Let's Stitch A Year of Blocks Design Workbook: Quilting Planner

By Piece N Quilt | Published: 2026-10-31

Category: Product Reviews

Learn how to use the Let's Stitch A Year of Blocks Design Workbook as a practical quilting planner to organize your block projects and machine quilting designs.

Quick answer

Use the Let's Stitch A Year of Blocks Design Workbook as a step-by-step quilting planner to sketch traditional blocks, map out machine quilting designs, and track your year-long project.

Why a design workbook beats loose paper

Printed grids and pre-placed block outlines keep your sketches consistent month after month. The workbook’s 12 full-color traditional quilt blocks give you a clear starting point, so you don’t waste time redrawing basic shapes. The bonus 12 doodle pages let you experiment without messing up the main designs.

Workbook format trade-offs

The workbook is not spiral bound, so pages may shift if you lay it flat while sketching. A simple binder clip or bulldog clip holds the pages open. If you prefer a bound book that lies completely flat, you might want to add a spiral binding yourself at a copy shop. For most home use, the loose-leaf design is fine and makes it easy to pull out a single page for your sewing table.

How to plan your year of blocks with this workbook

1. Choose your block order: Flip through the 12 full-color traditional quilt blocks and decide which month you’ll stitch each one. You can follow the original stitch-along sequence or rearrange them to match seasons or fabric collections. Write the month name in the corner of each block page. Common mistake: skipping this step and then running out of time for a complex block. Checkpoint: mark the difficulty level (easy/medium/advanced) on each page so you can balance your schedule.
2. Sketch your quilting design: On the machine quilting design page for each block, draw the quilting lines you plan to use. The workbook provides a blank grid and a small block outline, so you can test different motifs—stippling, matchstick, or ruler work—before committing. Use a pencil so you can erase and redo. Common mistake: drawing designs that are too dense for your skill level. Checkpoint: leave at least a 1/2-inch margin around seams to avoid quilting over bulky intersections.
3. Use the bonus doodle pages for practice: Before quilting on your actual project, replicate the motif on a bonus doodle page. This builds muscle memory and lets you adjust scale or spacing. If you mess up, you haven’t ruined the main design page. Common mistake: ignoring the doodle pages and jumping straight to the quilt. Checkpoint: practice until you can stitch the motif without looking at the workbook.
4. Track your progress: After finishing a block, date the page and note any thread color or batting type you used. Over the year, this becomes a reference library for what worked. The workbook’s companion online stitch-along offers extra tips if you get stuck. Common mistake: forgetting to write notes and then repeating a less successful combination later. Checkpoint: keep a pen clipped to the workbook so you can jot notes immediately.

Product facts

Let's Stitch A Year of Blocks Design Workbook: Companion workbook to Natalia Bonner's online stitch-along; contains 12 full color traditional quilt blocks, machine quilting designs, and 12 bonus pages to doodle. You get a ready-made framework for the whole year, plus extra space to practice free-motion quilting motifs before stitching them on your quilt.
Let's Stitch A Year of Blocks Design Workbook