You can do something exciting with plain 4.5 and 6 inch squares, or use any 4.5 and 6 inch blocks.

Winding Ways is available in 4.5 and 6 inch sizes from Inklingo.

There is a very pretty appliqué design included in each On-Point Shape Collection from Inklingo too.

Don’t forget LeMoyne Star. The 4.5 inch size is FREE!

You can use the free  Diamond Triangle Square Shape Collection or go for LeMoyne Star 6 inch.

And I haven’t even mentioned Inklingo Sunflower, Yin Yang, and Log Cabin! Stay tuned!

Can you see why I’m excited about the possibilities? Have we got you thinking? Monkey and I wonder what you will do with these new shapes.

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes.Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

Inklingo for Beginners

Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge

Fussy Print Checklist

The new Inklingo Shape Collection for Yin Yang inspired Monkey to prepare a Fussy Print Checklist. (Download the PDF.)

Two of the Yin Yang shapes in the block I used yesterday (how to sew curved seams) were fussy cut/fussy printed with Inklingo.

Fussy Cutting

Fussy cutting is sometimes called “fussy printing” by Inklingo quilters.

Fussy cutting requires extra fabric and it is difficult to know how much extra to allow. It also takes more time, but the results can be spectacular!

How to Fussy Print

It all starts with a window template (above). Print the shape on scrap paper with Inklingo. Cut on the stitching line to create a window template. Monkey likes this kind of window.

For Yin Yang, the custom size is 5.5 x 7 inches. (Suggested Custom Page Sizes are included in every Inklingo shape collection.) Cut a piece of freezer paper (FP) the same size.

Place the window template on the fabric to select a suitable motif. Move it around until you find something you like.

Important! Since you will be printing the Inklingo shape on the wrong side of the fabric, place the window template printed side down.

In this case, I was able to find a motif near the edge (less waste) and position it so the outside edges of the block are still on straight grain.

If you choose a position that will not result in straight grain on the outside edges, it is it more difficult to sew, and you must be very careful not to stretch the block out of shape. It is always better to have straight grain on the outside edges of every block, if possible.

Identify other places with the same motif to make sure you have enough fabric to cut as many more identical shapes as you need.

Notice where the corners of the window template are on the design, so you can position the sheet of FP identically.

Press the FP in position, and trim around it with scissors. Press on both sides to get a firm bond (avoiding jams). Print the shape.

Important! Yin Yang is not symmetrical in either direction. It is very important to place the fabric in the printer so the shape will print on the motif, not at the other end.

Mistake!  It is easy to put it in the printer with the wrong end first. I did. When I realized my mistake, I could have printed again with another color and just ignored the incorrect lines in the first color. However, I wanted to use Color 46 on this black because it showed perfectly, so I rinsed the fabric in the kitchen sink to remove the ink, ironed it dry, replaced the FP, and re-printed with the same color.

Peel the FP off and use it to print another shape.

Position it identically at the corners.

TIP  You can use the first sheet of fabric to identify the corner positions to place the FP  again, if it makes it easier.

I printed the gold fabric with two shapes at a time because I was not fussy cutting. (Custom page size 6.75 x 8.5 Landscape)

Cut the Shapes

You can cut Yin Yang shapes with scissors or a rotary cutter. I start by trimming the straight edges.

A 45 mm blade works well on these curves. It is easy to steer if you focus your eye about a half inch ahead of the blade and pull gently on the fabric with your other hand.

Voilà! I’m ready to sew! There are instructions for sewing curved seams in the previous blog message, and an EQ7 project file for Yin Yang too.

When you fussy cut shapes based on the design in the fabric, it can create wonderful effects and make a design like Yin Yang even more impressive.

Many quilters think you can’t fussy cut with Inklingo. Now you know. The Checklist might help you convince your friends to try Inklingo too.

Are you ready for Yin Yang? Download the checklist now and start looking at your stash for suitable fabric!   

Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge

Don’t forget to do Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge this weekend! If you complete the challenge and leave a comment here or on the Inklingo Sampler blog by Monday 30 May, you will be in the draw for one of two $25 Gift Certificates. So far, the odds are very good!

Are you thinking about fussy cutting now? Maybe Pie & Tarts or Winding Ways or Double Wedding Ring or . . .  Try it, you’ll love it!

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

Ever since he saw the new Inklingo Yin Yang Shape Collection, Monkey has been looking at 6 inch blocks with new eyes!

There are so many ways to use a 6 inch block!



The black blocks seem to form a circle in this design. A mix of angles and curves can be very effective.

