seams?”

“Heavens yes!” I replied—I felt a little sheepish, knowing that I probably just should have googled this long ago, but I gladly took her up on her offer. (Continue reading…)