Now Piecing:Sewing every library block end to end, and posting a Block of the Week on Instagram.

CleverQuilts

The Stitch

Technical notes on fixes, features, and performance. Written for makers who like to know what changed under the hood.

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Fabric Stash Overhaul

So much gets fixed and added weekly that I sometimes lose track of it all.

The fabric stash got a major overhaul this week. I added the ability to add images in existing collections, and individual fabric names now show up directly in the cutting list. You can also reorder swatches to swap block colors around. The biggest change, though, was making sure fabric stays the correct size when displayed inside a block, which took some deep refactoring.

I also spent some time designing on an iPad, which I normally don't do as much. Even though I prefer working on a laptop with more screen real estate, I know most people will lean toward the convenience of a tablet, so that experience has to be seamless. I found and fixed several bugs with drag and drop, and I realized just how difficult the block library is to use on a smaller screen. A major UI overhaul for tablet users is now in the works.

On the physical side of things, I am working my way through sewing the entire block library by designing sampler quilts with no repeating blocks, since there are far too many blocks to fit into a single quilt. The pace is speeding up, and I am already close to halfway through my second sampler. The first sampler was done entirely in Tula Pink, while this second one uses Tim Holtz Abandoned. For the first quilt, I used monochrome solid color palettes for each block, which allowed me to pull matching colors directly from my stash as I went. For the second, I added my pre-picked fabrics to a collection and digitally painted every block before making a single cut. I have really enjoyed both approaches, and I am glad the site supports creativity in whichever way you prefer to work.