Quilt Verve

09/04/2026

An old friend I lost touch with years ago reached out today after his wife happened to find one of my quilting videos on YouTube.

I’d actually tried to find him before and couldn’t. Apparently quilting had other plans. ❤️

One of those unexpected little gifts of putting the things you make out into the world.

09/02/2026

This marigold is slowly starting to grow. 🌼

I’m test sewing my way through 13 foundation paper pieced sections—making, checking, occasionally ripping something back out, and figuring out how all these strange little pieces become the flower I drew.

Three sections down. Ten more to go.

I think this might be one of those blocks where the awkward middle makes the finished piece that much better.

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

In hindsight, leaving an entire collection of fat quarters on the floor may have been interpreted as an invitation. 😂

I saw a fabric stash. He saw stepping stones.

Totally fair.

09/01/2026

The hardest part of designing a complicated quilt block usually isn’t sewing it — it’s figuring out the order.

I’m building this marigold one section at a time, and right now I’m testing how all of these individual shapes need to come together before I commit to the full block.

Two sections down. Eleven more to figure out. 🌼

I think this one is going to be worth it.

08/31/2026

You can turn almost any drawing into a quilt block if you can figure out where the seams need to go.

I’m testing a new marigold block and breaking the original drawing into sections that can actually be pieced in fabric. This first little section is foundation paper pieced — and apparently I decided this flower needed 13 of them. 😂

One down. Twelve to go.

I’m curious: what would you turn into a quilt block if you could?

08/29/2026

Ribbons + Bows is officially finished. 🎀

This is actually one of my earlier patterns, and looking at it again now, I can see the beginning of a design obsession that apparently never went away — making pieces weave, intersect, and move through one another.

This one sat unfinished for much longer than I’d like to admit, but I’m glad it did. I don’t think I would have quilted it this way a few years ago.

Bows, leaves, flowers… and a whole lot more free-motion quilting than I’d ever attempted before.

Sometimes it’s fun to come back to an older design and realize you still really love it.

Do you have a quilt you’ve come back to years later?

08/29/2026

I decided to finish this quilt a little more like a dress than a quilt. 😂

Instead of cutting and sewing on a separate binding, I trimmed away the excess batting and used the backing itself to finish the edge—folding it under twice almost like a narrow hem, then stitching it down.

I’ve always used traditional binding, so this was mostly an experiment to see how I’d like it.

The verdict? I can see pros and cons to both. I love eliminating the extra binding step (and the extra fabric!), but traditional binding definitely has its advantages too.

Now I’m curious: backing-as-binding or traditional binding—which do you prefer?