I am just getting settled home from working at the lake for the season and going to a weekend meeting in Saskatoon. At last I can see things having an opportunity to get back to normal! So, I thought I would start out by posting photos of the blocks I received back in the Fools Gold Round Robin from Crazy Quilting International. This was a DYB (Do Your Block) Round Robin where each participant makes 6 blocks, 6 inches square each, and everyone in the round robin fully embellishes one of each other person's blocks. In the end you receive the six blocks you pieced back with five embellished fully and one left for you to complete. Clear as mud? lol Anyway, this is the lovely block which Barbara Warner stitched on for me. I love this beautiful fan she did and the lovely floral spray! I pieced all my blocks from wedding dress fabrics and my request from the others was pretty vague - that I would like something romantic. Barbara hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. Thank you Barbara!!

Emiko likes roses and subtle colours, so that's what I made for her and hope she'll like it.

How to do Self Binding on a Quilt tutorial.

It's just about time! Are you getting excited like me? On January 1st the Millefiore Quilt Along will get started designed and hosted by Katja. Using the hexie patterns from her new book, we will be creating rosettes using the english paper piecing method. This is my 'thing'. I have done hexagons since I started quilting years ago, and have never lost my love of hand work. These are the fabrics I'm starting with. Lots of bright prints and a couple of large prints perfect for fussy cutting. I went through my supply of papers and pulled a few I thought we might be using. If not, I will copy the patterns from the book onto card stock and cut them up myself. Something else new to me -- this time I am going to glue baste. I have always thread basted but sometimes removing those threads takes a long time. It's faster to glue I'm sure........ Also, Paper Pieces is going to be offering Rosette packages monthly for each of the rosettes if you don't want to copy and cut your own. How great is that! Here is a sampling of what Katja has done so far Isn't it fabulous??? My fingers are getting itchy. Over Christmas I plan to go through my stash and pull all kinds of fabrics that I think might work for this quilt. What a great way to use up stash : ) The quilt will be 78 x 78 and you can find all the details on Katja's website. The link is up at the top of her web page by the green bow : ) You can click here to have a look I hope you will join in. It's going to be fun!

Here are five common methods of making a flying geese block. and I put them through their paces constructing a 4" x 2" finished flying geese unit.

Whirlygig* block is the September Fat Quarter Mystery Quilt Block. Like all blocks in this year’s block of the month challenge, this block is 15" (finished

If you love this quilt and would like a chance to help with Libby Lehman's medical expenses you can make a donation to her medical fund and be entered in the February 13th drawing for this quilt. Marianne Fons made this classic and beautiful log cabin quilt to help raise funds for Libby and will pull the winning entry out of a hat! Please go to the page on the Moda website http://blog.modafabrics.com/category/fabrics/ to read Libby's story and see the all the details. It's a great way to use our love of quilting and show our love for Libby. "Libby's Log Cabin" by Marianne Fons, 60" x 75" Thanks again for all your wonderful comments since I started posting again on my blog, and I hope to post more quilting info soon. Meanwhile..... Keep quilting! Your work gets better every day! Diane

