It’s fun to share some of the reasoning behind the fabrics I’ve designed. With my Good Vibes collection, I wanted to create a group of fabrics with an equal number of lights and darks so that they’d work well in lots of precut friendly patterns.
Speaking of precut friendly patterns made from light and dark, have you downloaded my FREE Puzzle Box quilt pattern? It’s made from 2 sets of 2 1/2″ wide strip rolls – half light and half dark! The picture below was taken at our favorite summer spot – Hermosa Beach in California.
Of course this quilt would look fabulous in any fabrics, but I just love the way it looks in the summery, citrus hues of my Good Vibes collection. You can grab 2 jelly rolls to make the quilt exactly as I did. Or, change things up and pair 1 jelly roll with a highly contrasting light or dark fabric that’s all the same. No matter what you do, it’s going to look great!!
Free Companion Video – Learn to Quilt Simple Wavy Lines
Nowadays, I can’t even make a quilt without recording a video while I’m machine quilting it. Nothing pleases me more than sharing my super simple domestic machine quilting techniques with all of you! Click the image below to watch my video tutorial and add this one to your quilty bucket list!
I have a little secret to share. I’m currently working on a followup to my popular Dazzle Dots fabric collection. But in the meantime, while I can’t share what’s new, I can revisit some of my earlier fabric collections, just in case you missed them the first time around!
I designed this grouping to add to my stash of black & white prints, but then threw in a few bright colors and fun backgrounds. In fact, the four prints shown below – called “Crackle” are my absolute favorites from the group.
You can use the front side shown below for a “low volume” background with a pop of color. Or turn them over and use the back side of the print to tone it down a bit. These are such high quality that they look great on either side!!
The other quilt I made from this grouping is called Blooming Wallflowers, a quilt that I’ve made in several different collections. This time around I made a scrappy version and I recorded a longer video sharing cutting tips and tricks, too!
Update: the giveaway is now over. Congrats to Cheryl C. from New York who won and picked the Duchess Blue chair. I’m sure it will look great in her sewing space!!
I’ve been thrilled that so many of you love my Christa Cabinet from Arrow Sewing. Once I started using the cabinet, I needed a chair to go along with it! So I picked out their hydraulic sewing chair in grey. I’m telling you, this is hands down the most comfortable chair for sewing I’ve ever tried!
Actual view of my sewing table with hydraulic chair. Off to my left is the Tasmanian table which is height adjustable and perfect for cutting!
In fact, I love this chair “sew” much that I got a 2nd one in blue for my computer desk which is along an opposite wall. These chairs are so comfy and give lumbar support right where you need it. They are adjustable and even have a storage compartment hidden in the seat!
I chose the plain colored chairs to match my sewing room, but they come in lots of colorful prints, too!
Here’s How You Can Win One!
Just leave a comment on this post telling me where you sew! Whether it’s a dream studio, or a tiny corner in your home, you can make your space more comfy with one of these chairs.
Now the fine print: due to shipping restrictions this giveaway is open to US residents only. The giveaway will be open through the end of the day on Monday, May 27, 2024. I’ll choose a winner randomly from all the comments received and will contact them directly. The chair will ship directly from Arrow Sewing.
Now I’m excited to announce my episode of The Quilt Show has dropped and you can watch for free!! But first, check out this fun trailer they made below. (Click the image to start the video).
Alex and RIcky really leaned into the fact that I call myself a “cheerleader” for domestic machine quilting, LOL!!
Watch My Episode for Free!
You can watch this episode AND my previous episode #2409 that I filmed several years back.
And just for fun – here’s an outtake of Justin who introduces many of the episodes. He likes to keep it fun so he ran around on set literally being MY cheerleader the entire time!! You HAVE to watch the show, just for his antics!!
If you get a chance to watch – let me know what you think. I think their show is fantastic “Edutainment” – it’s both educational AND entertaining!
Stitchy is my fabric collection from Benartex that features 5 different geometric prints in 5 different colorways ranging from light to dark. I usually like to keep my fabric lines to about 20-25 prints so they don’t break the bank and that’s been working really great so far.
I went with a “sewing & sharing” theme on this collection with fun names like Hashtags, Stitches, Sunny Day, Crossweave, and Threaded Lines. While supplies last, you can grab half yard bundles of any of the five colorways shown below: pink, orange, lime, turquoise and grey.
Stitchy fabrics are also available individually by the yard, or you can grab a fat quarter bundle of the entire group. Which colorway is *your* favorite??
Have you added some of this bright colorful fabric to your stash yet? Dazzle Dots is my 9th collection so far with Benartex and it’s been the most popular one yet, which is super exciting! I guess folks love the rainbow colors and simple polka dot prints. Fawning over my fabric is like telling me my kids are cute – so I just eat it up!!
Dazzle Dots Yardage, Bundles and Kits
The exciting news is that Dazzle Dots is now on it’s 2nd printing and is ready to ship! Many of the colors, such as the neutrals and the navy blues sold out so fast it was hard to get ahold of them after the first print run sold out. I always order several of my bolts of fabric from the manufacturer but it was fun to see the demand for these.
So in case you missed them the first time around (or need more – that’s totall ok!) you can once again get any of the 22 prints by the yard. Or stock up on your favorite bundles such as fat quarters of the full line, or 1/2 yard bundles by colorway.
And in case you missed it, I’ve created 7 different videos showing the 8 quilts I’ve made (so far) from Dazzle Dots. I made a play list of all of them on my YouTube channel. Click the icon or image to get started watching. (Depending on your browser you might NOT see a preview image, but it will play once you click on it.)
They videos will play continuously one right after the other, in order.
Sharing is Caring!
If you’ve made projects from Dazzle Dots, I’d love to see them. You can tag me on social media using #dazzledotsfabric and you can also share what you are doing (and get feedback if you’d like) on my ChristaQuilts Facebook Group.
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!
I’m just got back from teaching in Paducah, Kentucky and had an amazing time. One thing that the pandemic made me realize is how much I love teaching live and in person. When I wasn’t able to do that, it truly felt like something was missing. If you missed seeing me last week, your next opportunity to do so will be at Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California, July 24-27, 2024.
I’m excited to be teaching a full slate of workshops, including two of my signature full-day classes: Walking Foot Bootcamp & Free Motion Bootcamp. Taken together, these two will basically teach you everything you need to know to have a successful experience quilting on a domestic machine.
Whether you are a newbie to machine quilting or have been around the block a few times, it’s fun to share my best tips and tricks while guiding you through a series of exercises based on my latest 2 books: 99 Machine Quilting Designs & How Do I Quilt It?
Along with the bootcamp workshops, I’m offering a super fun class called Machine Quilting Fun with Spirals and Swirls. This is another all-day class that will go in depth with tons of cool ideas you can do with a walking foot OR free-motion. I enjoy teaching both techniques in the same class and especially love that “a-ha!” moment that students experience when everything clicks!
Domestic Machine Quilting is My Favorite Thing to Teach
Finally I will be teaching a 1/2 day class called Free-Motion Mashup. This is where you get to take a whole bunch of your favorite motifs and learn how to mix them up in a fun way. I often refer to this technique as “free-motion improv” or “improvisational machine quilting” because that’s exactly what it is. The cool thing about this technique is that it’s a completely unique design, each time you stitch it!
Just one of the infinite possibilities you can create with Free-Motion Mashup
PIQF Registration Info
I sure hope you can make it to this amazing show. Click here for my PIQF class listings. Or you can register for any of them by clicking on each individual workshop below:
I really enjoying teaching at lots of different venues, so if you are unable to travel to me, I’m always happy to come to you! Feel free to pass along my name to the program coordinator of your local quilting group or guild. I pretty much say yes to wherever I’m invited to go. I’m always up for the next quilty adventure!
While I’m away teaching at the AQS show Paducah, KY this week, I thought it would be fun to reminisce about one of my early “modern” quilts I made several years ago. It’s called Facets, and it’s extra special because it got a 2nd place ribbon at the show back in 2016.
This was shortly after they first introduced the modern category to the show, AND this was the first quilt I designed and made for the first book I ever wrote called Machine Quilting with Style. (The Facets pattern begins on page 90).
Although this book is now out of print, I still have a few dozen physical copies left, and there’s a PDF download version available, too!
Just for funsies, below is the whole group of 12 quilts that’s included in the book. They all have a bit of modern flair, and each one includes a complete step-by-step machine quilting plan.
It’s fun to remember that I actually shared many of the quilts in the books at different shows and even picked up a couple ribbons at other shows too. Of course, that’s not why I quilt, but it is a feather in my cap when I can snag the occasional ribbon at a show.
Making Facets, along with the other quilts was such a labor of love! Although I had been teaching locally for many years before I wrote that first book, it kicked off my national teaching career, and for that I am truly grateful!
Domestic machine quilting is all about “scrunching” and “smooshing” a quilt under the machine!
One of my favorite things about being a designer is getting to be a spokesperson or ambassador for many different companies in the quilting industry. I love telling folks about things that I use in my sewing room every day. Probably one of the most important supplies I use in *all* of my quilts is my collection of Aurifil threads.
I curated my favorite grouping of colors, neutrals, and variegated threads I use for both piecing AND quilting. They are all size 50 weight, 100% premium long staple cotton and they are an absolute dream to work with. The first 2 boxes – Colors and Neutrals were first introduced back in 2016 and due to the overwhelming popularity, I was able to curate the Variegated group a couple years later in 2018
Because these collections have sold so well for so many years (and my picture on the original boxes was getting a little out of date) we decided to refresh the labels so that they all had a consistent look.
I’m actually a minimalist when it comes to tools and supplies around the studio so I love that these threads are all constructed exactly the same. They are long staple cotton fibers with over 1400 yards of thread on each spool. In fact, I can usually quilt an entire throw sized quilt with just one spool – and that includes the top *and* bobbin threads!
When I first began quilting I got so confused with all the different types of threads that were out there, not to mention all the different sizes. I was so happy when I could find just ONE thread that could do everything I love to do. The bonus thing about working with cotton threads is that they make your quilts soft and supple since they are a natural fiber. And any leftover bobbins that I use for machine quilting can be used up when piecing my next quilt!
I’be been working with these threads exclusively since they came out and have been very pleased with the results. If you haven’t tried them yet, you are in for a treat!
Christa Quilts 