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 Here is a fast and easy project...seriously! If you just remembered that your needed a gift for a lady...give these a try. A set of four takes only 1-2 hours.

Some might call them "hot pads" but, I like to use them to hold a plate of food right out of the microwave. They are thinner than standard kitchen hot pads...so, if you wanted to use them that way...just double up.

Supplies: One 10" square of cotton batting, Five 10" squares of fabric.

Step One: Fold four of the fabric on the diagonal and press.

Step ...

 I had the honor of creating a tutorial to post on my friend, Marie Bostwick's blog. Do you know Marie? In addition to being a great friend and kind human being she is a wonderful author. I found her years ago when she was writing her Cobbled Court Quilt series, all about, you guessed it, quilters! Since then she has written many wonderful books. I love that they focus on women and friendships.

Anyways, Marie asked if I would write a holiday tutorial for her blog. I created a pattern for these fun giftbags....

Are you working on some last minute Christmas gifts or are you already piecing a Valentine’s Day quilt for next year? This week’s freemotion quilting design would work for both!

The design Curly Hearts is a dynamic allover or edge to edge design. It can be used on a whole quilt or to fill around a shape in panel if you like. I can see this also work as an imitation of Santa’s beard of the wool of a sheep.

Pattern Tutorial

This edge to edge design use backtracking /traveling over already stitched line, but it is ...

November and December to me are not only the months of sparkly and brightly colored decorations and get-togethers, but also the months that I associate with certain foods items. Chocolate milk, speculaas cookies, mandarin oranges and especially nuts! This week’s design is based on almonds, pecans and brazil nuts.

Pattern Tutorial

The freemotion design Pods is a dense background filler with thread build up around the edges of the pod shapes. The space between the pods is then filled with various small pebbles. The shape of the pods can be described as a football, almond shape or a lens ...

Welcome back for the second and final installment of this Quilt Paper Project series! If you missed Part 1, where we made two gourd-geous Pumpkin Trivets and the center block of this table runner, be sure to check out that blog post first and head back here when you’re done!

1. Gather Your Supplies

This week, we really get to have fun with the scrappy feel you get with Lori Holt’s Quilt Papers. Have fun and get creative with your 5″ Crazy Blocks!

For this project, you will need:

• One pack of Lori Holt 5″ Crazy Quilt Paper ...

Piecing a Scrappy Back for the Hope’s Path Quilt

Sometimes quilting projects don’t go as planned—like when I completely forgot to order backing for the Hope’s Path Quilt. This is a quilt that is so is special to me. I share the rights with Quilts for a Cause. An organization that raises money to combat cancer by selling quilts. I was working under a tight, self imposed deadline. While it might sound stressful, it turned into an unexpected creative opportunity!

Why? Well, I decided to piece together a Snazzy Stripy Quilt Back made solely from my ...

Before we delve into this weeks design, I wanted to draw your attention to a website called Create Whimsy. This site is a treasure trove of interesting quilty resources and a fabulous series of interviews. These interviews are with quilt designers, textile artists, pattern surface designers and various other creative professionals. This week I was asked to participate in this series of spotlight interviews. You can find my interview on the site. Do you have any additional questions you would like me to answer? Would love to more for you.

It is time for a cosy and nostalgic design this ...

Welcome to the first installment of a two-part blog series where we will be making two fun projects using Lori Holt’s Pumpkin Paper and 5″ Crazy Paper to spruce up your fall table. In Part 1, spend a cozy autumn afternoon cooking up a pair of quick Pumpkin Trivets. Then, come back to the blog on Saturday the 23rd to piece a Crazy Cute Pumpkin Table Runner with us.

1. Gather Your Supplies

Lori Holt’s Quilt Papers are deliciously scrappy, and one Layer Cake is all you need to make these Pumpkin Trivets and the matching Crazy Cute ...

 I've been trying to do more video content but I don't really like to be on camera. Editing the videos is a learning experience and time consuming. I am getting better but I never thought I'd be filming and editing videos as part of my job. You just never know what skills you'll need in life!

I made a video demonstrating how to make a basic bowl with rope. It's kind of a mini class. It's not perfect, but I think you can get the idea and learn something which is more important than ...

Do you want feathers on your quilt, but they have to be a bit whimsical and modern? I have a great design option for you!

This edge to edge freemotion design lets you indulge in single feather shapes and curve them to the left or to the right. The design can be used on a quilt with a theme like: birds, water, waterfall, splashes, flowers, plants, leaves and the jungle.