Inklingo flying geese are the best ever! Print 3 inch HST with Inklingo, layer with unprinted squares, and stitch on the lines. Instructions are on page 10 of the free Triangle Tips PDF under the Machine Piecing tab on the web site. The squares and rectangles can easily be cut without Inklingo (3.5 x 3.5 and 3.5 x 6.5 with seam allowances).

Yin Yang is the perfect size for the center of a 20 inch Inklingo Feathered Star too!

Can’t resist a couple more.

This one uses Inklingo Winding Ways 6 inch blocks with a Yin Yang flair.

That doesn’t even touch on the border options. . . Have we got you thinking? What do you see when you look at Yin Yang through Monkey’s eyes?

  15 Minutes?

Have you taken Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge yet? When you leave a comment you have a chance to win!

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

Do you want to be rich and famous?

 a long time ago, a new tool called The Rotary Cutter was introduced. Poor, struggling pattern designers used new sewing methods to make their quilts faster and easier to sew. They became rich and famous. A big industry grew up, and more and more people made quilts. Many happy hours were spent making friends and making quilts. It was a good thing.

Eventually, there were so many pattern designers that it was hard for all of them to make enough money to keep fabric on the cutting table. Becoming rich and famous was hard.

Then a new tool was invented, called Inklingo.

This new tool printed the cutting and stitching lines on fabric with any ordinary Inkjet printer. It changed everything.

A talented designer discovered that although there is a patent pending on the Inklingo method, anyone could write a pattern that uses it! Inklingo made quilting better for quilters and pattern designers.

The designer was one of the first to find the free Inklingo Design Books, like the ones for Double Wedding Ring, Storm At Sea, Dresden Plate, and Winding Ways. She ordered and downloaded them all! It was inspiring.

She designed a Winding Ways Quilt with 9 inch blocks (better than this one).  The worksheets in the design book gave her a head start, but she added her own unique sense of color and design. It was stunning and she knew that other quilters would want to make her design too.

She saved the original worksheet, and made a copy to cut apart. . .

to count the shapes from each fabric.

Everything she needed to know about Winding Ways 9 inch shapes had been given to her in the Inklingo Catalogue of Shapes. She only needed a bit of simple arithmetic to find out how much fabric she needed.

She wrote everything down on Monkey’s Cheat Sheet. She could have left it that way, but everything was so fast and easy, she even had time to make her own unique Cheat Sheet. (She is a very creative person after all.)

She reviewed the illustrated instructions in the free Inklingo Winding Ways Design Book, and decided they were good for hand or machine piecers. Her instructions were written for her! Her pattern only required minimal notes and a suggestion that quilters get the free design book too. 

She knew that all the rich and famous designers offer something for free, and she knew that would be a good way to make a name. She felt she could offer this pattern for free (or at a lower price), if she did not spend a lot of time writing and illustrating the instructions. She was in a hurry for more quilters to know about her amazing designs, so they would want the next ones.

She sewed her gorgeous design in less time than she could have with any method other than Inklingo, and she was proud of her perfect workwomanship, also thanks to Inklingo. She took a picture of her quilt and it looked beautiful.

The list of requirements in her pattern included the Winding Ways 9.0 inch Shape Collection (which she bought from the inventor to sell), in the same way pre-Inklingo patterns required a ruler, acrylic template, marker, or other tool.

Quilters were delighted to get such a great pattern for free (or at a good price), and especially grateful to the designer for introducing them to a fabulous tool like Inklingo. Even quilters who did not use a rotary cutter could see that this designer’s patterns were fun for them.

Quilters used Inklingo to print the cutting and stitching lines on the fabric. It was simple!

Magazine editors (who are always looking for something new and exciting) saw her pattern and loved it, of course. Soon she was designing for Inklingo quilters (inklingoists) who read magazines!

With this designer’s pattern and Inklingo, the Winding Ways quilt  was not only beautiful and impressive, it was
   • simple to prepare the shapes
          (no measuring, no templates, no tracing, perfect straight grain)
   • fast to cut with a rotary cutter OR scissors
   • easy to sew, with stitching lines and matching marks on the fabric
Everyone was thrilled.

Quilters all over the world got precise results, so they were happy. They finished their quilts faster and wanted to make more. Each quilter was glad that she used the talented designer’s Inklingoable pattern. Soon the designer had more wonderful patterns for sale and was not struggling any more. 

The designer found inspiration in the Inklingo Index of Shapes for many years. She did not have to limit herself to so-called easy designs because Inklingo made everything so simple and precise for her and her customers. She became rich and famous too.

