crafts – Quilting my way through life!

Welcome to Day 11!

It’s been fun seeing the finished tops you’re all showing!

Seeing your use of different fabrics is my favorite part!

Guess what today is?

Quilt it day!

I have to say that the actual “quilting” of a quilt is my least favorite part.

I’m a “quilt by checkbook” kind of quilter!

Since I didn’t have enough time to send this one out, I quilted it myself, & I didn’t hate it!

I’ll show you how I did it.

I started by basting it with basting spray.

It was easy since it’s so small.

The lines were “drawn” with a hera marker, using my 6″ x 24″ ruler to align the first line only.

Notice the 60 degree line on the ruler, aligned with the bottom of the quilt.

Then I used a hera marker to draw the line that I wanted to quilt. I have a few on my website that you can find by clicking here.

It really just makes a dent in the quilt sandwich, it leaves no permanent line to erase.

I sewed that line, then slipped the guide into the back of the foot & used it to create the spacing between the quilting lines.

Again, no markings to erase!

I sewed a line of quilting in both directions through the middle of the quilt first, to help stabilize it, then I filled in the rest of the quilting in both directions.

Easy & fast too.

It probably took me 20 minutes to quilt the entire quilt!

Next, I trimmed it up & put on the binding,

but the binding is actually your work for tomorrow, the 12th Day of Christmas…

This could also be easily free-motion quilted. You decide!

Show us your finished top on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

My Life

12 Days of Christmas 2025, Oh Holy Night, Day 7

January 1, 2026December 31, 2025 suznquilts

Happy New Year!

& Welcome to Day 7!

In case you want to sew before you go to bed tonight…

We’re half-way through these 12 Days of Christmas already!

It feels good to slow down with a bit of sewing each day, doesn’t it?

Do you know what today is, besides January 1st?

It’s perfect little circle day!

I LOVE making fabric circles.

But, only because I’ve found the perfect tools is it so easy.

Apliquick Bars are my favorite tool because they help me make perfectly round circles.

My happy place…

I use a tiny blind hem stitch with thread to match the circle fabric for nearly invisible stitches.

SUPPLIES FOR TODAY:

-Freezer Paper

–Apliquick Bars– Highly recommended

–Glue Pen for circle seam allowances

–1 1/2″ Circle paper cutter – recommended only if you’ll make lots more later

– Roxanne™ or other fabric glue to glue circles to plates & plates to blocks

-Thread(s) to match Dresden fabrics

I typically make 1″ circles for my Tiny Dresden plate centers, but I decided to use a bit bigger circle this time to make the Tiny Dresden plate look more like an “O”.

You’ll want to be sure to print the instructions at “actual size” or 100% depending on your printer setting.

Day 7 Center Circle for Tiny Dresden plate Download

Show us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

My Life

12 Days of Christmas 2025, Oh Holy Night, Day 6

December 31, 2025December 30, 2025 suznquilts

Welcome to Day 6!

It’s one of my favorite days…

Tiny Dresden plate day!

Just one plate!

Notice it doesn’t even have a circle on it?

Tomorrow holds so much excitement and joy!

The reason I love to make Tiny Dresden plates is because my plates always turn out round & flat.

Want to know why???

Because I’ve had lots of practice, of course, but also because I’ve found the right tools.

#1, finding an accurate SCANT 1/4″ on my sewing machine, and being consistent with it!

I’m fortunate that I can use the open toe foot #20 on my Bernina sewing machine, click my needle position once to the right & use the edge of my presser foot as my guide. I also have to make sure to use the edge of my foot as the guide at all times, not just some of the time! lol

When teaching my Tiny Dresden plate workshops I always have at least one sewist who when after we get the machine all set up, forgets to watch the fabric go through their machine. It’s definitely an eyes-on-the-fabric-at-all-times sport.

#2, I spray all of my fabrics with Mary Ellen’s Best Press BEFORE I do any cutting. The petals are bias edges & the Best Press helps keep them from stretching as they slide through the machine over & over until the plate is finally stitched into place on the block.

#3, Apliquick Bars If I’d not had the pleasure of having Rosa, creator of the Apliquick Bars show me how to use her awesome tools, I probably would not have fallen head over heels into little Dresden plate land at all.

