What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Hunter and Lemoyne Stars Made EasyYes, we can make our favorite quilt blocks, the hunter and lemoyne...

Echo Quilting, Great Beginner Technique Sometimes it is challenging to think of quilting designs for...

Fabric Cutting Rulers for the WINWhat are your favorite fabric cutting rulers? Do you like...

Quilt Conversations LIVE On Amazon!Thank you! I could not have done it without you! QCL live...

Dreamweaver QuiltI like quilt design challenges. Dreamweaver is the result of a personal design...

Serendipity  Make-A-Wish Charity QAL

The Fat Quarter Shop Serendipity Quilt Along began March 15th. Join the fun, make a quilt and raise awareness of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Learn more at Fat Quarter Shop. Get the Fat Quarter Shop exclusive fabric requirements PDF.  Every two weeks, they release a new quilt block.

My quilt features Lori Holt’s new fabric line Bee Cross Stitch.

NOTE: The fabric was generously provided by Riley Blake Designs.

Week 2 - Happy Chance Row

This week, we make two rows of Happy Chance block. Below, is the mock-up of the Bee Cross Stitch colors I selected ...

A Star Quilt For Every Newborn

Have you seen it!?  A Star Has Arrived, is a new quilt design in the  February/March 2021 issue of Fons & Porter Quick + Easy Quilts.

The pattern is EASY. Truly. It’s a one block design. Get your copy at Fat Quarter Shop. 

The fabric used  in the quilt is called Spectrastatic. You can find it at Fat Quarter shop too. Many thanks to Andover Fabrics for sponsoring the quilt with the Spectrastatic collection by Giucy Giuce.  

Do you like the quilting motif, Bear Claws? If you would like to use it, check out ...

New Living Water Quilter Videos

  I am excited to share I am finally making time to record  free-motion and ruler quilting video demos.  I hope they will be a source of inspiration and you will find designs you can use to finish your quilt projects.

The videos live on Living Water Quilter’s YouTube channel.  Please visit the channel and subscribe. Then watch, like and comment on your favorite designs.

BONUS: In every video description box there is a list of quilting and sewing tools used in the video and links where to find more information and where to purchase ...

Proverb Art Cards

I took an artistic break from sewing and spent several days playing with Distress Oxide ink and stencils.

I picked up 12 Ranger Distress Oxide inks and inking tools over the last few months.  I used simple white card stock and stencils.

Ranger blending tools (right) are perfect for mixing inks on a glass work surface and blending ink on card stock. I used Tim Holtz’s Glass Media Mat. It’s the black and white surface under the stenciled art. The 14 x 23-inch mat features a 12 x 14-inch measuring grid and a white ...

Distress Oxide & Kraft-tex

Looking for a fun project with unexpected results that are always a win?  Then try applying Distress Oxide and heat embossing on Kraft-tex.

A few weeks ago I picked up 12 Ranger Ink Distress Oxide inks with the goal of using it on Kraft-tex. Much of the inspiration comes from the talented Jennifer McQuire.  Thank you Jennifer for the ink swatch templates.

After applying ink to each card swatch and playing with white card stock, I was ready for Kraft-tex. Looking left to right, see the progression of layering ink on Kraft-tex in the images below.

NOTE:  I am a C&T Publishing affiliate and Kraft-tex ambassador. Kraft-tex for this project was provided by C&T Publishing.

Although the dark color and texture of Kraft-tex is handled differently, experimenting with white card stock did help. Distress Oxide is a unique ink where individual colors are maintained during the layering process and has an awesome oxidized chalk like finish.

After layering Emerald Kraft-tex with ink and heat embossing it was cut and glued to an unfinished wooden pen/pencil holder.  To continue with the Distress look, the edge of the kraft-tex is ink with sepia archival ink.

Above is a ...

Masked Quilter

I had a small window between major projects to make a few masks. There are many design options, tutorials and videos to help every kind of sewer popping all over the internet.

Among them, is the Craft Passion’s pattern and tutorial.

I decided to make the Type C pattern with pocket and removable nose wire.

Beautiful Island Batik fabric is a good choice for this project.  Batik fabric has a tight weave and is a good option for non medical masks.

Instead of the shoelace as seen in the Craft Passion video, I used Bonnie’s Craft ...

 Prairie Petals Blog Hop

A new quilt, Prairie Petals, was first revealed at International Quilt Market last November.  Now there is a pattern! :-) The Prairie Petals pattern has full-color instructions and uses templates to create the 12-inch finished blocks. It’s a quick and easy pattern.

The large pieces in the block are great to showcase your favorite fabric. My Prairie Petals quilt was showcased at the Island Batik booth and features Prairie Skies fabric collection by designer Kathy Brett Engle. 

