Welcome to Precious Tyes

I have many passions in life and one of them is quilting. The others are reading, knitting,
crochet, cross stitching exercise and being a mom which are all precious tyes to me.
This blog will be about all of these things but mainly about quilting and how it is tied into my life.
The above wall hanging was designed by me and published into a pattern called Homespun Memories.

My blog is also about my Nifty Fifty Quilting swaps which are 50 state quilt block swaps that I started organizing over 10 years ago when my husband was going through depression. It helped me through a very difficult time. We have swapped over 70,000 quilt blocks during this time with many stories that traveled across the country along with our state quilt blocks. Our groups also make charity quilts for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Welcome to Our Nifty Fifty Quilting Chat Rooms!

We are so excited to offer chat rooms where quilters can connect, share, ask questions, encourage one another, and enjoy the creativity of quilting together.

Whether you are joining a block swap, looking for fabric advice, needing help with a pattern, or simply wanting a kind place to share what you are working on, there is a room for you.

Swap Talk

Have questions about block swaps, coordination, deadlines, mailing, or swap ideas? This is the place to ask, share updates, and show off your swap blocks.

Support and Encouragement

Quilting often carries us through grief, illness, stress, and difficult seasons. This room is a safe and supportive place to share freely, with no judgment.

Show and Tell

Post your blocks, layouts, works in progress, and finished quilts. Photos are encouraged! We love seeing what everyone is creating.

Help Desk

Stuck on a pattern? Need help with fabric math, cutting directions, or quilting questions? Ask here — we all started somewhere.

The Dye Lot

A room for fabric talk, color theory, favorite prints, fabric pulls, and the hunt for that perfect fabric.

Coming Soon

We will also be adding a chat room for our new Quilt Designer and Block/Pattern Designer Tools:
https://niftyfiftyquilting.com/quilt-designer
https://niftyfiftyquilting.com/pattern-designer

We hope these rooms become a warm, active, and inspiring place for quilters to learn from one another, cheer each other on, and build friendships through quilting.

Jump in, introduce yourself, ask a question, post a photo, or share what you are working on.

Happy quilting!

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Nifty Fifty Quilters

 Some thing start small but continue to grow in ways you never expect. Mine began with a simple quilt block swap. A handful of quilters, designing and making 50 quilt blocks to represent their state, the idea that fabric could travel across the country and come back as something more than thread and cotton. That was over 10 years ago. Since then, we've swapped more than 70,000 blocks-all fifty states and 40 international countries. There were hundreds of quilters involved, and charity qilts sewn from every single swap to support breast cancer research.

The Nifty Fifty community grew because quilters are generous, caring and full of compassion. Quilters created works of art to represent their state, sewing 50 of these quilt blocks and trustingly mailing them to a stranger in another state. Before long, a surprise package would arrive in their mailbox containing 50 different and unique quilt blocks from quilters across the country.

Each participant in the swap was able to create their own 50-state quilt--something truly special. But even more meaningful were the friendships that grew along the way. Nifty Fifty quilters were connected through fabric, creativity, and trust.  My hope is that those connections will continue to grow thoruhg the launch of our new site and many successful swaps to come.

Not only will we be bringing back the large Nifty Fifty swaps, but we also plan to offer small more manageable swaps with a variety of fun and creative themes. We also plan to continue our charity work by creating quilts to support breast cancer--combining our love of quilting with a purpose that reaches far beyond our community.

Our new Nifty Fifty Quilting site is where that community continues----a place to swap blocks/fabric, use helpful quilting tools, find inspiration, share support, connect with quilters state by state, and keep this special tradition alive for those who are just discovering us and for those who have been part of it before.

Look around our new website at www.niftyfiftyquilting.com


Nifty Fifty Home Page