FREE MOTION MACHINE QUILTING

 While I enjoy hand quilting and learned to do it many years ago, it is slow. Now most of my quilts are finished by machine quilting.

While some are "quilted by checkbook", meaning I pay a longarm quilter to quilt them, most I quilt myself on my Bernina Q20 sit down longarm machine. Like with most things, the more you practice, the better you become.

2012, that's 14 years ago, I started planning and making a quilt for my 60th birthday, my "Diamond Jubilee". It is almost finished! I have written about this quilt a lot during those years, find one of them HERE.

This is the top before I started quilting it:

Some photos of the quilting:

As I worked on the various stars, I wondered what I could do in the wide paisley border. It needed a good bit of quilting but nothing would show up except for the "texture" given by the stitches. And there was nothing I could mark on this fabric that I would be able to see for quilting. 

By dumb luck at just the right time, I learned of Geraldine Wilkins' new ruler: Stitchline 3-in-1 Ruler Quilting Tool. I met Geraldine when we both taught at the Virginia Consortium of Quilters a few years ago. She knows her stuff and is an excellent machine quilting teacher. And she knows what makes a tool really great. The price was right, shipping was reasonable, so I ordered it. Timing was perfect, it arrived the day before I was ready to tackle those borders.

I wanted something curvy, fairly open, and the ruler had excellent markings to require no marking on the quilt itself. I was very pleased with how well it works and how the border looked finished:

Back showing the border quilting, a wavy cross hatch

Straight Line 1 Ruler--in addition to the curvy edge there is a channel for stitch in the ditch, and a straight edge with needle stops at both ends

The first pass--all curvy lines done in only one direction. After that was done, I decided it needed to be done in the other direction too.

Detail of quilting in the blocks--all done with rulers

Once this was quilted, the binding went on and I'm just about done hand sewing that in place.

On to the next one. The bins of four patches I make as leader/enders was overflowing so I looked for a block pattern to use some. I thought I liked this enough to make a large quilt but when 12 blocks were done I knew that was enough. I just didn't love it that much--this baby size was plenty:

The body of the quilt is quilted with a simple straight line cross hatch grid, using Geraldine's ruler. 

I want to get better at feathers and this was the perfect quilt for them--the busy border fabric won't show much and I was free to play with feathers. 

First I used another ruler I have with a curvy edge to quilt the spine of the feather plume. Then I drew lines on paper the finished size of the border, added that same spine, and drew the feathers with a pencil. This helped me see which way to quilt them and served as a reference as I was quilting:

All in all, I was pleased with how the feathers turned out:

From the back so you can see them

The front

Now I am hand sewing the binding in place and this will be done. Waiting for a baby who needs a quilt with a mother who likes old-timey fabrics. And I am still looking for a way to use the hundreds of four patches from bright fabrics:

I am enjoying online classes for free motion and ruler work quilting. Here is a little more from those:

Learning new designs will give me more options as I finish more than a few tops I have made.

Do you quilt your own? What is your favorite method?

Let's quilt.

Barbara

THIS AND THAT

Blissfully at home much of this winter, I am getting a lot done with little concern for cold weather.

Here is what has kept me busy this week:

1. Angela Walter's Arcs, Curves, Points with Rulers Free-Motion Challenge Quilting Along. I bought both the smaller and larger panels, so easy to work with for this class. This is the small one:

A variety of rulers for free motion quilting

My progress for weeks 1 and 2 

2. Natalia Bonner's free class, 99+ Strip Designs. This just started. These are the first 3 designs and one of the added Bonus designs, all to fit 2" finished strips. To start, I am just using scrap fabric with 2" lines drawn in. When I perfect a few of my favorites I will use them on a Quilt of Valor I am making for a specific Marine.  I really want to perfect my Ribbon Candy, so not there yet, but her tip to draw around a penny or dime to get started was a good one. Half way across I switched to no drawn lines as I was getting in the rhythm of the design. Lot more practice is needed:

3. The Sunday Sew and Sews came over, a small group due to illness, a broken hip, family obligations. But look what they brought for Show and Tell:

Susan is on a mission to complete  a lot of UFOs

Susan made this for her husband, a coffee lover

Another from Susan

Susan's Sizzle, the BOM from 2019, designed by Becky Goldsmith

Susan made this throw size from the leftovers of a king size Ocean Waves quilt

Pam finished her Laurel Ridge in William Morris fabrics. She says she has MORE William Morris fabric now than when she started. How does that happen?

