My husband finds it fascinating that I believe you can never have too many bowls. In our house, there is no end to the bowls in the kitchen, on the bathroom counter, on my bedside table. I love having places to put things, and Kirsten Fisher has a new book out that combines my love of bowls with my love of sewing!

I assumed that I would need special tools and materials, but everything she uses is either already in my sewing space or quite easy to get ahold of in the local shops.

I love how there are so many different options depending on the complexity desired. Kirsten uses single pieces of fabric, embellished fabric, and fabric that is pieced like quilt blocks.

She's also included strategies for dealing with directional (for example, stripes) and non directional fabric like florals or these black and white geometric prints below.

I love how she adds a bit of applique to embellish a whole cloth bowl!

You can read more about Kirsten on her website, and purchase your copy of her book in her shop!

See what others are saying about Round Fabric Art Bowls as part of the book tour:

• Monday, August 14th - Kick-off post on the C&T Blog
• Tuesday, August 15th - Maria Shell: Instagram
• Wednesday, August 16th - Create Whimsy: Author Spotlight
• Thursday, August 17th - Bonnie Hunter: Quiltville
• Friday, August 18th - Daisy Aschehoug: WarmFolk

• Monday, August 21st - Sarah Ruiz: Saroy
• Tuesday, August 22nd - Teri Lucas: TerifiCreations (YouTube Interview)
• Wednesday, August 23rd - Lee Chappell Monroe: May Chappell

Quilting with Curves Book Tour

I'm thrilled to announce that my new book, Quilting with Curves: 20 Geometric Projects has been released!

As part of the release, 11 of my friends and colleagues in the quilting business are giving away physical and digital copies of the book. They've said such lovely things and pointed out all of the aspects that I love about this book: the range of designs, the various difficulty levels, and the unexpected ways of using quarter circle squares! I'll add more in the coming months as I go through each of the projects. In the meantime, take a look at the flip through and pick out something that excites you!

While you're at it, please visit the links below to see some of the designers' favorite projects and comment on their blogs or Instagram posts to win a copy for yourself!

To win a copy of the book here, just leave a comment telling me whether you've tried curved seams before and what interests you most about them - big curves, little curves, curves in curves, curves and triangles. Or if you haven't tried them, I want to know if this will be your first time!

I'll announce a winner on July 8 in both my newsletter and on the blog so be sure to stick around.

Week 1

Tuesday, June 20 - Christa Quilts

Wednesday, June 21 - Libs Elliott

Thursday, June 22 - Kitty Wilkin

Friday, June 23 - Sarah Goer Quilts

Saturday, June 24 - Stitched in Color with Rachel Hauser

Sunday, June 25 - May Chappell

Week 2

Monday, June 26 - By Hilary Jordan

Tuesday, June 27 - Saroy with Sarah Ruiz

Wednesday, June 28 - Laura Loewen

Thursday, June 29 - Jo Avery

Friday, June 30 - Mali Storli Engedal

Saturday, July 1 - Daisy Aschehoug

My fabric stash is overflowing, and lately I've been trying to focus on ways to inspire people to use what they have on hand. These triangle shapes make good use of odd size scraps and create an amazing effect in a finished project. 

I've got two templates to share. This first one creates strips that can be assembled into diamonds. The second template set creates larger triangle units that can be joined into hexagon shapes.

When either the diamonds or the larger triangles are joined in an alternating fashion (dark up/light down and then light up/dark down), the checkerboard effect is pretty awesome!

With so many restrictions in place during the Covid 19 pandemic, many quilt teachers switched from teaching in person to virtually. I participated in two Meet-the-Teacher events with Global Quilt Connection, and these were  the videos I used. The first presents my lectures and workshops for guilds, and the second showcases my offerings for quilters who want to sign up for workshops as an individual. Enjoy!

[all photos from Heather Black's new book: Design, Make, Quilt Modern]

Someday, I'll do a blog post of all the different quilters that influence and inspire me. Heather Black will be all over that list - she's an amazing designer, and I've said for a long time that I want to quilt like her when I grow up. Each time I see one of her new quilts, it's the quilting stitches that really capture my attention. She seems to know just the right motif that will fill a space in a way that perfectly coordinates with the piecing of a quilt.

Her new book, Design, Make, Quilt Modern has some really interesting sections on design tools and design basics. I'd never heard of an S-curve, and I was fascinated by her explanation of the different ways that odd-versus-even can play out in a quilt. I skimmed through the sections on color because I was so eager to get to the QUILTING, but I'll probably head back to them at some point to see what I can integrate into my own design process.

But, oh the quilt stitches! 

I love Heather's tips and thoughts on protecting depth in a quilt design with certain quilt motifs. I also like her analysis of what kinds of quilting will draw attention. I went through her exercises, and I came up with two main goals specifically for my own quilts:

• Straight lines organized in a variety of shapes and directions
• Straight or curved lines that echo the piecing and main design

These aren't a big surprise to me, but I've not gotten gutsy and included them in my rotation for a variety of reasons. I'm often rushing towards a deadline when I get to the end of the piecing, and that's not the best time to experiment or make big changes. (Especially when you're doing free motion quilting on a domestic or hand guided on a long arm!)

One ah-ha moment that I've had is that I need to set these quilting goals as I'm designing a quilt. I do have general goals for a design when I'm in the planning stages, but I only imagine what can be accomplished with color and texture in piecing and fabric selection. I think in order to grow as a quilter, I need to put more emphasis on what the quilting will do for me, and not let the quilting be an afterthought.

As someone who has designed quilts for a few years now, it seemed a little odd for me to purchase a book on designing modern quilts. But, there are always new things to learn. I've gotten a lot out of Heather's approach. Her advice is applicable to every kind of quilting style, and the structure of the book encourages you to apply what you're learning in real time. The quilt patterns included at the end are a nice bonus!

Whether you want to make your own quilt design or are just searching for new ways to be creative with fabric choices, I highly recommend Design Make Quilt Modern by Heather Black of Quiltachusetts!