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Have you ever started with a plan all worked out in your mind, only to have it change before you finished? That was the story of this week's blog, and I'm so glad it worked out the way it did! I started to make a bunch of Dresden Plate blocks to work into a table runner (that part was in the original plan). This is the perfect way to use up odds and ends leftover from other projects. I cut a heap of 2½” x 5” rectangles in various reds and blues. I used an 18-degree wedge ruler, so each Dresden blocks uses 20 rectangles. Lay the wedge ruler over the rectangle, as shown, and trim the two outside edges off to create the wedge. I love to use all kinds of prints, dots, plaids, and stripes for these projects. I think it makes them interesting and fun to look at. Here I have 20 wedges laid out and ready to sew. Sew pairs of two wedges together and press each seam open. Next, sew five pairs together to make a half circle, then repeat the same process to make a second half. Sew the two together. Press all the seams open. Use a little spray starch to really make the block flat and stable. I made four blocks like this. Here is where the big change happened. I planned to cut all four sides off to make each block a square. At first, I thought I’d make 6-8 Dresden squares, then turn them into a rectangular shaped table runner. But I couldn't just cut all the curves off, because that’s what made them fun. So, I compromised and cut just two of the sides off flat. I did this to two of the blocks to make the middle section. I cut one side off the remaining two blocks. Each one was added to either end, leaving a nice curve at both ends. I sewed the blocks together down their flat sides and pressed those seams open. I laid this runner out on a piece of batting and decided to cover the center hole with a fusible applique star (downloadable PDF template available here). Using up more scraps, I cut out four red stars just big enough to cover the 2 ½” center hole in the middle of each Dresden. I pressed these into place effectively fusing the Dresdens to the batting. Now to quilt! Here you see, I followed the edges of the wedge pieces to give it a “blade” look. I also stitched around each star to hold it in place. I trimmed the batting and backing down to the curved edge of the runner and bound it off with a red and white striped fabric that I had cut on the bias. You’ll need to cut your binding on the bias to bind a curved edge easily. I have two YouTube videos that will help with this finishing part. How to cut Bias Binding is here, and Binding Inside angles is here. You will not have any trouble binding those inside points after you watch my technique for this! Just look at how cute it is! I am so happy with how this turned out, and I’m glad I couldn't bring myself to cut them into squares! Haha! Happy Sunday everyone, and Happy Memorial Day too! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

There is a lot of chatter out there about pressing these days. Over the years, fabric quality has improved and become thicker, making some very bulky seams. They will not lay flat and are hard to work with. So, what's the answer? Do you press the seams open or to the side? I'm glad you asked ;) I guess the answer is it depends. Here are a few things to consider when determining how to press for the best results in your piecing. Here is an adorable llama quilt with quite a bit of piecing in the face. Some of these pieces are the size of a postage stamp! The fabric used is a heavier linen/cotton blend that makes for great texture, but it also makes some of the thickest piecing you’ve ever seen. The maker (Michelle) wisely pressed all the seams open around each piece. This allows each of the pieces to lay flat instead of the seams rolling to one side or the other. If you plan to press your seams open, you may want to lower your stitch length to 2.0 or even 1.8 if you can. This will help keep your seams secure even when stressed. Here we have it all! The strips are sewn together to make the blocks, and pressed in one direction. The blocks are sewn into rows, and those seams are pressed opposite each other so they “nest” when the rows are sewn together. Then, the long seams that join the rows are pressed open to disperse the bulk evenly to either side. This makes for a very clean outcome! The best of all worlds. Nice work, Elaina :) Here is a trick I used recently when piecing diamonds together. These diamonds were left over from my Ombre Blossoms quilt. I had pieced a skinny gold strip down the center and pressed the seams towards the outside. This created a channel down the middle with ridges on either side. The gold strip is only ½” so sloppy pressing could make a visual difference in the final outcome. I sewed triangles to either side of the diamond, turning it into a larger triangle unit. You can see I pressed the first seam in towards the diamond with the second seam out towards the background (this will be important later). I made six of these diamond point/triangle units in different colors, each one with the first seam pressed in and the second seam pressed out. Now laying them side by side, the right seam will nest with the left seam of the next block. A little bit of pre-thinking has made for some easily nested seams. Pin the larger triangle units together along one edge carefully matching the gold center strip at the point. Right at the tip, I rolled the top seam to the other side with my thumb so the gold strips would nest together. Pin in place and stitch. Clip the seam, just shy of the stitching, so the rest of the seam will roll back the way it was. The gold strip nests beautifully at the tip. Press this seam open. You can see how nice and flat that makes the front look. I repeated this process to join all the diamond star points together. Just look at how flat that made things! All those seams coming together and there is very little bulk :) So the answer is, sometimes we press open, sometimes it's best pressed to the side and sometimes we clip and split the seam. And sometimes that all happens in the same quilt! Happy Sunday everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my website for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for the gold metallic fabric, you can find that here.

Last month, I made a birthday card for a friend that turned out so cute she said I should sell them :) Haha! The funny part of the story was that I made it in a last-minute panic because I had forgotten to buy a card. I needed something very last minute. I cut the front part off a card I'd received and wrote my note on the back like a postcard. Then, I stitched a flap of cute fabric across one edge to close it up like an envelope again. That got me thinking. In the sewing/quilting world, we have an advantage with our unique skills and equipment. We sew fabric to fabric all the time, but have you ever thought of the cute things you can do if you sew fabric to paper? It’s Mother’s Day and if you haven’t gotten the perfect card for Mom yet, why not make one?! I took a scrap strip of ombre pink fabric about 2” wide and pressed a 2” strip of fusible web to the back. Then, I cut freehand wonky petals across the width. About 6-7 petals will make one flower. Peel the paper side off the fusible and arrange the petals on the front of a blank card into a flower as shown (buy these in a craft store). I offset my flower so I could fit a curved stem on the front of the card. Press the petals in place with your iron, it only takes about 10 seconds, and you won't scorch the paper in that time. I stitched around each petal in a matching thread. This is only a design element, because those petals aren’t going anywhere! I used a basic universal 80/12 size needle and lowered my stitch length to just under 2.0. I changed the thread to spring green and used a triple straight stitch to stitch in the stem and a leaf. I like using the triple straight stitch function when I want something to show because the machine goes back and forth in the same spot three times before moving on. It's much easier than trying to line up for a second and third pass with a regular straight stitch. What if flowers aren’t your thing? How about some geometric shapes? I used the same process with some floral scraps and cut triangles. I arranged them in a more random modern design and pressed them in place. I used the triple straight stitch to stitch inside and outside the straight edges of these triangles. It looks cool even from the back side of the card front! And, just like that cute cards were made! Happy Sunday everyone, and Happy Mother’s day too 🙂 Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you ever used a non-conventional fabric to back your quilts? In a past blog, I talked about using sweatshirt knit as one of my favorite quilt backs (when I can find it for sale). It gives the quilt the best drape and weight without being too heavy. I love a cozy feeling quilt, and I think the backing you choose has a lot to do with that. This is my Grandmother’s Flower Patch quilt from last week's blog, and I just had to show you what I used on the back. I used double knit, or sometimes it’s called waffle knit (it's not quite as heavy as sweatshirt knit, but much heavier than jersey knit). I found it in the baby/nursery fabric section, and it comes 56” wide. I also used wool batting in this one which accounts for the great texture and puffy look. A match made in heaven :) When I can’t find a sweatshirt knit, I often opt for flannel. Not the most unconventional fabric, but I like to look in the garment department to get a nice yarn-dyed plaid. That way, it is the same on both sides and quilts up beautifully! I still use thin batting in flannel-backed quilts, but I just haven’t been happy with no batting at all. Flannels make terrific backing for guy quilts. They come in many neutral colors. Because they were designed to make garments, they wash up well and become softer with time. You may want to buy a little extra if you have to match the plaids in a backing seam. And it is always a good idea to pre-shrink the flannel before quilting as it does tend to shrink more than regular cotton fabric. How about Polar Fleece?! It adds a thick density to a quilt, and you can often find sports team fleece or other novelty prints like superheroes. It usually comes 54”-60” wide, so think lap-size quilts. I would avoid trying to piece fleece for backing. One-piece backing would be the way to go. Adding a seam will leave quite a lump that is hard to miss once quilted. Fleece is thick and quite dense, so you could probably get by without adding a batting layer. Minky has been a favorite of mine for baby quilts and cuddle quilts for many years. I prefer the Minky that has the fuzz on just one side because it is a little lighter and easier to piece, if needed. It also has more of a one-way stretch rather than stretching in all directions. If you have to piece minky, just make the seam extra wide (½”-¾”). This way, the two sides can lay down flat and smooth making a lump less visible. If you buy the Minky or cuddle fabric that has fuzz on both sides, you get to pick the side you want to be the right side. One has a short fine knap and the other looks a little wilder, but both will work fine! If you have to piece it, make your seam extra wide and be prepared for a lump anyway. It's just a bit thicker and loftier than the other Minkys. Wide backs eliminate the need for piecing. These fabrics typically come 108” wide. Watch how warped they can be coming off the bolt. Wide backs must be doubled over a couple of times before wrapping on the bolt. This can cause extreme warping which could cause an oblong-shaped piece of cut fabric. If you can, ask that they tear your yardage instead of cutting it. This way, it will tear with the grainline. You can pull it back on-grain after you’ve washed it. Happy Sunday Everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

