Quick Quilts

come together

Working on a magazine is a lot of things. It’s creative. It’s challenging. It takes months of planning and writing, and lots of people working in unison. We work on three issues at a time, so it is challenging to keep the myriad of moving parts straight and moving forward. It’s hard work. Creating a new magazine is a little different. You have to plan everything from the number of pages and paper quality, to the look and feel of the magazine, you name every single feature, and decide on the voice of the publication. There are lots of people involved. Art and design, editors, technical editors, advertising, marketing, social media, print production, web producers, and of course the CEO and owner that approve what we all do. Imagine all of these…

inspiration for the new quilter

So, you want to get started quilting. You’ve watched the videos on the internet, you found some fabric you love at your local fabric store, maybe you even have a pattern picked out. Now what? Starting to quilt can be overwhelming. There are so many things to know, learn, and buy. Here is what you really need to get started. Get Started… Start with a small mat, a medium rotary cutter, and either a 12" ruler or a 6" x 24" ruler. These will get you through your first few projects and you can get a feel for what works best for you with a minimum investment. olfa.com quiltersselect.com graceframe.com Brother LB500S If you are curious about embroidery, but perhaps are worried if you will like it, have we got the machine for you! The…

staff tips

Denise - I learned a lot from Eleanor Burns’ books and I took classes at my local quilt store. A mat, 6" x 24" ruler, rotary cutter, and a good attitude are all you need! Vanessa - I recommend classes at a local shop, always. A big ruler, rotary cutter, mat, and a simple pattern. Lori - A good sewing machine (it doesn’t need to be fancy, with a million stitches, but it needs to make good straight stitches), ¼" foot for that machine, rotary cutter, ruler, mat, classes at a local shop. Tracy – A good sewing machine, it doesn’t need to cost much. The features I usually suggest for newbies are a good straight stitch and maybe a zigzag, speed control, scissors, and a needle threader. Then for quilting you need…

flicker and flash

FINISHED SIZE: 76¼" × 91½" FINISHED BLOCKS: 50 (10¾") blocks This fun quilt is about using up stripes or print fabrics with a lot of white in interesting ways—not just for the design, but using the white as negative space. It makes the quilt dance and sparkle and moves your eye around the quilt. The trick to this quilt being fast is to cut out all your squares using a regular 12½" ruler. It’s the perfect recipe for success! Would you believe that I designed this quilt for my own king-sized bed in a different colorway a few years ago, and this one for Fons & Porter's Quick + Easy Quilts magazine got finished before mine? I love this blue one so much that I am inspired to finish my own brown and…

crazy busy geese

FINISHED SIZE: 76" × 86" FINISHED BLOCKS: 56 (10") blocks I love busy quilts. The kind where every block is a different and vibrant collection of prints. The fabrics can be anything from a dozen different prints in the same color—like a collection of blues, grays or reds, to a rainbow of prints, all set against any background from a bright white to a rich midnight blue or purple. But sometimes I want to make a quilt with no contrasting background. I want my favorite prints everywhere, highlighting the intricate shapes in traditional quilt blocks. This time, I picked Flying Geese. I am always busy, and some days I'm crazy busy. Making a colorful, scrappy quilt is my distraction. I can experiment with color combinations that I normally wouldn’t think about. It stretches my…

sew easy™ stitch-and-flip corners

1. Place one small square on larger square, right sides facing and aligning raw edges. Draw a line diagonally on wrong side as shown. 2. Sew on drawn line.Trim ¼" beyond stitching. 3. Press open to reveal triangle. 4. Following pattern instructions, repeat for remaining corners to complete unit. Products used: Havel’s Self-Healing Cutting Mat, Havel’s 45mm Rotary Cutter, and Havel’s 6" x 24" Fabric Ruler. Fabric from Garden Glory by Maja Ronnback collection and Abstract Collage by Ampersand collection for Paintbrush Studio Fabrics. Watch this Sew EasyTM Lesson at QuiltingDaily.com/Sew-Easy-Stitch-and-Flip-Corners…