Hi ,

It's still a week until the first day of summer, but it's officially started around here with lazy days by the pool, lots of ice tea, and plenty of hot dogs.

This is also the time of the year I quilt the most, largely because I'm not a huge fan of heat and sun and I love the extra long days to sit and quilt for hours on end.

What is your favorite time of the year to quilt? Do you find it easy to plan for this time of the year and have several quilts ready to work on, or does the craving to get on your machine sometimes hit you by surprise?

No matter what time of the year you love quilting the most, I hope we can all agree it's a wonderfully addictive craft! Now let's catch up on all the new designs and articles posted to the project this week:

35. Learn how to Quilt Permed Fern, #392 - This is a funky, curly design inspired by fiddlehead ferns in nature and a particularly bad perm I got back in the 6th grade. While it might be a bit time consuming to quilt, this effect is definitely worth it!

FMQ Friday: It's just a QUILT! - While agonizing over a tiny stitch mistake in Duchess Reigns, I stopped to ask myself a question - Does this mistake stop my quilt from being a quilt? When viewed from this ultitarian perspective, I found all of those tiny mistakes easy to shrug off because the fact is, my quilt is still a quilt and it will still work just fine!

36. Learn how to Quilt Foundation Puzzle, #393 - This must be the week for intense travel stitching! This design starts with simple wiggly lines to break up your quilting space, then travel inside with closed spirals to form a super interesting design.

Further on the Journey of Express Your Love - If you've been following along with the goddess quilt Express Your Love, you'll know it's a journey of learning with new designs and techniques shared every week. It's also a journey for me personally to become a more loving person to my family and friends. In this post I share some hurdles I've hit recently and how I'm moving forward by creating many new versions of the quilt this month. When it doubt, dig in and start piecing!

I seem to be spending a ton of time on my machine lately, but when I'm not quilting, I'm usually watching a class on Craftsy. It's just such a wonderful place to learn so many interesting crafts and skills, all from the comfort of home!

I personally watch Craftsy classes on my Ipad mini, which not only seems to have a faster connection, it's also easier to watch classes from a small portable device. Even if you don't have an ipad, Craftsy classes can stream onto any computer or laptop.

The thing I love most about taking classes is having access forever. I've signed up for many classes like Sew the Perfect Fit which I know I will refer back to anytime I want to sew a shirt or dress. I might not remember every aspect of changing a pattern, but because the classes have lifetime access, I'll always be able to go back and remind myself exactly how to cut out that muslin and evaluate the fit of the sleeves.

Remember that you can always find 50% off discount links to my 3 Craftsy classes right here.

Beginners often ask which is the best class to pick of the three I have taught, and in my opinion Free Motion Quilting a Sampler is the best class to start with because it contains the most basic information and 15 designs to get start with.

Also on this page of the Free Motion Quilting Project you will find discount links to my favorite classes from other teachers. Learning is a continual process of growth and transformation and Craftsy makes it so easy to learn amazing new techniques and skills without ever traveling further than your couch!

So that's it for this week! I'm heading back downstairs to start pulling fabric for my new versions of Express Your Love. I'm looking for a challenge with these quilts so I'm thinking about pulling colors I haven't used in awhile, picking new construction techniques, and challenging myself to keep learning. It might not be perfect, but it's sure to be a lot of fun!

Let's go quilt,

Leah Day