Category: Quilt Patterns

Color Blog Series – Black and White

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Have you all read about the year-long Color Blog Series? It’s hosted by my friend Michelle Wilkie who blogs quite regularly over at Factotum of Arts. First a little background: Michelle and I got to be pretty good internet friends and finally were able to meet in person at QuiltCon 2015. We thought it was fate when two of our mini quilts were hung up next to each other during the show. I’m excited to see her again next spring when I’ll be presenting a workshop for her guild The Triangle MQG.

christa_michelle_quiltcon

Me and Michelle at QuiltCon 2015 – notice my black and white bag!!

I was excited to choose Black and White for my color this month.  I think one of the reasons I like using black and white so much is there’s not much color theory involved. You can’t get more opposite when pairing contrasting black and white together! So I thought I’d share a few quilts I’ve made using this graphic combo and talk a little bit about each.

Modern X

Modern X

Modern X was the first quilt I made using black and white. I created it for the Modern Quilt Guild’s pattern of the month series back in 2014 and after making it, was hooked on using this color combo. I used black and white Kona solids to create the highest amount of contrast possible, and created a focal point by coloring the X with a pop of yellow-green. Pattern available here.

Illusions

Christa Watson Illusions

The design of Illusions was on my mind for quite a few years before actually making it. I got the idea from the optical illusion known as “cafe walls” and wanted to see if the illusion would still work in quilt form. Again, I used solid black and white, with solid gray forming the skinny lines between the squares. To really see the optical illusion in action, scroll your screen up and down a few times to see it wiggle. 🙂

illusions_quilting

Quilting detail on Illusions, using black, white and gray threads to match.

Illusions hung at QuiltCon in 2015 and caught the notice of the editors of Modern Quilts Unlimited, where the pattern was subsequently published in the Spring 2016 issue.

Lightning

lightning

Ahh Lightning!! This time I used prints to create the strong contrast. The thing I learned in working with black and white prints is that you need to separate them into piles of white prints on mostly black background and the opposite: black prints on a mostly white backround. If too many of the prints have equal amounts of both colors, the contrast will be lost when mixed with other fabrics. I love throwing in a bit of gray when working with black and white prints to give the composition a bit of extra interest.

Again, I chose to accent part of the design using yellow-green solids. I guess I have a thing with black, white and green! Lightning is patterned in mybook Machine Quilting with Style, and I used leftovers to make a fun pieced backing!

lightning_back

Click here for a tutorial on making the pieced backing.

HRT’s

hrt

Lately I have been having a thing for HRT (half-rectangle triangle) designs. Usually when I design in EQ7, I start out with solid black and white. That’s where this design is now. I’m sure I will tweak it quite a bit before coming up with a final layout. I may even completely change the colors, too. But for now, using black and white while designing allows me to create the most graphic impact I can, allowing me to focus on the design, rather than the colors I will eventually use. The funny thing is, each time I’ve started a design in black and white, I want to make that version, too!

Double Star Quilt

Double Star Quilt

I designed this Double Star Block for a friend’s monthly block tutorial series (The Beehive from Blossom Heart Quilts) and I love secondary pattern that emerges when the blocks are placed together side by side. This is one of those ideas that I designed in gray scale first, and then just decided to keep it that way! Although I only made one block for the series, I’m dying to make a whole quilt from these!

doublestar_finished

Click here to get my double star block tutorial.

How about you? I’m curious to know what your favorite color, or color combination is. Please leave a comment and let me know! The be sure to follow along with the color series to see other fabulous combos.

Click here to read all of the color series posts on Factotum of Arts.

The Quilter’s Planner 2017 – Now Available for Pre-order

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Let me tell you how I met my friend Stephanie Palmer, creator of The Quilter’s Planner. We both had been invited to tape a series of machine quilting demonstrations for QNNtv’s Quilt It – The Longarm show back in the summer of 2015.