Pattern Tutorial

The Feather Fan design is based on a series of single feather shapes placed next to each other, like the feather crest on a cockatoo’s head or ...

How many pies is too many?

The Dutch province I live in is famous for its fruit pies (vlaai), so with every party we bring out an assortment of pies. Apple and apricot are my favorite, and I love a slice of cherry pie too!

This background Pies filler design will help you ‘fill the table’. This design is very versatile. It resembles pies, certain types of breads, sea creatures, beads and maybe even gemstones. I can see it being used in quilts about vehicles and anything with gears or wheels too.

Pattern Tutorial

The Pies design is basically a ...

These baby hand mittens are sooo perfect for keeping those little fingers with sharp nails away from scratching their face. It’s such a struggle with newborns – their fingernails and mini daggers and they can do some crazy damage to their face with scratches.

This easy to sew baby mittens is the answer! With ribbing (that I upcycled from a tank top) and double gauze fabric, they can be quickly sewn in pairs and are great for showers, gifts and can totally be last minute as they will sew up in half an hour or less!

For these no scratch ...

Meet Honey Hush, a striking throw quilt made using a Honey Bun (roll of 42 WOF 1-1/2″ strips) and small pieces of multi-colored solids. Yes, just using scraps would also work beautifully. Just have FUN with it.

This quilt has 120 blocks.

NOTE: If you are using precuts, I suggest taking measurements at each step and trimming as needed. Precision can be difficult when working with precuts.

Each block is created with:

• 1 1-1/2″ square for the center
• 2 1-1/2″ squares and 2 1-1/2″x3-1/2″ strips
• 2 3″ squares, cut on the diagonal (NOTE: I ...

The cooler weather here in Texas has us in the mood to do some hand stitching in front of the TV, bundled up under a cozy quilt, and marathoning our favorite spooky season movies. Today’s Spooky Bat Bunting tutorial is a super quick and easy one! It’s even simple enough to recruit your little ones to join in on the fun!

1. Gather Your Supplies

If you have some Halloween fabric in your stash already, you might just have everything you need for today’s project! Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/2 Yard of a light ...

If you’re looking for a quick way to finish your quilt top without diving into the world of traditional hand quilting or setting up your sewing machine with a walking foot, then hand-tying a quilt might be the perfect method for you!

It’s one of the quickest ways to secure the layers of your quilt sandwich without much fuss.

Using materials like embroidery floss, wool yarn, or even perle cotton, you can tie the layers of the quilt together with a series of small simple knots that not only hold everything in place but can also add a ...

Last year I shared a Spider Web design based on marked circles which was a lot of fun to quilt in a larger block. But did you know you can add a spider web in a border too?

Take a look at this new Halloween Web border design!

I quilted this FMQ design in a 3.5 inch high border. You can choose any size border you like, just make sure you can still see where you are supposed to line up in the centre of the spider web. On my domestic machine the maximum border height is about 4 ...

Last Tuesday, I shared my newest pattern, the Sugar Skull quilt block. I tested the pattern using the Good Spirits fabric by Ruby Star Society. It’s their Halloween line, which hit stores a few months ago. If you follow me on Instagram, you’d know that I used this fabric for a quilt-along with the Fat Quarter Shop. A couple of months back, I made a door hanging with this fun fabric line.

Since I didn’t have any plans for the quilt block and still had some leftover fabric, I decided to turn it into something. I settled ...

When the bag arrived, I was immediately excited. The fabric is lovely, and the strips would save a lot of cutting and piecing time.

A variation on a Churn Dash block seemed a good solution.

Cutting directions for each 12″ Dash block follow.

1. Background: 2 5″ squares, 4 2-1/2″x4-1/2″ rectangles
2. Primary Fabric: 2 5″ squares, 1 4-1/2″ square.
3. Inner Dash Bar: 8 2-1/2″ squares (or, separate the strips already sewn together into sets of 2). NOTE: If you have a charm pack, it could be a good starting place for this quilt. Just cut into ...

Are you going to be spending more time on our sewing machines now that the weather is getting colder? I know I am! That means we have some time for a bit more in-depth learning with this week’s pattern. The pattern Twist will probably be familiar as it has been around for a while. It is basically an orange peel variation, but instead of an arch shape we are using a shape that resembles a gentle wave or a hill / slope.

The asymmetry in that shape adds so much movement in your quilt! I know that the design is ...