Category: Reviews

Get This Book by Heather Black: Design, Make, Quilt Modern

4 Comments

My BQF (Best Quilty Friend) Heather Black of Quiltachusetts just wrote her 2nd book, Design, Make, Quilt Modern and I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover!

Design Make Quilt Modern by Heather Black

The book includes wonderful explanations of her design process including how the quilting can affect the look of the quilt, plus so much more useful info, especially if you enjoy designing your own quilts.

As a bonus, the book also includes 4 modern quilt patterns for you to make. They are:

#1 Grounded – I love how Heather explains her reasoning on why this quilt only has borders on 3 sides. At first you don’t notice it but when you read her explanation it makes total sense. When you see the step-by-step process she used to design this quilt, you’ll be amazed at how and why it looks so fabulous!

Grounded Quilt by Heather Black

#2  Moving Through – Heather always constantly amazes me with her color choices in her quilts. And the machine quilting is always superb. I love her trick of quilting a different machine quilting motif in each color of the quilt! But it’s done with purpose rather than random which results in a truly stunning quilt!

Moving Through by Heather Black#3 Misprint – This is one of my all-time favorites and I learned so much about design from this quilt. In her book, Heather goes over the rule of thirds and clearly explains how to effectively achieve an asymmetrical design. It’s all about balance!

Misprint by Heather Black

#4 Around Town –  This is another knock-your-socks-off modern design that uses tried and true design principles such as odd numbers of groupings and a hidden grid layout to achieve incredible results. Heather has a style that I really gravitate towards and I just love her bold, geometric designs!

Heather also includes a bit about binding and backing choices which can really make a difference in the overall success of your design.

Around Town by Heather Black

Aren’t these just stunning? Here’s a quote  from Heather that I really like:

“One of my favorite topics to teach on is quilt design and one of the themes I try to communicate in both my lectures and in my new book is that anyone can design a quilt that is uniquely them. All it takes is a curiosity about design. My book takes you through finding what you like and exploring design in your everyday life to applying that design to your inspiration and finally making the inspiration reality.”

I highly recommend Design, Make, Quilt Modern not only for the patterns, but also for the fabulous lessons in design.

Design Make Quilt Modern by Heather Black

Click here to preorder your signed copy from Heather Black which releases on February 25, 2021. You won’t be disappointed!

Love Your Creative Space Blog Tour with Lilo Bowman

332 Comments

Today I’m excited to tell you about a fabulous new book, from my friend Lilo Bowman.

Lilo Bowman

Lilo Bowman

Love Your Creative Space: A Visual Guide to Creating an Inspiring & Organized Studio Without Breaking the Bank is Lilo’s new title from C&T Publishing. It’s full of ideas, solutions, and creative ways to set aside and love your personal space for making.

Love Your Creative Space book

Click here to buy Love Your Creative Space on Amazon. 

So backing up a little, I first met Lilo when I was a guest on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. She’s used to working behind the scenes as a producer for the show but now I’m excited for her to be the star of the show with her new book and blog tour.

The Quilt Show Set

Click here to see the trailer for my Quilt Show episode.
Lilo helped keep me organized and ready to roll on filming day!

Love Your Creative Space is divided into My Stuff (we all have it!), My Space (tiny or large) and My System. It addresses the common needs of needlecrafters, but also covers many less common topics.
Love Your Creative Space
For example, how do you stay organized when you head out for a class or a retreat? How can or should your space be altered when life itself changes because of a move, an illness or just getting older? There are many ideas and suggestions, along with questions to help you analyze your own stuff, space and system.
 
I especially enjoyed the gallery of artist studios. One space has been adapted for its owner’s special needs after a stroke left her with partial paralysis. One space is especially compact. A third artist requires both dry and wet work spaces!
 
If you work in more than one medium, you’ll find ideas to organize, separate and combine your supplies. The book’s photography might even inspire you to try something new!
 
