12.16.2016

Here We Come A Caroling - A Christmas Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

How stinkin' cute is this Christmas quilt!
Rhonda designed and made this adorable quilt. It's actually an idea that she's had in her head for several years, she was just waiting for the perfect fabric, and this year she found it. 

Rhonda made this fun quilt and brought it to me and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. 

12.07.2016

Ohana Quilts - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

You may remember, earlier this year when I introduced you to my pattern, Ohana, you can read the whole story behind the quilt here. In brief, the quilt pattern was designed as a family block swap. A quilt that would be made by just me and my extended family. 

Shortly after designing and starting on the quilt my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. At that point I decided to release the pattern in an effort to raise some money to help ease the financial burden that was being placed on my mom. I can't thank you all enough for your love and support that you've shown for my mom this year, not only by purchasing the pattern, but the cards, quilts and the love that she has felt from each of you. She will be going through one more surgery this week and then after that she'll be on meds for the next 5 years, and hopefully be cancer free! 

I wish today that I was sharing my completed Ohana quilt with you, but unfortunately mine is still waiting to be quilted. :) However, my grandma is an over achiever and finished making not just one but two Ohana quilts and then sent them to me for some machine quilting. 

12.06.2016

Lovers Star - A Free Christmas Quilt Tutorial

I hope by now you've all got all of your Christmas sewing complete and you're ready to relax and enjoy the holidays!! 

If not, if you're still looking for a little Christmas inspiration I've got another fun Christmas inspired quilt tutorial.

12.05.2016

Digital Machine Quilting - What is it?


Before I bought my long-arm quilting machine 9 years ago, to be honest I really didn't know the difference between, digital/computer guided quilting or free-motion quilting. I really was naive to how it all worked. After buying my long-arm machine I very quickly learned the difference. I will admit that at that time I was a bit of a "snob" about free-motion quilting. I had the attitude that computer guided or digital machine quilting was cheating. Boy have my opinions changed over the years. :)

Six years ago, I was having horrible back and neck pain every day, it actually got so bad that at one point I was going to physical therapy several times a week to help with the pain. The pain was coming as a result of bending over, and using horrible posture while machine quilting for 8+ hours a day at least 5 days a week. At this time I made the decision to invest in the Statler Stitcher. The Statler Stitcher is the version of computer that is used on a Gammill Long Arm Quilting machine. It was a big investment, but I was in my 20's and knew that if I continued to quilt like I was, my machine quilting career was going to be short lived. 

This is a quilt that I used the Statler Stitcher and my "Mist" digital pantograph pattern to quilt.

12.02.2016

Beach Break Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Shellie made this darling Beach Break quilt as a gift for a friends grand-daughter. The nursery is decorated in Finding Dory theme so when Shellie saw this cute Beach Break pattern she knew she just had to make it for the baby.

Shellie liked how I had custom machine quilted the original version of Beach Break for Quilted Works so she asked me to custom machine quilt her quilt similar to the original.


12.01.2016

Ohana Quilt - Christmas Version

It's time for another fun Christmas quilt! This time I decided to play around with our "Ohana" quilt pattern and make it Christmas version. I actually had so much fun with this quilt that I created two versions. One with red, green, blue and gray and this one that is more of a winter version with just blue and grays. I love them both but these blues & grays are really calling my name!☺☺☺


11.30.2016

Medallion Quilt - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Marcia made this gorgeous Medallion Quilt and sent it to me to be machine quilted. This quilt has a lot going on and Marcia and I decided that it would be gorgeous with custom machine quilting or edge to edge quilting. In the end we chose edge to edge for this quilt and I think it turned out just fabulous!


11.29.2016

Liberty Star - A Free Christmas Quilt Tutorial

Hey quilty friends! Are you ready for some more Christmas quilt inspiration? I am! I can't get enough of these Christmas fabrics, oh, and blue for Christmas, yes please! I'm kind of obsessed with it! :)

Today's fun quilt comes from my free tutorial for the Liberty Star Quilt Block. The block is designed to finish at 12" square, the quilt shown here will finish 96" square, but you could make any number of blocks to make the quilt any size you'd like. 


