A Baby Quilt for Emma

Well over a year ago, I won a fat quarter bundle of Rifle Paper Co.'s Meadow collection. I knew my sister-in-law loves all things Rifle Paper, so when she announced she was having a baby girl, I knew it was the perfect use for the bundle!

2020 in Quilts + 2021 Goals

I LOVE the end of the year when I do this post every year!! It's so great to visually look back and see all that I made in a year! And oh, how different was 2020 than years past?!

Want to guess how many quilts I made in 2020??

(Drumroll...)

The final count was 21 quilts!

I spy with my little eye...a blog hop!

Welcome to another fun day on the I Spy blog hop! I am so excited to be one of the designers sharing about the new book from Kimie and Missy of On Williams Street! I love their design style, and this is their very first book! I jumped at the chance to make something from the book for the blog hop!

I knew I wouldn't be able to make the whole quilt with the timing of the blog hop, but I did want to make something fun! The blocks in the book are grouped by type, so I thought about doing the trains, planes, and automobiles, then I thought about making all the winter and Christmas blocks. But then I had an aha moment! I could group the blocks in a way to represent books! Like One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! That led me down a fun brainstorming session that landed at Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Exploding Heart Quilt Along Announcement!

Let's make the Exploding Heart quilt TOGETHER!

That's right, starting on January 7th , sew along with me and make your own Exploding Heart quilt!

This will be the very first time I've hosted a quilt along, but I'm SO excited! In addition to weekly tips and hints, I'm planning video tutorials too! 

DIY Microwave Heating Pad

Welcome to my stop on the Holiday Gifts to You blog hop! The Partners in Design group (the same designers that hosted the QAL By the Sea!) are sharing complimentary patterns and tutorials this week for quick and easy projects you can sew for yourself or for a gift! I'm sharing a tutorial for how I make rice heating pads!

Love & Kisses Exploding Heart Quilt

Welcome to my stop on the Love & Kisses Blog Tour! I'm excited to help my friend Sherry from Powered by Quilting launch her first signature fabric collection from Island Batik! Be sure to read to the end of the post for an announcement!

I've known Sherry for several years. We first met online, but have met in person too! For a short bit, we lived just a half hour's drive apart! Sherry is a talented pattern designer and longarmer, and I am thrilled to be able to support her on her quilting business journey! Be sure to follow her on Facebook or Instagram!

Starburst - A FREE Quilt Block Pattern!

Happy December! A new month means it's time for a new FREE quilt block! This month's Quilt Block Mania theme is Stars! Over twenty designers are sharing free star quilt block patterns for you to sew!

Woodland Baby Quilt + TGIFF

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!

Bethlehem Star - Jesse Tree Quilt

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!

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

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

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.

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.

COMING SOON! Holiday Gifts to You Blog Hop

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!

QAL By the Sea - A Finished Quilt!

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

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). 

Just My Type - Digital Blog Hop

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

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!

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.

Christmas Wreath - FREE Quilt Block

'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!

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!!

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

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!

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.

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 - Block 11

Happy QAL By the Sea block release day!

This week is the "Ab the Crab" block by Abbie at Sparkle On! The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

This is the eleventh of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!

USA Block Tour - Missouri

Welcome to Missouri!

I am so excited to share about this quilt block! I partnered with Denniele of Louanna Mary Quilt Design to design a complimentary Missouri quilt block pattern for the Around the Block - US Tour! This is part of a larger project with dozens of other pattern designers. Each week, a new FREE block pattern is released representing another one of the 50 US states. If you quilt along, you'll be able to make a quilt representing all 50 states!

QAL By the Sea - Block 10

Happy QAL By the Sea block release day!

This week is the "Sunset Beach" block by Sandy at SandyStar Designs! The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

This is the tenth of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns! 

Going Batty! - A Finished Quilt!

Welcome to my stop on the Halloween Hoppin' Blog Hop! Hosted by Marian at Seams To Be Sew, the hop is a fun way to meet new quilters and see what spooky things we've all been stitching!

