The longest in person chat I’ve ever had with Christa Watson was in the Aisle of Sample Spree at Quilt Market. We did our best to chat with quilters bustling from vendor to vendor, chatting loudly with one another,, while finding all the best deals on the latest fabrics, and notions…while we thought we weren’t in the way standing in the middle of a 10 ft. wide aisle, we were. We both agreed that the middle of an aisle, in a room filled with shopping quilters, was not the best place for a long chat on the finer points of machine quilting. I remember it being a lovely chat.
Since that time Christa finished writing Machine Quilting With Style. Christa approaches teaching machine quilting with both the walking-foot and free-motion stitching. In her introduction Christa says, that the “most important tool you need for successful machine quilting is a ‘can-do’ attitude.” Like most machine quilting teachers her first machine was pretty bare bones, giving her the greatest opportunity to learn most of the techniques she presents in the book. After covering the basics from machine set up to thread, and batting she heads into to some really cool techniques with the walking foot, including a continuous spiral. That alone is worthy of purchasing the book. And that can happen here on the Martingale/That Patchwork Place site.
My favorite thing about Machine Quilting with Style is Christa’s project based approach to teaching machine quilting. She presents some great quilt patterns then answers the one question that puzzles quilters, “how do I quilt that?” and those words at the end of every pattern: “Quilt as Desired”. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Christa is doing a fun thing with the blog book tour. The first group of bloggers is remaking one of the quilts in her book. The second group are giving a book review, interviewing, or making sample blocks. At each book tour stop along the way there is an opportunity to win a copy of the book, some bloggers are offering other prizes as well.
9/14 Christa
Makers of Quilts in the Book
9/14 Color Crystals – Vicki Reubel from Orchid Owl Quilts
9/14 Technicolor Backing – Ida Ewing Ida Rather be Quilting
9/15 Pearl Gray – Alyce Blyth Blossom Heart Quilts
9/16 Broken V – Sharon McConnell Color Girl Quilts
9/17 Candy Pop – Linda Hungerford Flourishing Palms
9/18 Ripples – Melissa Corry Happy Quilting
9/19 Little Man’s Fancy – Tina Guthmann Mod Geometry
9/21 Square in a Square – Stacy Cooper Farm Road Quilts
9/22 Static – Lee Heinrich Freshly Pieced
9/23 Rain – Cheryl Brickey Meadow Mist Designs
9/24 Lightning – Leanne Chahley She Can Quilt
9/25 Facets – Kristy Daum St. Louis Folk Victorian
9/26 Focal Point – Amy Garro 13 Spools
Insights, book reviews, interviews, sample blocks
9/15 Andover Fabrics
9/16 Amy’s Free Motion Quilting Adventure and Leah Day’s Free Motion Quilting Project
9/17 Do You EQ from Electric Quilt and Darlene from Quilt Shop Gal
9/18 Jacquelynne Steves’ The Art of Home and Scott Hansen from Blue Nickel Studios
9/19 Moda Fabrics – The Cutting Table
9/21 Katy Cameron from The Littlest Thistle
9/22 Debbie Grifka of Esch House Quilts and Generation Q Magazine
9/23 Rebecca Bryan of Bryan House Quilts
9/24 Stitch This – The Martingale Blog and Riley Blake Fabrics
9/25 Michele Foster of The Quilting Gallery and Teri Lucas from TerifiCreations
9/26 Pellon Projects and Amy Ellis from Amy’s Creative Side
To win a copy of the book (hard copy in the us; digital copy international) leave a comment here and share your biggest quilting goal. What is that One thing you’d like to do?
Happy Quilting!
Teri
Christa’s “can do”/positive attitude approach has permeated all of her writings and quilt teachings which can’t help but spur one one!!! Great review for a great learning tool!!!!
I would like to get more confident in FMQ on my domestic sewing machine. If I can manage to quilt beautiful feathers or pebbles and all the other designs that Christa does on her quilts, I would be so happy! Imagine those beautiful designs on a perfectly pieced queen/king size quilt! (First I need to get a sewing machine with a bigger throat space…)
Anita, you are certainly welcome to get a machine with a bigger throat space. I do love that however, it’s not necessary. All of my award winning quilts were quilted on my regular size home sewing machines. Christa learned to quilt on a regular size home sewing machine. The trick i learning to manage the bulk and that takes a little time and patience. Go for it!!
I’d like to be more skilled at using my Viking embroidery feature.
I would love to make a whole queen quilt on my domestic machine. FMQ and all!
I would like to machine quilt more and increase my confidence
This book looks like a big step
Thank you for the giveaway. My biggest goal at the moment is to learn how to drive my long arm machine and quilt beautifully freehand.
Sandra
I’d really like to quilt free motion feathers on a twin sized quilt.
I’d really like to quilt free motion feathers on a twin size quilt. Corrected email address.
I want to finished a quilt and add lots of feather motifs not just a spray or two like I’ve done in the past.
Thanks for being on the blog hop! You are always such a great inspiration to me!!
And you to me. I love that, as quilters, we can support one another. This is one of the most exciting and amazing things about the quilting community. <3
I have a queen size quilt in the works that I want to machine quilt. I’ve done as large as a twin size, but I’m hesitating on anything larger.
I’ve only been quilting for a year but I definitely have a “can-do” attitude so far. I made a king size quilt for my daughters wedding using a QAYG method I found on Leah Day’s site. I’m teaching myself how to appliqué & my next goal is to master feathers. I’m loving being retired having the time to devote to this amazing hobby!
I want to get better at machine quilting. Thank you for the chance to win this great book. Take care and God bless, Cory
My husband has been pestering me for a few years to make a Christmas quilt for our king size bed. That is a huge undertaking for someone who makes table runners and mini quilts. And quilting it on my regular machine, oh boy! I need Christa’s book! Thanks for the chance to win it!!
Biggest goal: to make a bed-size quilt that is entirely my own, from the pattern to the fabrics to the quilting designs. At the moment that goal is pretty far in the distance!
I want to continue to improve my quilting. And I want to make my family a quilt for every bed and every season.
this must be a fabulous book. It is on my Christmas list. I love the “can-do” attitude
My goal is to finish quilts already started. Don’t ask how many there are.
I would like to start finishing quilts for my friends and family. I’ve been using charity projects to reboot my craft, feeling like it would be good to do charity and keepers for family! Christa’s book has so many great projects – would like to try them all! Thanks for the chance!
This is my favorite quilt from the book
I love Christa’s blog and her patterns are so much fun!!!
I’m coming back to quilting after many years. I’m older now and I hope more patient. Still cutting things out exactly has always been an issue even with a rotary cutter. Id like to blame it on being left handed, but it’s all user error 😊My goal is to someday not cut each piece out separately, but rather make a stack of 5-6 pieces of fabric and zip right through them.
One day I would love to make a Baltimore Album quilt completed with my own FMQ. Christa’s book would be a tremendous help for improving my quilting skills. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the great giveaway.
I don’t have a huge goal, would just like to get better at quilting with my walking foot so I can at least do small wuilts myself. Pretty sure I’ll always send out the big ones!
I’d like to master curved piecing and make a drunkards path quilt
I want to expand my FMQ ability. I like the fact that Christa’s book includes designs and ideas for quilting.
Master rulers and quilt a really amazing quilt. Thanks.
I would love to be confident in knowing what quilting pattern to quilt where.
I would like to obtain this book, and learn mare about using my walking foot to quilt smaller projects myself. Not only to save money but to feel I can master this skill. Thanks
I would really like to be able to expand my design repertoire. Books like Christa’s can really help do that. Thanks for the review and chance to win a copy.
This book looks fantastic. It would really help my quilting.
One day I’d like to go on a quilting cruise — not sure if that’s a goal or a dream! I also want to learn freehand feathers.
I would love to be able to FMQ..right now I am still SITD and use the fancy stitches on my machine!!
I want to get more comfortable with free motion quilting.
I’d like to get a little “looser” with my quilting–not worry so much about doing things “right” and learning to play a little more when quilting or piecing 🙂
I want to get my free motion quilting to the point where I can quilt feathers as easily as any other design. It is going to take a lot of practise.
I am always looking for ways to improve my quilting skills. This book certainly is on my list!
I would really like to try and make a pixel quilt.
I have tried FMQ before and would love to create beautiful designs on my domestic sewing machine. I know it will take practice and gleaning tips from those who already do it. I discovered Christa’s blog a couple of years ago and have enjoyed immensely her creations.
I’d love to find the time to finish the quilts I’ve got started in my head. From everything I’ve read, this book is motivational. I’d love to get a chance to try it out.
I need to master my new longarm. It’s quite a bit different than my sit down machine that I was really good at.
I am trying to do a bunch of stash busting and mostly buy per project. But my biggest goal is to enjoy it along the way. Thanks!
I want to learn how to do free motion quilting.
My big goal is to get good with FMQ and to eventually be able to quilt with a long arm. Thanks!
The one thing that I want to do is learn to FMQ feathers. They are so pretty in negative space and can be curled around focus points in a quilt.
I want to learn to do FMQ on more than Practice Squares! lol This Hop has sure been encouraging!! The Projects are amazing…and the Reviews have been Awesome! Thanks so much for chance to win this great book! 🙂
The main quilting goal I have is to quilt the tops that I have finished.
I would like to finish at least half of my UFO’s. I put a lot of time and money into making them, but there they sit. I like the way Christa’s designs make the quilting more interesting. I will definitely use some of her ideas on them.
In addition to advance my FMQing skills, my biggest goal is to design and make a quilt of the stain glass windows at church.
I need to improv my FMQ. I mostly use stitch in the ditch, if i machine quilt at all.
I want to make a quilt for my bed, it’s the reason I started quilting about 3 years ago and I still haven’t done it.
I am new to quilting so I would say accomplish a full size quilt (pieced, machine quilted, and bound). So far I’ve stayed with small projects, afraid of working larger.
I would dearly love to make a queen sized quilt for my daughter as she is getting married next year. I have never made any quilt so large, but I dream of doing it all…from start to finish, so they can have this with them all of their years together!
I’d like to try machine quilting. Have only tried a few small pieces like placemats. Nothing bigger.
I want to become more deliberate in my quilt making and not afraid to quilt some on my own.
I’m new to quilting, so I have lots of goals- mostly learning how to actually quilt a quilt 🙂 I would love to learn some fun quilting techniques- free motion, etc.
This is easy I need to improve my FMQ skills. I am terrible. Can’t quite get the hang of it.
I would like to do some appliqué work x
I would like to be able to free motion a king size quilt on my home machine. Or maybe buy a long-arm but that is really a lofty goal.
kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com
I would like to vastly improve my FMQ skills
I want to make a modern looking quilt that has a really fun illusion effect. I also want to learn how to play around and finish the quilt with a spiral! N.snaer at gmail dot com
My biggest goal…..to quilt on a regular basis. Not just occasionally. Then and only then, I can be a better quilter.
I would like to learn quilting motifs and this book looks like it would help so much.
The one thing I’d like to do is do free motion quilting without the Intelliquilter. I love it, but I feel like I’ve lost my creativity.