Tips, Tricks, and How Tos

Explore Quilting Basics with Kate Colleran

Explore Quilting Basics with Kate Colleran

Last month, I introduced one of my quilting buddies, Kate Colleran of Kate Colleran Designs. She likes to help quilters make quilts! Part of her philosophy on teaching has always been to share different ways to do things and let the quilter pick the way that works best for them! A while back, she and a fellow quilter, Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis started a blog series called Exploring the Basics which was all about providing information on the many different steps of making a quilt. They started at the beginning, chatting about choosing a project and picking a pattern, deciding on...

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Building A Better Bag - Handling Bulky Seams

Building a Better Bag

Building A Better Bag - Handling Bulky Seams

Have you ever run into those bulky seam intersections when making a bag? Then this post is for you! We’re diving into techniques that help you make a better bag – scroll down to link to other posts in our Building a Better Bag series! The ideas in this post can be applied to any bag that might have some bulky seams. We are using the Novel Approach pattern as an example; it’s a quilted tote – pretty basic, but pretty useful! Our tote features QT Fabric’s On Painted Wings panel combined with the Euphoria line. Love the bright and...

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Meet Kate Colleran!

Meet Kate Colleran!

We all have quilting friends - I'd like you to meet one of mine! Kate Colleran of Kate Colleran Designs and I have been quilting pals for quite a while - I met her at Quilt Market in 2009 and we have been buddies since then.  We chat about our ideas, share our successes and yes, failures, and attend Quilt Market together. So, sit back, have a cup of tea, and let's chat! Kate, let's start at the beginning - what did you do before you were a pattern designer?  I went to college for nursing and I worked as...

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Building a Better Bag - Straps and Pockets

Building a Better Bag

Building a Better Bag - Straps and Pockets

This is part 3 of our Building a Better Bag series!   The ideas and techniques in this post are specifically geared towards the Novel Approach pattern. We are using the “A Novel Approach” bag pattern. This bag was designed to use those small novelty squares in the pockets. It is a quilted tote – pretty basic, but pretty useful! I am using QT Fabric’s On Painted Wings panel combined with the Euphoria line. Love the bright and fresh factor of these fabrics!   Let’s start with talking about the panels on the pockets. The pattern instructions tell you to cut the...

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Building A Better Bag - Easy Quilting

Building a Better Bag

Building A Better Bag - Easy Quilting

Let’s keep going with the better bag series; a series of blog posts that takes a basic bag and levels it up. We will add details to the bag as we go along. Time to get started! We are using the “A Novel Approach” bag pattern. This bag was designed to use those small novelty squares in the pockets. It is a quilted tote – pretty basic, but pretty useful! If you are following along, you can use the techniques that we show here to any bag! I am using QT Fabric’s On Painted Wings panel combined with the Euphoria...

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