Quilting Inspiration Archives

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9 Nine-Patch Quilt Block Patterns from Precut Fabric Squares

The easy-to-make nine-patch block is one of quilting’s workhorses, a fundamental block used in hundreds of different quilt patterns. Its grid of three squares arranged in three rows also makes for many interesting variations on the basic block, which is made from strips of two fabrics and produces two variations that look like the ones […]

Crazy T-Shirt Rag Quilt

Some quilts are a breeze to make: they come together so easily that afterwards it’s tempting to wonder if they sewed themselves. Others give you trouble with a capital T. For years, this t-shirt quilt I recently made for my brother-in-law was #1 on my Trouble list. In fact, it wasn’t a quilt at all […]

Best Quilts of 2020 — The Road to California Quilt Show Highlights

In January, my friend Mary and I visited the 2020 Road to California quilt show. It was like visiting a pop-up museum packed with of quilts of astonishing craftsmanship and creativity. Every corner you turned revealed something new and beautiful. These four videos from Jolly Molly TV (thank you, Jolly Molly!) give you just a […]

41 Gorgeous Quilts from PIQF 2018

If you’ve ever been to a large quilt show, you’ll know how amazing it is to see the sheer variety of different quilts that come out of the minds and sewing machines of people from around the world. I can’t begin to do justice to the creativity on display at this year’s Pacific International Quilt […]

Black Cats Halloween Table Runner Quilt

I’ve had a long love affair with the rail fence quilt block. I’ve lost count of how many rail fence bed quilts and lap quilts I’ve made, but until this week I had never made a rail fence table quilt. No more! This week I made two: this cute Halloween table runner, and a 24″ […]

Day of the Dead Rail Fence Table Topper Quilt

I have a child who is a huge fan of Halloween, so I have made quite a few quilts featuring pumpkins, spiders, bats, and witches. This easy little table topper quilt is only the second quilt I’ve ever made in honor of the Day of the Dead. Dia de Los Muertos is the distinctively Mexican […]

12 Days of Christmas Quilted Table Runner

I was idly looking at Christmas quilts on the Internet a few days ago when I came across a fun-looking tutorial for a Christmas table runner on the Samelia’s Mum blog and decided, “Why not?” The table runner is made of Disappearing 9-patch blocks, which are 9-patch blocks that you piece, cut up, rearrange into a […]

A Day at the Quilt Show 2017

Every year in the middle of October, I visit the Pacific International Quilt Festival. Going to a large quilt show like this is like getting a concentrated shot of creative energy — and creative anxiety. There are dozens and dozens of fantastic quilts made by women around the world, and every single one of them […]

Loving Your Less-than-Perfect Quilting

Are you your own worst critic when it comes to your quilting? So many of us are, and not just beginners who are still working on basic quilting skills. Many expert quilters are even harder on themselves than newbies who still have a lot to learn. I belong to several online quilting groups, and I’ve […]

6 Steps to Finishing Your Unfinished Quilts

They are the UFOs (Unfinished Objects): unfinished quilts and pieces of quilts that take up physical space in the sewing room and mental space that most busy quilters can ill afford to spare. I have them. You have them. Every quilter has them. They make up a ghostly presence that haunts our sewing rooms. The […]

Four small quilts that make perfect first projects

When you’re a new quilter, you can easily get frustrated and discourage yourself by biting off more than you can chew. It can be overwhelming to start out with a quilt that’s very large, for instance, or one that requires you to cut and sew a thousand tiny pieces, or master complicated blocks or advanced machine […]

Fourth of July American Flag Rag Quilt

The Fourth of July (American Independence day) has always been a weak spot in my seasonal decorations. Meaning that I don’t have any Fourth of July decorations, or didn’t until a couple of days ago. That is not my only decorating sin. My children are embarrassed by the simultaneous presence of an Easter Bunny […]

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