A Splendid Celebration!

August 3, 2016August 3, 2016501 Comments

Are you following along with The Splendid Sampler? If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s the most epic, “sew-lebrity” filled sew along (of all time), consisting of 100+ free block patterns, designed by 83 pattern designers, shared twice week, for an entire year!!!

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Just a few of the 80+ Splendid Sampler designers at Spring Quilt Market 2016.

For those of you making blocks either physically with the group (or virtually in your head), the 50th block releases this week! Isn’t that exciting?? Although I’m not going to spoil tomorrow’s surprise, the designer of block #50 is Joanna Figueroa of Figtree Quilts. I’ve seen the block, and let me tell you – it is Splendid!!

My Splendid Block

You may recall my block, Scrappy Happy Heart, below, which was released back in May. Click here to learn more about my block! It’s been exciting watching so many people making my paper pieced block design and sharing their work. The biggest comment I’ve seen on Instagram (#scrappyhappyheart) and in the Splendid Sampler Facebook group is that my block is the perfect block for those who have never paper-pieced before and want to try out an easy block. That warms my heart!!

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My Scrappy Happy Heart Block

To celebrate The Splendid Sampler halfway point, hosts Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson are teaming up with many of the Splendid Sampler designers with bonus blocks, fun giveaways, free patterns, and maybe even a little “behind the scenes” of the project.

Click here to see the complete blog hop celebration schedule!

Free Pattern for Splendid Friends

For anyone new to my blog, I invite you to get this free PDF quilt pattern of my Puzzle Box design just for stopping by and signing up for my email newsletter.

Click here to get the free pattern.

But wait…. there’s more!!

Puzzle Box Pattern

Book Giveaway for Splendid quilters

I’m also giving away a copy of the brand new collaboration book, 180 Doodle Quilting Designs. This book was compiled by Martingale/That Patchwork Place, the same folks who will be publishing The Splendid Sampler book once the blocks are all complete! (They have also published both of my quilting books, so I might just be a little bit biased!!)

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180 Doodle Quilting features designs from several talented friends, including Splendid Sampler designers Melissa Corry, April Rosenthal, and yours truly! Perhaps this book will help you decide how you want to quilt your blocks when they are all finished!

For your chance to win, just leave a comment below letting me know if you’ve ever participated in a block of the month/week/day type program before. If so, tell me what you loved about it!

This contest is open to everyone worldwide. I’ll pick one US winner who will win a physical copy signed by me, and one international winner who will receive an e-copy.

The contest will close Aug 15th and I’ll ship it to you by the end of the month. Thanks for stopping by!!

Aurifil Designer of the Month – March 2016 (That’s Me!)

March 15, 2016March 15, 20168 Comments

It is with great pride and honor to announce that I was chosen to be the Aurifil Designer of the Month for March. I’ve designed this exclusive “Improv Star” block as part of the Aurifil Designer Series, hosted by Pat Sloan.

Each month in 2016, you’ll get free access to a brand new blue and white 12″ finished block pattern. Make them each month, share them on Pat’s website and enter for your chance to win a box of thread – 12 large spools for your creating pleasure!

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My 12″ Improv Star block – click here for the free pattern.

I have to tell you what a whirlwind of a journey it’s been, falling in love with Aurifil threads and using them exclusively for all of my sewing and quilting. I first discovered Aurifil 50 weight cotton thread just a few years ago and it was love at first stitch! Like any other aspect of quilting, at first I struggled to know which materials to use, what threads to try and how to put them all together.

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This is just one of my drawers full of Aurifil thread – I love all that color!

I soon realized that being a prolific quilter, Aurifil satisfied my need to keep things simple and organized. Rather than buying ALL the threads in ALL the colors in ALL the different fibers and weights out there, I could do everything I needed with Aurifil cotton! (And yeah, I still do own almost ALL the colors!!)

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If you are an Aurifil thread fan like I am, you can find all your favorite colors and kits at The Precut Store.