Applause. Smiles all around. And they all lived happily ever after.

The end. 

Would you like to be the heroine of this story, or do you know a talented designer who should be? (Pass it on!)

If you haven’t tried Inklingo yet, start here. You could print your first shapes in the next few minutes.

Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

Do you love the curves and circles of Winding Ways and Wheel of Mystery? 

There are three new Inklingo shape collections and a Design Book to tempt you!

The Winding Ways Design Book is at least a $20 value, but it is free right now.  It is packed with information and worksheets to help you design your own quilt or use any traditional pattern with Inklingo.

Combinine the 6 and 9 inch blocks for a stunning custom design. . .

. . . or use all three sizes in one quilt.

The curves are easier to stitch with Inklingo’s matching marks and stitching lines printed on the fabric, and you can cut the fabric with either a rotary cutter or scissors. 

The instructions for cutting, sewing, and pressing are included in the free book, so you can design your own variation, or for follow any existing pattern using Inklingo.

We think you will especially like the handy one-page reference with simple tips for stitching the blocks. 

Monkey and I need a nap. You have the  difficult task of deciding whether you want to sew 4.5 inch blocks, 6 inch blocks, 9 inch blocks, or all of them.  (There is a special combo price until February 7th.) We hope you will love Winding Ways as much as we do! It is irresistible.

Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

It is starting to look very wintery here in Burlington. We’re thinking about Christmas, and that means gifts.

As you probably know, there are several male Inklingoists, but lately there has been a little uptick in the number of orders from Rick/Bob/John and they are clearly meant for someone other than Rick, Bob, and John. That should be pretty nice for some of you on Christmas morning. Monkey and I are very pleased when anyone chooses Inklingo as a special gift.

Did you know that there are Gift Certificates available on the site? It works well for everyone. You can set any amount for the gift and the recipient can choose anything she wants from the site and use the certificate towards the purchase.

If you know a friend is hankering for more Inklingo, you can give her a little treat, even if there is a Secret Pal limit on spending, like $5 or $10.

Free Gifts?

Even without a Gift Certificate, Monkey and I think you can give a nice present to a friend just by telling her about the free shape collection. Aren’t you glad someone told you about Inklingo? You can do the same favor for someone else, by giving her the link to the Quick Start page.

I haven’t done any decorating yet, other than this happy little snowman on my desk, because I have been hard at work on the web site, trying to make it more useful for everyone. Some of the changes are:
•  updated Index of Shapes (including 10 new collections since October 1)
•  new, expanded Info PDF for the free shape collection (at the bottom of the product page)
•  new page for a “Quick Start” (A great intro for Inklingo newbies)
•  new menu arrangement (How did you ever find anything before?)

There are more changes coming, but I am especially pleased with the new info file for the free collection because it includes instructions for sewing and pressing LeMoyne Stars. Even if you have the instructions in The Inklingo Handbook, you might want pages 4 and 5.

Side note: I wanted to replace the free shape collection with an expanded version in September (the one-year anniversary of the downloads), but a server upgrade is required. When it is ready, you will be able to open the existing collection and use it, but you will have the option of downloading the new version. As it is, if a collection is updated, you would be forced to stop to download the new version even if you had only opened Inklingo to print a few more triangles. I would be annoyed if that happened to me. That is the reason for waiting for the upgrade to the server, and for updating the Info PDF instead.

I am embarrassed by how messy the web site became. I just kept dumping new collections on it every few weeks this year, and Monkey says it is a miracle that you managed to find what you wanted! A web site is never finished but inklingo.com is in better shape now than it has been for a long time, so I hope you will have a look. (Monkey: Some of the best stuff is hidden under Support, where no one looks.) If you have any suggestions, let me know, okay?

<drum roll> Yes, Dresden Plate is next because it is the most requested, by far. I am excited about this one. It took all my self discipline to leave it alone this week while I worked on the site.

As you know, I don’t normally announce in advance, but if possible, Dresden Plate and Winding Ways will both be ready for you by January 1.

A few hints about the Dresden Plate collection: 9 inch (quarter block is 4.5 inch); several different blades and centers; Basic and Deluxe (like Orange Peel); Deluxe includes some unusual, special designs for 12 and 15 inch blocks. Monkey says that might be enough detail for you to ask Joe/Mike/Dave/Fred for an Inklingo Gift Certificate, in anticipation!

Please give me your feedback about the web site—good and bad. I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you are, and still finding time to spend with fabric. Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey