I know many, many quilters were dismayed to hear that Quilty magazine has stopped publishing. It's a shame, really. Each and every issue was full of beautiful quilt patterns and many practical tips and advice.
Dear Quilty: 12 Easy Patchwork Quilts and Great Quilting Advice by Mary Fons (Fons & Porter/F&W $22.99) is a book from the group that put together the magazine. This book has 12 easy patchwork quilts and all of the tips and tricks that were the hallmark of the magazine. It is aimed at beginning quilters, but I think it would be a welcome addition to any quilter's library because it has so much practical information including tips on cutting, piecing, colors, binding and more. There are also profiles on members of the Quilty team and some letters from the magazine's readers. It's a nice read and a visual treat – a winning combination when it comes to quilt books!
One of my favorite quilts is this Sunny Side Up by Anna Graham. It is a fresh, modern take on traditional design. I also love the one below by Tula Pink – great use of strips and, of course, the fabric is to die for!
I have one copy of the book to giveaway (U.S. addresses only). To enter, comment on this post and tell me why you started quilting. I will leave the comments open until Sunday, May 10 at 6:00 pm EST. Good luck!
I started quilting when a store-bought quilt which I paid (what felt like) a lot of money for started falling apart after the first wash. I decided I should learn how to make quilts myself so they would actually last. And now I pay much much more to make quilts myself… (but I love it!)
I began my first quilt in 1976 – handpieced and handquilted – in honor of my grandmother who sewed and quilted,and taught me to sew. The pattern I chose was Churndash done in red prints with natural colored muslin and navy blue sashing. Some years later when cleaning out the back room in my grandmother’s garage after her passing, I found a quilt top in the same pattern with almost identical colors started in 1928.
My grandmother, mom and aunts all quilt, so it just sort of happened. It’s been a while since I made a quilt, and I’m feeling the itch to get back to it.
I always wanted to quilt but was working and raising kids and had little time for sewing. As the kids got older and went to high school time was available and there were tons of patterns and lovely fabrics available online, so I jumped in and have never looked back.
My daughter and I took a one-day workshop on how to make Batik fabric at Rhode Island School of Design. I gave her my fabric pieces, she made a quilt, and I said, I should have done that! The rest is history!
I started quilting when some ladies at our church taught a class. I made a cover for our bed and loved every minute ( or most of them 🙂 )! I am still working on learning and my oldest daughter is learning with me!
I started quilting because my MIL sent me a quilt book and fabric for my first project! It was a hunter green plus red wall hanging! 😄
Following in my grandmother’s footsteps…
I started quilting in 2001 when my daughter went to college and I wanted to send something wonderful with her. I made a scrappy, wonky heart quilt and she still has it…worn to threads!
Oh lovely. I have stopped and started quilting many times, but I have yet to finish a quilt! I am hoping to find the time and the right inspiration now that all my kids are in school.
I’m a devout viewer of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting. This book looks great!
I started quilting because I wanted to make a quilt for a friend that was going away to college
Oops. I hit post before I was done – sorry if this screws up your random drawing. Anyway, I started quilting when I saw quilts on knitting blogs by multi-crafters. (I’m primarily a knitter.) I’m totally self-taught (which is why my quilts are still a little wonky!) The Fons & Porter show helped me beef up my skills. 🙂
A friend was making quilts for a charity project, and I thought it would be fun to join her. She ended up giving me half her stash to get me started on this obsession! I’d love to win this book for my niece. She’s just finishing her first mini-quilt pillow, and is hooked on quilting, too!
I love the magazine, but was disappointed it was not sold via subscription: it could only be purchased online or in stores. I would often forget to look for it, but would have loved seeing it in my mailbox.
Thanks for the opportunity to win this book.
When I was growing up, we had a quilt that a great aunt made. I was taught it was very special and not to be used. All I wanted to was snuggle that quilt! When I was an adult, I was inspired by an exhibit of the Gees Bend quilts and crafty girl friends. I feel so lucky to have found such a fascinating hobby!