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It’s a Year Full of Giveaways from Electric Quilt

February 29, 2016February 26, 20162 Comments

I had so much fun teaching EQ7 to two groups of students at QuiltCon, and I’m looking forward to teaching a more in-depth 3 day class at EQ Academy coming up April 21-23 in Ohio. But one of the best things about being a designer and EQ7 artist is getting to know the wonderful folks behind the company.

EQ_academy_group Mary Ellen Krantz and I will be teaching EQ7 for beginners, Barb Vlack will be teaching an intermediate level EQ7 class and Yvonne Menear will be teaching EQ stitch.

The Electric Quilt Company was founded by Penny McMorris and Dean Neumann in 1991 (coincidentally the year I graduated from high school) and it’s been going strong now for 25 years? Can you believe it!!

To celebrate such a milestone my friends at EQ have partnered up with various companies in the quilting industry to bring you a year full of amazing giveaways! Each month, one of their industry partners will be giving away a copy of EQ7 of their site, and EQ will be giving a way a prize pack of quilting goodies on theirs. So there’s 2 chances to win each month!

Click here for the complete contest schedule.
You can also win when you share your quilty makes on Instagram with the hashtag #EQ25
Finally, there will be a grand prize giveaway at the end. Click here for details.

Who’s ready to win???

The End of an Era – Plus a Giveaway

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015112 Comments

By now I’m sure many of you have heard the news that the National Quilting Association (NQA) is ceasing operations. This came as such a sad surprise to many of us who had been longtime members. The organization just celebrated it’s 46th year and a huge turning point in my quilting career was getting the opportunity to write a regular magazine column for them about Machine Quilting, and getting to teach at their last quilt show earlier this year. The reasons for their dissolution are given here.

The last issue of Quilting Quarterly

As a side note, I hope I’m not a bad-luck charm. The last magazine I wrote for on a regular basis was Quilty, and it went defunct, too! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for better luck in the future!

At the time I wrote what I consider to be my best article to date (co-authored with the super amazing Jacquie Gering), I didn’t realize it would be in the final issue of the magazine. I don’t think the publishers and editors knew that either. In fact, I had one more column slated for the next issue which won’t end up being published. However, I’ll be sure to share it with you all at a future date.

The last article I wrote for NQA, about QuiltCon, co-authored with Jacquie Gering

I always like to find a silver lining among the gloomy clouds, so the good news for you guys is that I have one extra copy of the issue I can pass along to one lucky winner. I’m sure this will become a collector’s item since it’s the last issue.

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment letting me know what’s your favorite quilting magazine and why. I’ll choose a winner at the end of the day on Friday and will share the winner’s name here in this post. I’m happy to ship it to anyone, no matter where in the world you live!

If you click directly on the title of this post, there should be a comment box below this post for you to write in. Otherwise, click the # of comments show, above the post in the left margin to leave your comment.

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MQWS Blog Hop Day 10 – Lightning

September 24, 2015September 24, 20152 Comments

Today’s stop on the Machine Quilting With Style book tour is full of inspiration and giveaways! Be sure to stop by all of the blogs listed below to get in on the prizes. And be sure to go back and visit the earlier stops you may have missed. Many of those giveaways are still open. 🙂

Lightning – The Background Story

Lightning 72″ x 96″ by Christa Watson. Photograpy by Brent Kane.

I love taking traditional design ideas and then tweaking them with a bit of the unexpected. You may recognize Lightning as a simple rail fence variation, but with a modern twist! I’m realizing I love to do scrappy, but with more of a “controlled scrappy” look. As I have said before, why choose one fabric when 20 will do! And why cut straight strips when you can make them a bit wonky instead, right? I decided that the ziz-zag streaks looked like they were piercing through a cloudy sky, hence the name Lightning!

Have sewing machine – will travel and quilt, even while on vacation!

I actually pieced this quilt last summer while on vacation. I brought along my Singer Featherweight and was able to set up a makeshift sewing area in a small space. I used the hotel floor as a design wall and took pictures with my phone so I could keep the layout oriented correctly.

