Quilt A Real Quilt with Me at Empty Spools Retreat!!

April 29, 2025April 25, 20252 Comments

I’m so excited to check something off of my bucket list! I’ve been wanting to teach at Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, CA for as long as I’ve been a quilter and 2026 will finally be the year, whoo hoo!!

Normally when I travel and teach I give a one hour lecture and 1-2 days of machine quilting workshops. I love it, but all we have time for in that short period of time is to quilt out a bunch of practice samples. I also discuss how students can apply what they’ve learned to an actual quilt but of course, they’ll need to go home and do that on their own time.

Well, I’m bursting with excitement to let you know that my week long workshop at Empty Spools takes it to the next level. In this class, you’ll get to bring in a real, basted quilt (or 2) and learn how to actually quilt it all week in class! We will go through a series of exercises to get you comfortable with the process and then I’ll guide you step-by-step to quilt and finish your own quilt. Won’t that be fun??

Take a look below at the schedule for the week. Click on the image to enlarge it if needed:

I will be teaching this in-depth workshop, called “Quilt That Quilt!” during Session 1 which runs from Sunday, March 1 through Friday, March 6 of 2026. This gives you plenty of time to gather supplies and make arrangements for your visit. Registration includes alls meals and you can either stay on campus, or make your own accommodations.

Click the image below to enlarge for details on costs:

This workshop/retreat is a chance for you to go through the entire process of making a quilt from start to finish. Once you sign up, I’ll be in touch with students so that they can prepare a quilt of their choice so it’s all ready to quilt once they arrive to class next year. I can’t wait to see what quilts students choose to make, and I’m so excited to help them experience the joy of making their own quilts.

This is a big event and commitment but I promise its worth it to set aside the time and money to attend. Do you have any questions? Please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them ASAP!

Save the Date: I’ll be Teaching at Quilt Festival in Houston October 7-11, 2025

April 15, 2025June 16, 2025Leave a comment

I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be teaching at Quilt Festival in Houston, TX this fall! This will be the third time I’ve taught at Festival, so I’m really excited to be returning again this year!

Click here for the full catalog and registration info.

Class Registration begins in June. Classes usually fill up fairly quickly, so I’m going to share the schedule of which classes I’ll be teaching and when, so you can be ready once registration opens:

Sketch It, Then Quilt It
Tuesday, October 7: 2-5 PM

Learn how to create a quilting plan for your quilt! This hands-on workshop will allow students to create their own original designs using printed images of their quilts as well as how to create specific plans for a variety of different quilts.

Walking Foot Bootcamp
Wednesday, October 8th: 9AM-5PM

In this full day session, students will learn how to quilt a variety of walking foot quilting designs on their domestic sewing machine. I’ll also go over how you would apply these designs to actual, full sized quilts. Whether you are a beginner or want to learn a few extra tips and tricks, this is the class for you!

Improv Free Motion Quilting
Thursday, October 9: 9-Noon

This jam-packed class will teach how to combine and design two or more filler motifs into something entirely new. Students will practice drawing the designs on paper, then apply what they’ve learned to sample swatches or orphan blocks.

Modern Machine Quilting Lecture
Thursday October 9: 12:45-1:45 PM

This informative lecture demonstrates how the modern aesthetic applies to the machine quilting process. Learn how negative space, minimalism, graphic geometry, improvisation and other hallmarks of the modern aesthetic can be incorporated into your machine quilting work.

Free Motion Bootcamp
Friday, October 10: 9AM-5PM

In this full day class, learn the basics of free-motion quilting! We’ll explore a wide range of motifs that will look good on any quilt from modern to traditional. You’ll leave class armed with the confidence that yes, you can quilt your own quilts!

Modern Free Motion Feathers
Saturday, October 11: 9AM-12PM

This is a brand new class that I’m so excited to debut at Festival! Students will learn basic feather plume shapes, then build upon those shapes to create entirely new designs. They’ll explore a variety of options such as echo feathers, swirl feathers, “broken” feathers, and many more!

