A marked up photograph of one section of the Topographic Texture quilt Yvonne is currently quilting, showing the variation in gaps between quilting lines (marked by the blue lines) and area where the pattern was not followed in the same manner (marked inside the red circled area)
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07 Oct
Quilts

Topographic Texture {Quilting Progress}

After over a month lapse in progress, last week I got back to quilting my current in work project. I had been calling the project "Rainbow Improv" for lack of a real name, and one of the things I did while I finished quilting the remaining colored print sections was consider what I really wanted to name this quilt....

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The finished twelve low volume scrappy color row charity blocks.
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28 Sep
Quilts

Low Volume Scrappy Color Row Charity Blocks

After a break from sewing, small projects like mini mini quilts or charity blocks are always a great way for me to pick back up. Thankfully, the next Many Hands and Many Hearts charity block drive was announced at the end of August, so the requested Low Volume Scrappy Color Row charity blocks were on my menu to sew...

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View of the back of the Rainbow Improv quilt being made by Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl. This photograph shows her current quilting progress with about 60% of the colored fabric sections from the front of the quilt quilted.
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10 Aug
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Quilting Progress Update}

My motto is currently, "slow and steady wins the race." I have 29 of the rainbow colored fabric sections quilted (16 to go) and 12 of the background sections quilted (36 to go). Overall, that means I have 41 of 93 sections quilted, so I have 44% of the quilting complete. To be honest, I'm really surprised I have that...

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A zoomed in photograph of the center block of the rainbow improv exposed seams quilt so that the quilting is visible. The central Alison Glass print is quilted in a spiral and the outer background fabric is echo quilted.
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27 Jul
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Center Block Quilting}

I've made more progress on quilting than just the center block, but I think describing the process of quilting the center block will explain why quilting the Rainbow Improv Exposed Seams quilt might take me a bit of time. I used the Coming Up for Air mini quilt to test out how I wanted to quilt the center. The biggest...

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The 25 exposed seams improv blocks made and arranged in rainbow colorwheel order by Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl sewn into a pieced quilt top on a design wall.
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20 Jul
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Pieced & Basted}

I had a slightly more productive week in the studio than I had anticipated! I spent Monday and Tuesday sewing the blocks together into three rows. Moving slowly and with care, it took me a day to sew the top row to the middle and then another day to sew the bottom row to the top. I was really pleased to...

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Assembly progress photo of 25 quilt blocks made using gentle improv curves and the finished exposed turn-and-straight-stitch seams method arranged in color wheel order (from red in the upper left through orange-yellow in the upper right through green-blue in the lower right and purple-blue in the lower left) on a quilt design wall. The four corner blocks are sewn together, top and bottom rows have two blocks sewn into a column, and the 5 center blocks are sewn into a row.
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13 Jul
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Assembly Progress}

After getting the Potato Chip charity quilt blocks dropped off at the post office on Monday, I pulled out the Rainbow Improv blocks and placed them back on my design wall. Over 3 afternoons, I was able to make pretty good progress getting the blocks assembled. In each corner, 4 blocks are sewn together. The top and bottom rows also...

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36 complementary color (orange with blue center, blue with orange center, yellow with purple center, purple with yellow center, red with green center, and green with red center) potato chip charity quilt blocks on a quilting design wall.
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07 Jul
Quilts

Potato Chip Charity Blocks

Yesterday afternoon I hustled to get 36 Potato Chip charity quilt blocks for Many Hands and Many Hearts finished and dropped off at the post office. Cynthia requested that the blocks be made using complementary colors: red with green centers or green with red centers / purple with yellow centers or yellow with purple centers / blue with orange centers...

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The final, trimmed 25 quilt blocks made using gentle improv curves and the finished exposed turn-and-straight-stitch seams method arranged in color wheel order (from red in the upper left through orange-yellow in the upper right through green-blue in the lower right and purple-blue in the lower left) on a quilt design wall.
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29 Jun
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Block Piecing Complete}

For a variety of reasons, life has been keeping me from spending much time at my sewing machine over the past month. This Rainbow Improv project that I've had on my design wall has been exactly the project I need for this season. Instead of making a lot of physical progress, I was able to let the fabric hang...

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This is a photograph of a foundation paper pieced courhouse steps quilt block that depicts a house. The quilt block is made using solids in blues, browns, creams/off-whites, and with a red center. The quilt block is photographed on top of a green OLFA rotary cutting mat with a 45-mm OLFA rotary blade and scraps of fabric used to piece the block surrounding the block in the upper left and upper right corners.
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24 Jun
Quilts

Building a Village {FPP Quilt Block | Community Quilt}

I was intrigued by posts Audrey from @cottonandbourbon on Instagram over the weekend. She was clearly testing out and working on a really cute quilt block and said she'd be making a special announcement on Monday. It's likely you have already seen her special announcement: she put out a call for help building a village of FPP quilt blocks...

