Blog

I freshened it up for you and updated links and images - enjoy! 

Glue Basting is a game changer and is one of my favorite sewing and quilting tools. It helps me with efficiency and accuracy when I sew, which makes me happier with my results. Most of the time, when I mention glue basting to new quilters, or to experienced quilters who are new to me, I see confused looks come over their faces. But, they change their tunes really fast when they see what can be done with glue basting and how much it can improve their results. 

• Simply draw a fine line of glue inside on the inside of your seam allowance. I draw mine about 1/8" from the selvage. The glue shouldn't be right on your seam line.

• Line up, or nest, the next piece with your first. Be sure that all edges are lined up, just as you would if you were pinning. Then, heat set the glued edge with a hot dry iron. Heat setting dries the glue completely, and just takes a quick second or two because the line of glue is so fine and thin. The heat setting also prevents any shifting. Awesome, right? Immediately, you'll experience more accuracy in your sewing and piecing.

• Then sew as usual. When I piece, I prefer 1.6-1.8 stitch length. After sewing, press to the side.

It's Quilt Block Mania time! This month's theme is "Drinks" and your designers have 27 refreshing quilt block designs for you! Yes, you read that right: 27 designs and they're all free for the month of March 2024. From tea to lemonade to champagne, there's something for everyone.

I'm a child of the 70's and 80's so it probably goes without saying that I grew up with cabinets full of Tupperware. As a kid, I loved (like super loved) the coordinated color combinations of bowls, cups, and containers. My cousins and I hosted the best Kool-Aid parties and felt like real grown-ups pouring Mountain Berry Punch and lemonade from the classic Tupperware Pitcher. Those were the days, right?

These happy memories inspired me to design a Tupperware Pitcher with a quilty twist for my Drinks themed quilt block. I love how it turned out! I hope it sparks some happy memories for you too. I also included a few fun color variations for you: Pink Lemonade, Orange Juice, and Cherry Kool-Aid.

          

The Tupperware Pitcher Quilt Block is perfect intermediate quilters who are looking to fine-tune and build their piecing skills. It features Stitch & Flip corners and traditional piecing techniques. It's a scrap-friendly block, too!

Minimum Fabric Requirements:
for (1) 12"x12" finished quilt block:

• Main Pitcher Color - (1) fat quarter
• Star/Juice Color - (1) fat eighth
• Background - (1) fat quarter
• Top of Cup - scraps
• Top of Pitcher - scraps

The Tupperware Pitcher Quilt Block, along with the other QBM blocks, measure 12.5"x12.5", unfinished. Each block is FREE during the month of March 2024, so you can combine blocks into a fabulous quilt or pick and choose your favorites. (Scroll down for the list of designers and links to their patterns). After March 2024, my pattern will be available to purchase as a download in my shop for $6. 

Be sure to join the Quilt Block Mania Facebook Group for inspiration and to share your own blocks.

Check out the other Drinks-themed blocks from the Quilt Block Mania Designers: 

Champagne Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Martini by Crafty Staci
You Shake Me Up
Scrappy Mug by Katie Mae Quilts
Pina Colada by Appliques Quilts and More
Cosmopolitan by Inquiring Quilter
Cups and Saucers
Bubble Tea by Inflorescence Designs
Beer Pong by Patti's Patchwork
Perfect Flying Geese
Bear Loves Cocoa by Colette Belt Designs
Coffee Bean by Sewistry
Sip & Stitch by Happy Hour Stitches
I'm a LIttle Teapot
Bit too Much by Epida Studio
Tupperware Pitcher by Cristy Fincher
Ice Cubes by Create with Claudia
Cherry by Slightly Biased Quilts
Tea for Me by Craftapalooza Designs
French Press by Oh Kaye Quilting
Sew Fresh FPP Block by San Diego Sewn
Cheerwine by Emerald Falls Quilts
Release the Kraken by Art Quilts by Design
But First Coffee by Paleofish Designs
Margarita by Sallys Sewing Circle
Iced Lemonade by Patchwork Breeze

February's Quilt Block Mania theme is Maker! 

My mom, Sharon Schamber (formerly Atkin), is a maker, a creator, a designer, a visionary. She and my dad started a small dress designing and manufacturing company in the late 1970's, when I was just a little girl. Their company grew and grew and (get this!) she even designed prom dress patterns for McCall's!! She's the queen!!

    

My mom always had a tape measure draped around her neck and a pencil behind her ear while she designed and worked. I fondly remember sitting on her sewing machine table as a little girl mesmerized by her speed and grace as she created something that moments before were just pieces.