Perfectly Imperfect Free-Motion Swirls
Saturday, October 11: 2-5PM

In this class, students will learn how to form the basic swirl shape, then branch off in many different directions as they discover their own signature swirl! Ideas to explore include the wonky swirl, the flower swirl, the elongated swirl, the packed swirl, and many more.

I sure hope I’ll be able to see you at the show. If you can’t catch me in Houston, here’s a link to my traveling and teaching schedule! I love traveling and teaching all over the world and would love to come to a location near you!

My Year of Machine Quilting Videos Has Begun!

January 8, 2025January 3, 2025Leave a comment

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!

Show Report – My Trip to Paducah 2024

May 2, 2024May 1, 20245 Comments

If you haven’t had a chance to travel to Paducah, KY for the AQS quilt show, I thought it would be fun to share a few highlights from my week of teaching there. It was my first trip to this amazing show and it certainly won’t be my last!

From Las Vegas, I flew to Charlotte, NC and then took a smaller commuter plane to the Paducah regional airport. Once there, we were greeted by the Paducah ambassadors and then taken over to the host hotel to settle in. The next day kicked off a 4 day frenzy of lectures, workshops, food, friends and fun!

Here’s a short little clip of excited students eagerly awaiting my first lecture. There’s nothing like a room full of quilters to get me all amped up!! Click the image below to play.

I taught a total of 5 machine quilting workshops, demonstrating a variety of walking foot and free motion techniques. At a large show like this, the students don’t even have to bring in machines because each room was sponsored by a different sewing machine manufacturer which is really nice.

Pro tip- the best place to test drive a new machine is in a workshop at a major quilt show – and that’s usually the best way to get a great deal on a new machine!

Above is a few images of the practice samples that students created in class. In between trying out the different motifs from my books, I sprinkled in plenty of ideas showing how students could apply these designs to actual, full sized quilts.

During the break in between classes, I was able to squeeze in a few minutes each day to see the quilts at the show and they did not disappoint! Of course, I’m partial to the modern quilts, so I put together a little montage below, showing just a few of my faves. I took a photo of each artist credit as well. Click the image below to play.

On the last day of teaching which was Saturday, I finally had time to head over to the National Quilt Museum which was in walking distance of my hotel. The whole downtown area is adorable and there’s even a scenic river walk which adds to the charm!

I ran across a time capsule on the front lawn of the museum which was placed back in 1993. That’s just 2 years before I made my first quilt in 1995 at the ripe young age of 22!! The time capsule will be unearthed in April of 2043, 50 years later. I realized I will be 70 years old at that time, so I decided right then and there, if I’m (hopefully) still around, I’ll make plans to be there for the opening. How fun will that be???

The museum hosts a collection of over 600 quilts they’ve acquired over the years, and they just have a partial display of quilts on display at any one time. While I was there, they had several curated exhibitions, including a fun display of 1920’s themed Art Deco quilts, along with several quilts shown from teachers and other notable attendees who were there at the show. How fun would it be to walk into the museum and see your quilt hanging there. (I may need to add this honor to my bucket list of goals….)

Here’s a short 2 minute video showing a quick overview of 2 of the exhibit rooms along with some of my personal faves. Click play below to watch:

Seeing all of the beautiful quilts at the show, and also at the museum has caused me to reflect deeply upon my current work. While I love all of the quilts I make for patterns, books and to promote my fabrics, I’ve realized it’s been awhile since I’ve made a quilt specifically to enter into a quilt show. So I plan to set aside more time to do that in the future. Of course I’ll continue to share my journey and I hope you’ll continue along for the ride!

New Video: Teaching Events & Bonus Tips

March 18, 2023March 17, 2023Leave a comment

As promised, I’m trying to release more video tutorials so you can have something to watch or listen to while you sew! In my latest chat, which runs about 15 minutes, I go in depth about my teaching schedule for the rest of 2023, plus I get a little philosophical about why I do what I do. Click play below to watch and enjoy!

Click here for my complete teaching schedule

Click here to view my Craftsy Class: Startup Library Quilting
Clcik here to view my Craftsy Class: The Quilter’s Path
Click here to view my Craftsy Class: Startup Library Quilting

Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks Part 1 of 9: Introduction

January 4, 2021January 30, 202111 Comments

Today I’m excited to kick off a 9 part series on Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, especially since I’ve written and taught on this topic extensively over the last few years. This week’s post will serve as an introduction to the series, and also as the landing page where I’ll update each of the links below as they are written.

I’m also happy to answer your machine quilting questions. So don’t be shy – ask you questions in the comments and I’ll include answers in a future post! So first off all here’s the schedule:

Week 1 – Introduction
Week 2 – Tools of the Trade
Week 3 – Preparing the Quilt
Week 4 – Practice, Practice, Practice!
Week 5 – Make a Quilting Plan
Week 6 – Easy Walking Foot Designs
Week 7 – Easy Free Motion Designs
Week 8 – Custom Quilting
Week 9 – Wrap up and Your Questions Answered

Sewing Machine – Longarm vs. Sit Down

The very first question you’ll want to decide is whether you want to quilt on a regular home sewing machine (like I do), or if you want to purchase a specialty machine like a sit-down free motion machine or a stand up long-arm machine.

I like the feel of “scrunching and smooshing” my quilt through a regular machine, so that’s what I’m most comfortable with. Also, I like the freedom to quilt “walking-foot” designs with my feed-dogs up, or “free-motion” designs with my feed-dogs down. A free-motion only machine can be limiting, but it provides more room to quilt and can usually quilt a lot faster than a domestic home machine.

Domestic Machine Quilting

This throwback pic is from 2013 just after I got my first upgraded machine, but I still quilt the same way – in my studio while listening to music or a quilting podcast!

My recommendation is to try out both and do what feels most natural for you. Many quilters start quilting on their regular home sewing machine, then upgrade to a larger machine as they improve their skills. I’ve tried both and I prefer the feel of domestic machine quilting, so that’s mainly what the rest of this series will be about. However, if you are a longarmer, stick around – many of my tips and ideas can be easily adapted to your situation!

A great place to try out sit down “domestic” machines is at your local sewing machine dealer. I recommend visiting all of the dealers in your area and bringing in your own practice samples (or even a full sized quilt) to try out. Although I am a BERNINA ambassador and that’s my machine brand of choice, a good reliable dealer will go along way towards helping you be successful with home machine quilting. I don’t recommend buying a machine online or at a big box store, because you’re just not going to get the level or service you’ll need.

Long Arm Quilting

My friend Vicki Ruebel of Orchid Owl Quilts in her longarm shop in Las Vegas

For long-arm machines, I highly recommend testing out all of the major brands at local or national quilt shows. They’ll usually have a full-size machine set up that you can test out, and it will be prepared with a quilt already on the machine that you can practice on. Most shows will also have great deals on machines if you purchase it at the show. So keep that in mind and don’t be afraid to attend multiple shows until your mind is made up.

Many local quilt shops now offer longarm rental service so that’s also a great way to get your feet wet before making such a large purchase.

If you want further reading on the differences between machine quilting with a longarm versus a domestic machine, be sure to check out mine and Angela Walters’ book The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. It’s where we get to share the best of both worlds!

Click here to grab a signed copy of our book, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting.

Here are two other fabulous longarmers I recommend following on social media: my friends Heather Black of Quiltachusetts and Vicki Ruebel of Orchid Owl Quilts. Check out their websites and instagram accounts for some fabulous long-arm quilting eye candy!

In next week’s Tools of the Trade segment, I’ll share about the specific features I prefer to have on my domestic machine that make it much easier to get the job done, so stay tuned!

Virtual Quilt Festival: Sign Up for My Classes December 3-5, 2020

November 27, 20201 Comment

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!

Click here for information on how to register.

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!

Click here for information on how to register.

More information from Quilts, Inc.:

WHAT CAN I EXPECT AT VQF?

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

WHEN?

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

HOW WILL THE EVENT WORK VIRTUALLY?

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.

WHEN WILL CLASSES BE?

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.

I’d love to have you join me for Virtual Quilt Festival!

