Hexagon patchwork is a traditional form of making quilts. Let's investigate the many ways you can design both traditional and modern quilts from hexagon shapes.
What if you were never able to return someone's goodness to you? Let me share how I live my life by passing the kindness on...
Can you imagine what happens when two avid collectors get married? A very full house indeed...
Are you having trouble going out of the house / into a lift / onto an escalator? There are ways to manage your panic without drugs.
When I suggested the idea to the family doctor, she said that the head doctor from the pain clinic had talked to their doctors about patients with work injuries. Almost all are undiagnosed adult ADHD
I have compiled for you my top ten list of current and all-time inspirational and educational patchwork quilting books for you to embark on a quilting adventure of your own.
What are your favourite things? Do you have a special dress, a special song, favourite place to visit, favourite recipe? I think about my favourite things in Australia when I'm down, down under.
Every year around mid September or early October, I get really depressed and very grouchy. My late husband Paul used to call it my annual nervous breakdown.
What fun to sit amongst your collections and remember where each item came from. Collecting things is a favourite hobby of us all.
Birdwatching is a wonderful hobby. You get to visit some very interesting areas of your country and other countries around the world. In Australia, we have some of the most colourful birds seen anyw
Inspiration comes from many sources. See how Jan T used some of her late husband's photos to get the creative juices flowing, to design and make some quilts
You need to bind the edges to finish your quilt. There are many ways to make a binding, but I will show you how to do straight cut, double binding with butt joined corners, for a foolproof finish.
Renovating on a tight budget? We have just added two rooms to our cabin, and the cost was more than we expected. To decorate the walls in the living room, I used an age old technique called collage
A backyard caravan can add more living space to your property. Learn how I gutted an old one and converted it into a quilt-making studio.
Our new lifestyle is a far cry from our previous way of life. We are now living full-time in our Winnebago Eyre, a small RV or motorhome.
Just do it! Some good advice, but what do you need to get started? Let me show you sogoodme of my supplies, tell you what I like and why, and help you to start on your own art journal.
Points in your patchwork not perfect? Here are some simple tricks to avoid chopping off the heads of your triangles.
My husband, Bob, collects old hand tools for working with wood. They are very attractive pieces, some with lovely shapes, and interesting uses.
Companion dogs offer unconditional love, company, help for disabilities, and so much more. On top of that, there are health and well-being benefits from owning and caring for a companion dog.
Come to see Fraser Island, and Great Sandy Cape National Park in Queensland, Australia. I have been there often since my first visit in 1980. My friends have retired there and we love to go to visit.
In Australia, as you drive around in country areas, there are many fun adaptations of the traditional letterbox, especialy where there are groups of mailboxes at the junction of a country road
My kids call me "the gadget queen of the west" because I love kitchen gadgets. I have a specialised tool or gadget for every job in the kitchen. Partially disabled, these gadgets help me enormously.
Not sure which sewing machine is best for quilters? I am going to tell you what the essential features are so that you can make great quilts in the easiest way.
Being thankful for the gifts we are given every day is not just for one day of the year. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday in Australia, but we can be thankful for what we have.
Sew together some halloween print fabrics into an easy to make quilt. You can put a quilt top together in no time with just squares. Easy Peasy and fast too!
Your life partner has died, and you don't know which way to walk. You put one foot in front of the other, but you can't seem to get anywhere.
Make do and mend was an adage that our forefathers (foremothers?) were fond of applying in their everyday lives. Making scrap quilts from scraps and leftovers was creating beauty.
In the 1950s (loungeroom in the era pictured), children who lived in remote areas of Australia's outback were schooled by short-wave radio sets set up in their homes. Teaching was done by voice only.
Fabrics have sizing which protects them while they are handled, and if you wash that away before you use the fabric, you may have unexpected results. I never wash my patchwork quilting fabrics first,
How many songs do you know that talk about fall-ing in love? I am a singer and know so many from the mid 1900s to the present day.
Free machine embroidery enhances a quilt. Inspiration for a quilt can come from many sources. My sister gave me an old calendar with prints from an artist who specialised in Australian birds.
Let's make our escape. Life in a city of any size is becoming more and more 'full-on' in New South Wales (Australia). Too much traffic, burglaries, noise, people...
