I have just started to quilt one of my UFO, the Aviatrix Medallion quilt. Hence, in this post, I’ll sprinkle some tips and my thoughts on how I’m about to tackle quilting this king quilt on my domestic machine.

Taking it slow and enjoying the process so far. This time I decided to be more intentional with the quilting process. Rather than chasing it to the finish line, I wanted to take it slow and embrace the process as I go. Besides, that was the point of me diving into this craft anyway. To enjoy the process of making. 

I have learned that not all quilts need to be done quickly, some may take longer than the other and that is okay. When I need quilts to be done quickly, those are usually the last-minute gifts like these quilts here, here, and here. 

And I do love that I can choose a quilting design that suits the need to be quick like the one I shared in this particular post here : 3 all-over FMQ design for a quick finish.

However, with this Aviatrix Medallion quilt, I wanted to play around with the free motion quilting designs. I wanted to practice more designs while quilting a large quilt. Hence, I am very aware that I’ll be diving into long hours of quilting. With lots of breaks, of course. 

Quilting a King Quilt on Domestic Machine

This Aviatrix Medallion is a king-size quilt and since we have just upgraded to a new king-size bed, I find that this is the perfect timing. My double wedding ring quilt no longer lays nicely covering our bed and that left us with only one quilt to spread the bed with which is the the Swoon quilt I made before.

I can’t wait to have this Aviatrix Medallion on the bed. But in saying that, I am letting go of the pressure to get it done quickly. I am just excited and can already imagine it being on the bed. Being loved as with all my other quilts. 

This medallion quilt is going to be custom quilted, meaning that I am not just going over it with the same design all over but instead, each of the blocks/ rounds is going to be quilted differently. 

I am thankful that my domestic machine has a large throat (~8 inches) and I highly recommend this machine to anyone thinking of upgrading their machine cause I love mine so much.

You can check out Janome Horizon here on Amazon.

Quilting from the center out

Obviously, I am starting from the center out.

When doing large quilt, do it this way has been the best way for me. 

I do teach this when I teach free motion quilting on a domestic machine, but for allover quilting, this is done by filling the whole quarter of the quilt before the need to turn the quilt around to fill the next quarter.

By doing this, it saves so much struggle with tugging the quilt in your machine and the hardest part is only the center part. By tackling it first, you’ll be on your way to an easier process afterward. I talk about this process in this post and thoroughly explain it in my signature course Free Motion Quilting Bootcamp. 

Custom quilting on a domestic machine

With the custom quilting, I have to turn the quilt every round of design. This is the hardest in the center part as there is a lot of bulk in the throat of the machine. But I am  just taking the time to slowly turn, flatten the area that I’m quilting on. Then, focus on just quilting that area for a bit before I need to turn the quilt and flatten it again. 

So the tip here is just to take it slow. Take the time to prepare the area you’re going to quilt. Once prepared, enjoy some quilting time before you need to take a break again. When you are out of the space to quilt properly, take it as a sign to take a break. 

Quilting on a domestic machine can be tiring and be hard on your shoulders and body. You need lots of breaks. 

Especially when quilting king size quilt, you will need to plan ahead or time yourself to take lots of breaks. Maybe 15 minutes of quilting and a short break before continuing again. 

Stretch every now and then too.

Want more tips? 

Watch this video as I explained

12 Tips to Quilting a King Size Quilt with a domestic machine

So, does it answer the question of

Can a king-size quilt be quilted with a home machine?

YES, for sure. You just need lots of patience and learn the basics first by practicing small projects and small quilts. 

Quilting as a slow living part of my life

So far, I am loving the process. On the weekend, I am working on this in between the naps of my little one and house chores. My weekdays are pretty busy these days with a high workload at my Uni. Hence, I feel like taking a slow weekend is just the perfect break for me. I take the time to enjoy housework and some quilting time. 

Blogging is also something I enjoyed very much and find it relaxing. It slows me down as it requires me to evaluate my quilting process. But I am planning to take it easy and let it flow as it will. There is no pressure for me to get new things done every single week. Sometimes I will post a work in progress post like this one and maybe sometimes just tips for my readers like last week’s post. 

I do hope you enjoy this little snippet of my work in progress. 

Till next time, Happy Quilting. 

In this post, I am going to do a short Sew Sampler Box review. In general what I think about the subscription and some of my favourite items in the past several months.

I love watching haul videos, chatty fabric and stash talk. Something that we can share among quilters: a similar interest towards fabrics and sewing notions right?

There are affiliate links within this post. Check out my full disclosure page here.

Now before we dive into the review,

What is the Sew Sampler Box? 

Sew Sampler Box is a monthly subscription of quilting items that you can subscribe from The Fat Quarter Shop –> click here to see if they’re open for new subscribers

The price is $24.99 per month + shipping.

They usually ship around the 20th of each month.

What do you get in the Sew Sampler Box?

Fabrics: Ranging from Fat Quarter Bundles to Charm packs, there’s a lot of fun in getting fabrics from the box. They’re usually one of the latest line that would either be released soon or have just recently been released. 

Notions: Small sewing notions, sewing gadgets or useful quilting templates. Something fun, useful and often times will accompany the patterns that come with the box 

Patterns: With each box, there’s a pattern to match what has been given in the box too. Not all the things you need will be in the box, but you’ll have somewhere to start with. They’re not limited to quilt patterns. Sometimes you get patterns for bags and others.

Block of the Month recipe Card: These are like block of the month instructions on a card. They’re printed in colour on a cardstock which I find easy to store and refer back to when needed. You can always get a recipe box like this to keep them all nice and organized. You can buy the quilt block recipe card separately at retail price too. 

Discount Code: Every single month, you get a discount code to shop at Fat Quarter Shop. Usually they offer 20% off deals for something in particular like Jelly Roll or Layer Cake which I find very generous. I love that it is not specific to one single item as it gives some room for choices. 

Quilting Subscription Box

I think a quilting subscription box like this is a great opportunity for quilters to be introduced to new items, to something a little bit out of our normal purchase. 

It is a great monthly surprise and I find that they kick the spirit to get quilting! Just something fun in the mailbox every single month that I look forward to. 

Not only that, if you get boxes that are curated in such a way that the total retail cost is higher than the price that you paid for, it is a win for sure.

Companies can offer subscription boxes like this at lower price because they basically can mass order the items in advance knowing that they’ll sell off. 

I have certainly gotten a few notions and fabrics that I may not necessarily select myself but they are now my favourite! 

Is the Sew Sampler Box worth it?

I definitely think that the Sew Sampler Box is worth it! The price point is also great for monthly subscriptions, just the notions and the fabrics alone make the boxes worth the price.

I love the fact that we get the latest fabric line and not ONLY just fabrics! I definitely think that the notions added to the boxes are great and surprisingly useful.

Check out what I have made with the recent Jelly Roll and Triangle on a Roll I have received in this post. These boxes just fire up all the inspiration to just get to the cutting table too. 

What are my favourite items from the Sew Sampler Box?

This video will sum it up for the Sew Sampler Box Review from June 2020- November 2020.

Let me know, do you subscribe to any quilting subscription box or fabric bundle?

Quilting Ruler

I have been a quilter for about 9 years now. However, it is not until a few years back that I started investing in more rulers. Quilting can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be.

You can start quilting with the very basics and work your way as you stash up slowly according to your budget. 

I think in my first 2 years of quilting, I only had ONE ruler. The 6 x 12″ ruler. That one for everything. And it was fine. You can still make quilts with just one ruler to start with.

I have a post before this about the top rulers that one should have – covering the very basic rulers that are required. You can check that out HERE>

However, today I am going to talk about a ruler I recently bought and fell in love with instantly. It is an extra ruler that helps make things a little faster and easier. 

Creative Grid Rulers

Creative Grids has come out with lots of different types of rulers. And one thing I noticed is that the markings are a little different than other rulers. They also have special gripping strips on the back of the ruler.

These two features make it a whole lot better. I love the clear markings making it easier and faster for your eyes to cut. And the gripping strips really do hold onto the fabric and allow the ruler to stay in place while you do the trimming or cutting. 

I am definitely in love with their rulers. 

I have talked about the Stripology Ruler before.I  love the big size for easy trimming large pieces of fabrics. You can now opt for the large squared ruler too. The sqaured ruler has the same slots but with more markings. It is a little busier but you can use it in two ways. However, I do feel like squaring is way easier with the smaller sized Squared Ruler I talked about in this post.

You can check out their selection of rulers HERE>

Creative Grids Stripology Squared Ruler Mini

My recent purchase was this Mini Stripology Squared Ruler. It is not so mini as the name suggests, but it is the smaller version. It can cut up to 7″ strips and 6.5″ square units. 

Perfect for making patchwork units.

Just with all Creative Grid Rulers, the markings and the grip on this one is amazing. 

I love the square markings for the 3,4,5,6 inches squares (in black) and the 2.5″,3.5″,4.5″,5,5″ and 6.5″ squares (in white). They make it easy to trim down your blocks fast and accurately knowing exactly where to slot in your rotary cutter. 

How to use the Stripology Squared Ruler

Here is a video showing how I trimmed Half Square Triangle units using the Bias ruler and the Stripology Squared Ruler Mini. 

Links to the things I used in this video:

• Navy Blue Rotary Cutter
• Stripology Squared Mini Ruler
• Bias Ruler
• Pink Round Rotating Mat
• Mint Square Mini Rotating Mat

Overall, I am really happy with this purchase and definitely seeing myself use this on a regular basis. I just love the crispy cut of freshly trimmed units. 

Let me know in the comment if you have any other suggestions of rulers that I should add to my stash!

Hi there, I am just sharing some of the good finds on SALE this CYBER MONDAY especially curated for QUILTERS in mind.

Check them out and have fun!

There are affiliate links within this post in which I may earn a small commission from the links. 

CYBER MONDAY SALE FOR QUILTERS:

use code SAVEBIG and save up to 30% off the whole cart! Check out tons of fabrics, notions and quilting books HERE>>

Huge list of quilting fabrics, notions, patterns on big sale Cyber Monday sale HERE>. No coupon required.

FREE Go! Me and more sales on dies! This is a super great time to grab it if you’ve been eyeing some of the dies..

CHECK IT OUT HERE>

20% OFF SITEWIDE with CODE : CM20 – all kinds of fabrics. I recommend getting minky, knits and home decor fabrics here. but, there’s also quilting fabrics! So just grab them while you’re there too…

(I’ll update the list as I come across more deals, thank you for dropping by – let us know if you find some great deals to share in the comment too!)

Other posts you may love:

• Recommended Sewing Machine- beginner
• Recommended Sewing machine – advanced
• List of gifts for quilters