In the final quilt in the Telephone Tag Series, I have employed minimalism to (hopefully) tell a simplified compositional story with the source image as inspiration.

Over the past few weeks, I have shared the quilts I contributed to the 2026 Telephone Tag series, a collaborative challenge I participated in with my regional SAQA group. Based on the game of telephone we played as children, this version is entirely visual rather than auditory. For the first quilt, we worked from another group member’s photograph to make a mini quilt, but all subsequent quilts are inspired by the mini quilts made by the person before us in the rotation. Today I get to share the final quilt in the series!

The Inspiration Quilt

When I first saw the inspiration quilt, I was struck by the painterly effect in the background. The way the colors flowed through the composition was the most dominant aspect, and I was excited to highlight it in my reinterpretation of the image.

My Design

As I looked closely at the inspiration quilt, I noticed how the colors in the composition formed four sections of dominant colors, with a rosy-rust color at the bottom, followed by a sharper yellow-green, then a grey-violet, and finally a dusty blue. Having the colors towards the top of the quilt become cooler and more grey creates a sense of aerial perspective that helps define the composition.

To my eye, these four fields of color were the critical elements in the design, and I decided to embrace minimalism by using only these four colors to piece the quilt top.

Quilting

In a nod to the painterly effect of the inspiration quilt, I decided to use matchstick quilting, in which matching thread colors extend into neighboring fields of color, creating a subtle filter-like effect. 

To enhance the effect of the matchstick quilting, I did all the quilting with a heavy 12-weight thread on top and 50-weight in the bobbin. 

Finishing

To maintain the overall design’s simplicity, I chose a faced edge finish for the quilt.

Quilt Stats

• Title: Color Fields
• Size: 12” x 12”
• Techniques: Piecing
• Quilting: Matchstick Quilting with a Walking Foot on a BERNINA 770 QE PLUS
• Fabric: Solids from my stash
• Batting: A scrap of Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Wool blend
• Thread: 12-weight and 50-weight Aurifil
• Edge Finish: Facing

The Telephone Tag Series

Below are all four quilts I created for my contribution to the telephone tag series. I am thrilled that I was able to create distinct quilts using techniques reflecting the source image. Techniques that I incorporated include:

• Quilt 1: Hand Appliqué
• Quilt 2: Foundation Paper Piecing and Hand Appliqué
• Quilt 3: Improvisational Piecing
• Quilt 4: Traditional piecing and Matchstick Quilting

This series will be exhibited in clusters of four quilts, each paired with the original photograph. When we know the exhibition location and schedule, I will share it in the newsletter!

In the past two weeks, I have shared the first quilts I have contributed to the 2026 Telephone Tag series, a collaborative challenge I did with my regional SAQA group. Based on the game of telephone we played as children, this version is entirely visual rather than auditory. For the first quilt, we worked from another group member’s photograph to make a mini quilt, but all subsequent quilts are inspired by the mini quilts made by the person before us in the rotation.

The Inspiration Quilt

When I received the inspiration image for my third quilt, I was first struck by the painterly background and the strong use of line in the quilting stitches. After studying the source quilt, I decided my composition should embrace three aspects of the design:

• The feeling of late autumnal trees on gently rolling hills
• Multiple color shifts in the background, creating a painterly effect
• A strong use of line to move the viewer’s eye through the composition 

Keeping these aspects in mind as my primary goals, I set out to create a design that reflects my quilting style.

My Design

Even though I trained as a painter, it is extremely rare for me to paint on a quilt. However, collage is a close neighbor to painting, and improvisational piecing is my favorite way to create a painterly collage effect while embracing traditional piecing techniques.

By selectively incorporating strong pieced lines and fabric with distinctive linear prints, I could guide the viewer’s eye around the composition.

Pairing the overall composition with soft waves of linear quilting enhances the feel of gently rolling hills.

Color

To encourage myself to use smaller pieces of fabric, thereby creating a background evoking the feeling of paintstrokes, I pulled most of the fabrics for this composition from my scrap fabric bins, with the remaining pieces coming from my stash. The palette includes solids, prints, yarn-dyed wovens, and hand-dyed fabrics.

The dominant colors in this composition are green and blue with accents of violet, pink, and yellow. You may expect to see brown as a dominant color in an autumnal landscape, but I believe an overuse of brown can quickly destroy a composition. This probably stems from my painting background, when, as a student, we were often not permitted to use black or brown paint from a tube. If we wanted to use these colors, we had to mix them, which yielded a very specific palette that often leaned toward deep violets for the darkest areas of a composition.

