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Beautiful Celtic Appliqué by Machine – Appliqué and Quilt in One Step
If you’ve ever been captivated by the intricate beauty of Celtic knotwork but wondered how to bring that into your quilting – this one’s for you. In this video, I’m sharing my favorite method for machine-stitched Celtic appliqué, including: To demonstrate each step, I’ll walk you through the process I use when creating the Celtic…
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Tour de Fabric 2025 – It’s not too late to join in!
If you’re not already enjoying the fun, it’s not to late to join the Tour de Fabric 2025! It’s a free online quilting event running through the entire month of July, featuring a hand-picked lineup of over 20 talented teachers. Each of us is sharing a workshop and/or a month-long quiltalong to help you explore, play,…
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How Quilt-As-You-Go Made Modern Has Held Up After 10 Years
Wondering if Quilt-As-You-Go quilts really hold up over time? I revisited several quilts I made using Jera Brandvig’s QAYG method – where each block is quilted with batting (but no backing!) before being joined together. After 10 years of family use and frequent washing, I’m sharing what held up, what surprised me, and why I…
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2 Different Approaches to Quilt Basting, Step-by-Step
I’ve talked about spray basting before, but I recently posted a FREE tutorial on my YouTube channel for those who wanted to see the process in more detail. But basting spray is not for everyone! Some folks find it too pricey or too difficult to source. Others may dislike the smell or would prefer not…
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Quilt Basting with Pool Noodles and Broomsticks
I’m planning a series of posts with some of my favorite quilt basting tips. So, I thought I’d start by answering a question that recently came up in one of my machine quilting classes: “What are pool noodles and why do you like them so much?” Depending on the size of the quilt, the type…
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No-Waste Quilt Batting (Wadding)
If you’re like me, at some point you may find yourself with a pile of batting scraps in various sizes. I don’t like to throw these leftover bits and strips away; so I’ve developed a system that works well for me. I typically buy queen-sized packaged batting or 108″ wide batting on a roll and…
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Quilt Marking Tools Update
Earlier this year, I shared the post Testing My Quilt Marking Tools. Since then, I’ve been putting my favorites to work on actual quilts, and I have some new info (and links) to share with you. One of the things that surprised me most both during the initial testing process and as I continued to…
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Walking Foot Quilting for My Beads/Chandelier Quilt
In my last post, I shared my progress on my Beads or Chandelier quilt, along with a free pattern from Donna Jordan of Jordan Fabrics. Today, I plan to share with you how I’m machine quilting my quilt on my home sewing machine with a walking foot. I spray basted my quilt sandwich with 505…
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Testing My Quilt Marking Tools
What should I use to mark my quilt? This seems to be one of the most commonly asked questions in the quilting community – and sometimes, one of the most controversial. The short answer is whatever gives you results that please you. But who wants to spend a lot of money on tools that may…
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Stay Stitching is Your Friend!