Quilting in progress – you gotta love a good stipple!

This quilt is rather large, but I had no problems quilting it on my BERNINA. In the book, I share my best tips and tricks for how to deal with the bulk of the quilt when quilting on a sit-down machine. Just remember, you only need to deal with a small amount of the quilt under the needle at any time. 🙂

A Bit More

Backing in progress – a great way to use up fat quarters!

As I love to do, I made a scrappy backing for Lightning from my fat quarter stash of black and white prints, with some pops of green. I had originally wanted this included in the book, but was sad when it had to be cut for length. However, the folks at Martingale have generously decided to include it as a free pieced backing tutorial on their site – so yay! (See more below.)

What makes this quilt modern – graphic color scheme, wonky blocks based on tradition, zig-zags create a focal point with a bright pop of color, block design goes all the way to the edges.

Time for me to complete – 44 hours from start to finish, including the pieced backing.

More from She Can Quilt, Martingale, and Riley Blake

Leanne Chahley from She Can Quilt is one of those people whose work is easy to admire! I fell in love with an award winning quilt of hers at the first QuiltCon and I’ve been her ~~stalker~~ friend ever since! I love her take on Lightning done with scrappy pinks and scrappy quilting. She used the designs from the book as sort of a sampler for machine quilting. Leanne quilted her version of Lightning on her long-arm, showing how versatile these designs can be!

Head to Leann’s site to see her fabulous version of Lightning and enter her giveaway!

Martingale/That Patchwork Place is simply the best publisher anyone could ask for! Yes, I may be a bit biased, but writing this book has been a fabulous experience from start to finish (just like making a quilt)! After writing this book, I would definitely partner with them again! When you purchase your copy of Machine Quilting With Style from the Martingale site, they’ll throw in the ebook for free. Double bonus!!

Martingale has a lot of content on their site today: you can see more quilty photos from the book, check out a little video from my quilt market demonstration last spring, and enter for your chance to visit their giveaway. (When you watch the video, you’ll get to see how fast I really talk in person!)

Go to Stitch This – the Martingale blog to get the free backing tutorial and enter their giveaway!

Riley Blake Designs has been a terrific partner. Not only did they provide me with fabrics used in some of the quilts in the book, they are offering a fantastic giveaway to go along with the hop!

Pop on over to the Riley Blake blog and enter for your chance to win!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 7 – Square in a Square

September 21, 2015September 22, 2015130 Comments

Good news for those of you who wish to purchase Machine Quilting With Style on Amazon – it’s now back in stock on their site with plenty of additional copies on the way!

Square in a Square – The Background Story

The title of Square in a Square is my nod to tradition. Although I would consider this quilt very modern in design, the title comes from a very traditional block of the same name. I like the play on design – this quilt features several squares inside of bigger squares, all contained in one large, gigantic square.

Square in a Square 60″ x 60″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane.

In addition to piecing a whole bunch of squares, I wanted to carry over the square theme into the machine quilting, too. The blocks are all quilted in a wonky square spiral, using a walking foot. I chose a variegated thread for the square spirals to give it a little extra punch of color.

Quilting Square Spirals is So. Much. Fun!!

The background is quilted using one of my favorite modern textures – boxes. In the book I remind my readers, that not all of the boxes are perfectly square. Crushed boxes happen in life and a few wonky ones on the quilt are okay.

Detail quilting on Square in a Square

A Bit More

Modern elements – asymmetrical alternate grid structure, oversized blocks, simple repetitive shapes, minimalism, bold colors, expansive negative space, modern geometric quilting.

Time to complete – 20 hours from start to finish.

Stacy’s Version – A Modern Halloween Quilt

Stacy Cooper from Farm Road Quilts is my original BQF (Best Quilting Friend). We met at a quilting retreat about 15 years ago and have been returning to the same event together year after year (Check out my recent Instagram feed @christaquilts for pictures from the event this weekend.) In fact, as a true friend, she let me “borrow” her quilt to cuddle up while sewing, when the retreat room got a bit chilly. (Another friend let me borrow her quilted sweatshirt jacket so I stayed nice and toasty while I sewed.)

