Hi ,

It's February 1st which means it's time to tackle a new block for the Machine Quilting Block Party!

This month we're diving into Dresden Plates and you will learn so many new techniqes as we piece, applique, and quilt this Pointy Eight Dresden Plate together.

This pattern includes piecing instructions and a template for the Dresden Plate petals as well as the center circle so you can cut the unique shapes and piece them together easily.

It also comes with a full sized quilting diagram you can print and tape together to mark all of the quilting designs in this block.

Why do we mark the quilting design? It makes quilting each design a lot easier for beginners. You can focus completely on moving the quilt and balancing the speed of your machine with the movement of your hands to create pretty stitches.

This month we're trying out a new type of machine quilting in this block. See the straight lines in the background? You could quilt them with your walking foot...

But you can also quilt them with a ruler foot! This new form of quilting has been inspired by longarm quilting, but it definitely works on your home machine as well. Click Here to find a Quilting Basics Tutorial on ruler foot quilting.

I used a template from the Dresden Plate template set to quilt this design easily and quickly in the background with minimal marking. 

Where can you find a Ruler Foot? We're not carrying ruler feet yet so if you need one, please check out Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures to find a ruler foot for your machine.

Are you curious about longarm quilting? Me too! We have a brand new video series that's all about quilting on a sit down longarm.

A sit down or table mounted longarm machine works exactly like a home machine - you move the quilt under the needle.

But because it's a longarm, you have a lot more space to move your quilt and much better visibility around the needle.

To help us out with this series, I've teamed up with Grace Company and am now quilting on a Grace Qnique 14+. This longarm has limited features, but a very affordable price and I believe it's a good starting point of you're wanting a bigger machine dedicated to quilting.

On Saturday I shared a new podcast episode with Nathan Erznoznik from Grace Company and we talked about the transition from quilting on a home machine to quilting on a longarm on a frame. Grace Company makes hand quilting frames, machine quilting frames, and the Grace Qnique 14+ and Qnique 21 longarms. Click Here to listen to the episode.

Many quilters have written in to ask about our project for this month's Quilty Box. I'm so glad to know you're enjoying this series and creating new quilts with me from the materials that come in each Quilty Box!

This month I decided to combine the precut strips from the box with some fabric I'd recently designed for Spoonflower. 

The Home Sweet Home Fabric features big, cheerful designs that you can fussy cut, then frame with fabric strips to create scrappy quilt blocks.

I created 16 blocks from 1 yard of fabric and the precut strip pack and turned them into a quilt plus table napkins.

Whew...that's it for this week! I hope you're enjoying our new Machine Quilting Block Party and the many video series we're sharing this year. If you ever have questions or an idea for a video, be sure to contact us and share your ideas.