We were picked up from the airport at the same time and immediately connected. By the end of our 30 minute car ride we had swapped life stories and become instant friends! She told me all about the creation of The Quilter’s Planner, and it was such fun to listen to her describe her project with such passion and enthusiasm.

stephanie_quiltit

Stephanie shows me one of her projects in the large “green room” while we take turns being filmed.
Several quilts from my books  are laid out flat on the table beside her.

When Stephanie invited me to participate as one of the designers for the 2017 Quilter’s Planner, of course I jumped at the chance to participate. Not only is the Quilter’s Planner perfect for keeping track of day-to-day things like a regular planner, it has specialty planning pages just for quilters.

quilters-planner-2017-cover

The 2017 Quilter’s Planner features this awesome cover, which will also be included as a pattern!

And to top it off, The Quilter’s Planner comes with a pattern pack of 14 downloadable PDFs. I was thrilled to make Feathered Chevrons as my contribution. It’s a remake of my older Charming Chevrons design, updated with a new layout using my Kona Solids palette.

feathered_chevronsPhotography taken in scenic Maine by Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter.

I was even more thrilled with the photography, beautifully taken by our talented friend Kitty Wilkin (who can photograph your quilts, too if you are interested.)

feathered_chevrons_styledPhotography taken in scenic Maine by Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter.

I especially love how Kitty got some great closeups of the quilting on this quilt. I used two of my favorite machine quilting designs, “Switchbacks” and a variation of “Swirls ‘n Pearls.” As I do with all of my quilts, I love to include machine quilting suggestions with my patterns.

feathered_chevrons_quilting

Photography taken in scenic Maine by Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter.

feathered_chevrons_swirls

To learn more about each of the featured designers, click each name below to go to their blog and follow them!! Many have already included pictures of their quilts that will be included.

Amy Friend of During Quiet Time, Amy Sinibaldi of Nana and Co., AnneMarie Chany of GenXQuilters, Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs, Karen Lewis of Karen Lewis Textiles, Kari Vojtechovsky of Craft-Happy, Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt, Lee Monroe of May Chappell, Lindsey Rhodes of LR Stitched, Rita Hodge of Red Pepper Quilts, Stephanie Palmer of Late Night Quilter, Yvonne Fuchs of Quilting Jetgirl

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Order your copy of the quilter’s planner today!

 

We’re Celebrating a Birthday This Week! (But It’s not What you Think)

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It’s time for a birthday celebration, even though it’s not technically my birthday. Although my daughter did make me this lovely cake when it was my birthday last month.

cake

My favorite cake – German Chocolate with Coconut icing. The strawberries were a nice touch.

Happy Book-Birthday!

What I’m excited to celebrate is that it’s my first book’s first birthday, this Thursday, September 8th! (The fact that I published another one less than 9 months later makes them almost like twins right??)

But anyway… I can’t believe it was just a year ago that I released Machine Quilting with Style, with the help of my friends at Martingale/That Patchwork Place. Now, some might call this an “anniversary” celebration, but writing a book really did take as much time and effort as having a child, so I think “birthday” is an appropriate word. 🙂 And what a fabulous year it has been!

MachineQuiltingwithStyle_coverClick the image above to see each of the quilts in the book, plus an alternate version.

I have to thank so many loyal friends and followers for helping this book be so successful! It really does mean a lot to me when you guys cheer me on. 🙂 In the last year, I’ve met so many fabulous people, while Machine Quilting with Style has reached some milestones, too.

It’s consistently stayed in the top 100 for patchwork books on Amazon, and it’s been one of my publisher’s Top 20 bestsellers. Seven of the quilts have been in local and national quilt shows, and three have won ribbons. All of this furthers my goal of reaching a wider audience and helping people understand that it’s okay to make “perfectly imperfect” quilts!

Quilts ON Display from Machine Quilting with Style:

quilt_collage

In order above: Facets won 2nd at AQS Paducah, Candy Pop and String of Pearls won ribbons at my local show, Rain and Focal point hung at QuiltCon, Lightning and Square in a Square were juried into Road to California. The rest are: Little Man’s Fancy, Static, Ripples, Color Crystals, and Broken V.

If you haven’t yet seen the book, take a look at this awesome video review from the folks at Chatterbox Quilts. Honestly, it made me tear up a little. I mean, you love what you create, but when other people do, too, it can be quite a humbling experience!

Let’s Celebrate!

To celebrate this huge milestone, I thought it would be fun to re-color each of the quilts in EQ7 (the software I originally used to design the quilts), and then showcase them side by side along with the original quilt so you can compare the two. I’ll share one new colorway each week, starting this Thursday. After all, sometimes a quilt can look completely different just by changing up the fabrics.

And of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without gifts! So along with helping you imagine what the designs would look like in different fabrics, I’ll be hosting 12 weeks of giveaways, one for each quilt. Won’t that be fun??

machine_quilting_detail

I love all of the detailed photography in the book, shot by the talented Brent Kane for Martingale.

Sharing is Caring

As I re-share the quilts each week, I hope you’ll also share your versions of them in my Facebook Group: Quilt with Christa. This will provide loads of inspiration for those just starting out on their quilt-making journey. Many times, I end up liking my friends’ versions even better than the originals!

facebookgroupClick the image above to join my facebook group and share your quilts, finished or not!

Where to Buy

So I’ll meet you back here on Thursday to get this party started!! In the meantime, you can purchase Machine Quilting with Style from your favorite local quilt shop, or these locations:

Signed Copy from Me
Amazon (lowest price)
Martingale/That Patchwork Place (free e-copy with purchase)

MQWS_signed

The very first copy I received is the most special because it was signed by all those who helped produce this book. It really does take a village to write a book!

Quilt Finish – Easy Going in Quilts and More

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I’m excited to share a quilt with you that I had been working on secretly a little bit earlier this year. Here’s a hint: if you follow me on instagram @christaquilts and search the hashtag #secretsewingchrista, you’ll see live updates as to all the secret stuff I’m working on now, for publication later! 😉

Introducing, Easy Going, in the latest issue of Quilts and More magazine, summer 2016.

Easy Going Quilt

Photography courtesy of Quilts and More Magazine, 2016 Meredith Corp. All rights reserved.

I’ve always been a big fan of Hoffman Batiks and am one of those people believes that you can indeed make modern quilts using batiks that incorporate simple striking geometry.

Easy going in Quilts and More

I made my version of Easy going in pretty greens and teals with just a pop of tan, cream and gray to make it sparkle. Seriously, this quilt is so easy you can make it in a weekend! I quilted it using my “boxes” motif from my first book. It’s a super forgiving free-motion design that is actually easier to do than stippling!

Boxes FMQ

Click the picture above to see a larger detailed image of the quilting.

I quilted Easy Going using Aurifil 50 weight in a pretty shade of green.

I love it when magazines test out my pattern in a different colorway. The version below was made by Jan Ragaller using Ombre by V and Co. for Moda. Isn’t it fabulous??

Easy Going alternate colorway

I was also super happy that they chose to include an extra page with some of my machine quilting tips. After all, when I make a quilt, I’m also thinking about the quilting, not just the piecing.

mq_tips

If you can’t find a copy of Quilts and More in your local quilt shop, you can pick it up online.

Quilts and More Summer 2016

 

If you end up making this quilt, or any quilt from any of my patterns, please share your progress in my Facebook group: Quilt with Christa. I love to see what you are making!

Illusions Pattern Now Available in Modern Quilts Unlimited Magazine

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When I first made my Illusions quilt and shared it at QuiltCon in 2015, right away many of you began asking for a pattern for it. Although I was swamped with writing my first book at the time, I had always planned on coming back and creating a pattern for it.

Christa Watson Illusions

Illusions at QuiltCon in 2015. You can see I have a thing for bold, graphic geometry!

Fortunately, the folks at Modern Quilts Unlimited saw it at QuiltCon and asked me to pattern it for their magazine. In fact they also asked me to pattern my other QuiltCon 2015 entry, Spiraling Out of Control, which was showcased in the Fall 2015 issue.

