Hey everyone. This week we watched plain squares turn into pictures, a familiar unit learn new quilting paths, and a year-long row quilt move into winter. Here is what you will learn from this roundup, and how we would sew each idea at our own tables.
The short version: pixel quilts are having a real moment — small squares arranged on a grid to build hearts, flowers, and even words. A new winter magazine issue is teaching eight ways to quilt Flying Geese without retracing your stitches, and a seasonal row quilt has released its winter row, built around one 12-inch finished block at a time.
Can plain squares really make a picture?
Over at Missouri Star Quilt Co, pixel-style projects keep surfacing in new forms. One builds a big, colorful heart from small squares. Another turns a sunset palette into wildflowers. There is a cheerful word banner spelled out in patchwork, and even a small cushion that uses the same grid idea. No curves. No templates. Just squares, placed with intention.
Our take: this is color value doing all the work, folks. Lay your squares out and step back. Squint. If the picture disappears, swap one fabric for a darker or lighter neighbor. We like starting with 2.5-inch squares for a first try. They sew fast, and mistakes are easy to fix. Make a heart cushion before you commit to a whole throw. Completely up to you. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
What can you quilt inside Flying Geese besides a straight line?
Quilting Daily is featuring the Winter 2026 issue of Love of Quilting, with 11 quilt patterns in all. The quilts lean into American places and seasons, from coast to county fair, and the issue includes a Quilt of Valor pattern. Our favorite teaching moment is a quilting lesson that walks through eight different ways to move through Flying Geese units without retracing your stitches. A vintage Country Village block also returns in a fresh, scrappy treatment.
Our take: continuous quilting paths save you real time. Fewer starts. Fewer stops. Fewer threads to bury at the end. Practice one path on a small sample sandwich first, about 18 inches square. Use a walking foot and slow down at the points. Slow down or the point gets clipped, and we say that from experience. It does not have to be perfect. One good path, learned well, will serve a dozen quilts.
Is a row quilt easier to keep up with in winter?
At AllPeopleQuilt, the seasonal row project A Patchwork Year has moved on to its Winter Row. The design, by Lori Miller, builds one row for each season, with motifs that include pumpkins, leaves, flowers, butterflies, and hearts along the way. Each finished block measures 12 inches square. The winter row is available on its own, the fall row is already out, and two more rows are still to come.
Our take: one row is a kind, honest commitment. You are not behind. You are just on the winter row. That permission beat matters in a busy season. Sew the row, press it well, and hang it if you want to enjoy it now. The rest of the quilt can join it later. Take your time. It is not a race. We're not reinventing the wheel here — small, finished pieces keep us sewing.
Corey & Linda's game plan for your sewing week
- Grid it before you sew it. Lay out a small pixel design first, photograph it with your phone, and check the values in black and white before you stitch a single seam.
- Pull your squares from stash and precuts. Browse our fabric collection for the one dark and one light your grid is missing, and let the rest come from what you own.
- Practice one quilting path. Pick a single Flying Geese quilting path and repeat it across one sample. Our Craft Project Ideas posts have plenty of small tops that make perfect practice pieces.
- Finish one row, fully. Top, batting, and backing for a single row is a finish you can hold. Our Know Your Widebacks guides help you choose a backing without piecing one.
Quick answers
What size squares should a first pixel quilt use? Start with 2.5-inch squares. They are forgiving, quick to sew, and big enough that your picture still reads clearly from across the room.
How big is each block in the Patchwork Year row quilt? Each finished block measures 12 inches square, with one row released for each season.
That's the roundup for this week, folks. Thanks for sewing along with us. We'll see you next time. Bye.
— Corey (Chief Quilter) & Linda, Linda's Electric Quilters
