Tag: new rose cards

Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

NEW June VRD Rose Card Patterns and an Impromptu Road Trip

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Guess what day it is, folks!?!  It’s the Thursday after the first Friday in June, and you know what that means ………. NEW PATTERNS!  Yippee!

Check these beauties out!

Here is the set of 5 monthly patterns for June. Definitely a little something for everyone, don’t you think?

A set of five monthly quilt patterns for June 2025, featuring the names Escalate, Sunita, Limerick, Tomah, and Well Seasoned, with a price of $8.95.

Get all 5 print patterns HERE

Aren’t they lots of fun? Tomah is spot-on for your upcoming July 4th celebration. Escalate makes a BIG bed quilt and uses 1/2 yards. Sunita uses just 3 fabrics! Limerick and Well Seasoned are both fat quarter friendly and make nice throw-sized quilts. Although we offer them as a set of 5, you can get them as individual patterns, both as digital or as print.

Digital patterns HERE

Print patterns HERE

And in case I haven’t said this for a while, there is zero shipping on print patterns in the US (we only offer the digital format internationally). Yep, that’s right – ZERO shipping on print patterns regardless if you purchase 1 or 100!

But wait……there’s more!

I can’t forget this month’s table runner, can I? It’s called Stars & Ribbons and will make a wonderful statement on your July 4th table next month.

A table runner titled 'Stars & Ribbons', featuring a red, white, and blue quilt design, displayed against a backdrop of colorful flowers.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

Which pattern are you going to make first???

I was planning to do another tutorial for this week, but life got in the way.  Ho hum….. Hopefully I’ll have a new tutorial for you next week.

Instead, let me tell you about my impromptu road trip!

Road Trip

So today I’m on an acquisition road trip with pal Robin and her brother Dan in Robin’s big blue truck.  We are heading to Apollo PA, which is in the Pittsburgh area, to pick up a new desk solution for me for my studio/office space.

Currently, my desk is an old sewing table with a wooden top and metal legs.  Good and sturdy, but not very ergonomic because it’s a bit too high for short little ol’ me.  I’ve been on the lookout for a new desk for a while now, hoping to maybe find an L-shaped desk with at least one file drawer and as much storage as one can possibly cram into a desk to help keep me organized – most of the time my desk looks like an office and quilt store collided. LOL!

Sigh……I have found that if I don’t have a specific place to put something, then I just end up with piles on my horizontal surfaces. My defense – I think paper and fabric multiply like rabbits…….. So because of my tendency towards clutter, I am totally a storage junkie.  Can you relate?

I’ve been watching Facebook Marketplace for a gently used desk and the other morning, an intriguing possibility popped up.  I’d seen it before, but I didn’t take a closer look then. This time, I stopped and took that closer look and I liked what I saw – a group of Ikea (YAY! LOVE Ikea!) office pieces that could be arranged in lots of different configurations.  A tall shelf, 2 desktops, a small desk (which had one of the desk tops on top), 3 drawer units, and a chair. Exactly what I have been looking for, but I didn’t know that I was looking for it until I saw it!  Does that make any sense? I really really like the flexibility of the pieces.  

A garage space showing a dark brown office desk setup, including a desk, shelving unit, and a chair, with tiles on the floor and natural light coming through a window.
Here are all the desk components.

The pieces looked to be in decent condition; however, there were a few hesitations before I messaged the owner. First, the pieces were dark brown instead of my usual white. I thought about that for a quick second and decided I could accept it because the flexibility made up for the color. Second, and it was a biggie – the pieces would definitely not fit in my cute little red Jeep Compass.

I needed a truck!

I messaged the seller and asked a few questions. She was quick to reply. OK, now what???? I still needed a truck. So, I sent an SOS to my quilty pal, Robin, who just so happens to have a really big blue truck.  Yay!  Problem solved.  ROAD TRIP!

Interior view of a truck while driving on a highway, showing the dashboard, a driver steering, and a passenger on the right.
On the road in Robin’s big blue truck to pick up my new desk and storage! Dan is driving and Robin is navigating. Lucky me! I get to chill in the backseat.

It was around 2 hours to drive to get to the seller’s home in the Apollo area, which turned out to be a lovely farm with horses running in a fenced field right beside the driveway to the house. What a pretty setting it was! I wanted to get a photo of the horses for the blog, but by the time we were all loaded (which seemed to take only minutes with the owner’s husband and Dan teaming up), the horses had all headed to get water further down in the field and I couldn’t see them anymore. Dang it!