Quilts and Halloween are a great pair. Have fun with this idea
Using quilts to decorate your home is a wonderful way to add colour and pattern to a room. Here are my top ten ideas for decorating with quilts
Skippy was favourite of all Aussie kids in the sixties and seventies. She was heroic, unafraid and very clever.
Lucky was Bob's constant companion. He was single for a long time and the only always-there-friend was his little dog, Lucky
The kennel mistress where I was born named me Miss Mischief, but my new Mummy and Daddy called me Samantha. Mummy calls me Sammi, and I can come when she calls 'Sammi'. I'm only tiny because I am a seven week old Mini Foxie. That's a special...
Let me show you what Autumn (Fall) looks like if you use other scrumptious colours for a Fall/Autumn theme. (Or a Spring theme)
Are you trying to learn how to use your latest software programme and can't figure out the finer details? Lynda.com has thousands of videos to watch
I have been reviewing computer programmes which are of interest to quilters for almost thirty years. I write about them in my Computer Quilts column. Let me show you some of my favourites
The Electric Quilt Company from Bowling Green, Ohio, makes many, many quilt related computer programmes, some of which are stand-alone and some of which need EQ to operate.
I have taught many things to many people, but my main focus has been teaching people how to make great quilts.I had an online school and a studio where I taught students how to enjoy their hobby
Can't decide which fabric goes with what to make your first quilt? Let me give you some tips on how to get the palette right for your patchwork quilts.
Start making quilts without fear learning from one of the best patchwork/quilting teachers in Australia. Jan T Urquhart Baillie has written countless articles, and had four patchwork books published
Quiltmaking is not new, it's been around for centuries. Born of necessity, patchwork was about being frugal, while quilting was about warmth or protection.
You are crazy about something Your heart is crazy for someone... I am going to show you how to make some crazy patchwork hearts as a gift for Valentine's Day.
What do you know about machine quilting? Not much? Lots? Thare are some simple things you need to be aware of before you can begin.
Timeless decor is always fresh, and blue and white kitchens are no exception. I have chosen some gifts that I think are perfect for a blue and white kitchen, to help if you need a gift for someone.
Once you have your crazy fabrics stitched to your base, you start embellishing the seams. That's the fun part of crazy patchwork.
Are you old enough to remember that song? I just loved it when I was a kid. I still hum it when Christmas is nigh. What are your favourite Christmas songs? Songs that take you back to your childhood, when Christmas was magical. Tunes that make you...
I was shopping for pots and pans in a specialty shop and behind the counter was the perfect stand mixer for my glamorous new kitchen. A KitchenAid Artisan mixer in Blue Willow.
Santa brought me a sewing machine! We were very poor when I was little, and lived for a time in an orphanage, imagine my surprise when he brought me a sewing machine!
How is crazy patchwork made? Bright colors, different shapes, and best of all, no rules!
You can make the best of what life deals you and be happier. Have a positive attitude is so easy for someone to say, but how do you do that when everything around you is so negative?
Do you love to relax and be waited on in luxurious surroundings? Is tea served with a sense of old time elegance what you like? Afternoon tea at Sheraton on the Park in Sydney is an occasion. We recently stayed at the hotel, and enjoyed the...
Come for a holiday in River Country. Travel to Australia's famous wine country, the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, where there's much more than wine to delight you.
Collecting ducks was an accident, but I have great fun finding fun ducks to join my flock. They range from ¼ inch high buttons to 12 inch high garden ornaments.
Love tokens come in many forms: traditionally they are coins from circulation, edges filed down and smoothed, engraved by hand with loving messages. My husband Bobby's love tokens are different.
This is a lesson on how to achieve a perfect ¼ inch seam with no fuss. In addition, you will learn how to press the Jan T way — for success
How to make a Four Patch quilt block with Jan T. Step by step, I'll take you through the easy process for making a simple patchwork block: Four Patch
Quilters from all walks of life are ready to help whenever the call goes out that people are in need. And the help they give? They make quilts, of course!
Are you tired of being able to hear the television from the other end of the house? Could your husband or wife be suffering from hearing impairment?
I think I had table manners fed to me. I still have an abhorrence for really bad table manners, but do we need to be formal in our everyday lives? My mother would rival Hyacinth Bucket (boo-kay).
