Monica Curry Quilt Design

This pretty  Red Cardinal  rug mug is quick to make and would be a great Christmas gift for the bird lover in your life. I love birds and came up with this quick little project for the holiday season. It measures 7" x 10" and the  Red Cardinal  block is 7"x 7". Combine it with a cute holiday mug and a packet of hot cocoa mix for a Hostess gift.

Decorate your studio with this FREE 8x10 poster.  Download  HERE

Get a taste of something sweet with this pretty Jam Jar wall quilt. It would be perfect in a kitchen nook. I wanted my pantry to have a vintage feel, so I used a medium floral print in the background for "wallpaper." I think this adds interest to the design. I also took away a few jars to break up the rhythm and showcase the floral wallpaper. This pantry is stocked with my favourite jams, but there are many cool foodie fabrics that would work great for this quilt. Choosing the fabrics is half the fun. Finished Block:  6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) Jam jar labels are included with the Jam Pantry quilt pattern

I haven't been able to post very much these days because I have a great new part-time job. Besides loving to quilt, I'm also a floral arranger. I love my job, but I'm now juggling my time between job, blogging, sewing, and housework. It's totally doable (I have no kiddies running around), but I really have to plan my time better for my sewing. I have a Halloween table runner on the design wall and on deck is a beautiful Christmas table topper. Here are some of my floral design creations. It's been a long time since I did any floral work, but I'm starting to get the hang of it again, and I'm learning from some very talented designers at work.

I was so pleased to have my patterns accepted by Connecting Threads last week. I posted four of my best-selling patterns there and will be posting more very soon. Click the link below to check them out.

Hello Canadian quilting friends! When I first started ordering fabric online, I initially went to the US online stores because of the lower prices. However, I quickly learned that I wasn't getting much of a bargain. It didn't take me long to realize I was better off shopping at Canadian online fabric stores. In some cases, the fabric prices may be slightly higher, but the price you pay online in Canadian is the price you pay without the duties, exchange rates, and high shipping costs to worry about. Shopping USA: Let's do the math . . .  Shipping costs from the US can sometimes be outrageous. Also, you have to take into account the current Canadian/US dollar exchange rate and cross border  duty charges .  As of this post, the  exchange rate  on the Canadian dollar is around 1.30. That's right, right now our dollar is only worth around 0.70 cents compared to the US $1.00. This means when you shop US stores online, you're paying 0.30 cents more on the dol...

This pattern was inspired by the Christmas Cactus which got its name because it starts blooming during the early winter, just in time for Christmas.  The blocks are simple foundation piecing. The pattern includes yardage and assembly instructions for both Versions 1 and 2. Finished measurements for both versions: 26" x 26" (65cm x 65cm).  Version 1 Version 2

I love postage stamp quilts; they're great stash busters. I made this doll quilt for my grandniece, Abby, who just had a new baby brother. I made her mom my Precious Bundle pinwheel quilt for the new arrival, and my sister and I thought it would be nice to make a quilt for Abby's baby doll as well. To make this quilt, I used a great piecing technique I found at  So Resourceful  This technique makes piecing all those little squares a breeze. See the tutorial  HERE

My new mug rug book has four great patterns inspired by lazy summer days. These cheerful mug rugs would be great by the pool, at the cottage or as hostess gifts at your next BBQ. The book includes complete patterns for every skill level. UPDATE: This mug rug book is no longer available for sale. However, the Purple Coneflower, Ice Cream Swirl and Wonky Beach House mug rug patterns are still available for purchase individually at my Etsy Store

When quilters talk about jelly rolls and layer cakes we're not always talking about the scrumptious desserts. We could also be talking about our fabrics. The other day, I mentioned to my sister (who isn't a quilter) that I ordered some jelly roll fabrics. As soon as I said it, I got that deer-in-the-headlights gaze from my dear old sis that said, "What the heck is jelly roll fabric"?  Quilting has its own jargon just like any other craft. Precut fabrics are a quilter's dream. All the colours and patterns are perfectly coordinated, you get to try out beautiful samples of any designer you like, and the choices are endless. There are even quilt pattern books written specifically for precuts. I created this pre-cut fabric reference tool that you can download for FREE. Put it up in your studio as a guide to what type of pre-cuts are out there. FREE Download  HERE

Have you drooled over those stunning Ricky Tims kaleidoscope quilts but felt too intimidated to make one? Don't be! When Tims says "simple strip-piecing technique for stunning results," he really means it. This technique is very simple. The book has very thorough instructions with lots of pictures. Tims also includes plenty of examples of quilts made by his students that will give you inspiration. Tims also has a very helpful video tutorial of the whole process for this technique .  I found this video very helpful. You can see it at the end of this post. I bought Ricky Tims' book Kool Kaleidoscope Quilts a couple of years ago and this is my first attempt at his technique. It was a practice run, so I made no plan as far as fabrics go. I used scraps I had laying around that needed a place to land. In spite of an absence of planning, I think this kaleidoscope turned out quite pretty. This table topper measures 24" x 24." I'm now going to take...

You can hang this beautiful paper pieced Canadian flag banner with pride. I'm Canadian born and raised and I truly love this country. I also think we have a very cool modern flag design; a simple maple leaf. On July 1st, 2017, Canada turns 150 years young. I decided to make a Canadian flag banner to hang in the front window this year instead of using the one everyone gets in the morning paper. The maple leaf in the center of the flag is a perfect design for foundation piecing. After some tweaking here and there, I finally got everything right. This block is 25 cm x 25 cm (10" x 10"). It can be reduced or enlarged to incorporate into pretty much anything: a throw pillow, a tote bag, or anything you want to cover with Canada's national symbol. Another reason to love Canada . . . check out our Prime Minister.😛

My little Pomeranian Sophie is my shadow. She's with me everywhere I go around the house, but I've been spending a lot more time at my computer lately. Initially, she wanted to sit on my lap while I worked (she's a lap dog, after all), but I wouldn't get anything done that way. So, I plunked her on the desk. Now she sleeps there while I'm working, so I decided to make her a small quilted mat for the desktop. Awhile back, I picked up some cute fabric from with foxes on it. The fabric line is  Good Natured  by Riley Blake. My husband always says Sophie reminds him of a fox, so I made her a quilted "desk mat" with it. This mat would be great for your feline friend as well. I noticed the new mat was a bit slippy at first, so I put a piece of anti-slip mesh under it and that worked great. I think the little foxes in the birch trees are adorable. Sophie fast asleep on her new blankie.

My husband is an intarsia artist, and I asked him if he could make some wooden scissors for my studio wall. I made the design and he did all the hard work putting them together. This is what we made together. Aren't they cool? They're hanging over my sewing machine table and I love them. Pattern Now Available! Wooden Scissors Wall Art BUY NOW I love the real looking screw in the middle.

This fun kites quilt block is a great stash buster for all those pretty scraps you've been hanging on to. For good contrast, I used multiple creams and beige scraps for the background, which makes the colours really pop. I like the block without embellishing, but if you like to embroider, you can add tails. Krazy Kites Quilt Block by Monica Curry This block makes a great summer themed pillow. I think it would also be stunning as a baby blanket or a wall quilt with embroidered tales.

This pencil quilt wall hanging would look great in an office or a student's dorm room. The script fabric in the background adds a touch of whimsy, and how cool are those sharp pencil tips? This is a great project for Jelly Roll scraps. The lovely script fabric I used for the background is Laurel White Vintage from Bee Creative by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics.

WHO WANTS ICE CREAM?! My Ice Cream Swirl mug rug is a simple foundation pieced pattern. You can create it in your favourite ice cream flavours. The block is 7" x 7" (15cm x 15cm) and the mug rug is 7" x 10" (15cm x 25cm). Make nine blocks in different flavours for a cute mini quilt like the one below. Make a few Ice Cream Swirls to create this cute mini quilt.

Designed for the beautiful colours of autumn, the Autumn Star quilt block is stunning. I created my sample using batik and hand-dyed fabrics. This block would be nice in any fabric, but I really like it with batiks. FREE DOWNLOAD Autumn Star Quilt Block by Monica Curry Autumn Star  quilt idea

This charming A Little Crazy mug rug is a foundation pieced design inspired by the crazy quilt. It measures 10 x 7½ inches. I love the oval shape and the fussy cut center adds an interesting focal point. The piece is quilted with decorative machine stitching to mimic crazy quilt embroidery. This would be a fun and fast project for anyone new to foundation paper piecing. Pattern includes instructions for how to do a fussy cut, with template included, and how to cut foundation fabric pieces accurately. The print fabrics I used are from the Garden Party collection by Tea & Sympathy. The yellow fabric is Henna Mustard Seed from the Eden collection by Tula Pink.

I occasionally pick up fabrics from thrift stores, and I can usually tell the difference between cotton and polyester, but there are times when I'm stumped by the blends. The ladies at So Sew Easy put together a good video on how to determine if your fabric is synthetic or the real deal. It's important to know what you're working with before it's too late. Case in point, I once made a whole wack of HSTs and when I went to press my first batch, one triangle on every HST shrunk because I didn't realize it was polyester/cotton. Why did the triangles shrink? The poly fibers in the fabric melted from the hot iron. Poly is short for polyethylene aka plastic. See the video on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDXOl4UbSqU