The possibilities are endless! I've been wanting to make a simple Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt for a while. Well, there’s no time like the present! A few weeks ago, I worked up a couple of pillows trying out my layout ideas for this simplified Grandmother’s Flower Garden. I loved this soft palette so much I couldn’t wait to see it as a quilt! This quilt is so easy and fast, even a very early beginner could do it, and it would make a great weekend project! This is all done with just one cut from 2½” strips in different colors and then rearranged to make sweet flowers. I put together a free PDF downloadable pattern with all the info you’ll need to make your own. And, I filmed a new YouTube video that shows you how to cut your pieces and lay them out. I even included pressing tips to make all your blocks come together effortlessly. The free PDF pattern has three size options: Lap, Twin, and Queen size with full-color layouts. I received so many comments about my color choices on the pillow layout I decided to make kits for the quilt! One kit will make the Lap size, two kits will make the Twin size, and three kits will make the Queen size. You can use either the Mini or the Large 60-Degree Diamond Ruler, and I demoed both rulers in the YouTube video. Let the fun begin 🙂 Happy Sunday everyone, Krista

I love an interesting quilt edge, but I know binding inside angles isn’t everyone's cup of tea. I have several patterns that end in these zigzag edges, because, hexagons ya know :) Anyway, I'm asked from time to time if there's a good way to fill in those zigzag edges so you can just bind the quilt off straight. Well, I’m happy to say I finally put something on paper! Here you can see the most common sizes and the quilts they'll work for. First, I cut the appropriate size rectangles out of my background fabric, or another fabric, I want to showcase at the edge. You'll need to layer two pieces right side together, so once you make the cut you’ll have two sets of mirror image wedge pieces. I used the large 60-degree diamond ruler, and aligned the left-dashed vertical center line along the left edge of the rectangle and the 8½” dashed triangle line along the bottom edge. For the 5½” and the 6½” wedges, you’d use those dashed triangle lines along the bottom edge. This is what they look like as fill-in pieces for the Vintage Windmill quilt. These fill-in wedges are sewn to the ends of each row before the rows are sewn to each other. This 8½” size wedge fill-in piece will work for the following patterns. Summer Swag Entangled Sky Vintage Windmill The 6½” size will work for the Champagne and Pearls pattern. The 5½” size will work for the Honeycomb Hexagon pattern. I will add more sizes to this collection as I figure them out :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

It is definitely Spring around here! Rain, then hail, scattered sunshine with wind, all in a twenty-minute timespan. So, outdoor gardening is peppered with indoor gardening ;) and by that, I mean making fabric flowers! This week, I made a new Spring pillow and as a sweet embellishment, I added these three-dimensional fabric flowers. First, you’ll need to get some very flimsy polyester lining fabric (typically sold with the fancy special occasion fabrics). I bought a couple of shades of light pink to alternate my “petals”. Cut the lightest shade into squares that are 4”, 3”, and 2”. Then, cut the alternate shade into squares that are 3½” and 2½”. I cut each of these squares into a circle. These do not have to be perfect, the wonkier the better. Now for the fun part! Light a candle and run the edges of each circle through the flame, just enough to melt the edges and get them to curl and crinkle up. If you accidentally singe it too much and it turns black, just trim that part off and melt again. Here you can see all my circles lined up according to size. Layer them together starting with the largest one on the bottom and working to the smallest one on top. I used a straight pin to hold the layers together, then did a little stay stitch using my sewing machine, right in the middle. Since I was adding these to a pillow, I gathered up a bunch of neutral scrap strips to surround a center square of white. I kept adding rows round and round, Courthouse Steps style, until I had an 18” pillow front panel. Then, I did my super easy and quick straight-line quilting across the whole thing. The flowers on their own looked cute, but I had visions of stems. I used some green bias-cut fabric I had leftover from another project (ribbon would work great for this part too). I folded the bias strips in half so they were only about ¾” of an inch wide with both raw edges aligned. I decided on a good length for each stem and pinned the raw edges in place. Stitch down the length of the stems to the right of the center securing the raw edges. Then, press the folded edge of the stem over the stitched seam to hide the raw edge. Topstitch the folded edge down very, very, close to the edge to finish off the stems. Pin the flowers over the ends of each stem. I decided to do some free-motion “seeds” in the center of each flower to hold them in place. I dropped my feed dogs, and used a darning foot, so I could freeform some tiny circles close together in the center of each flower. You could also use buttons or French knots to get the same effect. Now, isn’t that cute?! Flowers that will never wilt and will never need water! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

I just have to share this fun project, because I am really happy with how it turned out! Have you ever done something different with a quilt panel? I admit, I'm not usually drawn to quilt panels of any kind, because I don’t really know what to do with them. I fell in love with this panel set from, Alli K Designs, and had to figure out a way to use it. I think this was meant to be a set of pillow panels, there were four on the panel, each one the same size as the next just in a different orientation. I also picked up a yard of each of these two fabrics: the black floral for the border and the stripe for everywhere I could make it work ;) The black floral was a companion print to the panel, and it was 58” wide so that made for less border piecing. I cut all four panels apart, then cut the black floral bunch panel in half the long way. I had a burst of inspiration on how to make this look a little less like a panel. I started arranging the pieces, but the first couple of layouts didn’t really do anything for me (everything looks better in your head, haha!) I settled on an asymmetrical layout, cutting one-half of the black floral bunch down a bit more. I also split the allover floral panel. It was 18” wide, and I cut it into one 13” wide piece and one 5” wide piece. I started adding the stripe fabric in, as sashing strips. I cut them all 2” wide so they would be 1½” wide when finished. Once the vertical sashings were done, I added one horizontal sashing to separate the two “halves”. So far so good! And not much waste of those beautiful panels, just these little patches left over. For the inner and outer borders, I added another 2” strip of the striped fabric all the way around, and then cut the largest borders my fabric would allow. They were 7½” when cut, and I plan to scallop them once this is quilted! Here it is all quilted. I love, love, love the way it came out! I think it is so simple and classy. Ready to scallop the borders. I'll bind the edges with my striped fabric cut on the bias. What do you think? Ready to do something funky and different with a regular old quilt panel?! Happy Easter everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. The Scallop Ruler can be purchased here.

