Since I've started doing a little Fall decorating around the house (Monday is the first day of Autumn) I thought it would be fun to share my favorite fall quilts for today's favorites post. My absolute favorite fall quilt is one I did about ten years ago using scraps. It was one of my first

 I just can't stop making scrappy log cabin blocks. I went through my scraps and separated a lot of "low-volume" fabrics to use for the "light" sections  I try to pick out fun center squares and then make sure there is a good mix of colors in each block. So the blocks aren't completely

 I did get to do a little quilting done this weekend...well, actually, I did a lot, but some of it I can't share just yet. But I worked on a couple of my own projects, too. All of those flying geese...they are now part of my "Whit" quilt. And now I just need to hand stitch the binding for the

 For a little while now I've been thinking about a new blog feature I want to do on Fridays: "Favorites on Friday." This will give me an opportunity to feature favorite fabrics, favorite notions, and even favorite quilt designs and patterns. It will be something different every

By now you've probably heard that September is National Sewing and Quilting month, and Fat Quarter Shop has come up with a fun blog tour to inspire quilters and sewers to think a little about these great past times and also to branch out and try something new. Each participating blogger was asked to

It probably comes as no surprise that I'm still working on those flying geese! I've finished all 160 of them now...and they are all sewn in sets. I think I like them even better in pairs!   Some of the pairs have even been sewn together! I used a pin in each group of geese where the

This weekend was a flying geese kind of weekend. I made a lot of them...160 to be exact. And they are small...they are cute now, but they will be even cuter when they are sewn together! I used one Moda Candy pack of Miss Kate and added in some other Bonnie & Camille scraps to end up with

 How about a new "simply small" project? My "simply small" projects are beginner projects that can be made with Moda Candy packs and just a little bit of extra yardage. Today's "Scrappy Four Patch Table Topper" can be made using just one Moda candy pack. It goes together in no time, and is

 There is just something about a finish...even if it is a little one. Almost-finished just isn't the same as completely finished. And with a lot of projects on my "want to make" list, I needed some complete finishes on the books. I know I showed a picture of this tumbler mini the other day, but

Happy September 2nd...I meant to get this post written yesterday; however, we returned home pretty late in the evening from a five-day trip, and I was just too tired! But I'm happy to be home, and of course I have a list a mile long of projects for fall!  I was able to take my machine

 Happy Wednesday--welcome to my works in progress--process edition. I really feel like I want to share more about process when I write these progress posts; I really love when other quilters share their process and hope to be able to do the same. Do you ever have those times when you don't

 Well the days of summer have come to an end for me...I go back to school today. I have a pretty easy schedule this semester with just one class which meets twice a week. I'll have one section of English 101 with twenty students which means I'll be grading a lot of papers over the next sixteen

Happy Saturday...and time for one more giveaway! Shari from Bear Creek Quilting Company is offering a $50 gift certificate to her online store to one of my readers--open to domestic and international customers. Fabrics and bundles are reasonably priced, and her shop also sells gift ideas, kits,

Note: The Accuquilt Dresden die was provided to me at no charge; however, the opinions expressed here are completely my own.  Dresdens are one of my favorite blocks, so when given the opportunity to play with the new Accuquilt Dresden "Block on Board" die I quickly said yes. The great thing

Happy Wednesday! It's a "Works in Progress" kind of day today...here is just a bit of what I'm working on this week. First of all my scrappy "Nested Churn Dash" quilt arrived home from Texas...quilted beautifully in an all-over design by Maggi Honeyman.  With such a busy quilt I don't

When my friends at Fat Quarter Shop asked if I'd like to participate in the Jelly Roll Jam II blog tour I immediately agreed. I made a couple of baby quilts from the first Jelly Roll Jam pattern and was curious to see what this one would be like. Of course this pattern is just as fun as the

Happy Friday! Let's celebrate the almost end of summer with a fun giveaway from Jodie at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. Jodie puts together the most wonderful fabric bundles and has a "Pretty Bird" fat quarter bundle to give to one of my blog readers! To see a list of all 12 fat quarters included in the

 Now that I'm home and semi-recovered from vacationing, I'm hoping to get back on track with my "Wednesday Works in Progress" posts. Since I have less than two weeks of summer vacation left, I'm also in a mad dash to finish some new things and wrap up a few older works in progress! Before

Hello! Today I'm happy to share a little about my love of all things fabric and quilting--today's post will include some photos of some of my favorite projects and offer a little bit of insight into my creative process. I think this is such a fun opportunity to learn a little bit more than what we

Last week I was able to take one of those "bucket list" trips I've wanted to make for a long time. I've never been to Washington, D.C. before, and it worked out that I was able to get away last week and spend time soaking up the incredible history and culture found in the very inspiring museums and

