Have you been enjoying seeing all of my sneak peeks of Stitchy, my new fabric line from Benartex? Today I have more fun stuff to share! You can get this free pattern called Herringbone as my way of saying thanks for supporting me and the quilting community!
In the quilt pattern, I also included a quilting plan so you can jazz up the quilt with some fun free motion quilting. I took lots of pictures and videos while making this quilt and I’ll have a fun video tutorial to share later on my YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe. Here’s a detail shot of the quilting below.
The secret is figuring out how to quilt from one edge of the quilt to the other without stopping!!
Have you preorded my Stitchy fabric yet? I’m pre-selling yardage, bundles and precuts and including plenty of freebies in each order placed before 10/15/22. So be the first to get some of this scrumptious fabric. I can’t wait!!
I’m so excited to be releasing my next fabric line with Benartex, called Stitchy! It will be arriving mid October, 2022 and I’m now taking preorders for yardage, bundles and precuts over at shop.ChristaQuilts.com.
Click the image above to view the short video I made which shows all 25 of the fabrics organized by print or colorway. It’s my 8th collection so far, and truly the best one yet!
Get Your Bonus Freebies with Each Order!
To sweeten the pot, I’m throwing in some fun freebies with each and every order from now until the fabric arrives! The more you buy, the more fun things you’ll receive. To start off, all orders will get these fun stickers I designed below. Use them to decorate your sewing space, water bottles, or anything else you’d like to glam up!
In addition to these cute stickers, once your order reaches $25 or more, I’ll throw in a free pattern. If you’d like to tell me which patterns you already have in the notes of your order, I’ll try to not send a duplicate, but I can’t make any promises!!
And here’s the best part yet!! Once your order reaches $100 or more, you’ll STILL get the free stickers AND the free pattern. But you’ll also get one of my books! This will be my choice and based on what I have excess copies of, so if you get a duplicate – just pass it onto a friend!
Preorder now and you’ll be my BQF – My Best Quilting Friend!!
One of the reasons I love what I do is because I get so much support from you! It really makes my day when you all send me notes and leave comments about how much you enjoy my fabrics, patterns and books. I love quilting and I hope that the things I offer can make your quilting fun, enjoyable and stress free!
I’m thrilled to be teaching at Quilt Festival in Houston for the first time ever, coming up November 3-5, 2022. Registration is open now and classes are filling up fast!
Below is information on all 5 workshops and 1 lecture I will be giving at the show. Jot down the class numbers you are interested in then use the link below to register. I look forward to seeing you there!
#477 How to Make a Quilting Plan Thursday 11/3 from 2-5
After discussing the often asked question, “How do I quilt it?” students will practice sketching quilting motifs on paper, then learn strategies to apply those designs to an actual quilt top. Create several different quilting plans using images of your own quilts printed on paper, also learn how to create quilting plans for a wide variety of quilt designs. Time permitting, discuss options for designing a quilting plan in groups, using some of the students’ quilt tops as examples.
#555 Lecture – How Do I Quilt It? Friday 11/4 from 9-10 AM
Most quilters understand how important it is to practice machine quilting designs on small fabric samples, but they often have trouble applying those designs to an actual quilt. In this informative lecture, I’ll share secrets for domestic machine quilting success which include adequate basting, choosing the right thread colors, thinking about how to divide and conquer each task, and learning how to create rich texture with little to no marking of the quilt. I’ll also discuss the importance of making a quilting plan, so you can figure out the best path around the quilt with the fewest stops and starts. Once you see how easy and carefree my methods can be, you’ll feel empowered to quilt your own quilts!
#591 Quilting Between the Lines with your Walking Foot Friday 11/4 from 2-5 PM
Get out of the ditch and learn to quilt between the lines instead! In this workshop, learn several of the walking foot designs showcased in my books. Using your seam lines as a guide, learn how to stitch organic linear designs with no marking of the quilt! These include, but are not limited to, chevrons, zig-zags, parallel lines, wavy line variations, and some gentle curves. Become empowered to embrace the beauty of imperfection and learn to quilt your own quilts!
#616 Modern Machine Quilting: Walking Foot Wonders Friday 11/4 from 6-9 PM
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, interesting grids, fun spirals, and more. Leave class armed with the confidence that yes, you can quilt your own quilts! Students should be comfortable with a sewing machine and will practice on their own pre-basted fabric and batting samples.
Can’t make it to Houston? Click here to view my full teaching schedule. I travel about once a month all over the country and I’m open to international travel too! If you want to get me to come to your guild or other event, shoot me an email asap: christa@christaquilts.com.
#744 Modern Machine Quilting: Free Motion Favorites Saturday 11/5 from 9 AM – Noon
Embrace perfectly imperfect quilting! That means little to no marking and a whole lot of gorgeous texture. Ease into free-motion quilting with asymmetrical textures that are fast and fun to quilt. Explore a wide range of motifs that will look good on any quilt from Modern to Traditional. Students should be comfortable with a sewing machine and will practice on their own pre-basted fabric and batting samples.
#772 Quilting Between the Lines with Free-Motion Techniques Saturday 11/5 from 2-5 PM
Use the seam lines on your quilt as a guide to add gorgeous texture to your quilts with absolutely no marking! Practice many of the free-motion designs showcased in my books. Embrace perfectly imperfect quilting while exploring a wide range of motifs that include continuous curves, S-curves, geometric chains, chevrons, zig-zags, and other linear geometrics. Leave class armed with the confidence that you can indeed quilt your own quilts!
