Announcing a new online free mystery quilt, Star Struck from Susan Claire’s quilt shop in New Zealand.

The finished quilt will measure approximately 57″ square, perfect for a lap quilt or a wall hanging. Fabric requirements and the first part of the instructions have been posted. Here’s the first block you’ll be making:

Head over to Susan’s blog for more information and to download the first part.

As promised in my post earlier today, presented below is the large fabric basket tutorial. It comes with a story that I wanted to share with you all.

I made quilts for both of my nieces for Christmas. With Lucy’s birthday so close, I wasn’t planning to make her anything. That is until I saw this fabulous post from Geta Grama.

I could tell by the photo that Geta’s basket is bigger than the one I did before using Ayumi’s great tutorial. Having featured Geta’s Stack and Whack Kaleidoscope tutorial in the past, I knew I had her email on file. So I sent her an email asking her for the dimensions of her basket, as I wanted to make it for my niece.

Geta was kind enough to send me this chart, and these measurements which helped tremendously.

Finished size: 14″ x 6″ x 4″
Cut 32 squares: 2.5″ x 2.5″
The middle part is: 10″ x 16.5″
Two strips on top and bottom: 2 x (2″ x 16.5″)
Handles: 2 x (3.5″ x 13″)

If you want one even bigger, you can add more squares (1 column- 4 squares, or 2 columns – 8 squares).

Then a couple of days later, Geta sends me this full tutorial, Quilted Basket. Complete with a new design option and lots of easy to understand photos.

I want to thank Geta for her generosity in making this tutorial, and for her inspiration and creativity. I loved the fabric baskets I made for Lucy, and they weren’t nearly as difficult as I thought they would be, because the tutorial was so well done. One of these days, I’ll even make one of the more difficult ones using the technique in the tutorial. Here’s Geta’s finished basket:

The tips to sew flat the middle bottom seam and to add the additional lines of sewing to form the bottom of the basket worked wonders.

Note: If you decide to make this basket too, use either the measurements presented above or the ones in the tutorial. Don’t mix them, as they are slightly different.

While I loved the flowers from Geta’s first post about the baskets, I opted not to add them to Lucy’s as Lucy has a 4 month old baby sister, so we’re back in baby-proofing mode in our family for the next year or so.

I’d love to see your finished baskets, as I’m sure Geta would too. Please leave a comment below to the link on your site.

Enjoy and have fun. I sure did. Can’t wait to make more.

Greetings Everyone! My name is Ebony Love, and I am the owner & artist of LoveBug Studios. I started my business about 4 years ago, and focus on custom quilts and other items. I really love trying out new techniques, one of which is my topic for today. I have also started blogging recently, which is what brought me here, and I’m really excited to be a guest blogger and share with you my process to incorporate silk flowers in your quilts.

The Tools of the Trade

If you’re like me, somewhere in your house you have a vase full of fake flowers. If you want to bring new life to those flowers, don’t rearrange them, take them apart and use them in your quilts! I am sure there are books galore on this particular topic, but I’d like to show you a very easy way to do this with very simple tools you probably have laying around the house.

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Thanks Michele for inviting me to be a guest blogger. I’m so glad I found your site!

I’ve been quilting for three decades (and saying that makes me feel very old!) While wasting away a lunch hour one day, I came across a little quilt shop, went in and . . my world was forever changed!

It was there I learned to quilt. We were taught to do all hand piecing and hand quilting. Things have changed!

All of my piecing is now done by machine, mostly on old Singer 301 machines and all my quilting is done on an APQS Millennium, unless you want to count the hand quilting project I started in 1995 that still isn’t finished! Let’s not count that one though, ok?

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As crafters, we know how fun and satisfying it is to make and give a handmade present, especially when the recipient is a child. Remembering back to our own girlhoods, some of our most cherished gifts were handmade clothes for our beloved dollies. Whether they were made by moms, grandmas, aunts, or even purchased from craft bazaars, they were unique and special, just like the women who created them.

YouCanMakeThis.com would like to invite you to share in the tradition of giving handcrafted doll clothes to girls at Christmastime.

True, we are the beginning of a new year, but this is something we can create all year long in preparation for an event that begins each November — the Marine’s Toys for Tots Drive.

Knowing that thousands of dolls are donated each year to this wonderful cause, we decided to make "tiny twirls" and tops so that children can dress their new dollies.

YouCanMakeThis.com is providing free, easy patterns so that you can make beautiful "twirl" skirts and tops to donate to your local Toys For Tots campaign. Our "Twirls for Girls" campaign just completed its second year and we are hoping for an even greater response as we launch into its third year.

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I have several Terry Atkinson patterns and was delighted to discover she has a new blog filled with yummy colours and inspiration. She’s posted some free projects:

• Airplane Art Binder
• Best Press Bag
• Fat Sack