Stonefields Block 19 "The Oscillator," First of Two

Good Morning and Happy Friday, my lovelies!  It's been a busy week, but I managed to finish another appliqué block for my Stonefields quilt (pattern by Susan Smith).  Behold Block #19, "The Oscillator."

Stonefields Block 19 "The Oscillator"

I deliberately did not crop that photo because I wanted to show the difference between my hand stitched appliqué (the green and blue shapes at the bottom of the photo) and my machine stitched appliqué using the stitch I created with the Stitch Designer feature in my Bernina B990 sewing machine.  The size and spacing of the stitches is nearly identical and with Aurifil 100 wt monofilament thread in my needle and Microquilter 100 wt polyester thread in my bobbin, the machine stitches really do look just like my hand stitches in YLI 100 wt silk thread, even under inspection with bright lights and reading glasses.  I'm glad I took the time to customize that stitch on my machine so that I can switch between hand and machine stitching on the same project without any visible difference from one block to the next.

By the way, even using the sewing machine, this is "slow stitching" for sure.  It's like "hand stitching with a machine needle," as Harriet Hargrave said in a workshop I took with her years ago.  Very slow and deliberate stitching under bright lighting, one stitch at a time, constantly pivoting to keep those swing "bite" stitches perpendicular to the edge of the appliqué shape just as if I was hand stitching.  

Size 60 Microtex Needles Leave Visible Holes on Liberty Lawn, But They Will Close Up

The one thing that distracts me on this new block is that the needle holes are more visible on the machine stitched block than on my hand stitched blocks.  I use the smallest size 60 Microtex machine needle for this method, but my size 12 Bohin hand applique needle is skinnier than any needle that could go in a sewing machine.  The other difference is that the hand stitched block below used Tilda quilting cotton fabrics, and I used Liberty of London Tana Lawn prints for my Oscillator block.  The Liberty Lawn is a much lighter weight fabric with a finer, tighter weave and I think the different fabric characteristics are why the needle holes are so apparent right now.  I would expect my machine needle holes to be more pronounced with a batik fabric for the same reasons.  The good news is that needle holes close up when you wet the fabric yarns around them, so I'm not worried about it (I promise!).  It's just an observation.  Every time I step into my studio, my Gemini brain splits into two personalities, The Artist and The Scientist, both asking "What would happen if I tried it THIS way?"

EQ8 + AccuQuilt GO! BOB 2025 Collection: New York Beauty + DWR

Good Morning, my lovelies!  We're switching gears completely today, from the low-tech, needle turn, hand stitched appliqué I shared last time to today's focus: the exciting creative possibilities of computer software and modern die cutting methods to make challenging quilt patterns more accessible and more enjoyable for more quilters than ever before.  😊. Today's blog post includes affiliate links to products I use and adore.

Those of you who've been with me for a while know that Electric Quilt software (the current version is EQ8) is one of my favorite quilting tools.  Before I started using EQ software, I had a couple of really disappointing quilts where I realized only after spending months cutting and sewing blocks that I did not have the right value contrasts to get the effect I envisioned in the finished quilt and too many prints were fighting for dominance, etc.  It is an amazing thing to be able to "try out" limitless combinations not just of colors, but of actual fabric prints in quilt shops today, and know for sure how they will look in your quilt BEFORE you buy them.  

EQ8 software has advanced capabilities that are great for professional quilt pattern designers, but most quilters will get their money's worth out of the program just from using the most basic features.  You don't normally need to draft your own block in the software because there is a library included in the software with hundreds of traditional quilt blocks and then there are inexpensive add-ons that you can purchase to add even more quilt blocks to your library, like the one I'm going to share with you today -- a collaboration between The Electric Quilt Company and AccuQuilt, the makers of the AccuQuilt GO! die cutting system.  This is something I swear I wished into being!  If you already own EQ software and you have also purchased any of AccuQuilt's BOB "Block On Board" dies, you need to pop over to EQ right now and check out the software add-ons that will enable you to design quilts using those dies.  Here's my full disclosure: I paid full price for my EQ software years ago and it has been worth every penny for the money it has saved me in wasting good fabric on lousy ideas.  I have also spent my own money on lots and lots of AccuQuilt dies, some of which I love and use regularly, others not so much.  When EQ first released their AccuQuilt BOB Collections 1 & 2, I bought them immediately because I already owned several of the BOB dies included in those collections.  EQ just recently released a smaller add-on containing all of the BOB dies that were introduced in 2025, the AccuQuilt GO! BOB 2025 Collection, for just $15.95, and I was given this last digital add-on in exchange for sharing my honest review.  I downloaded the 2025 BOB Collection blocks into my EQ software and started playing with them right before I left for QuiltCon...  and that's why I snapped up the AccuQuilt #55392 New York Beauty 9" Finished BOB die with a show discount and lugged it around the show while I looked at all the pretty quilts!