I’m thrilled that so many of you are enjoying my latest FREEBIE! But I’m finding there is one line in the printable Fabric to Finished Quilt checklist that some of you are wondering about. What is stay stitching? Why is it recommended? In this specific example, stay stitching is running a single line of stitches around the entire…
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Easy & Elegant Echo Quilting
Machine quilting doesn’t need to be fussy, difficult, or complicated to be effective (Although over-the-top quilting can certainly be gorgeous!) One of my favorite techniques that is also super-easy and beginner-friendly is echo quilting. Echo quilting is simply choosing a seam in a pieced quilt or the edge of an appliquéd shape and stitching parallel…
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My Top 5 Specialty Presser Feet for Quilters
Do you ever wonder if there is an easier way to keep a consistent quarter inch seam allowance, appliqué by machine, or machine quilt without worrying about ripples or tucks in your finished quilt? Do you ever find yourself wandering in and out of the ditch when stitching in the ditch? If you answered “yes”…
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The Heatwave Quilt & Bringing Back Continuous Curve Machine Quilting
I recently had the opportunity to test another fun pattern from Tied with a Ribbon – the Heatwave Quilt. I haven’t really played much with equilateral triangles in the past, so I was eager to try something new. And it did not disappoint! You can read about my adventures constructing this quilt with the aid…
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A Few of My Favorite Things
I still have that catchy tune from the movie A Sound of Music stuck in my head, so I thought it might be fun to start a sewing & quilting themed list of A Few of My Favorite Things. These are in no particular order, and they are not paid endorsements from the companies involved…
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Quilting Inspiration from Nature
What inspires you? What do you think about when you choose fabrics for a sewing or quilting project? Do you find yourself drawn to certain colors, shapes, or pattern styles? I get much of my creative inspiration from nature. Some of my earliest and most enduring memories are of specific landscapes and places and the…
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Revisiting Continuous Curve Machine Quilting
Back in June, I shared a step-by-step tutorial for Continuous Curve Machine Quilting with a Walking Foot. This quilting pattern has been a favorite of mine since I first learned it almost 30 years ago. The version I shared was (and is) a fantastic beginner-friendly starting point, but I thought you might be ready for…
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Choosing Thread for Machine Quilting – Let’s have some fun!
How do YOU decide what thread to use when you machine quilt? Do you have a go-to favorite? Have you ever played with any other options? My go-to thread is 50wt. Aurifil cotton – the same thread that I use for piecing my quilts. It’s strong, colorfast, easy to work with, reliable, and has just…
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Continuous Curve Machine Quilting with a Walking Foot
Continuous Curve (also known as Orange Peel) quilting has been around a long, long time, but its gentle curves are still one of my favorite ways to add a lovely soft texture to a quilt. It can be done by hand, with a walking foot, or with a free-motion foot; but the stitching path may…
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Endings and Beginnings – A Personal Note
“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” This quote, usually attributed to Lao Tzu, but perhaps written by someone else entirely, nonetheless speaks to me – especially given what is happening in my life right now. Journal Quilt – Tree of Life. Journal Quilting is one of the ways I process my life experiences…
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Machine Quilting with a Serpentine Stitch
I’ll say one thing about the global pandemic: I think I’ve done more sewing and quilting in the past year and a half than in the previous 10 years! Seriously, my sewing machine has been a lifeline, and the connections I’ve made through sharing my work – and enjoying everyone else’s work – on Instagram…
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Finishing Spree – Take Wing, Foundation Piecing, & Mixing Quilting Methods
Foundation piecing (also called foundation paper piecing) is a great technique for achieving precise piecing and sharp points even with tiny pieces and fabric edges that are not on-grain. For this method, the pattern is printed (or traced) onto foundation paper. This paper acts as both a stabilizer and a stitching guide while the block…
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Finishing Spree! Fireworks, Curvy Quilting & “Disappearing” Binding
I haven’t been posting much this summer, but I’ve certainly been sewing up a storm! I’m finding it good therapy. 🙂 Due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to enjoy our usual fireworks display downtown this year, but I was inspired by the July Java batiks box from Cotton Cuts to create some fireworks of…
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Finishing Spree – Quilting with Decorative Stitches
Now that I’m participating in at least four new sew-alongs over the next few months, my finishing-spree is more important that ever! This time, I’d like to share yet another machine quilting option – quilting with the decorative stitches that are built into your sewing machine. My observations & recommendations:
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Finishing Spree – Hoops vs. Gloves for Free-Motion Quilting
I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My husband and son couldn’t get away, but my daughter Connor and I had a fabulous road trip together to visit my family in Pennsylvania and New York. We had a wonderful time staying with my parents and then with my sister – including…
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Finishing Spree – Quilt-As-You-Go
Sometimes projects take a turn or two (or more!) along the way and don’t turn out as originally envisioned. I like to reframe these as opportunities for new “design decisions”. 😉 Earlier this fall, I signed up to participate in the Modern Patchwork Quilt Along – Talk of the Town Quilt with Amy Ellis. Little…
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Finishing Spree – Matchstick Quilting
Do you know what Matchstitck Quilting is? I didn’t until a few months ago when my friends Ruth and Michele told me about it. Yes, apparently I’ve been hiding under a rock… LOL I had difficulty wrapping my brain around it at first; quilting lines only the width of a matchstick apart? Why on earth…
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Shimmer Quilt – Part 3
My clamshell “Shimmer” quilt has been a labor of love and persistence – for such a relatively small piece, it sure has been labor intensive! But I’ve enjoyed each step of the process as it stretched my creative muscles to experiment with new-to-me products, techniques and approaches. Below is my completed quilt top. It’s a…
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Straight Line Machine Quilting with the Jazz
I was perplexed when I realized that the Baby Lock Jazz, which is marketed as a quilting and sewing machine, doesn’t come with a walking foot among the 9 included presser feet. It seems like a counter-intuitive omission. Not that big a deal for me, since I already have a deluxe Baby Lock low-shank walking…
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Colorwash Bargello – Free-Motion Quilting!
