Right now I’m currently doing a bunch of “secret sewing” – things I can’t share with you until several months in the future. But instead of going radio silent for awhile, I thought I would fill the time with previous projects that my friends and I have made to keep you inspired.
For starters, I’d like to share with you Beads and Baubles – a quilt that my talented friend Heather Black (from Quiltachusetts) made to showcase Fandangle Fat Quarters. I love how she paired the prints with some soft tone on tone Color Weave prints to create a fun stripe in the background.
She named her quilt after the focus print from my collection, called “Baubles and Bits.” (I think these prints together would make a fun, modern Christmas quilt!)
To further tie in the theme, she quilted it with an allover design that’s similar to the “Beaded Curtain” print from the line. I think it’s the perfect motif for this amazing quilt!
Heather created this design with some simple curved piecing and I love how the oval shapes look like beads. She has released this pattern as a PDF version in her Etsy shop and I’d love to see what it looks like in different fabrics, too!
Heather is so talented and I love her modern design sense! She’s made quilts from my fabric before (click here to see her amazing Pearl Pendants quilt) and she’s got several more designs in the works using my current and upcoming lines, too. I can’t wait for you to see them!
And now I have a question for you – have you ever tried curved piecing? If so – how did it go? Leave me a comment as I’d love to know. I’ve only done it sparingly but I love the look!
I’m so excited – it’s like early Christmas around here! My shipment of Abstract Garden precuts have just arrived, and the yardage should be here soon, whoo hoo! Take a quick peek below:
While I encourage all of you to ask for my fabrics at your local quilt shop, I understand that not everyone has access to a great shop close by. So I always order extras that I’m happy to share while supplies last. Here’s what I’ve got:
This is the second time I’ve featured 20 prints in a line. It’s the perfect amount I think because it won’t break the bank, and it’s enough to make a substantial sized quilt. I do love a good rainbow and I’m excited to see how everyone will mix and match the different prints!
Pair these with a contrasting background (like the greys from Fandangle) and you can’t go wrong! If you need more than a FQ, you can also get these in 1/2 yard or full yard cuts.
Abstract Garden Strip-Pies: 40 – 2 1/2″ x 42″ Strips
You can either pronounce them stripp-ees (rhymes with hippies), or strip Pies (mmm… pie!!). But however you do it, I love the look of them and how they are packaged. They are separated into warm and cool for you by the manufacturer, which just makes me smile!!
Otherwise known as “jelly rolls, pinwheels, roll-ups” etc, these are much easier to ship since they will fit easily into a flat rate envelope. And the best part is, they don’t fuzz up as much!!
These are probably my least used precut, but they are great to cut up when you want to make a really scrappy quilt! I like using them when I want a lot of 5″ squares of the same fabric, since it’s a bit cheaper to crosscut each square in half twice, rather than buying 4 charm packs. They are also fun to slice up when making a pattern like my Improv Squares, and I love whipping up a fun pieced back by sewing all 42 squares together, set 6 x 7.
If you work a lot with 10″ squares (also known as Layer Cakes), please leave me a comment and let me know how you use them. I’d love to know!
Charm packs are the most popular precut because it’s a great way to sample the entire line of fabric at the lowest price. You can quickly whip up a baby quilt from just one pack, or combine packs together for a larger quilt. Because the charm packs include a total of 42 squares, you get 2 of each print in the collection, plus 3 of the main “Raised Beds” print.
Can I say how much I enjoy doing quilt alongs with you all? It keeps me motivated to design and make new things, and nothing thrills me more than seeing all the variety of quilts that are being made, even when we all start with the same basic pattern. So I’m excited to announce the next quilt along which will start mid January!
We will be making my Blooming Wallflowers quilt from start to finish over 12 weeks. Each Friday starting in Janaury, I’ll share a new blog post with inspiration pictures, bonus tips and plenty of cheerleading to keep you motivated. I’ve built in a couple of breaks to the quilt along, so it should be a nice and relaxing pace, and easy to follow along!
Of course, you can use whichever fabrics you like, but I’ve put together an optional fabric kit which includes all the fabric to make the quilt top and binding as shown above: Fat Eights of 12 different Blooming Roses prints, 1 1/4 yards of light blue Tracks for the accent, and 4 yards of Modern Marks Herringbone Navy for background and binding.