A man loading furniture into the back of a blue truck, with a sunny sky and greenery in the background.
Dan took on the important task of arranging the desk pieces in the truck. What a pro – he fit them together just like puzzle pieces and we had room to spare.
Two women smiling for a selfie outdoors with a sunny sky in the background.
Robin and I were the supervisors while Dan and the owner’s husband loaded the truck. Tehehe!
A blue pickup truck loaded with black furniture pieces secured in the bed, parked on a gravel driveway under a sunny sky.
Here’s Robin’s big blue truck all loaded up and ready to head home.

It took longer to come home than it did to get to Apollo because we stopped off for dinner at Eat n’ Park and then to get fuel. Once we made it to my home, we unloaded all the pieces and Dan helped me get them into the space I had carved out in the back of the garage.

A cluttered workspace filled with dark brown Ikea office furniture pieces, including desktops, drawer units, and a chair, ready to be assembled in a studio.
Here’s my desk and storage – I can’t wait until I have space for them in my studio/office.

Of course, before I can set up my new workspace, I have to do a HUGE clean/sort/purge in my studio/office to make room.  Not only is it my work area, it’s also the pantry and storage (most of the crates are mine, but not all of them). Luckily, I’ve been cleaning the garage and I have some space to store the pieces until I’m ready for them.  Now that the pieces are stashed in the garage, I think that will really motivate me to get the clean up in my space done ASAP so I can arrange my lovely Ikea pieces into a configuration that will work for me.  

I am thrilled there are lots of storage drawers with multiple file drawers! That means I will have no excuse for a messy desktop anymore. There is also a wonderful cube storage shelf as part of the desk system.  Finally!  A place for my books. Piles of books – begone!

I’ve been trying to visualize different configurations, but I know I’ll have to wait until my space is cleared out so I can create my dream office space in my dungeon studio. It will be some time yet before I will be able to get everything just the way I want in my studio/office, so there won’t be any before/after photos right now. Of course, I’ll show it off when I’m all done, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.

A BIG thank you goes out to Dan, Robin, and her big blue truck!

That’s it for me this week. I think I’ll head outside to enjoy a little sunshine now because I think summer has come before spring even had the chance to hang out.

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Rose Cards · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

NEW VRD Rose Cards for August and a VRD Rose Card Tutorial for Steppin’ Up

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Boy, do I have some fun things to share with you this week! Like NEW PATTERNS, for one. And a NEW TUTORIAL for this month’s table runner pattern, Steppin’ Up. So buckle up and get ready for some VRD fun!

First up is our New August Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns! Check ’em out!

What a great variety of patterns, don’t you think? You can order all five Rose Cards HERE for the super low price of $8.95.

Here’s my latest table runner Rose Card pattern — Steppin’ Up. Isn’t it fun?

You can get the Steppin’ Up Rose Card HERE.

Keep reading for a tutorial for Steppin’ Up as the blocks are a tad tricky.

Don’t forget that we also offer digital patterns for most of our Rose Cards patterns. This is great if you’re a techie quilter or if you live outside the USA. You can find individual digital patterns HERE, unfortunately there aren’t any of the card sets as digital bundles.

There are even some great kits still available for the NEW August Rose Cards —

Marsala

Circus Time

Sorry, but kits for Steppin’ Up, Mira Costa, and Pots and Pans are already out of stock at the moment, so make sure you check back later.

All right! Let’s get to our Steppin’ Up tutorial.

VRD Steppin’ Up Tutorial

Since I’ve been wanting to do something with an autumn theme (Yes, Gaynel, you were right!), I grabbed some great prints out of my stash. I think you’ll really like how Steppin’ Up looks with a seasonal twist. I’m now thinking Christmas might be fun, too….

Step 1: Time to gather up your fabrics for Steppin’ Up. For the cover runner, I chose fun brights with black and white, but for this version I chose a brown tonal and a cream dot to go with my fall fabrics. The most important thing in selecting fabric for this runner is to have high contrast between the light and the dark.

Step 2: Go ahead and trim your print squares and then cut your print squares into triangles. Cut on one diagonal to make 2 triangles out of each square.

Step 3: Now it’s time to cut our light fabric into squares and then cut the larger squares on both diagonals to make 4 smaller triangles out of each larger square.