11.28.2016

Applique Christmas Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Ruth pieced and applique'd this beautiful Christmas quilt. She brought it to me and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. Quilts like this one, with a lot of little details are always so much fun to machine quilt and really bring to life. 


11.24.2016

Spider Star Quilt - A Free Christmas Quilt Tutorial

When I decided to recreate several of my tutorials into Christmas versions, I didn't realize just how much fun I'd have doing so. I mentioned with the Northbound Christmas quilt that scrappy isn't my normal style, but I decided to push myself again and recreate this Spider Star Quilt in a scrappy Christmas version. I'm loving this version so much!! It's just perfect for Christmas and using up your scraps.

11.23.2016

Winter Wonderland Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Brittany hand embroidered this darling red-work Winter Wonderland quilt. It's so cute! I'm not patient enough to do handwork like this, but it's just so gorgeous and I love it.

Brittany brought me this fun quilt and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her.


11.22.2016

Joyces Star - Christmas Version - A Free Quilt Tutorial

These Christmas quilts just keep getting better and better, and the excitement just keeps continuing to build over here. My kids couldn't be more excited for Christmas, not just Santa, or the presents, but I think they are most excited that they get to spend the holidays this year with cousins', aunts, uncles and grandparents!

11.17.2016

Northbound Quilt - The Christmas Version - A Free Tutorial

I am so excited for Christmas this year, I think most of my excitement is coming from my kids. They are 9 and 4 and I think they are at the perfect ages to still enjoy the magic of Christmas. I don't know how many more years we've got until they'll be too old for the excitement, so for now I'm going to soak it up and enjoy it with them. 

Last spring I designed a series of free-tutorials, I designed them all with bright fabrics and since I'm so excited for Christmas I though that it would be fun to go back through those and see what they'd look like in Christmas fabrics. So, from now until Christmas I'll be sharing some of my favorite free-tutorials, Christmas style! It's my little Christmas gift to you!

11.15.2016

Happy Daze Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Stephanie pieced this gorgeous Happy Daze quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. Stephanine sent me a few ideas, she wanted detailed custom machine quilting, but really gave me free-range to quilt it as I saw fit. 

With the Dresden Plates and the borders I knew that this quilt really was a fabulous quilt to do some fun custom machine quilting. 

11.07.2016

Modern Machine Quilting - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Jackie made this gorgeous quilt and sent it to me for some modern custom machine quilting. Jackie loved how the original version of this quilt was machine quilted and asked me to quilt her version similar. 

I'm not sure the pattern name, or any details on it, so feel free to share in the comments. :)

Because this beautiful quilt has a lot of variation in the colors Jackie and I decided that it would be best to use several thread colors, to really make the machine quilting blend nicely. I used 4 different colors of thread, 3 blues and white and I love how it turned out.

11.04.2016

Christmas Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Sharon made this fabulous Christmas quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting

Actually, a few years back I taught, Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting at Quitique in Las Vegas, NV and Sharon was one of the students in my class. As much as I love to teach machine quilting it's such an honor when my students ask me to quilt for them. :)


11.01.2016

Refraction Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Stephanie from Quilt Addicts Anonymous designed and made this beautiful Refraction quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. 

I have found that when machine quilting on black fabric the quilting can almost seem to disappear, and, because this quilt has quite a bit of negative space I decided to machine quilt the feathers, and the outline border around the star in a dark gray thread instead of black. I did use black thread on all of the black swirls, because I wanted them to blend really nicely into the black fabric.

10.27.2016

Sugar Cookie - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Vanessa from Lella Boutique has just released a new pattern line along with her new fabric line, and the patterns are so cute. I was able to custom machine quilt this darling Sugar Pie quilt for her and had so much fun custom machine quilting it for her.


10.26.2016

Halloween Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Can you believe that Halloween is just 5 days away? I can't! I don't know if it's just me, but it always seems like once Halloween hits then it's suddenly Thanksgiving, Christmas and then we're into January! Time just flies!

Anyways, MaryAnn made this darling Halloween quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. She liked the spider webs that were quilted in the original version of this quilt so she asked me to quilt her quilt similar. I really dislike spiders and spider webs, I may just have an irrational fear of them, but I really do love to quilt them. There is just something fun about them.


10.20.2016

Fancy Forest Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Joan made this beautiful Fancy Forest quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting

I knew that I wanted to enhance the modern feel of the quilt, but add in a bit of traditional quilting as well. So, I decided to play with the background filler, I quilted Pebbles, Clams & Swirls, I teach how-to quilt all of those patterns in my book; Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting

10.17.2016

Typhoon Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Every time that I get to machine quilt a quilt for a client that is made from one of our patterns my little heart is so happy! It's such an honor and compliment. 

Katrina made this beautiful version of our Typhoon quilt pattern. She made the throw size and then sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. Katrina loved how I had machine quilted the original version so she asked me to quilt hers similar to mine.

10.11.2016

Introducing - Visual Guide to Free-Motion Quilting Feathers - Professional Quality Results on Your Home Machine


Take the fear out of quilting feathers! Explore 68 modern feather designs with step-by-step guidance from award-winning quilter Natalia Bonner. Quilt stunning feathers on a variety of blocks and borders with this beginner-friendly, visual guide. Unlike traditional feather quilting, which relies on exactness and precision, Natalia’s ideas will help you break away from perfection and find creativity in your quilting practice. Use your home sewing machine or a longarm to free-motion feathers with confidence, adding a truly elegant finish to today’s modern quilts.

- 68 modern feather designs! Beginner-friendly techniques from best-selling author Natalia Bonner
- Kick your feather fears to the curb with an easy-to-use guide for domestic and longarm quilters
- Finish blocks and borders with unique feather motifs to complement today’s modern quilts

10.05.2016

At Dusk Quilt - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Barb made this beautiful At Dusk quilt. Barb loved how the original version of the quilt was quilted so she asked me to quilt her quilt like the original. 

At Dusk is a free pattern designed by Erica Jackman for Robert Kaufman fabrics, visit the Robert Kaufman website for more details.


10.04.2016

AGF Stitched with Kimberly - Timber - A Free Quilt Pattern

My friends over at Fat Quarter Shop have teamed up with the fabulous designers from Art Gallery Fabrics and created an adorable new quilt pattern, Timber.

I was able to test the pattern for Kimberly and, I just have to say, I was a little bit worried about this quilt, it looked like it was going to be quite time consuming. Let me just tell you, it wasn't! This quilt went together so quickly!


10.03.2016

Fractured Housetop Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

My friend Tina Lewis designed and made this darling quilt and the pattern is in the newest issue of Modern Patchwork magazine. Tina always does such a fabulous job with her quilts. Her piecing is perfect, making them so much fun for me to custom machine quilt for her. This quilt was no exception.

9.27.2016

Medallion Quilt - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Cheryl made this beautiful medallion quilt and sent it to me for some edge to edge machine quilting. I know that I mentioned this yesterday, but I truly believe there is a time and a place for edge to edge machine quilting and also custom quilting. 

Something that I always ask my clients when helping them decide how to quilt their quilts is how the quilt is going to be used. If a quilt is going to be used, and washed a lot then, as much as I LOVE custom machine quilting, edge to edge quilting might be a better fit. It might hold the quilt together better and it'll save you a bit of money.


9.26.2016

Stacked Up - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

As much as I love custom machine quilting I do think there is a place for edge to edge machine quilting. Elaine made this beautiful version of Stacked Up, pattern is from out book; Cabin Fever: 20 Modern Log Cabin Quilts and sent it to me for some edge to edge machine quilting. 

