When you make a quilt, at some point you will have to consider the quilt binding. You may opt for an elaborate binding that makes an impact on the overall design, a simple and subtle binding, or no binding at all.

I'm an equal-opportunity fabric monger: I drool just as much over hand surface-designed fabrics. I gobble up every new technique and have even tried some fabric stamping, ice dyeing, resist dyeing, and fabric painting. I love it.

Here's a way to practice your free-motion stitching skills and add a mixed-media element to your machine quilting. In honor of Valentine's Day, it's heart art from our sister publication Cloth Paper Scissors, one of my favorite sources of fiber art inspiration.

In the coming year, I hope to spend more time focused on the things I am most passionate about, and my family and my creative pursuits top the list. Maybe I'll even combine the two, making a photo quilt!

Right now, I'm looking for quick quilting projects to make. Running through the file of quilting ideas I keep in my head, I remembered these sweet little free-motion stitched stockings by Diane Rusin Doran from Quilting Arts Gifts 2011.

I just returned from the Quilt Market trade show in Houston, and my head is buzzing with ideas. There was so much to see: so many colorful booths filled with the latest fabrics, embellishments, and tools for quilt making.

I always love to hear how people began quilting. Did they make their first patchwork quilt at their grandmother's knee? Did they get bored and take a class that led to a passion? Did a friend drag them to a quilt show, and they were hooked?

A trip to Quilt Market is like time traveling to the future. And I'll tell you, the quilting future is filled with fabric. Specifically, the future is about how to quilt with your own fabric or fabric by a designer.