Cyndi is making these delicate Log Cabin blocks from a kit, I think that ships monthly. It's pricey because they are Liberty of London lawn fabrics and she added on the "fussy cut centers" package. The blocks feel so good!

Cyndi is very talented with EQ8--she often redesigns Block of the Month patterns to suit herself. This is her version of Game On! She calls it Parchisi. 

These women are very talented, giving and fun to be around. I look forward to their visits.

This week I got a package--the PRINTS KIT for the 2026 Block of the Month for TheQuiltShow.com, Game On! designed by Becky Goldsmith:

It is a beautiful collection of contemporary fabrics, the kinds I don't have a lot of. It is 17.625 yards, mostly fat quarters, and would be an excellent way to freshen up your stash--or call it your "collection".

The BEST phrase I ever heard about your "stash" vs "collection" is this:

"I am the Curator of an extensive personal TEXTILE COLLECTION". Now doesn't that sound impressive?

Available for purchase by anyone, you don't have to be a Star Member to shop in the "Store". See it HERE for a full list of each fabric in this package.  

I cut out Month 1 and 2 so I can make and use them for demos on my LIVE:

Month 2 ready to sew

Month 1 ready to sew

It's been cold and wet here but we have power and no where we have to go most days. I remember the 35 years I worked for H&R Block and HAD to go to work when the weather was awful--I was the office manager and those would be busy days--if people couldn't go to work because of snow they would come to us to get their taxes done. I am so glad those days are behind me! 

Now I can bake bread when the weather is cold. Find the recipe for this and my other favorites up top here in the tab RECIPES:

Cranberry Pecan Artisan Bread

There are a few more things to keep me busy, like working on my own taxes, but there's nothing to show for that.

I hope you are dry and warm and enjoying some good times.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GAME ON! Month 2

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to over 18 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

In Month 2 we make the four corners for the Center Medallion. As always, I strongly advise that you WATCH THE VIDEOS FIRST! This month there is one video, it's 11 minutes long, and very important to watch before you begin.

For me, it was best to use vellum for the corner sections as seeing through the pattern is very helpful. 

Fabrics 1 and 2 in place 

TIPS: 

1. Double check the printed pattern is the correct size, verify the 1" scale box is exactly 1"

2. Take time to carefully tape the 6 pattern pages together, be sure all lines align perfectly

3. Be sure to use the correct fabric at the correct position. LIGHT and DARK go in specific places

4. Place the wrong side of the fabric to the wrong side of the pattern

5. Backstitch where you should, Becky explains this in the video. I ALSO BACKSTITCHED at the outside edge--this really helped when removing the paper later

6. Work in numerical order: fabrics 1 + 2 is the first seam, than add 3, then add 4, etc. 

7. Remember the steps of paper piecing: SEW, FLIP, PRESS, TRIM

8. If using a KIT, any changes you make in fabric selection may effect choices down the road. If you don't want to add additional fabrics later simply follow the pattern as written. I made a few changes to the SOLID version and if I have to add more later, I am fine with that. All fabrics GO!

CUTTING SUGGESTION: 

While the measurements are correct, if you are new to paper piecing you may find it helpful to cut the pieces 1/2" longer than the pattern says. For example, fabric 3 is cut 4.75" x 12"--making that 12.5" long gives just a bit of "insurance".   I suggest you cut ONE SET OF FABRICS to make the first corner before you cut them all, in case you want to add that extra 1/2" 

In the LIVE BROADCAST for Month 2. January 30, 2026, I will show how to fold back the paper to double check fabric placement before you sew. This really helps. The alternative is to PIN on the sewing line BEFORE SEWING, to double check the fabric being added will fully cover the paper pattern for that piece.

The Corner pattern from vellum: 

The Corner pattern from freezer paper. Becky suggests using painter's tape to hold the 6 pieces in place as you use transparent tape to join all 6 pieces accurately:

I have written a lot about using Vellum vs. Freezer paper for the patterns. The main advantages to using Freezer paper is the pattern can be used many times. You do not sew through the paper so there is no need to lower the stitch length as you really must when sewing through the paper. 

