Quilting catch-up

(1) Dozens of free patterns for paper-pieced quilt blocks are available from Carol Doak‘s site. See the patterns.
(2) CompuQuilt‘s Simply Santa quilt is both pieced and appliqued. The pattern is available free as a series of PDF files. See the pattern page.
(3) Janet Wickell of About.com is sharing the pattern for a traditional Steps to the Altar quilt block. Get the pattern.
(4) Jan Patek Quilts is offering five free patterns for your quilting enjoyment. See the patterns. (And many thanks to Mishka of Quilting Gallery for the tip-off.)
(5) Don’t fear hand-quilting! Debra Fleece and Nancy Roberts have posted a detailed tutorial on Quilttown USA that will get you needling in no time. See the tute. (Thanks to Chris of Online Quilting for finding this great resource.)
(6) Heather Mulder Peterson of Trends and Traditions shares her opinions and advice about quilting tools and machines. See the post.
(7) Nanette of Freda’s Hive is having quilting giveaways each day through December 13.
(8) Donna Hussain has posted a remarkable quilt, A Day of Hope: A Quilt on Voting and Iraqi Women, on Rayela’s Fiber Focus. You’ll want to read both her description of the quilt’s construction and her thoughts about the occasion the quilt commemorates. See the post.
(9) Kay of outofthebasement blog will make you laugh out loud with her inspired and practical tip for using your quilting skills to cut perfect brownies. See the post.