Spring Dreams Baby Quilt Pattern

A few months ago I designed this quilt for Quilter's World magazine and I am excited to now able to share it! 

I've always loved giant barn quilts and I used one as my inspiration for that large center star. 

Once I had the big star in the middle, I felt like the corners were too empty so I took the same block and scaled it down smaller to fit in the corners. 

Dancing Leaves Pattern in Quilts and More Magazine

Hello there - I have a quick share today! With the weather getting cooler and the leaves changing colors I'm in the mood to start some fall projects!

This Dancing Leaves quilt is in the Fall 2022 issue of Quilts & More magazine, and it would be the perfect fall project to work on this month!

update: the Maple Valley quilt pattern is now available in my shop!

Photo used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

My idea for this quilt originally came about by playing with a classic Maple Leaf block. 

But then I as I was working with different quilt layouts, I found that I really wanted more movement to the quilt. The regular leaf blocks were so....linear! 

So I went back to the design board and played with the block to make each leaf at a different angle. Much better! The instructions step you through it and it's not tricky at all. 

Photo used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

Coastal Summer quilt in Quilts and More Magazine

I have a quick share for you today. The Summer 2022 issue of Quilts & More magazine is out and I have a quilt included in this issue!

Photo used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

This is Coastal Summer - it's a generous throw size quilt (65" x 89") made up of two quilt blocks that complement each other really nicely. The fabrics used in the quilt are from the Seashore Drive fabric line designed by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda Fabrics. 

Starry Eyed quilt in Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

I received some fun mail a couple of days ago - the latest issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine (Issue #86).  I always look forward to getting each new issue - but this one was special.... inside is one of my very own quilts, Starry Eyed!  

Edited to add 7/2/21: This quilt pattern is now available as an individual pattern called Clear Sky - find PDF (instant download) and paper copies here in my pattern shop. 

Solid Choice Quilt in American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

 I have a new quilt to share with you today - which will be included in the February 2020 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine. 

Photo used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2019 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved.

This is Solid Choice - a bold, modern star quilt made in all-solids. 

Sew Organized Part 2: Tips for Storing Patterns, Magazines, and Books

** This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.


Next up on our Sew Organized series are tips for organizing and storing quilt patterns, magazines, and books.  We all have them, and we all need them.  And they can get out of control very quickly!

First, let's tackle the patterns.  I shared this image last week when we talked about organizing tools and rulers, which are kept in the red magazine holders.  In the white magazine holders on the top shelf I keep quilt patterns.  

These white cardboard holders work great for storing quilt patterns - both the printed ones I buy at quilt shops, and also PDF patterns and tutorials from internet.  You can find similar magazine holders here on Amazon.

Before I go on, I want to mention something.  You know those PDF patterns that you buy and download online - either from a designer's shop or from Etsy?  I recommend that you ALWAYS save a digital copy of every PDF on a hard drive somewhere.  

I have a folder on my desktop set aside just for PDF quilt patterns.  As soon as I buy the PDF I save it to the folder and then I print it. It's handy to be able to easily find old PDFs and reprint them later if I need to.  

On the bottom shelf of that same cabinet I have this green three ring binder.  In here I keep patterns that I need to keep referring back to over and over - like the Patchwork Quilt Along last year.  I knew I would need to refer to these pages repeatedly throughout the year so I kept them handy in this binder in the section labeled "current."  In here I keep the pattern for any other project I'm currently working on.  That way I always know where to find it, and it prevents them from getting ripped or accidentally being used for kids' math homework.  Please tell me that happens to other people too :).

In the notebook there is also a section for notes.  I'm constantly grabbing loose sheets of paper to make notes about re-sizing a pattern, how much binding to buy, or sketching up a diagram for piecing a quilt back like in the image below.  To keep these loose papers from taking over my quilting space I keep them stored in here.  

I also have a section for quilt ideas and sketches of blocks to try.  Sometimes I'll think up a cool idea but don't have time to draft it on the computer yet.  So I make a sketch and a few notes and then file it here in this notebook.  

Another great solution for storing quilt patterns are these Mini Binders.  You can find plain black or white ones like these, or there are also some fun colorful ones with designs.  Find them here on Amazon, and Target carries them as well as most big box stores and office supply stores like Staples.  The binders measure about 7.5" x 9.25".

The sheet protectors are from Target and are the perfect size to fit quilt patterns - including those PDF ones you print from home.  You can also get dividers to sort your patterns into categories by designer, or size, or whatever....