Here’s a sneak peek of Stacy’s quilt in action!

Stacy created her version as a Halloween quilt. However, when you see it, at first glance, you wouldn’t even know it’s a holiday quilt! She threw in pops of turquoise along with gray, black and orange for a very sophisticated take on a whimsical idea.

Pop on over to Stacy’s blog to see her version, and be sure to enter her giveaway!

The Littlest Thistle (With a Big Heart)

Katy Cameron from the Littlest Thistle and I have yet to meet in person, although we are friends online. However, I hope we’ll get a chance to one day soon, because she’s from the UK which means I bet she’ll have a killer accent!! Not only is Katy a quilter and instructor, she’s also an amazing bag maker and is hosting a really cool event – the Sew Brit Bag Camp in rural England next year. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

Katy also has a big heart when she agreed to review my book on her blog. Head over there to see what she has to say and while you are there, check out her other projects. You just may be inspired!

But Wait, There’s More!

I’ve mentioned throughout the book how much I enjoy using Aurifil thread for both piecing and quilting, so I thought I’d throw in a bonus giveaway! One of you luck readers can win this collection of 10 spools of Angela Walter’s Drift colorway and try it out for yourself.

(Unless you’ve been quilting under a rock – I’m sure you know what an amazing machine quilter Angela is. Don’t be surprised if you hear more from both of us in the near future….)

To enter simply leave a comment on this post, letting me know which quilt has been your favorite so far. I’ll draw a random winner at the end of the day on September 26th – the last day of the hop! And yes, EVERYONE is eligible to win!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 6 – Little Man’s Fancy

September 19, 2015September 19, 201510 Comments

I haven’t blogged every day in a couple of years now and it’s been pretty fun getting to write new things each day. Today wraps up week 1 of the Machine Quilting With Style blog hop. I’m taking a rest day tomorrow and will pick up with the hop again on Monday.

Little Man’s Fancy – The Background Story

Little Man’s Fancy 36″ x 36″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane

Little Man’s Fancy was inspired by a traditional block called Gentleman’s Fancy, hence the name. (I love a good play on words!) I tweaked the design a little, made it super-sized, and chose blue prints from Zen Chic’s Figures collection and coordinating Moda bella solids in blue and grey. Don’t you think it would look just as cute in pink, for a charming little lady?

I really, really enjoyed quilting this one. It’s all done with the walking foot and the hardest part was knowing when to stop!

A Bit More

Optional layout – included in the book

Just for funsies, I played around with the orientation of the block units, just to see what other designs I could make. The layout above is included in the book and It creates a really cool star effect. If I made this for a little girl, I would choose shades of pink and use this layout, I think.

Another possible layout – which one is your favorite?

Here’s another possible layout – all using the exact same block pieces. I love to create quilts with plenty of options to make it unique. Although the star designs are really cool, I went with my original idea because I really wanted the quilt to read modern, geometric, and masculine.

What makes this quilt modern – oversized block, modernized traditional design, what I like to call a “modern monochrome” color palette, simple but graphic machine quilting.

Time for me to complete – just 10 hours from start to finish!

Check out Tina’s Version

Tina and I in met in Angela Walters’ fabulous class at QuiltCon in 2013. This was my part of my educational journey to discover that I prefer sit-down machine quilting to long arm work. 🙂

I met Tina Guthmann at the very first QuiltCon and we bonded over machine quilting! She blogs over at ModGeometry and is a talented designer as well. She created an adorable line of fabrics on Spoonflower and used those to make her version of the quilt. Click on over to Tina’s blog to see her cute quilt, and enter her giveaway!

Giveaway from Moda

I was thrilled when Carrie Nelson from Moda agreed to be a stop on the hop. She’s recently taken over the social media campaign for this amazing fabric company and I love the wit and humor she is able to show on the blog – not mention some fabulous quilts showcasing their extensive line of scrumptious fabrics!

Be sure to pop on over to Moda’s blog – The Cutting Table to see what they have to say about the book, and enter for your chance to win a fabulous fabric bundle (and maybe a few extra goodies!!)

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 5 – Ripples

September 18, 2015September 18, 20157 Comments

Are you enjoying the roundup of quilts from my new book? I’ve shared 5 so far, with 7 more to go! Be sure to order your signed copy of Machine Quilting With Style and I’ll pop it in the mail right away. I can’t wait to see how you make these designs your own. 🙂

Ripples – The Background Story

Ripples 66″ x 88″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane.

Who doesn’t love a good Log Cabin design? When it comes to choosing fabrics for a quilt, my philosophy is “more is more.” I mean – why use just one or two fabrics when 20 will do? I had fun picking out tons of aqua and grey fabrics from my stash, and I think this quilt would look stunning in any color combination.

It was so much to choose fabrics and cut strips for this quilt!

Although the structure of the quilt is easily recognizable as a Log Cabin variation, I used a technique I call “Structured Improv” on several quilts in the book. The basic idea is to liberate the piecing by using irregular shapes and fabric widths while constructing the blocks. I sew my blocks slightly oversized, then trim them down, making sure they all fit together in the end.

If you look closely at the wonky log cabin blocks, you will notice that the strip widths vary, and there aren’t always an even number of strips on either side of the block. Also, I didn’t strictly use all lights on one side and darks on the other like you would for a traditional log cabin quilt. This makes the whole design pop, and making these blocks was SO. MUCH. FUN!

I love adding lines of quilting texture with a decorative stitch. It was very a meditative process.

I quilted Ripples completely using the IDF (integrated dual feed)on my BERNINA with a decorative stitch. This is liking having a walking foot built into the machine! Of the 12 quilts in the book, 5 use walking foot quilting exclusively, 4 have extensive free-motion quilting, and the other three combine both techniques in the same quilt. As people buy the book and start sharing their versions with me, it will be so fun to see how the machine quilting designs are used in different ways!

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The pieced backing of Ripples – you could make this as scrappy improv front!

I was thrilled when the publisher agreed to included the pieced backing for Ripples as a bonus project in the book! I literally took all of my extra fabric chunks that I pulled for the quilt and used them up on the back. I love back art – don’t you?

Elements That Make This Quilt Modern: Low volume fabrics, on-trend color scheme, improvisational piecing, skewed block assembly, asymmetrical design, transparency, inspired by tradition.

Time to Complete: 47 hours from start to finish including the pieced backing. (It’s big!)

Quilting Inspiration from Melissa Corry

My dear friend Melissa from Happy Quilting is one of those prolific quilters that can bust out a quilt in no time. Can you believe that she made 52 quilts last year? And she loves the quilting part as much as I do – which gives her extra credit in my book. 🙂 She’s pretty great at keeping secrets, too. I didn’t get a chance to see the final reveal until today and it is so good I can hardly stand it. The color combo is fabulous and the arrangement she and her MIL chose is just divine! Be sure to pop on over to Melissa’s blog for some more quilty goodness!

Melissa is a fellow Martingale author who released her first book, Irish Chain Quilts, earlier this year. I had the pleasure of being on Melissa’s blog hop this past summer, and I’m so glad she returned the favor!

More from the Art of Home and Blue Nickel Studios

The very talented Jacquelynne Steves from The Art of Home crafts a beautiful e-magazine 4 times per year, once each season. She recently interviewed me for her next issue which will be published in October. And the best part? It’s completely free! Click here to sign up so you don’t miss a thing! Then hop on over to Jacquelynne’s blog for her stop on the tour. She wrote a very kind book review. 🙂

Jacquelynne is also hosting a sew-along day coming up pretty soon and I’m throwing in a prize for that. So be sure to check it out! Then for some bonus content be sure to check out her roundup of holiday sewing tutorials. 🙂

Scott Hansen from Blue Nickel Studios is not only a talented quilter, he’s a great writer as well. He writes the “I am Gen Q” profiles for the magazine of the same name and recently chose to interview me for the next issue. (You’ll hear more from Gen Q later in the hop.)

