Patterns and timelines

There are six new patterns in my Etsy shop!  

I'll share about each quilt individually in the coming weeks, but today I thought I'd share a little bit of behind the scenes info about timing.  Some of these quilts have clearly been finished for a while, as evidenced by the green backdrop in the photos.  It's not green here at the moment!  So, why wait to share?  And why release the patterns all at once? It has to do with timing pattern releases to coincide with catalog releases from fabric companies.

First, a little bit about fabric catalogs:  these are catalogs that shops can view online and that fabric sales reps show to shop owners to showcase the new fabric collections available to shops to pre-order for delivery 6 to 8 months later.  These catalogs usually include examples of quilts that showcase the new prints. 

All four batik quilts (Shuffled Stars, Shining Lace, Hidden Dimensions and Jump Space) were designed in February, after Island Batik put out a call for design submissions to showcase the fabrics in their Fall and Winter 2025 catalogs.  

3 Winter 2025 collections from Island Batik for Lumin fabrics  
These will arrive in shops in spring 2026

They shared digital fabric swatches that I could import as a "fabric" in EQ8 to color designs. There were 20 collections to work with.  I played with several and submitted designs for 6 collections. Some designs were repeated in more than one collection, and I was asked to recolor a few in a couple of other collections. 

By the end of March, Island Batik had made their selections and by the middle of May I received advance fabric sampling to make four sample quilts for the catalog.  These quilts are also required to be the pattern cover quilts.  

Rosy Bloom fabrics for Shining Lace quilt

While I waited I for the fabric, I started working on the patterns so I could do a first test of the pattern when I made the samples.  Making the sample from a pattern draft is a great way to discover where I forgot to indicate pressing directions, or where I could explain things more clearly.

Knotted is not one the patterns in the current batch,
but the process looked similar!

I was ready to start making the quilts by early June.  For a couple of weeks all I did was sew (such a hardship!), finishing up the fourth quilt top on June 18th. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Stephanie from A Quilted Memory in Nevada, Iowa for getting these quilted quickly for me so I could bind and take photos before shipping the quilts to California to arrive by the mid-July due date.

Island Batik does their own photography for their catalog, but I always have my own photoshoot before I ship quilts.  I haven't had a quilt be lost yet, but I take photos before I ship just in case I never see the quilt again.  I have a handy dandy Quilt Husband to assist with those shoots.  He's very accommodating and I appreciate him!

Quilt Husband in action

This shoot was in the summer, a little buggy but mostly pleasant.  The previous shoot was in January during a severe cold snap.  He still humored me and we got lovely incongruous photos of a flower quilt, Fabulous Phlox, in the snow...which I now realize I never shared on the blog.  I'll add that to my list of things to blog about.  But I digress.

Back to the new Island Batik quilts.  They were made and photographed but I couldn't share them until Island Batik unveiled the fabric collections used in them.  One of the collections got an unexpected early share at Quilt Market in the fall, which is why my Shuffled Stars pattern got an early sneak peek release on social media and my newsletter in November.  The rest had to wait until the Winter 2025 catalog was released this week.  

How about Rib Stitch and Surface Curves?  Why am I releasing them at the same time as those Island Batik ones?  Wouldn't it make sense to space them out?  Well, yes, that would make sense, but they are also tied to a fabric catalog that was releasesd on December 15th.  

White Owl Textiles sent out a call for submissions in October for their December catalog. Because they do not provide early fabric sampling, do not require an actual quilt sample in their fabrics, and do not require designs to be brand new they have a much shorter timeline from selection to catalog.

Botanical Sketchbook from White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics
Shipping to store Fall 2026

I was feeling optimistic about my time management skills (Ha!) and submitted two new designs to White Owl Textiles to showcase their Botanical Sketchbook collection. They selected some of my existing patterns, but also those two new designs, Rib Stitch and Surface Curves.  Yay!  Also oops!  If a pattern appears in a fabric catalog sent to quilt shops, the pattern needs to be available for them to buy when they see it, so I had to write the patterns and make test quilts and get photos and pattern covers sorted out by December 15th when the catalog the catalog went live online.  Made it!