Perfect circles are key!

Tools make all the difference.

This is why I have the tools that I love & use on my website for you.

You can see with the links the tools that I stock for you.

SUPPLIES:

-Suzn Quilts’ Tiny Dresden Plate Template #216 – highly recommended

-Mary Ellen’s Best Press™ in single finger pump bottle

–Perfect Piecing Seam guide by Perkins Dry Goods – highly recommended

–Dritz Mighty Steam Iron – highly recommended

–That Purple Thang point turner

SUPPLIES FOR TOMORROW:

-Freezer Paper

–Apliquick Bars– Highly recommended

–Glue Pen for circle seam allowances

–1 1/2″ Circle paper cutter – recommended only if you’ll make lots more later

– Roxanne™ or other fabric glue to glue circles to plates & plates to blocks

-Thread(s) to match Dresden fabrics

If you don’t have my awesome Tiny Dresden Plastic Template #216,

you’ll want to be sure to print the instructions at “actual size” or 100% depending on your printer setting.

Day 6 Tiny Dresden plate Download

Show us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

My Life

12 Days of Christmas 2025, Oh Holy Night, Day 5

December 30, 2025December 29, 2025 suznquilts

Welcome to Day 5!

Thanks to Cynthia Holman, Bonnie Slanker Wilson, Rita Gastaldo Herzberger, Janet Baker Smith & Nicole Sender for sewing & sharing their first 3 Days of Christmas sewing with us on my Sewing With Susan FB group. They will each receive a free Suzn Quilts PDF pattern of their choice! (Even more blocks were shared yesterday!)

The steps have all been quick & easy, haven’t they?

Today is more of the same.

It’s time to sew together the units you’ve made so far & sew the inner border on too.

Do you ever struggle with fabric choices?

Sometimes I do…

Would you like to see some of them & how I conquered the fabric fear?

I started by wondering if I could piece a wool tree with my Mini Tree template set & guess what?

YES, I CAN!

AND DID!

But I really wanted to use these pretty Christmas doodads & the doodads didn’t show up on the green wool I’d chosen.

The cute doodads can be found here on my website.

So, I decided to change out my tree fabric.

Keep in mind this was December 18th. I needed to be shopping, wrapping, cleaning…

Ahh, much better! And the inner border was a no-brainer…

Then the outer border… a snap!

But then my flying geese were looking too much like a tree

& I only wanted 1 tree…

Much better with the Tilda red polka dots in the corner! & by turning some of the flying geese, it made a home for the little “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” plaque.

You can find them here on my website.

This was what my brain wanted!

Sorry for that tiny glimpse inside my head…

I really like how it turned out.

Again, no templates on this PDF today, so no worries on print scale.

Oh Holy Night Day 5 Asssembly & inner border Download

Show us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 12

January 6, 2024 suznquilts

Does your Dresden Home need some decorating?

I chose these embellishments to complete our Dreden Home.

First, a wreath for the Dresden plate center.

Next, a house number.

And finally, a door knob or sorts, of course!

I knew right away that the “13” would be the perfect house number for me!

The package comes with tiny brads to use to attach the plaquettes.

Attaching it was easy by first poking holes in the fabric then using the enclosed tiny brads.

They’re a bit hard to see, but this is the back of the quilt with them applied.

And Emma loved them all but was very intrigued with the door knob. lol

I actually painted it so it would contrast with the door fabric. It also attaches with the little pre-attached brad.

Lastly I glued the wreath over the center of the Dresden plate center, yes glued! I was skeptical too but this stuff is awesome! I’ve used it several times now & am thinking of other ways to add ~~junk~~ “cool stuff” to my quilts now!

I contemplated gluing the wreath on the door… I would have needed to paint it too though so

we decided it looked good here on the Dresden plate.

It was fun playing with the bits & bobs that morning.

I just noticed it was still dark outside.

Emma & I are good early morning workers thankfully!

We’re pretty happy with our results.

Now I need to decide where to hang it & get the appropriate sleeve or hanger for it.

You can now find these embelishing items on my website by clicking here.

I hope you will be encouraged to finish

& hang your Dresden Home for 2024 very soon.

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

My give-away today is this set of embellishments to the first to complete their Dresden Home quilt (if you want them that is).

I can’t wait to see how everyone else will decorate their Dresden Homes.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 11

January 5, 2024January 4, 2024 suznquilts

It’s time to quilt your Dresden Home!

The quilting shows really well in the photo above.

I love how Tamara quilted this quilt, but I especially love how she quilted the roof. The only thing I wish she’d done differently is I wish she’s used contrasting thread at least on the roof because you can’t really see how awesome it is except in this photo.

The swirls on the house show really well in the photo below. So do Emma’s pretty nails, lol.

And the cross hatch quilting on the HOME block & also the 2024 block looks pretty awesome too I think.

For those of you than don’t know me, the actual “quilting” of the quilt is my least favorite part.

Tamara, my machine quilter, is so good to fit me into her schedule when possible because she knows I have deadlines &&& my quilting is pretty dead too! Now that I see how she filled the spaces, I might be able to do a decent job of filling them & I hope that you will be inspired too.

I hope you will be encouraged to finish

& hang your Dresden Home for 2024 very soon.

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 10

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024 suznquilts

It’s fun contemplating such a small quilt, not overwhelming with so many decisions.

I guess my thought that your thought of rotary blades to be a redundant give-away wasn’t necessarily so, thankfully!

It’s funny to see so many comments reminding me that we’re kind of all reluctant to change blades because it’s not so apparent when to do it, unless we run over a pin or something else that was hiding on our cutting mat.

That’s an obvious reminder & one that ususally makes me say bad words… lol

Our winner of the 45mm 2 pack of rotary blades is Kayla Gunter.

No need to email me your snail mail address. I hope to see you & Brooks later this month!

On this 10th Day of Christmas, we’ll be finishing the top.

But don’t quit after today.

I purposely factored in time for quilting, binding & labeling your quilt so it would be COMPLETE in these 12 Days of Christmas.

Just Keep Sewing, OK?

Perhaps even add some embelishing?

Emma & I have some cute ideas,

at least we think so anyway

& hope you will be encouraged to finish

& hang your Dresden Home for 2024 very soon.

We’re also having another nice give-away!

See below.

Click below to download the Day 10 assembly instructions.

dresdenhomeday10assembly Download

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Be the first to post your finished top on Sewing With Susan & win this second fat 1/4 bundle, 16 pieces (4 yds. total), of Trinkets by Kathy Hall for Andover Fabrics.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 9

January 3, 2024January 2, 2024 suznquilts

Are you having as much fun with your
Dresden Home as Emma & I are?

On this 9th Day of Christmas, we’ll be making the 2024 block.

Emma is only interested in the 2s!

Can you guess why???

Click below to download the instructions & templates.

dresdenhomeday92024 Download

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 8

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 suznquilts

Have you recovered from your New Year’s celebrations?

I hope 2024 is a great year for all of us!

At the very least, we’ll all have a cute little quilt to show for it if you’re quilting along with us!

KWILTZ4FUN is the winner of their choice of Suzn Quilts pattern.

KWILTZ4FUN, please let me know your pattern choice

(is it one of my Tiny Dresden series patterns like you mentioned in your comment?)

& email your snail mail info so I can send you the Suzn Quilts pattern – SuznQuilts@aol.com.

On this 8th Day of Christmas, we’ll be making the transom above the door with a half Dresden plate.

Click below to download the Dresden half plate transom instuctions.

dresdenhomeday82024 Download

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 7

January 1, 2024 suznquilts

Happy New Year 2024!

Don’t forget to show us your 12 Days progress & thanks for those that commented on yesterday’s post for the chance to win the rotary cutter blade 2 pack.

Rita is (again!) the winner of the 2 pack of 45mm rotary cutter blades.

I already have your snail mail info so no need to send it again. lol

Time for some more fun!

Since many of you probably stayed up late to welcome in 2024, I decided an easy sew day was in order. Today you just need to make the final Tiny Tree block, but use the “2024” cream fabric for the background.

In case you lost that download… follow the instructions from Day 1 or Day2!

No need to stress, this should be fun!