I thought it was amazing how he could turn my dry answers into an interesting and witty read! For Scott’s stop on the hop he decided to try out one of the free motion quilting designs from the book and I think he did a fantastic job.

Pop on over to Scott’s blog to check it out – and he has a fun little giveaway, too!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 4 – Candy Pop

September 17, 2015September 17, 201510 Comments

As you check out each of the quilts from Machine Quilting With Style, don’t forget to vote for your favorite quilt. The “winner” at the end of the hop will be the quilt I will feature in an upcoming quilt along in January, so stay tuned!

Candy Pop – The Background Story

Candy Pop 45″ x 45″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane.

Candy Pop explores my love affair with easy machine applique. Next to machine quilting, I would have to say it’s my next favorite technique. The reason I don’t do it more, though, is because I can’t draw very well to create the images I want to stitch. However, with the emphasis on bold geometric shapes in the modern movement, I may just have a few more ideas up my sleeve….

In the book, I explain how to applique the blocks and trim down the edges for a perfect fit!

I am just in love with the Riley Blake Pop dots I used to create the circles. They remind me of candy treats like button dots or lollipops. Instead of laying out the blocks in a standard grid format, I chose to offset them to add a little interest to the design. Don’t you love the blocky diagonals that form in the background? I do, too!

You can center the dots like I did, or you can make them wonky for a more spirited, whimsical look! In the book I show you how to prevent shadowing of background fabric through the circles.

I’ve told each of my children they get to choose a quilt from the book to keep, once they are done with publicity. My daughter chose this one and she can’t wait to get it!

A Bit More

I love creating pieced backs whenever I can, so I decided to make a few extra blocks and piece them into the backing. Now that I’m gaining confidence in my quilting skills, I love to put solids on the back so you can really see the machine quilting pop. There wasn’t room to include this picture in the book, but you can easily replicate this idea from your leftovers. I machine bound the quilt with leftover fabrics using a decorative stitch, and instructions on how to do that are included.

I love including fun details in my quilts, like pieced backings and bindings. Machine quilting motifs you can practice on this quilt are loops and spirals. It’s a continuous design which goes fast!

Modern Elements – Asymmetrical grid formation, bold colors, use of solids, irregular machine quilting, secondary composition, geometric fabric prints, repetitive use of large simple shapes.

Time for me to Complete – 22 hours from start to finish.

Quilting Inspiration from Linda

Linda Hungerford (from Flourishing Palms) and I met online and immediately bonded over #domesticmachinequilting. (Search that hashtag on instagram and you’ll see what I mean!) Linda is an author herself and an excellent quilting instructor. Once you see it, her quilting will really knock your socks off! She shared sneak peaks while she was making the quilt, and I think she went above and beyond the call of duty!

Be sure to pop on over to Linda’s blog to see her amazing rendition of Candy Pop, and enter to win her giveaway. I love how she made it her own with her choice of rainbow colors, and slightly different applique method. I’m also honored that she has chosen to teach this pattern as an upcoming class, and I can’t wait to see her students’ finishes.

Visit Electric Quilt and Quilt Shop Gal For More Prizes

Hopefully you all know what a huge fan I am of Electric Quilt. I am a current EQ artist, and I designed 11 out of 12 of the quilts from the book using EQ7. (My husband Jason designed one of them on his iPad, but more on that later…) The EQ folks have been great partners and I can’t wait to meet many of them in person when I teach at EQ Academy next spring.

You can win this!!

My friends at EQ are offering a huge prize for the hop! Head on over to the EQ blog and enter for you chance to win copy of EQ7 for windows of Mac. You’ll also be able to see some of my EQ sketches, along-side the finished quilt. Then get started designing your own fabulous quilts!