There you go.  That was information you didn't ask for, but I thought some of you might like a small glimpse at the back end of the business.  Stay tuned for the eye-candy part of the business over the next few weeks as I share details about each quilt and pattern.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

PS:  Any last minute Christmas-themed sewing in your sewing room? My Christmas version of Boxed Kisses, which I worked on after the Island Batik quilts, is still not quilted.  There are still a few days before Christmas but maybe this will end up being a Christmas 2026 quilt. 

Trimming Points for On-Point Settings

Setting blocks on point opens up a lot of design options.  Five years ago I wrote a post about on-point settings, including how to cut side and corner setting triangles and tips for sewing with them.  Click here to go read about that.  Since then I have designed and sewn several more patterns using on-point settings and I have fine-tuned my process.

Everything in that original post is still valid, but I have added point trimming to my process.  The more consistent end result makes the extra little bit of time and effort worth it to me.  

Sample on-point setting using 4" finished blocks in place of blocks.

Why do I trim the points? Proper trimming will make the edges being sewn together perfectly matched in size, so you can pin them exactly where they need to be, from one end of the seam to the other, to avoid accidentally stretching a bias edge past where it's supposed to be.

You can download and print the template I use in this tutorial.  Make sure you print actual size.  When printed correctly, the 1" square should measure 1" on all sides.

Once printed, I tape the template to the underside of a rotary cutting ruler, oriented as shown below, with the blunt tips of the template flush with the sides of the ruler.  The size of the ruler doesn't matter.  Which corner of the ruler I choose also does not matter.  I'm not going to be measuring anything with the template.  I'm just using the ruler's solid edges as a guide for my rotary cutter when I trim the points.

Is your template ready?  I'll wait.  

Also, you may like to read my older post I linked above to review how to cut side and corner triangles to end up with straight of grain on the edges of your quilt.

Now, let's take a look at how to trim points in different situations.  In some cases we'll need the templates. In others just a ruler will do.  

Trimming side triangles

Adding the side triangle to a row is simple.  Line up the square corner with the corner of the block or row.  The tip of the triangle will stick out beyond the block/row.

The side of the triangle that will be sewn is a bias edge, and there is a risk it will get stretched. If you trim the tip off, so the side of the triangle is the same height as the side of the block/row to which you plan to sew it, you know exactly where to pin the triangle in place, precisely where it needs to be to avoid stretching as you sew.

In the example below I measured and trimmed 4 1/2" from the bottom of the triangles, to match the 4 1/2" side of the square.

You can see below how the trimmed point matches up perfectly with the square.

Do the same thing for a triangle on the opposite side.  

Side setting triangles sewn to both sides of the square

My example uses just one square, but adding triangles to either end of a row of blocks would work the same way.

Trimming Corner Triangles when lining up with side triangles

As you can see in the next two photos, the tips of the corner triangle will extend past the side triangles.

Please note that for all the remaining pictures I photographed the parts on my wool cutting mat instead of my cutting mat to reduce clutter in the image and keep the focus on the relevant parts of the image .  Of course you should cut on your cutting mat!  

Position the corner triangle over the row as you would sew it, right sides together (see previous photo).  Slide the corner triangle up off the row, taking care to not rotate it and leaving it right side down.  

Position the template as shown below, so one blunt tip of the template is flush with the long side of the side triangle, and the long side of the template is flush with the top of the row.  This orients the template properly.

Without turning the template, reposition it over the corner triangle as shown below, with the long sides flush with the long side of the tiangle, and one short side flush with the short side.  Trim the tip of the triangle flush with the template

Without turning the template or the corner triangle, reposition it, again matching the sides of the template with the sides of the triangle, and trim the point flush with the ruler.