Here’s a quick one for you! I had a brainstorming idea this week on how to doll up a plain ol’ reusable grocery tote and give it some personality. Of course, I used scraps :) This turned out so cute, I did the same thing to a smaller tote. It could double as an Easter basket for egg hunt spoils! I used a simple-no-fuss raw edge applique' method that is very straightforward. I gathered my orange scraps and a few green scraps. I cut the green scraps into 1” strips and pulled the threads on the edges loose until they had nice little frayed edges. I cut the six orange scraps into rectangles about 2½” x 4½”. I cut those rectangles across the middle in a wonky diagonal line. This is not an exact science, and it's meant to look a little random or improvised. I made two stacks with one-half of the wonky cuts in each stack. The more wobbly they look the better! Sew these pieces to each other and press the seams open. I ended up with roughly 4½” x 5½” of usable patchwork. I pressed a piece of “Steam a Seam” to the back of each patchwork section. I cut these wonky too, because I planned to cut this down into a triangle, no sense wasting more Steam a Seam than necessary! I didn’t use a template to cut my triangles, I just laid my regular straight ruler down and cut what looked like a nice fat carrot. You could make these carrots any shape or size, and I bet they would look really cute. Peel the paper side off the Steam-a-Seam. Cut several pieces from the green strips about 2½” long. I angle cut one end on each, and then pinched the bottom ends together to create almost a gathered look. I centered the carrot triangle on the front of my tote and tucked the pinched ends of the green strips under the top edge. Press the carrot in place well, so it traps the ends of the green strips too. Now for the applique part. I like to use a triple straight stitch, so the stitches stand out and become a design element. You can see the bottom end of the left stitch line is a basic straight stitch and then it goes into the triple straight stitch. Many machines have this stitch, the needle goes forward and back over the same spot three times before moving on. I also lengthened the stitch out to 3.0 to give it a nice chunky look. Stitch around the carrot, ⅛” from the raw edge, stitching over the green ends tucked in behind the carrot to secure them. Be sure to open the tote bag, and only stitch through the front panel, or you could have a cute but useless bag when you're done! Haha! And there you have it! A nice big tote for the grocery store and a smaller one ready for Easter! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

Have you ever wanted to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden, but couldn’t bring yourself to piece all those hexies by hand? Well, you are going to love this method! I can appreciate the work that went into vintage quilts, and I love the look of Grandmother’s Flower Garden, but I just can’t make the time to do one by hand. This week, I made a couple of pillows with two different size trapezoids to see how I liked the scale of these flowers. Of course, I love the smaller scale, and that’s the one that took a little more time! Haha! For the small-scale flowers, I used scraps I had and cut them into 1½” strips. From those strips, I cut twelve 2½” trapezoids for each flower and two more from 1½” plaid strips for the center of each flower. You can use either the mini diamond ruler or the large diamond ruler to make these cuts. You will align the 2½” dashed triangle line along the bottom edge of the strip and the little black star markings along the top edge of the strip. Cut on both sides of the ruler, then rotate the ruler 180 degrees to make the next cut. For added ease of piecing, use the flat tip of the ruler to trim the two outside tips off flat. This helps and is absolutely worth the extra time it takes to do this step. I made lots of piles of flower-colored trapezoids. You will need about 14 flowers worth for an 18” pillow. I cut way too much and had quite a bit left over, but I was happy to have the variety when laying out my flowers. Here you can see my final layout. Notice how these flowers interlock with each other, instead of being stand-alone flowers surrounded by background trapezoids like a more traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden. I think that could be a cute look too though, so maybe give a couple of different layouts a try! I sewed all the trapezoids together into horizontal rows. The first row is sewn here, and you can see just how much it shrinks up when you finish all those seams. To sew these trapezoids to each other, line them up as shown, then fold the pink one down onto the left green one. Use those flat tips as a matchup point to get your pieces aligned and sew a ¼” seam. Press that seam open. Then, fold the right green trapezoid up onto the middle pink one and repeat the process. This way, your rows will come out even on the top and bottom. Once you have all your rows sewn, the pillow top will look very skinny and long compared to your first layout. Then, sew the rows to each other in sets of two and press those seams open. Finally, sew the sets of two rows to each other and press all the seams open. I also used spray starch at this point to make everything lay nice and flat. This pillow top is ready for quilting! Single Flower Layout I used 2½” strips and made a single flower 16” pillow top with similar colors. For this scale, you will use the 4½” triangle line instead of the 2½” to cut your trapezoids. This single flower took (12) 4½” trapezoids for the flower, (22) for the surrounding background, and (6) for the center and corners. Lay out your pieces, as shown, and piece them into horizontal rows in the same way as the smaller trapezoids. I quilted these pillow fronts with a thin layer of batting and just look at that texture! And here they are, a cute set of spring pillows that use up more scraps and are a nod to Grandma :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

It was time for a new iPad cover! I thought I would work in a little cork fabric to spice things up! I have quite a collection of different cork fabrics, some have metallic elements and some are just basic cork. I have used these for all kinds of projects, mostly as embellishments. I thought I would share what I did this time. The base of my iPad cover is 3 mm wool felt. I cut two pieces ½” larger than the iPad, and cut a little V clip centered on the top edge of the front panel. I cut a 1” wide strip of the cork fabric and placed it on the front panel 2” below the top edge. Stitch that in place close to the edge. Cork fabric does not fray so you don’t have to worry about it being a raw edge. I cut a wool felt rectangle that was 2” x 8”. I cut two of these bowtie shapes (PDF download here) and stitched them to the wool felt, leaving about a ½” gap between them in the center. Use large scissors to cut around the cork leaving ⅛” of the felt along the outside edge. Fold the two sides towards the middle to create a “bow tie”. I used Wonder Clips to hold the two sides in place before sewing them down. This is very thick with the two layers of wool felt and the cork. Take it easy with your sewing machine, you might use a heavy denim needle. I placed the bow tie in the center of the cork strip, that had already been stitched to the front panel. It was too thick to stitch it in place, so I had to glue it, but I think using grommets could be a cute look too! It’s time to add the back to the front. Wonder Clips to the rescue again. Stitch along three sides, ⅛” from the edge, leaving the top edge open and backstitching at the start, and stop. Ta-Done! Packing my iPad in style these days :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

