One of my Favorite Time-Saving Tips + Machine Quilting Stencils

Greetings friends!

I hope this finds you all well. In this week's edition I'm sharing a refresher about one of my favorite quilting time-saving quilting hacks: Strip-Piecing + few great free patterns that feature this technique. We're also talking Machine Quilting tips using stencils as guides and I'm finally sharing about my epic hiking adventure that I've been preparing for all summer!

Tip of the Week: Strip Piecing 101

Strip Piecing is one of my favorite go-to time-saving techniques for making quilts.

Using Strip Piecing you can make a number of the same units or blocks quickly. It's such a useful short-cut for making quilt blocks or a quilt come together super fast.

There are a few cutting and sewing tips and tricks that will make your strip-piecing more efficient and accurate.

Click below for a detailed post about this versatile and time-saving skill + two free quilt projects that use strip-piecing.

Strip-pieced Gingham Quilt Pattern (Free)

One of the most popular quilt tutorials on my site in recent years is this Gingham Quilt pattern from guest contributor, Elizabeth Chappell.

The layout and construction is so simple and stunning, and super on-trend right now.

And the quilt comes together quickly thanks to strip-piecing techniques! Choose favorite colors to make a perfect quilt for a wedding gift or a new dorm room.

Click below to access the free Gingham Quilt tutorial.

Building Free-Motion Quilting Confidence using Stencil Templates

What is your confidence level for machine quilting with your domestic sewing machine? I'll be the first to admit that my confidence is not super high - at least for free-motion quilting.

If you're like me, I think you'll be really interested in Melodie's guide to using her versatile and practical machine quilting stencils! These tools are great for helping you build confidence in your free-motion skills and achieve great quilting designs on your quilts in the process!

Fun Finds on the Web - Summer Quilt Ideas

Amanda of Material Girl Quilts shares a quilt tutorial + video for this super cute disappearing four-patch baby quilt. And of course I extra love that she used my Notting Hill fabric collection from a few years back. 🥰

I LOVE this free Village quilt pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. available from the Fat Quarter Shop.

If you are sewing for Quilts of Valor See Kate Sew has a fun and easy quilt idea as well as a free printable card to include with your presentation. Or perfect to present on it's own to any military member.

All People Quilt has a cute free pattern for a star-spangled Watermelon table runner. Perfect decor for the whole summer season.

Well, after a tease from last week about our summer destination visit in July, I'm excited to spill the beans. Would you believe that white-sand beach with crystal clear blue water and green hillsides was in the Arctic Circle?! We were visiting the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway! (That particular beach - Unstad - even holds surfing competitions!)

The reason for our trip: one of my best friends lives in Oslo. She is going through her second round of breast cancer including chemo treatments right now. Earlier this summer there were some incredible flight deals to Europe so I took it as a sign we should go and visit her and her husband. They've stayed with us dozens of times over the last 30 years and were so excited to host us. My husband and I had such a special visit. I feel so grateful we could spend some time together and praying for miracles that will prolong her life.

I'm currently going through all of my pictures so I can share some of the beautiful textile and folk art inspiration we saw in Norway.

Knowing we would be closer to one of our bucket-list destinations, we looked into visiting the Lofoten islands. If you're curious, look up Lofoten on YouTube. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. One of the most famous hikes there is called Reinebringen, a short but steep hike with an iconic panoramic view from the top of the fishing village of Reine and the surrounding fjords.

This is the hike I was determined to do. It's not a long distance (just over a mile round trip) but it’s a challenging climb with a lot of elevation gain (1,470 feet). Which means stairs. 1,974 of them. Basically it was like being on a Stairmaster for 2 hours.

I'm not going to lie - it was HARD. Probably the hardest hike I've ever done. I'm not in peak condition, but I had been hiking multiple times a week to prepare. Plus I live at a higher altitude so I figured that was working in my favor.

But this was still grueling for me. There were times when I wasn't sure I was going to make it. And there were times I was getting passed on the trail not only by little kids, but also cute little white-haired Asian grandpas which sometimes felt a little deflating. So when I got to the top, I felt super proud that I made it. (BTW - this photo was taken at 10:00 at night.)

This was a good lesson in not letting yourself get discouraged by other people on the trail (aka life) who seem to be handing life better than you. Keep going. The view/hard work will be worth it.

And here's a view of me out cold, asleep at the beach in the middle of the afternoon the next day. I've decided that beach-naps are some of my favorite kind of naps. I'm getting really good at them.

In much more mundane news, this week I've been working hard on finishing new quilt patterns that will release next month before my next fabric collection, Mary Catherine, arrives in stores in September. Sewing has been sparse. Hoping to finish the tedious stuff and get back to my machine this week.

Thanks SO much for checking in. See you next week!

xo,

Amy

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