If I hadn't had "issues" with loading photos, I would have had this post online ON the first of the month, as I've been promising! Unfortunately, here it is, the middle of the night, and I'm still working on getting this blog finished for August 1st. Sigh... I'm still happy and plugging along. And no, I don't survive on zero sleep! I need to be in bed now! But for you, my fellow quilters... here goes. Over the past two months, I've been working on a new quilt - it will be called Afternoon Delight. I remember back in the 70s when Starland Vocal Band came out with a song of that name - it was named (believe it or not) for an item on a cafe menu... it intrigued them and one of the band members finally ordered it... only to find out that it was cottage cheese stuffed in a peach half with a cherry on top! So here's a sneak peak of my Afternoon Delight - you'll get the whole picture next month (hopefully) when I've finished the quilt top. First... the small units... this stack will be sewn together to make TEN blocks:  I've already finished all of the pieced blocks except for the ten above... eighty-four Double Nine-Patch blocks and forty-two Butterfly blocks... And here's what those stacks look like from the top down: But those wouldn't have taken me two months to make, so what else goes into Afternoon Delight, you ask? Try forty-two 6-3/4 inch appliqued blocks! These have not been trimmed down to the 6-3/4 inch size yet, but you get the picture. They were a delight to work on - simple and small and easy and fast. Does life get any better? The blocks above are finished except for trimming them to size; here are the remaining blocks. For those of you who are obsessive compulsive and have already counted them all... you may notice that there are forty-THREE blocks. And you would be correct! I just miscounted my designs when I was drawing them all up. Oh well - now I get to decide which one I don't want to do. All of those blocks will be set together - Double Nine-Patch, Butterfly, and Appliqued blocks. I cannot wait to start! I just need to finish those last 21 blocks... and that task is high on my priority list. Unfortunately, it's not the only thing on my list, so it may take me a while to get to it. I'm chairing my quilt guild's annual auction, so that has been keeping me pretty busy lately. So I thought I'd give all you fellow quilters a sneak peak at what is going into our auction and how I've organized it. Perhaps those of you who have auctions in your own guilds can take a cue and get some ideas for your guild. We have a pretty big guild - around 300 members - to support our auction with their donations; that helps! First of all, each month, the guild has a lottery block. Instructions are posted for a different block each month. Members make two (or more) blocks - one for the guild and one for the lottery. Each month, everyone gets one chance for each two blocks they turn in... the winner gets half of the blocks and the guild gets the other half, which are then put into the guild auction. Here's an example -- first, the blocks.... (we get anywhere from 6 to 40 or more blocks, depending on the difficulty, popularity of the block, etc. - and sometimes people just make them for the guild and don't ask that they be split with the month's winner).  Second, here is an example of our instructions. They're clear, simple, and rarely more than one page long. Keep it simple! We put a copy of the instructions in the auction block set - in case the winner of the blocks at the auction wants to make more of them. What else do we do for the auction? First, we have a live auction - usually about 50-55 things because that's all we can do and be done in 90 minutes. Second, we have a silent auction - people place bids on a bid sheet for various items. This year, we have 80 silent auction items. Third, we have a boutique -- books, patterns, magazines, notions, kits, fabric, you-name-it. It is awesomely huge and the bargains abound -- this year I've added a "dollar store" section where we are simply putting pink and black zebra-striped duct tape (yes, it exists!) on things that sell for a dollar - we have everything in that section from one-yard cuts of fabric to triangle rulers to small kits to... MORE. It's an easy way to make sure that everyone walks away feeling like they got a really good deal on something, even if it's small. We have extraordinarily generous guild members, which makes it easy! One thing I've done is to take assortments of things and put them in baskets wrapped in shrink-wrap (available in hobby stores like Michael's). Here's an assortment of fancy fabrics in a big willow laundry basket - with two different crazy quilt books. I could have sold them separately, but putting like things together makes them more appealing.  