Elaine loved how I had quilted the original version and asked that I machine quilt her quilt just like mine. 

9.20.2016

Star Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Last year I custom machine quilted this beautiful star quilt for Donna, she loved it. At the same time her daughter-in-law started making the same quilt, but it took her a bit longer to finish making her quilt. When she finally finished her quilt she sent it to me and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. They wanted something like Donna's quilt, but really gave me permission to quilt it how I saw fit. 

Well, if you've been reading my blog long, you know that I have a hard time quilting two quilts exactly the same. I feel like I lose my creativity when I quilt two quilts exactly the same. So, of course, this version has some really fun custom machine quilting, but it way different from Donna's version.

9.19.2016

Cakewalk Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Jessica made this darling Cakewalk quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. Jessica wasn't quite sure what she wanted, she just knew that she didn't want feathers or stipple. I can handle that! :)

When I saw this quilt I knew that with my machine quilting I could really bring a secondary pattern to life, I knew that I could machine quilt the background to really make it pop, and I love how it turned out!

9.12.2016

Free-Motion Motifs for Classic Blocks - by Natalia Bonner - Craftsy Class Now Available!

Learn the essential techniques for free-motion motifs that impress. Follow along as award-winning quilter Natalia Bonner shares numerous designs that help you decide how to quilt your tops by working with the basic shapes.

Today is the day. I've been teasing you for weeks now and my Craftsy class - Free-Motion Motifs for Classic Blocks is now live.


9.08.2016

Metro Hoops - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Cheryl made this darling Metro Hoops quilt and sent it to me for some machine quilting. Cheryl asked me to machine quilt this fun quilt with an edge to edge pattern. The fabrics that she used are so bright and cheery that I knew I had to use an edge to edge pattern that would really add to the happy feeling the quilt has already created.


9.07.2016

Animal Crackers Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

My friend, Tina Lewis designed and made this darling Animal Crackers quilt. Tina actually designed this quilt a few years back and I've custom machine quilted a few versions of this quilt for her.

This fun quilt has a mix of modern and traditional, so I chose to machine quilt it to tie it all together.


9.06.2016

Military Patch Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Ashley made this beautiful military patch quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting

This beautiful, and very meaningful quilt was made for a military widow.  Her husband was in the Air Force and died when his F-16 crashed on Dec. 1, 2014. I don't know what all of the patches mean, but being able to custom machine quilt this beautiful and very meaningful quilt was an honor for me.

8.30.2016

Applique Flowers - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Martine made this fun applique quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. The quilt was actually made from a double gauze fabric with cotton flowers applique'd onto it.

Because it was made with the double gauze fabric I knew that I needed to use a really soft batting to keep the quilt soft. So Martine and I decided that Quilters Dream Wool would be the perfect fit for this quilt.


8.25.2016

In the Navy - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Kathy sent me this gorgeous quilt and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. I know I mention this every time I quilt a quilt that is made from one of my patterns, but quilting these quilts just warms my heart! 
The pattern for this fun quilt is "In the Navy" it's a quilt that I originally designed and was published in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, you can read more about it here.

8.23.2016

Free-Motion Motif's for Classic Quilt Blocks - With Natalia Bonner

I wish words could adequately describe how excited I am about my Craftsy class - Free-Motion Motif's for Classic Quilt Blocks. I'm so excited that I'm actually giving away one class for FREE!

So, before you get scared away by the fact that I'm teaching my class on a long-arm mahcine, don't worry, every single motif that I teach in this class is totally do-able on any sewing/quilting machine!


8.22.2016

Sew Sampler - August 2016

Okay, if you've not yet signed up for the Sew Sampler by Fat Quarter Shop you're totally missing out! Really! It's like Christmas every time one of these darling little boxes arrives in my mailbox!

8.18.2016

Neck Tie Quilt - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

I recently machine quilted this fun quilt for Jane. Jane made this quilt completely from neck ties. It's actually a bit of a memory quilt. One of her uncles was a funeral director, so he had many ties. He recently passed away so Jane used his ties to make this beautiful quilt.


8.17.2016

Snow Globe Village Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Before I left to film my Craftsy class I custom machine quilted this darling Snow Globe Village quilt for my local quilt shop; Quilted Works. The details on this quilt are so dang cute, so I knew that I had to add some really fun custom machine quilted to really add to the quilt.


8.16.2016

Coming Soon-----My First Craftsy Machine Quilting Class

This past week I was able to fulfill a dream, a dream that I wasn't quite sure I'd ever be able to fulfill. I'm so grateful that I am able to team up with Craftsy to share my love of machine quilting with quilters all over the world!

You have probably noticed that the blog has been a little bit quiet lately. We'll I've been busy this summer, besides my kids I've been working all summer with the editors and producers over at Craftsy. Together we've created a machine quilting class that I know you're going to love. 

And, now that I'm back home from filming and teaching I'll start catching up on this blog! YAY!

8.02.2016

Kaffe Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Ann made this beautiful Kaffe quilt and brought it to me for some custom machine quilting. There is a lot going on with the quilt so I knew that my machine quilting really needed to give the eye a place to rest. 


7.28.2016

Red & White Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Barbara made this beautiful red and white quilt. She sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. Even though the fabric colors give the quilt a bit of a traditional feel, Barbara wanted the machine quilting to bring a bit more modern feel to this fun quilt.

I decided that it would be fun to mix straight lines with some curved ruler work, really mixing the combination of modern and traditional.

7.27.2016

Deck The Halls - by: Sherri Falls of This & That Pattern Company

My friends over at Fat Quarter Shop have teamed up with Sherri Falls of This & That Pattern Company and created this darling new Holiday Wishes book. The book is darling and features 12 quilts for a homemade holiday.

7.26.2016

Over Under - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Barbara made this gorgeous version of my Over Under pattern. I've mentioned this before, but machine quilting quilts for my customers that they've made from quilt patterns I've designed is possibly the most exciting part of my job! I just get so excited!

7.15.2016

Baby Elephant Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Susan sent me this darling Elephant quilt and asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. It's a fun quilt for her new grand-baby!

When Susan sent me this fun quilt she told me that I could custom machine quilt it however I felt would fit best. 


7.14.2016

Applique Quilt - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Ann and her granddaughter made this darling quilt! I love when I hear that my customers are making quilts with their grand-kids, it just makes my little heart so happy!

Ann sent me this fun quilt and asked me to machine quilt it for her. She wanted an edge to edge pattern. Because the applique is just fused on, it wasn't held on by any stitching I knew that I needed to machine quilt a heavier pattern to really hold that applique down.


7.13.2016

Custom Machine Quilting Feathers by Natalia Bonner

Betty made this gorgeous quilt as a gift for her grandson. It's just stunning. When Betty sent it to me she asked me to custom machine quilt it for her. She really loves feathers, and so do I, so I knew this was going to be a fun quilt to machine quilt.


7.12.2016

Red Rock Modern Quilt Guild - Fat Quarter Challenge - Edge to Edge Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

My local Modern Quilt Guild, Red Rock Modern Quilt Guild, issued a fun fat quarter challenge a few months back. Each member purchased 5 fat quarters from our local quilt shop, Quilted Works, and we were challenged to make a quilt using the fat quarters. The quilt could be any size, there just needed to be a noticeable amount of each of the fabrics in the quilt.


7.06.2016

Applique Quilt - Custom Machine Quilting by Natalia Bonner

Kim made this gorgeous applique quilt and sent it to me for some custom machine quilting. Kim gave me the go-ahead to quilt it as I wanted. I knew that it needed some fun custom machine quilting to really make her fabulous applique pop.