Happy February 2025.  This month we have Valentine’s Day on a Friday followed by President’s Day for a Monday holiday.

For most of January, I was laid up with a cold, so I was unable to come up with many ideas for a February tidbit.  However, since I was laying about, I was watched plenty of YouTube videos.  Voila!  I came up with the idea to give you some options for free stuff that is available to us all. This tidbit gives you a place to find free charts for calculating binding needs with the math done for you, a place to find free patterns for quilt blocks, and a place to find free layouts for quilts with all the math done for you.

FREE NO MATH REQUIRED CHARTS TO DETERMINE BINDING NEEDS

One thing that drives me crazy is trying to figure out how many strips to cut for binding.  I know it is easy arithmetic, but for some reason this is one of those areas that taxes my brain.  Not only do I get goofy on the number of strips, but I also get blocked on how much fabric to use to cut those strips.  

During my cold lay about,  I was watching a Just Get It Done YouTube Video and Karen Brown mentioned “The Magical Rainbow of Binding”.  I have to admit in my cold fogged hazed brain, I missed it at first until she was showing the colorful chart that she uses as a cheat sheet to help her figure out what she needs for binding.  I had to play the video back a couple of times to get the information Karen was trying to provide. Now don’t judge me, I was under the influence of cough medicine that says not to drive a car while taking it, so my brain was someplace else at that moment.  

Anyway, I went to the website for “The Geeky Bobbin” and was able to sign up for the Rainbow download.  It is a wonderful tool!  The page consists of 2 charts, a small one on the left, and a larger one on the right.  You start with the chart on the right and all you have to know is the width and length of your quilt.  This chart uses color to indicate the square inches of your top, then you use the color to go to a second smaller chart on the left.  That second chart shows the number of strips to cut and the number of yards of fabric you will need for 2”, 2 ¼” and 2 ½” binding strips.  I printed mine out and put it in a plastic sleeve and placed it by my sewing machine.  I can attest, it really works, I already used it twice, no muss, no fuss. 

I left a copy of the rainbow chart in the Clubhouse 4 Quilt Room, if you would like to see what it looks like.  It is posted on one of the white boards in the quilt room. You can get one for yourself as explained in the following information.
 
You can access this free download at geekybobbin.com.  Once the website comes up, scroll down to a button you click on that says, “Get the Rainbow”(as shown below).  
You will have to fill in some blanks, including your email address.  An email will be sent to you where you can download the pdf document.  My print settings had to be reset to have it print at 100%, otherwise on my MAC it printed at 70%.  All rights are preserved, that is why I cannot include the document here in this tidbit, if you want the Rainbow, you must go to the website.


FREE QUILT BLOCK PATTERNS

In my cold fogged haze, I was not sure if in past tidbits that I told you about “The Quilter’s Cache”.  Sorry if this is a repeat, but I think it is worth telling you about. The Quilter’s Cache is a website where you can go and find all kinds of quilt blocks in every size you ever wanted to make.  You can use the site to download patterns for free.  The site is: quilterscache.com.   When you get to the site, scroll down to the second needle to a drop down menu box that asks the question “Where do you want to go today?”.  

Click on the blue arrows to see all the places you can explore.  I like to go to “Quilt Blocks Galore – Free Quilt Block Patterns”.  That will take you to a page that allows you to browse to explore patterns available by title, size, or the picture they show.  
The page goes on to show many more blocks.  Too many to feature here.  

Once you get to the pattern itself there is information on the quilt block and the layout to create a quilt.  Pay attention to the terms of use information.  Some of the blocks are unique to the designer and may not be copied and distributed to others, but the design is available for you to use.  


FREE NO MATH REQUIRED QUILT LAYOUTS

Finally, I think I have previously mentioned Karen Brown’s website for “Just Get It Done Quilts”.  She has a lot of free patterns available, but what I really like is the layout plan documents she has created.  You can use these charts as cheat sheets to figure out the quilt you want to make.  Go to:  justgetitdonequilts.com.  
Look for the drop down menu at the top under “More”.    
When you click on More you can scroll down to “QUILT LAYOUTS”.  A page comes up entitled “QUILTY MATH – Handouts to Save You Time”.  The first one is based on a simple grid, the second one deals with on point layouts.  These downloads are easy to print if you want a hardcopy.  I really appreciate having the math all done for me.

Well, that is it for now.  Have a great February.  Blessings to you and your family.  Please let me know if you have an idea for a March 2025 tidbit.  In the meantime, I will do my best to come up with something fun for you.