Love Your Creative Space
 
This book recognizes that budgets for creative spaces come in all sizes, and Lilo gives helpful advice for saving, economizing and reimagining or repurposing. It’s clear that she wants makers to love and enjoy their spaces regardless of the size or financial constraints. That’s a win!

It’s a Giveaway!

This week’s blog tour includes a giveaway of the ebook Love Your Creative Space: A Visual Guide to Creating an Inspiring & Organized Studio Without Breaking the Bank. For your chance to win, leave a comment here by Tuesday, June 30. Tell me what kind of space you’d like to plan, or how you’d improve your current space.

There are other great stops on the blog tour. I hope you’ll follow these folks and check out their posts for more insight into Love Your Creative Space by Lilo Bowman.
 
LoveYourCreativeSpaceBookLaunchBlogTour

The Love Your Creative Space Blog Tour:

Friday, June 26:
Christa Watson/Blog –christaquilts.com
C&T Publishing/Blog-https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday, June 27:

Bonnie K. Hunter/Blog-quiltville.blogspot.com

Sunday, June 28:

Heidi Proffetty-heidifproffetty.com/blog
 
Monday, June 29:
 
Tuesday, June 30:
 

Be sure to follow the entire tour for much more inspiration around creative spaces large and small!

Book Review: Modern Curves and Bold Stripes

5 Comments

I love having talented friends and am pleased as punch when they do amazing things! Well today I want to tell you about this brad new book written by two of my friends, Heather Black and Daisy Aschehoug. It’s called Modern Curves and Bold Stripes, published by C&T publishing.

Modern Curves and BoldStripes

Click here to get a copy of Modern Curves and Bold Stripes.

The premise of the book is 15 fabulous modern designs featuring stripes and curves. Heather designed 8 of them and Daisy designed 7. And let me tell you – they are all so fab!! And one of the most clever things about this book is that it gives instructions to make all of the designs with either a pieced stripe or a printed stripe. How cool is that??

Heather and I have collaborated on several quilt patterns in the past and she’s best known for making amazing curved designs with easy to follow instructions. So if you love curved designs but have been holding back on learning how to piece them, then this is the book for you!

Take a look at a few of Heather’s quilts from the book:

This is the same quilt made twice. It’s called Tidbits. One of them is made with pieced stripes and the other is made from printed strips. Can you tell which is which?? They are both fabulous!!

This next quilt below is called Aurora and it’s just stunning, don’t you think? The stripes are all pieced from solids and I love how she layered it with the curves on top. All of Heather’s designs are such a visual feast and are much easier to piece than they look!

Here’s the second version of Aurora made with a printed fabric to create the background stripe. Isn’t it amazing what a different look it gives to the quilt?

This quilt below is called Retro Spin and I think it’s my favorite one in the book.

There are just so many amazing modern quilts in this book. Heather and Daisy are such amazing designers and I just love everything that they make. I keep reminding myself that I’d like to go more modern with my designs and these gals really inspire me!!

Here are a few more:

Below is Perfect Dozen, made from both pieced and printed stripes in the blocks.

Sunset Horizons, Version 1:

Sunset Horizons Version 2:

I remember when Heather was designing her Festoons quilt below. She showed me her design in progress and it was so neat to see the evolution of a design. She has a knack for designing asymmetrical quilts that are still very balanced.

Here’s the last pair I’ll show you today, and these are just Heather’s quilts. Trust me – Daisy’s are just as stunning, too!

Portals version 1: gotta love that lime and chartreuse!

Portals version 2 – isn’t it amazing how different a quilt looks when made from different fabrics??

The quilting is just as much eye candy as the pieced designs! There are a total of 24 quilts in the book, including the duplicates with pieced or printed stripes. If I had time, I’d make every single one. But you know what – sometimes it’s just fun to look at all the pretty pictures and dream!

This is just a taste of all the fabulous quilts in this book. Be sure to pick up a copy and make a resolution to learn a new technique this year!

Check out The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook!