Here's a crazy quilt that was donated to the auction -- it's made of soft and non-scratchy wool! It's warm and cuddly with some beautiful stitching on the seam lines. I found it interesting that some of the stitches involved "three-toed" lines, while others just had "two-toed" lines -- and I just noticed a "one-toe" line! I wonder what inspired this stitcher to make her choices? Here's a photo of the back of this quilt. It was stitched entirely by hand - but what I liked to see was that the backing was made of sugar sacks! We've all heard of flour sacks - but sugar sacks? Yep - that's what she used! Someone in our guild also donated another crazy quilt - this one is stunning and unusual with quite a few silk pieces in it. The diamonds and stripes are not often seen in crazy quilts - but we not only have this one in the auction; we have a second one much like it! Here's a photo of the back of this quilt -- tiny little stitches, all done by hand, can be seen here. We had a guild member who came to our meetings faithfully for many years. She made many quilts and each one always had a hilarious story to go with it. Her eyes have long since failed her, and this year she donated the remainder of her stash and several quilt tops that her mother made in the 1930s. Here's one -- a Dresden plate quilt. Yes... this has the REAL thirties fabric in it! And it's a large quilt -- about 80 by 95 inches. Here's a close-up of those precious thirties fabrics. It's a joy to see old quilts like this... but what was even more joyful for me, was to receive the quilt top... AND a box of twenty MORE finished Dresden plate blocks made in the mid-thirties... AND a box of TEN more finished blocks with the petals already cut for another TEN blocks. THREE Dresden plate quilts in various stages of work - simply amazing! One of the things we have found is that sometimes we don't need to have big bed-sized quilts in our auctions. We can take simple blocks - like this one - and put them in the auction.  But rather than just put one little block, cute as it is, in the auction, if someone takes that block and adds some simple borders to it and quilts it... it makes the piece irresistable! Don't you love this? I'm already plotting my own bidding strategies! One of the things that was donated was a bag full of strange nine-patch blocks, in various states of completion... with sashing sewn on some but not others... sort of a real mish-mash of designs. I pressed all the pieces, trimmed them so they could be sewn together, and put a quilt top together. It's definitely a utility quilt - but made with authentic fabrics from the late thirties and mid-forties. It will make a fine picnic quilt for someone! It rather reminded me of some of the famous Gee's Bend quilts in its simplicity and utility. We get a lot of fabric donated to the auction each year. Some of it is yardage, some of it is scraps, and much of it is something between those. We put together and sell scrap boxes, paired with donated books on scrappy quilts... but this year, we are offering a lot of packs of 8" squares of fabric. In this case, I put together a large "cube" of 8" squares - along with three scrappy quilt books - and we'll put this in the live auction. Wouldn't you just love to have something like this? There are enough 8" squares in this stack to make twenty quilts! Or they can be used for applique or whatever... but the stack is SO appealing... and a good use of what might otherwise have been thrown in the scrap pile! Here's another example of how a simple donated piece can be turned into something much greater. One of our guild members donated this little quilt piece - twenty-four 4-inch blocks with a 1-inch border. It wasn't much to look at - it was pretty enough, but not very substantive in terms of getting people to bid on it. We all know that quilters love finished quilts, though, so I took some of our donated fabric and some stash fabric and added big honking borders. It doesn't take much - a 5-inch border and an 8-inch border... and suddenly you have a GOOD-sized lap quilt.... add some quilting and voile! You have a really nice auction quilt! Here was a surprise donation. Someone gave us two old, tattered utility quilts. They weren't in bad enough shape to be "cutter quilts" (where people cut them up and use them to make teddy bears and such....)... they would have made wonderful cuddling quilts at a weekend retreat house or beach house, with just a tiny bit of repair, I thought. Well... take a look. Do you see that tattered border at the top? I sure did... but thought it was repairable. Maybe. But I looked closer. Maybe it was repairable... and maybe not. But wait... it looked like the innards of the quilt were rupturing, too - not just the top fabric. Wait... what's going on here??? I've heard of this, but I've never seen it close up! This quilt was the classic utility quilt - used as a bed quilt to keep someone warm and when it got holey enough... the quilt was used as the BATTING of a new quilt top! Take a CLOSE look - can you see the binding on the quilt that is INSIDE the outer quilt?!! I just LOVED finding this gem! Here's another gem -- donated to a guild member by her hairdresser. His step-mother had sewn and sewn and sewn one quilt top after another, piecing them all by hand. Ten quilt tops in all were donated. Wow! They were probably made in the 50s, 60s and 70s and while they lacked technical merit, they were lovely in their own right. The red squares in this one are bright and cheery - you almost miss the fact that the "sashing" is actually a lot of Lemoyne Star blocks.   Here's another quilt where we received a small quilt top -- the pieced blocks and nothing more. Leave it to me to add another set of big honking borders and suddenly we have a very nice-sized lap quilt. Remember all those block-of-the-week blocks that I was working on? Many of our guild members donated big block sets to the auction... and here is a set that I donated to our guild's auction. Making just one a week for a year makes a NICE set of blocks and I never felt overwhelmed, making them at that rate! Another thing we do in our guild is to ask each of our bees to donate a quilt to the annual auction. We have gotten some amazing donations - and the 'Que Bee (as in appliQUE) made this quilt - it will be a top-seller, for sure, because everyone loves red and green quilts.  Here's a close-up of the quilting on this quilt - I love feathers and volunteered to quilt this one for the Que Bee so that I could feather it to pieces! Oops... I forgot to crop my toes out of this picture! Okay - enough about the guild's auction. I wanted to show you something that someone sent me. Let me start by reminding you that back in February of 2010, I posted some photos of quilts I saw in the old houses in Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston. Here's one of those quilts. The block in that quilt was simple -- here's a close-up of it. Now, come forward into the future... and Jennifer Murray was kind enough to email me and ask if she could use those photos in her pattern... as she had made a quilt using the block as a guide. She had even taken the time and effort to contact the Park and ask permission to make the quilt, using that design - and learned some history about the quilt. I am thankful and appreciative for Jennifer's kindness in ASKING for permission! I see lots and LOTS of my work on Pinterest and I've never been asked by a single person for permission to use MY photos! Okay - that's a sore spot for me and I'll drop it because the point of this is to show you what Jennifer did (she lives in Australia, by the way, which makes this even more amazing to me!). She took that block and created a pattern and designed a quilt. You can find out more by looking at her blog (http://5foot1quilts.wordpress.com). This quilt is a perfect example of how old is new! Jennifer is still working on finishing this quilt, but my guess is that you can follow her progress on her blog. I just love what she's done with this block and how she's made her own design with all those surrounding dogtooth borders. You rock, Jennifer! Here's another wonderful example of how someone takes a pattern and does wonderful things with it. I made my "All Around the Town" quilt a decade ago. Teresa Rawson took the pattern and made the most FUN changes to it! Here's her quilt... And here are some block close-ups. First, notice the hilarious car up on blocks out in the yard... along with the overalls, shorts, and bra hanging on the clothes line. Too funny! Here's another block close-up. Notice the flamingos out on the lawn... and the gnome out in the garden. And the dog with his bone nearby... We've all seen these things somewhere! And here's yet another block. You can get a better look at the flamingos here! And if you want some even better looks at this quilt, check out Teresa's blog at: http://fabrictherapy.blogspot.com. If you want to see the quilt specifically, you can look here: http://fabrictherapy.blogspot.com/search/label/All%20Around%20the%20Town. Her quilt will be showing at the AQS show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 22-25. If you're near there, check it out! That's all for this month -- hopefully I'll have Afternoon Delight to show you next month! And maybe, just maybe, I'll have a treasure or two that I picked up at my guild's auction that I can show you... though I'm resisting with great might! Until then - happy stitching! Sue (c) Susan H. Garman 2012

detail ~ Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio (60x24") This quilt truly combines my two artistic loves, dr...

Do you like machine binding and decorative stitches? Combine the two and create beautiful decorative stitch binding.

I went to the quilt show this afternoon. I'd like to share just a few of the quilts with you. There were many really nice ones. This was made by my friend Beth Sherman. I was not able to get far enough away when I took the picture to get all the borders in the photo. Beth's workmanship is impeccable. "Affairs Of The Heart" was appliqued and hand quilted by Ruth Sibley. Her workmanship and choice of fabrics was beautiful. "Geisha With Parasol" was made and quilted by Jody Webb. This quilt had it all. It is not easy to use embellishments on a quilt. So often they just look like someone added something because the quilt wasn't working. The embellishing Jody did was an integral part of the design and the quilt. This is just one example of an embellishment she used on this piece. Today was a beautiful day and it was made complete seeing this show and a lot of my friends and neighbors at the show.

Learn How To Make A Perfect Ohio Star Quilt Block using a Quarter Square Triangle.

(via imgTumble)

This big selvage quilt was featured on the KnitOneQuiltToo blog. This blogger was showing some quilts from her recent guild quilt show. She didn't name the maker of this quilt. If you know who made it, please let me know. Note the prairie points around the edge. Nice!

CQ details is a series of articles which aims to illustrate hand embroidered seams on my crazy quilt to give you ideas on how to embellish your own projects

I love this quilt that Ann made for her son - her piecing is wonderful and I love the Japanese taupe-y fabrics. She likes me to use wool ...

…it’s like the first day of sewing school… EDIT: Please, do not use the photos in this post to breach copyright and create your own version of Shimmering Triangles (affiliate link). Jenny has released the pattern and you can purchase it on Craftsy (affiliate link) for a ridiculously low price. Click here to purchase pattern. (affiliate link) Last weekend I attended the Jenny Bowker Shimmering...

I really like this group of blocks

When I started quilting, I had no idea how to do this. My knots would look so ghetto, lol. This may be a no-brainer to a lot of you seasoned sewers out there, but for all of you that’d like a…

Did you know that Half Square Triangles are one of the most basic quilting blocks and can be used to create very complex blocks or a simple quilt.

Make a Big Impression with This Beautiful Quilt! This pattern is very popular and it’s easy to see why. The finished quilt is simply stunning, no matter what colors you choose. Plus, it’s a joy to make. Construction is much easier than it looks. The quilt pattern was brought to our attention by visitors to …

I remember seeing a quilt by Kaffe Fassett where the sunlight shines through the fabric to give it a stained glass effect.

Thank you to all of you who wrote about your favorite stitch this past week for the 2000 Likes on Facebook Giveaway. I loved hearing your descriptions of how certain stitches bring back sweet memor…

Ever wondered what a Quilter's "Flying Geese" was and why its called that? See the simple steps how you can make them! - FREE Beginner Friendly Patterns!

Sample swatches are perfect for previewing color and scale. However, please note that we cannot guarantee a specific portion of the design in a sample swatch due to our printing methods and repeat sizes. Due to the nature of digital printing, dark colors and busier designs require more ink and can affect the feel of the fabric. However, the fabric should soften up after a few washes! ◆◆◆FABRIC OPTIONS◆◆◆ This design can be printed onto your choice of the following fabrics: Petal Signature Cotton - 42" wide - $23/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 21" x 18" - 100% natural cotton fabric with a versatile, plain weave - 4.3 oz per square yard (145 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 2-3% in length and 4-5% in width - Appropriate for quilting, craft projects, toys, and accessories Cotton Poplin - 42" wide - $27/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 21" x 18" - 100% natural cotton fabric with a fine weave and crisp, smooth feel - 3.3 oz per square yard (115 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 2-4% in length and width - Appropriate for quilting, shirting, skirts, dresses, and home decor Seersucker - 52" wide - $37/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 26"x18" - A traditional pick with a classic texture, Seersucker is a 100% cotton fabric with alternating ridges of flat and puckered vertical stripes - 3.25 oz per sq yard (110 gsm) - Appropriate for dresses, blouses, sport coats and suits, and top-weight apparel Cotton Silk - 52" wide - $57/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 26" x 18" - A versatile, naturally breathable fabric with a slight sheen made of a luxurious blend of 51% cotton and 49% silk - 2.4 oz per sq yard (82 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 4-6% in length and 2-3% width - Ideal for dresses, blouses, top-weight apparel, and accessories that need a graceful drape and flowy finish Essex Linen - 52" wide - $39/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 26" x 18" - A tastefully drapable fabric with a natural blend of 55% linen and 45% cotton - 5.5 oz per sq yard (186 gsm) - Appropriate for soft skirts, dresses, pants, button-up shirts, and lightweight jackets Cotton Lawn - 54" wide - $29/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - Lightweight, slightly translucent apparel cotton - 2.4 oz per square yd (81 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 0-3% length and 1-2% width - Ultra-soft, with a silky hand and elegant drape, Ideal for blouses, sundresses, scarves, and accessories Organic Cotton Gauze - 56" wide - $32/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% organic cotton double gauze fabric - 3.5 oz per square yard (120 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 8% width and 14% in length - Appropriate for swaddle blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and reusable bags **Prints are likely to be off-grain. For the softest feel, choose lightly colored designs Organic Cotton Sateen - 56" wide - $38/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% organic cotton sateen with a subtle sheen and soft hand - 3.8 oz per square yard (130 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 2-4% in length and width - Appropriate for quilting, curtains, table linens, bedding, clothing, and pillows Organic Cotton Knit - 56" wide - $32/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% organic cotton knit fabric with a medium weight and cozy feel - 6.3 oz per square yard (215 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 9-11% in length and 5-7% in width. - Interlock knit stretches along the crosswise grain about 25% - Appropriate for t-shirts, dresses, baby clothes, layettes, and blankets Cotton Spandex Jersey - 60" wide - $32/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 30" x 18" - 93% natural cotton, 7% spandex jersey with a 4-way stretch - 5.5 oz per square yard (185 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 6-8% in length and 2-4% in width - Appropriate for adult and baby apparel including loungewear, leggings, and t-shirts Modern Jersey - 56" wide - $37/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 95% polyester, 5% spandex jersey knit fabric with 4-way stretch and a cotton-like feel - 6.2 oz per square yard (210 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 4-6% in length and 2-4% in width - Appropriate for t-shirts, tank tops, dresses, maxi skirts, headbands, scarves, and baby clothes Sport Lycra® - 56" wide - $39/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 88% polyester and 12% Lycra, moisture-wicking finish, and 4-way stretch - 8.5 oz per square yard (290 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 0-2% in length and width - Appropriate for athletic apparel, leggings, swimwear, yoga pants, and dance costumes Sport Stretch Woven - 56" wide - $41/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - Made from 90% REPREVE® recycled polyester microfiber and 10% Spandex, this is a fitting fabric for the outdoor enthusiast - 5.0 oz per sq yard (170 gsm) - Appropriate for boardshorts and athletic wear Sport Piqué - 56" wide - $32/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% polyester knit fabric with a diamond weave structure and a moisture-wicking finish - 4.3 oz per square yard (145 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 1-3% in length and 1-2% in width - Appropriate for yoga tops, polo shirts, sporty dresses and skirts, and headbands Satin - 54" wide - $29/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% polyester satin fabric with a silky feel and high-gloss finish - 2.2 oz per square yard (75 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 1-2% in length and 0-1% in width - Appropriate for lining apparel and bags, wedding decor, and soft, silky accessories Chiffon - 54" wide - $27/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% polyester chiffon fabric with a translucent look and delicate drape - 1.5 oz per square yard (50 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 0-1% in length and width - Appropriate for scarves, sheer curtains, and special occasion decor items Poly Crepe de Chine - 52" wide - $27/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 26" x 18" - 100% polyester, with a delicate hand and soft drape for a semi-transparent elegant option for apparel and accessories - 1.9 oz per square yd (65 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 0-1% length x 1-2% width - Appropriate for dresses, blouses, scarves, and lingerie, and offers a wrinkle-free, elegant option for window treatments Minky - 54" wide - $35/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% polyester minky fabric with a soft, napped finish for the ultimate in plush - 6.6 oz per square yard (225 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 2-4% in width and 0-2% in length - Appropriate for quilting, blankets, lounge wear, plushies, and cold-weather accessories Polartec® Fleece - 56" wide - $37/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% polyester high-loft, pill-resistant fleece fabric with a slight stretch and soft, cuddly feel - 7.4 oz per square yard (251 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 5% in length and 5% in width - Ideal for blankets, loungewear, cold weather apparel Linen Cotton Canvas - 54" wide - $47/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 45% linen, 55% natural cotton fabric with a versatile medium weight and textured feel - 6.4 oz per square yard (215 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 2-4% in length and 0-2% in width - Appropriate for curtains, tablecloths, tea towels, dresses, bags, and pillows Cotton Canvas - 56" wide - $51/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% natural cotton canvas with a sophisticated basketweave structure - 10.6 oz per square yard (360 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 3-4% in length and 0-1% in width - Appropriate for upholstery projects, heavyweight drapery, home accents, and bags Velvet - 54" wide - $66/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% polyester velvet fabric with a short pile and subtle shimmer - 10.9 oz per square yard (370 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 5-6% in length and 2-3% in width - Appropriate for home decor and commercial-grade upholstery, heavyweight apparel, and luxurious accessories Performance Linen - 54" wide - $56/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% luxe polyester with a woven, plain weave, prints with a slight luster - 7.6 oz per square yd (260 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 1.5-3% in length and 0-2% in width - Durable pet- and family-friendly fabric suitable for upholstery, home decor, pillows, and curtains Performance Velvet - 54" wide - $66/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% polyester knit fabric with a buttery soft feel and matte finish - 11.5 oz per square yd (389 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 1-3.5% in length x 0-1.5% in width - Plush velvet upholstery fabric is stain- and spill-resistant, and offers a high abrasion threshold for home decor and upholstery projects such as throw pillows, blankets, curtains, and poufs Denim - 56" wide - $41/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 28" x 18" - 100% natural cotton bull denim with a rugged twill construction - 11.7 oz per square yard (395 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 7-8% in length and 1-2% in width - Great for skirts, shorts, pants, outerwear, bags and backpacks, and low-traffic upholstery Lightweight Cotton Twill - 58" wide - $35/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 29" x 18" - 100% natural cotton twill fabric with a sturdy, drapable construction - 5.8 oz per square yard (195 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 4-6% in length and 1-2% in width - Appropriate for home decor, drapery, table linens, pillows, tote bags, pants, coats and jackets Belgian Linen™ - 54" wide - $96/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 100% Linen - 9.8 oz per square yard (360 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 9-11% length x 3-5% width - Stronger than cotton and naturally hypoallergenic, softens with everyday use and is a top-of-the-line offering for decorators and makers interested in unmatched elegance on upholstery, bags and home decor Recycled Canvas - 54" wide - $46/yard - Fat Quarter Size: 27" x 18" - 50% REPREVE® recycled polyester; 50% polyester - 7.1 oz per square yd (240 gsm) - Estimated shrinkage: 0-3% length x 0-1% width - From upholstery and throw pillows to dog collars, tote bags, and wall hangings, this durable fabric holds up to the elements as an indoor/seasonal outdoor weather-resistant solution **Please note that each design comes with an unprinted selvage border. The unprinted selvage helps feed fabric into the printers, and the border on the top and bottom help show the print operators where one order ends and another begins. With our digital printing method, it is not possible to print end to end so a

