Woodland Baby Quilt + TGIFF

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Last night (at midnight), I decided to start a baby quilt for a friend who is having baby #2 in a few weeks. I worked on it in-between meals today and now have a finished quilt after just a couple hours!

Quilt-as-you-go 2.5" strip baby quilt


Bethlehem Star - Jesse Tree Quilt

Sunday, November 22, 2020

I love Christmas! I love the traditions and joy of the whole season. And in 2020, I love that people are embracing Christmas just a bit sooner than usual. One tradition that we do in our family is to countdown to the Big Day with books! On Thanksgiving, I individually wrap 25 (well, honestly it's over 50 now...) Christmas-themed books. Then each night before bed, the boys pick a couple to unwrap, and we read them for bedtime stories. We usually have an activity-based activity Advent calendar too. I really love the anticipation that the Advent calendar builds!

Paper pieced Bethlehem star for Advent quilt

So imagine my delight when Jen of Faith & Fabric announced she had designed an Advent quilt! I immediately knew this needed to be in my future! I jumped at the chance to make a block as part of her blog hop to celebrate the launch!

My Quilty Friends Quilt

Friday, November 20, 2020

Some quilts are just fabric and thread, but some quilts have stories sewn into every stitch. This is one of those quilts.

Friendship star quilt with quilt blocks that were bleached and dyed

This quilt started back in 2017. A group of my quilty friends spent the weekend at a sewing retreat. (You can read all about that HERE!) We decided a few weeks before the retreat that we would each make a set of friendship stars, then we would trade at the retreat so we would each have one from each friend to make into a quilt. It was a lovely idea. The reality was that everyone used completely different colors and styles of fabrics, so none of them went together at all. It was an immediate UFO.

Quilty friends from a sewing retreat

Fast forward to just a couple months ago. Bobbie of The Geeky Bobbin challenged other quilt bloggers to sign up for UFOvember to share and finish a UFO. I have quite my share of UFOs! (I bet I could find at least two dozen if I tried!) When Bobbie set up the blog hop, she asked for people to either Resume, Rework, or Rehome their UFO. This immediately reminded me of these friendship stars from 2017. I knew now was the time.

UFOvember

COMING SOON! Holiday Gifts to You Blog Hop

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

I always make a few homemade gifts for the holidays, so I'm excited to be participating in the Holiday Gifts to You blog hop with some fellow designer friends from Partners in Design!

Quilty handmade gifts blog hop


Each designer will share a pattern and tutorial for a super quick gift you can sew last minute! The fun starts the first week of December, so you can procrastinate just a bit more before starting on those gifts! ;) 

If you can't wait for this year's blog hop to start, you can look back at the patterns and tutorials we shared last year!



Here's the schedule for this year so you can follow along!

December 4 - Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts <--- I'll be sharing how to make rice neck warmers!

What other gift ideas would you like to see a tutorial on?


And remember to join the Quilting & Sewing Deals group to find the best sales and deals on quilty things around the web!

QAL By the Sea - A Finished Quilt!

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

The planning for the QAL By the SeaQAL By the Sea started way back in about March of this year, so this finish feels like a long time in the making!

Ocean themed sampler quilt from QAL By the Sea quilt along

All twelve blocks have been released, and are still available as free patterns (though the designers may switch them to paid once the QAL officially ends in a couple weeks). 



This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

Just My Type - Digital Blog Hop

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

This is a fun 2020 blog hop! It's all digital! So 2020, right?!

Exploding Heart quilt in Just My Type fabrics from Island Batik

Tammy of Tamarinis has a new fabric collection with Island Batik called Just My Type, and she's asked a dozen designers to use the fabric to have a digital quilt show!

Just My Type digital quilt blog hop

November 4th

The past few weeks have seen a flood of "VOTE" quilts on social media. Making a quilt using the letters v, o, t, and e is like the quilting version of an "I voted" sticker. The quilts are relevant, timely, and very important.

However, I began to witness some not-so-nice things on social media too. Name calling, cursing, bullying, personal attacks... This type of behavior breaks my heart in real life, and it broke my heart to see it on my favorite social platforms from some of my most respected business and quilting colleagues and friends. I knew I needed to make a quilt to try and say what my heart was feeling.

Love / Vote red white and blue quilt

Christmas Wreath - FREE Quilt Block

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

'Tis the season to start planning for Christmas! This month's Quilt Block Mania theme is Winter Celebrations! Dozens of designers are sharing FREE quilt block patterns for you to sew!

I created a FREE pattern for a Christmas wreath! Have you seen those fun and colorful wreaths made from Christmas ball ornaments?? This is exactly the inspiration behind this quilty version!

FREE quilt block pattern for a fun and modern Christmas wreath

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

QAL By the Sea - Block 12

It's time for the LAST block for the QAL By the Sea!! That means there's also a chance to win prizes! Be sure to read THIS POST for TWO ways to win!

The final block is the "Quilted Cliffs Lighthouse" by Karen at Tu-Na Quilts! The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

Lighthouse quilt block for QAL By the Sea

This is the twelfth and final block in the QAL By the Sea! You can still get the patterns for all twelve blocks - though they may not stay free forever! Hop over to the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!

QAL By the Sea

QAL By the Sea - Segment 3 Wrap Up and final quilt top!

Have you been quilting along with the QAL By the Sea?? I am SO excited to share my finished quilt top with you!!

QAL By the Sea - ocean themed sampler quilt

All twelve blocks have been released, so now it's time for some prizes! And this time there are TWO different chances to enter!

QAL By the Sea

I will recap the blocks in Segment 3, then tell you how to enter to win the prizes. And be sure to keep scrolling after that as I'll share the directions for how I made my quilt top!