Line

I used line in both piecing and fabric selection to guide the viewer’s eye through the composition. Selecting only the darkest tree trunks from the inspiration image simplified the composition and gave me a somewhat unexpected four lines to work with. You have probably heard somewhere along the way that you should use odd numbers of key components in your designs. While this is often true, there are ways to break this rule successfully. In this case, the tree trunks work in pairs, almost dividing the overall composition into thirds. The pairs also tilt towards each other at the top of the composition. When combined with the printed stripe in the bottom right corner and the piecing at the same angle at the base of the tree trunk, it creates an implied triangle that guides your eye through the composition.

Several fabrics in the composition use line in their designs, but the strongest motif is the green-and-gold stripe. When used in the bottom corners of the quilt, the stripes effectively catch your eye when the pieced tree trunks try to push your attention off the edges of the composition, and with the help of the horizontal stripe in the center right, pull your attention back towards the center of the composition.

Quilting

For this design, I wanted the quilting lines to enhance a sense of an open, natural space, preferably in a way that enhances the gently rolling hills. The softly curving lines of light aqua quilting create the feel of a breeze moving through the trees. To achieve this effect, I drew several curved lines of varying shapes 1-2 inches apart across the quilt. Since the quilt is so small, I was able to eyeball additional lines of stitching between the first set by quilting halfway between the lines and repeating the process until I was happy with the quilting density.

Finishing

To give the illusion that the composition extends beyond the plane of the quilt, I used a faced edge to finish the quilt.

Quilt Stats:

• Title: Rolling Hills
• Size: 12” x 12”
• Techniques: Improvisational piecing, sliver inserts
• Quilting: Walking foot quilting on a BERNINA 770 QE PLUS
• Fabric: Assorted solids, prints, wovens, and hand-dyed fabric from my scraps and stash
• Batting: A scrap of Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Wool blend
• Thread: 50-weight Aurifil
• Edge Finish: Facing

Last week, I shared the first quilt in my 2026 Telephone Tag series, which is a collaborative challenge I did with my regional SAQA group. Based on the game of telephone we played as children, this version is entirely visual rather than auditory. For the first quilt, we worked from another group member’s photograph to make a mini quilt, but all subsequent quilts are inspired by the mini quilts made by the person before us in the rotation.

The Inspiration Quilt

For this project, we all started with nature photos, and the mini quilt I received for my second quilt reminded me of trees surrounding a lake or pond. The background of the image seemed to have three distinct areas: 

• Water with reflections towards the bottom of the composition 
• Land in the middle of the composition
• Sky at the top of the composition

The organic shapes arcing through the center of the composition felt like Autumnal trees with size implying their distance from the viewer. 

My Design 

I decided to focus on three key elements from the inspiration quilt to create my composition:

1. The background with water, land, and sky
2. A sense of space that is created through the tree placement
3. Echo quilting emphasizes the shapes in the composition. 

My interpretation of the composition is more graphic than the inspiration quilt, with a foundation paper-pieced background and hand-appliquéd oval-shaped tree tops. I experimented a lot with the exact size and proportions of the tree tops because I wanted them to emphasize a sense of depth in the composition.

Since this composition uses a mix of techniques, I drafted the design in AutoCAD LT, which allowed me to develop both the foundation paper-pieced templates and the templates for the appliqué oval tree tops. Color placement in AutoCAD isn’t super accurate (without a lot of extra effort), so I just gave myself a general idea, knowing the real color would come into play with the fabric pull.

The Fabric Pull

The simple shapes in my composition allowed me to heighten the color palette visually. When shapes are simplified, we often expect brighter colors, like in comic or children’s book illustration, and I used that expectation to my advantage for this design. 

The source quilt used primarily prints in the design, and I wanted to continue that aesthetic, along with a few solids to visually push the background elements back in the composition and highlight the prints in the water and tree tops. One of the trees in the source image had a bold print, while the others employed tone-on-tone designs. I decided to maintain that aspect of the design, but shifted the bold print one tree over.

Constructing the Quilt Top

The background with water, land, and sky is foundation paper pieced (FPP), including the placement of the tree trunks, and then finished with the curved seam to add the water element.