This is the eleventh in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I’ve layered my quilt top, Hobb’s Heirloom Fusible Batting, and backing fabric, and fused the layers together. It’s a little unusual, but when I use fusible batting, I…
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Colorwash Bargello – Choosing Thread for Free-Motion Quilting
This is the tenth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. The quilt top is complete, and as I discussed in my previous post, I’ve decided to free-motion quilt this project. I’m raring to get started! I’m leaning…
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Colorwash Bargello – Machine Quilting Options
This is the ninth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. The quilt top is complete, and I’m considering my options for machine quilting the quilt top, batting, and backing together. There are no rules about how best…
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Adding Additional Texture with Machine Quilting
2025 UPDATE: My Celtic patterns can now be found in my online shop. This is the tenth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into…
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Book Review – Quilts As You Go Made Modern
Quilt As-You-Go Made Modern: Fresh Techniques for Busy Quilters by Jera Brandvig From C&T Publishing: Fun and done! Quilting is easier than ever with this popular method • A modern approach to quilting that’s fresh, fun, and simpler than it sounds; it will change the way you quilt (for the better) • Great for moms…
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Free-Motion Quilting – the fun stuff!
Free-Motion quilting is one of my favorite – and occasionally dreaded – parts of quiltmaking. Favorite, because it allows me to play with color, line and texture; occasionally dreaded, because I sometimes (fortunately not nearly as often I used to) start to over-think everything and become stressed out. But one of the good things about…
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So You Want to Buy a New Sewing Machine…
One of the questions I am asked most frequently is “What sewing machine (or brand of sewing machine) do you recommend?” I always feel a little awkward about answering this; while my current Baby Lock machine is my favorite machine I’ve ever owned, I’ve also happily sewn or quilted on just about every other major…
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8 Tips for a Creative Life
This is a reprint of an article that originally appeared in the magazine CraftSanity, Issue 2, published by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood. © Beth Ann Williams, 2011. I also had the pleasure of being interviewed by Jennifer on CraftSanity Episode 116. CraftSanity. Making stuff. Crafting Sanity. Sometimes it’s about having something do to with my hands while my…
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Finished Is More Important Than Perfect
Finished is more important than perfect. Anyone who has participated in one of my classes or Demo Days at Lakeshore Sewing has probably heard me say this – it’s one of my favorite mantras when teaching. The second part goes like this: The more you finish, the closer to perfect you’ll get. It’s generally true,…
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Machine Quilting FAQ & Top Tips
2025 UPDATE: PDF patterns, online classes and FREEBIES can now be found in my online shop. Here’s another post dealing with FAQ – this time specifically related to using a sewing machine for quilting. For the time being, I’m avoiding the topic of which threads I recommend; we’ll save that for another day! Do you…
