Jungle baby quilt sneak peak

My sister is expecting her first baby in May. She is my only sister, so that means I was tasked with designing an extra special quilt for her baby. I finished the top last weekend at quilt retreat and took it to Quilting By You in Bettendorf, Iowa, to quilt it this week. I love […]

#iheartquiltretreat

I spent four glorious days at Quilt Retreat. I really needed the time away because my job has been really stressful recently. I sewed, slept and got a ton of sewing done. But rather than go on about it, I thought I would just share my weekend in Instagram photos. http://instagram.com/p/W72_UJP4V0/ Do you think this […]

Virtual Shop Hop: The Cotton Cabin, Dubuque, Iowa

If you’re looking for a weekend getaway that includes a trip to a quilt, shop then consider visiting The Cotton Cabin in Dubuque, Iowa. Dubuque is a lovely town on the Mississippi River with a vibrant Main Street where you’ll find local restaurants, coffee shops, a knitting shop and The Cotton Cabin Quilt Shop. The […]

I always worry about my quilting students

I just finished teaching a T-shirt quilting class at CommUniversity. The local program offers two-hour classes every Sunday in February. The way the class is set up meant my students got two more hours of instruction and time to do homework between classes. That meant they actually had finished tops at the end of class […]

Snowed in with the Winter Blues

I live in the Midwest, which means a big winter storm has blanketed my town. Appropriately, I was working on my king sized Winter Blues quilt when the storm hit. I already finished a lap-sized one for practice and the pattern is available on for download. I’m about halfway done with the quilting. I think […]

How to strip piece without pins

For my king-sized snowball quilt I decided to echo the 2-inch squares than make up the nine patches in the center of the quilt in the border. That meant creating a border with 1,128 2-inch squares, and I didn’t pin a single one. The trick is using strip piecing and strategic pressing to save time […]

New baby, new junlge crib quilt design

I’m going to have a new nephew in a couple months so that means it is baby quilt time. My very practical sister who is already thinking ahead to baby number two, chose a jungle theme for the nursery since it is gender neutral. Her husband suggested an underwater theme, not a colorful ocean scene, […]

I’m spoiled by the long arm

Occasionally quilting really frustrates me, and now is one of those times. When I first started quilting I finished everything myself on my home sewing machine. But then I discovered Quilting By You in Bettendorf, Iowa, where you can rent time on a long arm machine and I’ve been spoiled ever since. On a long […]