Wholesale orders for all my Island Batik inspired patterns, like Prairie Petals, a 66″ X 78″ quilt, may ...

Baskets and Labels

Finally, I have labels for my baskets. I needed labels a year ago. I tried a few ideas, but the labels were too big and did not work with the basket style. Then I had an idea I thought would work but could not move forward. My schedule was full so it  had to wait. It became one my first goals for 2020.  

• The need….small readable logo labels for baskets
• The idea….DIY labels with Kraft-tex with a logo modification

First, I rehired designer, Gabriel Pons to modify my current logo for small usage. The logo ...

Tic Tac Toe XOXO

Some games we learn and play last a life time.  Did you learn Tic Tac Toe as a child?  It’s a fun thinking game and a precursor to Checkers or Chess.

This is my first project as a 2020 Kraft-tex ambassador for C&T Publishing.  The pouch has Crimson Kraft-tex on one side and vinyl on the other side. It is lined with Island Batik Speakeasy fabric designed by Kathy Engle.

Did you notice the playing board has two sides?

NOTE:  C&T Publishing provided the Crimson Kraft-tex. As an C&T Publishing affiliate I ...

2020 Kraft-tex Ambassador

I am pleased to be a Kraft-tex ambassador for another year. 

CT Publishing, the makers of Kraft-tex, invited me to participate in a year of monthly color challenges. Kraft-tex is a paper substrate that sews like fabric, and can look like leather. It can be dyed, painted, stitched, and washed.

Every quarter I will receive several rolls of Kraft-tex designer colors from CT Publishing for the 2020 colors of the year:

• January - Crimson
  
• February - Orchid
  
• March - Denim
  
• April - Linen
  
• May - Emerald
  
• June - Saffron
  
• July - Marsala
• August - Greenery
  
• September - Sapphire
• October  -  Blue Iris
• November - Tangerine
• December - Turquoise

I ...

2019 - A Fruitful Year

Is it possible I made all these quilts in 2019?!  A year for me is 10 months. I don’t sew in November and December.  I have been a busy bee!

Let’s take a gallery tour.

1) I see a small theme of light backgrounds in some Island Batik Ambassador projects.

2) These smaller projects were fun first-time techniques.

3) Geese Gone Wild made the priemer issue of Modern Monthly, an online magazine published by the Modern Quilt Guild.

4) Mini art quilts are fun between big projects. 

5)  It’s also been a year ...

Fabric Painting 

It finally happened!  I learned some beginner fabric painting skills with Danit of Danit’s Quilting Studio in Tel Aviv, Israel.   I am so excited!  

We started with white fabric, water, and blue paint.  Below are results of using three application techniques.

Danit taught techniques from Mickey Lawler book, Skydyes:, A Visual Guide to Fabric Painting.   Used and printed copies are available on Amazon    It’s also available as an eBook by the publisher, C&T Publishing .

Disclosure:  I am an affiliate of C&T Publishing and Amazon. It costs you nothing when you use my links to ...

Making Plans


Plans. I have them. You have them. Sometimes plans need to live on paper and not just in our mind. Do you use a planner? I not only use a planner, I NEED one to organize my weekly, monthly and yearly schedule.


I made a cover for this planner a few months ago. However, I wanted creative playtime with Island Batiks, thread and Kraft-tex.



The fabric stripe are fun, but best part of this project are the vinyl windows! The windows are perfect for featuring you favorite quilt block or fabric.


Three Island Batik fabric collections, Speakeasy, Soil ...

Travel Tray Inspiration

Have you made a travel tray?  

Travel trays have been on my “To Make” list for a while. So, I thought they would be perfect for the Island Batik Ambassador 3D Challenge.  This the first of two 3D challenge projects.

NOTE: Island Batik provided the fabric and Kraft-tex was provided by CT Publishing.

Island Batik and Kraft-tex Trays

Island Batik and Kraft-tex is a winning combination for a travel tray. Kraft-tex is firm yet flexible. The tray sides remain at an angle even when the tray is unsnapped. 

I made two with Kraft-tex  as the base and ...

A Piece of… History 

The day has finally arrived!  I may reveal the secret bundle of gift-wrapped “surprise” fabric I received from Island Batik!  My surprise fabric is Speakeasy, a collection available December 2019.

Tada!  Brick-by-Brick, a new quilt design featuring Speakeasy.

Brick-by-Brick, is a reminder to keep a link to the past and it’s a quilt designed for the Island Batik  A Piece of Blog Hop. Brick-by-brick we can remove history from our view or we can preserve it.  

NOTE: Island Batik provided the fabric for Brick-by-Brick.

Brick-by-Brick is photographed in front of the Janney-Marshall building (click to ...