Darlene from Quilt Shop Gal is super supportive of the quilting industry as a business, and especially of machine quilters. She’s offered fun challenges and inspiration over on her blog and I feel like we are great friends, even though we’ve never met in person. Head on over to Quilt Shop Gal for a nice review of the book, along with your chance to win a free -copy!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 2 – Pearl Gray

September 15, 2015September 15, 20158 Comments

Ready for some more inspiring quilts from Machine Quilting with Style? I have to say, I’ve been working on planning this blog hop from the moment I finished writing the book and am so excited to share more with you today. I don’t consider a quilt “finished” until it has been blogged about so these posts have been a long time coming!

Pearl Gray – The Background Story

Pearl Gray 66″ x 77″ by Christa Watson. Photography by Brent Kane.

First of all, I have to consistently remind myself to spell it Gray rather than Grey. I guess the former spelling is the American way and the latter is the European way. It must be my ancestral roots sneaking in there…

Pearl Gray was inspired by an earlier version of this design, my String of Pearls quilt pattern. As soon as I made the first quilt, I immediately knew I wanted to explore more ideas with this concept. Although I usually work in brights, I wanted to see if I could pull off more of a low-volume quilt and still create the contrast in the blocks. I also enjoy creating secondary designs in the background and I really like the checkerboard that emerges when using two different background colors.

My String of Pearls quilting motif is a modern free-motion alternative to straight line quilting!

Because the quilt has a lot going on, I thought an interesting allover quilting design would be the perfect complement to the piecing. I quilted a series of lines and circles which I named String of Pearls – giving homage to my earlier quilt design. As one idea always leads to another, the String of Pearls motif is the first in a series of modern linear designs that I am developing as a free-motion alternative to straight line quilting. So stay tuned for more on that subject in future classes and books! 🙂

My favorite memory of working on this quilt was finishing the binding while on vacation at the beach. There’s nothing better than a little sea-side quilting in my opinion!

I wish I could bind next to the beach for all of my quilts!

A Bit More

I was very detailed about each of the quilts in the book. In addition to listing the sizes and materials requirements, I also included design notes and which threads and battings I used for each quilt. Below, I’ve shared some bonus info for you guys that is not in the book:

Modern elements – Low volume fabrics, hard edges with strong contrast and clean lines, simplicity of form, repetitive use of basic geometric shapes, scrappy pieced binding.

Time for me to complete – 40 hours from start to finish.

Turning lemons into lemonade – I originally made this quilt for a magazine pattern, but at the last minute (and before it had been seen in public), it was pulled from publication. Yes, I was a little heart-broken at the time, but I was simultaneously working on my book proposal and needed just one more design with a finished project to submit. Wouldn’t you know – this was the final piece I needed, and now Pearl Gray graces the cover of my book. Don’t you just love it when fate works that way?

Color Option and Fabric Giveaway from Alyce

I’ve been online friends with Alyce Blyth from Blossom Heart Quilts for awhile now and was so excited when we recently got to meet in person at QuiltCon earlier this year. I just love how Alyce has interpreted her version of Pearl Gray. She combined three different quilting motifs from the book and it is so effective. Her binding is to die for, too! But rather than spoil the surprise here, you’ll need to head on over to her blog to see what she’s done.

Alyce is also hosting a giveaway on a separate blog post. She has a bundle of fabrics to share from the same line she used for her version of Pearl Gray. Click here for Alyce’s giveaway!

Bonus from Andover Fabrics

I can’t give enough hugs to the folks over at Andover fabrics. Daryl (aka fabrichick) and Guiseppe (aka giucy_giuce) have been super supportive of my work. Head on over the Andover blog and to check out what they have to say. If you follow Andover on Instagram, there’s a special bonus there, too!

Although Pearl Gray would look gorgeous in any fabric line, I’m really itching to make another one using Lizzy House’s Mini Pearl Bracelets. Aren’t they the cutest?

Mini Pearls by Lizzy House for Andover fabrics, a smaller version of Pearl Bracelets.