Recently I got to play with one of my favorite new Moda collections, 30's Playtime and sew up a fun and fast new pattern, the "Fat Quarter Fizz" pattern which is a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. Abby was able to do this fun all-over quilting design on my quilt which I just love! I

 I've been really trying to finish things this summer...but with a sight-seeing trip coming up soon I started (and finished) something I've been wanting to make for a while: a cross-body bag that isn't too big and isn't too small. After a little internet research I decided on the "Two-Zip

Have you heard about the Sweet Scandinavian Sew Along by Sherri Falls of This & That patterns? It has just started, so it's not too late to join in.  You can find all of the information on Sherri's blog here.  Also, this isn't just any regular sew along...Sherri is putting together this quilt

Happy Wednesday quilty works in progress day! Do you ever have a hard time deciding on a project after finishing up something big? I always have a list of things I want to do, but after finishing up the king-sized Nested Churn Dash last week I had a hard time deciding "what next?" For me, the best

 I hope you're not tired of my Nested Churn Dash quilt. My number one quilting goal this summer was to make a scrappy quilt with all of my Minick & Simpson fabrics. I truly love the combination of reds, creams, and blues--these colors are just soothing to me, and they remind me of summer,

 I'm still working on those Churn Dash blocks! Monday evening I finished up numbers 7, 8, and 9. They've been going together pretty quickly since I'm using chain piecing. I just have to be careful to keep the piles in the right order. Even though it's scrappy I am trying not to have the same

 It's hard to believe that summer is past the mid-way point for me. I only have five more weeks until school starts (I teach English Composition part-time at a local community college), and I'm starting to feel the pressure to finish up at least some of my summer goals. My number one summer

 Did you know Olfa is celebrating 35 years? It's hard to believe. I actually used  Olfa cutters while working at a fabric store called "Cloth World" during the 80's (I know...I'm dating myself). At the time I wasn't a quilter, but it was pretty fun demonstrating how the blade could

 Happy Tuesday, and welcome to Simply Small quilted projects parade day! Last week I thought it might be fun to have a Christmas in July project to share with you, so I used two Moda Candy packs of 25th & Pine to make a couple of potholders and a table runner.  These projects

Recently I was asked by my friends at Fat Quarter Shop to review the new Makin' it Cute Petal Pack templates by Barb & Mary of Me & My Sister Designs.  Since I had seen these adorable templates at market in Pittsburgh I gladly said yes! After playing with my template pack this weekend I

 Happy Saturday! Today I have a fun giveaway from Rhonda of Olie & Evie...Rhonda is one of my wonderful sponsors I was privileged to be able to meet a couple of weeks ago while at the Small Town Quilt Show in Midway, Utah. Olie & Evie is an Etsy shop with lots of wonderful goodies! In

How I love this Nested Churn Dash Pattern! I had to start sewing pieces together the other night...and of course now I can't wait to get this quilt finished. Because I love it already.  Half of the blocks will have red centers and alternate red with blue so that the outer ring is

Happy Wednesday! I love the idea of "works in progress" posts and have done many of those over the last few years; however, I've been thinking that along with the "progress" the important thing is the actual "process" used in creating quilts; I think this is especially interesting in relationship to

Vacations are always good, but I did miss my sewing machine. I was happy to have lots of family around for the holiday weekend, but it was also good to get in a little sewing. First on my list was my Homestead wall hanging quilt (pattern by Fig Tree & Company). I'm making a 9-block version of

 Hope you are having a wonderful day, and Happy Fourth of July to my American readers! Pictured above is my very first mini quilt...circa 1999. The pattern is a "Little Quilts" design. I also made little pillows from that pattern...and they are sitting on an antique rocking chair with one

 Hello! Happy July first! Today is kind of a special day here at A Quilting Life; you see, today is the 6th anniversary of my very first blog post! I'm always filled with gratitude when I think about how many blessings have come into my life as a result of starting this blog. I began blogging

 I've been making more of the "Sew Together " bags I posted about here and here. And I still have more to make. Some I'm gifting now, and I have a whole list of people I should make them for for Christmas gifts! Anyway, some of the tips I'd like to share today apply to any small bag sewing

This is a "finish it up" post for the Sew Organized series I posted in the month of June. Although I still have a few odds and ends to finish up, I'm so much better organized than I ever have been in this space.  I've received quite a few emails about my cutting table, and I did a little

This is one of those quilts I've been wanting to make for sooo long! When the mini quilt craze sort of exploded last fall I knew I wanted to make my "Shine" pattern as a mini. It seemed perfectly suited for a mini... But there were always deadlines...so I kept it on the back burner until

Happy Monday...sort of...I'm getting this post up just under the wire for Monday, Pacific time. It's been a busy week--along with my sewing room organization project we've had a sort of house reorganization project, too. My oldest daughter and her husband are moving in with us for a couple of months