I’ll post the complete supply list and schedule on January 4th and will then give everyone a couple of weeks to gather their materials and supplies before we dive into cutting on January 18th. We will wrap up by the end of March and I’ll encourage everyone to post their progress in my ChristaQuilts Facebook group. After all, doing things with friends is a large part of the fun!
So who wants to join me?? Leave a comment if you plan to follow along, either making the quilt – or virtually in your head!!
I just got the best news ever! My Abstract Garden line is shipping a little early and should be here soon! To celebrate, for this weekend only, you can use the code BLACKFRIDAY to get 10% off your preorder of any of the yardage. As soon as it arrives on my doorstep I’ll cut it and get it out the door to you, while supplies last.
Happy Turkey Day!! I’m so thankful to you, dear blog reader for your support you’ve given me over the years. I started this blog on Thanksgiving Day back in 2010 and little did I know that it would lead to what I’m doing today – a full time career in the quilting industry.
LatticeWork Quilt – Throw Size
On this day of thanks, I’m so happy to be sharing more fun and inspiring projects with you! Take a look at LatticeWork, the 4th and final quilt pattern I’ve released to go along with my Abstract Garden fabric line (which starts shipping to stores in December).
LatticeWork comes in 3 sizes and is made from Charm Packs (5″) or 10″ squares. You can also make it from a bundle of fat quarters with coordinating light and dark fabric. For the Throw Size, I’ve used 4 charm packs of Abstract Garden, but it would look fabulous in Modern Marks charms or Fandangle charms, too. Or you could mix and match them for even more variety!
As with all of my patterns, I’ve included machine quilting suggestions so you can get ‘er done!! For LatticeWork, I quilted one of my favorite walking-foot designs: an allover wavy grid that requires absolutely NO marking of the quilt!
You basically divide and conquer the quilt into a grid: quilt lines in the center of each lattice strip in both directions. Then fill in with more and more lines until you are happy with the line spacing.
Wavy Grid quilting detail – it’s so easy to do!
If you look closely at the orange “Trellis” print above (the one near the purple, blue and orange spirals) you will see that it roughly mimics the irregular plaid design of the quilting. I love it when I can incorporate my fave quilting motifs into my fabrics!
I chose a tone-on-tone black for the lattice and paired up the bright colorful prints with the light gray Confetti Crosshatch print from my Fandangle collection. The best news is that I just got in more yardage of both of the Fandangle Grays so click here to grab some before it sells out out again!
Are you enjoying seeing all of the new quilts I made from my Abstract Garden collection? I sure had fun making them! Today I’m excited to introduce you to Blooming Wallflowers, an optical illusion type quilt that looks much more complicated than it actually is.
Blooming Wallflowers – Throw Size
I paired up the colorful prints from Abstract Garden along with the Navy Herringbone print from Modern Marks, which is still available! I love brightly colored quilts with a rainbow of fabrics and it’s been fun to experiment and use “neutrals” other than black white or gray for this quilt.
I love the movement in the Navy Herringbone print. I’ve designed all of my fabrics to work with each other so that you can mix and match between the collections.
The Blooming Wallflowers quilt pattern comes with instructions in 3 sizes and the cool thing about this design is that it stays the same for each size. The individual triangles are cut larger or smaller depending on which size you make.
Click image above to enlarge.
I recommend using specialty rulers to cut the triangles, but I’ve also included full size templates so that you can get started making this quilt with the tools and supplies you have on hand!
I also include machine quilting suggestions in all of my patterns so that you can actually have success finishing them! Nothing disappoints me more than to see “quilt as desired” at the end of a quilt pattern.
Quilting detail – all of my patterns include machine quilting suggestions.
Blooming Wallflowers Quilt Along
It’s important for me to make all of my own quilts not only to pattern test my designs, but to also go through the entire process so I can better understand any trouble spots that you may run into as you make the quilts. After all, my main goal in designing patterns and fabric and teaching my machine quilting methods is to help you make beautiful quilts and have a fun, stress-free time doing it!
I made this design in two colorways – warm and cool. The best thing about this quilt is that it only calls for 5 fabrics! So you can pick and choose and play around with different arrangements of the diamonds to create some really fun color gradations.
