Come and Meet Grandma and I at Quilt Expo this September in Wisconson!

I have been anxiously awaiting the time I could announce that I have been invited to give 3 lectures at Quilt Expo this September 10-12th in Madison Wisconsin.  For any of you who have never heard of it Quilt Expo is Nancy Zieman's annual fundraising quilt show, supporting PBS.  It is a huge show just loaded with great things to see and classes to take and lectures to hear.  I am so pleased and honored to be invited to join the ranks of all these excellent folks, and even more excited to get to meet some of you in person.  The best part of it all is that I get to bring Grandma Pat along with me to experience all the fun and help out in the lectures.  We are beyond excited to have another adventure together after last years trip around the same time of year filming my episodes of Sewing with Nancy. 

New tote bag I made using several different techniques from different patterns in the book and quilted with designs taught in the book

The other side- I quilted both sides differently to show different options and combinations

Here how you can combine different techniques from different projects in the book to create a custom bag or project

New zip totes made for Quilt Expo lectures-

I will be talking about the book and about free motion quilting in general.  I have lots of fun samples and projects to share, many of which are from the book.  I have made a few new projects to bring along with me, these are all made with techniques taught in the book, and I plan to show all the lecture attendees how to pick techniques from different patterns they like and create their own custom projects.  It will be loads of fun, there will be giveaways and I look forward to answering any free motion quilting questions you may have and getting more in depth with you all on any questions or problems you are having. 

I will be giving a lecture at 4pm daily, here is where you can sign up to attend one.  If you are going to the show please look through all the lectures and classes and sign up for some- they all sound fantastic, I can wait to attend a few myself!  My Facebook Followers got a preview of this news a week ago, so if you aren't already following me on facebook please do for the most current news and info regarding my book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners.  Lots of fun on the horizon here, what have you all be quilting lately? Let me know!

Make a Purse Tissue Holder with Your Practice Squares

Hi Friends!  I recently crossed over the 1000 mark of followers on my facebook group for Free Motion Quilting for Beginners and I as promised I created a very quick and super easy little project for you all to make with your free motion quilting practice squares.  This only calls for a 6.5" square of quilted fabric and a few binding scraps and you can make one in under 20 mins- they make a great gift, especially for someone who is under the weather and might be using lots of tissue... Make a bunch and have them ready, or even give some to a local charity.  My dad heads a charity in Washington State and they have a Battered Woman Shelter there, I think I will send these ones up to him to hand out there.  I would love to hear who you make and give these to- so don't forget to share your stories with me on my facebook group.  Before I get to the pattern, I want to introduce you all to Rashida of No 3 Quilt Studio Blog.   She got my book to assist her in learning to free motion quilt and has used it to make her own lovely pinwheel pillow.  I just love her version and hope you will click over and check out her work, she is doing a series on learning to quilt and I am sure any beginners out there would find it very helpful.

Rashida's Pinwheel with Paisley Qulting

Quilted Purse Tissue Holder

Requirements: one 6.5" square of pre-quilted fabric

13" of quilt binding

Sew binding on 2 of the 4 sides of your 6.5" square (these are the back sides so  you can see the quilting)

wrong side out fold both bound edges toward the middle and sew the unbound edges with a quarter inch seam allowance

Mark .5" squares in each corner and cut them out

Pinch your Square as so and sew with a quarter inch seam allowance

Turn them inside out and push out the corners, fill them with a purse size tissue pack!

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy project and that you share your versions and stories of giving them away with me on my facebook page!  Thanks again for following!

Book Review and a Chance to See What a Reader Made!

Hey friends, I came across a very nice review of my book recently on another blog and the author Jennifer Cowles made a cute quilted project with her free motion quilted practice squares- click the link to see it- I hope you enjoy~
Stitch-Cut-Create

Picture from Stitch-Cut-Create blog by Jennifer Cowles