I love that you can easily view both the front and back of each pattern to see what the fabric requirements are without having to remove it!

Because they're mini binders they'll fit almost anywhere - right now mine are on my smaller shelves above the ironing board.  

One more pattern storage idea are these boxes - they're originally designed for comic book collectors but they also happen to be sized just right for quilt patterns!  You can find them here - and there's a few sizes to choose from.  

The Container Store has similar boxes - slightly smaller but they'd still work and they come in so many pretty colors!  

Alright - now how about those books and magazines we love?  

This is the other side of my cutting table.  I have one shelf just for books - and I try to limit myself to just that one shelf. 

Right now they're pretty crammed in there but I do go through them every year or so and pull out any older book that I haven't used or don't think I'll use again.  And that's ok!  Styles change, your skill level will change and your interests will change.  There's always great new books being written so it's okay to pass on your older books to make room for new favorites.  From the ones I pull out, I'll offer them to to fellow quilters and take them to a local guild to see if there's anyone interested in them.  

I also have a shelf and a half for magazines.  I need to go through them and pull out older ones so I'm just using ONE shelf again.  Right now my magazine storage isn't that creative or unique - a magazine holder on a shelf works just fine, and there are enough magazines on the other shelf to keep them all snug and standing upright.  

In the next few weeks my plan is to go through  the older magazines I have, tear out the patterns I want to keep and put them in page protectors in a regular sized three ring binder like this one.  I really think that if they're stored this way then I'm more likely to make the quilts I want to - because I won't have to flip through dozens of pages to find that ONE pattern I wanted.  

photo from makelifelovely.com

In this blog post by Make Life Lovely she shares how she saves favorite ideas from magazines and files them in binders.  I love this idea and I could even organize the patterns by type (ie jelly roll patterns, FQ patterns) or by size (baby quilts, throw quilts) or even by type (applique, holiday, traditional, modern, etc).  

Another idea you could use for either magazines or books is a set of small shelves like these. I love that they put these shelves in this spot behind the door! 

photo from kidsroomideas.net

This would probably be unusable space which then becomes a great storage opportunity with the addition of a few shelves.  The shelves are from IKEA and you can find them here on Amazon.  

How about even more ideas? 

photo from heyletsmakestuff.com

This is actually a shoe organizer from IKEA.  But I love the idea of using it to store notes, sketches, patterns, or magazines.  And when not in use the pockets fold in and it looks nice and tidy.  I can't take credit for this one - check out the original blog post from Hey Let's Make Stuff.  

photo from peekaboopages.com

Peek-a-boo Pages did a whole post about storing PDF patterns and she has some great ideas.  Check it out here.  I love that hanging file folder idea in the photo above!


Want even more organizing ideas?  Check out my Sewing Room Organization pinterest board here.  And be sure to follow, because I'll keep adding great ideas to the board as I find them!  


I'd love to hear if you have any tips to share!  How do you store your patterns, books and magazines?  

Split Stars Quilt in Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

Update:  The Split Stars quilt pattern is now available in my pattern shop here!

I'm so excited to be able to share that I have a quilt in the latest issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting!  And to my delight...it's on the cover!  Issue 51 is available now in the UK, and will be heading to the US soon.

  My inspiration for the quilt came from this photo I found on Pinterest:

I immediately fell in love with the color combo!  I took a screen shot of the photo on my phone, and used it at the quilt shop as I chose the colors of Riley Blake Confetti Cottons I wanted to use.  Here's the stack that I pulled off the shelves in the shop:

I'm a long time fan of mixing aqua & green together (here, here and here), but I love what the purples add to the group!

You can see sneak peeks of the other projects from the issue here on the Love Patchwork & Quilting site.  And watch for issue 51 to hit your news stands.  I know I'll be stalking my local Barnes & Noble for the next couple of weeks!

Breezy Quilt in American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

I'm so excited to be able to finally share!  I have a quilt included in the August 2017 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine!  

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved.

This is Breezy - a scrappy looking, yet fat quarter friendly quilt.  (I love when I can make a quilt that has a scrappy feel, but doesn't require all the work of finding and cutting scraps!)

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved

The trick?  I mixed and matched fabrics from many designers and different collections to help give it that scrappy feel.  Melissa Kelley (Sew Shabby Quilting) did the quilting for me (Harbour Wave design) and I love how the swirls and waves in the quilting help to give the pinwheels some movement.  

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved

You can see my project as well as the other featured projects from this issue here on the American Patchwork & Quilting website.  And this issue is now available in stores!