Category: Rose Cards

2026 Spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Quilt Challenge Week 2 and 10 Tips for Fast Finishing

rosecardsLeave a comment

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Welcome to Week 2!

I’m super excited to be hosting (and participating in!) our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. It’s been such a great motivator for me to start moving some quilt tops out of my to-be-finished pile and into my DONE pile… and that’s a big win in my book.

One thing I’m noticing already is how much easier it feels to focus on one quilt at a time instead of staring at my whole teetering stack of UFOs. (Because let’s be honest… those unfinished projects have a way of quietly judging us from across the room. Yours do that too, right? )

I’ve been having sew much fun seeing all the amazing finished quilts popping up on Facebook and in my inbox. Keep them coming! One of my favorite parts of this challenge is seeing what everyone else is working on. It’s so inspiring to watch these quilts come together… and it’s definitely keeping me motivated too.

Ready to see my Week 2 finish???

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Week 2

Drum roll please…………………

Pacific Grove is my Week 2 finish. I made the Pacific Grove top for a tutorial here on the blog a while back (yeah……just found it on the blog and it was from 2024, sheesh!). You can find the Pacific Grove tutorial HERE.

A colorful quilt design featuring butterfly patterns, titled 'Pacific Grove', created by Villa Rosa Designs.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

Here is my BEFORE photo:

A colorful floral quilt featuring a variety of flower patterns framed with purple fabric.

My version of Pacific Grove, featuring gorgeous digital floral prints from our friends over at Hoffman, is like looking through a pretty framed window at a gorgeous flower garden. I just really love it. I wish I had finished it sooner, but…………..Life always gets in the way, doesn’t it?

And here’s my FINISHED Pacific Grove quilt!

A colorful quilt with floral patterns in various shades, bordered by a purple frame, hung outdoors against a natural background of trees and grass.

Love how it turned out! I machine quilted it using a medium purple 100% cotton thread in a big open meander allover design which looks good on anything and is quick to quilt, too. I used a marbled purple fleece for the back, no batting. And I machine-stitched my binding again. I think I’m getting a little better at the corners. I figured out that if I folded the fabric the opposite way I normally do for hand-binding, it doesn’t get caught while I’m machine stitching the corners. Huh. Live and learn.

Just have to share another photo of my quilt. I wanted you to be able to see the pretty purple fleece on the back. And the great texture the big open meandering makes on the fleece. Have you ever tried using fleece on the back of a throw quilt instead of batting and backing?

A colorful floral quilt draped over a black chair in a garden setting.

6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Week 1 Winner

Our Week 1 winner for the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge is…

Kim C. in Washington

Woohoo!

Throw the confetti! 🎉

Congratulations, Kim!

Here’s Kim’s Week 1 finished quilt:

A colorful quilt displayed against a wall featuring a zigzag pattern with various shades of blue, green, yellow, and brown.

Kim’s quilt is the Rail Fence pattern.

A colorful quilt design featuring a 'Rail Fence' pattern, incorporating various shades of blue, green, brown, and beige fabrics. The quilt is framed with a light green background and includes the designer's name, Melissa Milligan, and the brand Villa Rosa Designs.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

So what quilt are you finishing for Week 2 of our Challenge??? You have until Friday, 4/17 midnight EST to post your before/after photos on our VRD Facebook page or email them to me at tricia@villarosaquilts.com. Can’t wait to see them!

10 Tips for Fast Finishing Quilts

After Week 1, I know a lot of you are already feeling that little spark of momentum… and maybe also realizing that finishing quilts can sometimes take longer than we’d like. We start with the best intentions, and then life, perfectionism, or just plain overwhelm sneaks in.

So for Week 2, I wanted to share some of my favorite tried-and-true tips to help you get your quilts across the finish line a little faster. These aren’t about cutting corners… they’re about quilting smarter, keeping things manageable, and actually enjoying the process from start to finish.

Let’s do this! Together.

1. Machine stitch your binding

Yep, we’re skipping the hand stitching. It’s faster, it’s sturdy, and honestly… most people will never flip your quilt over to check. I’m one of those people who sews it to the front and then flips it to the back, but some of my pals prefer sewing the binding to the back and flipping it to the front. There is no wrong or right way to machine stitch your binding. Do what feels the most natural to you.

2. Learn to machine quilt your own quilts

Straight lines, wavy lines, loops… it all works. The goal here is finished, not heirloom show judging. It sure beats waiting your turn at the long arm quilter’s to get your quilt quilted.

If your new to machine quilting, take a class or pair up with a friend who is already doing it. Start out with smaller projects until you feel comfortable and then move on to bigger projects.

For myself, I still send my really big quilts off to the machine quilter while I do my own machine quilting for my throws and smaller projects.

Trust me, if I can machine quilt, so can you. Just remember 3 little words – practice, practice, practice. (Check out our 2025 Beginner Free Motion Quilting Series over on the right side of the blog.)

3. Keep your quilting simple

This is not the time for feathers and custom everything. Save that for another quilt. Today, we finish. My favorite 2 go-to allover quilting designs are meandering and loopy loops. These designs go with everything and they quilt quickly.

Check out our Basic Quilting Skills for Beginners: Quilt as Desired HERE.

4. Press as you go (yes, really)

I know, I know… but skipping this step will come back to haunt you later. A quick press now saves a lot of “why won’t this line up?!” later. And it’s a lot easier to quilt individual blocks and make them behave than saving all the quilting to the end and then trying to get all the blocks to behave. Trust me…..blocks can get very unruly at times (I should know…….I am guilty of saving my pressing to the end now and then).

You can find some help with pressing HERE.

5. Square it up before adding your binding

Crooked quilt tops lead to cranky bindings. A quick trim makes everything behave so much better. I never skip this step, ever because who wants quilts that ripple when there isn’t any breeze? I use a big square ruler on each corner to square up my corners first, then I use a long ruler to straighten the sides so everything is nice and square. I even double check by folding my quilts either on the diagonal (square quilts) or into fours (rectangular quilts) to make sure my corners and sides are even.

Squaring up questions? Get help HERE.

6. Use spray baste, fusible batting, or less pins if you pin baste your quilts

Less pinning, less wrestling, more quilting. Your back (and your patience) will thank you later. I prefer pin basting, but I do not over pin. I take the time to make sure my quilt backing/batting (or fleece) is taped down to my table/flat surface so it’s flat and taunt before I place my quilt top on the batting/backing. Then I use pins sparingly to keep everything together, maybe a pin every 10-12 inches. I first pin diagonally, then horizontal and vertical and finally I add any extra pins if needed to keep things nice and square.

Find out more info on layering quilts HERE.

7. Don’t over-quilt it

Dense quilting is lovely… and slow. Looser quilting still looks great and gets you to the finish line faster. If you’re not sure how loose you can make your quilting design – take a look at the batting you are using. The package will tell you how far apart you can quilt that particular batting.

Quilting bigger takes less time and actually uses less thread is an important lesson I shared with my students when I taught Free Motion Quilting.

8. Batch your boring tasks

Cut all your binding strips at once. Wind extra bobbins. Prep your label ahead of time. Future you will be delighted. Listening to some music or your favorite audio book also makes those boring tasks move a little bit faster.

9. Go with a slightly wider binding for machine stitched bindings

A 2½” strip is more forgiving and easier to catch when stitching down by machine. When I hand-stitch my binding, I cut my strips at 2 1/4″ wide, but I’ve found that the little extra in a 2 1/2″ binding for machine stitching makes a huge difference. With the 2 1/2″ cut binding, I find I have just what I need to wrap my binding to the other side and to catch it with my machine stitching.

10. Work in short, focused bursts

Set a timer, sit down, and just start. Even 30 minutes moves you forward… and forward is the whole point. Not perfect. Forward. I’ve found this technique to be really helpful when I am feeling overwhelmed with everything I have to do. So set the timer and quilt. You will be amazed at how much you can get done.

And a bonus tip or two-

Instead of a zig zag stitch or straight stitch for machine stitching your binding, try using a Triple Zig Zag stitch (also sometimes called a multi-step zigzag or 3-step zigzag). It’s stitch #11 on my Janome Memory Craft 8900QCP. Molly Cook (Big shout out to Molly!) shared this tip with me a couple years ago, and this is the stitch I use for machine binding. I also match my thread color to my binding, too.

    Finally……………………A Little Reminder

    Finished quilts don’t come from perfection… they come from momentum. Done is cozy. Done is usable. Done is something you can actually enjoy.

    Well, that’s it for me this week. I’m off to do some quilting for Week 3.

    PSST! What VRD quilt will you finish for Week 3???

    Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    2026 Spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

    6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Week 1 and NEW VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns for April

    rosecards4 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    I’m really excited to kick off the first week of our Spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. I decided not to attempt to do both a new tutorial and finish my Week 1 quilt this week. I know my limitations and there just wasn’t going to be enough time to do both. But, never fear we’ll get back to some wonderful new tutorials after we complete our 6 in 6 Challenge. Besides, this week I get to share with you our New April patterns. Yay!

    I’m also thrilled to say that over 50 brave quilters are joining me for our 6 in 6 Challenge. Just imagine – if 50 people completed 1 quilt each week during the 6 week Challenge that would be a total of 300 quilts finished! WOWEE! Wouldn’t it be really amazing if that happened??? I’ll keep track of everyone’s finishes and give you a total number of quilts completed at the end of the Challenge.

    If you are posting your before/after photos on Facebook, please say they are for the 6 in 6 Challenge and include the week number. Also, if your FB name is different from the name you provided when you signed up, please let me know or I won’t know who you are. This will help me tremendously as I want to make sure that everyone who is completing their quilts on time gets in the weekly drawings.

    One of our participants emailed and asked if it was okay to change the size of VRD quilts for the Challenge. Absolutely! As long as the pattern you are using is a VRD Rose Card.

    So, everyone who signed up to participate – let’s do this! Together.

    6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Week 1

    Whew! Just finished the binding on my Week 1 quilt. Seriously, I kid you not. Right before I sat down to write this post. The good news is – it’s done!

    I chose Dusk Delight as my Week 1 quilt. It was from a blog tutorial a while back, you can find the tutorial HERE. Gulp……the tutorial was actually from June 2024. Sheesh! About time this quilt got finished.

    A quilt design titled 'Dusk Delight' featuring a grid of colorful squares and rectangles in various shades, set against a light pink background. The design is attributed to Villa Rosa Designs and includes a decorative floral border.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Dusk Delight is a really fun pattern using 2 1/2″ strips and a coordinating fabric. It would be a really cool design featuring a favorite novelty fabric, too. One important thing you would need to consider, though, is that the fabric for the long sashing strips is cut horizontally and pieced together. That means if your fabric design runs vertically, you would need additional fabric so you could cut your strips vertically.

    Okay, here’s my BEFORE photo showing my Dusk Delight quilt top featuring a Bali Pop and a batik companion from Hoffman Fabrics.

    A colorful patchwork quilt hanging outdoors, displaying various shades of blue, green, and white fabrics arranged in a grid pattern.

    Now here is my AFTER photo showing my finished Dusk Delight. Woohoo! The weather was nice enough to take my After photos outside today, which was great. Our spring weather has been a bit weird so far. We had 86 degrees a couple days ago, then the temps dropped to the 30s (with snow showers) with a low of 14 degrees last night. BRRR! Today is in the 50s and tomorrow will be back up in the 70s. It’s like Mother Nature just can’t make up her mind which season to throw at us.

    A colorful quilt hanging outside, displaying a pattern of squares in shades of blue, teal, and gray.

    I used a royal blue solid fleece on the back, no batting. I machine quilted with a large meander allover to keep things simple. Besides, when I quilt on fleece I do prefer keeping things simple as the fleece has a lot more stretch than the quilt top does. I used a bright turquoise 100% cotton thread on the top and bottom. And a really dark blue batik for the binding, which I attached with machine. I’m getting better with machine binding the more I do, but I still struggle to make my corners neat, though.

    I had to go digging for a binding fabric because I couldn’t remember what fabric I had originally set aside for the binding way back in 2024. LOL! Usually I try to keep the binding fabric tucked inside the quilt top, but somehow along the way the quilt and binding parted ways. That’s okay, though, because I utilized my stash to find a suitable replacement. What’s a stash for anyway???

    Here’s a close up of the back of my Dusk Delight, showing my machine quilting. Please ignore the lint…..

    Close-up of a dark blue fabric with a quilted texture featuring a pattern of wavy lines.

