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Now it’s time to take our wonky strips and sew them together into improv Log cabin blocks!
Follow along with the Modern Logs quilt pattern on pages 4-7.

Thinking ahead: you can sew scraps together if you need more length for each of the logs. You can also use either side of the fabric to give your blocks more interest and sparkle. The key is that these blocks are wonky and improv so no two blocks will be exactly the same!

The block below is what I call “super improv”.  It has a couple places where I’ve added ...

To go along with the Modern Logs Quilt Along that just recently started, I’m hosting a weekly Facebook Live chat for the duration of the Quilt Along. This will allow me to share some bonus tips and tricks along with a chance for you to ask any questions you have while making this quilt!

Click here to get the Good Vibes fat quarters above

Bonus Tips and Tricks on YouTube

In case you missed it, I posted the first Modern Logs Q&A over on my YouTube channel. You can ...

Let’s dive in and cut out our Modern Logs fat quarters, shall we? I’m using Good Vibes fat quarters, but you can use anything with good contrast between light and dark. In case you missed it, click here for last week’s post on prepping your fabric and choosing colors.

Click here to grab Good Vibes fat quarters from my online shop.

Follow along in the Modern Logs quilt pattern on page 3 for the numbers and sizes of wonky strips to cut.

Fat Quarter Cutting Tips

Layer fabrics to cut them out faster! If you are cutting ...

It’s been exciting to see Good Vibes turning up in other people’s projects! One of the best parts of fabric design is discovering what others make with my prints from Benartex. I’m happy to feature several of those projects today.

Propeller by Sherry Shish of Powered by Quilting

Sherry Shish of Powered by Quilting  used the Slippin’ Slide print in all four colors for her propellers, nicely accented by the Gumballs prints in the corners. I like the secondary design formed by the Gumballs at the center—it’s another propeller!

Sherry took full advantage of the ...

Modern Logs Quilt Along officially kicks off next week on September 2nd, but today I want to take a minute and discuss fabric selection so you’ll be ready to roll when we begin. In a nutshell, you want to use fat quarters that have good contrast between lights and darks. I’m using Good Vibes fat quarters shown below, but nearly anything you can think of will work!

Click here to get Good Vibes fat quarters while supplies last.

Remember you can use the front or back of your fabric if you need more contrast! I do this all ...

Have you been enjoying following along to make Bling? Scroll to the end for links to the entire quilt along. This week we will be binding our Bling to finish it up!

Roundup of binding tutorials

Because I pretty much bind my quilts all the same way (either by hand or machine), I have a LOT of binding tutorials that I’ve shared over the years. So here are 3 for you to try – use whichever method you like best!

• My basic binding tutorial (shown on Modern x)
• Binding by machine – straight stitch (shown on ColorWeave)
• Binding by machine video ...

Modern Logs has been one of my most requested quilt alongs ever and I’m so excited for it to begin! To get you ready, I’m sharing the full supply list and schedule today; then next week I’ll include a bonus post on choosing fabrics. The QAL will kick off on Wednesday, September 2nd.

For a limited time, I’m offering Modern Logs Quilt kits in all 3 sizes including the pattern!

Click here to get the Modern Logs Quilt Kit while supplies last.

Modern Logs: Scrappy Improv Front and Back

As part of the quilt along, I ...

This week I’m super excited to give you additional options for machine quilting your Bling quilt. I quilted both of my versions with two different walking foot quilting designs. Last week, I shared my basting tutorial along with option 1; and I wanted to add one more plug for pressing your seams open:

When you press your seams open, not only will the quilt lie flat and make it much easier to quilt, but you wan’t get any “shadowing” of the seams, which is when a darker fabric shows up under a lighter fabric seam. The darker fabric ...

I’m happy to finally announce that my 2 newest patterns – Modern Logs and Charming Chevrons, (both made from Good Vibes) are now available in print! Due to the virus, shipping delays at the printer caused these to come a little later than expected, but they were worth the wait!

But now for the best news! I’ll be doing quilt alongs for both coming up this fall. First we will kick off the Modern Logs quilt along in September.

To make Modern Logs exactly as shown above, all you need is the quilt pattern plus 2 Good Vibes fat ...

And now we get to my favorite part of making a quilt – machine quilting! Because I made two versions of Bling, and quilted them with 2 different walking foot quilting designs, I’m excited to share both options with you over the next 2 weeks. And the best part is, you can use these tips and tricks on ANY quilt you wish to make.

For the version of Bling with the Black background, I used my walking foot/dual feed to quilt straight-“ish” lines in a crosshatch pattern following the design of the blocks.

Choose Your Thread Color

Because ...

