It has been a while since I’d made a baby quilt. Suddenly 2024 got started with three baby quilts stitched in the first three months as gifts for dear friends! Baby quilts, with their smaller sizes and potential for whimsy, present unique opportunities as quilting projects.

Breaking a large project into smaller parts can add to the enjoyment of the quilting process. In this issue, we explore “Quilt As You Go” techniques, chunking a quilt into manageable sections to produce a more complex result than if it were tackled as a whole.

As a classroom teacher of 27+ years, I have encouraged my students to build habits that make a person successful in life. As I work on my quilting projects, I see how those lessons learned in school are actually useful in real life! 😊 Let’s take a look at the parallels…

After years of being a solo quiltmaker working in isolation, I decided to join a quilters guild so I could make connections with other quiltmakers. It has been a rich journey and one I would recommend to anyone considering joining a guild! Let’s explore some of the advantages of being a member of a quilting organization…

Quiltmakers are amazing artists and crafters!  Here is a group of people who choose wide arrays of colorful fabrics to cut up into smaller pieces then sew them back together in intricate patterns and shapes! 

We should be so proud of our efforts!  Yet so many quiltmakers, when complimented on their work, immediately point out the small errors.

Perhaps it’s human nature to focus on the flaws out of a sense of modesty or honesty, but it’s time to resolve not to do that and to celebrate the success of your quiltmaking!

The literary world is filled with similes, metaphors and idioms! So many of these old adages apply nicely to the masterful creation of a quilt. See if any of these resonate with your quilting efforts!

Creating a quilt inspired by colors, shapes and textures experienced on your travels near and far is a great way to make a tangible lasting memory of your experiences! Whether your design contains figurative motifs or a literal travel scene in fabric, a quilt captures the memories of your journey!

Machine quilters experience an interesting conundrum at times: how to make the quilting show up? The challenge stems from the fact that machine stitching on a quilt can sometimes blend into the background so well, it can look invisible, depending on the light.

In this post, we will look at some ways to optimize the appearance of the machine quilting on your quilts…