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Sometimes by the time I snip the threads after sewing on the last border of a quilt, I’m so excited to have it finished that the last thing I want to do is wrestle several more yards through the machine to seam backing fabric. How about you?

Before you invest in a huge roll of “all purpose” batting, think about your quilts…what do you want them look like? How do you want them to feel?

A package of Tonga Treats batik fabric strips buried in her fabric stash called “Island Punch” by Timeless Treasures inspired APQS Dealer Cindy Schellenberg to create this simple but striking pattern.

If you can trace, you can quilt using a longarm. In this video, APQS Education Director Dawn Cavanaugh shows you how easy it is to complete a quilt using a paper pantograph and shares tricks to get your quilts finished in record time by quilting from edge to edge.

Aptly titled “Zen”, the quilt’s two-color scheme is definitely soothing, especially thanks to the generous use of white negative space.

Labeling your quilt will help ensure that its provenance is accurate, which can add to its value—both sentimental as well as financial. But it can also help identify a quilt in case of loss or theft.

In this video, APQS Education Director Dawn Cavanaugh shows you how to quickly and easily turn and remount your quilt to the frame so that you can see and quilt the entire border without trying to guess how the design will match up on the other end.

APQS dealer Laura Reardon and her team at APQS Boise-The Quilt Crossing created a twin-size quilt that goes together in just a couple of hours thanks to the convenience of a “layer cake” stack of 10-inch squares and easy sashing strips.

Here’s a resource we hope you’ll find useful: our Backing Yardage Calculation Chart to help you determine how many yards you need to make a finished quilt a reality!

If you’re not a longarmer, it’s tough to understand why the backing and batting need to be so much bigger - especially when one’s already scrimping to piece the backing together from scraps. Here's why...