I started quilting recently…seems like kind of randomly. Although I know it has something to do with having a baby and starting a family- having the urge to nurture and create like never before! And finally having found the space to invest in my own creativity. I found quilting and was like- wow!- I love fabric and combining color and thinking up patterns. This is great. Thanks for the opportunity to get this book. Love your blog! -Morgan
we moved from europe to the north eastern usa, i didn’t know english at all and went to school. an elderly lady invited my husband and me over for lunch, very lovely, super simple sandwiches we enjoyed at her apartment. while enjoying those sandwiches my husband and the lady where talking, i didn’t understand anything. and then she asked me with lots of gestures, if i would like to take her sewing machine home with me. wow, i was blown away and in tears. it didn’t take long for me to find a fabric store and of course quilting was the first thing i started sewing. it had to be something uniquely american, i could not just sew what ever i was sewing back home in switzerland. that’s how i got started…
I started quilting in high school when I finished all my mandatory projects ahead of time in my sewing class 🙂 so glad I quit band to take up sewing!!!!
I started quilting when I saw one on the cover of a magazine, and my mother told me that “no one makes quilts anymore.”
I started quilting after my son was born. I sewed him a crib set: bumpers, pillow and comforter–and then I was hooked. That was 1986!
I would love to be quilting more. I love the piecing, creating and putting together – it’s very soothing. I love quilty’s stuff and would love to get my hands on this. thanks for offering the giveaway!
I love the fresh, unique quality of quilts plus the wide variety of fabrics to choose from.
I started quilting because I wanted to make something for my children. I love heirlooms, so I made them both quilts while they were little to use and love.
My grandparents quilted together. She pieced and he quilted. Noone in the family picked up the skill and I cherish the quilts I have from them. So there it is one day I thought I want to make a quilt and it has been an obsession every since.
I started when I was home with my first born and I needed something to do when I was home for long stretches of time.
i started quilting after my sisters and i cut squares from my moms scrap box (mostly clothing she had made us or herself) with the intention of grandma making us a quilt. Gram didnt care for the job…so I did it. Age 14. i love that terrible quilt.
Well I wasn’t going to quilt. But when I bought my Bernina I was hooked!
I love that quilt by Anna Graham as well. It is lovely! I started quilting because I wanted to make a baby quilt for my youngest daughter who just turned 5. After I completed her quilt, I fell in love with quilting, and I have been enjoying it ever since.
I started quilting because I fell in love with fabric! I’ve since fallen in love with quilting.
First let me say I was so sorry to hear Quilty will not be published anymore. I purchased every copy from its first publication. It was like having a quilting encyclopedia at your side.
I first started quilting when I made a puff quilt for a new baby, and have not stopped since then. I love everything about quilting, the fabric ,the magazines, the books, the sewing machine, the beautiful crayon colors of threads, the quilts. They all warm my heart and make me happy!
I wanted to make a quilt since I was about 10 or 11 when I first really noticed the ones my grandma had. I started quilting when my daughters were 10 and 8.
A few years ago I decided I wanted a challenge, and now I’m hooked
Because of my grandmother who was a crafter. I’m not good at it. Yet. But I hope one day to be as good at seeing as she was!
i was bummed to hear quilty wouldn’t be published anymore. 🙁 but this book looks fun. i started quilting (over a decade ago) to make christmas presents for friends. i made 3 quilts that christmas and loved it and have been hooked since. thanks for the chance to win!
I started quilting because my mom made a beautiful appliqued quilt as my HS graduation gift, and I wanted to be like her.
I started quilting when I wanted to make a baby quilt for a co-worker. I would love to have a copy of the book.
I started quilting when I needed something a little more “quicker paced” than knitting!
I started quilting late in life, but I always wanted to do it. My mom quilted, but I didn’t think I could afford quilting as a hobby. I I started out using thrifed scraps.
I started a couple of years ago to make a surprise quilt for my husband on Christmas. I kept it a secret until the day. During the process I think I checked out every quilt book in our library over the course of three months just to teach myself.
I started to be serious about quilting, a few years ago….when my NC Daughter wanted to learn! Sooo…since I live in Ohio & she lives in North Carolina…we are learning “Long Distance” & compare progress ofetn..but only in person a few times a year (I miss her soooo much!). Has been fun tho!
Thanks for chance to win! 🙂
I started quilting when I got divorced. I had two small kids and couldn’t afford a babysitter to go out. Learning how to quilt used all my brain power and loved creating something beautiful. Quilting is like painting with fabric.
I started quilting back in my early 20’s because I wanted a purple bedspread and I couldn’t find one I liked. So, I got out my old Singer machine and taught myself how to make a patchwork quilt. I still have it 30+ years later!
I started quilting because two good friends were quilters. I admired what they had made and they asked me to participate in a swap with them. I was 6 weeks postpartum and agreed in a fog. The rest is history.
I started because my grandmother always quilted and made handmade lovely things with her sewing machine. She made each of my babies a quilt. I just love her and want to create the beauty and love she does.
I’ve sewn since I was a child. Quilting, making things for our home, seemed like a natural thing to do in addition to clothing.
My mom is a quilter, but she and I have different aesthetics. I was at a place where I needed a new creative outlet so, with her support and encouragement I started quilting.
I loved all the fabrics that were in the stores. I’d sewn some clothes, but wanted to sew something a little different.
My sister in law talked my husband into getting me a sewing machine for Christmas. That was 20 years ago! Love that Sunny Side Up!
my mom inspired me to sew but I got introduced to quilting almost accidentally and love it.
Thanks!
I was on a trip in PA and fell in love with the quilt patterns!
thanks for the giveaway!
I grew up sleeping in scrappy quilts made by my thrifty aunt – they had a mix match of so many colors.
I love making quilts now!!
Thaks for the prize.
My spouse introduced me to making quilts – she loves her quilts and I thought of surprisng her by making one for her – now I am hooked!
this looks like such a fun book. I love Sunny Side Up. Thanks for a chance.
I started quilting so I could make things for my family, my friends and myself! I also love the look and feel of cotton…quilting cotton that is…:)
I had to clear up the dining room table for Easter and I have been too busy at work to get my sewing area set up again. I am itching to get started again. It looks like it may be at the end of May after I return from a business trip to Korea.
I’ve sewn almost my whole life. I love fabric! I have a very nice fabric collection and I needed to use it. Quilting seemed fun. And it is! Quilty is a great magazine. Gonna miss it.
I started quilting after seeing my mom create quilts during my childhood. I think this kept her sane raising 7 kids while my dad traveled weekly. She made beautiful quilts for my grandparents and I am now the lucky owner of one of them. She also made me a quilt for college – I was really into rainbows and somehow she figured out how to create the arch in the center. I am now in the process of making my daughter (16) her ‘forever quilt’ and can’t wait to see it in her room!
I inherited quilting!
I was a quilter drop out. Now that my kids are grown. I would like to get back into quilting.
I retired earlier than anticipated and was afraid I would die of boredom, LOL. My husband suggested I try quilting again (I had made a few quilts years and years ago). So glad he made the suggestion! Thanks for the chance to win!
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started to quilt because my Mom needed a ride to a quilting class. I also took the class since I was doing the driving. I would rather attend the class than sit in the car for 2 hours.
I started quilting as a way to incorporate all of those beautiful fabrics into my home! I’m going to miss Quilty mag too!
I wanted to make a baby quilt for my first baby girl!! 🙂 and I did and haven’t looked back since!
Many years ago I got a catalog in the mail and saw a picture of a Christmas wall quilt and decided I wanted to make it. I ordered the pattern and made the quilt. Little did I know at that time that I had discovered something that would become such a big part of my life. Lucky I got that catalog!
I had moved to a new area and wanted to meet people. I already knew how to sew so it wasn’t a big leap for me. Taking lessons helped me achieve that goal. Sincerely, Paula K.
My late aunt was an amazing quilter and taught me how to quilt. This book would be a great addition to my collection. Happy Sunday everyone 🙂
I made my first quilt last fall and it was so much fun! I’ve been wanting to make a queen sized quilt, but I can’t decide on the pattern.
I started quilting when I was pregnant with my first child, 34 years ago. I had some flannel scraps and wanted a baby quilt. I used an old flannel sheet for the batting! We still have that old quilt around – it is so fun to see it. My mean grandmother had an old Double-Wedding Ring quilt on the bed that was my solace when I had to stay with her, and I always admired it (tho it was very worn and not terribly well made!)
Thanks for the chance to win this book,
Liz
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