March is Women's History Month, a time when we reflect, appreciate, and celebrate the contribution of women in all areas of life. One very important contribution women have made to our shared history is telling stories using needle and fabric. Crystal King (our resident historian :) has pulled together some beautiful quilts and a little about the women that made them! If this doesn't motivate you to label your quilts, I don't know what will! Haha! Peggie L. Hartwell – The Ode to Harriet Powers, 1995 Quilts have a history of their own. Quilts created warm bedding when textiles were expensive and scarce. A quilt commemorates a special event like a new baby, a marriage, or an important event in someone's life. During wartime, quilts helped raise funds to support the troops. After WW2, quilts became a form of artistic expression as women had more time and resources. Women from all walks of life recorded their life journeys in the quilts they made. Whether slaves, housewives, or wives of prominent men, we can get a small glimpse of the lives they led and the things they cherished. These are just a few of the women who contributed their quilts to our shared history. Elizabeth Vincent Berry – Star Pattern Quilt 1861 This hand-stitched star quilt was made by the wife of a local architect in Hillsborough, N.C. The star is made of red, green, and yellow calico, with white backing quilted in a floral pattern. Jane Stickle – The Quilt 1863 The Jane Stickle Quilt has 169 five-inch blocks, each has a different pattern, and totals 5,602 pieces surrounded by a unique scalloped border. It's displayed at the Bennington Museum. Jane was a simple farmer's wife, but she made a quilt of immense beauty and and quilters come from all over the world just to see this quilt. This quilt is commonly known as "Dear Jane" now. Harriet Powers - 1866 Bible Quilt Harriet Powers, a former slave emancipated after the Civil War, is considered to be one of the most accomplished quilt makers of the 19th Century. "Powers’ strength as an artist lies in what she was able to transmit through the fabric: her religious faith. Powers weaved her spiritualism into her quilts which is easily perceived through the individual blocks depicting biblical stories, local events, and celestial occurrences." Daily Art Magazine Rebecca Wall – 1901 Crazy Quilt Velvet and taffeta with feather stitching and embroidery. A young man engaged to Rebecca's Mother was ill with tuberculosis. He made suggestions of what to put on each square: flowers, strawberries, dates of his birth and college graduation, his fraternity pin, and his initials. His fiancee, sister, and Mother made the quilt. After he died, his Mother gave the quilt to his fiancee. Mrs. Clark – World War II Quilt 1941-1945 Marion Clark’s Aunt made this quilt to honor more than forty service members from Orange County, NC serving their country. The names are written on the stars separating each nine-patch block. Florence Peto – 1959 Florence Peto is described as a "spirited lady with a passion for quilts." She was an author, collector, historian, designer, lecturer, and quiltmaker inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in 1980. “Now the quilt is finished and should it happily escape the ignominy of being locked away in a chest (use a quilt and love it!), it will bring cheer to the best bedchamber and perhaps acclaim for its creator." No longer simple bedcovers, quilts help preserve our stories and demonstrate the creativity and resilience of women. I hope you enjoyed this little trip through history celebrating a few of the women who left a legacy through their quilts. For more quilt history, check out these previous blogs: Every Journey Starts With A Quilt Crazy Quilting, A Labor of Love Happy Sunday, everyone! Crystal King The Quilted Life Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website.