And the secret to this quilt is that the diamonds aren’t “true” diamonds meaning they are easier to piece than traditional diamonds, AND they will work with HST’s (half-square triangles), QST’s (quarter square triangles) and Flying Geese units, whereas traditional diamonds won’t, because of the funky math involved.
Baby Size Geese in the Garden Cool – Warm Colorway
In the instructions, I very thoroughly explain how to cut and piece the diamonds with lots of clear illustrations for you to follow. The best part is there’s no specialty ruler required! All you need is a regular ruler that has a 45 degree angle and you are all set.
I quilted wavy lines on the warm version.
Of course I include machine quilting suggestions, too. For these quilts I quilted irregular wavy lines on the warm colorway and straight lines on the cool colorway. Both are done with a walking foot/dual feed – easy peasy!!
I quilted irregularly spaced straight lines on the cool version.
I used more of my new variegated threads from Aurifil – pink for the warm and blue for the cool for the quilting. They added a nice touch to the quilt while not overpowering the pieced design.
The pattern comes in 3 sizes: Baby, Lap, Throw and the cool thing is that the design doesn’t change between the three sizes. You make the same number of units, but each one gets bigger depending on the size. So this quilt goes together super quick and is the perfect quilt to make when you need a gift in a hurry!
This week, I’m excited to release 4 new quilt patterns to go along with my upcoming fabric line Abstract Garden – which starts shipping to quilt shops next month. The PDF versions are all available now for instant download in my Craftsy shop, and print versions will be ready to ship by the end of the month.
Pieced Primrose in Warm – Wall Size (Actual Quilt)
Today I’d like to introduce you to Pieced Primrose, a paper foundation pieced pattern with tons of movement. I made two versions of the quilt, in both warm and cool colorways, but the possibilities with this pattern are really endless!
Pieced Primrose in Cool – Wall Size (Actual Quilt)
I’ve included instructions for two sizes in the pattern. I made the wall sizes shown above for my booth at quilt market.
Below are digital images of what the quilt would look like in the larger throw size:
Pieced Primrose in Warm – Throw Size (Digital Image)
I always think it’s amazing how much the digital versions of my designs look like the actual finished quilts. It’s because I design them in EQ8 using the exact fabrics I plan to use.
Pieced Primrose in Cool – Throw Size (Digital Image)
In the pattern, I’ve included full sized paper foundation templates which are super easy to print as many copies as you need for any size you wish. I’ll be sharing a tutorial later in the week for my favorite paper foundation method, so be on the lookout for that.
I’ve also included machine quilting suggestions for both quilts. Because I’ve used busy prints for both of the quilts, I recommend a simple all over free motion design. It’s a fun way to practice a motif that you’ve been wanting to try, and by the time you are finished quilting, you’ll be an expert at that design!
Click image above to enlarge for detail.
I love to include designs in my fabrics that are based on some of my favorite quilting motifs so it was fun to quilt round spirals on the warm colorway, to go along with the “blooming roses” spiral print. It’s hard to see the quilting detail, but you can click the images above and below to get a better look.
Click image above to enlarge for detail.
I quilted allover square spirals on the cool colorway. For both versions, I used variegated Aurifil 50 weight threads to match, from my new thread collection releasing soon (more about that later when it gets here).
Although my Dot ‘n Dash quilt along wrapped up about a month ago, I wanted to revisit it one final time to share all the links to all the posts for anyone just wanting to get started. I also want to share some gorgeous photos from several in my Facebook Group that made their versions.
As a reminder, the pattern for Dot’n’Dash can be found in my book, Piece and Quilt with Precuts and it’s easy enough to gather your supplies: just one Jelly Roll of prints and 3 yards of background fabric are all you need to make this fun quilt.
Dot ‘n’ Dash Inspiration
Here are some beautiful finishes and works in progress from others who are making their own versions. Some of them have finished while others are still working at their own pace, so it’s never too late to jump in and start!
Don’t you love this one above in teal by Lucy Given? She did a fabulous job making it super scrappy by mixing up beautiful blue hues for both the blocks and the background. She’s finished the quilt top so far and I can’t wait to see how she quilts it!
