Twist & Turn

Sunday, May 28, 2023

I have such a fun thing to share with you today!! My quilty friend, Cinzia White, has just released a new book! Cinzia is the author of many quilt books, and her newest one is a stunner! (Here is a blog post about one of her previous books too!)

Summer Twilight Hydra Pillow

Thursday, May 11, 2023

The Summer Twilight collection is a new batik collection from Island Batik by my designer friend, Tammy of Tamarinis! It's a mix of rich blues, purples, and pinks. I've been wanting to make a pillow from my Hydra quilt pattern for quite awhile, so I jumped at the chance when Tammy sent me some of the fabric to play with!

Mermaid pillow made from the Hydra quilt pattern

Bits & Pieces of Batiks

Thursday, March 30, 2023

The name of this new batik fabric collection is Bits & Pieces - so I used bits and pieces of it to make a fun mini quilt with 3-D butterflies! 

Butterfly mini quilt made with 3-D butterflies

The fabric is a signature collection by Sherry of Powered by Quilting and made by Island Batik, and this week, there are several bloggers showing off what they made with the new fabrics! Be sure to visit the other bloggers posts (listed at the bottom of this post) to see what they made with the same fabric!

Bits & Pieces batik fabric

Happy Pi Day!

Monday, March 13, 2023

It's a tradition now! I make a circle quilt every year for Pi Day!

3-D applique circles made into an abacus quilt

I've made a Pi Day quilt every year since 2017! YES! Do you want to see them all??

2021 - Mini circles (this one is the most similar to this year's!)

Giant Star Quilt Tutorial

Saturday, March 4, 2023

When I saw the new red, white, and blue Land of the Brave fabrics from Riley Blake Designs, I immediately thought they would be perfect for a picnic quilt! 

Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

I chose eight fabrics from the collection. I chose four fabrics in blues and four fabrics in reds. There were florals, stars, plaids, and text prints. Then I added solid white to use for the background.

Land of the Brave fabric by Riley Blake Designs

To make the blocks, I started with 18" squares of each fabric and made jumbo half-square triangles. Then I laid out each half-square triangle opposite from it's match to make the jumbo star. The four corners are squares of solid white fabric. (Get the full tutorial at the bottom of the post!)

Quilt block layout for giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

After sewing the blocks together, I loaded the quilt on my longarm. I used a 108" wide white and light gray fabric that I keep on hand for the back, but I think denim or fleece would have been great for a picnic quilt back too!

White thread for quilting

I loaded white thread into my longarm and quilted a large meander design all over the quilt.

Meander quilting on a longarm

I started with half-yard cuts, so I had enough left over to make a scrappy binding!

Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

As soon as the quilt was finished, I knew it would be perfect for keeping in the car this summer for impromptu picnics and park visits!

Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

I used Warm & White batting inside to keep the solid white fabric a bright white. The large meander quilting kept the quilt really soft.

Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

I made sure to add one of my labels when sewing my binding on too.

Quilt label sewn into the binding

The fake grass at the playground has me dreaming of summer even though it's still pretty cold out. There weren't any kids at the playground when I went to take these photos! You know it's cold then!

Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

If you'd like to make a jumbo star quilt too, then download the pattern tutorial! Since the blocks are jumbo, it goes together quite quickly!


Giant star picnic quilt using red, white, and blue fabrics

Happy quilting!

Chickadee Blog Hop - FREE Chicken Quilt Pattern!

Monday, February 13, 2023

When I was given chicken fabric, I had to make a chicken quilt!! 

Chicken quilt made with applique and batik fabrics

When Heidi Pridemore of The Whimsical Workshop sent me her newest fabric collection from Island Batik, I tried to focus only on the rich colors and make a quilt reflecting those. But the chicken and barn batiks were like a siren call! I *HAD* to make a chicken quilt!

Chickadee fabric collection from Island Batik

An Outdoorsy Quilt

Thursday, February 2, 2023

A family friend was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago. He is doing his chemo treatments at home (I didn't even know that was a thing now!). He is showing incredible strength during the treatments, and only complains of one thing - he's always cold. Of course I immediately knew I *HAD* to make him a quilt!!

Simple bricks throw quilt for a cancer quilt

Emperor's Treasures - Digital Blog Hop

Friday, January 27, 2023

One of my favorite things to do when new fabric comes out is to see how it would look sewn into some of my patterns! 

Split Arrows quilt by Slice of Pi Quilts

The new Emperor's Treasures fabrics from Island Batik feature lots of purples! Ask your favorite quilt shop if they will be getting this fabric in soon!

P - I - N - K Mini Quit

Monday, January 23, 2023

The second Project Quilting challenge of the year was PINK! Since I used all pink for the first challenge (see that one HERE), I was feeling a bit uninspired to use the color again. But in the spirit of the challenge, I really wanted to make something, so here it is!

Raw-edge applique pink heart mini quilt

Moda Love Charm Quilt

Monday, January 16, 2023

It's two weeks into the new year, and I've finished two quilts! I'm not sure if the trend will continue, but it feels great to get some quick and easy projects done!

Moda Love Charm Pack quilt made with the Twilight fabric collection

ONE Pink Hummingbird Quilt

Saturday, January 7, 2023

It's the beginning of the new year, AND it's the first Project Quilting challenge of the year! I've participated several times before, and this weeks' prompt inspired me to participate again. The prompt was "ONE." That's it. 

Pink hummingbird mini quilt using yarn couching