• Uses scraps √ • Super easy to do √ • A quick little festive project √ I have been wanting to make a diamond version of an Irish Chain for a while. I guess there’s no time like the present, right?! I made this table runner just to see how the blocks would work, and I think there is promise with a design like this! I took three different 2½" green strips (yes, I used scraps :) and three 2½" white strips. From these, I made two strip sets. For one strip set, I put a green strip on either side of a white. For the second strip set, I put a green down the middle with a white on either side. Open the strips to a single layer and cut the right end off at a 60° angle using the pointed end of the Creative Grids Large 60° Diamond Ruler. It's also helpful to trim the tips off flat as shown. Lay out the strip sets, as shown here, with their ends staggered at a 60° angle. Sew these together and press the seams open. Each strip set should measure 6½" across. I cut 2½" wedges from these strip sets. Following the diamond lines on the ruler, align the 2½" line with the angled end of the strip set. Cut along the right edge of the ruler. This will get you something that looks like three blocks sewn together. I cut six of these wedges, from the strip set with the green in the middle, and twelve of the same cut from the strip set with the greens on the outside edges. Arrange the stacks of wedges, as shown here. Notice, I flipped the outside two stacks to be opposite each other just to mix things up. I think this design could be very cute with a super scrappy color palette. To sew diamonds together like this, you’ll use those flat tips as a matchup point on either end. The seams crisscross each other ¼" from the raw edge where the seam allowance will join the two wedges. These seams will not nest with each other, so it's easiest to get a good match if the seams are all pressed open. Press these seams open, then join the third wedge to this unit to make a checkerboard diamond block. I made six blocks, like this, and laid them out a couple of ways, but settled on this table runner size. To fill in the background, I cut a 6½" strip of white background. I used the triangle lines on the ruler to cut two 6½" triangles for the top and bottom. Turn the ruler to the side and cut two 6½" diamonds from the same strip. Cut four 6½" wedge triangles for the corners. The last cut for the long wedge-style triangles, down each side, can be made by using the 6½" side setting triangle markings on the ruler. You’ll need four of those elongated triangles, and they can be cut from a strip as narrow as 4¼" wide. Here you see the final layout. I sewed everything together in diagonal rows and then added the corner units. Once the rows were done, I joined them to each other using the same technique of matching up their crisscrossed seams ¼" from the edge before sewing. Now it’s ready to quilt! I had to add a little extra flare with the quilting, seeing as it's an Irish Chain after all 🙂 Here is a link to my freehand Shamrocks if you’d like to embellish something of your own. And voila! A fun prototype is born! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Have you ever wanted to try facing a quilt instead of binding it? This works well for artsy-style quilts that are going to be on display. There are a few good methods for doing facing instead of binding, and I thought I would show you my favorite method... the mitered way! One reason to use the mitered method is that it is less bulky and gives you a nice sharp corner. And it can be manipulated a little easier, giving you a tight fit when you turn the facing to the back (I’ll explain more about that below). I cut enough facing strips 2” wide to make the parameter of the quilt, plus about 4” for each corner. This method is meant to be less bulky. These strips will not be folded in half, they will have one edge turned under. You can cut your strips any width depending on how far into the backing you want the facing to go. Join the strips end to end with a diagonal seam on the 45-degree angle. Trim away the excess from the seam, and press each one open. Then, press one edge under about ⅜” down the length of the strip. From the front of the quilt, lay the raw edge of the strip along the raw edge of the quilt. Give yourself at least a couple of inches extra, hanging over the ends of the quilt, before trimming the strip off. Run the strip down the sides, giving yourself a couple of inches on both ends there too. Pin the strips into place, but do not pin them all the way to the corners. I stopped short about 5” from the corners. Stitch around the quilt with a ¼” seam allowance, stopping 5” from the corner, and starting again 5” down the next side. Take the quilt to the ironing board with its flapping tails of facing at each corner. Fold the facing strips back to create a miter at each corner, and press a sharp crease. Notice how I manipulated the strips to gap about ⅛” at the folded edge; it’s not a perfect 45-degree angle. When I sew the two sides together, following that crease, it creates a little tension on the inside edge once it’s been folded around to the back. I used that crease as my guide and cut ¼” beyond it on both facing pieces. Pin the two facing pieces together, matching up their creases and stitch, backstitching at both the start and stop. Press that seam open, and pin the facing to the quilt. Stitch into place. Trim the corner down, but do not cut through the stitch line. Turn the facing corner around to the back of the quilt, using your fingers to work the edges of the quilt into place. It may be necessary to use a semi-pointy object to poke out the corner of the quilt and really get a nice edge. Because that extra ⅛” gap is pulled snug, it helps hold the facing to the back of the quilt so it doesn’t roll around to the front of the quilt. Press the facing down flat along the back, using the nose of the iron to help manipulate the fabric into place. Then pin, pin, pin! Well, there you go! I’m off to do a lot of hand-stitching :) Happy Sunday, everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Here I am again squeezing as much out of the fabric I already have as I possibly can :) This time, I'm using remnants to piece my quilt backs. There's something satisfying about not buying a single thing for an entire project! I made this Vintage Windmill quilt, as a class sample, during a few virtual classes this year. But, I hadn't figured out the backing. All these fabrics were sent to me by the fabric company, so I had a lot to work with, but nothing was quite big enough for the whole back. I decided to use some of the pieces from the layer cake (10” squares) across the middle. I smoothed the quilt out on the design wall and laid the squares right over the top, just to get a sense of how big I would need to make it. I cut a couple of other pieces into equal sections and bordered the row of squares on the top and bottom. You can see it covers the whole quilt, with quite a bit hanging over the edges to account for seam allowances, and what would be needed for quilting (this is a baby quilt so I was just aiming for 2” extra on all sides). Before sewing the squares together into a row, I turned each one until the cross-grain went side to side and the straight of grain went top to bottom. This was to mimic the other strips/pieces of fabric I was sewing to the top and bottom of the block row. The cross-grain will stretch a little more when tugged, and it's helpful to keep these consistent across a pieced back for the flattest/squarest results. I tend to tear my backing fabrics instead of cutting them. I want to know where the grainline is, and if it's way off, I might work to pull it back on grain. Tearing the strips or pieces helps to keep things square. I press all my seams open. This makes for the flattest backing, but you could also press them to the side if you prefer. I use a heavy ¼” seam (or wider for some fabrics) and lower my stitch length down to 2.0 so the seams do not pop with wash and wear. I centered the square block row between the top and bottom pieced sections. I gently press the two sections together before pinning and sewing. This helps set the fabrics a bit. I'm not generally a big pinner, but I can’t afford just to let the layers slip through my fingers… bad things happen to your perfectly flat backs when you do that :) Here it is! All pieced and ready to quilt. I smoothed it back up on the design wall over the quilt to be sure I still had plenty of room all the way around. Not bad for a bunch of scraps! Here are some other pics of crazy scrap pieced backs I’ve done recently. Some of these took more time than it was worth, but hey, the challenge was fun! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Do you need a quick little project to whip up for Valentine's day? Or, just something cute as we slowly make our way into Spring?! I started looking through the archives this week, and realized I made so many of these kinds of projects over the years, maybe I should share them all in one place. Below you will see a picture of each project, and if you click on each link, you'll find the whole blog or tutorial showing the process. It’s no secret I love using up my scraps, most of these projects do just that. This week, I made another bench pillow from orphan blocks and a lonesome black and white striped strip. Isn’t it cute?! These blocks came from my Heart Candy pattern, and that tutorial is in the list below! SWEET TREATS HEART CANDY DON'T THROW THAT OUT SWEET TREAT WEEK IT'S LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT COLOR MY WORLD :) CHERRY BLOSSOM PILLOW Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Last week, I showed you how to use striped fabric to make a fun new block. This week, I'll show you what I did with those blocks! Here is my Stripey Diamonds quilt. It's a simple block concept that you can use to make some very different-looking quilts depending on the size you make and the colors you choose. We filmed a new YouTube video so I could show you how I made those diamond blocks, from last week's blog, into rectangle blocks with the addition of a companion print and some corner unit accent colors. Just watch how easy this is! It's fun to see how different the arrangement of these blocks looks when you slide every other row up by half a block. These smaller blocks, made from 4½” diamonds, measure 5” x 8½” when finished. I made 15 blocks for the checkerboard layout and added five half blocks to fill in the top and bottom edges when I changed to the lattice layout. The 6½” diamonds worked up into blocks that measure 7” x 12½” when finished. I made 20 blocks for the checkerboard layout and 18 for the lattice layout with four half blocks for the top and bottom edges. I added a 1½” pink border and a 6½” floral border because I wanted to scallop the edge for a super girly look 🙂. The corner wedge triangles are cut using the same dimensions as the stripey diamond blocks from last week's blog. Here's a link to an infographic, we did a while back, that will show you how many diamonds you can cut from different-sized strips. If you want to dig into your stash and stripes, this might help you make a plan for using what you have! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

It’s no mystery that I love striped fabric! I mean, the design possibilities are endless. Just this week, I found yet another use for my beloved stripes, and I’m excited to share! I made some striped “woven” diamond blocks as fill-in blocks for a quilt, and they turned out so well that I am already working on them in a few more sizes. Here is what you will need to make a mirror image set of these blocks. I cut two strips from my striped fabric, one 6½” wide and the other 4⅝” wide. I kept the strips folded to cut through two layers. I sub-cut the 6½” wide strip into two 4 ⅝” rectangles and the 4⅝” strip into two 6 ½” rectangles. You’ll end up with four rectangles total that are 6½” x 4⅝”, but two of them have their stripes going the long way while the other two have their stripes going the short way. Lay the first pair of rectangles wrong sides together (stripes going top to bottom). Using the triangle lines on the Large Creative Grids 60 Degree Diamond Ruler, align the bottom edge of the rectangle with the 6 ½” dashed line and the left edge of the rectangle with the left-dashed center line. Cut along the right edge to get two pairs of mirror image wedge triangles. Repeat the same cut with the second pair of rectangles (notice the stripes going side to side on these). Arrange the wedge triangles from both sets of rectangles into two diamond blocks, as shown, stripes side to side alternating with stripes up and down. Sew the top two wedge triangles together, then repeat with the bottom two wedge triangles, as shown. Press the seams in opposite directions, so the center seam will nest when you sew the two halves together. Press that seam open. I trimmed up my diamond blocks by aligning the 6½” diamond lines on the ruler with the edges of the block and trimming the sliver amount off each side. Depending on your seam allowance while piecing, you may not have to trim up at all. They came out so cool, I immediately grabbed another stripe and started a 4½” version! These rectangles would be cut 4½” x 3⅜”, and you would do all the same steps, but this time align your ruler along the 4½” dashed line to cut the angled cut across the block. Aren’t these fun?! I have the perfect way to use these blocks, and next week I’ll be able to show you what I’m doing with them! But I thought I’d share this part right away, cause hey, you might have your own burst of inspiration 🙂 Happy Sunday, everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Retreats are like Disneyland for quilters, right? But, what should you pack to make the most of your retreat? There are some well-done basic lists out there from All People Quilt, A Little Crispy, ShadyWood Quilts, and I’m sure there are others…. (I’ve linked to all of them at the bottom). Here is a smattering of items you might consider bringing that could make your retreat even more enjoyable! • Remove lint from the bobbin case and oil your machine. • Fill plenty of bobbins, including colored bobbins, for hand work or applique, or bring plenty of prewound bobbins if that’s your style. • Clean your rotary cutter blade. • Bring an extra blade. • Extra sewing machine feet. • Spare Needles • Flannel for the design wall (the back of a vinyl tablecloth works well). These are great because you can roll your project up to transport it home without messing up your layout. And they are cheap too! • A work light, like an Ott Light • Scissors for paper, so you don’t have to use your sewing scissors. • A mat to set your machine on to keep it from wobbling on plastic retreat tables. • Thread catcher • Handwork for when you tire of your sewing machine...as if! • Spray bottle for water, spray starch, or Best Press • Address labels for marking your supplies • Notebook, pencil, and colored pencils because your creativity will be sky-high! • Extra projects, because you’re so organized you’ll get everything done early and need something to work on. • Electronics: Cell Phone, camera, power strip, extension cord, and chargers • Pain relief like Advil or Tylenol: sewing can be backbreaking. • And if you’re me, Junior Mints or Reeses Pieces :-) • A water bottle with a straw, so you don’t get dehydrated! Seriously, I carry mine everywhere! How do you prepare for your quilting retreat? I love and welcome any suggestions on the blog. It helps me know what you guys would like to see :) Happy Sunday everyone! Krista All People Quilt A Little Crispy Shadywood Quilts Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here.