Japanese traditional cloth wrappings called furoshiki, are the greenest package wrapping you can get. Reusable, beautiful, environmentally friendly wrapping for food, gifts, for anything at all
Come on a magical mystery quilt tour with me. Have you heard of mystery quilts? They are popular in Australia and online.
Baltimore Album Quilts originated in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s. They have become one of the most popular quilt styles and are still made today.
À visual diary can be physically as simple as an exercise book... ...or a specially produced book which you can buy from any good stationers or art supply stores
Southern Cross Quilters is an online guild for Aussies and Kiwis. When people are having some bad times, the word goes out to the list and people offer their thoughts, their prayers and their hearts
Cascading style sheets are special rules that web browsers understand. Known as CSS for short, these rules tell the browser how to display parts of a web page
You begin collecting every item you see for your collection of [thing]s, then you start to become more discerning. You weed out what's not good enough, you swap your extras and you look into the history of your [thing]. Refining your sets of...
Actually there's more to taking photographs of quilts and other craft work than you might think! Let me give you some tips
Crazy quilters love the freedom that doing their own thing with even the tiniest scrap of ribbon or some satin from a much-loved dress...
Are scrapbooking and patchwork two of your hobbies? Combine the two into one, and make cute little scrapbook style quilts to keep, or to give as gifts to someone really special
Let me tell you about my favourite tools for patchwork quiltmaking. Every cook has a favourite knife, every photographer a favourite camera, quilters are no exception.
How do you pick from the thousands of fabrics that are out there? Isn't it scary when you first go into a patchwork shop? Let Jan T help you get more confident to choose
Patchwork has been around in Australia for more than 40,000 years. Yes! 40,000. The Aboriginals made patchwork cloaks from animal skins. The first documented traditional patchwork was in the 1700s
To embellish or not to embellish, that is often the question for many quiltmakers. I embellish my quilts withquilting, or photos, or...
Sometimes it's great fun to get out there and experiment! This is the story of such an experiment, where I tried to embellish my quilt using fire.
Landscape photos can inspire you to design and make quilts or textile art in several forms. Literal or interpretitive: Printing the photo onto fabric, or an abstract interpretation.
Do you need pretty? It depends on the topic. Images are to illustrate content, not for pretty pages. If a visitor to your page is vision impaired can the text stand alone?
Many people are afraid to machine quilt their quilts on their home sewing machine, because they think it's too difficult. Not so! Prepare your work space properly and the job's easy.
Let Jan T show you her best tips for getting great results when free machine quilting. It's not hard at all.
At least at the moment — I am in the Lower Hunter Valley, close to Maitland, NSW. I have had more than thirty addresses as an adult.
I design all my own quilts. I make art quilts, bed quilts, wall quilts, baby quilts, miniature quilts, really big bed quilts...
If you have EQ and are afraid to start, here's a simple drawing tutorial for you. I'm known as the eq guru in Australia because I have been writing about the software for years
If you've ever wondered how quilters got photos onto the fabric in their quilts, wonder no more. Let me show you how simple it is using readily available materials, Electric Quilt and your computer.
Are you happy with your lot in life? Are there more good things than bad in a list of what's in your world at present. I've listed my current loves/hates and the hubs that illustrate them. Enjoy...
The importance of straight grains when cutting triangles for patchwork quilts cannot be emphasised enough. In patchwork, there are two kinds of commonly used triangles. See how they work in quilts
Setting a quilt on point is not as hard as is thought. To set blocks together on point, requires several setting triangles — the triangles which are needed at the edge to make the quilt lie flat
The Ulysses butterfly is so beautiful, I became enraptured by them on my first visit to a Daintree (in far north Queensland, Australia) coffee plantation about thirty years ago. As they flitted in and
A 'walking' foot for your sewing machine is essential if you are a quiltmaker. This foot has its own feed dogs to move the top layer of fabric, while the machine's feed dogs move the bottom layer.
Good, well-made patchwork quilts have been successfully basted to make the quilting step easier.
Do you want to make better quilts? Have you got some patchwork/quilting tasks that you need help with? Let me help you. I'm Jan T (Urquhart) Baillie.
Showcasing the books, articles and websites of renowned quilting writer, Jan T Urquhart Baillie, on the subject of patchwork and quilting
Quiltmaking tutor, author, publisher, webmaster, online quilt school headmistress, quilt judge, speaker, wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend...