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Strive for Progress not Perfection! | Free Art Printable Download — Click on the image to download your free printable!

As a quilter, I often find myself looking to other quilts for inspiration. There are so many amazing quilts being made every single day (check out our #msqcshowandtell on Instagram for some excellent examples), so between that and weekly MSQC Tutorials, it’s pretty easy to come up with a long quilting bucket list, meticulously prioritized by how excited I am to try out a pattern.

The part that kind of sneaks up on you is that it’s also easy to go to those same sources of inspiration and then compare your quilt to theirs. Maybe your points aren’t as pointy or your squares don’t line up as perfectly as theirs. I’m here to tell you that it’s okay! Don’t compare your work to that of a professional quilter. You are on your own quilting journey! Your latest quilt is probably a little bit better than the last one or maybe you’re more confident to try slightly more difficult patterns. Wherever you are on your quilting journey today, decide to BE HAPPY with the progress you’ve made since your first quilt!

So, enjoy your quilting journey and take the time to celebrate successes. While you’re at it, click on the image above to download your own copy of this adorable word art, so you can print and display it in your sewing room! We hope you can display this printable somewhere that will help you remember how good life is when you make time for quilting! Happy Motivational Monday and Happy National Quilting Week! #makesomethingtoday

If you’re like me, you scribble notes about your project on whatever is nearby. A receipt, on the back of junk mail, etc. That’s why I love this little notebook! It’s so easy to make, and full of graph paper, which is perfect for figuring out the specifics of your next quilt (and keeping them all in one place)!

In less than an hour you can make one of your own. And the best part is, you probably already have everything you need.

What you’ll need for one notebook:

1 sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock in your favorite color
5 sheets of 8.5 x 11 printer paper or graph paper
About 3 feet of book binding string (or embroidery floss will work fine, too!)
Sewing needle
Rotary cutter, ruler, and mat
And this file, printed onto the sheet of cardstock

Step 1: Print the free .pdf onto your cardstock. Use your ruler to measure 5.5″ and cut the paper in half. Fold in half as shown in this picture. Now you have two covers. Hopefully you’ll love the first one enough to make another for a friend!

Step 2: Open the cover and starting 1/2 inch from the top, make a mark every quarter inch along the spine ending 1/2 an inch before the bottom as well. Poke a hole with the sewing needle on each mark.

Step 3: Then cut and fold the graph paper just like you did the cardstock.

Step 4: Using the cover as a template, poke holes in the inside paper, a few sheets at a time.

Step 5: Once your paper is all folded and punched, it’s time to start sewing. Start on the top hole, and draw your thread through the cardstock and all five sheets of inside paper. Sew back to the outside.

Step 6: Double knot the string and clip the end.

Step 7: Go back down the second hole. Once you are inside the book again, come back up the third hole and loop under the thread between the first and second hole. Then go down the third hole again. Repeat down the entire spine.

Step 8: Once you get to the end, come out the last hole, loop through the previous threads one more time and tie it of with a double knot. Trim the ends of the thread.

This is what the inside and outside will look like:

Step 9: Using your rotary cutter and ruler, trim the edges of your book so they are uniform.

You’re all done! Wouldn’t these make such a great gift with a charm pack or two? Enjoy!

Tag: free printable

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