The quick story behind the design is that it comes from a classic optical illusion called “Cafe Walls.” I saw this image many years ago on the back of a kid’s restaurant menu and knew that one day I would turn it into a quilt.

Illusions MQU

Illusions Quilt in the Spring 2016 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited

It took a little tweaking to get the design and proportions right in EQ7, but once I did, I knew at once I’d be able to make the quilt while still preserving the illusion.

illusions_eq7_sketch

My EQ7 sketch of Illusions – I like to see what it looks like before I make the quilt!

I quilted illusions with “boxes” – a very simple, yet graphic geometric design and I switched thread colors in the black and white areas so that the design would be more subtle.

cwatson_opticalillusion_det

I show how to quilt “boxes” in my book Machine Quilting with Style.

If you are interested in making your own version of this graphic quilt, pick up a copy from Modern Quilts Unlimited today. In fact, I would highly recommend subscribing to their magazine. I can’t give away secrets yet, but just know that I’m highly involved with the next issue as well! 🙂

MQU Spring 2016

Facets Quilt Wins 2nd Place Modern in Paducah 2016!

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This week has been crazy busy and exhilarating! I was packing up to teach at EQ Academy earlier in the week when I got the email notice that Facets had won an award at AQS Quilt Week in Paducah, Kentucky – the mother of all quilt shows! Knowing I wouldn’t be able to attend due to my prior teaching commitment, I lamented the fact that I’d miss the awards ceremony and hoped someone I knew would be able to take pictures for me and let me know how it did.

By the way, when you get these emails from quilt shows, they don’t notify you of placement – they just say you have won “an award.”

Facets Quilt

Facets, 2nd at AQS Quilt Week Paducah 2016 – photo courtesy of Cassandra Beaver.

Then when I heard that AQS would be broadcasting the awards ceremony live on You Tube I was so excited to watch! As I’ve said many times before, I don’t enter to win – I just want my modern quilts to be seen out there in the world wide web of quilters!

To start off the awards presentation, names of all of the Honorable Mentions were rattled off at once. When my name was not listed among this group, my heart skipped a beat and I thought, “OK, this is cool – I’m up a for another 3rd place finish.” After all, I had scored a distinctive yellow, pink, and green dogwood ribbon two years prior for Colorful Chevrons – the very first time Paducah debuted the modern category. At the time I considered it a fluke, thinking the only reason I got the award is that there wasn’t much competition.

AQS Awards Ceremony

Then they announced 3rd place and it wasn’t my name. Say what?? Anyone who’s ever entered or won at Paducah realizes that even a 3rd place finish awards more prize money than many 1st place finishes!! (Enough to pay for many more quilt show entries – the fees really add up fast.)

When my name was announced for 2nd place, I whipped out the iPhone, my hands shaking so badly that I barely managed to snap a dark picture on the computer screen before it disappeared from sight. I completely missed the first place finish because I was still in shock. (Thank goodness for social media so I was able to catch up later in the day).

Modern Quilts at Paducah

Paducah 2016 Modern Winners – From left to right: Facets (2nd), Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts by Cassandra Beaver (1st);  Big Love by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill (3rd).

This win is especially validating because I had entered Facets into AQS Phoenix earlier in the year, with a bittersweet story as the result. Although I wasn’t disappointed that it didn’t ribbon in Phoenix, I was pleased to learn that AQS wanted to feature the quilt in their 2018 wall calendar. However, my excitement was quickly dashed when they had to rescind the offer about 5 minutes later, after learning the quilt had already been published in my first book.

Quilt_montage

Machine Quilting with Style features 12 show-worthy quilt patterns, including Facets!

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with entering published quilts into quilt shows of course, but since AQS also publishes books, they didn’t want to feature a competing publisher’s quilt image, even though the pattern wouldn’t have been included.

The audible sigh on the other end of the phone line was followed by a meek, “well….. just let us know…. if you have anything else we can consider…..” (I promptly gave them my email so they could send me details on how to submit a calendar entry, but all I got back was crickets….)

Facets Quilt AQS Paducah

Pat Sloan at Paducah with Facets – I love this pic!!

So yes, getting a ribbon for Facets was extra meaningful to me!! And now the best part of this story comes full circle. The lovely and talented Pat Sloan first invited me to be a guest on American Patchwork and Quilting Podcast back in 2014, shortly after attracting her notice with my first Paducah ribbon. Since that chance encounter she’s become a great mentor and friend. After the news of my win, she sent me this adorable picture of herself standing next to the quilt.

Thanks to social media, I felt like part of the action! Maybe one day I’ll get to go to Paducah. 🙂

Facets Machine Quilting

Facets Quilting Detail – photo courtesy of Kathy Mathews.

The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting Available for Preorder

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Good news! Signed copies of my next book, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting are now available for preorder! I’ve been hinting about this new book for awhile but wasn’t ready to pre-sell it until now – I wanted to make sure I had all of my ducks in a row first.

Ultimate_Guide_Cover

My fabulous co-author Angela Walters and I were pondering how we could both sell signed copies of the book directly to our fans, since we won’t be at any public events together until QuiltCon 2017 (and that’s too long for most of you to wait). Jennifer Keltner from Martingale was kind enough to send us labels which we both signed and will add to each of the copies that we sell ourselves.  And of course I’m happy to include a personalized message or add your name upon request when you order. 🙂

Here’s another bonus when you buy directly from us – you’ll get the book first! The official release date is April 5th but Amazon’s release date isn’t until April 19th. Now don’t worry – I’m not offended in the least if you’d prefer to buy it somewhere else – do what works for you!! I’m just thrilled that this book was able to follow so quickly on the heels of my first one.

As it gets closer to publication date, I’ll start telling your more about The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting, how the concept came to be, and of course I’ll share projects from the book. For now, pop on over to the Martingale site for sneak peeks of what’s inside!

As always – thanks for your support!!

Facets Quilt Along Week 3 – Making the Triangle Blocks

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I can’t tell you how much fun it is to watch your Facets progress. So many people are sharing their progress on Instagram and in my Facebook group. It makes me giddy!! If you are just joining us, you can catch up and get started on the Facets Quilt Along here. Be sure to grab a copy of Machine Quilting With Style, if you don’t already have it. We will be following the instructions found on pages 92-94 from the book.

triangles

This week’s assignment is to cut your “made fabric” into triangle shapes using the Triangle Squared Ruler and Perfect Rectangle Ruler from Creative Grids. If you don’t have these rulers, you can cut your shapes from the full-sized templates given on pages 96-97 of the book. You can either make templates from plastic or draw them onto paper and tape the paper to a ruler that’s wide enough to accommodate them.

creative_grids

You need both Creative Grids rulers for this method to work.

How to use the Creative Grids rulers:

step1

First, make sure there is fabric completely underneath the triangle shape you are cutting. Next, align the Triangle Squared Ruler so that the blunted triangle corner is on the top of the strip, and the measurement you need lines up evenly with the bottom of the strip. Trim on both sides of the triangle. There will be a little bit of waste, but you can just throw that in the scrap pile for more improv piecing!

step2

Once you have cut the triangle with the blunted tip at the top, rotate the ruler to cut a triangle with the blunted tip at the bottom.

step3

Don’t forget to cut triangles from you accent fabric, too! Hint: if you are using directional prints, you may need additional fabric to accommodate cutting your triangles in one direction only.

accent

You will need to cut the background triangles using the Perfect Rectangle Ruler. Remember to keep your strip folded so that you get a half rectangle for each side of the triangle in a square.

backgrounds

Don’t forget to cut angled tips indicated by the blunted end of the ruler. These will help line up your units correctly for sewing.

Using the picture below as a guide, line up the background rectangles so that the blunted ends align with the center triangle. The pointed tips will stick out. Trim the tips once the units are sewn.

alignment

I borrowed this image from a previous project using the same method with a smaller sized unit.

Sew the triangle blocks into diamonds where indicated in the book on page 94.

Eye Candy Inspiration

The best part of any quilt along is seeing how others make it their own. Here’s a roundup of blocks being made by followers in my Facebook group: Quilt With Christa and on instagram: #facetsqal. Remember – you can jump in at any time and work at your own pace. Some people have just started and others are nearly finished (which gives me plenty of pics to share for future posts)!

gina

I love the pop of orange that Gina from Gina’s Custom Creations chose to include!

sherri

Sherri (@snugbear2 on IG) is laying out her pretty purple blocks and sewing them together!

paula

I love Paula’s pretty piles!

jocelyn

I know I’m not supposed to have favorites but I really love Jocelyn’s triangles!!

Next week we will sew the blocks together to complete the quilt top.

Click here for the start of Facets Quilt Along

FacetsQAL

Christa’s Quilts – Woven Ribbons

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Woven Ribbons and is quickly and easily made from just two Kona Solids Skinny Strips. I used the 2014 Kona Colors and Black, but it would look fantastic in your favorite solids or prints.

woven ribbons

 

Woven Ribbons by Christa Watson, 45″ x 63″

I created Woven Ribbons to go along with my profile feature in Issue 9 of Make Modern Magazine. I wanted to create a modern design with a very minimalist, graphic feel that was easy to make from precuts.

photo3

I quilted wavy lines (seaweed) with switchbacks. These are two free-motion designs from my book Machine Quilting With Style. It’s fun to combine designs together in other quilts!

Although I love to quilt the heck out of my quilts, I prefer to choose designs that are simple to execute, don’t need marking, and do NOT require perfection to look great!

wavy lines quilting

Tip for quilting with bright colorful fabrics – use a variegated thread!

I quilt all of my quilts with Aurifil cotton thread and chose 50 weight black #2962 and 50 weight Marrekesh #3817 for this quilt. These colors allowed the design to shine, without overpowering the quilt. I used a cotton/poly batting in black since it’s such a dark quilt.

woven ribbons

I love how the black background causes the other colors to pop!

Woven Ribbons Stats

  • Made by Christa Watson; designed in EQ7
  • Finished size 45″ x 64″; completed November 2015
  • Pieced and quilted on my BERNINA 770
  • Materials: Kona Skinny Strips – 2014 Colors and Black; Hobbs 80/20 black batting
  • Aurifil Thread: 50 weight #3817 Marrekesh and #4241 Very Dark Grey
  • Quilting design – Seaweed (wavy lines) and Switchbacks (back and forth curves)
  • Received 3rd place ribbon in Modern, Small category at DQN 2016 Quilt Show.

3rd place modern

You can find Woven Ribbons, along with 14 other fabulous projects in the current issue of Make Modern Magazine. It’s a digital download which means you can save it on your computer forever!

issue9_cover

This is my second pattern with Make Modern, and I’m sure it won’t be my last!

The Beehive Quilt Blocks – Update

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I just wanted to give you all a quick update on the Beehive quilt blocks. This is a series started by my good friend Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts. She invited 12 designer friends to each submit a free block of the month tutorial and she did 12 herself. So over the course of this year, she shared 24 different block patterns, all for free!

beehiveblocks

Just some of the beautiful blocks. Check instagram #doublestarblock for each maker’s credit.

I was recently skimming instagram #doublestarblock which was the block I shared back in April. I was blown away by the variety of beautiful quilt blocks that have been made! When I see amazing work like this, it validates what I do as a designer.

Here’s my original block design below. Click here for my Double Star Block Tutorial.

doublestar_finished

I really have a thing for black, white and grey!

My Christmas gift to you is sharing Alyce’s link to all of the blocks so those of you new to my blog can rediscover this amazing series.

Click here for the Beehive Block Tutorials

Why don’t you put this on your agenda to make for next year?