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The center 9 blocks of the rainbow improv exposed seams quilt. The outer 8 quilt blocks are arranged in colorwheel order starting with pink/red in the upper left hand corner and surround a center block made using an Alison Glass rainbow panel.
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15 Jun
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Block Piecing Part 2}

Let's pick back up where the initial Rainbow Improv block piecing post ended: I spent a week staring at these pieces on the design wall and I finally realized what was bothering me: I only wanted a single block between each of the previously pieced first 4 blocks. Once I came to that realization, I spent a few days piecing...

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Clue 5 / June Blocks for Mystery Quilt with a Mission Raffle Quilt with Cotton Cuts for the Social Justice Sewing Academy. The quilt blocks are made using Tula Pink’s Graywork collection prints in white, gray, and black with neon color accents on top of a green Olfa cutting mat.
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08 Jun
Quilts

Clue 5 {Mystery with a Mission | Cotton Cuts}

It's my month to piece the blocks for the Mystery Quilt with a Mission for Cotton Cuts. The Clue 5 blocks will be combined with blocks from other contributing quilters into a finished quilt that will be raffled off to benefit the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). The SJSA was founded in 2017 and works to empower people to...

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A wrinkly and poorly executed inset circle sewn into background fabric made with 4 pieces of fabric sewn together with the finished exposed seam technique developed by Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl. This inset circle test block is testing if the finished exposed seam technique can be used with inset circles, and this first test block is a very three-dimensional, non flat result. The fabrics used in the test block are orange, yellow, lime green, and mauve.
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29 May
Quilts

Down the Rabbit Hole…

I made 4 more blocks as part of the Rainbow Improv project last weekend and then paused to do more design wall arranging and thinking. It's starting to come together, and what it really needed was a center block to pull it all together. Great news: I found the *perfect* print in my stash for the center block. The...

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Four quilting blocks, arranged in rainbow order, made using the finished exposed seams technique being developed by Yvonne Fuchs of Quilting Jetgirl.
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18 May
Quilts

Rainbow Improv | Finished Exposed Seams {Block Piecing}

After finishing the last batch of charity blocks, I was ready start piecing my next finished exposed seams quilt. The general idea was to work with a rainbow of color and to expand the improv idea I tested with Topsy-Turvy into a larger quilt. I have really been enjoying working with prints for these finished exposed seams quilts, and I...

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Yvonne with Mini Square in Square Blocks
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11 May
Quilts

76 More Mini Square in Square Charity Blocks

I knew that the best use of the Island Batik fat quarter bundle I was randomly selected to win for my participation in the 2026 SAHRR was to turn them into more Mini Square in Square charity blocks for Many Hands and Many Hearts. The fat quarters were beautifully sized at 18" x 22". Looking at my options for...

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SAHRR - Island Batik FQ Bundle - Paradise Palms
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20 Apr
Quilts

Island Batik FQ Bundle {2026 SAHRR}

I was surprised and delighted to be randomly selected to win an Island Batik fat quarter bundle for my participation in the 2026 SAHRR! The bundle has arrived and is a generous collection of 20 prints. I'm torn: I could cut these up and make more mini square in square charity blocks for the block drive for Many Hands and Many...

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Mini Square in Square Charity Blocks
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03 Apr
Quilts

Mini Square in Square Charity Blocks

Tomorrow, I will be dropping off 42 Mini Square in Square charity blocks at the post office to send to Many Hands and Many Hearts. As part of Cynthia's request for the Mini Square in Square blocks, she requested the blocks be made in batiks or blender fabrics. While I have a lot of blender fabrics, I opted to purchase...

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Expressions Batiks 10in Square Pack
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13 Mar
Quilts

Mid March Check In

Cynthia recently announced the Many Hands and Many Hearts March-May 2026 block drive: Mini Square in Square block. She requested the blocks be made in batiks. I don't have batiks in my stash, and the few I have in my scrap bins aren't big enough to use for a block. She did also mention that using blender fabrics would...

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2026 SAHRR Round 6
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28 Feb
Quilts

Round 6 {2026 SAHRR}

To close out the 2026 Stay At Home Round Robin (SAHRR) prompts, Anja told us that Round 6 is "quilter's choice" on Wednesday. I was excited to spend time designing my final top and bottom borders, and jumped right in to my design software (Inkscape) on Wednesday after I wrapped up my work day. Two things surprised me about...

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23 Feb
Quilts

Cotton Cuts Puzzle Mystery Quilt Supporting SJSA

I was contacted earlier this year by Cotton Cuts and asked to participate in making a raffle quilt that will support the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). The SJSA was founded in 2017 and works to empower people to use textile art for personal transformation, community building, and activism. I became familiar with SJSA through my volunteer efforts at...

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