Hi ,

It's warmed up wonderfully in North Carolina this week and Betty and I have been playing outside in the evening and enjoying the sunshine. This always makes me think of the most essential quilt: a picnic quilt!

I think a picnic quilt should be bright and cheerful with lots of green. Bright colors and possibly a basket weave theme are also fun elements. Have you ever made a quilt specifically for a picnic?

Here are three fun, free patterns I've shared over the years that will make perfect picnic quilts:

Click Here to find the Basket Weave Free Quilt Pattern. This is one of my favorite quilts and I can't wait to make a new one, possibly a bigger version this month. I think this would be really funky made with food themed prints and lime green fabric.

Click Here to find the Sashing Splendor Free Quilt Pattern. This pattern is written for a larger size already so you won't have to fuss with any quilt math to make it bigger. I love the simplicity of this pattern and how the print fabric is featured in the sashing. This gives you a great place to play with free motion quilting designs or even digitized designs in the blocks!

Click Here to find the Double Basket Weave Quilt Pattern. I made this pattern from fabric donated by Joann's Fabrics and love the results. The wider strips allow you to play with pretty focal fabrics and the narrow strips add a pretty color contrast.

Whichever pattern you choose, I'm sure your picnic quilt will be a delight to make and use. Please send us a picture of your picnic quilt in action and I'll add it to the free pattern page so other quilters can see your version and be inspired to give it a try.

Our Longarm Leader Cloth Magic Pins are back in stock this week. I use these pins for pinning the backing, batting, and quilt top together securely when loading my hoop frames.

Leader cloth pins need to be long and strong and when my favorite glass head pins were discontinued during Covid, it took a few years of testing different pins before I found a suitable alternative. 

I like these Magic Pins because they are strong enough to pin the backing and leader cloth without bending or the blue caps coming off. Nothing is more frustrating than working with flimsy pins and feeling them bend and twist in your fingers as the backing and leader cloth try to slip out of your grip.

Now I use these mostly on hoop frames because pinning is still the best method for preparing your quilt sandwich for this style of frame.

For my rolling rail frames, I have two frame loading tools I use and love:

Red Snappers - I've used this speed-loading tool for years and love them. Instead of pinning, you clamp the leader cloth to the leaders that have been modified with the Red Snapper tubing inside.

The only downside of Red Snappers is they do require good hand strength to operate. If you're struggling with grip strength or arthritis, you may find this tool challenging to use.

Magnum Magnets - This is a relatively new tool I've been using to load my rolling rail frames and I've found they work wonderfully on the Q-Zone Queen frame to click the backing fabric directly to the frame rail - no leader cloth required for that frame!

Just like with Red Snappers, if you decide to use Magnum Magnets within the leader cloth, you'll need to stitch the magnet backs into the edge of the fabric. This was a bit of work, but worth it when I can load a frame in 5-10 minutes (verses 20-40 minutes of pinning).

The downside of Magnum Magnets is their cost. This is an expensive tool and quite an investment just to set up one rail on a big frame. For a 10 or 12 foot frame, I'd recommend using Red Snappers because they are more affordable.

Which tool is best for quick and efficient frame loading? It really depends on your pain point. If you want speed and simplicity, I recommend Red Snappers. If you want less bulk on the back rail and have plenty of time, keep pinning!

And if you want less bulk and a faster load, with less stress on your hands, Magnum Magnets may be the best fit. 

I hope you've had a great quilting week and will consider making a picnic quilt this spring. I'd love to see your version of Basket Weave, Sashing Splendor, or Double Basket Weave too!

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day