This year has been such a whirlwind for me! Like so many others in the quilting industry, the pandemic really interrupted our work flow and it’s take a bit of time to get back on track. I’ve travelled here and there this year and looking forward to a full travel schedule again in 2023. I’ll be vending at QuiltCon in Atlanta in February and teaching nationwide again which I’m really looking forward to.

I’m excited with the response that Stitchy got in the Benartex booth quilt market last month. Right now I’m working behind the scenes to finish up patterns and kits to represent everything shown in this photo above. I know folks are especially clamoring for kits of the star quilt shown here, so as soon as all of that is ready, I’ll let you know! I took lots of video as I made these beauties, so I’m excited to get back to sharing on my YouTube channel soon!

I also had the most amazing time teaching at Quilt Festival last week. It was my first time ever attending this show, let alone teaching and it did not disappoint. I pretty much lived in this hallway the entire time, teaching on wonderful machines provided by BERNINA. One of the great things about attending a huge show like this is that you don’t even have to bring a machine – how cool is that??

However, I was soo busy teaching that I didn’t have time for too many photos. But I brought the family along for support and my daughter was able to snap a few “action” pics in my quilting workshops.

My students were fabulous and eager to learn and I get a lot of joy teaching others my “perfectly imperfect” quilting methods. Whenever someone leaves me a glowing evaluation, it makes me feel warm & fuzzy inside – so thanks to those of you who say such kinds things as “this was the best class ever” or “I learned so much!” It really makes my day!

On the show floor during preview night, I was able to visit with the folks from Arrow Sewing. I loved how they had my Christa Cabinet and quilt blocks prominently on display. That’s been very well received, too!

I’ll end with these great shots of my hubby and daughter. They really enjoyed viewing the quilts while I taught and it was fun hearing about which quilts were their faves. Usually I travel alone, so it was such a nice treat to have company this time around.

Until the next post, happy quilting!

I can’t tell you how many requests I’ve gotten for a digital version of my best selling machine quilting book, How Do I Quilt It? Now I’m excited to announce that my publisher has granted me permission to sell the PDF of this book directly to you. This is especially exciting for my international friends who may not be able to find it locally. Even if you have the physical book, it’s always nice to have a digital copy on hand for immediate access from your computer, anytime!

Click here to purchase the PDF/Digital download version of How Do I Quilt It?

My latest book walks you through my machine quilting process, step by step. I explain my spray basting technique in detail and discuss the steps I take to prepare a quilt for machine quilting on a regular home sewing machine. The number 1 tip I teach my students is to create a quilting plan before attempting to machine quilt. By getting most of the thinking out of the way ahead of time, you can enjoy the actual machine quilting process!

Shown above: 3 different versions of the same quilt, Loose Weave, quilted 3 different ways.

In the book, I also include 3 projects to practice your skills. Each pattern is quilted 3 different ways, using walking foot techniques, free motion motifs, or both. My other top tip is to build your machine quilting skills one step at a time. Start with walking foot quilting. Once you are comfortable with moving the quilt under your machine, then try an easy edge-to edge free motion design. Finally, use both techniques to custom quilt your quilt to really make it your own.

Just one of the gorgeous detailed photos from the book. There’s so much eye candy and inspiration!

Reading this book, and implementing my methods will make the machine quilting process simpler and more fun, I guarantee it!

Click here to get your instant PDF copy of How Do I Quilt It?

Click here to get a signed paper copy of How Do I Quilt It?

Stitchy, my 8th fabric line with Benartex has now officially arrived and I couldn’t be more thrilled! In additional to yardage and precuts, I’ve also assembled special 1/2 yard bundles by colorway or print. You can grab any of them directly from me at Shop.ChristaQuilts.com.

Sunny Day

Sunny day was inspired by mornings in my studio when the light streams through the windows and the day is full of promise!

Crossweave

Crossweave started off as a simple dot design in black and white but evolved into this stunning print!

Threaded Lines

As the name implies, this interesting print represents the precious threads we use in our quilt making every day. I don’t know about you, but my clothes catch all of my threaded mess every time I sew!!

Stitches

The title print, Stitches was inspired by one of my favorite free motion designs called Geometric Chains. You can use this print as a cheater cloth to practice your quilting skills. Or embellish it however you’d like!

Hashtags

Hashtags represents my love of sharing my work on social media. If you’d like to share what YOU have made with Stitchy, be sure to use #stitchyfabric in your social media posts. I’d love to give you a shoutout!!

Stitchy by Colorway

I’m curious – do you like to organize your fabrics by print or by colorway?
Click here to order Stitchy bundles by color or print online.

Stitchy in Pretty Pinks

Stitchy in Orange, perfect for Halloween!

Stitchy in Groovy Greens

Stitchy in Terrific Teals – the most popular color!

Stitchy in Black & White, from dark to light

Click here to get your hands on some Stitchy fabric.
I’ll include a cute sticker in your happy mail (while supplies last)!

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!

Click here to get my Herringbone free PDF quilt pattern emailed to you.

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!!

Click here to get your hands on Stitchy!

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!

Click here to view Stitchy and place your preoroders now. You’ll be glad you did!

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!

Click here to register for quilt festival in Houston Texas

#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!

All of these events are based around my 2 current books: How Do I Quilt It and 99 Machine Quilting Designs. So be sure to grab your signed copy of my books from me before the show. It’s going to be amazing!!

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!

Click here to view all of my fat quarter bundles made from my fabric lines.

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.

Click here for more info about the blocks.
Click here for more info about the cabinet.

To get more info about current pricing, shoot me an email to christa@christaquilts.com

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!

Click here to get your signed copy of How Do I Quilt it?
Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fun videos each week!

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!!

You can leave a comment, OR join my ChristaQuilts Facebook group to ask questions and share your work. Happy quilting, friends!!!