I love reading quilt magazines that are more than just a bunch of patterns. So when QuiltFolk debuted in 2016 it was a no-brainer for me to get a subscription and I’ve enjoyed every issue since then!

Imagine my pleasant surprise when editor in chief Mary Fons called me up earlier this year (before the world went a little haywire) and asked if she could feature me as one of the stories in their Nevada issue which published earlier this month.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, this amazing magazine tells stories about quilters all over ...

How are your Bling quilt blocks coming along? Be sure to see the end of this post for links to the introductory post and QAL schedule if you are just getting started!

I love a stack of freshly pressed blocks!!

If you are following along and arranging the blocks as shown on the pattern cover, you’ll want to sew your sets of bling blocks into 4’s like my pics below.

Geo Pop Bling blocks with Op Squares white background

At this point, don’t worry where each fabric goes. I think it’s more fun to let the ...

Today I’m thrilled to be reintroducing 2 of my most popular patterns ever – Modern Logs and Charming Chevrons. These were 2 of the first patterns I ever released and I always knew I’d remake them once I had my own fabric lines.

Both quilts use an equal number of light/dark fabrics, so when I designed Good Vibes with its saturated/low volume combo, they were very much top of mind! Both quilt patterns come in multiple sizes, and they are conveniently made from precuts so it’s easy to get the fun, scrappy look I like without ...

It’s Bling quilt along time – whoo hoo!! This quilt is so fun and fast to make you’ll want to sew more than 1! We will move through this quilt along quickly – but just remember, these posts will stay up indefinitely, so you can refer back to them anytime.

Bling on display in my Geo Pop quilt market booth a few seasons ago.

• Click here to get the Bling quilt pattern.
• Click here to get the optional Bling quilt kit in black or white.

Whether you want to follow along and make this quilt IRL (in real life) or ...

It’s time for another quilt along – whoo hoo! Be sure to head over to my Quilt Along page for links to any of the quilt alongs you may have missed in the past! Who’s ready to make Bling with me???

Click here to get the optional Bling Quilt Kit while supplies last.

You can make this fun colorful quilt using 20 fat quarters + 4 yards of background fabric. Make it with a rich black background as shown above, or a crisp white as shown below. For other fun color combos – check out my Bling Color Inspiration post.

All ...

I’m always excited when I can host a quilt along featuring easy to choose fabrics. For my Bling quilt, all you need is 20 fat quarters and 4 yards of contrasting background fabric. Today I’m excited to share with you lots of different color options in order to prepare for our next quilt along which begins on Monday, July 20!

Original Bling

My first version of Bling made from Fandangle won a ribbon at a local quilt show! 

• Click here to get the Bling Quilt Pattern – PDF download.
• Click here to get the Bling Quilt Pattern – Printed paper ...

I love it whenever we get to the machine quilting part of any quilt along! In case you missed it, click here to view all previous Optical Illusion Quilt Along posts. Today, I’m showing how to quilt the continuous spiral design.

Above is a sample I made for my in-person quilting classes. Notice that I used a blending thread so that you don’t see the imperfections.

Below is the sample I quilted for you on video this week so you can see how the process works. I quilted with black thread on white fabric which shows ALLL the ...

I am so excited about my two newest patterns, Charming Chevrons and Modern Logs. I’ll be doing quilt alongs for both later this year, and I can’t wait!!

Lap-size Charming Chevrons in Good Vibes fabric by Christa Watson for Benartex Contempo Studio

The lap and throw sizes of Charming Chevrons are made from 5″ charm packs. (The thinking is done—so you just relax and sew!) This design has a lot of movement for great visual interest.

Twin-size Charming Chevrons in Good Vibes fabric by Christa Watson for Benartex Contempo Studio

The larger sizes of Charming Chevrons (twin ...

Welcome to Part 4 of the Optical Illusion Quilt Along! You’ve made it through the piecing, so congratulations! Now we come to what may not be your favorite part of the process: prepping the backing and batting, and basting the layers together in preparation for quilting.

Above is one of the alternate colorways for Optical Illusion. You can make something similar with red, light blue, and white fabric from my online shop.

But if you’ll let me guide you through the next steps, I’ll share some tips to make it less painful and move you along to ...

Welcome to Part 3 of the Optical Illusion Quilt Along! I hope you are enjoying your fabric choices and feel confident in your cutting and sewing skills. Now I’m excited for you to start sewing the quilt top. It’s easy and fun!

Do you need a kit? The black, white and gray version is still available!
(Pattern is included with the kit.)
Do you need the pattern?
• Get the paper pattern. 
• Get the pattern instantly as a pdf.

If you haven’t already, please go through your pattern and highlight or circle the number of units to make ...