I printed the tree top shapes on cardstock to use as templates. Before moving forward with the fabric components, I positioned the shapes on the background to observe their interaction with each other in the physical space.

The Appliqué Process

For these oval and partial-oval shapes, I decided to use an aluminum foil technique to prepare the pieces. To do this, you cut the fabric about 1/2” larger than the template on all sides. It isn’t necessary to be super accurate at this point. You then cut a piece of foil a little larger than the fabric.

You use the foil to push the fabric edges around the cardstock template, then you press the fabric and foil in place.

This method worked well on pieces with a mix of edges that needed to be turned back and those that remained flat, extending to the edges of the quilt top. It also worked reasonably well on pieces with all of the edges turned under, but methods using a basting stitch to cinch the fabric edges around the template yield a smoother edge with less effort.

With all of the pieces prepared, I pinned the components in place to appliqué the final design.

Once the hand appliqué was complete, I trimmed the background fabric and the excess seam allowance turned under on the tree tops.

Quilting

I liked the idea of using echo quilting on this design, but instead of echoing the tree tops, I decided to echo the edge of the water across the entire quilt and mirror that same shape to create a gridded motif that evolves as it moves across the quilt.

Edge Finish

This design breaks the quilt’s edge, so I decided to avoid the visual border of binding and went with a faced edge instead.

Quilt Stats:

• Title: Lakeside
• Size: 12” x 12”
• Techniques: Foundation paper piecing, curved piecing, hand needle-turn appliqué
• Quilting: Walking foot quilting on a BERNINA 770 QE PLUS
• Fabric: Assorted print and solid fabrics from my stash
• Batting: A scrap of Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Wool blend
• Thread: 50-weight Aurifil in a variety of colors
• Edge Finish: Facing

The Game of Telephone

Telephone is a game where one person whispers a phrase to the next, passing it down the line. The last person announces the final phrase—it’s rarely the original thought, and it’s often hilarious. For this challenge, the information is passed visually rather than orally, with each participant passing photos of their quilts to the next person.

How It Works

We were divided into groups of five. For the first round, we each selected a photograph to send to the next person on the list. For this project, we all used nature photographs we took ourselves to ensure we wouldn’t run into any copyright issues when the quilts are exhibited.

We each spent one month creating a mini quilt based on the initial photograph and sent the quilt image to the next person on the list. We never saw any inspiration except for the mini quilt directly before us in the design order. Our designs could be as realistic or as abstract as we liked, so there was quite an evolution in most of them.

Timeline

This challenge ran from January through April, and we had one month to create each quilt.

The Quilts

Each group created five collections, each consisting of one photograph and four mini quilts. We never made a quilt inspired by our own image. The quilts were all initially inspired by a nature photograph and finished at 12” square. Beyond those requirements, we could use any quilting techniques or materials.

My First Telephone Tag Quilt

The inspiration photograph I received showed a body of water, with a log diagonally across the bottom of the image and a turtle resting near the center of the log. (As of publication, I have not received permission from the photographer to share the original image, so I’m only showing the images that I have adapted significantly in the design process.)

The Design Process

The water was highly reflective with a sharp contrast between highlights and shadows, and I wanted that broken feel in the final quilt. I started the design by placing the image in ProCreate and coloring each section of the photo with blocks of color.

My goal was to simplify the image into organically shaped chunks of color, while still keeping the turtle recognizable. For the color palette, I selected the most saturated colors from the original image.

Once I had a large portion of the image colored, I cropped the image to the final square format.

To finalize the design, I printed the image at (almost) full scale on 11” x 17” paper. At this point, I cut out each section of color, adjusting the exact lines and shapes as I cut. 

Laying Out the Quilt

I wanted to make sure the quilt would easily finish at 12” square, so I used a 13-1/2” square piece of background fabric as the base for my appliqué design. I added extra fabric to the edges of the paper templates along the outer edges of the square to accommodate the larger square. The fabrics in the center of the design were cut to the exact template size. 

I like to design small quilts on pieces of fleece-covered foam core so I can pin directly to the surface when needed.

Appliqué

To appliqué, I baste 1/4” from the edges of each piece of fabric. When I turn under the edges as I do the final stitching, the raw edge meets the basting line, leaving a 1/4” gap that reveals the background between the appliqué fabrics. The lines of blue remind me of the shimmering highlights from the original photos.

Quilting

Simple quilting keeps the appliqué more graphic, so I decided to use diagonal lines that emphasize the angle of the log placement.