As an ode to my mom and to celebrate the maker in each of us, I designed a pencil and tape measure quilt block called: Make My Mark.

There are so many fun color combo possibilities, too! This one featuring the classic pencils of childhood is one of my favorites.

The Make My Mark quilt block is a traditionally pieced block with Stitch N Flip units and some strip piecing, which makes it really great for fine-tuning and building your piecing skills. 

The Make My Mark Quilt Block, along with the other QBM blocks, measure 12.5"x12.5", unfinished. Each block is FREE during the month of February 2024, so you can combine blocks into a fabulous quilt or pick and choose your favorites. (Scroll down for the list of designers and links to their patterns). After February 2024, my pattern will be available to purchase as a download in my shop for $6. 

Be sure to join the Quilt Block Mania Facebook Group for inspiration and to share your own blocks.

Check out the other Maker-themed blocks from the Quilt Block Mania Designers:

Gear Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Hammer by Patchwork Breeze
Canning Jars by Crafty Staci
Rotary Cutter by Katie Mae
Cricut Maker by Appliques Quilts and More
Spool and Bobbins by Inquiring Quilter
Music Maker by Scrapdash
Variegated Thread by EvaPaige Quilt Designs
Pretty Spools by Sew Worthy Mama
Pottery by Inflorescence Designs
Quilt Maker by QuiltFabrication
Maker block by Patti's Patchwork
Heart Hand by Brown Bird Designs
Quilting Bear by Colette Belt Designs
My Favorite Things by Robin Kinley Designs, Etc.
Cross Stitch Block by Slightly Biased Quilts
Paint Palette by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Sewing Friends by Epida Studio
Make My Mark by Cristy Fincher
I Love to Make quilt block by Victoria Peat
Rainbow Glimmers by Craftapalooza Designs
Sweetgrass Basket by Emerald Falls Quilts
Maker Block: Sewing Machine by Oh Kaye Quilting
Pincushion by Flowerdog+Co
Painters Tools FPP by Amanda Harris

Let's kick off 2024 with a Quilt Block Mania party! We have streamers, disco balls, pinatas, balloons, sparklers, confetti, and of course FIREWORKS! 

I'm really excited to be a part of Quilt Block Mania again. January's theme is Party and the timing is perfect! It's the start of a brand new year, and it's both my and my daughter's birthday month - yay 🎉!

Do you enjoy fireworks? I love watching fireworks, especially at Disneyland. No matter how old I get, they're awe-inspiring. My favorite fireworks are the ones that seem to disappear then reappear, exploding into sparkling glitter. And the colors!! I love them all, especially pink & purple. Fireworks were the inspiration for my block, creatively named Fireworks. 

I designed Fireworks to look like it's exploding with the brightest color in the center and the darkest color on the edges. It's a perfect design to make with Ombre fabrics, a fabric collection, or from scraps. There are so many color combo possibilities! 

       

The Fireworks quilt block is a traditionally pieced block with half square triangles (HSTs) and Stitch N Flip units which makes it a fun block for fine-tuning and building your piecing skills. Be sure to check out this awesome tutorial on how to nest and spin your seams. It will come in really handy for your Fireworks block. 

The Fireworks Quilt Block, along with the other QBM blocks, measure 12.5"x12.5", unfinished. Each block is FREE during the month of January 2024, so you can combine blocks into a fabulous quilt or pick and choose your favorites. (Scroll down for the list of designers and links to their patterns). After January 2024, my pattern will be available to purchase as a download in my shop for $6. 

Be sure to join the Quilt Block Mania Facebook Group for inspiration and to share your own blocks.

Check out the other Party-themed blocks from the Quilt Block Mania Designers:
Party Crown Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Party Bear by Colette Belt Designs
Folded Napkins by Patchwork Breeze
Confetti Horn by Crafty Staci
Celebrate Letters by Tamarinis
Ballons & Streamers by Appliques Quilts and More
Happy New Year by Inquiring Quilter
Fiesta Block by Ships & Violins
Sparkler by Inflorescence
Gift Boxes by QuiltFabrication
Party Glam by Patti's Patchwork
Cheers by Robin Kinley Designs
Free Disco Ball Block @ Slightly Biased Quilts
Cake by tourmaline Thyme Quilts
Fireworks by Cristy Fincher
Pinata by Flowerdog+Co
Dressed for the Occasion by Epida Studio

*My own designs for Quilt Block Mania will be free during the month that they were designed for. When the next month's pattern is released, the previous one will be available to purchase in my shop.

Happy Quilting,
Cristy

FREE Pattern

Quilt Block Mania - December 2022

Hi!

Update 12/17/21: Due to the unexpected upcoming closure of CourseCraft, I will be moving my class to Thinkific. Don't worry! I'm taking my students with me too. Moving and setting up my class with Thinkific will take a little bit of time, so I'm postponing the start of class until January 20, 2022. The move should be pretty seamless and I will stay in touch with you along the way. Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions.

Enrollment continues to be open and secure. 

Love Machine Class will launch on January 20, 2022 in the new Thinkific online classroom. New lessons will be made available weekly.

My new online class featuring my Love Machine pattern is now available! Come join me!

I'm thrilled to finally share my first online class with you! The Love Machine class is self-paced, plus I'll sprinkle in a couple of live Q&A sessions via Zoom along the way as well. 

Join before January 6th at the Early Bird price of $50. (Regular price is $65)
Class starts January 20, 2022.

Take a look at what's included in the class:

• Step by Step Video Tutorials - learn at your own pace!
• Clear and concise instruction, as if I were in your sewing room with you! 
• Interactive comments section for questions & answers from Cristy and other students who are learning along with you.
• General information on the tools we'll be using and what you'l need to get started
• Live Q&A sessions via Zoom (TBA)
• Enrollment includes lifetime access to the class. This allows you to truly learn at your own pace and you can re-watch and refer back to the instructional videos as often as you'd like. 
• Lessons are accessible on any device (computer, phone, tablet)

(Note: The pattern is not included. If you don't own it, you can add it on when you enroll. If you already own it, you won't be charged for a second pattern. Win-win!)

When you sign-up, there's an option to add-on a pattern and/or a V & Co. Ombre Fabric Kit to your enrollment (if you don't already have them).

I also have the pattern and V & Co Ombre fabric kit available in the shop for you. If you buy the pattern/kit in the shop, be sure to sign-up for the class separately

Visit the Love Machine class information page to learn more about what's included in the class and to sign-up!

Happy Quilting!
~Cristy 

Hello!

It's time for December's Quilt Block Mania! This month's theme is Toys - so fun! I had quite a few ideas, but this cute little wagon won me over. It builds on the skills in my Pumpkin Quilt Block pattern, so I'm sure you'll be all set to make one of your own. If you haven't made the Pumpkin Quilt Block yet, it's available in my shop as a downloadable pattern.

The Toy Wagon Quilt Block is more of an intermediate block, simply because there are smaller pieces. The pattern will definitely give more experienced quilters the chance to show off their piecing skills. The block measures 12.5"x12.5", unfinished. Each of the blocks in the series are the same size, so you can combine blocks to put together your own toy-themed quilt or pick and choose your favorites. (scroll down for the list of designers and links to their patterns)

To make this block, I used a variety of Ombre fabrics by V & Co. from Moda: Original Ombre, Ombre Fairy Dust, and Ombre Wovens. You can certainly use any fabrics that you have, but if you want to make your own with V & Co. Ombre fabrics, I put together a little Toy Wagon Fabric Bundle that you can buy separately. The kit includes enough fabric to make 4 complete blocks.

I also put together a fabric bundle inspired by December's Quilt Block Mania color scheme. The colors are so fun and vibrant. Use it to make your own coordinating blocks from this month's designers, or for any upcoming project. 

Check out the blocks from these amazing designers:

Puzzle Cube Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Swirlybirds by Scrapdash
Rocking Horse by Appliques Quilts and More
Old-fashioned toy by Blockofthemo.com
Wooden Toy Blocks by Penny Spool Quilts
Xylophone by QuiltFabrication
Stacked Rings at Patti's Patchwork
Toy Truck at Blue Bear Quilts
Bullseye at Pretty Piney Quilts
Toy Plane by Mom and Me Quilting Co
Nutcracker by Inquiring Quilter
Water Colors at Perkins Dry Goods
How to Theread a Book by Craft Towards Joy
Sling Shot by Faith and Fabric
Candyland at EvaPaige Quilt Designs
Shape Sorter Block at Patchwork Breeze
Colorku at Love to Color My World
Toy Wagon by Cristy Fincher
Baboushka dolls by Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Baseball by Masterpiece Quilting

*My own designs for Quilt Block Mania will be free during the month that they were designed for. When the next month's pattern is released, the previous one will be available to purchase in my shop.

November Quilt Block Mania

FREE Quilt Pattern