    So, what VRD quilt did you finish/make for Week 1? You have until Friday 4/10 midnight EST to complete your quilt and either post a before/after photo to our VRD Facebook page or you can email photos to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com.

    Speaking of VRD patterns……….

    NEW VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns for April

    I know, I know – I don’t have to say it, but somehow I just have to. I LOVE the Thursday after the first Friday of every month because that’s when I get to show off all the new monthly patterns. Yippee!

    It does seem a little ironic, though, doesn’t it that this is Week 1 for our 6 in 6 Challenge with the intent to finish VRD UFOs and here I am enticing you with the NEW April patterns. Ho hum…….that’s my job – to help you complete quilts so you can make new ones without feeling guilty.

    Without any more teasing, let’s check out the new patterns!

    Collage of five quilt pattern cards for April 2026 featuring Allspice, Melrose, LaValle, Crackled, and Turnkey designs, available for $8.95.

    Get all 5 April quilt print patterns HERE

    Allspice is Heidi’s latest pattern! I really like the big and little stars and would love to make it in patriotic fabrics. You can find a kit with the same fabrics as the pattern HERE.

    LaValle is Rachelle’s newest mod quilt design. Love the cool colors against the white background, it feels really beachy to me.

    Melrose is Pat’s latest offering. I really like how the fabrics are arranged from light to dark, accentuating the V shape. Imagine this one in shades of blue and white (my fav)……. You can find a kit featuring Yellow Sky fabrics HERE.

    Crackled is Molly’s new pattern. I love how the light blue strips really pop against the darker fabrics, don’t you? You can find a Crackled kit featuring Kaffe fabrics HERE (and it’s amazing!).

    Turnkey is Catherine at Running Doe’s latest mod quilt design. I think this one looks super fun to make. It could be totally scrappy or more controlled. You can find a kit for Turnkey featuring the same fabrics as the pattern cover HERE or a kit with Sun Moments fabrics HERE.

    YES, there is more!

    Our latest table runner is called Serenity and I know you’ll be incredibly surprised to see that it’s blue and white (you know how much I LOVE blue and white). I used fabric from Moda’s Larking collection for this runner. Truly, the fabric inspired the pattern name because it really is serene. And the fun thing about this runner pattern is that you can use panel squares in place of the big center square and/or the smaller squares. I love patterns that give you options.

    A wall-hanging quilt titled 'Serenity' featuring various blue and white fabric patterns, displayed against a wooden backdrop, accompanied by a vase of flowers and neatly folded quilts in a basket.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your Print pattern HERE

    You can find a kit for Serenity featuring Daydreams fabrics HERE.

    Now for our April Pillow Pattern – Garden Wishes. Isn’t it adorable? I mean the pillow, not the dog. Yes, Bailly my 3 year old Shih Tzu is adorable, too (and she knows it!). Bailly enjoys posing for photos. As you can see her fur is long and pretty wild right now but next month she’ll be sporting a shorter ‘do.

    Are you following along each month with the seasonal pillows? Just think – if you are, then in January 2027, you’ll have 12 months of fun seasonal pillows! How awesome is that??? If you haven’t started (or finished) your pillows for January-March, there’s still plenty of time to get caught up. I’d love to see your pillows on our VRD Facebook page.

    A small dog sitting on a couch next to a decorative pillow featuring a colorful flower pot design, with the text 'Garden Wishes Pillow' above it.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    You might remember that Heidi and Molly (3 Aunts Quilt Shop, the former VRD quilt shop in CA) are featuring each month’s seasonal pillow pattern as a block of the month project. So, if you missed any of the earlier months, you can find available kits HERE.

    Each kit includes the pattern and the fabric for the 18″ pillow front. And the kits are only $10! Better grab yours before they’re gone.

    This month’s Garden Wishes kits are:

    Kaffe

    Tonals

    Tula

    What fun we have here at VRD……patterns, fabrics, cute little dogs, and more.

    Well, that’s it for me this week. I have to get started on my Week 2 quilt for next week.

    I’m looking forward to checking out all the great finishes on Facebook, too. So get your Week 1 quilt finished by Friday midnight to get your name in the Week 1 drawing.

    Until next week —

    Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @VRD

    2026 Spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge · Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

    6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Begins and a NEW Spring into Spring Quilt Tutorial Series: Charlie

    rosecardsLeave a comment

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    Woohoo! Today begins our 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge, are you ready??? There’s still time to join the fun. Let me tell you all about it.

    Promotional image for the '6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a stack of colorful quilts against a blue sky background with text detailing the challenge.

    The Challenge Dates:

    Week 1 Quilt due by Friday 4/10 midnight EST

    Week 2 Quilt due by Friday 4/17 midnight EST

    Week 3 Quilt due by Friday 4/24 midnight EST

    Week 4 Quilt due by Friday 5/1 midnight EST

    Week 5 Quilt due by Friday 5/8 midnight EST

    Week 6 Quilt due by Friday 5/15 midnight EST

    The Rules and All the Details of the Challenge:

    Each week for 6 weeks, participants will post before/after photos of weekly UFOs to our VRD Facebook page or if you prefer, you can email the photos to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com.

    I will post my before/after photos on the blog, villarosaquilts.com, each week and I will try to post them on the VRD Facebook page as well.

    All quilt tops/projects must be VRD patterns – this is the VRD blog, after all. Quilts must be quilted and bound to be eligible for prize drawings. No size requirements (I have UFOs from snack mats up to large throw quilts). It doesn’t even have to be a quilt – we have some great accessories, table runners, place mats, and snack mats. Projects can be in any stage of UFO from a stack of fabric and a pattern to a pile of blocks to quilt tops to projects needing quilt or even just binding and a label. The idea is to simply finish VRD projects so we can feel great about starting new ones.

    Each week, I’ll draw a name randomly from those participants who posted before/after photos by each weekly deadline. The winners will get a surprise quilty good in the mail after the Challenge ends. Goodies might be from me or from one of our lovely quilting partners.

    This Challenge is open to all, but please note that International winners will receive a selection of VRD digital patterns.

    PSST! You can even use the next six weeks to make a NEW VRD quilt each week (or any of the 6 weeks) if you want – hey, maybe you don’t have any unfinished VRD tops just sitting around. So go ahead – pick your favorite VRD pattern and get moving. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to get some of your holiday sewing done early??? I am not quite that organized, I’m afraid, but maybe you are.

    You might be wondering what happens if you don’t post a before/after photo for a weekly Challenge or you miss the deadline. It’s pretty simple – your name won’t go into that week’s prize drawing – that’s okay because life gets busy. I’m not kicking you out of the Challenge, though – feel free to participate in any or all weeks. Your name will go into each weekly drawing that you complete a project and post your before/after photos before the weekly deadline.

    Seriously, I want to encourage all of you as well as myself to finish projects, not to stress about them. LOL!

    I think that’s all the important info. I hope I’ve answered any questions you had. If not, feel free to email me.

    Wanna join me in this Challenge?

    Send your name and email address to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com to officially join the challenge and be eligible for weekly prizes. Your name and email will only be used for this Challenge, I promise you.

    So, the Challenge begins….now. Your Week 1 Finished Project before/after photos are due by Friday, April 10th midnight EST. Post them on our VRD Facebook group or you can email them directly to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com if you prefer.

    Time to get quilting and slash your stash of VRD UFOs! And don’t forget to have some fun, too.

    HEY! maybe you can challenge your quilty pals to do the Challenge with you? A few of mine are participating, so why not ask yours? Just sayin’……..

    All right, let’s check out this week’s Spring into Spring tutorial, Charlie.

    Spring into Spring VRD Quilt Tutorial Series: Charlie

    Today’s tutorial is Charlie, a quick fun panel pattern. It finishes at 44″ x 64″. But of course, you could always add another border to make it larger if you want to. A 6″ border (strips cut at 6 1/2″) would finish at 56″ x 76″.

    A colorful quilt featuring a pirate ship, playful sea creatures, and various patchwork patterns, designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Let’s get going on this cute quilt!

    1. The first thing we always start with is our fabric. Today we’re using a super cool digital fabric collection from Hoffman called Crafty Cats. It’s fun and bright with some great rainbow 24/7 Solids and Linen coordinates.

    An assortment of colorful fabric pieces laid out on a cutting mat, featuring a vibrant patterned fabric with cat illustrations in the background.

    Don’t you just love love love the cat print? Guess what?!? It’s running yardage, NOT a panel.

    Have you ever thought about using a favorite novelty fabric instead of a printed panel? As long as you cut the fabric to the right size, novelty prints work beautifully in panel quilt patterns. Just a great tip from little ol’ me.

    2. I must admit I’m a little nervous to cut the running yardage to the correct size the pattern calls for because it is just too easy to make a mistake. So wish me luck as I measure and measure again before cutting.

    A colorful fabric featuring cat designs laid on a cutting mat, accompanied by a rotary cutter and a clear ruler for measuring.
    A rotary cutter and scissors on a cutting mat with colorful cat-themed fabric being cut with a ruler.

    Whew! Got it! I didn’t think I could love this fabric any more, but I totally do now it’s cut and up on the design wall so I can see it properly.

    A vibrant and colorful fabric featuring a repeating pattern of stylized cat faces in various colors and expressions.

    3. Now I’m going to cut the yellow border strips. I’ll need to cut 2 different widths for the 2 yellow borders – the inner border and the outer border. I’ll piece strips/cut them to the right size when I’m ready to actually sew them onto the quilt. So I’m going to set them aside for right now.

    Two pieces of yellow fabric with a transparent ruler and a rotary cutter on a cutting mat.

    4. Time to cut out the bright and happy squares for the middle border now. I like to layer a couple fabrics when I cut strips and then cut my strips into squares. If you’re comfortable doing that, go right ahead, but if you prefer cutting a single fabric at a time, that works great too.

    A cutting mat featuring a green fabric square, a transparent ruler, and a rotary cutter, arranged for quilting or sewing projects.
    A rotary cutter and clear ruler are placed on a cutting mat with a piece of green fabric laid out for cutting.
    A rotary cutter lies on a cutting mat with two green squares of fabric, one partially cut.

    Okay, here are all my squares, cut and ready to sew.

    A stack of colorful cloth squares in various shades including pink, red, green, and blue, arranged on a cutting mat with a grid pattern.

    5. Everything is cut out and ready to sew now. I need to measure my cat fabric center in order to cut my side yellow borders to the right length. Then I’ll pin it to the center fabric edge, matching up the centers and the ends to keep everything nice and square. And off to the sewing machine to stitch the yellow border strips to the sides.

    A colorful fabric with a pattern of cats in various artistic styles, bordered by a yellow fabric strip. Pins are used to secure the pieces on a cutting mat.
    A sewing machine stitching a vibrant fabric featuring colorful cat motifs alongside a plain yellow fabric.

    6. Next I need to head to the iron to press my seams. Today I’m sewing at my quilty pal, Robin’s house. Our friend Mary Lee, and my big sis, Tracy came to hang out too. It was a fun little impromptu get together. With snacks. You have to have snacks.

    You’ve got to love the pink cowhide print ironing board cover, right?

    An iron resting on a colorful, patterned ironing board with a strip of yellow fabric.

    7. Here’s the cat center with the side borders in place.

    A colorful fabric panel featuring a repeating pattern of cats in various colors and styles, bordered with a yellow edge.

    8. Now to measure, cut, sew, and press the top and bottom borders. So far, so good. Yay!

    A colorful fabric panel featuring a repeated pattern of cartoon animals, framed with a yellow border.

    8. The next border is made up of all those fun bright squares. I want the squares to be totally random – not in a specific arrangement – so I’m going to lay out the squares. I’m excited because those bright squares are really going to bring out the colors in the cat fabric!

    I’m only going to work on the side squares first. A funny thing happened – I was laying out and wouldn’t you know it but somehow unconsciously I began to lay out the right side to match the same sequence as the left side. Thanks, Mary Lee, for pointing that out to me. I didn’t even notice what I was doing! So after much shuffling and rearranging, the layout finally looks random. Which is quite amusing, since it wasn’t really random at all. LOL!

    A colorful quilt with a patchwork of vibrant fabric strips surrounding a central collage of various patterns and images.
    A colorful quilt hanging on a wall, featuring a central panel with vibrant, patterned fabric surrounded by a bright yellow border and accented with squares of various colors along the sides.