New York Beauty: EQ8, AccuQuilt GO! BOB, + Art Gallery Fabrics

In my opinion, the most useful and life-altering (for quilters!) AccuQuilt dies are the ones for quilt blocks with curved pieces that are tedious to cut by hand, difficult to cut accurately, and challenging to sew together.  New York Beauty is one of those designs, but the AccuQuilt die cut fabric patches can be cut swiftly, accurately, and with automatic notches added to every patch for matching up opposing curves once you sit down to sew.  In the screen shot above, I've designed a 39" x 39" baby quilt, the perfect size for a play mat or stroller quilt, that is completely to scale using mostly Art Gallery fabrics plus a Kaffe Fasset stripe print.  I love it so much!  

Conquering Stonefields Block 18, "Star in a Star"

Happy Sunday, everyone!  I have another finished block for my Stonefields sampler quilt (pattern by Susan Smith) to share with you, Block 18 "Star in a Star."  It was a fiddly little bugger for sure, but I'm delighted with how it turned out.  These blocks will finish at 6" after being trimmed down and sewn into the quilt.

Stonefields Block 18, "Star in a Star"

I have heard from a few other quilters who are working on Stonefields or other Susan Smith patterns who are struggling with the lack of instructions, so I'm going to try to share a bit more about how I'm puzzling out the more challenging blocks.  This is not "the right way," "the only way," or even necessarily "the best way" -- only the way that worked for me.

Stonefields Block 17 Remake + Mistake Discovered in Block 16

 You guys, I was so proud of myself when I switched off my sewing machine last night, put my new Stonefields Block 17 "Square Peg in a Round Hole" on my design wall, and went to bed thinking all mistakes had been corrected.  (If you're wondering what was wrong with the first one I made, read this blog post from a few days ago).  I strongly prefer the on-point orientation of that square with the circle cutout now that I've fixed it in my purple block.  The square on point element is repeated in many of the blocks in this quilt, and repeated design elements are one of the things that gives cohesion to a sampler quilt like this one.  

Stonefields Block 17, Just as Susan Smith and Rebecca Grace Intended

Before remaking the block, I took the time to trace over the ridiculously faint lines of the block pattern with an extra fine point Sharpie pen to make sure I could clearly see it through my fabric, because even with an LED light box you can't see these patterns well enough through most fabrics.  If I'd done that tracing and darkening of the pattern right off the bat, these mistakes would not have happened in the first place.  And I am hugely annoyed with pattern designer Susan Smith that I have to take all that extra time to trace over every stinking block pattern with Sharpie before I can use it, because the pattern cost $200(!!!) and there are hardly any instructions whatsoever, just vague hints and clues and anecdotes about the blocks, and how difficult would it have been to have these patterns printed with thicker, darker lines like every other quilt pattern author uses in their patterns?  GRRR...

So this morning I walked into the studio, admired all my pretty blocks on the wall (I finished a couple more EPP hexagon rosettes for the border yesterday as well:

Slow But Steady Stonefields Progress: My Design Wall Today at 8:19 AM

I am so glad I remade that purple block!  It only took me an hour or two and whereas the old block made me feel disappointed and annoyed with myself, the new block makes me feel DELIGHTED and pleased with myself for identifying what went wrong, adjusting my process to make errors less likely, and successfully creating the block exactly the way that I wanted it to look instead of settling for less.  

Stonefields Blocks 16 + 17 "Square Peg In a Round Hole," With an Oopsie!

