What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

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 ...

Nothing makes my day more than seeing what you all are making with my fabrics! And I love seeing when you’ve used one of my patterns for your latest project. With so many options, it’s an honor to see these beautiful quilts and works in progress “in the wild!” read more

I’ve been working hard over the last few weeks, creating 11 gorgeous color bundles spanning all of my fabric lines for Benartex. A few weeks ago I got a request from some followers in my Facebook Group to create these custom color bundles, and I’m pleased to say they are now finally ready!

So let’s take a look at these beauties:

Reds: 12 Fat Quarters

• Click here to get the Red bundle

This custom color bundle includes 12 fat quarters in pretty reds and pinks with a touch of other colors for added sparkle. Each fat quarter ...

Are you having fun making your Optical Illusion quilt? This week it’s time to sew our cut units into the blocks. Follow along in the quilt pattern on pages 3-4 and pay close attention to what goes where. It’s simple to sew but the key is to follow the diagrams precisely for proper fabric placement.

Click here to see the Optical Illusion Quilt Kit in other colors.

In a nutshell, the interplay between the dark/light squares and the medium skinny strips is what causes the illusion to appear. Because you are working with long skinny strips, your ...

Earlier this week, I shared my Infrastructure quilt finish, along with links to all of the quilt along tutorials. Today I’m back with more inspiring versions of this quilt made by others. I love to see the same design made up in different fabric, don’t you??

My version of Infrastructure quilt made with Geo Pop fabric.

Heather Black’s Version Made from Solids

Heather Black originally designed this quilt for me to show off my Geo Pop fabric line. But then she made her own version using Benartex Superior Solids. The color placement is basically the same, but ...

I had the most amazing time making my Infrastructure quilt and sharing each step of the process with you. I’m excited to share more pics of the finished quilt along with links to all of the previous quilt along tutorials and videos. I hope it inspires you to make your own version!

Infrastructure made from Geo Pop Fabric

• Click here to get the Infrastructure Quilt Kit (while supplies last).
  Click here to get the Infrastructure Quilt Pattern – Paper Version
  Click here to get the Infrastructure Quilt Pattern – PDF Version

Infrastructure Finished Stats:

• Finished Size: 60″ x 73″
• Pieced and ...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This officially kicks off the holiday shopping season, so I figured I’d join the crowd of business owners and get it on the Black Friday frenzy! From now through the end of the month, you can save 20% off all of my fabric lines by the yard, when you use code TURKEY during checkout at shop.ChristaQuilts.com.

Modern Marks – My Very First Line from 2017!!

Click here to shop Modern Marks fabric.

It was such a thrill when Benartex contacted me three years ago and invited me to become one of their fabric designers for ...

Have you enjoyed following along with Infrastructure? Remember, even if you haven’t even started your quilt, you can make it anytime and I’m here to help cheer you on! We’ve come to the very last step of making the quilt and I’m “sew” excited to share my tutorial for binding by machine.

Click here to get the Infrastructure quilt kit while supplies last.

Step 1 Trim the Quilt

I like to use a large square ruler at the corners and along straight ruler for the sides. I trim the extra batting and backing flush with the ...

I love it when I see my fabrics popping up at quilt shops all over the country (and the world).
Each season I get an updated list from Benartex of who carries my current fabric and I’m happy to share it with you. Keep in mind this doesn’t include international shops, or those who purchase from a distributor. No does it include those who have the fabric on order but haven’t yet received it. But at least it gives you a start at finding out where to buy. If you know of any shops NOT on this ...

And now we get to my favorite part of making a quilt – machine quilting!!! There are so many different ways to quilt this quilt. Heather Black did an amazing job custom quilting hers, and I took the opposite approach with one of the simplest designs you can do – decorative machine stitching.

Infrastructure Machine Quilting Detail Using a Decorative Stitch

Thoughts on Thread

Click here to get my Aurifil Thread Kits in Colors, Neutrals, or my newest Variegated box.

So the first thing to do is choose the thread you’d like to quilt with. I piece AND quilt all of ...

How is your Infrastructure quilt coming along? Just remember, you can work at your own pace and if you are new, you can start this quilt any time! This week is quilt top assembly plus a complete basting video on YouTube. Keep reading for more….

Tips for Quilt Top Assembly

Once all 9 rows of Infrastructure have been sewn, it’s time to sew them together. They may look a little wavy, but if you sew each section in opposite directions, that will help eliminate some of the waviness.

If your rows are not all the same size, you can ...

This week we are making the last row of Infrastructure quilt – can you believe it??? Row 9 features simple pieced strips and it’s another great chance to fussy cut the Geo Pop fabric if desired.

First I’ll walk you through the process to piece this row, then you can take a look at the bonus YouTube video I created while making this row.

Cut the Strips

You want to cut nice straight strips according to the pattern instructions on page 6. If you are fussy cutting, you’ll want multiple strips of the same fabric to be cut ...

This week we are making Row 8  – more Anvil Blocks. This is a great catchup week because this row is cut and sewn exactly the same as Week 6 Row 6, but with different fabrics.

You can follow along in the Infrastructure Quilt Pattern on pages 6 and 13 for specific instructions on making this row.

Here are the cut pieces all laid out and sewn into one Anvil block:

I used the Tri Recs tools to cut the units to make the Triangle in a Square blocks. In case you missed it, I created a YouTube tutorial on how ...

This week we are making Row 7 – the Fence Post blocks. You can follow along with the cutting directions on page 5 and the sewing directions on pages 12-13 of the Infrastructure Quilt Pattern.

This is a simple row to put together and you can choose to fussy cut parts of the design if you wish. I didn’t worry about fussy cutting this row, but simply let the pattern design fall randomly.

Here are all my cut pieces using black, gray and yellow Geo Pop prints:

For speed and efficiency, I like to stack up all of the units ...

This week we are making Row 6 – the Anvil Blocks. This row is super simple because we are making more Triangle in a Square blocks using the Tri-Recs tools. Follow along in the Infrastructure quilt pattern on page 5 for the cutting instructions, and on page 12 for the sewing instructions.

So this time, I’m using the yellow Tiny Hex print in yellow for the anvil blocks and Op Squares charcoal for the background.

Click here to purchase Geo Pop fabric by the yard.

If you missed my video tutorial on how to make these fun and versatile blocks ...

This week for the Infrastructure quilt along, we are sewing Row 4 which looks a bit intimidating, but it really isn’t. True, it does have a lot of piecing, but it’s a great opportunity to play with fun shapes.You can fussy cut your fabric so that the patterns match up if you want, but it’s certainly not necessary. My #1 tip for cutting this row is to use the Tri-Recs Ruler set. The Infrastructure quilt pattern includes full size templates, but honestly, it’s faster and easier to use the specialty rulers.

Click here to get ...