Here’s another beauty above, pieced and quilted by Patti Baymiller. Didn’t she do a fantastic job on the quilting? The texture is so fantastic! I love it when others show how easy and fun domestic machine quilting can be.
How about this one done in Halloween novelty prints by Heather Lofstrom? She quilted it with a diagonal grid and she shares more of her inspiring quilty life over on her instagram account @aquiltingcowgirl so be sure to check out her feed for more fun!
Of course I might be biased, but I really think Lucy Blum’s quilt top done in Modern Marks looks just as fabulous!! She used up leftovers from other projects, and although the Modern Marks precut strips are sold out, you can still grab a fat quarter bundle and cut your own strips if you are so inclined.
Lisa Tucker created her stunning quilt with a yellow background which really pops! Who says you have to use a neutral background, right??
Here’s another quilt in process, being quilted by Abbie Bill. She’s opting for the original quilting plan as given in the book and she’s making fabulous progress!!
And these are just the tip of the iceberg of the fabulous work being created and shared over in my Christa Quilts Facebook group. Be sure to add pics of your progress there and you can do a quick search of “Dot ‘n Dash” in the group for even more amazing inspiration. 🙂
Quilt Along Posts
Here’s a roundup of links to all of the Dot ‘n’ Dash Quilt Along Posts that were shared. Keep in touch and let me know if you have any questions as you make YOUR version – I’d love to cheer you on!
I’m back home and recovered from Quilt Market – the semi-annual trade show for the quilting industry. It was my third time having a booth to showcase my new patterns and fabric and I thought it would be fun to share my list of top 10 things I learned this time:
1. Wear Cute Things Made from my Fabric (with fun Shoes!)
I had “sew” much fun making 4 fabric aprons to wear for each day of the show. I watched Betz White’s easy Modern Apron class on Craftsy for the pattern and instructions, and I have to say – for this girl who doesn’t sew “3-D” items, they came together very quickly!
Or course I had to pair them with my favorite Fluevog shoes which were as much of a hit as the fabric was! I had people stopping me on the show floor to take pics and I was happy to oblige as that’s part of the game in this industry – get as much social media sharing as possible so that the there’s more eyeballs on my fabric!
2. Pass Out Handouts and Promotional Giveaways
(Click the image to enlarge and select “full screen”)
In this YouTube Video (my first post!) I’ve captured a quick one minute silent tour of my booth so that you can see everything that was made from Abstract Garden. On the top shelf on the far left of the booth, I created a rack full of glossy double sided fliers that included images of each of the fabrics from the line. along with a quick listing of all of my products (patterns, books and thread). I handed these out to everyone who stopped by the booth so they had at-a-glance info on where and how to buy.
While supplies lasted, I also passed out sample fabric swatches of Abstract Garden as well as copies of my current pattern line to shop owners who seemed interested in carrying my fabric and patterns in their shops. These were a huge hit and also gave them something to take home while they wait for all of the goodies to arrive!
3. Get Extra Help
Although I pride myself on making all of my own quilts from start to finish, it was nice to have industry friends make accessories for me out of my fabric to fill out the booth. I have to give a quick shoutout to the following folks who made things for my booth in the video seen above. I’ve linked to each of their sites for more info about them and wonderful designs.
Colourwerx for the adorable Mod Cat Wallhanging and super dupe cute Mod Dog pillows. Aren’t they great??
Easy Peazy Quilts for TWO versions of her adorable Una-Corn activity case: one made from Fandangle and the other from Abstract Garden
Powered by Quilting – for the colorful jelly roll rug. You know you want to make one!!
May Chappell – for adodrable clutches that were a perfect hiding spot for my treats!
By Annie – for the perfect containers and accessories that added the perfect touch to the booth and kept me organized at the same time!
Quilt Market is HUGE and it’s hard for everyone who attends to see all of the booths. That’s why it’s so valuable to get my name and products into as many different booths as possible. I was pleased as punch that Pam and Lynn from The Stitch TV Show were happy to feature Abstract Garden in their latest pattern release in their booth at Market. It’s called A Star is Born and is available for purchase on their website at Shop.TheStitchTVShow.com.