There are two new Stonefields blocks on my design wall, and one of them even looks like it's supposed to!  Behold, Blocks 16 & 17, "Square Peg In a Round Hole," one of which has the square peg on point the way it belongs, and the other of which does not:

17 Stonefields Blocks + 21 Hexie Rosettes for Border

Aaaargh!!!  I only accept partial responsibility for this error.  The appliqué patterns for the Stonefields quilt are printed RIDICULOUSLY faintly, nearly impossible to see through the background fabric with even the brightest LED light box.  I did not realize that my background fabric was oriented incorrectly until after I'd glue basted the delicate purple square with the circle cutout onto my block, and I used a bit more glue than normal because of how skinny those bits are on the side.  I wanted to secure that shape to my background fabric while it was flat on my work surface to preclude any stretching or distortion that might occur.  In hindsight, I would have been better off skipping the darned light box altogether and just positioning the shapes on this blocks using the horizontal, vertical and diagonal fold lines.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda.  I noticed the mistake as soon as I finished glue basting the purple block and heat setting the glue with the iron.

Edges Turned Smoothly, Glue Basted to the Background, Not Yet Stitched

I considered peeling the shapes off to reposition them correctly before stitching, but when I tried to lift one purple corner I realized how securely it was glued down and didn't want to risk damaging the applique.  The prep work on these blocks took a LONG time and I didn't want to have any unnecessary do-overs!

Deco Bed Quilt Going Back in Time Out Following Hand Quilting Experiments

Alright, I think I'm done with the hand quilting experiments on my Deco Bed Quilt and it's time for this project to get shoved back into a closet again -- after a quick recap for the benefit of Future Rebecca.

Hand Quilting in my Grace Square Lap Hoop

After trying both ways, hand quilting with and without a hoop, I definitely prefer the hoop.  It makes it so much easier to maintain consistent tension when you pull the thread through the fabric and it definitely makes it easier to mark quilting lines, if you feel like marking them.  I have had this Grace Square Lap Hoop for over twenty years, since I used it to hand quilt a much smaller throw size quilt for my husband.  My hoop is similar to this current Grace Hoop 2 from the Grace company, except that mine doesn't have that opening in the bottom that would let you attach it to a stand.  Here's the problem: my Deco quilt is a whopping 102" x 102", the quilt top fabrics are all those beefy Kona Solid fabrics, and I used a midweight Hobbs 80/20 black batting rather than one of the lower loft battings that are tailored for hand quilters.  These factors combined to create a tremendous weight and drag that felt cumbersome to me as I was conducting my hand quilting experiments on the sofa, and I was not keen on committing to spending a hundred or more hours wrestling with this giant quilt in my lap when I could be hand stitching appliqué or English paper piecing instead.  Enormous quilts like this one are why hand quilting FRAMES are a thing!  Now, I can see how the newer version of my hoop along with the optional stand would help manage the weight of a big quilt for hand quilting, but I'm not about to invest in a whole new hoop and stand setup for hand quilting at this time.  I would not be able to recline if my hoop was attached to a floor stand, the stand would be one more thing to store or to trip over next to the sofa, and I definitely wouldn't be lugging it around as a portable project.

Here's what the hand quilting was looking like so far:

Hand Quilting in Wonderfil 12 wt Fruitti Variegated Green Thread

I'm not giving up on the idea of ever hand quilting again, just not going to slog through trying to do it on such a big quilt.  So what you see pictured above in the green areas is 12 weight, 3-ply Wonderfil variegated cotton Fruitti in a variegated green color (this post contains affiliate links).  After trying different types and sizes of hand needles, I settled on a Bohin Size 7 Embroidery needle and I used the "stab stitching" method of using my non-dominant left hand on top of the quilt to push the needle down through the quilt, then my dominant right hand beneath the quilt grabbed the needle, turned it around and guided it (blind) back up through the quilt for my left hand to grab the needle.  This was initially awkward and clumsy, but it's amazing how quickly your fingers can learn what you want them to do with repetition.  After 30 minutes or so, the motions were becoming more automatic and I was getting a lot better at poking the needle up in the right spot on the first try.

End of February, Hello March: One Monthly Goal + Carrie's 2024 Philadelphia Temperatures Quilt Finish

Good morning, my lovelies!  It's the last day of February, time to take stock of what I did and didn't accomplish last month and make plans for the fresh, clean month ahead of me.  First, I'd like to share the quilt that I longarm quilted for my client Carrie.  This is the one I was having issues with thread breaking and shredding, prompting me to spend three days ripping out stitches and then requilt with a different kind of thread and a different quilting design, so I'm extremely relieved that it's done, off my plate, out of my house, and returned to Carrie:

Carrie's 60 x 76 Philadelphia Temperatures Quilt

If you're not familiar with "temperature quilts," the concept is to select fabrics across the color spectrum and assign one fabric color to each temperature range in a particular location, from the coldest temperatures of the year (the blues in Carrie's quilt) to the hottest temperatures (represented by the reds in this example).  Carrie has also used white and a silvery gray to represent snow or rain.  The edge-to-edge quilting design I used on this quilt was Whitney's Pearls Simple, which yields a similar look to the Raindrops On Water design we had originally selected, but without any backtracking quilting stitches that needed to stitch precisely over previously stitched lines of quilting.  Quilters Dream Wool batting is creating that beautiful dimensional texture without weight, making this a soft and snuggly quilt for cuddling despite the density of the quilting.  I used So Fine thread in color Genoa Gray.

Carrie Machine Embroidered Her Temperature Key At the Bottom

Carrie used foundation paper piecing to create the top border titling her quilt and machine embroidered her temperature key on the bottom border.  The many thick, overlapping seam allowances in the FPP top border may have been a contributing factor to the thread breaking constantly, but it wasn't the only culprit as the issue continued throughout the quilt.  I'm going to have my Bernina dealer out to check my hook for burrs before I attempt to quilt anything else.  

A Colonoscopy Quilting Bee For One

In case you were wondering how many hexagon rosettes Rebecca can stitch together in the time it takes a skilled gastroenterologist to perform a routine colonoscopy, the answer is ONE.  Behold, the fruits of my labors:

The Cuteness of the Bunny Rabbit Hexie Rosette!

I will not be sharing the photos of what the GE surgeon accomplished whilst I was stitching, as that would be gross.  😉

I suppose I should clarify that I was not the patient on the receiving end of today's colonoscopy.  I was the wife and designated driver of the patient, forced to endure 3 dreary hours in the hospital waiting room without benefit of any of the fun party drugs they gave to Bernie for his "procedure."  I estimate that it took me somewhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours to stitch up my bunny rabbit surrounded by stars, and this activity put me in much better spirits than I was in after getting lost in the parking deck and struggling to find my way to the Endoscopy department of the hospital after dropping Bernie off at the front door.  Fun times.  Had I not brought a hand sewing project, I might have bit someone's head off.  Sewing really is a win for everyone.

My collection of hexagon rosettes is growing!  Fourteen completed, 154 more needing to be made.  I keep saying that I should get back to making the blocks for this quilt (or clean the bathroom, or start getting the tax documents ready for our accountant).  And then I decide that I shall definitely do all of those important things... Right after I make just one more cute little rosette.

14 Finished Hexie Rosettes!  154 More to Go

In other news, there is a quilt on my long arm frame.  It is a 2024 temperature quilt top made by one of my favorite clients, and it was impeccably pieced but it has been giving me some grief and forcing me to spend more alone time with my seam ripper than I would like.  😬. 

Spiral Quilting on Carrie's Temperature Quilt

I am experiencing thread breaks and shredding when the quilting direction is traveling up and towards the back left corner of the frame.  I have tried all of the usual remedies, like new needle, larger needle, different type of needle, tension adjustments, looser tension on the quilt sandwich, silicone thread lubricant, changing to a different thread (hence four days of ripping out the first row of quilting using the other thread).  Then today I thought to have Bernie check the positioning of the leveling "dead bar" -- that's the bar in the photo above with the tape measure attached -- and it was mounted too high, but even after adjusting it my thread shredding issues persist.  Super annoying.  It's possible something needs tweaking with my longarm frame after transporting and reassembling it after the move, but when I had issues like this several years ago it was caused by a burr (tiny scratch) on my machine's hook and I needed my Bernina dealer to diagnose that and buff it out for me.  

Happy Valentine's Day! I Love You More...

