Teach Me to Machine Quilt from Pat Sloan

I knew the day would come.

In 1991 I learned the quilt stitch and for years enjoyed spending a few hours every evening hand quilting. Now twenty-six years later, instead of quilting a bed-sized quilt in two or four months it took me two winters. TWO WINTERS. In the meantime, I finished six or more quilt tops.

I hauled a pile of quilt tops to a machine quilter in January. It is now May and I have not got one back. And when I do, I know I had better have a wheelbarrow to carry what I am going to owe her.

The day has come...to learn how to machine quilt my quilt projects.

Luckily, the marvelous Pat Sloan has prepared a book for people like me, a step-by-step, illustrated, simplified, marvelous resource! She covers all the bases, including how to quilt with a walking foot and free motion quilting.

And if we still have reservations about tackling machine quilting, Pat includes multiple patterns for quilt projects and then walks us through machine quilting them.

Thank you, Pat! You have thought of everything.

Pat offers the above simple Strippy Table Runner, 16 1/2" x 36 1/2" to learn walking foot quilting. The instructions include hints like how to prevent bowing when joining long strips and using Jelly Rolls.

This adorable Mini Charm Star, 28 1/2" x 28 1/2",  is another walking foot project. Just think of the scraps you could use...the color variations...

I like applique', and am glad that Pat offers applique' projects, too. I know a lot of people who would love My Little Kitty, 12 1/2" x 15 1/2", which uses fusible applique, blanket stitching, and walking foot quilting. SO easy!

Another simple fusible applique project is Winter Bliss, 24 1/2" x 28 1/2", a sweet snowman hanging out with his friend. Pat guides readers in making the bias stems and the free motion quilting.

Larger projects include Cherry Pie, 65 1/2" x 81 1/2", which uses a combination of machine walking foot and free motion quilting. Michigan is known for its cherries and I am imagining a quilt with cherry print fabrics...yum!

Mexican Rose, 56 1/2" x 56 1/2", was inspired by a vintage quilt. I love floral applique quilts! The wide border is a chance to highlight an amazing fabric you can't bear to cut.

Blue Lagoon is a Rail Fence variation, 64 1/2" x 72 1/2". Pat quilted with free motion swirls to counterpoint the straight lines.

See more of the projects at That Patchwork Place here.

I am eager to try my hand at machine quilting again. I have done some projects but without Pat's knowledge under my belt, and I think I will be more pleased with the results after reading Teach Me To Machine Quilt!

I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss.

from the publisher's website:

Pat Sloan teaches everything a first-time quilter needs to know to machine quilt successfully, going step-by-step through walking foot and free-motion quilting techniques. 

Popular teacher, designer, and online radio host Pat Sloan teaches all you need to know to machine quilt successfully. In this third book of her beginner-friendly "Teach Me" series, Pat guides you step by step through walking-foot and free-motion quilting techniques. First-time quilters will be confidently quilting in no time, and experienced stitchers will discover the joy of finishing their quilts themselves. 

No-fear learning for quilting novices--Pat covers all the information you need to quilt from start to finish. 

Pat guides you through simple and fun practice projects, including a strip-pieced table runner and an easy applique design. 

Collect the entire skill-building library of Pat Sloan's popular "Teach Me" series of books.

Piece and Quilt With Precuts by Christa Watson

Christa Watson is back with 11 quilt patterns using precuts and 18 machine quilting designs that will help quilters master the art of machine quilting.

Christa is the author of two books on machine quilting, Machine Quilting with Style and The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. 

Her new book Piece and Quilt with Precuts will ensure 'start to finish success'.

Christa likes precuts because they make the construction of the quilt top quick and easy so she can focus on her favorite part, the machine quilting.  Precuts are available from fabric companies in 5" or 10" squares, strips, and in fat eighths (9" x 21") and fat quarters (18" x 21").

Quilters have been told to prewash fabric to remove excess dye and to preshrink. Precuts will ravel and warp if pre-washed, so Christa washes her quilt after completion, using Shout Color Catchers.

The key to successful scrap quilts is contrast. Neutral backgrounds are usually white, off-white, or black but you can use color as well. Sometimes using the back side of a fabric will give you the color needed.

She offers tips for organization, chain piecing, pressing, basting, thread choice, sewing machines, and how to choose quilt designs. Then she includes step-by-step instructions on the general process of machine quilting. Every pattern includes loads of illustrations.

The first quilt projects use machine walking foot quilting. Then she offers projects using free-motion designs to inspire confidence. Then quilters can graduate to combining the two techniques.

"...remember that finished is better than perfect!" Christa reminds us.

Here are some of my favorite projects in the book.

The first project is easy but has a lot of visual interest and motion, using a traditional block in a scrappy look. Squiggles is quilted with a walking foot but one moves the quilt under the foot to create undulating lines.

Squiggles, 50"  63 1/2" uses two Charm Packs

The super-easy Frequency is structured and modern. It uses 2 1/2" strip packs and is quilted in a zig-zag pattern.

Frequency, 54 1/2" x 54 1/2"

The first free motion quilting project is Starstruck, a traditional pattern given a modern look with a neutral, high contrast palette in grays, black, and white. I loved her hint on how not to lose the star points! Christa used fat quarters and a 'loop and stars' quilting pattern.

Starstruck, 54 1/2" x 78 1/2"

Dot 'N' Dash uses 2 2/1" strips in another super easy pattern with a real modern vibe. Christa used the walking foot to 'stitch in the ditch' and then free motion quilted. She also offers a hint for making a scrappy binding.

Dot 'N' Dash, 60 1/2" x 72 1/2" 

Arrows is another modern quilt using fat quarters and fat eighths. She includes detailed layout patterns for the fabrics so there is little waste. The construction is beautifully illustrated, a big help for this trickier pattern. She also shows how to use specialty triangle rulers. The quilting is free motion "arrows" and quilt in the ditch.

Arrows, 78 1/2" x 84 1/2"

Spools is a modern update on a traditional pattern that offers a great use for scraps! She used fat quarters, strips, and squares. Christa shows how to construct the 'crazy quilt' pieces that are cut into shape. She used both stitch in the ditch and free motion quilting.

Spools, 44 1/2" x 44 1/2"

I'm getting ready to learn machine quilting; after 26 years of hand quilting, my stitches are not what they used to be. This is a great book to inspire me!

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Piece and Quilt with Precuts
by Christa Watson
Martingale
$26.99
ISBN: 9781604688702

Learn easy, efficient tricks for piecing irresistible quilt tops with precuts and leftover fabric scraps, and discover 18 machine-quilting motifs you can mix and match. Award-winning quilter and designer Christa Watson guides you through 11 skill-building projects with quilting designs in three categories: walking-foot, free-motion, and a combination of the two techniques. Christa is here to help you start and finish strong! from the publisher