I also had quilts hanging in the Hobbs Batting booth (both at Quilt Market and Quilt Festival) and in the American Patchwork and Quilting booth. (“Out of the Box” quilt made from Fandangle is patterned in the current issue is on the ladder in the upper right below.)
5. Get Plenty of Rest – Before and After the Show!
This goes without saying, but being on your feet talking to folks for 4 days straight can be exhausting. Not to mention that early morning breakfast meetings or after hours networking dinners means I’m “on” from morning until night. Quilt market is probably the most important event I do for my business so it’s important to get my rest ahead of time as much as possible before the show. And that’s why you didn’t hear anything from me last week when I got home. It took several days to recover, unpack, and start making for plans for the next one in 6 months!
6. Don’t Over Schedule
Related to number 5, It’s tempting to want to do EVERYTHING but really, less is more when it comes to market. Although I wanted to say yes to all the things and events, I limited my time to booth prep, business networking, and allowing plenty of time to chat with shops about my fabric. I know that some folks stay on through quilt festival which was the following week, but at this point in time, that’s just too much for me. Maybe in a few years when all of the kiddos are out of the house and I can sleep for a solid week both before AND after the show, LOL!!
7. Stay in my Booth!!
Getting to meet shop onwers in person, such as the gals from Blue Bar Quilts was such a treat! I’m thrilled that they ordered both fabric lines being promoted at the show (Fandangle which is in shops now and Abstract Garden which starts shipping in December).
If you are in the Wisconsin area, be sure to stop by their store and give them some love!
Probably the best lesson I learned from last quilt market was to stay in my booth so that I didn’t miss anyone who wanted to come talk to me. At Spring Market I had scheduled several demos and meetings away from my booth that took me away for a few hours each day. It’s also fun to get out and walk the show floor. However several people contacted me after last spring market saying were sorry they had missed me. Missed opportunities meant missed sales so this time around I stayed put!
If anyone wanted to meet me or chat, I invited them over to my booth so we could conduct business there. Just being present if I didn’t talk to everyone gave the impression I was serious about my products, but also approachable if someone had a question. It made for long days, but the added bonus was that my booth was hopping with people to talk to the entire time!
8. Take Notes on Business Cards
Quilt market is a flurry of activity – chatting with shopwoners and seeing how we can work together for me to provide product support for them through samples, teaching events or other collaborations. I’ve found that the easiest way to follow up after the fact is to collect their business card and add a quick note on the back such as “email them about my trunk show schedule” or “send teaching contract when I return home”.
One word of advice for anyone who passes out their card – please don’t print on black because then it’s hard to see what I wrote, LOL!!
9. Get to Know the Sales Reps
Meet Cindy, one of the amazing Benartex sales reps who scored one of my aprons after the trade show was over. After all, I’m happy to support the reps because they support me!!
This one is HUGELY important! Although social media and the internet make it super easy for quilt shops and customers to easily find me and connect with me directly, quilting is still built on relationships. The relationship I have with my fabric company, and the relationships that the sales reps have with their customers can make or break the success of a fabric line. Benartex is so smart to recongize these relationships and they encourage us getting to know each other by giving the designers an opportunity to present our lines to the sale reps in our own words, the day before the show opens.
Then on the first night of the show at closing, they host a small private company dinner where we can get to know them a bit better on a personal scale. Now that I’ve been doing this for 3 quilt markets in a row, I feel like I’m building a great relationship with both the shops and the sales reps. In other words, they realize as a designer, I’m here to stay rather than being just a flash in the pan, or a one hit wonder.
10. Support my Fellow Benartex Designers
Bill Kerr along with his wife Weeks Ringle make up the dynamic duo of Modern Quilt Studio
One of the highlights of attending quilt market with fellow Benartex/Kanvas/Contempo designers is getting to know them and their work on a more personal level. Jason and I sat at dinner with Bill Kerr while he shared fun stories of his worldwide travel and design inspirations.
Although I didn’t get a chance to snap many photos of the other designers’ booth, Benartex created a virtual tour of all of their booths over on their blog – check out the links below:
Cherry Guidry was my booth-mate at the show and though our styles are completely different, we are both passionate about our love for fabric and fun projects to make from them!
Quilting Detail from Dot’n’Dash made from my 
Christa Quilts 