I tried the Freezer paper pattern because it would save a LOT of paper--as I am making two of these quilts, 6 pattern pages means 19 sheets of vellum for EACH quilt (38 sheets total) OR only 6 sheets of Freezer paper total. 

FREEZER PAPER WAS A POOR CHOICE:

I wasn't able to see through it well enough to get the initial points just right. 

The pattern is large so it's awkward to get it and the fabric under the needle.

It is crucial to keep the fabrics connected to the paper until the last piece is sewn in place. It took a LOT of glue to keep the fabric adhered to the freezer paper.

It was much more difficult to get the accuracy I wanted with the freezer paper.

SO, one corner of my SOLIDS quilt was made with Freezer paper, the remaining corners were made with vellum. Smaller borders to come I will use freezer paper when it works well. This is the time for vellum.

See my TUTORIAL on FREEZER PAPER FOUNDATION here for more information on that process.

Becky stresses careful trimming of the patterns, always placing the 1/4" line on the ruler on the solid/sewing line, so you are sure you are trimming 1/4" beyond the sewing line:

Trimming the pattern

Once the corner is made, trim ONLY the two angled, INSIDE edges. Be very sure to trim 1/4" beyond the sewing line. LEAVE THE TWO OUTSIDE EDGES as is. They will be marked then trimmed next month--this is VERY IMPORTANT: 

It is not a case of HOW FAST you can complete this month's work, but HOW ACCURATELY. Take your time, watch the videos several times, refer to the GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS as needed.

Once all four corners are made, admire what you have accomplished this month:

My PRINTS version

My SOLIDS version after month 3--notice I changed the colors of the corner CIRCLES 

Next month we will join the corners to the points, create the square with applique, make and applique the corner circles. That's a lot, the real "heart" of this quilt so I will see you then.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

WINTER DAYS

 Like most of you in the US, this weekend finds us in the deep freeze. No walking for me for the next several days. No snow here, just sleet, freezing rain and temperatures below freezing for the next several days. At least we didn't get the 14" of snow first mentioned several days ago. Winter in the South.

So what to do? Put a pot of 15 Bean Soup in the slow cooker. Corn muffins will be made later:

Free motion quilt Diamond Jubilee, with a new ruler:

The only thing left is the borders

Wavy border straight line quilting

This is a terrific new ruler: STITCHLINE 1 QUILTING RULER designed and sold by my friend Geraldine Wilkins--no relation that we know of.  Watch her video at this link and you will want one too. It combines a channel for Stitch in the Ditch--a MUST for me, a long straight edge with needle stops at both ends AND a cool wavy edge that lets you make lots of great designs easily. In addition, there are lots of great reference lines built in that allow for less marking on the quilt itself. 

Her website and YouTube channel have good videos as she explains lots of important things to know about free motion quilting with rulers. If you want one of her brand new rulers, buy it from her-- shipping was reasonable and fast once she got them in stock. Tell her I sent you:

 

I haven't decided if I am going to do a cross hatch border--double the quilting--but I might. When all the first round is done I will decide. 

Spend a few hours with the hubby doing a jigsaw puzzle:

My “Will” Wilkins

A few days ago I had fun teaching THE VILLAGE at Southern Charm Quilting here at home. The students did well, most learned a few valuable tricks to improve and enjoy paper piecing:

Student work at the end of the class

I bet some of them are building more houses today

Class sample:

I hope you are warm and contentedly working on whatever brings you joy during this big storm week. How do you keep busy?

Let's quilt.

Barbara

SECOND LIFETIME QUILT TOP COMPLETE!

 It took a lot of sewing but the top is done:

85" square

I am pleased with this top and glad it is done. There are 289 pieced Old Italian blocks, 3" square.

It is a replica of an antique top I bought in 2014 at Paducah from dealer Cindy Rennels:

It was my intention to have no repeats but there are at least TWO. There might be one more pair but I haven't found them yet. 

With the few leftovers I made a small quilt so I can hand quilt. It's been a while since I did any hand quilting and I am eager to get back to that. It would take me years to hand quilt the large quilt so this small one will have to do:

Leftovers 18" square

For more information on this quilt see these post:

MY SECOND LIFETIME QUILT

The 2025 SUMMER SEW ALONG provides information for making this block in 3 sizes:

2025 Summer Sew A Long

Now I have to decide which of my next BUCKET LIST quilts gets started...

Let's quilt.

Barbara