Are you still watching and practicing your domestic machine quilting? This week I’m excited to share one of my favorite designs of the series! Walking Foot Square Spirals are fun, fast & forgiving to stitch – check it out by clicking play below:
I quilted the wavy spiral maze variation on my Bling quilt along with regular round spirals. I also made a video to go along with it showing you how I did it. Grab the pattern and then watch the bonus video below!
In this week’s episode of 99 Machine Quilting Designs learn to quilt 3 versions of Geometric Chains, or what I lovingly refer to as “Shapes on a Stick.” Click play below to watch:
The featured quilt on the wall behind me is called Plumb Lines and the pattern can be found in my book with Angela Walters called, the Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. I was so pleased when I entered it into a machine quilting show and it won a ribbon!
Click here to get the PDF download of our book, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting.
Are you continuing to practice these designs? We are more than half-way through the series, and I can’t wait to show you more!
This week for 99 Machine Quilting Designs I’m showing how to free-motion quilt a dense design called Leaves. Take a look by clicking below:
Each week when I share a new video tutorial, it gets added to my playlist. As you can see, I’ve shared 14 videos so far, and there will be 60 of them in all. Click below to start at the beginning and watch them all in order. The videos will stay up indefinitely so you can watch the over and over again, as much as you want!
Get all My Books as PDF Downloads in My Etsy Shop!!
Looking for a free-motion quilting design that can add dense texture to your quilt? Check out the latest from this week’s episode of my “Year of Machine Quilting,” where we will be learning to quilt Broken Feathers and Echoed Paisleys, two designs from my book, 99 Machine Quilting Designs:
I used both of these designs on “Quatrefoil,” a quilt from my second book, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. This book was a collaboration with Angela Walters, featuring 10 quilt patterns with instructions to quilt them using either a longarm or domestic sewing machine. If you want to learn a variety of versatile approaches to quilting entire quilts, then this is the book for you!
Pick up a Copy The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting in My Etsy Shop!!
Are you enjoying watching my new machine quilting videos each week? I’ll be sharing a total of 60 when all is said and done. You can watch them as much as you like and go back and bookmark your faves. To catch up on any prior episodes you have missed, be sure to watch the playlist for the entire series. Start by clicking play below to catch them all:
Want to practice your free-motion quilting this week? Join me for the latest video of my “Year of Machine Quilting” tutorial series, where we will be quilting two designs from 99 Machine Quilting Designs: Landscape Lines and Partial Waves.
The quilt showcased in this week’s video is called Spools, which comes from my book Piece and Quilt with Precuts. This book features 11 quilt patterns as well as step-by step instructions on how to quilt them all! I used Partial Waves on Spools to separate the colorful parts of the quilt from the background, but this book will show you all different kinds of quilting plans and strategies for both walking foot quilting and free-motion!
Click here for the PDF version of the book on my Etsy Shop!
Want to learn more about how to setup you machine for walking foot and free-motion quilting? Check out the series intro, where I give the best tips and tricks for setting yourself up for sewing success!
There are endless possibilities for Landscape Lines and Partial Waves. Try echoing them, combining them together, or experiment with other designs for different textures. Let me know how you are using them in your quilts! You can even share pics of your progress over in my Facebook group. Until next time, Happy Quilting!!
The new year is a great time to pick up a new hobby, or develop one you’ve been working on. Well I’m excited to say that 2025 is definitely the year to improv your machine quilting skills! My Year of Free Machine Quilting Tutorials has begun, kicking off with this in-depth introductory video. Click play below to watch:
Before we get started practicing, it’s important to set up your machine and gather your supplies. To make it easy, here are a few of my recommended supplies that I mentioned in the video above.
I’m so excited to demonstrate on a full quilting sample for every single design in my book, 99 Machine Quilting Designs. Although it’s not required to watch the videos, I highly recommend it as a great resource to follow along. Think of it as pre-written notes for the entire series.
Along the way I’ll share bonus tips and tricks using both walking foot and free motion motifs. My goal is that by the end of the year, you’ll see a vast improvement in your quilting skills. In fact, I’m sure you’ll start to notice smoother stitching in just a few weeks!
For example, here’s a bonus video I’m sharing along with the introductory video. It’s a longer sneak peak showing how I quilted my Daisy Chain quilt 3 different ways. This is the cover quilt from my book, How Do I Quilt It? Click play below to watch:
Each new video tutorial will post to my YouTube channel on Fridays at 8 AM Pacific Time. They are all pre-recorded and edited ahead of time, so you can watch them anytime, on *your* schedule! I’ll include a reminder blog post each Wednesday, just in case you forget. And you can subscribe at ChristaQuilts.TV so you don’t miss a thing. Watch the videos as much as you like. Pause and rewatch your favorite sections so you can work comfortably at your own pace.
In every video, I get down to the nitty gritty right away. And the comments section is lively and educational, too! I read and answer every single one. So rest assured, if you have any questions at all, I’m happy to help!
I couldn’t have pulled this off without the help of my college kids. They worked hard behind the scenes to help me hang quilts, edit all of the videos and generally keep me on track. I’m sure they enjoyed bossing their mom around to get this done, LOL!
I also have to thank *you* for supporting my little business over the years. It’s allowed me to work from home while raising the kids. I couldn’t be more proud of the education and career paths they’ve chosen, and I love that they enjoy working for me part time during their breaks.
Until next time, happy quilting!
I’m thrilled that my 4th book has now officially been released and I have a signed copy waiting for you! Take a look at my newest pride and joy called 99 Machine Quilting Designs from Martingale/That Patchwork Place.
Click here to get your signed copy of 99 Machine Quilting Designs
As an author, it’s been great fun to open up boxes and boxes of my brand new book and get it out into the world.
99 Machine Quilting Designs includes a detailed photo, illustrated diagram, and step-by-step instructions on how to quilt 99 different machine quilting motifs, using walking foot AND free-motion techniques. I wrote the book from the perspective of a domestic machine quilter, but most of the designs will translate well to longarm quilting, too!
Here’s an example of one of the walking-foot designs from the book:
And here’s an example of just one of the dozens of free motion ideas in the book:
Each of the 99 designs also includes a variation to try, so it’s really like 198 designs in all! Plus there’s space on each page for you to practice your doodles and take notes right in the book! My hope is for you to get better at machine quilting by practicing as often as you can.
Here’s a video sneak peek of the book:
To make things even more fun, I created a bunch of cute buttons to promote the book, and I’m including one with each order, along with a signed message from me.
Click here to get your bonus button + signed copy of the book!
So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already snagged your copy, you can click here to order 99 Machine Quilting Designs. Leave a note with your order if you’d like it personalized with your name, or as a gift for a friend. I PROMISE it will make you a better machine quilter!!
As always, thanks for your support, and happy machine quilting!!
I’m looking forward to teaching during Virtual Quilt Festival Dec. 3 to 5. This online event is presented by Quilts, Inc., the parent company of International Quilt Festival.
On Thursday, 12/3, I’m one of five presenters in Machine Quilting Forum I.
Focused forum of 20-minute back-to-back presentations from five top educators, including live Q&A and chat for a truly engaging experience. Download a compilation of handouts from each presenter, new ideas, and information on products and processes.
My portion is titled Christa’s Top Tips for Machine Quilting Success:
Learn to become better at quilting on your home sewing machine with Christa’s top tips for machine quilting success. A few of these include proper work station setup, choosing the right materials, how to hide your mistakes, and learning why a “can-do” attitude is the most important tool in your toolbox! If you can sketch it, you can quilt it. See Christa’s “doodle” demonstration and learn up close how practice makes progress with each and every quilt!
Other presenters are Jenny K. Lyon, Sue Nickels, Catherine Redford and Cyndi Zacheis. We’d love to have you join us!
On Friday, 12/4, I’m teaching a Master Class called Modern Machine Quilting: Walking Foot Wonders.
Stitch beyond the ditch and unleash the power of your walking foot! Learn how to stitch wavy lines, decorative stitches, grids, spirals, straight-line designs, and more! Christa Watson loves to share her modern machine quilting methods which emphasize texture over perfection in a warm and encouraging manner. After viewing this master class, you’ll feel armed with the confidence that yes, you can quilt your own quilts!
3 days of interactive content – classes, vendors, special exhibits, live connect to exhibitors and fellow VQF attendees, games, and more during show hours
3 months to continue to view beautiful quilts, experience Open Studios™, and shop the vendor mall
Show hours – December 3-5, 2020, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM CST
Special Live Lecture, December 3, 2020, 6:00 – 7:00 PM CST
Quilt exhibits, Open Studios™, and Vendor Mall – December 3, 2020 – March 5, 2021
VQF includes elements of our in-person shows – special quilt exhibits, classes, vendors – brought to you online in a mix of live and pre-recorded content. VQF is accessible from any device on the web from any computer or tablet and through an app on mobile devices.
Exciting news – Classes are available throughout show hours AND recordings of selected classes will be available for one week post-show, December 6-12, 2020. This means you can register for any class that you might not be able to join live. It also allows you to register for more than one class that broadcasts at the same time because you can watch classes later.
IMPORTANT NOTE: A few classes will not be recorded and are only available during their scheduled time – these classes are denoted by the words “Live Viewing Only” in the class description.
When you have finished the registration tutorial, you can
I love it when we get to the machine quilting part of a Quilt Along! I’ve just finished my fourth book on machine quilting so I feel like that is one of my specialties. I’m excited for you to try free motion stipple quilting like I did on my Modern Logs, or another quilting design of your choice.
I made a video with all my best tips and tricks for quilting Modern Logs. Just nine minutes but it’s packed full of help and guidance! Click play below to watch.
If you’ve never tried free motion quilting or a stipple (also called a meander), layer up a couple of fat quarters with batting and practice there before you start on your real quilt. You can quilt on this practice sandwich many times over, using it as a warm-up if you like.
I can’t wait to see how you decide to quilt your Modern Logs!
Click here for links to the Modern Logs quilt along.
Click here to get the Modern Logs quilt kit while supplies last.
Click here to purchase Modern Logs quilt pattern – paper version.
Click here to purchase the Modern Logs quilt pattern – PDF version.
Click here to see other people’s Modern Logs and how different and exciting they are!
Today I’m excited to share a sneak peek of a several designs included in my upcoming book, 99 Machine Quilting Designs. There are still few of days left pre-order my new book and get all the bonus premiums as well as reduced shipping.
When I teach in person, students stitch a series of practice samples to try out different walking foot and free motion designs. Now you can see 99 of those “in the cloth” along with a quilting diagram and instructions on how to quilt it.
It was so much fun to dream up all these combinations and then to quilt the samples. The fabrics are Superior Solids from Benartex, the batting is from Hobbs and the thread is from my Aurifil thread kits. The samples were made on my Bernina 770 QE.
If you pre-order my book by Oct. 20, you’ll get a complimentary fat quarter of my fabric from one of my 6 fabrics lines, chosen at random. (Don’t you love surprises?!)
You also get one of my patterns so that you can practice your favorite designs from the book!
I’ll also sign it for you – which I promise will be a good luck charm as you quilt!!
Click here to pre-order 99 Machine-Quilting Designs for just $25.95 (regular retail price is $28.95). I can’t wait to quilt with you!
Christa Quilts 