    9. I’m going to sew the left row of squares together, press the row, and then sew it to the left side of quilt. Then I’ll sew the right square row together and add it to the right side of the quilt before I head back to the iron to press all the seams.

    Oh dang! When I sewed the square rows to the sides I discovered that I made a mistake when I cut the length of the cat fabric way back at the beginning. Apparently I cut the length about an inch short so my square rows were slightly longer than the framed center. (Here I smack my forehead…..)

    No reason to panic, though. I matched the centers of the square rows to the center of the side yellow borders and I simply trimmed off the excess half inch or so at the top and bottom. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but it was quick and worked well and you probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t told on myself.

    An ironing board covered in a pink cow print fabric, with several fabric swatches in pastel colors including pink, green, blue, and purple laid out on top.
    A cutting mat with colorful fabric pieces and a rotary cutter on top. The fabric features vibrant prints, including animals, and various solid colored fabric strips laid out in a patchwork pattern.
    A colorful quilt hanging on a wall, featuring a vibrant pattern of mixed floral and artistic designs surrounded by a bright yellow border and pieced colorful stripes.
    An ironing board with a colorful fabric patchwork spread across it, next to a steam iron. The fabric features various patterns in vibrant colors, and the ironing board cover has a pink and white design.

    10. Easy Peasy. Time to lay out the top and bottom square rows and sew the rows to the quilt. It’s coming together now. Those bright squares really compliment the center cat fabric. This quilt is going to make me smile.

    A colorful quilt or fabric panel displayed against a neutral backdrop, featuring a vibrant inner pattern surrounded by a multicolored border.

    11. Next I’ll add the outside yellow borders. I had to piece these strips together before measuring and cutting them to the right length. Then I sewed them to the sides and pressed them.

    WHEW! Finally I added the top and bottom borders. I had to add a little bit to the ends of these border strips, as well, to make them fit the width of the quilt.

    A flat lay of a quilting project featuring a yellow fabric piece being pinned to colorful patchwork fabric on a cutting mat.

    12. And done! Here it is. My finished Charlie quilt top. Yay! What a fun pattern that will showcase pretty much any fabric from panels to novelty fabrics. It turned out really fun!

    A colorful quilt hanging on a wall, featuring a bright green border with multiple colored squares. The center displays a vibrant pattern with various colorful designs, surrounded by a cozy room setup including a shelf with fabric and a cup on a table.

    I hope you’ll give Charlie a try. It was a really fun pattern to make. Maybe I’ll finish this one during the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge…. We shall see, though, I have sew many VRD UFOs to complete and it will be hard to decide which ones to finish first.

    I hope you will join me and the other 25 quilters who are participating in the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. Together, we can get to the finish line with some of our VRD UFOs. 6 isn’t a scary number. Each of us can make a commitment to finish 6 quilts. Even if we have stacks of UFOs. 6 is doable. If each of the 26 of us completed 6 UFOs, that would be a total of 156 completed quilts. In 6 weeks. WOWZER!

    We CAN do this together.

    Stay tuned next week to see which VRD UFO I am going to finish first. See you then!

    Sew. Laugh. Finish. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Quilting Partners · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

    Spring into Spring Tutorial Series: Pretty Posies, 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge Invitation, and a Fabric Acquisition Road Trip (FART)

    rosecards2 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    We literally have SEW much to do today, so I’m going to jump right in with both feet.

    I’m really excited to be hosting the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks challenge on the blog again! If you didn’t get the chance to participate last fall in the challenge, you’ll want to join us next week!

    6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge

    A stack of colorful quilts with various patterns, featuring text promoting the '6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge' and the website 'villarosaquilts.com' set against a blue sky background.

    Here’s how the whole 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks idea got started last fall:

    With my teetering stacks of unfinished quilt tops (or flimsies), I decided some kind of serious intervention was required. Hey – what if I challenged myself to complete one quilt a week? What if I made myself accountable by posting a before and after photo each week? It sounded a little daunting to me, but I was up for a new challenge last fall. Then I had one of those why not? moments – why not invite all of you to join me? And a fun new blog challenge was born.

    So here’s the schedule of events and all the info:

    The Dates:

    Week 1 – 4/10

    Week 2 – 4/17

    Week 3 – 4/24

    Week 4 – 5/1

    Week 5 – 5/8

    Week 6 – 5/15

    The Rules and All the Details of the Challenge:

    Each week for 6 weeks, participants will post before/after photos of weekly UFOs to our VRD Facebook page or if you prefer, you can email the photos to me at tricia@villarosadesigns.com.

    I will post my before/after photos on the blog, villarosaquilts.com, each week and I will try to post them on the VRD Facebook page.

    All quilt tops/projects must be VRD patterns – this is the VRD blog, after all. Quilts must be quilted and bound to be eligible for prize drawings. No size requirements (I have UFOs from snack mats up to large throw quilts). It doesn’t even have to be a quilt – we have some great accessory, table runners, place masts, and snack mats.

    Each week, I’ll draw a name randomly from those participants who posted before/after photos by each weekly deadline. The winner will get a surprise quilty good in the mail after the Challenge ends. Goodies might be from me or from one of our lovely quilting partners.

    This Challenge is open to all, but please note that International winners will receive a selection of VRD digital patterns.

    PSST! You can even use the next six weeks to make a NEW VRD quilt each week if you want – hey, maybe you don’t have any unfinished VRD tops just sitting around. So go ahead – pick your favorite VRD pattern and get moving. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to get some of your holiday sewing done early??? I am not quite that organized, I’m afraid, but maybe you are.

    You might be wondering what happens if you don’t post a before/after photo for a weekly Challenge or you miss the deadline. It’s pretty simple – your name won’t go into that week’s prize drawing – that’s okay because life gets busy. I’m not kicking you out of the challenge, though – feel free to participate any or all weeks. Your name will go into each weekly drawing that you participate in.

    Seriously, I want to encourage all of you as well as myself to finish projects, not to stress about them. LOL!

    I think that’s all the important info. I hope I’ve answered any questions you had. If not, feel free to email me.

    Wanna join me in this challenge?

    Send me your name and email address at tricia@villarosadesigns.com to officially join the challenge and be eligible for weekly prizes. Your name and email will only be used for this Challenge, I promise you. Then get sewing! And don’t forget to have some fun!!!

    Okay, let’s move on to our new Spring tutorial for this week.

    Spring into Spring Quilt Tutorial: Pretty Posies

    Pretty Posies is totally a perfect table runner for spring with its slightly tossed sweet blooms. I just love the perky yellow centers of the flowers – to me, they look like a little springy hello. 🙂

    A quilt titled 'Pretty Posies' featuring large colorful floral patterns, hanging on a tree branch in a natural setting. The quilt design incorporates pink, red, and yellow flowers, with a black and white floral border.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    1. Our first step is always to gather up our fabrics. Today I’m using lovely sample fabrics from our quilty pals over at Hoffman Fabrics. SHHH! This fabric isn’t even available yet, so you’re getting a sneak peak!

    It’s an upcoming new collection called Blushwing and there are some lovely sweet 1895 Watercolors batik fabrics and a fun 885 Dot batik, too. Quilt shops will be able to order this fabric next month and it will ship to shops in September. So ask your favorite retailer to order Blushwing!

    A collection of fabric pieces in various colors and patterns, including floral designs with birds and solid colors, spread out on a crafting surface.

    2. Let’s get started at my cutting station (which doubles as my pressing station, too). There’s some simple cutting to do for this runner – cutting strips then cutting the strips into rectangles and squares. There’s nothing difficult or tricky with the cutting, just follow the instructions on your pattern. Instead of showing cutting images for each fabric, I’m just going to show you all the pieces cut and ready to move on to sewing.

    Various fabric pieces arranged on a pink cutting mat, including a long strip of white fabric, a square of reddish fabric, and a small yellow square with a polka dot pattern.

    3. Now we’re headed to the sewing machine. We are going to use the Stitch and Flip method to add a triangle to each corner of the flower squares. I’ve been calling this method the “flippy corner” method for a while now, but I recently discovered it is called more often the “Stitch and Flip” method, so I’ve decided to use this more common name going forward so I don’t confuse anyone (or myself).

    One corner of each flower will have a yellow triangle while the other 3 corners of each flower square will be background fabric triangles.

    Let me show you how the Stitch and Flip method works.

    Layer a small square RST (right sides together) on one corner and draw a diagonal line. Then sew on the line. Cut off the excess fabric about 1/4″ away from the sewn line.

    Close-up of fabric pieces, including a pink floral pattern and a yellow polka-dotted square, placed on a sewing machine table.
    Close-up of two pieces of fabric being sewn together, one with a floral pattern in pink and the other a yellow fabric with polka dots. A ruler is visible in the background for measurement.
    A workspace featuring a pair of orange-handled scissors, two yellow fabric triangles, and a pink patterned fabric piece, all set on a cutting mat with a ruler.

    We will repeat the Stitch and Flip method to make background triangles for the other 3 corners of each flower square.

    A partially sewn octagonal patchwork piece made of various fabrics, including pink and yellow, on a sewing table with measuring tools.

    3. Back to my cutting and pressing station to press open all of the Stitch and Flip triangles.

    A note about pressing: I suggest you press the triangles for 2 of the flower squares for each complete flower (you need 4 matching flower squares for each complete flower) towards the triangle and the other 2 towards the flower square. This will make sewing the flowers together a lot easier as the seams will nestle.

    A stack of fabric pieces in various colors and patterns, including blue, pink, and yellow, arranged on a pink cutting mat with measuring grid.
    A sewing workspace featuring an iron next to a blue hexagonal quilt piece with floral patterns, set on a gray pressing mat.
    A stack of colorful quilt fabric pieces in various patterns, including shades of red, blue, yellow, and floral designs, on a gray cutting mat.

    4. Back to my sewing machine. I’m going to lay out and sew each flower together with the yellow triangles towards the middle to create the flower center.

    I’m going to sew the top 2 squares together and the bottom 2 squares together. Then I’m going to sew the top section and the bottom section together to make a complete flower.

    A quilt block featuring four patterned octagons in shades of pink with a central yellow diamond surrounded by white fabric, placed on a gray felt surface.
    A close-up view of a sewing project showing four hexagonal fabric pieces arranged in a pattern, with pink floral fabric and a yellow center piece, placed on a sewing machine table.

    5. Sigh……back to the iron to give the blocks a nice press.

    A blue and white hexagonal quilt block with a yellow center, placed on a gray fabric surface next to an iron and scissors.
    A collection of colorful quilt blocks made from various fabrics, including floral and solid patterns, arranged on a soft surface.

    6. Next we’re going to add the half sashing to each flower block. This is what creates the movement in the runner. It’s one of my favorite easy peasy techniques.

    Back to the machine. First we add a background strip to the side and then we add the second background strip to the top. A quick press and our blocks are finished.

    A sewing workspace featuring a pile of fabric pieces arranged in the shape of a flower, with blue and yellow patterns, set against a backdrop of quilting tools and a quilting machine.
    A patchwork quilt block featuring four large red octagons arranged around a small yellow square center on a light patterned background.

    7. Yay! Time to sew the blocks together. Sooooo, back to the machine. I think I’m starting to feel a bit like a pogo stick. My cutting and pressing station is near my sewing area, but I have to get up and go around the corner of my shelf unit in order to cut or press. Sigh…..I definitely need to take some time and do a little rearranging to make it easier to go from one to the other.

    Because I am using 3 blue fabrics and 2 pink/mauve fabrics, I already knew how I wanted to lay out the blocks. You, however, might need to explore some different options until you find the arrangement you like the best. Flip and turn the blocks however you like.

    A fabric quilt with five large floral blocks arranged in a row, featuring colors of blue, pink, and a floral pattern, set against a pastel background.

    8. Now it’s time to cut border strips. Do you cut all your fabrics before you start a project or do you cut as you go along? When I have a border on a project, I usually wait until after I get the center made before I cut my border strips.

    Isn’t this just the prettiest fabric for the border? So soft and gentle.

    A stack of fabric strips featuring a pastel design of doves and floral patterns, placed on a pink cutting mat with a rotary cutter nearby.

    9. I like to measure my quilt before I cut the border strips to size, even if a pattern gives the measurements. I just like to be on the safe side. So I measured my runner through the center both horizontally and vertically to get my final border sizes. I’m going to sew the borders to the short ends first.

    I really love how the border pulls out the center blue floral flower, don’t you?

    A quilt panel featuring a series of five floral patterns in varying colors including blue, pink, and green, with yellow accents in the center of each flower.