Happy Valentine's Day!  Y'all, I have been holding onto photos of this quilt for over a year because I wanted to use it for a timely Valentine's Day post, and then I forgot all about it last Valentine's Day.  Then I forgot about it again this year, until I was drinking my coffee this morning and realized that Valentine's Day is already NOW.  No time like the present, no day like today, and here we go --

My friend Marybeth made this sweet 36" x 36" Valentine's Day table topper quilt and I quilted it for her in September of 2024 using Karlee Porter's "I Love You More" edge-to-edge quilting design to really lean into the holiday theme and make the quilt feel like a Valentine.

36 x 36 Valentine's Day Table Topper Quilt Made by Marybeth, Quilted by Moi

This is one of those quilting designs that looks scary busy when you're looking at a black and white line drawing of the design, but as you can see here, the quilting can still be quite subtle if you use the right thread.  I used one of my favorite "supporting actress" quilting threads here, So Fine 50 wt matte polyester thread in color Blizzard from Superior Threads (this blog post contains affiliate links).  Notice in the photo below that even though Blizzard is a bright white matched to Marybeth's white background fabric, the thinness of So Fine thread causes the stitching to "take on" a lot of the color from the other fabrics.  So on those pink triangle patches, the white thread looks like it's the exact same shade of pink, and even where the white thread crosses dark red fabric, the contrast isn't drastic because the white thread looks more pink there than pure white.  

So Fine Thread Disappears Into the Fabrics

So Fine is a matte (not shiny) polyester thread that resembles cotton.  In fact, in lighter colors, the look of So Fine is indistinguishable from cotton in my opinion.  However, polyester is a lot stronger than cotton thread of a comparable weight would be, so even though this is a very fine, skinny thread, it's still plenty strong even for quilts that will be heavily used and frequently laundered.  These qualities would also make So Fine thread a great choice for English paper piecing or for hand or machine appliqué projects.  

And Then There Were Eight: More Hexie Rosettes for Stonefields Quilt Border

Greetings from the Land of the Ice and Snow, formerly the Carolinas!  I've been making the most of my snow days, continuing with the hexie rosettes for my Stonefields Quilt borders.  These little rosettes are addictive because they turn out so differently depending on the fabrics selected and how they are used in the rosettes.  Two alternating fabrics for petals?  Similar or contrasting?  All petals the same fabric?  Cut randomly, or "fussy cut" to capture a specific motif from the fabric print?  Each little rosette has its own personality.  So fun!

8 Hexie Rosettes Finished, 160 to Go

I am enjoying the hexie rosettes so much that I will probably be sad when I have enough for my quilt and stop making them.  It will feel like right after you I've eaten the last Godiva truffle out of the box, and I really REALLY want just one more bite of chocolate but they are all gone...  (Note to self: order Godiva truffles for Valentine's Day.  Note to readers: This blog post will contain affiliate links).  

I did manage to get out to my favorite local quilt shop with my friend Marybeth in between the ice storm and the snow storm, on the one afternoon when the roads were passable.  Several of my neighbors timidly ventured out to stock up on groceries or to fill their prescriptions, but I know how to set PRIORITIES when there's a winter weather advisory.  I drove past at least eight grocery stores on our way to the quilt shop.  

Rosettes for Stonefields Quilt Border + Ongoing Experiments with English Paper Piecing

Happy Slow Stitching Sunday!  You guys, I have finally been sewing again for the first time since moving back to North Carolina!  I had so much fun making the tiny 3/8" hexie rosettes for Stonefields Quilt blocks #14 & 15 back in September, so I decided that making a few of the 168 larger 3/4" hexie rosettes that I will need for my border might be a good task to ease myself out of my stitching slump.  It turned out to be the perfect choice.  As Tula Pink says, you have to eat your elephant one little bite at a time.

3 Rosettes Completed, 165 More Needed for Stonefields Quilt Border

I would have finished more than three of these, but I spent about two hours ransacking my studio closets, bins and drawers searching for my All Points Patchwork: English Paper Piecing Beyond the Hexagon... book by Diane Gilleland.  (This post contains affiliate links).  To my supreme irritation, I never did find it.  I was also unable to locate my little black and gold pack of John James size 12 Milliners needles, even though I swear I remember finding them mixed in with unrelated supplies when I was unpacking.  Where, oh where did I put those needles?  Before I moved, I could put my hands on just about any book, tool or notion in less than 5 minutes.  A place for everything and everything in its place and all that.  Well, I caved and ordered more needles on Amazon, but I did not buy another copy of the book as it's sure to turn up sooner or later.