7 Comments

This year, one of my goals is to learn more about modern design. It may seem ironic since I am after all a fabric designer, pattern designer and I design a lot of machine quilting motifs, too. However, I feel that my design skills could always improve, so I was thrilled when I got a chance to ready Sylvia Schaefer’s fabulous new book, The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook.

Negative

I don’t have much need for pattern books, but I love books that can teach me more about design principles, with plenty of interesting things to say. Sylvia’s book does just that! She walks you through several exercises on how to apply negative space (the space between or behind the focal point of the design) to your quilts.

My Starting Example – Out of the Box

Out of the Box by Christa Watson for American Patchwork and Quilting using Fandangle fabricOut of the Box by Christa Watson

I had actually been working on ways to make my quilts more interesting and so reading this book has really broadened my understanding. For example, take a look at my quilt “Out of the Box” above, which features my Fandangle fabric line. I’ve been tweaking the design of this quilt and have considered remaking it with a much more modern, minimalist approach in a limited color palette.

Tire Tread design

My new and improved design after adding negative space to the quilt.

My new arrangement looks like “tire tread” which is very appealing to me. It’s a little more funky and “out there”, but I’m actually very excited about it! As a pattern designer, the updated design may not be as commercially viable, but the more I design things for public consumption, the more I want to balance that out with “just for fun” quilts that explore design concepts more fully.

Syvlia’s book has given me the tools to do just that! She walks you through a series of exercises to apply some basic design concepts to your quilts. This has opened up a whole new world to me, because up until this point my design process was really more like a stab in the dark and every now and then I’d hit what I call a design jackpot!

Sylvia explores all sorts of design techniques in her book, and I can already tell I’ll use it again and again for reference when designing future work. One concept I haven’t fully explored but which she covers beautifully is the idea of varying the scale of your blocks in the same quilt. Here’s an example excerpt from the book in which she explains this concept:

Example from Quilter's Negative Space Handbook

Although I’m mainly interested in the design concepts Sylvia explores in The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook, she also includes 8 fully developed patterns so that you can make your own version of the quilts in the book. I think this is a great way to explore modern quilting for those who want to make a knockout quilt but don’t yet have the confidence to come up with their own unique design.

Icy Feathered Star by Sylvia Schaefer

Sylvia’s Icy Feathered Star – She even did her own quilting on it, which I love!!

One of my favorite quilts from her book is the Icy Feathered Star. Not only does she give you the full quilt pattern and ideas to explore how to offset your design, there’s plenty of eye-candy with beautiful machine quilting throughout the book. Sylvia’s quilts are great examples of how she incorporates modern machine quilting as well as modern piecing. (Ya gotta love those traditional feathers used in a modern way!)

Row-of-Diamonds by Sylvia Schaefer

Another fabulous quilt pattern from the book – Row of Diamonds

The biggest thing I learned from Sylvia’s book is that effective design in modern quilts happens when thought is put into fabric and color placement, using established principles of design rather than being completely random. I have to admit that most of my successful “modern” quilts have happened through pure trial and error. But now that I understand why and how negative space design principles work, I’m very inspired to apply these concepts to my future work.

This book is incredibly thorough and even includes a section at the end on thinking about fabrics, quilting designs, plus tutorials on foundation paper piecing methods, curved piecing, improv piecing and more.

Negative Space Handbook Back Cover

Click here to get your copy of the Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook – I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

 

New Craftsy Class: Angela Walters’ Dot to Dot

2 Comments

As a Craftsy instructor, one of the privileges that I get is being able to watch any of the Craftsy classes from my fellow instructors. Of course, I don’t have time to watch all of the classes I’d like, but I’m always on the lookout for new classes that I think you all would benefit from. So when Angela Walters released her latest class, Dot to Dot: Quilting With Piecing as Your Guide, I knew I had to watch it as soon as I could.

Angela Walters Dot to Dot

Get Dot to Dot quilting for 50% off, through Friday September 8th.

I was even pleasantly surprised when she included one of the quilts from our book as an example, and even gave me a shoutout in class!! (Now you’ll really have to watch the class to see which quilt it is, LOL!!)

This class is fantastic and I found myself watching the entire thing in one setting. Although Angela uses specialty rulers to achieve the straight lines when quilting dot to dot, she also shows you a couple of other ways to accomplish the same task. I love it when there are options! The class includes a free pattern so that you can make the same quilt she’s working on, or you can practice her methods on your own quilt or practice blocks.

Angela Walters class quilt

Make this quilt to practice your dot to dot quilting. Free pattern included in class!

Here’s a quick breakdown of the class lessons, including the length of each segment:

1. Dot-to-Dot Quilting Overview (10:36)

Meet your instructor, stitch whisperer Angela Walters, and start class by finding the ‘dots’ on your quilt using the quilt top’s piecing. See how to stitch consistent straight lines whether you’re using a walking foot, free-motion foot or ruler foot and ruler.

2. Triangles (22:21)

Ready to try some basic dot-to-dot designs? Follow along with Angela as she stitches the simple V, triangle wedge and arrowhead in triangular shapes, showing variations along the way.

3. Squares (23:50)

Build on the designs you learned in the previous lesson with three more motifs that are perfect for square blocks, the most common shape in quilting. Watch as Angela reveals the square spiral, double V and double diamond designs. Then she shows you where to use them on your quilt to add the most impact.

4. Diamonds & Hexagons (15:35)

See how to quilt diamonds and hexagons as Angela shares three designs and variations: the spin wheels, alternating V’s and tumbling diamonds. You’ll learn how to find diamond shapes in your quilt, even if it wasn’t pieced with diamonds!

Angela Walters Quilting
 As Angela says – close enough is good enough!!

5. Uniquely Shaped Blocks (16:07)

Discover three ways to quilt uniquely shaped blocks such as polygons. Angela then shows you how to modify your designs, stitch a shape within a shape, and combine blocks so you know what to stitch next!

6. Borders & Corners (21:30)

Once you’ve gotten a handle on quilting within defined areas, you’ll tackle the borders. In this lesson, see how to quilt designs in areas with more negative space. Plus learn three ways to turn the corner without losing your design flow.

7. Dot to Dot Around the Blocks (17:50)

Finally, think outside the piecing and find out how to use dot-to-dot designs in any style of quilt. Angela demonstrates how to use the quilting to frame blocks, create secondary patterns and use wedge shapes as fillers to quickly quilt any space efficiently.

Dot to Dot: Quilting With Piecing as Your Guide really is a fabulous class. What I’ve really noticed in this class compared to her previous classes is that she’s really letting her personality show. If you are a fan of her Midnight Quit Show, you’ll see that she brings the same warmth and humor into her class. Even if you don’t even care to quilt, it’s just fun to watch and be entertained!
Dot to Dot Quilting with Angela Walters

This one is my favorite!!

Save 50% on This Class!

The best part about this class is that it’s on sale now, through Sept. 8th for 50% off the regular price. I love it that Craftsy makes their classes affordable and once you buy them, you own them forever!

Click here to get Dot to Dot quilting for 50% off the regular price.

Now, I’d better go practice my ruler work – it really is a fun way to quilt, once you get the hang of it!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Book Reviews: Walk and Free Motion Quilting 1-2-3

7 Comments

So by now I hope you all know how much I love incorporating BOTH walking foot and free-motion techniques in my quilts. So I thought it would be fun to share two of my favorite books on those two techniques! Jacquie Gering’s WALK is THE definitive guide to Walking Foot Quilting, and Lori Kennedy is a whiz at showing you how to create fabulous free-motion motifs step by step.

Walk by Jacquie Gering

I ran into Jacquie at quilt market last year and we both swapped copies of our books. I love how encouraging the quilting community is, even when many of us are teaching the same subjects!

By far one of my favorite things about WALK is that Jacquie shares her “wall basting” method in step by step photos. This is similar to the method I used, and it’s worth it to own this book just for this section! Of course, the rest of the book is fab, too as Jacquie walks you through over 60 different designs that you can do, all with a walking foot (or dual feed).

I love it how Jacquie sets you up for success through a series of “test drives” to get you comfortable with her process.

Walk by Jacquie Gering

Take a look at these two exercises from the book, shown in the photos above and below (photography credit Lucky Spool):

Walk by Jacquie Gering

Jacquie’s methods involve marking and are a little more precise than mine, but I love it that there are a whole range of options to explore. She gets you comfortable first with basic straight lines, and then she moves on to gentle curves, decorative stitches, and several designs you can do incorporating the reverse feature on your machine.

Whether you are new to walking foot quilting, or want to expand your horizons with this fast and fun technique, I encourage you to give WALK a try – you’ll be glad you did!

Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3

Moving on to free-motion, take a look at Lori Kennedy’s debut book, Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3. Based on Lori’s step by step photo tutorials, this book is a beautiful center piece for you sewing room and I know you’ll spend time poring over its pages!

Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 features over 400 photographs plus oodles of trouble shooting tips. My favorite part of the book is where she shows the difference between good and bad tension, and what to do to avoid thread buildups (it’s all about the starting and stopping point of each design). Just having a visual guide is such a huge help when you are learning to quilt!

Take a look at just two of the 60+ designs that are shared in the book (photography courtesy of Martingale/That Patchwork Place and Brent Kane):

Free-Motion quilting loops

Loops are a perennial favorite and probably the easiest design to learn! Follow Lori’s step by step tips and you’ll be finishing your quilts with a flourish!

Lori Kennedy Spirals

Once you learn Lori’s basic spirals, you can then move onto Spiral Rose, Spiral Heart, Reverse Spiral, and more! It’s like anything new: learn the basics and build your skills from there.

So whether you prefer to quilt with your walking foot, or free-motion or both, these books have got you covered. After all, even though I teach similar techniques, I always recommend that my students learn from several different sources. You ever know when someone is going to explain an idea in a different way that will resonate you!

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Two Fun New Books To Share – I Have Quilts in Both

4 Comments

Like many of you I love making quilts! But what you may not know is that one of the reasons I love writing patterns and books is that the deadlines for completion motivate me to finish things! I’m excited to be part of two brand new books coming out in June, published by my favorite publisher, Martingale/That Patchwork Place.

I Love House Blocks from Martingale/That Patchwork Place

The first is called I Love House Blocks, and it’s part of Martingale’s “Block Buster Quilts” series where a ton of different designers each make their own interpretation of a quilt based on a traditional block. (Click here to see the last one I was a part of – I Love Churn Dashes.”)

I’m thrilled to have my house quilt shown on the cover! It’s the one on the left and it’s called “My Hometown.” I used bright and cheery by Moda fabric from Pat Sloan in my version, but think it would be just as cute your favorite fabric collection!

Click here to preorder I Love House Blocks.

Rock Solid book using Kona Solids

The second book I am thrilled about is called Rock Solid and it’s a collaboration between Martingale and Robert Kaufman. All 13 quilts in the book are made from Kona Cotton solids. I haven’t even seen the rest of them yet, but I can already tell I’m gonna love this book!

I’m excited to be a cover girl on this one, too. My quilt “Lanterns” is shown on the left, using my exclusive Christa Watson designer palette in 28 vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and green. My quilt is made from just two jelly rolls – My designer palette and Kona Coal.

Click here to preorder Rock Solid.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Enjoy Quilt Fiction with Birds in the Air by Frances Dowell

2 Comments

I’m excited to tell you about a fun “quilt-fiction” book, Birds in the Air that was recently released by one of my on-line quilt buddies, Frances Dowell. If you don’t know Frances yet, she’s also a prolific children’s book author, and regular podcaster who regularly shares her real-life quilting escapades with a sense of quirky humor at The Off Kilter Quilt.

birds-in-the-air

Click here to order your copy of Birds in the Air by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

In her own words, this is how Frances describes her novel:

“When Emma Byrd moves into the house of her dreams in the small mountain community of Sweet Anne’s Gap, she knows that making friends may prove to be her biggest challenge. Her husband loves his new job and her kids are finding their way at school. But Emma — no natural when it comes to talking to strangers — will have to try a little harder, especially after the sweet, white-haired neighbor she first visits slams the door in her face.

