Quilt Show season is upon on. I've been enjoying the photos of award winning quilts from some of the national shows.  They are truly breathtaking. My local quilt guild -- Maple Grove Quilters -- is having their show this weekend as well.  We have a great group of very talented quilters.  I also enjoy spending time enjoying their quilts. During the last couple of months, I have been busy on the longarm finishing up my quilts for the show.  No custom quilting for me this year.  I was in production mode. Two weekends ago, I was at a quilt retreat.  A good chunk o ..read more

Limited-Time Enrollment: I'm excited to announce the opening of enrollment for Tech Know Quilters, but act fast – this opportunity is available only from Friday through Monday. Since I open enrollment just a few times a year, I wanted to ensure you don't miss this chance. ​Your Electric Quilt Mastery Journey Begins: Your journey towards Electric Quilt mastery kicks off on May 1st. I can't wait to work with you, helping you unravel the potential of that fabric stash and explore your creativity through designing one-of-a-kind quilts. Ready to Join? If you're eager to master Ele ..read more

Registration now open for Signs of Spring Free EQ8 Live Webinar on April 24 or 25 ​Register here. Brings May Flowers EQ8 Tutorial I've been sharing a fun EQ project - April Showers Brings May flowers.  This week we will finish up the quilt.   Over the last two weeks, I shared drafting umbrella blocks along with raindrop blocks (for the April Showers) part of the design. In this tutorial, I have a bonus project focused just on the May Flowers block option.  Tutorial for Umbrella Block and Quilt Tutorial for Raindrop Block and Quilt April Showers Brings May F ..read more

Registration now open for Signs of Spring Free EQ8 Live Webinar on April 24 or 25 ​ Register here. Raindrops EQ8 Tutorial It is that time of year -- the rain is washing away of remains of winter and we are beginning to see some new growth. Last week I shared a tutorial on drafting an umbrella block which is the beginning of the April Showers brings May Flowers project. The tutorial also included an extra bonus project. April Showers Brings May Flowers Blog Post Part 1 of the April Showers Brings May Flowers Quilt This week we will add to the April Showers Brings May Flo ..read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: ​Registration now open for Signs of Spring Free EQ8 Live Webinar Register here. April Showers EQ8 Tutorial Growing up, I remember Mom singing a song called April Showers.  It included these lyrics: "When April Showers come your way. They bring the flowers that bloom in May. So if it is raining, have no regret. It isn't raining rain you know. It's raining violets." She must have sung it a lot -- as I was able to recall and write out the words without a Google search. In Minnesota we started the month with some snow.  After an entire winter with very little prec ..read more

I promise -- this is the last egg-stranza post for the year.  I have been a bit fixated on egg quilts.  In case you missed it, you may want to check out the posts for the last two weeks: Easter Egg Hunt Foundation Pieced Applique Easter Egg The new one I will be sharing with you today is a circular design.  Depending on the size you could turn it into a table topper for a round circular table.  Or for those that are into working with wool and embroidery -- a candle mat. Easter Egg PosieMaker EQ8 Tutorial Start with three blocks from the EQ8 Library.  These were al ..read more

Continuing on with an egg-travaganza theme, I will be sharing a new way to add foundation piecing to your applique shapes.  The only applique "drawing" in this tutorial is deleting a few patches from a block in the library and rotating the ending shape. Super simple. Foundation Pieced Applique Easter Eggs Tutorial When I was working on the Easter Egg Hunt post, I found all these decorative eggs in the EQ8 Library.  They are all under 05-Contemporary Applique>Holiday -Easter.  While I loved the blocks, I wanted something simpler to work with. So I deleted all the elemen ..read more

The weather is getting warmer.  And spring is getting closer.  I loved playing with some spring colored fabrics in creating this fun new block which has two quilt options. There are three components to the whimsical/block: A pieced background (completed in EasyDraw). Eggs drafted as Applique motifs.  Easter bunny obtained from the EQ8 Block Library and incorporated in the combo-block. Easter Egg Hunt Design Pieced Background Start a new block> Pieced and Applique>Easy Plus Applique. Make sure snap to grid is turned on with grid snap increments at 36 x 36.  T ..read more

Learn my best tips for merging blocks in Electric Quilt as you learn how to create a Shamrock block and merge it into a frame and then merge both the original shamrock and the framed shamrock into a new block.  ​Use the blocks in a simple layout for your next St. Patrick's Day celebration.​ Lucky Shamrocks Quilt EQ8 Tutorial I reworked the Shamrock block from one of my patterns and will be sharing not only the drafting of the block, but a number of variations. Shamrock Block 1 The three leaves are very conducive to rotary cutting instructions (all squares and half square trian ..read more

Do you have a quilt that got you interested in quilt making? Here is mine. My grandmother made an Irish Chain quilt for me (probably in the late 60s or early 70s). I loved the quilt and when it began to wear out I wanted another one for my bed. This was a very traditional Irish chain -- which I now think is a bit boring.  ​Our tastes change over the years -- and that can definitely be a good thing. Traditional Irish Chain Quilt Made by Martha Keller (circa 1960s) This traditional Irish Chain consisted of two blocks that would be super easy to draft in EasyDraw. Iris ..read more