It’s been a minute since I’ve been able to catch up and share the latest & greatest in my quilty world. But I’m home for the rest of the summer until travel season picks back up again in October. Click the video below to see where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to!
New in the Shop – Low Volume Custom Bundles
I share a few sneak peeks of my next fabric line coming soon in the video above. But in the meantime, you can snag these fabulous light/low volume fat quarter sets that I custom cut from my Good Vibes and Black, White & Bright collections. But hurry, as they won’t last long!
It has been such a busy summer that I’ve been having a hard time sharing the latest and greatest. I was gone most of July plus a week in June & August. It was a whirlwind of activity which I’ll share more about soon, but in the meantime, I’m excited to announce that my Quilt Block accessory is now in stock!! These are like guardrails for your quilt that keep it from falling off the edge of your sewing table.
The good news is that they will fit onto any sewing table or cabinet with an edge to clamp onto that’s less than 3/4″ of an inch thick. When I first debuted my table & quilt blocks at a trade show earlier this year, I didn’t realize what a huge response I’d get to them. I was excited to design my cabinet for machine quilters, but the blocks where even MORE popular due to their versatility.
To test drive my cabinet & quilt blocks, you can head to your nearest Arrow dealer. If you don’t have one nearby, you can also order it directly from me.
I love that so many of you have ordered these and are already using them in your sewing rooms. They make a huge difference when managing the bulk of your quilt.
Now that I’m back home for a few months until travel begins again in the fall, I was able to sit down and order some more sewing furniture on order from Arrow to complete my studio. One that arrives, I’ll be excited to give you an updated tour of my sewing room.
So sit tight and be on the lookout for more updates of what I’m currently working on!!
Have you ordered your signed copy of my new book, How do I Quilt It? I recently made two short promotional videos to help spread the love far and wide!
The first video below gives a virtual trunk show of all 9 quilts in the book. I’ve made the same 3 quilts 3 different ways with 3 different quilting plans for each one. Dive into machine quilting by first quilting a simple walking foot quilting plan that’s waaay more exciting than just stitch in the ditch.
Once you are comfortable, try some easy edge to edge free-motion designs. Then level up your skills by applying both walking foot AND free-motion techniques to create a custom quilting plan that’s unique to each quilt you make!
Click below to see all of the colorful quilts:
Take your quilting to the next level by learning how to make a quilting plan and break down the process, step by step. Click the image below to watch my short video with some behind the scenes footage of me quilting 2 of the quilts in the book. You can apply these techniques to ANY quilt in your UFO pile!
I also included a bonus section on basting, plus several of my tried and true techniques for piecing your quilt so that’s it’s flat and square. A nice, flat quilt is sooooo much easier to push through your machine!
Learn how to prep your quilt top, baste your quilt, AND make a quilting plan in my new book! Remember, I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way. If you already have my book and are learning my tips and techniques, let me know – I’d love to see your progress!!
Fun news to share for my friends in the Seattle, WA area: I just booked a last minute event at Quality Sewing – an amazing sewing machine shop with 11 locations!! I’ll be chatting, signing books and answering your questions in addition to providing loads of tips and techniques to improve your machine quilting skills! Click the image below to watch our short announcement about it:
I met Reva from Quality Sewing recently at BERNINA University. When she found out I’d be visiting family in the Seattle Area, she invited me to present a lecture and trunk show at their flagship shop. My event will take place at their Tukwila location on Thursday, August 4 from 10-1.
I’ll be in the area for about a week – so if you live nearby, please leave me a comment and let me know what I need to see while I’m there. I can’t wait!!
I love it when I get happy mail!! I’m pleased to announce that my latest machine quilting book, How Do I Quilt It? has arrived a few days earlier than expected, whoo hoo!!
When I arrived home earlier this week after a few days away, I returned to a huge stack of boxes that I was eager to open. I’m really impressed with how they were shipped: a box within a box to protect them. (The last time I ordered books from my previous publisher several were damaged and needed to be replaced.)
Needless to say, I’m going to have my hands full signing and shipping these babies out to you! If you already pre-ordered, be on the lookout for your shipping notice. If you haven’t yet ordered, click here to get your signed copy of How Do I Quilt It.
All orders through the end of July will ship with a free bonus pattern that I choose for you. It’s my way of saying thanks for your support!!
Click play below to see how many books I’ll be signing and shipping this week, LOL!!
There are already some amazing entries submitted so far, and I can’t wait to see more!! I’ll be opening up preorders for Stitchy on Aug 1 so stay tuned!!
When my Christa Cabinet debuted earlier this year, I had no idea how popular it would be! So many folks were in the same situation as me, needing the perfect sewing table for domestic machine quilting. Now I’m excited to announce that my Quilt Blocks – the accessory that keeps your quilt from falling off the sides – will start shipping at the end of July. Click the video below to learn more about the cabinet AND the blocks, and catch up with my quilty chat for the week!
The quilt blocks are like guardrails for your quilt! They will attach to any table with a thickness under 3/4″ that has an edge to clamp on to. They come in sets of 2 and can be placed around the edges of your sewing table to keep the quilt from falling off the sides while you quilt.
Quilt Blocks attached to the back of the table.Quilt Blocks attached to the side of the table.Quilt Blocks attached on the back & side will keep the quilt from falling off the edges.
Christa Quilts 