Luckily, a few of the quilters of Sweet Anne’s Gap adopt Emma and she soon finds herself organizing the quilt show for the town’s centennial celebration. But not everyone is happy to see the job go to an outsider, especially one who has befriended an outcast pursuing her own last best chance at redemption.

Birds in the Air is a warm, funny novel about fitting in, falling out and mending frayed relationships one stitch at a time.”

The novel is definitely a fun read, but what I love most about the story is that it is built upon the mystery of a quilt that the main character finds when she moves into her new home. Frances took the concept of Birds in the Air, and created a series of quilts around it, inspired by the title of the book. Check out these beauties:

civil-war-birds-in-the-air

Civil Ward Birds in the Air quilt top – all hand pieced by Frances. She’s now hand quilting, it too. It was inspired by the quilt described in the novel.

modern-birds-in-the-air

Modern Birds in the Air – original design by Frances and made in a series of weeks as she detailed her adventures week by week on her podcast. As a writer, she thinks of her quilts as “drafts” and will “edit” them as needed (un-sewing and re-sewing them until she’s happy with the final outcome.)

twilters-birds-in-the-air

Twilter Birds in the Air – a friendship quilt made from a block exchange of Frances’ online friends. It reminds me very much of something the quilting group in the novel might actually do.

bauhaus-birds-in-the-air

Bauhaus Birds in the Air – my personal favorite of the group! Frances had an idea she had to interpret into fabric and enlisted the help of a friend to draft the pattern so that she could execute her vision.

paper-birds-in-the-air

Paper Birds in the Air – I love the literal interpretation of this one! I also love how Frances quilts all her own quilts and takes pride in doing so. 🙂

meeting-of-the-geese

Meeting of the Geese – pattern design by Silvia Schaefer for the Modern Quilt Guild pattern for the month series, January, 2016.

Aren’t those fabulous? Frances has recently launched a new website, QuiltFiction.com as a gathering place for those who love to quilt, and read (and write) about quilts in fiction!

quilt-lecture

Frances loves to share her quilts, her writing, and the stories behind them.

Birds in the Air will make the perfect stocking stuffer or holiday gift for the quilter who already has enough fabric and supplies!

birds-in-the-air-books

My Quilt From I Love Churn Dashes

4 Comments

I’m so excited to finally reveal a secret sewing project I made last year! If you followe me on instagram  (@christaquilts), you can check out the hashtag #secretsewingchrista to see sneak peeks of my progress while working on this quilt, plus several others that I can’t reveal quite yet. Makers gotta make and sharers gotta share!

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce Churn Dash Slide, my contribution to I Love Churn Dashes, the latest book in the Block Buster Quilts series by Martingale/That Patchwork Place.

churn-dash-slide-by-christa-watson

Churn Dash Slide, by Christa Watson, 72″ x 78″. Photography by Brent Kane.

Although this book is more about the pieced design of the quilts rather than the machine quilting, I still loved quilting the heck out of it! I used a simple elongated swirl, quilted edge to edge across the quilt.

Here’s a machine quilting tip: when working with busy prints, where your quilting is NOT the star of the show, choose a simple quilting design that adds texture, but is relatively quick and easy to do. I used a light green from my Piece and Quilt thread collection from Aurifil to quilt it.

machine-quilting

I love adding texture to my quilts with lot of machine quilting!

So here’s a bit of trivia I learned when reading I Love Churn Dashes: The term comes from the design’s resemblance to the staff or pole (referred to as the dash) that’s used in a traditional wooden butter churn. I’ve also heard the block called by other names such as Monkey Wrench, or Hole in the Barn Door, but I think Churn Dash is the cutest name, don’t you??

i-love-churn-dashes

Partial quilts on the cover (clockwise) are from Amy Ellis, Me, Jo Morton, and Carol Hopkins.

I Love Churn Dashes include 15 fabulous designs from 15 well-known quilters (plus a bonus quilt in one of the patterns – so really, 16 quilts)! Plus it includes detailed instructions on making a basic churn dash block right at the beginning of the book. Once you have this block down, the variations are endless! In addition to the eye catching designs shown on the cover, here are a few more of my personal favorites:

block-party-by-jackie-white

Block party by Jackie White – I love those white solids and the modern design!

in-reverse-by-kate-henderson

In reverse by Kate Henderson – the book includes intrucctions to make two quilts at once – this version, and an inverted version with a pieced background and solid block!

wavy-churn-by-gina-reddinWavy Churn by Gina Reddin – this one is all machine applique!summer-dash-by-april-rosenthalSummer Dash by April Rosenthal – so fresh and sweet!

I tend to go for the lighter brighter versions, but the book is so versatile. It includes several more traditional-looking Churn Dash designs, too. There’s truly something for everyone! Be sure to follow Martingale/That Patchwork Place’s blog for more fun announcements and new releases.

FYI, here’s the complete list of designers included in the book:

  • Tanya Alexander
  • Laura Beohnke
  • Kim Brackett
  • Kari Carr
  • Kim Diehl
  • Amy Ellis
  • Kate Henderson
  • Carol Hopkins
  • Kimberly Jolly
  • Jo Morton
  • Gina Redin
  • April Rosenthal
  • Tammy Vondershmidt
  • Jackie White
  • And ME!

Click here to pre-order your copy of Churn Dash Slide using my affiliate link. Thanks!

Check out 180 Doodle Quilting Designs – Free Motion Ideas for Blocks, Borders, and Beyond

7 Comments

I’m so excited to tell you about a brand new machine quilting book that I am privileged to be a part of. It’s called 180 Doodle Quilting Designs and it features a plethora of free motion quilting ideas for blocks, setting triangles, and borders. The book has been published by my friends at Martingale/That Patchwork Place (who published both of my machine quilting books.)

b1381_cover

This book is different from most machine quilting books out there, in that it is more of a reference book rather than a how-to book with patterns. This clever idea was the brainchild of acquisitions editor Karen Burns, and it features 60 different motifs from 9 talented designers. Each motif is shown how it would work 3 different ways, for a total of 180 possible designs. Check out fun free-motion quilting ideas from:

  • Yours truly – I’m so inspired by seeing my fellow contributors’ designs!
  • Vicki Ruebel – One of my super talented BQF’s (best quilting friends).
  • Karen Burns – Be on the lookout for more collaborations you are sure to love!
  • Melissa Corry – This girl can finish more quilts in a week than most can do in a month!
  • Lori Kennedy – Shh, don’t tell – I have a quilter’s crush on her!!
  • Maddie Kertay – Irreverent and awesome founder of the BAQS (you’ll need to google it… :-))
  • April Rosenthal – I want to be her when I grow up.
  • Sheila Sinclair Snyder – Amazing award winning quilter.
  • Angela Walters – Need I say anything more??

Here’s an example of how the information is laid out for each design:

2page_spread

Plus there’s some handy-dandy info at the front of the book with tips on how to use it, such as tracing over the motifs to get a feel for how each design will flow. I love adding books like this to my reference library. They are great to look through whenever I’m stumped for a machine quilting idea!

As of this writing, 180 Doodle Quilting Designs was ranked #1 new release on Amazon in quilting. To help it stay there, click here to purchase your copy and then be sure to leave an Amazon review. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂 Now I’m off to a do a little more doodle quilting of my own…..

Update – Video Tutorial

Check out this clever video that my friends at Martingale made, showing how to use the book. Simply trace, doodle and quilt! You’ll gain confidence in no time! (Press the play icon to view. )