Oops! I just looked over at the pattern beside me and I see I did the dark first and then the light in the directions and when I did the tutorial steps, I did the light first followed by the dark. Mea culpa! I hope switching the order of the light and dark won’t confuse anyone….

Step 4: Next we’re going to cut the dark fabric into 2 different sized squares and cut each larger square on both diagonals so we get 4 smaller triangles from each square.

Step 5: Yay you! All your fabrics are cut for the blocks. I don’t usually cut my border strips until after I’ve pieced the center. That way, I can measure my quilt just in case my measurements might be a tad different than the designer who wrote the pattern.

BLOCK 1

Step 6: Let’s make Block 1. I’m going to break this into smaller steps so it’s a bit easier to follow.

Image A. See how my light triangle is sitting up against my dark square with the slanted side (the hypotenuse) facing towards the top left? Once your pieces look like this, then carefully flip the brown square over on top of the triangle with the right sides together.

Image B and C. Go ahead and sew along that straight side using your 1/4″ seam. Open up the unit and press (I usually just finger press as I’m assembling a block).

Image D and E. Now we’re going to sew a light triangle to the right side of the dark square. Once your pieces look like this, then go ahead and carefully flip the triangle over on top of the brown square, with the right sides together. Go ahead and sew using your 1/4″ seam.

Image F. Open the unit and press. Repeat for the rest of your dark squares and light triangles.

IMAGE A
IMAGE B
IMAGE C
IMAGE D
IMAGE E
IMAGE F

Step 7: Here’s my favorite part of assembling these rectangular blocks — sewing the print triangles on! This really makes the blocks a lot more fun.

Image A and B. Turn your Block 1 unit on its side like you see in the photo. Choose a print triangle and place it on the left as shown. Carefully flip the unit over on top of the triangle, lining up the bottom straight edge (you should have about a 1/4″ triangle overhang at the top). Sew using your 1/4″ seam. Open and press.

Image C and D. Go ahead and repeat for the right side.

Image E. Here is a completed Block 1.

IMAGE A
IMAGE B
IMAGE C
IMAGE D
IMAGE E

BLOCK 2

Step 8. Are you ready to make Block 2? This time we are using light squares and dark triangles. The placement of the triangles is different than in Block 1.

Image A and B. Notice how the dark triangle is laid out for Block 2 with the slanted side pointing to the bottom left. Once your pieces look like this, go ahead and flip your light square over on top of your dark triangle, with right sides together. Sew using your 1/4″ seam. Open the unit and press.

Image C. Lay a dark triangle on the right side of the light square as shown. Then flip the dark triangle over on top of the light square, with right sides together. Sew using your 1/4″ seam.

Image D. Oops! Take a look at the bottom unit in the photo — I sewed the right dark triangle on wrong. Oh dear….time to unsew and try it again.

Image E. Got it right the second time. Open the unit and press. Repeat for the rest of your light squares and dark triangles.

IMAGE A
IMAGE B
IMAGE C
IMAGE D
IMAGE E

Step 9: Now let’s get Block 2 finished! Grab the rest of your print triangles.

Image A and B. Turn the Block 2 unit on its side and place a print triangle on the left. Flip the unit over on top of the print triangle, right sides together, and lining up the edge. Sew using your 1/4″ seam. Open and press.

Image C. Repeat for the right side. Open and press.

Image D. YAY! Block 2 is now done.

IMAGE A
IMAGE B
IMAGE C
IMAGE D

Step 10: Yay! You made it through the hardest part of putting this runner together. Now it’s time to alternate Blocks 1 and 2, arranging them until you are satisfied. Once you like what you see, sew your blocks together. (A few of my blocks were AWOL when I snapped this photo, but I found them in a couple minutes — they didn’t get very far.)

Step 11: Measure your quilt through the center horizontally and cut 2 border strips to this length, piecing your strips together as needed. Then sew the borders on the long sides of the runner. (My errant blocks were added to the end before I sewed on the long borders.)

Step 12: Now measure your runner through the center vertically and cut 2 border strips to this measurement. Sew the borders to the short sides of the runner.

Step 13: Layer, quilt, and bind your table runner. Don’t forget your label.

Step 14: Enjoy!

Interested in more VRD tutorials? You can check out our tutorials to date on the blog HERE.

