In this free eBook, Free-Motion Machine Quilting Techniques: 81 Tips for Free-Motion Quilting, Thread Sketching and Quilting Motifs, three highly respected quilt artists, Frieda Anderson, Robbi Joy Eklow, and Susan Brubaker Knapp share their knowledge and expertise for successful free‑motion quilting and thread sketching.

As the holiday season approaches and everyone gets so busy, I have to remind myself to keep it simple. Simple gifts, simple decorations, simple projects.

Baby quilting is a wonderful pastime. Baby quilts make great gifts to welcome a little one, and the smaller size makes them a perfect project for the beginning quilter. In our latest free downloadable eBook, Designs for Handmade Baby Quilts: 4 Free Baby Quilt Patterns from Quilting Arts, we offer you contemporary baby quilt patterns and baby quilt ideas that perfect for handmade baby gifts.

Quilt making doesn't have to be complex, with hours of cutting, piecing, and sewing tiny seams.

In this free ebook, How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt, you'll learn how to quilt using fabric scraps, craft-store flowers, a fish, and canvas and paint.

One thing that always surprises me is that when we require the finalists of any challenge to attach a quilt sleeve for hanging, we get numerous emails asking, "How do you make a quilt sleeve?" Or, "Exactly what kind of quilt sleeve do you want?"

Last week I literally got back in the saddle, taking a horseback riding lesson for the first time in 20 years. It was an exhilarating but odd experience: familiar, and yet different from my encounters with horseback riding back in my younger days.

It occurs to me that this very-familiar-yet-strangely-different feeling is similar to the one many art quilters experience when giving a contemporary spin to patchwork quilting. Yes, you're piecing, but not in the traditional way. Yes, you're making blocks, but the blocks look off-kilter. And the fabrics? Hardly blue and brown calicos!

I confess: sometimes I get so caught up in the "art" I forget about the "quilting."

Let me explain. An idea for an art quilt forms in my mind based on, say, a favorite TV show such as (still--and forever) Tony Soprano. Or, a new line of gorgeous fabrics hits my desk and I have to do something with those luscious colors and witty patterns. Or, I get obsessed with a new surface design technique and suddenly all I can think about in my studio is Thermofax® printing or soy wax batik.