Finishing

I wanted to maintain the illusion that this design could continue far beyond the quilt’s edges, so I chose a faced edge to finish the quilt.

Quilt Stats

• Title: Reflections
• Size: 12” x 12”
• Techniques: Hand Needle Turn Appliqué
• Quilting: Walking Foot Quilting on a BERNINA 770 QE PLUS
• Fabric: Assorted print and woven fabrics from my stash
• Batting: A scrap of Hobbs 80/20 Cotton/Wool blend
• Thread: 50 Aurifil in a variety of colors
• Edge Finish: Facing

It’s easy to get excited and dive right into quilting a big project, but quilting tests can help us take our quilts from good to great.

Why Should You Do a Quilting Test?

Quilting tests can range from basic to complex and provide valuable insights into what we can expect in the quilting process. A quilting test can tell us:

• If our tension and machine settings are correct for the materials we are using
• What length of stitches works best for the quilting style
• Which motifs will work with the design?
• The color and weight of the thread that will look the best in the quilt

Many of my quilts rely on thread color and weight as key aspects of the overall quilt design, so testing the thread options helps ensure the final quilt will be a success. Today, I’m sharing an initial test I did for an upcoming quilt.

Preparing the Test Quilt Sandwich

The piecing of the new quilt will be simple with light, neutral colors. To test the quilting, I made a block about 9” square that incorporates both of the main colors in the quilt. The design of this block is not the same as the final quilt, but the rectangles give me a decent idea of how the quilting will interact with the fabrics.

Since this is such a small piece, I used 3/4” wide masking tape to mark the lines where I will add colorful quilting. For the finished quilt, I’m planning to use a backing fabric with some color, so I chose a medium-light pink to back this swatch, hoping it will give me an idea of whether it will work on the final project.

Quilting the Sample

I started by quilting white lines through the white-pieced rectangles and light grey lines in the mist-colored background. I used 40-weight thread in the white sections, but I think that I’ll ultimately need to go with a 28-weight or even a 12-weight thread to get the effect I want. The grey thread in the mist-colored fabric worked pretty well, but I’m going to look at other thread options to see if there is a slightly warmer grey that may match even better. The 50-weight thread worked great for the background.

Next, I added stripes of my dominant colors using 12-weight thread. I love how these look, but the neon yellow blended into the background just a bit too much for what I’m trying to accomplish.

To emphasize the yellow lines, I decided to wrap some of the stitches with lime green thread. In the two lines closest to the white rectangle, I used a 12-weight thread to wrap the machine quilting stitches. In the next two lines, I used 28-weight thread, then 50-weight thread in the following line. If you had asked me if I would ever wrap stitching with 50-weight thread before this quilting test, I would have laughed, but this is exactly what this quilting needs to create a subtle gradient.

I’m thinking about adding wrapped stitches to some of the pink lines as well, but I need to order some thread colors to experiment with. 

Finally, I added a couple of sections of perpendicular stitches to get a general idea of how these intersections will work in the final quilt.

With the quilting finished, I checked out the backing fabric and was pleased with the results. I used all matching 50-weight thread in the bobbin for each color, and the pink fabric showed the stitching without overwhelming it or showing through the front of the quilt sandwich.

Once I get more thread in, I will probably add to this test or make a new one to ensure I get a result that works well on the final quilt. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how straightforward the new machine was to learn, but I only recently decided to take a look at its machine embroidery capabilities. I am lucky to have a friend nearby who owns the embroidery module for the same machine, and was happy to loan it to me to try out before I commit to purchasing the embroidery components for my machine.

Experimenting with Machine Embroidery 

For my first few machine embroidery experiments, I knew there were certain skills I wanted to learn, and I wanted to figure out if I found the process useful and fun or annoying. 

My goals for the first few designs included:

• Set up the machine for embroidery
• Load fabric and stabilizer in a hoop
• Choose a design and make sure it fits into the hoop
• Navigate the menus of built-in embroidery designs
• Stitch a single color motif
• Stitch a multi-color motif
• Download a purchased design and open it on the machine.
• Try a densely stitched motif
• Stitch more than one motif in a hoop
• Move and rotate motifs to interact with each other
• Use an embroidery design to quilt

Design 1

The first design was mostly about making sure I could set the machine up on my own, load the hoop with fabric and stabilizer, and get everything positioned and sized properly for stitching. 