Until next week —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia

Blog Hop 2023 · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Fast & Fun Blog Hop Winners AND New VRD Rose Card Patterns for February 2023

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

YIPPEE!

It’s my favorite Thursday — the Thursday after the first Friday of each month when I get to show off our NEW monthly Rose Card Patterns.

Unfortunately, I was so wrapped up in the Blog Hop that I didn’t get a new table runner turned in for February’s release. Guess you’ll have to wait until next month for a new table runner pattern. In the meantime, you can check out all of our VRD table runners HERE.

So, without further ado — here are February’s new Rose Card patterns:

Aren’t they AWESOME????

I am particularly intrigued by Helix and hope to have a new tutorial on the blog for Helix soon. And Neptune is certainly calling me, too.

Which one is your favorite?

Of course, you really don’t have to choose because you can get all 5 for the low low price of $8.95 HERE.

The Blog Hop WINNERS!

Bet you never thought I’d ever get around to announcing the winners of the Blog Hop. WOW! There really were A LOT of winners — each participating blogger chose 4 winners (1 to win a set of the Blog Hop patterns and 3 to win Sponsor Prizes) and 2 names to go into the Grand Prize drawing.

Well, after a couple weeks of getting things organized, winners contacted, and everything wrapped up, I am finally ready to reveal the winners. Almost ALL the prizes were claimed, but there were a few winners who never responded.

And guess what???? The winners came from all over the US, from Canada, and even from Australia!

I know a lot of you commented that you’d like to see another blog hop in the future. Maybe we’ll do this again, but for now we all need a little break. Whew! And the next thing I need to do is get all the prizes shipped out to all the lucky winners.

One last thank you to all of our participating bloggers and Blog Hop Sponsors! THANK YOU!!!

And finally — here are the winners in no particular order:

Quilt Winners:

Candie in CA

Elaine in KY

Linda in FL

Jacomina in VA

Leslie in NC

Nikki in VA

Blog Hop VRD Card Set Winners:

Suzanne in NY

Rachel in IA

Peggi in KS

Kathy in CA

Beth in OR

Donna in Canada

Anja in Canada

Karen in IA

Janice in MO

Linda in HI

Cathy in Canada

Lori in CA

Bonnie in Canada

Susan in NY

Pamela in TX

Wendy in MI

Darlene in IN

Barb in NE

Alison in Australia

Sponsored Prize Winners:

Nancy in CA

Karen in PA

Michelle in IA

Kathy in IA

Patty in ND

Shirley in IA

Karen in MA

Donna in FL

Kim in PA

Lisa in KY

Lezlie in NC

Bridget in NY

Pamela in PA

Anne-Marie in IN

Robin in CA

Rosa in MI

Gaynel in PA

Sandy in TN

Sandra in NY

Patti in PA

J. in WA

Pat in MI

D. in NY

Nikki in VA

Sherri in AZ

Renea in IA

Darlene in CA

Jocelyn in FL

Margaret in TX

Dawn in IN

Bridget in AZ

Donna in CA

Laurie in IL

Susan in NM

Sandy in OR

Barbara in UT

Becky in IA

Joanna in MA

Cheryl in IL

Joy in NC

Darlene in IN

Kay in MA

Mildred in PA

Jennifer in NY

Karen in MD

Kim in UT

Marvel in SD

Rosalie in TX

Joyce in TN

Sherri in CA

Grand Prize Winners: Will be announced next week

Congratulations to all of the winners! I promise — your prizes will be in the mail shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Well, I guess that’s it for me for this week.

Take care and I’ll see you all next Thursday!

Until then —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Basic Quilting Skills Series · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

NEW September 2022 Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card Quilt Patterns and Basic Quilting Skills for Beginners: Pressing Techniques 101

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

I am thrilled to show you our NEW September Rose Card patterns! I can’t wait until the first Fry-Day (Friday) of each month when the new set of patterns is released — it’s always great to see what our awesome VRD designers have come up with. You can see the new patterns first if you have joined the email list to receive our VRD email newsletters.

What??!! You don’t get our newsletter??? You can sign up for our newsletter HERE.

Of course, I follow up with the newest patterns on the next Thursday after the patterns are released each month here on the blog in case you missed them in the newsletter.

Well, here they are! Cue the trumpets! Throw the confetti! Applause!

September’s NEW Rose Cards

You can order all 5 cards HERE for the low low price of $8.95.