Reposition the corner triangle over the block row, right sides together.  The angles at the tips should match the angles at the ends pf the block row exactly.  Pin them in place and add additional pins every 2" to 3" to keep things in place to minimize accidental stretching as you sew.

Trimming Corner Triangles - when adding to the end of a row

When a diagonal row ends at one of the corners of the quilt, you can add the corner triangle directly to the end of the row.  Again, the triangle points will extend past the sides sides of the last block in the row.

You can trim the points even with the sides of the block.  The key is to trim both points by the same amount, ensuring the 90 degree top point remains centered.  

Divide the size of the block by two.  In my example, the block is 4 1/2", so the measurement I need is 2 1/4".  This measurement is where the top point of the triangle should fall.  Let's call it the midpoint.

You can see below how to position the ruler so the midpoint measurement lines up with the top of the triangle.  Make sure the long side of the triangle is lined up with a horizontal line on the ruler, to ensure your cuts will be perpendicular to the triangle base.  Trim the point that extends past the ruler.

To trim the second point, reposition the ruler to measure a distance equal to the size of the block. In my example, that's 4 1/2".  Measure from the previously trimmed point, and keep the base of the triangle level with a horizontal line on the ruler.  

Trim the point that extends past the ruler.

The blunt trimmed points should now line up perfectly with the sides of the blocks.

Trimming when sewing rows together 

Trim as when adding a corner triangle to a row, matching the trimmer to the angles on one row/section and moving it to the point to be trimmed on the other row/section.

Lay out sections or rows.

Position sections and/or rows right sides together as for sewing.

Slide away the top row/section without turning it and position the trimming template on the bottom row/section to determine the correct orientation, matching the angle on the template with the angle on the bottom row/section.

Without turning the template, position it over the top row/section, matching the sides of the template with the sides of the row/section, and trim away the point.

Repeat at the other end of the row/section.

Slide the top row/section back over the bottom/row/section, matching the trimmed points and angles.  Also take care to match seams as needed along the seam.

With careful thought  and planning you could trim all the points before starting to assemble the quilt, but I prefer to trim as I go.  This lets me check the orientation of the trimmer at each step to make sure I'm trimming each tip the correct way.  For example, the two side setting triangles on opposite ends of the same row need different points trimmed.  Trimming as I go lets me check I'm trimmming the correct point one for each end.

One caution about the size of setting triangles

Maybe caution is too strong a word.  Just be aware that the math and geometry of setting triangles rarely work out to lovely perfect 1/8" increments that are easily measured and cut with our rotary cutting tools.  The sizes are usually rounded up to the next 1/8" for ease of measuring and cutting.  (You can download this reference sheet for guidance on figuring out sizes.)

Because of the rounding, the seam allowance around the perimeter of the quilt may be a little larger than 1/4".  This isn't a big deal, unless you want any points on the edge of the quilt to cozy up perfectly to a border or binding.  In such a case, you may want to trim the seam allowance down to a pefect 1/4" before you add the border or binding.

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That's it!  I hope you'll find this useful.  Please share your own tips and tricks in the comments.  

If you ask a question in the comments please understand that if your comments are anonymous or are set to "no-reply blogger", I have no way of contacting you directly.  You'll need to check back here for an answer.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Enjoy 10% off these patterns with on-point settings in my Etsy Shop now through November 15th, 2025.  Use the coupon code ONPOINT at checkout or use this shop link.

Row 1: Shimmering Tiles, Fabulous Phlox, Field of Leaves
Row 2: Glacial, Modern Lace, Party Crackers
Row 3: Sparks, Starlight Plaid, On the Fence
Row 4: Fundy Skies, Triple Sunset, I Spy Lanterns

New Pattern: Splitting Squares

I am so, so happy with this quilt!

Splitting Squares, a fat quarter-friendly pattern
by Canuck Quilter Designs

While I was shuffling the blocks around on the design wall, I seriously considered abandoning this project.  (My kids would say I always say that about every quilt, but they are wrong.  I only say it about 25% of the time.)  Still, I pushed through and now I'm seriously considering whether I'll actually ship this quilt off to my daughter as planned, or if it will live on my couch for a little while first. 

Want some closeups of the quilting?

I originally planned to quilt only straight lines with the walking foot, stitching in the ditch along the skinny strips and extending those lines across the large squares and rectangles.  Circles popped into my head before I could execute that, so I tossed a few in after auditioning placement with cut out paper circles.

These looked a bit lost, so that was my cue to enlarge the circles, but I now had general an idea of where to center each one.  My plan was to quilt the circles using ruler templates and my machine's ruler foot, but my machine was not having it.  I thought it was fixed.  Despite many spa days for cleaning and maintenance and adjustments, my sewing machine has decided to skip stitches when I set it for ruler quilting.  It used to be just fine for ruler quilting, but now that's an exercise in frustration.

While I moaned about this to my husband and complained I didn't want to stitch this many circles with the walking foot, turning and turning and turning the quilt, he joked about having to hand quilt them instead.  Well, he was joking, but I was inspired!  Big stitch would be faster than tradional small stitches, right?  I happened to have a spool of green embroidry floss kicking around.  Not sure why I had it, since I don't do embroidery, but it was lovely green that would go perfectly with this quilt's colours.  Using a larger needle to accommodate the two strands of embroidery floss was a bit of an adjustment compared to the usual dainty betweeens quilting needles, but I got the hang of it.

I did end up quilting some of the circles by machine with a walking foot, but I love the surprise big stitch accents too.

I really like the mix of circles and straight lines.

I really, really had fun making this one, from the piecing to the quilting (with the exception of all the block shuffling).  I enjoy all the quilts I make, but somehow this one really inspired me and cheered me up.

Writing the pattern was a little more challenging.  I knew the cutting and piecing was easy, but making sure my words and illustrations didn't muddle things was a bit less joyful.  Thanks to Pat, Ronda, Donna and Kathi for testing the block instructions for me on a short timeline.

The pattern release is a week later than I anticipated because I wasn't happy with my original pattern cover.  I had not planned to use this version of the quilt on the cover, but I wasn't happy with what I had either.  The pattern cover really does make a difference to a pattern's success, so I delayed the release until I could sort that out.  Once I finished quilting this one, I knew it would go on the cover after all.

New pattern by Canuck Quilter Designs

Splitting Squares is a fat quarter pattern.  Each FQ yields the main color of one block and the accent strips of another, so it's really easy to choose fabric.  Just pick out as many cooordinating (or not!) FQ as you need for the size quilt you want.  No sashing or backgrounds to choose!  You will need to choose border and binding.

Besides being quick and easy, this is a very versatile pattern.  Not into bright colours?  No problem.  I originally designed the quilt in the monochrome colour schemes below.  

Splitting Squares using one "French Press" fat quarter bundle
from White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics
(shipping to stores in March 2026)

Splitting Squares using one "Oceanside" fat quarter bundle
from White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics
(shipping to stores in March 2026)

Looking for a holiday themed quilt?  This patterns delivers that too. Just choose appropriate colors or prints, like in the Halloween and Christmas colours in these two mockups.

Splitting Squares using one "Ghost Town" fat quarter bundle
from White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics
(shipping to stores in March 2026)

Splitting Squares using one "Yule Love This" fat quarter bundle
from White Owl Textiles for Lumin Fabrics
(shipping to stores in March 2026)

The pattern is now available in my Etsy shop as a PDF download.  If you prefer a printed version, please ask your favourite quilt shop to order one for you.

I'm curious?  What fabrics would you use for this design and how would you quilt it?  Leave a comment below!

Happpy quilting,

Joanne