How AI Is Changing Quilt Design

A digital photograph showcases a quilting and tech workspace. A computer monitor displays colorful quilt block designs, with a white sewing machine, fabric swatches, and a Raspberry Pi nearby. Finished quilts hang on the wall in the background.

Quiltmaking has long been an art form rooted in tradition, but today it is also evolving into a space for innovation. One of the most exciting developments in recent years is the role of artificial intelligence in quilt design. While quilting remains a profoundly personal and hands-on craft, AI is opening new doors for creativity, enabling quilters to visualize patterns, explore color palettes, and design with greater freedom than ever before.

June 21, 2025June 21, 2025

Why Your First Quilt Should Be a T-Shirt Quilt

A stack of neatly folded colorful t-shirts sits on a wooden table next to a white sewing machine. In front of the machine, various cut fabric squares from t-shirts are arranged in rows, suggesting the beginning of a quilt project. Natural light streams in from a nearby window, creating a warm and inviting workspace.

If you’ve ever thought about making a quilt but felt overwhelmed, I have good news for you. Your first quilt doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be meaningful. Starting with a t-shirt quilt is a great way to begin your quilting journey.

June 19, 2025June 19, 2025

How a Pile of Old Clothes Becomes a Quilt Full of Stories

At first glance, it might just look like a pile of old clothes: worn t-shirts, faded jeans, maybe a baby blanket or two. But to me, it’s something more. Each piece holds a memory. A moment. A story. And when those pieces are stitched together, they become something powerful: a memory quilt.

June 16, 2025June 16, 2025

Why I Started Upcycling T-Shirts into Quilts

Upcycling t-shirts into quilts was not something I planned. It found me. Like many creative paths, it started with a simple idea and grew into something deeper and more meaningful.

June 10, 2025June 10, 2025

Quilting in the Black Community: A Legacy of Love, Resistance, and Creativity

A realistic oil painting of an African American woman in a rustic wooden room, sewing a colorful patchwork quilt by hand. She wears a faded rust-colored dress and a white headscarf, sitting near a window that lets in soft natural light. A fireplace and wooden chair add to the historical atmosphere.

Quilting runs deep in the Black community. Long before I picked up a rotary cutter or fired up a longarm machine, I was surrounded by fabric, faith, and stories stitched into every corner of our homes. Quilts weren’t just blankets. They were history books, acts of resistance, and expressions of love passed from one generation to the next.

June 8, 2025June 8, 2025

5 Surprising Things You Can Use to Make a Memory Quilt (Besides Clothes)

A neatly stacked pile of folded blankets and towels sits on a wooden table in a quilting studio.

Are you looking for a creative way to upcycle keepsakes and preserve memories? I help people turn meaningful items into custom memory quilts that tell their story. If you’ve been holding onto old linens, baby items, or household fabrics and wondering what to do with them, this post is for you.

May 28, 2025May 28, 2025

The Meaning Behind Popular Quilt Blocks

A photograph captures two elderly women working together to hand sew a colorful patchwork quilt. One is a Black woman with glasses wearing a tan sweater, and the other is a white woman with white hair wearing a light blue shirt. They are sitting at a table near a window in a bright, cozy room.

Quilting isn’t just stitching fabric together. It’s storytelling. Every block, every shape, every fabric choice can hold a deeper meaning, especially in traditional quilts passed down through generations.

May 18, 2025May 18, 2025

Why Prewashing Clothes Is Important for Your Memory Quilt

A middle-aged woman in a blue shirt stands in a bright laundry room, holding a neatly folded stack of t-shirts in front of an open washing machine, with sunlight streaming through a nearby window.

If you plan to send me clothing for a memory quilt, I want to say a heartfelt thank you. These quilts are deeply personal, and I consider it an honor to work with the items that mean so much to you and your family. One crucial step in preparing your clothing is to wash the items before you give them to me.

April 26, 2025April 26, 2025

What is Longarm Quilting?

Close-up of a longarm quilting machine stitching a colorful patchwork quilt, with shelves of folded quilts and fabrics in the background.

When you hear the word “quilting,” you might think of sewing small fabric pieces together. But the final step — stitching the quilt top, batting, and backing into one finished piece — is just as important. That’s where longarm quilting comes in.

April 4, 2025April 4, 2025

Why T-Shirt Quilts Are More Than Just Blankets

A colorful t-shirt quilt displayed on a bed, featuring a variety of t-shirts with different colors, logos, and designs. The quilt is neatly arranged in a well-lit, neutral-toned room, highlighting its patchwork of personal memories and unique patterns.

At Quilts by Big Wes, we turn old t-shirts into something new and meaningful. T-shirt quilts aren’t just cozy keepsakes. They’re memory maps. Every shirt in your quilt tells a story; together, they become a visual timeline of your life.