My Stonefields Quilt (pattern by Susan Smith is getting harder to find, but there is still one copy available on Etsy here) was purchased from a quilt shop and came kitted with the necessary EPP template papers for 3/4" hexagons.  I can't remember whether this nifty windowed acrylic template for fussy cutting came with the kit as well, or if I purchased it separately from Paper Pieces.  For hexies that I wanted to cut from stripes or centering specific printed motifs from my fabric, I traced around the template with a mechanical pencil and sandpaper beneath the fabric, then cut the hexies out individually with scissors.

Tracing Acrylic Template Prior to Cutting Hexies With Scissors

These flowers from my Tilda fabric were cut in the same way, centering the template window on the flowers and tracing around them one by one with pencil, then cutting out each shape with scissors.  So much fun!  But OH SO SLOW...

More Fussy Cutting With Window Template

There was a silver lining to the chaos in my studio and the missing EPP book, because after wasting two hours looking for things I never found, I wasted invested a couple more hours going down a rabbit hole of YouTube English Paper Piecing tutorials, trying to find the method I used successfully for the smaller hexie rosettes I made four months ago.  Remember that I am an EPP newbie, and making two of something is not enough repetition to ingrain everything indelibly in my brain.  

Sorry, (Not Sorry), This Is NOT a Nine Patch Variation

If you've signed up to receive the email newsletter from the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, you were treated to a photo of this glorious Civil War era antique quilt by an unknown maker yesterday:

93.5 x 85.5 Quilt From IQM Collection, circa 1860-1880

Look at the masterful color and value placement and deployment of design principles in this quilt that was created by someone who definitely did not have a "design wall" and probably didn't have any formal art training, either.  I love how those two opposite L-shaped brackets of darker blocks and the dark brown blocks surrounding the blue ones in the center create framing and structure similar to a medallion quilt for a one-block quilt that could have been dizzyingly busy with a random block placement.  I love how the strips of pink blocks do the same thing, but with more subtlety.  I love the glimmer of the teal center patches and the one block with the bright blue.  I was immediately captivated by this quilt, but scratched my head by its designation by the museum as a "Nine Patch Variation" and the newsletter description stating that this quilt contained "small diamonds" in addition to squares, rectangles and triangle patches.  

New Year's Day 2026: Studio Setup Continues with Design Wall, Ruler Peg Wall + Quilting Thread Racks

Hello and Happy New Year 2026.  I hope you all enjoyed wonderful holidays with your loved ones that were some combination of happy/healthy/peaceful/blessed/magical/exciting/restful and all the other good adjectives.  For those of us whose holidays were tarnished by things like grief/sadness/illness/disappointment/loneliness, I am sending out a big virtual group hug and a high five to you right now, because we made it through and we survived and now we are looking at a blank sheet of paper, a fresh bolt of fabric, and an empty design wall of possibilities for what we will choose to make of this brand new year.  Carpe Annum 2026!

The extra work of the Christmas season -- shopping, wrapping, Christmas cards, returning and exchanging -- necessitated a pause in the work of unpacking from our recent move and setting up my sewing studio in the new house, but we've used some of the quiet days between Christmas and New Year's to make progress in the studio again.  No, none of these Stonefields blocks is newly created, but this is the first time I'm seeing them again since I packed them up in Florida in October.  I have been struggling with motivation in recent weeks, especially with regards to setting up my sewing space, and I am hoping that these little quilt blocks will cheer me up and summon my "sewjo" to return to me.

Stonefields Blocks Unpacked and Back On My Design Wall

Here's what I decided to do with my design wall:

96 x 96 Design Wall Installed on Obtuse Angle Adjacent Walls

The new studio space has lots of windows and closet space.  Wall space suitable for an 8' x 8' design wall was in shorter supply.  I considered putting the design wall behind my long arm machine, but realized that there wasn't enough room back there for me to be climbing up and down on a step stool to arrange blocks.  So I convinced my husband that the design wall should go in this corner of the room instead: