Online Quilting Fun!

Here's a little sneak peak of what I'm working on right now...

 
I have been trying to decide which quilt top I want to try out next. I am determined to learn to machine quilt (and actually do a good job) this year, using up my stash.  So I have been looking around online, finding all sorts of free quilt patterns and tutorials (and some that are not free) that I would love to try.  One website proclaimed that 2013 is the year of the "stash"!  It is the year to use up your fabric stash instead of buying more fabric!  Perfect!  Right in line with my thoughts!  I have found several quilting sites that I enjoy checking up on.  In case you are looking for some fun quilt ideas, I'll share my favorite sites so far with you (they are more or less in the order that I found them):

1. Melanie at the Crafty Cupboard.  She has made some cute, cute quilts and even sells some on Etsy and at what looks like a few local (local for her in AZ) boutiques. 

2. Camille at Simplify.  This is Camille of Bonnie and Camille- she designs fabrics with her Mom for Moda.  Their fabrics are always some of my favorite lines.  So, so, so cute.  When I find cute quilts online, they frequently turn out to be one of Camille's patterns (once you follow the blogs back to the source).  When I saw the Firework quilt (made up) on Pinterest, I absolutely loved it.  I followed the link, and had to smile when it took me to a newly released pattern from Camille.  It is my new favorite quilt.  She does such a good job.  Her Mom, Bonnie, also has a cute quilting blog, Cotton Way.  She has some adorable quilts.  They are frequently detailed and intricate quilts.  A lot of work, but worth the result in the end.  Super cute.  I love their taste in fabric.  I am not a fan of the busy- looking quilts where there is so much going on whether it is the pattern or fabric that it just doesn't look good.  I love most of Bonnie and Camille's quilts because they usually do a great job of having them look clean, neat and orderly while being beautiful and not too busy.  In other words, they fit in with my style- or the "look" that I am going for.  Love their stuff! 

3. Leslie Unfinished.  This blog has lots of cute quilts, too.  She made me laugh a little because she mentioned that the whole reason she is quilt- blogging is to help her finish all of her unfinished quilts.  I can identify with that!  :)

4. Amy Smart's Diary of a Quilter blog.  She has lots of fun tutorials and quilts, too.  All this quilting going on in blogs, and I had no idea until I started looking up quilts.  Awesome.  I feel like I've found quilting friends (even though they don't know me!)

5. This gal's name is Sarah, and her blog is all about her life and her quilts.  I wasted far too much time yesterday looking back on her quilts and her life.  I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm not a creepy person for reading up on these blogs- but it is strange to feel like I know some of these ladies from their blogs, when I don't know them at all... Anyway, Sarah has made lots and lots of cute quilts, all with being a Mom of 6 kids.  Amazing lady.  And, I swear, she looks like she's 20, even though she's my age.  (Older than 20)!  And, you know it's going to be an interesting blog when the blog is called "Orange you glad" but then the URL is "I didn't say banana"!?!  So fun!  I was also delighted when I discovered that she is related to Stephanie from the Nie Nie Dialogues, who I have been reading for ages now (way before the plane crash).  That isn't why I look at the Orange you glad blog, or even how I found it, just one of those "it's a small world" coincidental moments!

6. Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew.  Most quilts that I like seem to be either from Camille or Allison.  Allison is another quilter that I really like her knack for putting colors together and her quilt patterns.  She has lots of fun ones, too.  She is also all over the web and Pinterest with everybody pinning her awesome quilts.  My favorite quilt patterns of hers are the Kaleidoscope (although you should see the quilt Melanie (the Crafty Cupboard) made using Allison's Kaleidoscope pattern--- absolutely beautiful!), the Seville, and the Pow Wow.  All super cute! 

7. Finding Sweetland- This lady has made some cute sewing projects- quilts and otherwise.  She also mentions the quilt (block) swaps she participates in.  It is something that I keep thinking would be so fun to do.  But I worry about doing something like that because different people have different tastes in fabric, looks, and design.  What do you do if you get something that isn't your taste?  It would feel like such a waste.  I'm sure they get far more that they like than that they don't like, and she has mentioned that they have very strict rules to ensure the quality of what you get.  But still.  It isn't something that I dare try!  My favorite quilt that this lady has made was an aqua and apple green tumbler quilt.  It used to be in her Blog heading, but she recently changed it to pieces of fabric.  If you are curious about what it looks like, I'm sure you can search tumbler quilt on her blog and find it. 

8. Pine Needles- I love going to Pine Needles in Gardner Village (West Jordan, Utah).  They always have the cutest things.  I was happy to see that they now have a blog as well.  It has fun ideas and projects.  They also posted a quilt along that I think would be fun to do.....isosceles triangles.  It looks really cute, and would provide a bit of a challenge since you are sewing all angles, which is a little tricky.  It would be good to learn/try!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these fun quilting blogs.  I know I sure do!  They are all on my favorites list so I can access them easily!  It is wonderful to be able to get so many new ideas and tips.  I know they have inspired me to begin quilting again.  I had been happily stuck in a flannel baby blanket rut.  The best part--- now I'll be able to use up some of my cottons, too!