I knew the hop would be the perfect excuse to sew up a quilt using my Bat Crazy pattern! 

The Houses on the Hill

Back in April, a customer messaged me through my Etsy shop to commission a quilt. Due to a series of unexpected events (all related to the pandemic), the quilt took WAY longer than anticipated! But I am thrilled to be able to show you the finished quilt now!

QAL By the Sea - Block 9

Happy QAL By the Sea block release day! 

This week is the "Setting Sail" block by Karen of Tu-Na Quilts! The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

This is the ninth of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!

Pumpkin Spice Season

The leaves are beginning to change color here in Missouri, and that makes me want to sew autumn things! Do you remember this quilt? When the fabric designer, Nancy Archer, mailed me fabric for that quilt, she also sent a half-yard bundle of her Pumpkin Spice collection too!

Paper Chain Family - FREE Quilt Block

This month's Quilt Block Mania theme is Family! Dozens of pattern designers have come together to share FREE quilt blocks with you every month! Carolina from AlwaysExpectMoore is spearheading the project, and it is so fun to see what everyone comes up with each month!

Last year, when I made this quilt, I also made a cute "paper" chain made from fabric. The people are holding hands, and it creates hearts in-between them. 

I really love the paper chain, and it sits on a shelf in my sewing studio. When this month's prompt was "family," I knew the paper chain people needed to be featured again!

Diamond Star Quilts

Welcome to my stop on the Diamond Star Quilts blog tour! This week, seven bloggers along with C&T Publishing and author Barbara Cline have teamed up to give you a sneak peek into the new Diamond Star Quilts book! 

Quilter's Planner - A Quilty Planner Review

My series on quilty planners continues this week with a review of the Quilter's Planner! This is the planner that first comes to mind for me when I think of quilty planners, so I'm excited to see what's new for 2021!

This is the fourth planner in my quilty planner series. You can read about the other planners HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Morrison Park - Exploding Heart

A few months ago, Pat Sloan emailed me asking if I'd like to join her social media tour for her new Morrison Park fabric collection. Of course I immediately said YES! Fast forward to today, and it's my turn to share my Exploding Heart quilt!

QAL By the Sea - Segment 2 Wrap Up

Are you quilting along with the QAL By the Sea??

Eight blocks (of twelve) have been released so far, which means it's time for a one-week break for everyone to catch up.

It also means that you can enter to win prizes!

I will recap the blocks in Segment 2, then tell you how to enter to win the prizes at the bottom of this post! (Visit THIS POST for a recap of all the blocks in Segment 1.)

QAL By the Sea - Block 8

Today's the day for Block 8 of the QAL By the Sea! It's also the end of Segment 2, which means you have an extra week to catch up and a chance to win some prizes! If you're sewing along, be sure to read the Segment 2 post!

This week is a paper pieced Mariner's Compass block by Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing. The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

This is the eighth of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!

Simplicity Vintage Sewing Planner - A Quilty Planner Review

My series on quilt planners continues this week with a review of the Simplicity Vintage Sewing Planner!

This is the third post in this series. You can find my review of the Plan to Quilt here and my review of the Quilter's Project Planner here. This one is quite different than the first two!

QAL By the Sea - Block 7

It's time for Block 7 of the QAL By the Sea!

This week it's my turn to share my Waves quilt block with you!

This is the seventh of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!

Quilter's Project Planner - A Quilty Planner Review

Welcome to my stop on the C&T Publishing Quilter's Project Planner tour!

I'm continuing my series on quilty planners this week with a review of the Quilter's Project Planner! (There's a giveaway at the end of this post too!) See my other two quilty planner posts HERE and HERE.

QAL By the Sea - Block 6

Today's the day for Block 6 of the QAL By the Sea!

The sixth block is "Stars at Sea" by Snowy Days Quilting! The pattern and tutorial are on her blog HERE.

This is the sixth of twelve blocks in the QAL By the Sea. There is a new FREE block pattern released each week throughout the quilt along, and there are prizes you can win for joining the fun! Be sure to join the QAL's Facebook group so you can encourage other quilters and get the links to all the patterns!