But WAIT…….there’s MORE! (Sorry, not sorry — you know how much I love saying this.)

Here’s my September table runner, Maple Grove!

Maple Grove

You can buy the Maple Grove pattern HERE.

There are also kits for some of the September Rose Cards — did someone say KITS??? Each kit comes with the fabric for the top and binding as well as the pattern. You can find kits below, for as long as they last.

Berry Smoothie

Mazed

Pumpkin Pie

Of course, our website, www.villarosadesigns.com, is always stocked with great kits. You can see our current kit offerings HERE. You’re sure to find one…..or maybe a hundred that you can’t live without.

Pressing Techniques

Let’s dive right back into our Basic Quilting Skills for Beginners with Pressing Techniques 101.

I bet you never really thought about the concept that there are different kinds of pressing techniques for different types of projects. Well, I’m here to tell you that how you use an iron for quilting is different than how you use an iron to iron your shirts or pants.

There’s ironing. And then there’s pressing.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

(to) iron

1a : to smooth with or as if with a heated iron iron a shirt

1b : to remove (something, such as wrinkles) by ironing

(to) press

5 : to exert pressure (this is the closest definition for pressing with an iron I could find)

You can see a little difference between the two definitions, can’t you? Ironing requires moving the iron around while pressing is more of an up and down motion.

I found this pretty decent YouTube video from Hobby Lobby about the difference between pressing and ironing along with some tips. You can check out the video HERE.

Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of different irons from cheap travel models to expensive specialty irons. Some irons are hotter than others. Some have more weight so you don’t have to press down as hard. Some have longer cords or are larger models. Some have continuous steam or bursts of steam. So many choices, but it all depends on what you want out of your iron and what your budget is. So look around, test out different models and brands. Find the one you like the best, for what you want to do, don’t just go for the most expensive or the least expensive.

Pink Oliso Iron

One of the coolest irons in my opinion is the Oliso iron. It lifts up after so many seconds so there’s no chance that you will burn your fabric or project by pressing too long or forgetting about the iron in the down position. AND they come in a bunch of really pretty colors! You can usually find Oliso irons at your local quilt shop or your favorite online vendor.

Here’s a great YouTube video by SewVeryEasy about what to look for in an iron as well as lots of tips and tricks. You can check out the video HERE.

Some quilters swear by using the steam function of their iron for pressing. Me, I like a dry hot iron for quilting AND I love to use Mary Ellen’s Best Press Starch Alternative. A long time ago, I used spray starch in the can, but got tired of the little flakes and the shiny spots on my fabrics, so when I found Best Press, it was a total game changer for me.

Mary Ellen’s Best Press Spray

A little spritz is all you need. Best Press helps me to get crisper flatter seams without having to work very hard, which then helps my quilt fabrics to stay square and not to stretch out of shape. An added bonus is that Best Press comes in many fun scents and also comes in unscented, too. My personal favorite scent is Peaches and Cream. You can find Best Press at your local quilt shop or favorite online vendor.

I hope these pressing techniques and tips are helpful! Stay tuned for next week’s post all about batting, backing, and preparing a quilt for quilting.

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

Fireworks and the NEW Villa Rosa Quilt Patterns for July
Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

Fireworks and the NEW Villa Rosa Quilt Patterns for July

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Another Happy Thursday to you!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July week end — how fun that the actual July 4th was on Monday. I bet a lot of you had a 3 day week end. Sew, what did you do for the holiday?

And I’d like to add a belated Happy Canada Day for our friends in Canada! How did you celebrate?

Celebrating the 4th of July for me is usually family, food, and fireworks in no particular order. I personally saw fireworks 3 times — 2 were live and 1 was a live stream of Boom over the Bay in Erie, PA. I love watching fireworks, although I am not a fan of the big booms themselves. I saw a lot of new fireworks this past week end, including hearts and stars as well as some awesome color combinations. Did you know that the Chinese invented fireworks thousands of years ago?

I even tried to capture a few photos of the amazing fireworks display in Sheakleyville, PA.

I even managed to start a new quilt project. Psst…….it’s red, white, and blue……and batik! Stay tuned for more on this project down the road.

Have you ever thought about creating a quilt that looks like fireworks? I do every time I see fireworks, but that’s as far as it ever goes. Maybe this year will be different and I’ll give it a try. Who knows?

NEW July VRD Patterns

Speaking of fireworks, the new July VRD patterns are out! Here’s my new table runner pattern for July, Firecracker:

Isn’t it fun? AND it goes together really really fast. You can order the pattern HERE. Or you can order a kit which includes the pattern HERE. Please keep in mind I don’t know how long the kit will be available so get yours now.

But wait! There’s MORE! (I just love saying that — it makes me giggle, although you might be rolling your eyes…)

One of the VRD folks came up with this super fun variation:

POPSICLES! How fun is this? And clever?? You can order the Firecracker Popsicles kit HERE. Again, I have no idea how long the kit will last, so get don’t wait to order yours.

And finally, here are the rest of the NEW patterns for July:

Aren’t they great? You can order all 5 cards for one low price HERE.

And these are the links to the kits (which include the pattern as well as the fabrics for the top and binding). Remember, there is no way to know how long the kits will last, so get yours now:

Sugar & Spice

Love Cats

Rainbow Road

Dainty Machines — Please note the kit for Dainty Machines makes a 32″ x 32″ quilt. Super cute, may I add! This would be perfect in your sewing room or as a gift for your fav quilting buddy.

Optic

Well, that’s it for this week.

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

NEW June VRD Rose Card Patterns and A Free Motion Quilting Demo
Quilt As Desired · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · Tutorials · villa rosa designs

NEW June VRD Rose Card Patterns and A Free Motion Quilting Demo

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Welcome to another Thursday — the first Thursday in June. Summertime, right? The kids are out of school or will be soon. Life will get crazy. Fun. And more crazy.

Are you kidding? I thought it was still March.

At least, it should still be March, don’t you think?

Que sera, sera.

OH! Did you see the new Rose Cards for June yet???? As always, our VRD designers didn’t let you down.

You can order all 5 cards HERE.

And here is June’s NEW Table Runner, Cake Day. Cute, huh?

You can purchase the Cake Day pattern HERE.

Did you know you can actually join the Rose Card Pattern Club and get the new monthly Rose Cards delivered right to your mailbox every month without you having to do a thing????

If you live out of the USA, you can sign up for the digital Rose Cards, which will be delivered to your inbox without you having to do a single thing.

There are even several different Pattern Club options to consider. Cool, huh?

You can sign up for the Pattern Clubs HERE .

Another really AWESOME thing about Villa Rosa is that we create a lot of kits using our Rose Card patterns. You can find kits for this month’s new patterns AND you can find kits for lots of other favorites, too. You can visit the website HERE to see what our selection of kits are. Please remember that we add new kits all the time, with all kinds of different fabric, so make sure you stop in often to see what’s new.

A Little Bit of Free Motion Quilting and a Video Demo

How many of you are a little bit afraid of free motion quilting on your own domestic sewing machine?

Be honest!

Okay, that’s better, I see a lot of hands raised and heads nodding out there.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to be afraid anymore. I’ve been teaching free motion quilting (FMQ) for more than 10 years and I haven’t lost anyone yet!

Here’s my TOP 12 TIPS for FMQ:

1. Find a teacher at your local quilt shop to show you how and to guide you so you feel safe. Don’t try to teach yourself by using YouTube videos.

2. Start out small — the smaller the project the better for beginners. Potholders, table runners, place mats, wall quilts, or other small projects.

3. Start with a beginner-friendly design like wavy lines or loops. Meandering and stippling are NOT beginner-friendly.

4. Try to relax. The more tense you are, the worse your quilting will be.

5. Play music while you quilt, something with a beat. A beat will help you find your rhythm for FMQ on your own machine.

6. Keep practicing, every day if you can, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel, and the better your quilting will get.

7. Practice machine quilting with a friend. You can encourage each other and laugh together.

8. Try machine quilting gloves. There are a lot of different types of gloves out there, so you might have to try different kinds to find the ones that work for you. Machine quilting gloves will help you get a good grip on the fabric so you can move the quilt more easily when you are quilting.

9. Doodle. Doodle a lot. Practice drawing the designs before you quilt them — this builds some muscle memory between your hands and you brain.

10. Practice…….practice……..practice…….

11. Practice……practice…..practice……. (I can’t stress this one enough)

12. HAVE FUN!

Here’s a little video I put together demonstrating how to free motion quilt wiggly lines on last week’s Ying Yang Cats. Enjoy!

I hope this video inspires you to try free motion quilting some wiggly lines on your own little project.

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD