What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

This week Betty and I are sharing an update from news around the house in our new Teahouse!

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The main announcement this week is our new Circle Template Set. I’m playing with these templates mainly when making Dresden Plates and Rings, but these can also be used for applique / piecing. I’ll have a new Whirligig Quilt video coming out next week!

I’m doing a lot of secret sewing and quilting right now for projects coming out in the fall and 2023. All I can say is fun things will be ...

Yes, I’m making a big change to my piecing process by pressing seams differently. I’ve pressed seams open for 16 years and only now found a reason to change this technique. Learn why in this Quilt Friends Podcast #145:

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So just to recap – I still first press seams open and flat to get the full expression of the seam. Otherwise I find my points don’t turn out quite right and my blocks don’t measure the right size.

After pressing flat, I press the seam closed, towards ...

Hello My Quilting Friends! It’s a new year which means it’s time to pick a new Word of the Year for 2022 and share my goals and focus for the next 12 months. Enjoy hearing about our plans in this new Quilt Friends Podcast:

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Check out the videos on the Christmas Tree Quilt here!

Maximized Feather Block designs – I used two designs from this collection to quilt the stars in the background of my Christmas tree quilt. This turned out to be my favorite part!

More podcast episodes ...

Meet our baby Betty in this latest episode of the Hello My Quilting Friends podcast!

Quick links to the quilting tutorials I mentioned in this podcast:

Moving the Janome 8200 to the Hoop Frame

Comparing the Qnique 19 vs Qnique 15 longarms

How to Quilt a Wavy Border with Rulers

You’ll also learn my new quilting focus in this podcast – computerized quilting! I’ve just released my first batch of QCT (Quilters Creative Touch) designs – Maximized Feather Blocks.

I’m really excited to learn more about designing embroidery and computerized quilting designs. This has been on my list for ...

I have a new Quilt Friends Podcast for you and our topic today is: Made New in More Ways than One!

This is the Youtube video just because it works better here on my blog. You can also find this video on Rumble right here.

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Quick Links to things mentioned in this Podcast:

My new church – Hope Community Church in Shelby, NC. You can find our app in all app stores and download sermons and follow along.

Cross Quilt I found on Ebay – https://www.ebay.com/str/fringethread

Handmade Quilting Tool ...

Yes, our renovation is finally finished and I’m celebrating with a new tour of my quilting studio! It has been a very long, very difficult six months. I am very happy with our new space and even more happy to be getting back to quilting.

If you’d like to see just how much things have changed in the past six months, you can see the “before” version of this studio tour too. This was shared in January 2020, one month before the basement flooded:

A lot has changed! We finally have a beautiful, bright basement that is a ...

This week I’ve recorded Chapter 3 from Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt. This is one of my favorite chapters from the book because a certain special person comes alive and starts talking!

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Jump straight to the audiobook at time: 32:12

Also jump straight to the basement tour to see what we’ve fixed and finished (not much) and what is still ripped up (almost everything): 8:13

Learn more about Mally the Maker here. I’m going to share 1 chapter ...

In order to make this Mally the Maker audiobook a reality, I’ve had to drop the podcast to every other week. The main reason is the basement remodel which is filling up every day, leaving only time in the evening for recording and editing, which took a lot longer than I expected. This goal is very important to me so I really want to continue, but it just has to proceed at a slower pace. Enjoy!

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Jump straight to the audiobook at time: 13:04

Learn ...

Life is crazy right now, which is why I think it’s the perfect time to escape into a magical quilt world! Join me for an adventure into the world of Quilst as I share 1 chapter a week from Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt:

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Jump straight to the audiobook at time: 23:47

Learn more about Mally the Maker here. I’m going to share 1 chapter a week for the next 13 weeks and then begin writing the second book in ...

This week I’m sharing 10 tips for working from home with kids in the house. This is HARD! I’ll be the first person to tell you that trying to work and run a business and be a great mom all at the same time is not easy. But I have picked up a few lessons and habits over the years that can make a big difference in your stress level and productivity. Enjoy!

