Getting Started with Machine Quilting

Everyone knows that I am totally involved with making strip pieced blocks like log cabin, pineapple, hexagons. I teach classes in these techniques at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo www.sewingexpo.com and to quilt guilds everywhere. But did you know I also teach free motion machine quilting. Here are some photos from my recent workshop in Tinley Park, IL.

The next Sewing Expo is in Lakeland, Florida in early March. Hope to see you there.

Notice the smiles on everyone's face? Free motion machine quilting is really lots of fun. Also notice the Janome sewing machines...my favorite and my machine of choice.

Look at all the different designs being practiced in the class. These are all beginning free motion quilting. If they can accomplish it, you can too!

Hexie Go Modern

For years Quilter's Newsletter www.quiltersnewsletter.com has been a favorite magazine for quilters. During the 20 years I was editor of QUILT (1986-2006) I couldn't even think of submitting one of my quilts to another publication. After leaving that position quilts I designed have appeared in many other magazines, but never Quilter's Newsletter.

The current issue of Quilter's Newsletter features one of my hexagon quilt designs along with a lesson on how to use my Hexagon Trim Tool by Creative Grids© www.creativegridsusa.com.

Bird's eye view of the Hexagon Trim Tool making a perfect strip pieced hexagon block

and....

A sneak peek of the quilt that is featured. 

Look for the December issue of the magazine at your newsstand or order it from the Quilter's Newsletter website.

Plus...

The CREATIVEGRIDSUSA ad in Quilter's Newsletter featuring all of my trim tools. You can order all of my trim tools and patterns from my website www.jeanannquilts.com

Curvy Log Cabin Quilts - Book #6

Working on quilts for my new book: Curvy Log Cabin Quilts. Here are two of the projects that will be patterned in the book. The book will be available late winter or early Spring. It will have 8 great curvy log cabin projects. Watch this space for more previews of the projects.

This quilt is named Ripples and uses the 8" Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool.

This quilt is named Solomon's Puzzle. It uses the 6" Log Cabin Trim Tool. The blocks are sewn into a popular Drunkard's Path block called, Solomon's Puzzle. 

There's nothing new....just almost new!

When my sister, Janet Houts, and I were designing quilts for fabric companies we figured we came up with a brand new concept - the Circle of Nine - to set blocks into a quilt. But my recent contact with a long time quilting friend, Carol Doak, has shown there is nothing really new in the quilting world or the whole wide world.

Carol has just launched her new Craftsy class: Paper Pieced Stars. In this class she has packed in all of her tips and tricks for paper piecing star blocks. Carol uses nine blocks (with eight surrounding the center block) to make a really big quilt that frames her blocks beautifully.

Visit Carol's website www.caroldoak.com to get more details about the class, to contact Carol, and to receive a discount that is being offered to sign up for the Craftsy class from Carol's website.

Here is the quilt Carol made in 1999 using the setting that Janet and I have used in our 3 books featuring this setting. You can see how the big triangles in the spacers around Carol's center block to create a star-within-a-star setting that is a dramatic frame for her paper pieced star blocks.

50 Fab quilt by Carol Doak, 1999

camping out

In just one month I will be moving from Marietta GA to Washington DC. This week I am camping out in my new apartment so I can get the internet up and running and have the hospital OR room white walls painted in my favorite colors. While here I am sewing the last quilt I need for my new book, Curvy Log Cabin Quilts by Landauer Publishing www.landauercorp,com Here are some pictures to show how necessity can really challenge a quilter when determined to sew, but quilters always win!

Here is my quilters reversible ironing and cutting surface. In this photo I am trimming the first round of a block using my 8" Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool

Have you seen the new Stripology ruler by Gudrun? It is so cool I wish I had thought of it myself. Being a Creative Grids ruler I just added it to my growing ruler collection. I use it every day to cut the strips I need for all of my strip pieced blocks. I have discovered if I cut all my strips in 3 sizes - 1-1/2", 2" and 2-1/2" I can store them in color groups and always have strips ready to use when I want to sew. The Stripology ruler has little square symbols to cut strips at 2-1/2" intervals, star symbols to cut at 1-1/2" intervals and I just use the inch markings to cut at 2" intervals (I learned to count by 2's in elementary school). My cutting is always quick and accurate with the Stripology ruler.

Sewing on a plastic folding table can be a challenge. The machine makes the table bounce so it is fun trying to keep everything in place. Note the 2 folded quilts I am using for chair pads and the cardboard carton I am using for a waste basket to catch my fabric snippings.