    10. All right, now I’m going to pin my long borders to the runner. I would imagine every quilter has their own method for doing this step. For me, I begin by pinning the center of the border strip to the center of the runner side. Then I smooth each side of the border towards the end of the runner, where I pin the corners of the border strip to the corners of the runner. Finally I add a few more pins between the center and the ends to help keep everything lined up. What’s your method for sewing on long borders?

    A patchwork quilt segment featuring blue, pink, and floral patterned fabrics with pinned sections ready for assembly.

    VOILA! A finished Pretty Posies runner top. I just love how it turned out. Perfect for Spring.

    A patchwork design featuring four large flower motifs in pink, red, and blue against a light floral background.

    Now to layer it with batting and backing. Machine quilt it. Bind it and add a label.

    WHEW! I think it’s time to take a break from sewing and go shopping!

    A Fabric Acquisition Road Trip (FART)

    On Saturday, friends Robin, Mary Lee, and I piled into my cute little red Jeep Compass and went on a fun laughter-filled FART to one of our area shops. Quilter’s Cupboard is located in Seneca, PA. Big SHOUT OUT to owners Shirley and Brenda!

    Their shop is cozy and welcoming. You step inside the shop to see rows of colorful bolts of fabric and a wall filled with notions, patterns, and fabric panels. One of my favorite firs tstops are their precut shelves with assorted precuts, fun little goodies, and precut patterns. I of course grab some 5″ squares and 2.5″ squares.

    The hallway boasts more bolts of fabric with tons of great rulers on the opposite wall. The first room has seasonal fabrics and flannel. The hallway then branches left into a large bright classroom with many samples gracing the walls with the kits nearby and ample space to have classes. The right branch of the hallway leads to an exit and another room filled with ByAnnie patterns and supplies with the most amazing (and inspiring) samples. I grabbed a new ByAnnie pattern, some mesh, and zippers. We’ll see if I get brave enough to tackle that project.

    By the way, the shop is totally crazy about Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns! They have VRD samples galore as well as fantastic kits for all of their samples and of course VRD Rose Card patterns.

    A display stand showcasing various quilting patterns from Villa Rosa, featuring designs such as 'Tea for 2', 'Lantern Hill', 'Love Cats', and more. A red basket with additional pattern booklets is also visible.

    Here are some of the super VRD samples on the walls.

    A wall hanging quilt featuring various nature-themed fabric squares including images of animals and birds, bordered with a dark brown fabric and yellow highlights.

    Gridwork with a few adaptations. Get your digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt hung on a wall, featuring a patchwork design with blue, yellow, green, and floral patterns.

    Pavers – get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt featuring beach-themed blocks with umbrellas, beach chairs, and seaside illustrations, arranged in a diagonal pattern against a yellow and light blue background.

    Dinomite – get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt featuring a geometric pattern with shades of teal, navy, green, and white, displayed on a wall.

    Sisterhood (I totally love this colorway, don’t you?) – get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Here’s a great selection of VRD table runners!

    A display of colorful quilts on a table, showcasing various patterns and fabrics, with sewing supplies and patterns arranged nearby.

    From left to right:

    Merry Trees – get your digital pattern here or your print pattern HERE

    Poinsettia – get your digital pattern here or your print pattern HERE

    Lil Umbrellas – get your digital pattern here or your print pattern HERE

    Bespoke (2 options shown) – get your digital pattern here or your print pattern HERE

    Pumpkin Hollow – get your digital pattern here or your print pattern HERE

    And seasonal snack mats!

    Two handmade quilted placemats displayed on a wooden surface. The top placemat features a green and plaid patchwork design with shamrocks, while the bottom placemat showcases a bee and beehive pattern in black, yellow, and white.

    Top: Shamrock – get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Bottom: Buzzy Bee – get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Or get all 12 Seasonal Snack Mat Patterns HERE.

    What fun trip! Mary Lee spent the most and Robin spent the least. After we shopped, the three of us headed over to The Log Cabin restaurant for lunch.

    Last stop was to Ollies to poke around to see what interesting and fun things we could find. Beside, Mary Lee had never been there before.

    All in all, our FART was a welcome break from the minutia of our every day activities. And spending time with quilty pals is always a good time. When was your last FART?

    WHEW, that’s it for today’s post. Don’t forget to join me for the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge which begins next week.

    See you then!

    Sew. Laugh. Sew Some More. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

    Spring into Spring Quilt Tutorial Series: VRD Rose Card Pattern Honey

    rosecardsLeave a comment

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    Spring literally starts a few days, which is probably why we have snow on the ground again and it was like 16 degrees last night. BRRR! Regardless, I’m definitely thinking spring! So I thought it would be fun to leap into some fun spring quilt tutorials to get me into the spirit even if the weather doesn’t cooperate with the season.

    I’m also thinking it’s time for a spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. Anyone up for that? I did a 6 in 6 last fall and we had great time. It was incredible to finish one VRD quilt a week for 6 weeks. 6 completed quilts at the end. Which was rockin’ awesome! Especially considering all the tutorial sample tops that I’m accumulating. LOL! So……who’s in? I’m thinking to start this the first week of April, 2 weeks from now. It would last for 6 weeks. Right now, I’m just putting feelers out to see who wants to join me for this 6 in 6 challenge? I figure if I do this challenge twice a year in spring and fall, we can all get up to 12 quilts finished in a year.

    There are a few rules, though, I’d better mention –

    1) Quilts must be made from VRD patterns

    2) You must post a before and an after photo on our Facebook page or email them to me if you’re not on FB to be entered in the weekly drawings

    3) Anyone can participate

    4) If you don’t have stacks of VRD UFOs like I do, no problem – you are welcome to make new VRD quilts/accessories to participate

    I think that’s pretty much it for the rules to get started.

    If you’re interested, you have 2 weeks to email me your name and email address at tricia@villarosadesigns.com. I promise your email address will only be used by me to notify you if you win a prize.

    Now….on to our first Spring into Spring VRD quilt tutorial!

    VRD Quilt Pattern Tutorial Honey

    There’s nothing like a new table runner to add a touch of spring to you space! Have you ever made Honey before? If not, you’re in for a treat because this runner goes together quick as bunny and looks great in just about any group of fabrics you want to use.

    A patchwork quilt with a mix of floral and checkered patterns in yellow, blue, and black, displayed on a dark background with the title 'Honey' and credits to Tricia Lynn Maloney from Orphan Quilt Designs.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    Let’s get started!

    1. Time to gather up our fabrics. I’m using lovely sample fabrics from our quilty pals over at Hoffman Fabrics today. SHHH! This fabric isn’t even available yet, so you’re getting a sneak peak!

    It’s an upcoming new collection called Nesting Hour and there are some lovely sherbet-y 1895 Watercolors batik coordinates, too. Quilt shops will be able to order this fabric next month and it will ship to shops in September. So ask your favorite retailer to order Nesting Hour!

    A collection of various fabric swatches in floral and solid colors, arranged on a cutting mat with sewing tools in the background.

    2. All right! Let’s get some cutting done. First, I’ll cut strips for the block centers and then I’ll cut the strips into squares.

    A rotary cutter and a clear acrylic ruler placed on a floral printed fabric, with a pink cutting mat underneath.
    A stack of fabric pieces with a floral pattern on a pink cutting mat, next to a yellow quilting ruler.

    3. Next I’ll cut the strips for the frames and then subcut the strips into the needed smaller pieces.

    A rotary cutter and a transparent quilting ruler are placed on a floral fabric, set against a pink cutting mat.
    A cutting mat with a transparent quilting ruler placed over a light blue fabric strip and a rotary cutter nearby.

    4. All the pieces are cut, organized by shape, and ready to sew. Yay!

    Three pieces of fabric with floral designs laid out on a pink cutting mat.

    5. We’re headed to the sewing machine to make the blocks. I’m going to sew the short strips onto opposite sides of the center square. When I’m sewing the same step over and over, I really love chain piecing because it saves both time and thread.

    Close-up of a sewing machine stitching together colorful fabric pieces with floral patterns, accompanied by neatly stacked fabric squares on the side.

    6. After I sew the matching short strips to opposite sides, I’m headed over to the ironing station to press my block so far before adding the next strips. I don’t always press in the middle of sewing a block together, but today I am because I want the blocks to turn out really crisp.

    A piece of fabric with floral patterns laid on gray felt, alongside a stack of assorted fabric swatches and an iron.

    7. Then back to the sewing machine to add the long matching strips to opposite sides of the center square to complete the frame for each block.

    Close-up view of a sewing machine with fabric pieces being stitched together, featuring floral patterns and pastel colors, on a quilting mat.

    8. And back to the iron to press the completed blocks so they will be nice and crisp. I’ve noticed that when I press blocks on my wool pressing mat, I don’t have to use pressing spray to get sharply pressed blocks.

    Right now I have an 18″ x 60″ mat on my 24″ X 60″ ironing station. My Dad designed and made the ironing board for me years ago. My lovely big board sits on top of an Ikea Kallax 8 cube shelf on casters and it’s the perfect height for me!

    The 18″ wide mat just seems too narrow for me now, so I’m thinking of upgrading. I see mats are now available in 22″ x 60″ and 24″ x 60″, which is really great. Maybe I won’t run off the edge anymore. Definitely worth thinking about now if they have the exact size I need.

    A square fabric patch featuring floral designs laid out on a work surface, with an iron and additional fabric pieces beside it.

    9. Yay! My blocks are all pressed!

    A stack of quilt fabric squares in various floral patterns, including a central square featuring a dark background with floral designs.

    10. Next up is putting my blocks up on my design wall so I can rearrange them. Here’s a few photos showing how I’m moving things around. Sometimes this step takes more time than I’d like, but it is a really important one because nobody wants a visually lopsided quilt.

    A patchwork layout featuring a series of floral squares surrounded by solid-colored borders in a variety of pastel shades.
    A patchwork quilt layout featuring floral and pastel fabric squares arranged in a grid pattern.

    11. Here’s the arrangement I decided upon. Then it was back to the sewing machine to sew the blocks together. Next up with be layering, quilting, adding a label, and binding…….sometime.

    A quilt layout featuring a series of fabric squares arranged in a grid pattern. Each square has a floral print center surrounded by solid pastel colors. The layout includes a mix of peach, beige, and blue fabrics.
    A colorful quilt layout featuring floral patterns with squares of light pastel colors and dark floral prints.

    I really like how it turned out, don’t you? So soft and fresh. I can’t wait for the fabric to be available in quilt shops come September 2026.

    Your homework for the next couple weeks is to decide whether you want to join me in a Spring 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenge. Drop me an email (tricia@villarosadesigns.com) if you want in. I’ll post more info next week.

    Let’s get quilting and finishing together! YEAH!

    See you right here next week for another Spring into Spring tutorial.

    Sew. Laugh. Sew Some More. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

    NEW March VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns and Wrapping Up the 2026 Winter Olympics with the Arctic Flame Quilt Tutorial

    rosecards2 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    I hope you’ve gotten the chance to watch some of the Paralympics this week. I have, and the athletes are so so inspiring. I’ve never seen anyone work harder than they do. I am truly at a loss of words to describe how I feel watching and cheering the athletes on.

    In honor of all Olympic and Paralympic athletes, today I’m doing a tutorial for Arctic Flame, which I really felt embodies the whole Winter Olympic theme. So stay tuned after the NEW patterns for the tutorial.

    OH! Before I forget, I want to say HI to all of our new subscribers. We’re glad to have you aboard the VRD ship. I’m Tricia, your Cruise Director.

    Now, let’s cue the marching band and let the balloons fly to celebrate the new March VRD patterns!

    NEW March VRD Quilt Patterns

    Hard to believe another month of 2026 has passed and it’s time for another collection of new patterns. I think you’re going to LOVE this month’s patterns. When I saw all of them, I was really amazed by the creativity of our designers. They are bright, bold, visual, and fun.

    Dang! I’m not sure which one I want to make first.

    Argh! Guess I’ll just have to add ’em to my mile long list that just keeps getting longer. I don’t think I’ll ever reach the end of the list, though.

    A promotional image featuring five quilt pattern designs for March 2026 from Villa Rosa Designs. The patterns are titled Dacada, Serpentine, Maraschino, Up & Away, and Wanderlust. The graphic highlights the patterns and indicates that all five cards are available for $8.95.

    You can get all 5 print patterns HERE

    Dacada is Rachelle’s latest modern design and it almost leaps off the pattern. I wonder what it would look like with black or navy background instead of white? It finishes at 48″ x 60″ and is fat quarter friendly. You can find a kit featuring Bold in Bloom batiks HERE.

    Serpentine by Molly is a fast and super fun strippy quilt that you can make in a wink. I love that you can use a favorite novelty fabric in her pattern. It finishes at 40″ x 60″ and uses yardage. You can find a kit featuring the same fabrics (Dressmaker) that Molly used HERE or a kit using batik fabrics HERE.

    Up & Away is Tamara’s new pattern and it is as sweet as can be. It features a horizontal panel – 23″ and up so it gives you lots of options. With a 23″ panel, it finishes at 41″ x 49″, which is a lovely size for a baby quilt. Using a 36″ panel, the size would be approximately 41″ x 61″ which would be a small throw quilt. You can find a kit with the same fabrics Tamara used (Let’s Go on an Adventure) HERE.

    Maraschino is Pat’s March pattern and it couldn’t be more fun. It finishes at 45″ x 54″ and uses fat quarters and a little bit of yardage. You can find a kit with the same fabrics Pat used (Red, White, and Sweet) HERE.

    Wanderlust is Creative Sewlutions’s latest modern design. It finishes at 49″ x 63″ and uses yardage. I’m itching to make this one out of my stash with an awesome pop of color.

    But wait – we’re not done yet!

    Here’s my March Table Runner, Be Square. The center blocks are great for using your favorite fun novelty fabrics, printed panel squares, or even stray quilt blocks. It’s a very versatile design. And it goes together really fast.

    A colorful quilted table runner featuring square blocks with floral patterns on a red background, titled 'Be Square' by Tricia Lynn Maloney. The design includes white spaces between the colorful squares.

    Get the digital pattern HERE or the print pattern HERE.

    And last, but certainly not least, is the third Pillow pattern in the 2026 Seasonal Pillow Series. It’s called Spring Blooms. This pillow design would look great in so many different color combinations! What would your favorite combination be?

    Guess what? My Mom claimed this pillow for herself even before it was finished! Moms can be like that sometimes…….LOL!

    And a star is born! My cute little Shih Tzu girl, Bailly, is always happy to pose for me. Isn’t she a cutie?

    A decorative pillow titled 'Spring Blooms' displayed on a green couch, with a small dog sitting beside it.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your Print pattern HERE.

    3 Aunts Quilt Shop is doing a Block of the Month with the Pillow series this year and you can find the new Spring Blooms kits below:

    Kaffe Fabrics

    Tonals

    Tula Fabrics

    They still have some kit options available for Happy Hearts (Jan) and Good Luck (Feb) available HERE if you haven’t made yours yet.

    All right! What an awesome collection of patterns for March! Which one are you going to make first?

    Now let’s dive right into our tutorial for today – Arctic Flame.

    VRD Arctic Flame Quilt Tutorial

    Are you familiar with the Arctic Flame pattern? It’s an oldie but definitely a goodie! This is one of Pat’s clever designs.

    I’ve always wanted to make Arctic Flame, but for some reason I thought it looked kind of daunting and…I just didn’t. So, I keep coming back to it and then telling myself “someday.” Have you ever felt that way about a pattern?

    Well, someday has finally come. I chose to do the Arctic Flame tutorial today in celebration of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The pattern name just sung for me and seemed to embody the spirit of the games. And I had just the perfect fabrics to use – wait ’til you see them!

    A vibrant quilt design titled 'Arctic Flame' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a colorful pattern with floral motifs and zigzag elements on a brown background.

    Get your Digital pattern HERE or your Print pattern HERE

    1. Time to gather up our fabrics. The fabrics I’m using today are from an older Hoffman digital collection called Starry Nights. I’ve had these fabrics hanging out for a while and now they’re ready to shine! Just wait until you see what I’ve got planned for the mountain and trees running yardage print.

    Various fabric pieces displayed on a cutting mat, featuring a scenic landscape design with trees, alongside solid and patterned fabrics in shades of blue and green.

    2. Next up we’re cutting our light and dark fabrics into squares. Easy peasy.

    A rotary cutter placed on a cutting mat next to pieces of beige fabric and a measuring ruler marked with grid lines.
    A rotary cutter, rectangular ruler, and cut fabric pieces on a cutting mat with a grid pattern.
    A stack of colorful fabric squares in shades of green next to a stack of beige fabric squares, placed on a cutting mat with a rotary cutter and ruler.

    3. Another easy one – cutting the strips for the sashing. Please note that my binding will be the same fabric as the sashing which will give the quilt a wonderful finish (that is when I quilt and bind it in 2099). Do likewise if you want – just make sure you have enough fabric for both.

    A rotary cutter and a clear ruler on a cutting mat with blue and dark patterned fabric pieces, including a cut strip.
    A collection of blue patterned fabric strips arranged on a cutting mat with measurement markings.

    4. Now for the piece de resistance – the mountains and trees theme fabric. Oh my goodness! I’m almost afraid to cut into it.

    Do you have issues when trying to cut large pieces of fabric for a pattern? Well, let me tell you a little trick that I use – I use 2 rulers end to end to create the right size because I don’t have any gigantic quilt rulers to work with.

    In the photo on the left, I’m using a 15″ square paired with my favorite 6″ x 12″ ruler to get the correct fabric width.

    In the right photo, I’m using a 6″ x 26″ and my 6″ x 12″ ruler again to get the correct length.

    PSST! I really do try to use the same manufacturer when using multiple rulers for a project so the measurements will more likely be the same, but sometimes you just have to do the best you can with what you have available. And I’m definitely taking the time to triple check my math before cutting.

    In the bottom photo, I used my Frixion pen to mark which section the cut piece was so I didn’t get the pieces mixed up. I used TL for top left, TC for top center, TR for top right and so on.

    A cutting mat displaying a clear quilting ruler, marked with grid lines and measurement scales, alongside additional cutting tools and materials.
    A workspace with a cutting mat, various rulers, and scraps of paper and fabric scattered across the surface.
    A white fabric with light creases and stains, lying on a gray surface, accompanied by a black pen.

    5. Okay, we’re going to make some Half Square Triangles (HSTs) with our light and dark squares. Oops! I’m just rereading the instructions on the pattern and I realized I did the tutorial slightly different. Let me explain – the pattern calls for you to cut the squares on one diagonal and then sew dark and light triangles together to make HSTs.

    My usual method, shown here, gets the same results, but is slightly different. I layer my light and dark squares RST and draw a diagonal line with my Frixion pen. Then I sew 1/4″ away from both sides of the line. Finally I cut on the line to make my 2 HSTs.

    Same results, but I have found making HSTs this way eliminates sewing on the bias which can make the units stretch or do other funky things.

    You do you, though – whichever method works the best for you.

    A workspace showing various fabric squares, including printed and solid colors, with a ruler and a pen for cutting and measuring fabric.
    A square piece of light fabric, partially stitched diagonally, placed on a gray cutting mat with grid lines.
    Two triangular fabric pieces cut from a beige fabric, placed on a cutting mat with grid lines, alongside a stack of green patterned fabric squares and a black pen.

    6. We’re off to the iron now to press all of the HSTs open. Looking ahead at how we’re going to assemble the HSTs, I am going to err on the side of caution and press half my blocks to the dark and half to the light. Don’t forget to cut off all those little annoying ears after you are done pressing.

    A collection of fabric pieces in various shades of green and beige, arranged in a pile on a pink and white patterned surface.
    Cut fabric pieces for quilting, featuring a green and blue patterned triangle next to a light beige triangle, with small scraps of fabric and threads scattered on a cutting mat.

    7. Now let’s sew those HSTs together into larger units of 4 HSTs. Having the seams pressed to both light and dark is going to make this a lot easier than if they were all pressed to the dark (which is what I normally do). I laid one of the units out on one of my small flannel boards so I wouldn’t get confused while sewing them together (Hey! Wanna make your own small flannel board? Check out this tutorial!)

    A close-up of a fabric quilt block featuring a geometric design with dark green and blue patterns alongside cream-colored fabric squares. The background is light-colored quilt batting.

    8. Now that we know how to assemble the larger units, let’s sew them together, following the layout on the flannel board above. First, I’m going to sew the top 2 HSTs together. Second, sew the bottom pair together. Third, sew the top pair to the bottom pair. I often skip pressing until the end when I’m putting together a block or unit, but please press each step if you need to. Because I pressed the HST seams to both the right and the left, it’s a snap to nestle my seams to achieve good crisp points.

    Two quilt blocks featuring a geometric design with green and blue fabric on a light background.

    9. Now that the 4 HST units are sewn and pressed, we are going to sew 2 of those units together into a big 8 HST unit. This was really a lot easier to put together so far than I thought it would be. Yay!

    A quilt block featuring a zigzag pattern with dark green and blue prints complemented by light beige fabric.

    10. Next step is to sew the sashing strips on according to the pattern. I am definitely pressing all of my sashing strips to the dark side (Huh….and it’s not even May 4th yet).

    Close-up of a sewing machine working on a quilt with colorful fabric pieces, featuring shades of green and blue, on a light-colored background.
    An iron placed on a colorful quilt block featuring green and blue fabric patterns, with unfinished quilt pieces on a sewing surface.
    A close-up of an iron positioned on a piece of fabric featuring a forest pattern, with a gray pressing surface underneath.

    11. Now it’s time to lay everything out on my design wall before I can sew the sections together. WHEW! This is where I’m really glad I wrote fabric positions in the corners earlier so I don’t get the large pieces mixed up.

    A patchwork quilt in progress featuring layered fabrics with mountainous and forest designs, arranged in a pattern of alternating colors and shapes.

    12. I need to sew all the pieces in each section together before I can sew the 3 vertical sections together. OH NO! I ran into a little unexpected problem with the bottom of my quilt –

    I LITERALLY RAN OUT OF THE TREES/MOUNTAINS FABRIC. Because I wanted to arrange it vertically instead of cut random or scrappy. It’s an out of print fabric and no longer available and I have to complete the top now. Ugh! What’s a quilter to do? Improvise, of course.

    Sadly, I can’t show you my solution yet because the quilt is too long and is hiding behind my cutting and pressing station. You’ll have to wait until the end when I show the entire quilt.

    A partially completed quilt featuring a forest and mountain design, with shades of blue and green fabrics arranged in a zigzag pattern.

    13. Now I’m going to sew the 3 vertical sections together. And suddenly the quilt came together like magic! I have no idea why I felt intimidated by it for so long. Silly me.

    I really love how the sashing frames the center sections – it’s almost like looking out a window at the Alps in Italy, isn’t it?

    A creatively designed quilt featuring soft, blended colors depicting mountain landscapes and forest silhouettes with a geometric zigzag pattern at the bottom.

    14. And here’s the completed Arctic Flame quilt top. Please forgive the rocks anchoring the corners of the quilt top, but it’s a typical windy March day here in northwestern Pennsylvania.

    Can you see my solution for running out of the trees/mountain print? The bottom center piece. I found a dark mottled fabric in my stash to place there. It works, doesn’t it? It really does. As the bottom of the center middle section is dark, like it’s fading into the shadows, the dark mottled fabric continues the shadow idea. What are your thoughts on my design decision? Have you ever run into a similar situation when you ran out of fabric and had to improvise? What did you do?

    A patchwork quilt laid out on grass, featuring designs of blue and green mountains and forest landscapes.

    I really love how Arctic Flame came together and how the HST sections now mimic the mountains in the digital trees/mountain fabric by our friends over at Hoffman’s.

    Hoffman’s sometimes creates landscape running yardage for their digital collections. Here is a great one from the current Stag and Stone collection:

    A watercolor pattern featuring birch trees and evergreen foliage in muted tones of gray, white, and hints of gold, creating a serene forest scene.

    Stag and Stone

    Wouldn’t this print be gorgeous in the Arctic Flame pattern? What would you choose for the light and dark fabrics for the HSTs and the sashing?

    Who knows? Maybe Arctic Flame will be your next quilt project.

    As the Winter Olympics and Paralympics draw to a close, so does our Olympic celebration here on the blog. Stay tuned next week to see what mischief I’m cooking up for you next.

    See you right here next time!

    Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Quilt Play · Quilt Stories · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

    Meet My Sewing Room Team: What Quilters and Olympians Have in Common

    rosecards4 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    Warning: I am still in Olympic mode. Besides, the 2026 Milan Cortina Paralympic Winter Games being March 6th and run through March 15th. I really hope the major TV networks will carry the Paralympics (not just on streaming or cable channels) because I really want to watch these incredible athletes get to represent their countries in their respective sports. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter who places 1st. Every one of these athletes is already a winner for overcoming innumerable obstacles just to be there. And we all need to show up and cheer.

    You can find more information about the Paralympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina HERE.

    A vibrant illustration welcoming viewers to the 2026 Milan Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, featuring athletes in adaptive winter sports like sled hockey and snowboarding against a snowy mountain backdrop.

    Speaking of the Olympics – did you get a chance to enjoy my fun (and slightly silly) Quilting Olympics post last week? If not, you can find it HERE.

    While I was thinking about the Games, it occurred to me that there are actually quite a few similarities between the Olympics and quilting. Have you ever considered that, too?

    Athletes spend tremendous amounts of time and energy perfecting their sport. They refine their techniques, build skills, and train for years for the chance to represent their countries at the Olympics. Their goal is to become the very best version of themselves.

    Don’t we do something similar as quilters – just without a stadium full of screaming fans?

    It takes discipline and dedication to become the best quilters we can be. Practice, practice, practice. Mistakes that turn into learning opportunities, and those learning opportunities strengthen our skills.

    And as our skills grow, so does the beauty of what we create.

    Of course, Olympians don’t succeed alone. Behind every skater, skier, and snowboarder stands a whole team of coaches, trainers, technicians, and supporters helping them perform at their very best.

    And when I looked around my studio the other day, it suddenly struck me – I have a team, too.

    Meet My Sewing Room Team

    Allow me to introduce Team Sewing Room — my loyal crew that helps me train, practice, and occasionally recover from minor stitching disasters.

    🔥 The Coach: My Iron

    Keeps everything disciplined and sharp. Accepts no excuses. Although sometimes my iron can be the toughest coach – the results are totally worth it. Constantly reminds me that good results require proper pressing. Not ironing. Pressing. (There is a difference, and the iron knows it.)

    A blue and black Rowenta steam iron positioned on a gray surface.

    🧵 The Veteran: My Sewing Machine

    Reliable, hardworking, and always ready to go. Occasionally a little dramatic when the bobbin tension isn’t quite right. But when everything is running smoothly, there’s nothing more satisfying than the steady hum of stitches marching perfectly across a quilt top. This is the team member who puts in the most miles. Always the first one to show up and the last one to leave.

    A Janome Horizon sewing machine featuring a sleek design, a digital control panel, and a clear sewing area with a ruler at the front.

    🧵 The Team Captain: My Thread

    Strong, steady, and always working behind the scenes. The ultimate team player who quietly holds everything together. Thread doesn’t demand attention. It doesn’t make a lot of noise. But without it, nothing happens. Every seam, every block, every quilt relies on those tiny strands doing their job stitch by stitch. When the tension is just right, thread performs beautifully. When it isn’t… well, let’s just say the whole team knows about it pretty quickly.

    Four spools of thread in shades of dark blue, purple, teal, and light blue, placed on a gray fabric surface.

    📏 The Technician: My Favorite Ruler

    Accuracy expert. The quiet perfectionist of the group. When precision matters, this team member steps in. Always measuring, always checking, always making sure those seams line up just right. Without rulers, things would quickly descend into geometric chaos.

    A clear quilting ruler with yellow grid lines and markings on a gray textured surface.

    ⚙️ The Speed Specialist: My Rotary Cutter

    The speed specialist. Sprinter of the sewing room. Sharp and efficient, capable of transforming a stack of fabric into perfectly sized pieces in record time. Fast, precise, and just a little intimidating when you realize the blade could probably cut through a small tree branch. Every team needs someone who can move fast and get things started.

    A yellow and black rotary cutter designed for fabric cutting, featuring a circular blade and a textured handle for grip.

    ✂️ The Precision Specialist: My Scissors

    Detail-oriented. Precision when and where it counts most. They may not be as flashy as the rotary cutter, but they are endlessly dependable. Snipping threads, trimming seams, rescuing corners, and occasionally performing delicate surgery when something needs a careful fix. A good pair of scissors earns its place through years of loyal service… and every quilter knows you guard your fabric scissors with your life. Paper scissors may roam freely. But fabric scissors? Those are sacred.

    A pair of gardening scissors with orange handles and a spring mechanism, laid on a gray felt surface.

    ✂️ The Comeback Specialist: My Seam Ripper

    Calm in a crisis. Fixes mistakes and keeps the team in the game. Nobody likes to call them in, but when they do arrive, things start to get better. When a block gets twisted, a seam wanders off course, or someone confidently stitches the wrong sides together (not that this has ever happened to me…), the seam ripper steps in calmly and says, “Don’t worry. We can fix this.”

    A Clover brand seam ripper with a white handle and a black grip, resting on a gray fabric surface.

    🧺 The Support Squad: My Fabric Stash

    The deep bench of the team. Endless possibilities waiting their turn. Inspiration, neatly folded. Always ready to contribute to the next project. A well-stocked stash is like a deep bench of talented players.

    A collection of folded fabric pieces in various shades of blue and purple, featuring floral patterns.

    Training for the Quilting Games (No Stadium Required)

    When you stop and think about it, quilting and the Olympics really do have a lot in common.

    Olympic and Paralympic athletes train for years to refine their skills. They practice the same movements again and again, learning from mistakes, building strength, and improving little by little until those skills come together on the world stage.

    Quilters do something very similar. We practice cutting accurately. We work on keeping that elusive quarter-inch seam consistent. We learn how to match points, press seams, and solve problems when something doesn’t go quite as planned. We rely on our sewing room team.

    Every quilt we make teaches us something new. Sometimes the lesson is patience. Sometimes it’s perseverance. And sometimes it’s simply learning how to laugh when the seam ripper has to step in and save the day.

    But whether you’re an Olympic athlete or a quilter in your sewing room, the goal is the same: to keep learning, keep improving, and keep creating something you’re proud of.

    And just like those athletes competing in Milan Cortina this year, we show up, do our best, and cheer each other on along the way.

    Because in quilting — just like in the Olympics — the real victory isn’t just the finished result. It’s the journey that got us there.

    Who’s on your sewing room team?

    Cheering Each Other On

    As the Olympic and Paralympic athletes compete in Milan Cortina, I’ll be cheering them on from my living room. Their determination, perseverance, and dedication are inspiring reminders of what can happen when people commit themselves to learning, growing, and never giving up.

    And while most of us will never stand on an Olympic podium, we have our own version of the Games happening every time we sit down at our sewing machines. Every quilt is a new challenge. Every block is another opportunity to practice. Every finished project is a small victory.

    Some days everything goes smoothly and the seams line up perfectly.

    Other days… well, that’s when the seam ripper earns its place on the team.

    But just like the athletes competing, we keep showing up. We keep practicing. And we keep cheering each other on.

    So the next time you sit down in your sewing room, remember that you’re training too — one stitch at a time.

    And in the quilting world, every finished quilt deserves a gold medal.

    Signing off for now……..

    Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Curated Rose Card Pattern Lists · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

    A Curated Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card Quilt Pattern Collection for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina

    rosecards4 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    Skiers participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics on a snowy slope with historical buildings and mountains in the background.
    Image created by moi with the assistance of AI

    I hope you are following along with the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina right now. I know I am. Every day has been hurry up and finish work, get dinner, take care of the fur babies, and finally collapse in my comfy chair for another evening of the Olympics. What are your favorite events? For me skating, skiing, bobsledding, and snowboarding are probably my top favorites but I enjoy watching pretty much any of the sports.

    I am so in awe of the Olympians whether they win gold or are in last place – they worked incredibly hard to get there, overcoming many obstacles along the way, and earned the right to represent their respective countries. I am not the most coordinated person (I trip on air – LOL!), so seeing the amazing skills and sheer determination of the Olympians is very inspiring to me. And watching the Olympics brings to mind a lifetime of warm memories when everything stopped for 2 weeks so my family could watch the Olympics together. In fact, for the most part, we are still doing that now. To me, the Olympics means family.

    In celebration of the Winter Olympics, I thought it would be fun to create a new curated list of VRD Rose Card patterns. But before, we get to that, I’m going to give you the answers to the “Who and I?” and “What am I?” quilt riddles from last week’s post. If you missed last week’s quilty silliness, you can find it HERE.

    I’m measured in quarters, yet I’m not a coin.
    I’m bundled and tempting, a fabric siren.
    “I’ll take just one,” is what you’ll say…
    Then I bring friends home anyway.

    What am I? FAT QUARTER

    I’m a block with a name that sounds like a bird,
    Yet feathers aren’t needed, and that’s not absurd.
    I travel in flocks, pointy and neat,
    But one flipped triangle ruins the beat.

    What am I? FLYING GEESE

    I’m a pattern you can’t always see,
    But I make the quilt feel extra “me.”
    Loops or lines, I’m stitched with care,
    Across the top and everywhere.

    What am I? MACHINE (OR HAND) QUILTING

    I’m a friend with numbers and lines,
    Quilters trust me all the time.
    I help make seams straight and true,
    But don’t get too close when the blade comes through.

    What am I? QUILTING RULER

    Did you get all of the quilt riddles correct? If not, which one stumped you?

    Now let’s take a look at my new curated list for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. Maybe you’ll find a few new-to-you patterns to add to your VRD Rose Card collection….

    Curated VRD Rose Card Collection for the 2026 Winter Olympics

    Cover design for the 'Alpine Valley' quilt pattern by Tricia Lynn Maloney, featuring a blue quilt with nature-themed fabric arranged in geometric patterns.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A decorative quilt pattern titled 'Arctic Flame' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring vibrant floral designs in red, pink, and purple, with a zigzag pattern on a brown background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt titled 'Around The Town' with various patchwork squares, designed by Tamara Cook for Villa Rosa Designs, displayed on a green and purple background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Awestruck' featuring star-like patterns in various vibrant fabrics, designed by Molly Cook for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful fabric design featuring coffee cups, with patterns in red, black, and teal. Text elements include 'Coffee' and 'L'il Coffee'. Branding for Sugar Pine Quilt Designs and Villa Rosa Designs at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design featuring various geometric patterns in shades of blue, gray, green, and red, with a title 'Be Unique' and designer credit to Melissa Milligan for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt titled 'Bear Hugs' featuring a patchwork design with red, black, and white fabrics, displayed outdoors against a natural backdrop, with a bear silhouette above the title.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt featuring a patchwork design called 'Biscotti' composed of various fabric patterns including flowers, mushrooms, and nature-themed motifs, designed by Heidi Cook for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt titled 'Blizzard' designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney, featuring a pattern of blue and white colors with snowflake motifs, displayed on a natural background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Bounce' featuring playful illustrations and humorous phrases on fabric squares against a patterned background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design titled 'Cathedral' by Villa Rosa Designs featuring a vibrant pattern of rectangles and squares.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Celebration' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a patchwork of various patterns in bold colors and shapes, set against an orange background with a decorative border and a pink rose graphic.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Champagne' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a pattern of horizontal strips in various shades of brown, blue, and patterned fabrics.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Quilt design titled 'Changing Lanes' featuring alternating red and pink fabric patterns on a gradient background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt pattern titled 'Cobblestones' featuring a design made up of various rectangular blocks in earthy tones of green, brown, and beige, with floral and abstract prints, accompanied by the text 'Melissa Milligan for Villa Rosa Designs' at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A cozy scene featuring two mugs of coffee on a quilt with various fabric patterns, accompanied by cookies. The quilt has a warm color palette and intricate stitching.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilted table runner featuring mitten shapes in various fabrics, surrounded by festive patterns. The design includes red, green, and white colors with holiday-themed prints.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt titled 'Duet' by Villa Rosa Designs featuring a vibrant arrangement of pink and purple patterned fabrics.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt titled 'Early Dawn' designed by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a floral and geometric pattern with pastel colors on a light blue background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt titled 'Escalate' by Running Doe Quilts for Villa Rosa Designs, featuring zigzag patterns in various vibrant fabrics against a white brick background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design titled 'Escapade' featuring various patterned squares with red centers, surrounded by floral borders, designed by Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A patchwork quilt design titled 'Espresso' featuring various coffee-related graphics and text, in a colorful arrangement, with a red, cream, and green color scheme.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design showcasing various patterns and animal graphics, featuring a central panel with trees and wildlife, surrounded by smaller patterned squares. The text 'Exhibit' is prominently displayed at the top, along with branding for 'creative sew lutions for Villa Rosa Designs'.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt featuring twelve animal portraits, including dogs, cats, chickens, and cows, designed by Melissa Milligan for Villa Rosa Designs. The quilt is framed with solid colored borders in pink, blue, and green.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Farfalle' designed by Kate Griffin for Villa Rosa Designs, hanging on a wooden fence, showcasing a variety of geometric patterns in vibrant colors.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Florence' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring various patterns in vibrant hues displayed in a grid layout.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Genoa' with a floral pattern, featuring a patchwork design of various fabrics in vibrant hues, on a crimson background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Quilt pattern titled 'Gold Medal' featuring a patchwork design in blue tones with various prints, including stars and stripes. The design showcases squares of fabric arranged in a grid, accompanied by a decorative rose in the top corner and branding from 'Villa Rosa Designs' at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A 'Good Luck' pillow with a green shamrock design on a couch, accompanied by a small dog resting beside it.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful patchwork quilt featuring a heart design, displayed on a light gray carpet, with a wooden rocking horse toy in the foreground.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Heritage' featuring a patchwork of various fabrics in neutral tones, including browns, creams, and grays, framed with decorative elements and a white rose motif.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Quilt pattern titled 'Hillside Charm' featuring a colorful patchwork design with a central illustration of houses on a hillside, framed by a variety of vibrant borders.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Honor' featuring floral patterns in black, white, and shades of green, with a decorative border. The design is attributed to Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Hot Cocoa' featuring various patterns in red, green, blue, and white, with illustrated cups of hot cocoa throughout. The quilt is bordered with a decorative floral design and includes branding for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Cover design for a quilt pattern titled 'Ice Jam' by Tricia Lynn Maloney, featuring a visually appealing quilt laid out against a snowy background, showcasing various blue fabric squares.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design titled 'Journey' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a pattern of various floral and geometric prints arranged in a patchwork style.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Mountains' featuring zigzag patterns in various shades, created by Melissa Milligan for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Newsflash' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a colorful pattern with various geometric shapes and floral motifs against a black background, accompanied by a decorative rose in the corner.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design featuring a patchwork of green, red, white, and blue fabric squares, accompanied by the text 'OLYMPIAD' and 'Villa Rosa Designs' in a decorative layout.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Opening Night' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring vibrant patterns in yellow, pink, and green against a dark background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Pathways' featuring a zigzag pattern in dark teal, light teal, and white, with a textured background. The design is by Sugar Pine Quilt Designs for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design titled 'Pavers' featuring a geometric pattern of octagons and squares in shades of blue and purple, created by Molly Cook for Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Peace' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a grid of multi-colored patches with pink squares in the center, set against a light yellow background.

    Digital pattern HERE or Print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design featuring vibrant floral patterns and geometric shapes, titled 'Perfect Moment' by Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Picture Perfect' by Molly Cook for Villa Rosa Designs, featuring scenic fabric patches depicting Redwood, Yosemite, Lassen Volcanic, and Sequoia landscapes.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Colorful quilt design featuring various floral patterns in shades of red and pink, with the title 'San Julian' and 'Villa Rosa Designs' in black text on a pink background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    Promotional image for the Savannah Jane Charm Square Patchwork Scarf by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring four displayed scarves in various patchwork designs against a colorful background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Snap Shot' featuring various wildlife scenes, including deer and a bear, set against a patchwork background of earthy colors.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt titled 'Snowfall' designed by Tricia Lynn Maloney, displayed on snow-covered evergreen branches, showcasing a pattern of blue and white fabric pieces.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Sorrento' featuring a pattern of various colored fabric squares in warm tones of orange, blue, and black, surrounded by an orange background and adorned with a rose graphic and the logo 'Villa Rosa Designs'.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A decorative quilt featuring a checkerboard pattern in purple and cream with intricate designs, accompanied by the text 'SPECIAL EVENT' and 'Villa Rosa Designs' at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Sport'n' by Tamara Cook, featuring sports-themed fabric, bordered with various patterns, including hockey and football motifs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A navy blue quilt featuring a star pattern in white, with a checkered border, set against a snowy woodland background. The title 'Sweater Weather' is prominently displayed at the top, and the logo 'Running Doe Quilts for Villa Rosa Designs' is at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Tiles' designed by Tamara Cook for Villa Rosa Designs, featuring various intricate patterns in a grid layout.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt titled 'Tiramisu' designed by Heidi Cook for Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a patchwork of various fabrics arranged in a zigzag pattern.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Tuscan Sun' featuring a patchwork of various textures and patterns in shades of green, orange, brown, and red. The design includes a rose graphic and is credited to Villa Rosa Designs.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A modern quilt titled 'Winter Branches' by Tricia Lynn Maloney displayed on a tree stump, featuring a geometric design in blues and whites against a natural outdoor background.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A vibrant quilt design titled 'Winter Garden' featuring colorful floral and patterned patches, created by Villa Rosa Designs. The quilt is displayed against a lavender background with decorative elements at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    A quilt design titled 'Winter Sun' featuring a pattern of alternating gray, white, and mustard yellow diamonds, with intricate quilting details. The background includes a rose graphic and decorative floral elements at the bottom.

    Digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    With as many curated collections I’ve created with our VRD Rose Cards, I’ve pretty much decided I could probably create a group of patterns to correspond with almost any topic. I guess that’s what happens when you put together such a talented group of designers like our Rose Queen Pat Fryer has done. And don’t forget our 700+ patterns in the VRD catalog. You can find some of the other curated lists I’ve put together with VRD patterns HERE. Is there an idea percolating in your mind that you’d like to see as a curated collection of VRD patterns?

    I just had one more thought today about the Olympics – what would a Quilt Olympics look like? Any ideas for events for such an event? Where would we hold it? What would the awards be for 1st, 2nd, 3rd places? Let’s revisit the Quilt Olympics in next week’s post – I hope you leave a comment with your thoughts.

    Until then, enjoy the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. And quilt. Maybe you’ll be inspired by the Olympics or the curated list above to start a new project.

    See you right back here next Thursday.

    Sew. Laugh. Watch. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Just Quilty Stuff · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

    NEW February VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns and Some Super Fun Quilting Jokes Just for You!

    rosecards2 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    I trust you are surviving this weird and wacky winter. Hopefully, your quilting space has become your happy place and you’ve gotten extra sewing in while the weather did whatever it wanted to outside.

    After shocking temperatures as low as -15 degrees F – that’s without the windchill – we’re having a little warm up this week here in good ol’ PA. Tuesday was actually around 50 degrees. And SUN! I felt like throwing on my swimsuit and frolicking through the sprinkler. Sigh….I resisted the urge – too much snow and I didn’t relish freezing my toes (or anything else). Wednesday was a balmy 29 degrees. We even have some bare patches in the yard now, and yes – there really is grass under all that snow. I was beginning to wonder.

    Did you know??? Today is the Thursday after the first Friday of February. You know what that means don’t you? NEW PATTERNS!

    Woohoo!

    Where’s the marching band? Huh. Maybe they found the sprinkler?

    Oh well, we’ll just have to make do with the confetti and balloons.

    Colorful balloons in various shades hanging from the ceiling, with confetti scattered throughout the scene, creating a festive atmosphere.

    NEW February VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns

    Here’s the set of 5 patterns for February!

    A collage showcasing five quilt patterns for February 2026 from Villa Rosa Designs, including 'Ballerina,' 'Diamond Alleyway,' 'Caramels,' 'Maureen,' and 'Storyteller,' with a promotion indicating all five cards are available for $8.95.

    Get your print pattern set HERE.

    Ballerina is Pat’s latest pattern. It’s a great pattern for your favorite theme fabric along with a few coordinates. It finishes at 45″ x 54″.

    Diamond Alleyway is Molly’s new design for February. It is fat quarter friendly and finishes at 42″ x 53″. You can find a kit for Diamond Alleyway in Kaffe (the same as the pattern front) HERE or in Robert Kaufman Songbird HERE.

    Maureen is Running Doe’s newest pattern. It’s also fat quarter friendly and finishes at a generous 56″ x 84″. You can find a kit for Maureen featuring the same fat quarters as the sample quilt HERE.

    Caramels is Heidi’s latest design for February. It uses a novelty fabric or panel squares along with some coordinates and finishes at 48″ x 60″. You can find a kit for Caramels with the Mountain Splendor fabrics (the same fabrics you see on the pattern front) HERE.

    Storyteller is a new 36″ panel pattern by yours truly. It finishes at 59″ x 66″ or 67″ x 74″ with the addition of an outer border. You can find a kit for Storyteller featuring Charlie Harper Montevede Habitat HERE.

    But wait……….we’re not done yet!

    Here is February’s new table runner pattern, Heart Strings, by yours truly. Heart Strings uses fat eighths and finishes at 16″ x 60″.

    A quilted table runner titled 'Heart Strings' featuring a design of purple and white fabrics, hanging on a clothesline against a light background.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE

    And this is Good Luck, my second pattern in this year’s new Seasonal Pillow series. It finishes at 18″ x 18″.

    A decorative pillow featuring a green and white good luck pattern, resting on a bright green couch with a small dog sitting beside it.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or print pattern HERE.

    I’m really excited about this new seasonal series because pillows are an easy way to add a little seasonal quilt touch to your space each and every month. At the end of 2026, you could have an entire year of fun quilted patchwork pillows to enjoy for years to come.

    What a super fun idea! 3 Aunts Quilt Shop (Molly and Heidi) are offering Pillow kits each month as a BOM. You can find kit options for Happy Hearts (January’s pillow pattern) HERE and kit options for Good Luck HERE.

    What are you waiting for? The ice to freeze? (PSST – can you name the movie this quote is from?)

    Time to get quilting. YEAH!

    How about some quilty fun now?

    Quilt Jokes…Just for You

    I was trying to think up something to add to today’s post with the new patterns and decided on some quilty humor. One of our VRD blog readers, Susan, inspired me to share some rib-tickling quilty jokes with you. These are for you, Susan!

    Please enjoy this selection of jokes, puns, tongue twisters, and more. Get your giggle on!

    Why did the quilter bring a ladder to the sewing room?

    Because her stash was getting out of hand and she needed to take it to the next level

    _______________________________________________________

    I’m measured in quarters, yet I’m not a coin.
    I’m bundled and tempting, a fabric siren.
    “I’ll take just one,” is what you’ll say…
    Then I bring friends home anyway.

    What am I?

    _______________________________________________________

    Knock, knock.

    Who’s there?

    Bobbin.

    Bobbin who?

    Bobbin along, minding my own business, until I ran out of thread mid seam.

    ______________________________________________________

    Six sleek scrappy stars slant slightly sideways.

    ______________________________________________________

    I’m having a sew-cial moment.

    ______________________________________________________

    Why don’t quilters ever get lost?

    Because they always follow the pattern. Unless they don’t. Then it’s improv.

    ______________________________________________________

    I’m a block with a name that sounds like a bird,
    Yet feathers aren’t needed, and that’s not absurd.
    I travel in flocks, pointy and neat,
    But one flipped triangle ruins the beat.

    What am I?

    ______________________________________________________

    Why did the sewing machine go to therapy?

    It had too much tension.

    ______________________________________________________

    A quilter walked into a quilt shop.
    The shop owner said, “Looking for anything in particular?”
    She replied, “No.”
    That’s when things got expensive.

    _______________________________________________________

    What do you call a quilt made entirely of white fabric?

    A snowflake… because no two excuses for buying fabric are ever the same.

    _______________________________________________________

    Precise pink patchwork pieces perfectly placed (say this 3x really fast)

    _______________________________________________________

    I’m a pattern you can’t always see,
    But I make the quilt feel extra “me.”
    Loops or lines, I’m stitched with care,
    Across the top and everywhere.

    What am I?

    _______________________________________________________

    How do you know a quilter is truly prepared for winter?

    She/he owns enough fabric to insulate a small village and calls it “just a few projects.”

    _______________________________________________________

    You had me at fat quarter.

    _______________________________________________________

    A quilter walked into a bar.
    The bartender said, “What’ll it be?”
    She replied, “Just something light. I’m trying to cut back.”
    The bartender nodded and handed her a charm pack.

    _______________________________________________________

    Sassy seamstresses sew six sleek straight seams (say this 3x really fast)

    _______________________________________________________

    Knock, knock.

    Who’s there?

    Sew.

    Sew who?

    Sew glad I bought that fabric before it sold out.

    _______________________________________________________

    A quilter walked into a fabric store and gasped, “I have nothing to match this at home.”
    Somewhere in her stash, 47 perfectly coordinating prints fainted.

    _______________________________________________________

    Knock, knock.

    Who’s there?

    Snow.

    Snow who?

    Snow way I’m leaving the house when I can quilt instead.

    _______________________________________________________

    Scrappy squares stitched swiftly, slightly skewed (say this 3x really fast)

    _______________________________________________________

    Why did the quilter refuse to shovel the driveway?

    She said, “I’m already snowed under with UFOs.”

    _______________________________________________________

    Don’t be a sew and sew.

    _______________________________________________________

    A quilter walked into a quilt shop and picked up a bundle.
    “This is perfect,” she said.
    “For what?” asked the clerk.
    “For someday.”

    _______________________________________________________

    This is un-seam-ly behavior.

    _______________________________________________________

    I’m a friend with numbers and lines,
    Quilters trust me all the time.
    I help make seams straight and true,
    But don’t get too close when the blade comes through.

    What am I?

    _______________________________________________________

    Turquoise triangles twirl through tidy tops (say this 3x really fast)

    _______________________________________________________

    Knock, knock.

    Who’s there?

    Thread.

    Thread who?

    Thread carefully. I just cleaned my sewing room.

    ________________________________________________________

    A quilter walked into a quilt shop “just to browse.”
    She emerged three hours later with a pattern, six coordinating prints, and a new life plan.

    ________________________________________________________

    Fat quarters flutter from fabric filled folders (say this 3x really fast)

    ________________________________________________________

    Life is short. Buy the fabric.

    ________________________________________________________

    (PSST…..In case you’re wondering, these jokes and sillies were created by me with the assistance of AI.)

    Well, that’s it for me today. I don’t want to miss a moment of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

    Stay tuned next week for an Olympics-inspired post…or maybe 2.

    Take care and get your quilting on!

    Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD

    Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

    VRD Whirlaway Quilt – A Blue and White Quilt Tutorial Just For You

    rosecards4 Comments

    Hello Quilty Friends!

    Happy Thursday to you!

    PSST!  Did you hear???

    Punxatawney Phil (the groundhog extraordinaire) saw his shadow on Monday, February 2nd, which means 6 more weeks of winter.  Like that’s a big surprise this year, right?  

    Have you ever attended the spectacle in Punxatawney?  I have not, but when I was an early childhood educator in a former life, I would get up early and watch it on TV as I always planned some fun things for the kiddos.  Now?  I tend to agree with all the fun and silly memes on Facebook.  MY favorite showed a wolf in a winter landscape and said something like “The groundhog saw his shadow – 6 more weeks of winter.  So I ate him.”  Succinct. Punchy. Perfect. Huh. That’s winter for you.

    As promised last week, I’m back with my Blue and White quilt tutorial featuring Pat’s Rose Card pattern, Whirlaway.  Have you ever made Whirlaway?  It’s a really fast and fun quilt.  Perfect for beginners.  And it looks great in any fabric combination, even fabrics right out of your scrap stash.  And the best part – it’s fat quarter friendly so it’s a fantastic pattern to use up some of those delicious fat quarter bundles gathering dust on your storage shelves because they’re just too pretty all tied up with a ribbon to cut them up.  Well, now you can.  The alternating squares give you plenty of space to enjoy the fabrics and Whirlaway handles large prints like a dream.  So what are you waiting for???  Grab your fabrics and the Whirlaway pattern and make a quilt with me.

    Before I begin the tutorial, though, I have a quick question for you, dear readers.  Which tutorial format do you prefer?

    1. Each step numbered with the written instructions first followed by the image(s)
    2. Each step numbered with the image(s) first followed by the written instructions
    3. Steps are not numbered, with the written instructions first followed by the image(s)
    4. Steps are nit numbered, with the image(s) first followed by the written instructions

    I would appreciate you weighing in on this because I seem to go back and forth among these different options and I would like to make the tutorials as useful and easy to follow as I can.

    On to the Whirlaway tutorial we go!

    VRD Whirlaway Quilt Tutorial

    A colorful quilt design titled 'Whirlaway' by Villa Rosa Designs, featuring a patchwork of various blue and patterned fabrics, framed with decorative borders and a white rose illustration.

    Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

    As I mentioned above Whirlaway is fat quarter friendly and uses a single background fabric to unify everything together. It finishes at a very nice 54″ x 72″, which is a great throw-sized quilt. Of curse, you can add or subtract blocks to make it larger or smaller. Or you can out an outer border. If you added a 6″ finished border, the quilt would become 66″ x 84″ which would work on a twin sized bed. Just remember that if you decide to make more blocks or add an outer border, you will need additional fabric.

    Let’s gather up our fabrics now!  

    Today I am using yummy batik fabrics from our friends over at Hoffman Fabrics.  This is an older collection called Aurora, which probably long gone.  I am totally in love with the range of colors – medium blues to brighter blues to deep blues to a touch of purple just for fun.  I’m using one of my favorites – Hoffman’s Ocean Aquatic Dot Batik – for my background. I find myself using the lighter Dot Batiks as backgrounds and I love love love the darker ones for binding.

    A collection of various blue and green fabric swatches laid out on a table, accompanied by a pattern booklet titled 'Whirlaway'.

    Now that we’ve gathered everything up, we are ready to begin cutting out fabrics.  For Whirlaway, we are cutting 2 different sized squares from our FQ’s and that’s it.  Fast and simple.  Easy peasy.

    I like to layer 3-4 fabrics at a time when I cut. Do likewise if you feel comfortable, but don’t feel like you have to. Whether you cut one fabric at a time or multiples, we’ll all get to the finish line. Here you can see that I cut my fabric into strips and then cut my strips into squares. Efficient and accurate.

    A rotary cutter rests on a cutting mat with green and pink gridlines, beside a piece of fabric featuring blue fern patterns.
    A cutting mat with a vibrant blue and teal fabric featuring a botanical pattern of leaves and ferns. A bright yellow rotary cutter is positioned on the mat next to the fabric.
    A stack of fabric squares featuring a dark background with blue-green fern and leaf patterns, alongside a larger piece of the same fabric design, laid out on a pink cutting mat.

    We only need to cut the smaller size squares from the background fabric. Again, I cut the strips first then cut my strips into squares.

    A rotary cutter and a green quilting ruler placed on a pink cutting mat with polka-dotted fabric.
    An assortment of fabric squares and a rotary cutter placed on a pink cutting mat with measurement grid lines, indicating a sewing or quilting workspace.
    A cutting mat with a transparent ruler and a rotary cutter, alongside several folded pieces of fabric with a light blue polka dot pattern.

    Next we’re going to make a stack of Nine Patch blocks.  Yay! You have some options to consider for your Nine Patch blocks. It’s like being a guest quilt designer for your very own project!

    A). You can use only 2 fabrics for each Nine Patch – the background fabric and 1 of the FQ’s.

    A mosaic of blue and green abstract shapes arranged in a grid pattern, with some squares remaining blank.

    B). You can use 3 fabrics for each block – the background fabric, 1 FQ square for the center square, and a 2nd FQ for the 4 corners

    A collage of six different blue and teal patterned fabric swatches, featuring abstract shapes and floral designs.

    C) 5 assorted FQ squares and 4 background squares to make fun scrappy blocks

    A collage of blue patterned fabric swatches featuring abstract shapes, floral designs, and textures.

    I chose option C. Surprised?

    What’s your process for making Nine Patch quilt blocks?

    I like to make all of my Nine Patch blocks at once, using chain piecing, without stopping to do any pressing in between.  I have found this to be the most efficient way for me to make a bunch of Nine Patch blocks in the shortest possible time.  I am all about finding the quickest, easiest, most successful – LAZY – way to quilt and sew.  That attitude has earned me the nickname, “the Lazy Quilter” amongst my friends.  LOL!

    Let me share with you how I do it.

    First, I need to know the number of Nine Patch blocks required for the quilt.

    Now it’s time to sew a FQ square and a background square together.  I need to make pairs 3x the number of blocks required for the project.

    Close-up of two fabric squares placed on a sewing machine surface, one with a blue sunflower pattern and the other with a light speckled design.

    Once I have all of the pairs sew together, next I’m going to add a third square to each pair.  The first group will have a background square on each side of a FQ square and I need to make 1 of these rows for each block, so I will need to make the same number as the number of blocks I need for the quilt. Gosh, I hope this isn’t confusing……

    Three pieces of fabric arranged side by side on a sewing table, featuring patterns in light blue, dark blue floral, and a speckled design, with a ruler for measurement.

    When that is done, I will sew a different FQ square together with each remaining pair. If I did the math right (YAY MATH!), I will have 2X the number of blocks for this row as I will use 2 of them for each Nine Patch block.

    A piece of fabric divided into three sections: the left section features a blue floral pattern, the middle section is a plain light fabric with small blue dots, and the right section shows a darker blue pattern with floral designs. The fabric is placed on a sewing machine and a ruler is visible in the foreground.

    Then it’s time to sew 3 rows together (a  background-FQ- background row between 2  FQ-background-FQ rows) into a scrappy Nine Patch block. I sew 2 rows together and then after I’ve done that, I go back and add the third row to make me a big passel of Nine Patch blocks all at the same time.

    A close-up image of a sewing machine with fabric swatches arranged in a patchwork layout. The swatches feature various shades of blue and green patterns, including floral designs and abstract textures.
    A patchwork of blue and white fabric squares arranged on a sewing machine table, with various patterned fabrics in shades of blue and green.
    A pile of colorful fabric squares in various shades of blue, arranged in a patchwork design, located next to a sewing machine.

    Whew – that was really fast!  Now all of my Nine Patch blocks are finished.  I can press the blocks at this point, or if I’m feeling really brave or pressed for time, I’ll save the pressing until the whole quilt top is finished before I press the whole thing.

    I’m feeling brave so let’s skip the pressing for now.  I have found that batiks usually behave themselves better than standard quilting cottons because of their denser weave so I feel pretty confident that the quilt will still turn out well.  Besides, this is a very forgiving pattern with Nine Patches alternating with big squares.  I guess it all really depends on your personal comfort level.  If you need to press, then by all means, press.  No judgements here, just quilts.

    If you’ve been following the blog for a while, then you might already know how much I adore simple quilt blocks like Nine Patches. Here are a few past blog posts about Nine Patch quilt blocks you might find interesting:

    Quilt Block Basics — Four Patch and Nine Patch

    Let’s Design a Quilt: Playing with Nine Patch Blocks

    All right, time to put all the blocks and squares up on my design wall and play switcheroo with them until I’m happy with the arrangement of the blocks. I am trying not to have any squares of the same fabric touching, but we’ll see how well that’s going to work out for me.

    I seriously didn’t have much trouble getting the blocks to play nice with their neighbors. WHEW! Sometimes this part of making a quilt takes longer than the actual cutting and sewing, but not today.

    Voila! Here is my blue and white Whirlaway arranged and ready to sew together. Please note, I had to lay the quilt blocks and squares out sideways to fit on my design wall.

    A colorful quilt in progress, featuring a variety of blue and teal fabrics arranged in a patchwork design with white squares.

    WOOHOO! Now it’s time to sew the blocks into rows.

    You really can make this lovely quilt top in a weekend or even a day if you’re in a hurry.

    A sewing machine stitching together colorful fabric patches in shades of blue and white.

    Here we are, almost done! Rows are stitched and now it’s time to sew the rows together.

    A patchwork quilt featuring various shades of blue and patterned fabric squares, arranged in a checkered design.

    And finally, here is my finished Whirlaway quilt top. I really like how it turned out, don’t you? It’s very wintry and perfectly appropriate for this Polar Vortex weather pattern we’ve been stuck in.

    I really love how the purple adds a lot of interest to the quilt.

    A quilt featuring a patchwork design with various blue and teal fabrics arranged in squares and rectangles, some adorned with floral patterns.

    Now I’ll have to add it to my to-be-quilted pile. Sigh……you know the towering teetering pile that would be taller than me if I stacked all of them in one pile for real? Yup, that one.

    Well, that’s it for me this week. Let me know your thoughts on your preferred tutorial format, please. And I’ll adapt my format to whichever one seems to be the most popular.

    Stay warm and stay busy. Spring will come someday. I think.

    See you right here, next time!

    Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

    Always,

    Tricia @ VRD