I wanted to keep the actual design relatively simple while still filling most of the hoop. I ended up choosing a mostly linear motif that was built into the machine. 

For the thread, I decided on 40-weight Aurifil. Most machine embroidery threads are shiny, but I tend to prefer the more matte look of cotton. Since Aurifil was originally designed as an embroidery thread, I decided this was a good place to start.

The first round worked perfectly! I really thought it would take a couple of tries to get a workable design, but the first one turned out great.

Design 2

Now that I had one design stitched, I was ready to add one more skill. For the second motif, I selected a flower with four colors to practice changing thread.

Design 3

Everything has gone well so far, so I decided to purchase and download a design. I like many Tula Pink designs, so I headed to OESD and selected Butterfly Kisses 4. Since I was still in the experimental phase of machine embroidery, I purchased a single motif rather than a multi-design package. I selected this particular design because:

• I could fit at least two butterflies into a single hoop
• The thread colors worked with what I had on hand
• The motif was denser than what I had tried before

The design included thread information for each design in the collection, and I printed off the page with the motif I purchased. Having this list made thread selection super easy.

I spent a decent amount of time learning to position two motifs within the hoop and rotating them so they have some degree of visual interaction.

Watching the designs stitch out is mesmerizing.

The final color on this motif really makes the overall design come together.

As the motif stitches, the machine screen highlights the color being stitched, and the cursor moves as the needle position shifts.

I’m really pleased with the way this design stitched out, and at this point, I had pretty much decided that there are lots of possibilities for using machine embroidery in my work.

Design 4

To round out my first set of experiments, I decided to use an embroidery motif to quilt a section of fabric. I know you can use the embroidery function to stitch motifs specifically intended for quilting, but I’m unlikely to do that since I have a computerized longarm. However, I wanted to see a moderately dense embroidery design stitched onto a quilt sandwich.

I used some off-white fabric with a bit of shine, paired with white thread, and I was really pleased with the overall effect.

I still have a lot to learn about machine embroidery, but this series of experiments has helped me decide that I’m ready to invest in the equipment to get started!

Some of you have requested a place to share your progress, and I think that is a fabulous idea! Below, I have added a link-up where you can add photos of your work for everyone to see!

Going Full Circle Block of the Month

Would you like to learn more about the Going Full Circle Block of the Month?

This skill-building quilt is a great way to learn more about sewing quarter-circle and half-circle curves, piecing full circles, and incorporating 1/8” wide sliver inserts into a design.

BONUS: For a limited time, June 19 to July 5, 2026, sign-ups are open for mid-year entry into the block-of-the-month!

How do I add a photograph?

You can add a standalone photo or link to a photo from a blog or social media post.It’s actually pretty easy to add your photo, and this post gives you step-by-step instructions!

How many photographs can I add?

You can add as many photographs as you want. You can add one for each month, or each block, or none at all.

Do I have to share photos of my blocks?

No. Sharing your work is optional, and you can still look at others’ work without sharing your own.

Is there a deadline to share my photos?

This linkup is available from mid-June 2026 until mid-June 2027. You can share photos from any month at any time.

The Linkup!

To give a few more quilts some love, I like to highlight a few pieces that didn’t win any awards but caught my eye for their strong design, stellar construction, or unique point of view. 

5 Quilts that Stood Out to Me at AQS Paducah 2026

At this year’s American Quilter’s Society (AQS) show, the quilts that stood out to me used a wide range of construction techniques, but all showed internal consistency within the design that draws the viewer in from afar, then rewards you for coming closer.

Beyond the Seas

By Isabel Muñoz

What I love about this quilt:

• A wholecloth design uses only two colors of thread to tell the story.
• The white space from the background merges with the sea, which flows into the ship. The artist effectively pulled the dark areas from the design to sculpt the shapes, without feeling the need to add extra lines to define the full shape of the ship.
• The linear direction of the black lines draws your eye through the composition, while the white quilting in the negative space creates the feel of cloudy skies and foaming waves.

Stars in Harmony

By Yoko Nishioka

What I love about this quilt:

• Light, nearly tone-on-tone blocks in the lower right of the quilt create a gradient that moves from a pale, warm yellow to a vibrant blue along the quilt’s edges. 
• The star blocks throughout the background interlock with one another and ultimately break into the quilt’s visual border.
• Larger traditionally patterned star blocks both blend into the surrounding stars and set themselves apart in different areas of each block.

Little Girl Danji and Kitten Jenny

By Jinyoung Lee

• The storytelling in this quilt is phenomenal! You meet the young quilter, see her award-winning quilts, and see all of the activities her kitten partakes in while she works.
• The cat poses are specific.
• The quilt’s background uses a traditional log cabin block, pieced in all white, to set the stage for a story about a quilter.

Flowers Woven Through Time

By Masako Seki

What I love about this quilt:

• While most appliqué florals are forced into regimented designs, the all-over floral motifs feel like you are immersed in a delightfully wild garden.
• Mixing prints with solids and incorporating gradating fabrics creates depth within the design.
• Alternative substrates and carefully placed decorative stitches add texture to the design.

Mandalas Gone Wild

By Judy Ballance

I typically avoid quilts made from a pattern for this type of post, but this particular quilt handles the fabric selection and quilting exceptionally well, and I kept coming back to look at it during the show.

What I love about this quilt:

• Fussy cut fabric placement enhances the appliqué motifs.
• Using a light turquoise print for the background fabric is unexpected and gives the quilt an airy feel.
• The dots incorporated into the checkerboard background quilting create an additional textural element that makes the overall design shine.

More Quilts to See

You may have noticed that most of these quilts weren’t particularly “Modern,” but there is a good reason for that- I recently shared the complete Modern category from the show! I hope you enjoy seeing this section of the show in its entirety.

Yo-yos are easy, fun projects, perfect to carry along with you on your Summer travels or when waiting for an appointment. I made my first extensive batch of yo-yos during a power outage. They work beautifully with scraps and don’t require any special equipment, so let’s dive into the process!

Making Fabric Yo-Yos

Supplies:

The supply list is short, and if you quilt or sew, you most likely already have everything on hand!

• Scraps of fabric 2” x 2” or larger
• Hand sewing needle
• Thread that coordinates or blends with the yo-yo fabric color
• Circle templates approximately twice the diameter of the desired finished yo-yo size (See template section below)
• Fabric pen or pencil to trace the templates
• Scissors

You can buy specific yo-yo templates, guages, and guides to help refine your stitch placement, but today we are going to use what we have on hand to start our yo-yo-making journey.

Templates

Any circle will work for a yo-yo template, so raid your sewing space and kitchen to find almost any size you want to work with. Cups, saucers, and any round containers are just waiting to become a yo-yo template! Remember that the edges of the circle are cinched into the center, making the size of the finished yo-yo approximately half the diameter of the cut circle.

You can also use circle template sets, circle cutters, or a cutting system like Accuquilt to cut your circles. You can also download this circle template file I made for you. Print the templates onto cardstock and cut them out to try several different yo-yo sizes.

Fabric Selection

Raid your scrap bin to start making yo-yos! Since each one only takes a bit of fabric, they are a great way to use all of your fun leftovers. Any fabric can be used, but quilting cotton and similar-weight fabrics work well, especially if you are making your first yo-yos. Once you get the hang of it, try silk, linen, and other substrates.

The sample fabrics are standard quilting cottons, but their weights vary somewhat from piece to piece. The 2” circle is Grunge, the 3” circle is batik, and the 4” circle is a Spoonflower print.

Stitching a Yo-Yo

Trace your circle template onto a fabric scrap and cut out the circle.

Cut a length of thread more than double the circumference of the cut circle, fold it in half, and feed the cut ends through the eye of the needle to create a doubled thread. I suggest running your thread through thread gloss or wax at this point to reduce the likelihood of tangling during stitching. Knot the folded end of the thread.

Approximately 1/8” away from the cut edge of the circle, insert your needle through the fabric from the wrong side to the right side and pull the thread through to the knot.

Start stitching around the circle at the point of the knot, using an even straight stitch around the edge of the circle and folding the cut edge in approximately 1/8” as you sew. I suggest starting with stitches a bit longer than 1/8”, but you may need to adjust the length depending on the size of your yo-yo and the thickness of your fabric.

You can begin pulling the thread tighter as you sew to gather the yo-yo edges toward the center of the circle. Even stitches will result in even fabric gathers.

As you approach the end of the stitching, adjust your stitch length slightly in the last few stitches so the final stitch will end with the thread coming out of the right side of the fabric. To help secure the stitching, stitch back through the first 3-4 folds in the fabric.

Knot the thread between two folds in the fabric.

Stitch through another 3-4 folds in the fabric to bury the thread tail and clip the thread.

Your finished yo-yo will be approximately half the size of the original cut circle. The exact size will depend on exactly how much fabric you turned under at the cut edge of the circle and the length of your stitches. 

Stitch Length

The perfect stitch length for fabric yo-yos is a balancing act. If your stitches are too long, the overall yo-yo will appear less circular. If the stitches are too short, you will have more gathers in the center of your circle. Since each gather includes four layers of fabric, this creates bulk, resulting in a bigger gap in the center of your circle.

Larger circles almost always end up with a gap in the center of the circle, so you can use this to your advantage by fusing a small circle of contrasting fabric to the center of the wrong side of the larger circle.

When you gather the edges in, the contrasting fabric will peek through the center of the yo-yo.

What Do You Do With Your Yo-Yos?

If you want the full effect, you can sew yo-yos directly to one another to create a coverlet or a garment like this stunning dress by Bianca Springer. 

Rachael of @bluemountaindaisy is bound to inspire you with her quilts using large-scale yo-yos. She even pieces the yo-yo fabrics to achieve specific effects!

I used a single yo-yo to finish off my Sand Dollar Star quilt block pattern.

I also sprinkled folded hexagons with yo-yo centers across this potholder quilt to create a sense of petals blowing in the wind.

What will you use yo-yos to create?

The Exquisite Quilt

Recently, I contributed a block to the Exquisite Quilt Project run by Abby Vargas. For each quilt, Abby challenges collaborators to work with a specific color palette and create blocks that will connect together to form the overall composition. She collects 1-2 blocks from each participant and works some magic to create some stunning quilts. 

This year’s theme is Orange Tree Espalier, which is the practice of training a fruit tree to grow flat against a wall. The theme primarily informs the project’s color palette, but I also used it to loosely inspire my block design.

What Were the Project Parameters?

• Contribute one or two blocks measuring at 9″ x 9″ finished (9-1/2″ x 9-1/2″ unfinished)
• Use green and orange-yellow solid fabrics to create a block, along with the Kona Azure connector fabric. All blocks must contain at least some of each color.
• Place one-inch square “connector” pieces at the center of all four sides of the block. Using the connector fabric, join the connector points in some way in the block.
• Any techniques can be used to create the block.

Designing the Block

Drawing on the theme of Orange Tree Espalier, I decided to incorporate curves into the design while maintaining a graphic quality in the overall composition. 

When I design quilts or blocks with specific size parameters, I draft the initial design in AutoCAD Light, which lets me easily experiment with different design configurations. 

I started with a line drawing focused entirely on curves, allowing the curves to intersect in a way that evokes tree branches. In experimenting with color, I started by connecting the azure arcs with a solid central section of the same color.

The central section of azure felt like it needed to be broken up, so I experimented with adding triangular sections, which gave the design a graphic, leaf-like effect. I liked this design, but I also know that the blocks I tend to like the most in these group quilts are often the simplest (or simple-looking) designs, and this block has a lot going on in a 9” square. I also wanted to try using more of the orange-yellow fabric in the design.

In the next iteration, I cut the curves down to two azure arcs and added orange-yellow sections to create a visual border.

The border effect felt like it would truncate the flow between blocks, so I added orange curves back in, arcing towards the center of the block design. 

In the spirit of simplification, I also experimented with swapping the orange curves with straight lines.

For the final iteration of the block, I decided to look at what happens when the azure arcs connect with a simple, straight line across the center. Suddenly, this simple line assumes the role of an abstracted tree trunk, and the azure arcs evoke carefully trained tree branches. With this design, I finally created a simple (only seven pieces) design that told a story related to the quilt’s original theme.

Constructing the Block

Even though the design only includes seven pieces, the scale of the curves and the arcs melting into the central azure line made for a fussy construction process.

I created templates in AutoCAD to accurately cut each fabric section.

A lot of pins and slow machine stitching helped the curves go together.

I put tic marks along each seam to mark several points where the curves would intersect. I used a two-part removable fabric marker that came out easily with the eraser pen.

Then it was just a matter of very careful pressing to complete the block.

The Finished Block

This block created an unexpected optical illusion that made it look like the ends of the arc didn’t line up. Even knowing all the measurements, it was enough to trick my eye, so I had to double-check the layout.

I shipped the finished block off last month, and this iteration of The Exquisite Quilt is coming together!