Have you ever had trouble lining up your sashings to make straight intersections for a true grid look? It can be so frustrating lining up your blocks perfectly, only to sew them together, and the sashing is just off enough to be distracting. I turned another pile of scraps into a baby quilt, and I ran into this problem…. Well, here is how I handled that! First, let me show you how you can make this cute baby quilt too :) I was given one of those little stacks of 2½” squares, I think they are called crumbs (there were 42 in this stack). I added little frames to each one, with scrap strips of all the different stripes, and whatnot I've been hoarding. Some of my scrap strips were not quite big enough, so I had to piece several smaller bits together to make it work… what are a few extra seams among friends. I kept making these blocks between other projects (these would be great leader/ender blocks) until I had quite a collection. I ended up with seven rows of six blocks each. To make horizontal rows, I added a 2½” x 4½” white sashing strip between each block. If you chain piece these, it goes pretty fast! Here is my final layout as the rows were forming. Once each row was sewn, I pressed the seams towards the white sashing to alleviate as much bulk in the seams as possible. I added a long 2½” white sashing strip along the top of each row. Here’s where it gets interesting…how to join these rows so the vertical sashing strips line up on either side of the horizontal sashing strips. For this, I use a disappearing ink fabric marking pen and a small ruler to make two little blue marks directly opposite the seams of the vertical sashing. Lay the next row in place, and match up the little blue markings with the vertical sashing seams from the next row. Pin these in place and stitch the two rows together. Press out each set of rows. Continue marking the horizontal sashings and adding the next pieced rows until the top is complete. Here it is all together! See how nicely those rows line up?! A happy little scrappy baby quilt is born :) Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here. Red and Green Gilded kits are now available again until they are gone. We won't be restocking. Request to join the quilt along with the purchase of the pattern or kit. The group will be open for up to a year. The Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt requires the Large Ruler and you can find it here.

I've been working on a Spring inspired project this last week… just pulling my color palette together and starting to imagine what the finished quilt will look like. I’m thinking of a sweet and cheerful color scheme that is a little whimsical and girly… and there may be a butterfly or two involved :) This got me thinking about scalloped borders. Have you ever done a scalloped border? I think it might be the single best way to make any quilt look special and a little bit girly. Scalloped borders can be done on any quilt no matter how wide the borders are or what size the quilt is. I've cut narrow 2½” borders into a shallow curved scallop around a wall hanging, and 10” borders into a deep scallop around a king-size quilt. Your quilts will instantly take on the va-va-voom factor, and you won't believe how easy it is! Many of you may know, a couple of years ago, I developed my no-math scalloped border technique into a tool that takes all the measuring, Math, and guesswork out of marking and cutting a scalloped edge. In this video, I show you how that works and I think you’ll be eager to give it a try once you see this trick! Vintage Windmill and Sew Charming Once you’ve got your scalloped border cut and your quilt quilted, you’ll need to bind it. There are a few little pointers that I like to share with my students when they are sewing binding to a curved edge. I filmed this video to share those tips and tricks with a wider audience, and you can come back to get a refresher lesson over and over if needed! And last but not least… How about cutting bias binding? I like to cut bias binding for many of my quilts (bias edge or not), especially when using a striped fabric. But for a scalloped border quilt, you will need to cut your binding on the bias to manipulate it around the curved edge with ease. In this video, I show you the simplest napkin-fold way to cut bias binding for your quilt. Many Morsels Scrap Quilt I hope you found something helpful here! And maybe some inspiration to try something new 🙂 Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here. Red and Green Gilded kits are now available again until they are gone. We won't be restocking. Request to join the quilt along with the purchase of the pattern or kit. The group will be open for up to a year. The Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt requires the Large Ruler and you can find it here.

I know we all start out the year with big ambitions. I sure hope I’m not alone with my visions of grandeur and a “to finish” quilt list a mile long. Well, it’s time to get organized if I am going to make headway! I designed a series of FREE printable quilt journal pages that can be used to organize your UFOs or plan out the quilts you haven’t even started yet. Sometimes picking up where you left off on a project is the most daunting part. I think these pages are really going to help with that! I filmed a little video showing how I am using these sheets to keep myself organized. I hope you like them and find them useful too! Happy New Year, everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here. Red and Green Gilded kits are available for preorder. (Stock is limited! We will not be able to restock again.) Request to join the quilt along with the purchase of the pattern or kit. The group will be open for up to a year. The Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt requires the Large Ruler and you can find it here.

What to do when a ¼” seam actually matters (and that’s not always the case). If you’ve ever been frustrated over piecing accuracy, read on! Maybe this will clear up a few simple problems. Piecing accuracy is super important when your quilt has several different pieced blocks together, like a block of the month, or when you are sewing a pieced block to a solid block as seen in this quilt. You don’t want your pieced blocks to come out smaller than the solid block. Of course, you could always just cut down the solid blocks, wink, wink… nobody would know, but mastering the ¼” seam really shouldn’t be brain surgery, so let’s see what we can do about it! If you have a regular presser foot for your sewing machine, you will need to measure from the edge of the foot to where the needle goes into the fabric. I used one of my small quilting rulers placed under the pressure foot, lining up the edge of the foot with the edge of the ruler. I lowered the needle down to the ruler by hand turning the flywheel. From here, you can see how far off the ¼” line the needle hits. I had to move my needle two clicks to the right for the needle to hit squarely on the ¼” line. Make sure you write your new needle position down somewhere safe so you won’t have to figure it out again later! CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE If your machine doesn't have the option to move the needle from side to side, this is how to proceed. Using the small quilting ruler again, place it under the pressure foot. Only this time, you will line up the needle with the ¼” line on the ruler; the edge of the ruler may or may not line up with the edge of the foot. Here, I used a red Sharpie pen to color the edge of the foot that landed outside the ruler's edge. This will give you a new guide to follow instead of the edge of the foot (the Sharpie marking will wear off over time, but in a pinch, this works great!) If you have a ¼” foot for your machine, then you’re in luck! But it may not be as accurate as you were led to believe. The best way to test for accuracy, using any pressure foot and any needle placement, is to sew a test strip. Take two 2½” strips and sew them together lengthwise. Press the strip set open from the front, using the nose of your iron to get the seam all the way open. This is very important! Now, measure the width of the strip set; it should be right at 4½” total. If it is over or under, then adjustments are needed. You can either move your needle or adjust the Sharpie line. With this set of six strips, I intentionally did an ever so slight scant ¼” seam. The more seams you have, the more chance there is to lose something in the pressing. If you’re using a heavier thread and then pressing your seams out, that added bulk in the thread size sometimes make quite a difference over multiple seams. I hope that was helpful. Twas the night before Christmas as I sat by the tree, wondering what Santa would bring just for me. Needles and thread, fabric and lace “Or a new sewing machine,” I thought with a grin on my face. Suddenly I saw him, “Hi, Santa.” I said. He snickered, “Good little girls should be in their beds.” “Oh Santa forgive me, I know I’ve been caught, but I was just so excited to see what you’ve brought.” “Well, let’s take a look around this room where you work.” He shook his head quickly, then turned with a jerk. I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear. “You’ve got enough crap, I’ll see you next year!” -Author unknown . I’m workin' on it Santa! Merry Christmas, everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you are looking for fabric kits, you can find them here. Red and Green Gilded kits are available for preorder. (Stock is limited! We will not be able to restock again.) Request to join the quilt along with the purchase of the pattern or kit. The group will be open for up to a year. The Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt requires the Large Ruler and you can find it here.

Well, this is fun! I have been doing a virtual quilt along/video class for the past several weeks with my latest pattern, the Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt. We had our last official lesson at the end of November, and I asked everyone to try hard to get their tree skirts done, or close to done, so we could show them off! I hope you love seeing what other quilters make, because, boy, do we have a show for you! Their creativity is so inspiring! Audrey DiBona Pantas So excited to have this under my tree! Now that the sewing is done, I can get started on hanging the ornaments. Great pattern and quick to put together. Barbara Wilson Withrow Piecing Finished. This was a fun project. What I learned was how to use stripes. I have always stayed away from stripes in my quilts but now with my handy dandy ruler and Krista's instructions, I am excited to do more. Beatrice Carr I got it almost ready for next week, it looks great to me! Bonny Hodges Ready to go to my longarm artist. I’ve been on her schedule for several weeks so I’ll get it back in time to use this year!! I’ll cut out the center hole, and the slit, and bind it after quilting per Krista’s recommendation. Love this pattern and your fabric choices-thanks, Krista and Crystal. Happy Holidays y’all! Carol Graves Got my skirt done and gifted today. The recipient was thrilled! Thanks for a great pattern. Carol Sue Kauffman I finished up my tree skirt today. Turned out pretty cute. Chris Vogel I finished binding these last night. I made two of them for gifts to my daughters-in-law and I made them both the same. I purchased the kits because I didn't have the fabric in my stash, and I loved the whimsical look of the red & green. I used Fern Grunge on the backs, did some simple meanders in the dot triangles, continuous curves in the green stripe, line quilting in the red stripes, and stitch in the ditch for the rest of the quilt. I love Krista Moser's patterns so much that I have three more of her projects in my ready-to-start drawer and two that are ready to quilt. Christine Vanaman All my ”blades” are pieced together and pinned up on my design wall….I cannot wait until next week! Christine White Finally finished my piecing! Making the binding today and hoping to sandwich and quilt it this week. It just might make it under the tree by Christmas! Thank you, Krista, for the beautiful pattern and for the great tutorials! Cinamen Srb Christman Top done. I'm making it as a table topper. Dawn Stratton Ready for quilting and I just had to try your stocking pattern, too, and then the leftovers went for some easy coasters. Deb Hiltbold I bought this kit as I was going to do it at a friend's place. Looked easy enough. Not. I read the directions but had to take it apart several times. LOL. The moral of the story is don't take projects you think are a piece of cake to make. Krista, see you in March in AZ. Deb Jankowicz I loved making this tree skirt. It was a challenge for me as it was the first pattern of yours that I dared to try using the special ruler. Your clear instructions each week led me to be successful. I hope that I can participate in another quilt-along that you do. I chose the gold/black/white kit. Or I should say that my husband chose it. We are Purdue alumni. The theme of my guild's holiday dinner was to wear a tree skirt. I wore this one! Deborah Zarra Jacobs Finished the topper, and now onto the quilting. Love this pattern. Thank you, Krista! I also purchased the gold and black and will make that one next during the class. Finished the first. Now to the second week and the second tree skirt. This pattern is a ton of fun to work with. Delia Mendoza All done! It took about 2 hours to just do the binding. I lost some of the star points, but because this is just simply a beautiful pattern, it doesn't matter, it’s just perfect as it is!! The contrast and placement of colors on this pattern, make this kind of beginner sewer look good. So happy I did this. I ordered another kit because I’m going to try to do better. Thank you to all my dear ladies...partners in this wonderful journey for all your support, I feel like a total expert now. I just need to do about 20,000 more bindings. lol! This is the most wonderful time of the year, let’s complement these times with this wonderful project!! Love you all! Denise Ellison The tree is up. I really like the alternating stars. I struggle when making quilts with multiples of the same block design. Making 3 blocks of each was just perfect. 6 would have been my limit. Full disclosure. I had to sew the chevron strips 3 times. I could not get them to 6.5”. FINALLY! Just about the time I was going to start crying. But I survived. I love the stark contrasts of the fabrics. Love the angles. Getting the perfect 1/4” seam is my nemesis. Learned how to bind corners that are not 90°. The videos are fabulous. Whatever you do for your audio output is great Krista. I really dislike watching tutorials that do not have crisp audio. Merry Christmas to all. I have freestanding angels that are still only thread on a spool. Awaiting the next project Krista. You have a forever learner in me. Eileen Ryan I didn’t have the fabric in my stash that looked like it would work for this pattern but found some I thought I would try. Pleased with the results for the table topper. Gayle Acidera I finished my skirt. I was surprised at how big it was. It will be really nice under a tree. Mine will be an unquilted table topper this year. I used the finished skirt for a base to display my Angel collection this year Ginger Ott I am absolutely addicted to this pattern. Krista, it would be so amazing as a larger quilt pattern hint, hint. Pink and baby blue pics* This is the last one and mine- I even got the guys to get the tree out for me. Jackie Chapp Carroll I love this pattern, Krista! I’ll make another one in different colors and complete the points to see how it looks. I think you are an angel genius! Thanks for all you do!! Janet Jones I finished my skirt a bit early because my tree is going up soon. I finished the inner circle with gold/white and the opening with Velcro dots. I love it. I will be making the red/green next. Love this beautiful pattern. Joan McFayden Due to unforeseen conditions, I will not be able to wait until tomorrow to start sewing. Because I pieced it all today! What looks like black is dark green. Thanks, Krista! I really enjoyed this pattern. Joanne Hubbard I've made three versions of this pattern and love them all. I chose to make a play mat instead of a tree skirt. It turned out exactly as I envisioned and I love it! I chose to quilt an allover meander and I'm very happy with that. I was thrilled to find a backing that works perfectly with the front. The binding is from my stash and while it's not the same green I used for the accent green, it is from the same fabric designer and the color is perfect. My black/white/gold version is not yet quilted, but I will do that soon. (While it was the first version I made, I didn't need it for Christmas so it was put on the back burner.) My gold is a little brighter than the sample in the pattern, but I really like it. My backing is black with gold etching and it works perfectly with my gold. I plan to quilt this with straight lines. I have enjoyed all of the variations. Thanks for sharing pictures! Thanks, Krista for another fabulous pattern! Judi Brown I was going to give the tree skirt to my twin as a gift. Then, she told me they already had a skirt. Her daughter has the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and wrapped presents under the tree! So, I decided to not cut mine and instead made it as a table covering for my dining table, purposely leaving the corners to show the beautiful teak wood of the table. I’ll put a red strip binding on it this afternoon after I get a fun backing fabric. Sure did learn a bunch making this, ie., reading and following directions (thank goodness for the videos), cutting angles, matching up points precisely, sewing with bias on feed dogs & much more. Katherine Young I had to let my fabric selection drive my tree skirt! My grandsons are coming for their first visit to Maui! My theme which I never had is red trucks with pineapples. My table runner is partially done and cracks me up! Kathi Steele My colors are red, black & white this year! Next year blue and silver! Thank you, Krista. Love this tree skirt. So inspired, I made coordinating stockings and a couch quilt. The instructions were very easy to follow. Thank you, Krista. Kim Theisen Holmstrom I was able to find enough fabric in my stash for two of the three fabrics for the second strip set after my major cutting error. I had to make do with a different light green. Not my first choice but there will be none like it!! Just glad I was able to catch up. Hopefully, I can get it loaded on my longarm tomorrow…. Finally under the tree! Krista Mankinen Cummings The Grinch is done but my hubby isn’t happy because now I want a tree to put it under. Currently, I’m planning for my next one which will have to happen in the new year. This one will be for my daughter who wants bright Bolivian colors with Alpacas. I have some llama fabric (close enough) so now I'm going through my stash to see what I can do. Thank you, Krista Moser, for creating a great pattern that provided me with my first tree skirt under my tree. I’ve always wanted to make a tree skirt, and finally thanks to Krista, I’ve got the perfect pattern. Kristin Bitgood Nelson I just have to sew all the pieces together! (I also just started Snowflake Lane. I had to sew just one snowflake before I finished piecing the Christmas tree skirt.) I finished piecing my Christmas tree skirt! I’ll have to make two more tree skirts for my other two trees for next year. My living room is currently unusable because of the damage from the last two hurricanes. This tree skirt will look great under my 9 1/2-foot tree once my living room is repaired. That tree has all glass ocean-themed ornaments in teal, aqua, silver, and white. Should I use the stripe or the silver to bind it once I quilt it eventually? Linda Pacini Love this pattern! Worked from my stash with the exception of the stripe fabric. Cut a circle to drop it over the tree stand since we have an artificial tree. Will definitely make more in different colorways for my kitchen table. Thanks for the inspiration in this group! Linda Smith Just need to hand-sew my ties and it’s ready for the tree. I can’t wait for your next lesson. Update- hand sewing is done, now on to the next one which won’t be finished for this year, but it’ll be done in lots of time for next year. Lynn Lane Finished, and got it sent to my niece’s home for her first Christmas as a married lady. Many mistakes to ensure this tree skirt is unique. I chose to quilt the black areas in gold thread. The white areas I quilted in black thread. I was trying to create a striped effect to compliment the striped fabric. I let the tension pull the gold to the back so it could be reversible. I wished I had used bias binding. Melissa Rentz Anderson Bound and under the tree! Nancy Havrilla Learned a lot making this quilt, especially about working with stripes. I had a blast quilting it. Thank you, Krista. Norma Shaarda Started with the Red and switched to the Green - I'll finish the Red colorway next. Loved this pattern. Rhonda Davis Love this tree skirt and am so thankful for Krista's expertise and wonderful pattern! Merry Christmas! After the skirt, the leftovers become a pillow....and a Mug Rug...still have lots of striped triangles...hmmm. Roxanne Perkins Graves Fun, fun, fabric & pattern. Table topper for me. Shannon Mueller Olson The top is done!!.... this is a great pattern, it fits together so easily. Sharon Aller Ready to quilt. There's a mystery mistake in it. Can you see it? I decided to leave it. I learned a lot making this sweet pattern, and it got me back into sewing and quilting after a six-month hiatus. Stacy Murray Just in time to get the tree up! The hubby has been chomping at the bit for me to finish. Thanks, Krista for yet another great pattern! Susan Monaco I had so much fun sewing this one! Thanks for the pattern, Krista !! Teri Howell Grundsted Ready to gift. Didn’t find a traditional stripe to use so I went with a modern electric one. Wanda Bramlett I’m thinking table topper!! Love this pattern! Thanks, Krista! Wendy Witter I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it as with pretty much all of Krista's patterns. Due to renovations, I did not feel I would have room for a tree but purchased the pattern and joined the group. Seeing all the posts, I realized that I just had to make this tree skirt. Could not find a stripe in a color that I was looking for so went with a plaid instead and am pleased with the results. Thanks to Krista and her beautiful patterns, I have learned to shop online and post to Facebook. Yvette Victoria Cienski Finished! Went a little crazy with the quilting! So much fun! Thank you, Krista! Zuzana Xuereb Finally finished! I’ve combined the two styles and used the fabric from my stash. I ran out of one fabric, so I had to substitute it with another. It is not completely symmetrical, but I don’t mind. I really liked using the diamond ruler and very much enjoyed the pattern. Thank you, Krista! Wasn't that fun! Merry Christmas Everyone! Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you'll find them here. The Gilded Christmas Tree Skirt requires the Large Ruler and you can find it here.

Is your family looking for a gift or stocking stuffer idea for you? I put together a list of ten different gems that would make great stocking stuffers! There's a good blend of useful cute, and downright beautiful items I can see being welcome in any quilters sewing room. Maybe, just point them to this list and circle an item or two :) I’m sure they would appreciate the direction. Links to each item are provided to make shopping a snap. 1. Binding Babies The cutest way to store your prepared binding for when you are ready to finish that quilt! 2. Vintage Tin full of Wonder Clips Another great gift presentation in this cute tin box. Plus you’ll stay organized this way:) 3. Quilt block soap or candles Aren’t these beautiful? A special gift for the quilter who already has it all. 4. Quilting Journal Keep all your projects organized and write notes about each one, like needle position or fabric info. This way, if you take a break on a certain project you can pick up right where you left off. 5. Quilt block stationery Fun enough for quilters, but artsy enough for everyone else! I love these and think they make beautiful notes even if you are not a quilter. 6. Beautifully handcrafted quilting tool favorites Do you have a favorite quilting tool already? Well, you might like a forever keepsake version. 7. Itty Bitty wool pressing mat I prefer a little bigger wool mat, but this would fit in a stocking ;) And, if you haven’t used a wool pressing mat yet, you will love how your pressing turns out with these! 8. My favorite rotary cutter… the Quick Change cutter by OLFA There’s no confusion in changing your blade with this cutter! It is the absolute best. 9. Tailors Clapper If you press with a dry iron and want super crisp seams, you have to give the tailors clapper a try. 10. Magic Pins Super sharp, easy to grip, and heat resistant! Win, win, win in the quilting world. Bonus Project Make as a stocking embellishment Or you could make these cuties as tree ornaments. Oh and one last thing... A gift certificate , who wouldn't want a Gift Certificate from yours truly :) I have those, just in case someone needs to know! Do you have a favorite item that would make a great stocking stuffer? Feel free to share a link in the comments. I'm sure we would all benefit from new ideas! Happy Sunday everyone, Krista Follow all my quilty adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Visit my Youtube channel for free tutorials and tips. If you like my patterns, you can buy them on Etsy, and here on the website. If you're looking for fabric kits, you'll find them here.