2020 is beginning in just a few days  - where DID 2019 go? (For that matter, where have the last two decades, or my 57 years gone?? Time just seems to fly by faster every year!)

Is learning - or improving - your free-motion quilting on your list of New Year Resolutions? Well, let's get that DONE together in the first month of 2020! How great will it feel to start off the year by accomplishing something!

Here's what we'll do:

Starting January 1, each day around 9:00 a.m. Eastern I'll come on Facebook Live or post a video where I'll share how I'm doing that day's lesson in the Free-Motion Mastery in a Month book. During live broadcasts I'll take a few moments to answer questions.

You follow along as you make your own quilt, working through the lessons with me. At the end, we'll all have finished quilts! And, as a special bonus, everyone who finishes a quilt (even if it's after the 30 days) will get a Free-Motion Mastery in a Month Graduation Pin!

The videos will be saved in the Free-Motion Mastery in a Month Facebook Group, so join the group to get extended access to the videos.

How do I participate?

Of course, you can just watch but I hope you'll join in the fun and make a quilt. To make a quilt you'll need:

The Book: A copy of Free-Motion Mastery in a Month

A Free-Motion Mastery in a Month Tool Kit: The easiest way to get one is to buy ours already assembled for you. If you would rather make your own, the items you'll need are listed on the product page. At minimum, you'll need a Master Trainer in either the Standard size (for small domestic machines) or Longarm size (for all longarms, and large domestic machines).

Click here to buy a book + Tool Kit Bundle and get a discount built into the price. If you buy before January 4, 2020 you'll still get our holiday special, including free shipping!

Fabric for your quilt: We've made this easy for you too by creating fabric kits in our new FMM30 Fabric Kit Marketplace. Groups of fabrics are already selected for you, so you can get the fabric you need with the click of a button. Each kit has the following yardages. If you are gathering fabric from your own stash, use these as guidelines:

Batting: I recommend Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Fusible Cotton. Always check your local quilt shop first (support them or they won't be around to support us!). If you can't find it there or don't have access to a local shop, here's a link to Amazon. I like fusible batting because it helps give stability to the block when I'm quilting. If you want to substitute with something you already have, use a medium-weight cotton or cotton/poly batting. If you have basting spray or fusing powder such as Bo-Nash you can fuse the layers with that. Don't use a thin, summer-weight batting, as it is harder to balance a stitch in the middle of it, and it will be too soft and wobbly in the sewing machine. If you don't have anything to fuse with, just use a pin in each corner of the block. After a few moments of quilting, you won't even need those.

Thread: Check your stash first for a good-quality cotton thread.Don't use old thread and don't use thread with a lot of fuzz on it. Some machines are particular about a particular brand or weight of thread; you know your machine so use what works best in your machine. Have at least 400 yards on hand - quilting requires a LOT of thread!

Of course, you'll need your sewing machine in good working order - give it a cleaning and a few drops of oil according to your owner's manual. And you'll need a machine quilting foot. Click here to learn more about that.

 P.S. I'm broadcasting Day 1 from a REALLY special location - tune in and see if you can guess where I am!

Image source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwhitmore/2019/12/11/9-best-places-to-spend-new-years-eve/#6dc8cec7167b