When you have finished the registration tutorial, you can

Click here to go to registration.

Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks Series Starts Soon!

September 18, 2020September 9, 20201 Comment

Since I know many of you can’t be with me in class in person this year, I thought I’d do the next best thing and try to share more of my my best quilting tips and tricks online. Over the next several weeks I’ll be blogging about many of my behind the scenes secrets for successful machine quilting. Most of these are ideas are also in my machine quilting books so you can grab a copy of each and follow along!

My number one goal in teaching machine quilting is to help you understand how fun and carefree it all can be. Fortunately I WILL be doing some more online teaching soon, and my online Craftsy videos should be available soon on their revamped website, so stay tuned for that.

In addition, I’ve been creating and sharing more tutorials over on my YouTube channel, too.

So whether you are a newbie beginner, or seasoned pro – let me help you discover the joys of quilting your own quilts!! The series kicks off here on the blog starting next week so be sure to subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss a thing!

Virtual Classes for October’s PIQF

September 14, 2020September 12, 2020Leave a comment

I’m really excited to be teaching three classes for Pacific International Quilt Festival Online, coming up Oct. 14 to 17. Registration is open and I’d love to have you join me!

Here are brief descriptions. You’ll find more complete information at the links below.

1. Free Motion Improv, Thursday evening 10/15, 4–7 PST

Liberate yourself from traditional quilting symmetry by mashing up your favorite motifs in a seemingly random way. Combine basic shapes with transitional designs and free-motion fillers to add amazing texture to the negative spaces in your quilts, or create your own unique work of improvisational art. Note: Students should be comfortable with basic free-motion quilting.

Cost: $80, includes $25 kit fee, kit includes your choice of one of my machine quilting books.

Click here for Christa Watson: Free Motion Improv, Price Includes $25 Class Kit (Half Day WS, Thurs, 10/15/20, 4-PST)

2. Free Motion Quilting Designs with Lines, Friday afternoon 10/16, 12–3 PST

Example of my Free Motion Quilting Designs with Lines

Embrace the “hand-sketched” look when you learn to quilt modern geometric fillers that require little to no marking of the quilt. Go beyond the straight line when you learn how to create irregular linear motifs that look great on both traditional and contemporary quilts. Note: Students should be comfortable with basic free-motion quilting.

Cost: $80, includes $25 kit fee, kit includes your choice of one of my machine quilting books.

Click here for Christa Watson: Free Motion Quilting Designs with Lines, Price Includes $25 Class Kit (Half Day WS, Fri, 10/16/20, 12-3pm PST)

Machine Quilting Books by Christa Watson — The kits for these classes include your choice of one of my books.

3. Improv Piecing: Modern Logs, Saturday 10/17, 9–3 PST

Modern Logs is made with improvisational piecing: easy and fun!

Put a modern spin on a classic block while you learn to create improvisationally pieced Log Cabin blocks. Choose two sets of fabrics that have good contrast, such as lights and darks. You’ll need 10 fat quarters of assorted lights and 10 fat quarters of assorted darks to make the 48″ x 54″ quilt. Pattern is included in the kit fee, and the pattern includes additional sizes. Suitable for all skill levels.

Click here for Christa Watson: Improv Piecing: Modern Logs, Price Includes $12 Class Kit (Full Day WS, Sat, 10/17/20, 9am-3pm PST)

Make plans to join me for virtual classes during PIQF Oct. 14 to 17. I’d love to “meet” you!

Modern Logs Quilt Top — Modern Logs made in my Good Vibes fabrics for Benartex. Available on my website, shop.christaquilts.com

Click here to shop for Good Vibes fabrics to make your own Modern Logs quilt!

Good Vibes Fat Quarters — Good Vibes by Christa Watson for Benartex

Click here to buy the Modern Logs paper pattern (not necessary if you’ll be in the class, because the pattern is included in the class fee).

Click here to buy the Modern Logs pattern instantly as a downloadable pdf.

Modern Logs by Christa Watson for Christa Quilt s

Maybe you’d like to see a bit of how I machine quilt on my home sewing machine?

Check out this short video on my YouTube channel. It’s not exactly the same thing I’ll be teaching in the classes, but you’ll get an idea of my style!

I can’t wait to meet you and create some amazing things together!

Save the Date: QuiltCon Together Registration Opens July 15

July 6, 2020July 1, 20201 Comment

I’m so excited to be a part of this! The Modern Quilt Guild took early steps to reimagine QuiltCon as a virtual event February 18–22, 2021, and it’s going to be great!

I think that more people will actually get to participate this way. I love that The MQG made lemonade out of lemons! I’ll miss seeing everyone in person, but this is the next best thing!

I didn’t originally apply to teach for QuiltCon 2021 because we were supposed to be out of the country. But of course the pandemic changed all that.

Click here to download the QuiltCon Together Catalog.

I’ll be teaching two machine quilting classes: Carefree Walking Foot Quilting and Carefree Free-Motion Quilting.

What is carefree quilting?

It’s an attitude that aims for texture over perfection and leans into the slight flaws and irregularities that occur with any handmade craft. After all, they are part of the charm!

The continuous spiral is just one of the many quilting motifs we’ll learn in Carefree Walking Foot Quilting. This is a detail shot from my Sparkling Stars quilt. (Pattern available here.)

Carefree Walking Foot Quilting

Learn to stitch beyond the ditch and unleash the power of your walking foot to quilt modern or traditional designs. Walking foot motifs to be taught include wavy lines, decorative stitches, irregular grids, large continuous spirals, several straight line variations and more! You’ll leave class armed with the confidence that yes, you can quilt your own quilts!

Carefree Free-Motion Quilting

Here’s a detail from my Block Chain quilt. All of my patterns include machine quilting suggestions!

Embrace perfectly imperfect quilting! That means little to no marking and a whole lot of gorgeous texture. Ease into free-motion quilting with asymmetrical wavy lines, then move onto loops, traditional and modern stippling, plus curvy fillers like wishbones and cursive l’s that can expand to fit any space. Finish it off with several swirl variations, and you’ve got a toolbox of motifs to try on your next quilt!

Students should be comfortable with their sewing machines, and will practice on their own pre-basted fabric and batting samples. The best part is that it will be a pre-recorded video that you can watch all through the event!

Both classes are based on ideas presented in my machine quilting books. Each book includes full patterns for each quilt (10–12 per book) along with detailed step-by-step machine quilting instructions. All three books include walking foot techniques and free-motion motifs.

Get a signed copy of any of my books for just $19.95 from my shop.

Both of my classes are “Mini Workshops,” which means they will focus on technique, allow you to learn a new technique, practice a technique that needs work, or just gain tips and tricks from a technique expert. Each Mini Workshop consists of at least 35 minutes of video content in segments of on-demand education, as well as at least one homework assignment to help you practice your new skills. Each Mini Workshop will allow students the ability to type questions to their instructors in the online platform as they work through the class.

You will also have the option to upgrade your Mini Workshop to spend one 45-minute session live with me to ask for help or feedback on your project in a small group setting.

LECTURE/TRUNK SHOW: HOW DO I QUILT IT?

The secret to successful quilting is in the planning and preparation. I’ll guide you through the steps I take to make each quilting experience fun and stress free.

Christa Watson Trunk Show

Once you see my methods, you’ll feel empowered to quilt your own quilts! Learn how I baste my quilts, make a quilting plan, choose thread colors, divide and conquer each task, and apply rich texture with little to no marking of the quilt. I’m also excited to share my quilts and answer any questions you may have.

LE 17 Quilting perspectives

I’m also excited to be part of a machine quilting panel about our quilting plans and processes, and how we approach a finished top. Hand quilting, machine quilting, and long arm quilting will all be represented on the panel from me, Tia Curtis, Sandra Johnson, and Riane Menardi Morrison. It will take place online live at 11 AM on Saturday, February 20.

I would be honored to have you in my classes and lecture at QuiltCon Together.

Registration for members opens July 15 at 10 am Eastern.

Click here to Learn more about The Modern Quilt Guild!