Firstly, thank you to everyone who entered my blogaversary giveaway and a huge welcome to my new followers. I`m overwhelmed by the response. There`s still time to enter here. Was it really October when I committed to a list of sewing plans for the winter with the lovely Sarah over at Fairyface Designs? A whole 3 months ago? Indeed it was, and Sarah has asked us to check in with a mid-term report. It was with a tinge of trepidation that I went back to this post. You see, while I wrote down in a blog post what I hoped to achieved, I hadn`t returned to that post since! Here goes. Finish the Marrakech Rose quilt. Done and sold! Next up - quilt and bind Deborah`s Union Jack quilt - done and delivered by hand to Paris! I loved those beautiful Liberty lawn prints. In at No.3, make a quilt for my mum`s birthday. Failed miserably here. Still at the planning stage, but will have it made for her spring visit. It will be made with Kaffe Fasset prints. No.4 was to make a quilt for my cousin`s baby, who arrived in December safe and sound and is adorable. Done and delivered earlier this month. I had a wobble half way through but love this quilt now. The vibrant orange perle handstitching and binding really helped to lift the 1001 Peeps fabrics. George loves it too! Finish the Red City quilt for the Duo QAL was No.5 - done! I used the Marrakech colourway of Moroccan Mirage for this one and free motion quilted my first quilt! I was delighted to win the FMQ prize for this - thanks Rhonda! Up next at No.6 was to `commit` to the Drunkard`s Path QAL - I got as far as finishing this baby quilt top. It still needs to be basted, quilted and bound. It`s a small quilt and I wonder whether I should add another border or two to make it bigger as I love the Kate Spain Central Park fabrics. This QAL was great as I pieced curves and it wasn`t so difficult! The blocks came together really well. I also committed to keeping up with the Bloggers` BOM QAL. I did the first two blocks but am 3 blocks behind. I also said I would make blocks for Judith`s Bee Blessed and Sarah`s Quilting for Kids. I am ashamed to say that I haven`t made blocks for a few months but I hope to rejoin these groups next month. I did make my goodie and cut scraps for Kat`s Scrappy Swap and my Christmas tablerunner for Susan`s swap. Both sent and received. The scraps went to Australia and the runner went to Canada! I loved the runner and I used quite a lot of my Terrain for it. I also made my five blocks for the 4x5 Modern Quilting Bee. Here`s an example of one of them. They went to the US, Canada and Australia and most have arrived. I had a go at free motion quilting... but have not tried any applique. I also just finished my blocks for the Care Circle of do.Good Stitches - the latest and international circle of do.Good Stitches, which benefits local causes. When I signed up to do.Good Stitches a few months ago, I was placed on a waiting list and kind of then forgot about it until Rachel of Stitched in Color got in touch to say that I had a place and would I consider being a quilter. Me! Totally open to any form of flattery I did sign up for being a quilter and it`s my turn in April. A quilter is responsible for designing the quilt, collecting in the blocks and finishing the quilt. This month was Karen`s turn and she asked for starflower blocks in red and aqua. I`m squeezing under the wire here. They must be in Karen`s mits by February 10 and so these need to be mailed on Monday. Fly little blocks. Fly. I have the following to add to the list. Make a mini quilt for the For the Love of Solids swap. Fabric has been ordered and I`m still trying to work out my design, which may be improvisational piecing as my partner`s inspiration mosaic indictates she likes this. While she`s not particularly chatty, I can tell from her flikr photostream that she is a serial swapper, so I have a lot to live up to. We have similar tastes so I shall enjoy coming up with something. Make a zippered pouch for Mouthy Stitches. Backing fabric ordered, and working on a design. I have joined a new bee. Super excited about this and more details to follow soon! Another secret project - details to be revealed soon. Finish my Lark quilt. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions about how to finish it. I think I`m veering toward a scrappy binding as opposed to a scrappy border. I really want to swoon in the Swoonalong and I really want to do the Made in Cherry QAL but I need to get on as they are both well under way! So actually I don`t think I`m doing so badly although my list was no way near as ambitious as others!

Finally! The day is here and we can start to play! If you have not read my previous posts, review them for prep and set-up. This week we are making Block One of a Ruler Quilting Sampler quilt: Here…

Make striking quilts using Half Square Triangles (HSTs). Explore the different methods to make HSTs and unleash your creativity.

I have two true statements for you: It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to link up those projects you've been working on this past week. I am also in fact not Lee. She has faithfully entrusted to me the keeping of WIP Wednesday this week (oh man!) and I am hoping to not make her regret it do a

I've become a little obsessed with making Pine Burr blocks. This is my first. I thought I'd make only one. But...

One of the quilts I was able to view at the DAR Museum’s Quilts from Storage program was the Thomas Sykes Quilt. If you like sampler and album quilts, this quilt is for you! [Image Source: w…

In vegetable gardening the term cut and come again means you harvest the outer mature leaves of lettuce, spinach or greens and let the inner leaves continue growing. I thought about that when I cut up a couple of my quilts this month. Disrupting and Disruptors are two quilts made from cloth