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Jump ahead to time 31:52 if you want ...

Suddenly we have found ourselves in the midst of a global crisis – cronovirus. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy and finding comfort in quilting. This week for the podcast I decided to share an article The Crisis, written by Thomas Paine in 1776. I found strength in reading this article when my house flooded in February. I hope you enjoy it as well!

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Jump ahead to time 38:48 if you want to get straight to my reading of The Crisis ...

I’m embracing distraction this week and playing with a 360 camera and touring the basement, which no longer feels like my house. Just a warning from the outset – this is the weirdest video I’ve ever created. I thought you could mix 360 videos with regular videos. Turns out – NO! LOL! That really doesn’t work. So I’m sorry in advance for the weirdness!

You can also listen to the podcast with no weirdness here:

Yes, this is the shortest podcast ever. I decided to double down on the Dream Big Quilt Along and have been writing a ...

This week I had to say No to teaching a quilting class and it made me think a lot about saying no in general. When we say “yes” to making one thing, we are also saying “no” to making other things, possibly more meaningful projects. I share thoughts on this throughout the podcast while I stitch on my Quilst landscape hoop quilt in this episode:

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Saying No is Actually Saying YES!

I usually know it’s time to say “No” to something when I get an itchy ...

Flexibility is key! This week I’m feeling extra flexible as I’ve decided to make some big changes to our upcoming Dream Big Quilt Along and Mini Block Monday monthly patterns. When things aren’t working, it’s easy to feel pressure to stay the course, but a flexible bend, change, or pivot is often a better choice. Do whatever you must to keep quilting!

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Lots of Flexible Decisions this Week!

I’m cutting out Dream Big Panels on my kitchen table through this week’s ...

Please stop putting off making the quilts and projects you’ve most wanted to create! It may be difficult, but it’s definitely easier than trying to create when your sewing space has been destroyed!

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Just in case you missed it – Click Here to listen to last week’s podcast and tour of my recently flooded basement.

This has been a week of ripping out and assessing damage. My daily work attire has gotten a bit more complicated:

Yes, we’re being very careful and safe. I ...

Just a month after sharing a studio tour for 2020, my basement flooded. Within 5 days almost everything about my quilting studio and office has changed. So for this podcast, I decided to share another tour, this time of the entire basement and how much things have changed:

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Recovering from the Flood

Josh, Dad, and I have been running 180 miles per hour to clean up, rip out, and minimize the damage the water could do to our lives and business. But it has definitely rocked our ...

I’ve put myself in jail today and I’ve got to stitch myself back out! I’m ready to put this double wedding ring quilt aside, but in order to do that, I had to attach all the arcs I’d prepared. So I’m in jail today until the stitching is done!

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Yep, I said Dream Big and suddenly it’s a Quilt Along! Click Here to find a Dream Big Panel so you can follow along. The videos will begin on March 13th and ...

I’m keeping things simple today! I realized this week that I was making many things way too complicated and I needed to give myself permission to simplify and just get the work done. Enjoy this topic in this week’s podcast:

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Jump to this time stamp to get straight to the show: 24:56

**I’m really sorry about the weird audio stuff in this episode. This was a brand new mic and it had been working so well and then suddenly decided to go very ...

Are you in limbo? This is a time of waiting with no idea when the waiting will end, or if things will work out the way you want. Hear how I’m wrapping my brain around my limbo time and choosing to be satisfied and content with what I have.

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Jump to this time stamp to get straight to the show: 25:55

Click Here to check out Mini Block Monday! We now have three mini block videos, each right around 3 minutes long. So you can ...

This week I am sharing a fun podcast with my predictions for changes to the quilting world in the next 10 years. I’m looking forward to the next decade because I know it will be filled with awesome new machines and materials. The internet is getting faster so learning and creating will become even easier!

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Jump straight to the topic by sliding up to time: 13:03

Click here to learn how to piece a Mini Pinwheel Block. This super simple, traditional quilt block is the ...