Sketch Stitched Ornament Tutorial

I have a fun tutorial to share with you today! 

I've been making some of these Sketch Stitched Christmas Ornaments lately and they're fun to make, easy to customize, and a great way to use those fabric scraps we all have on hand. Plus they're a great handmade gift idea!

To make these ornaments I used the raw edge applique technique but... instead of using matching thread and hiding my stitches I love to add some outlining stitching in a nice dark, contrasting thread. It helps the little shapes to stand out really nicely against whatever fabric you use for the background. 

And you can let go of worrying if your stitches are perfect or not - just relax and have fun with these. The stitching looks so fun when it's slightly imperfect - it gives it that "sketched" look!

Ready to get started? 

Winter Magic Quilt in Christmas Morning Fabrics

Today I'm sharing a version of the Winter Magic quilt pattern - a fat quarter friendly Christmas quilt pattern that I released last year.

I have to admit something... this is not exactly a new quilt. I finished it last year in November, and then we used it and loved it. 

But I did finally manage take some photos of it, and with the Winter Magic pattern being the $5 pattern of the month I thought you'd like to see the pattern sewn up in different fabrics than what is shown on the pattern cover.

The Winter Magic pattern is a medallion-style quilt, but it is not as difficult to piece. I really love the look of medallion quilts but sometimes getting everything to line up just right can be tricky. 

So I kept the look of a medallion quilt, but created a better way to put it together!

Fast & Fun Lap Quilts Book

Hey there - I have a finished quilt, a new book, AND a giveaway to share with you all today! 

My friend Melissa Corry has written a new book called Fast & Fun Lap Quilts and I'm delighted to be a part of the book tour.

Confession time: I own all of Melissa's previous books (I'm a big fan) and I really like her style. She's a talented designer who has a knack for designing quilts that look complicated but really aren't. 

Build A Heart Quilt Block Tutorial

I'm delighted to be a part of the #SewPINK initiative again this year with ByAnnie.com and I have a quilt block tutorial to share with you as a part of this blog hop.

This year ByAnnie.com is joining forces with the Fat Quarter Shop with a goal to raise $20,000 to be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and ByAnnie.com will match every dollar raised on the #SewPINK fundraising page here. 

(A PDF download for this pattern is available in my shop here - and from now until Oct 31, 2022 all proceeds from the Build A Heart pattern will be given to the National Breast Cancer Foundation via the #SewPINK fundraiser page. So you'll get a pattern and your $2.50 donation will be matched by ByAnnie!)

Six years ago I became a breast cancer survivor myself, and during the months of surgeries, procedures, and healing, my quilting friends all gathered together to make a beautiful scrappy heart quilt for me. It is one of my most treasured items.

As a very small way of giving back, I've created a scrappy heart quilt block that could be used by a group of friends or a quilt guild to make a handmade gesture of love and support to someone battling cancer or just going through a difficult time. 

I'm calling this block the Build A Heart quilt block - you start with a scrappy little heart and then you have three options to build it into a 12.5" quilt block. Here's a look at a couple of the blocks:

Make Believe Quilt Pattern

Well this one has been a long time in coming! I have a new pattern to share with you today, but technically it's about six years old.

This is Make Believe - a precut friendly pattern in five sizes.

Find the Make Believe patterns in my shop here

Six years ago I made a version of this quilt just for fun and shared it here on my blog. Since then I've had many, many requests for the pattern.

So I recently opened up my file of old notes from that first quilt, worked some magical quilt math (abracadabra!) and created the Make Believe pattern.

Tessa Quilt

I finished up a sweet little baby quilt last week and today I get to share it as a part of my turn on the book tour for the new Precut Parade quilt book by Jessica Dayon.

The pattern is called Tessa - it's originally written as a large throw size quilt (63" x 77") but I chose to make mine baby sized, with just four star blocks and nine of the plus sign blocks. 

This size would also work as a wall hanging. Wouldn't it be great in Christmas colors, or reds and blues for summertime? 

Star Trails Quilt in Tulip Tango Fabrics

Well hello and happy Friday! I wish I could call this next quilt a recent finish, but this one has been done since July and it's taken me this long to get some good photos of it and add it here to my website. 

This is the Star Trails quilt, sewn up using Tulip Tango fabrics.

Find Star Trails patterns in my shop here