Applique
Cutting perfectly good fabric into odd shapes and stitching them, either by hand or by machine, onto a background piece of fabric. These odd shapes usually depict familiar items such as animals, people, flowers, plants, hearts etc.

Backing
Fabric for the back of the quilt.

Block
This is part of a quilt that is almost always square. They are usually pieced with different fabrics to create a design. Sometimes, when a block is repeated, it creates a secondary design. Often these blocks have names, which can be descriptive, or historical.

Challenge
Usually issued by an individual such as the group leader to get people to participate, normally in conjunction with a quilt show. There are almost always prizes as an incentive. Participants have to work within a rigid set of rules combining finished size, fabric and possibly a theme. Judges get to pick the piece which was the perfect combination of size, fabric use and interpretation of the theme. Not always agreed with by the participants or their families. No correspondence will be entered into!

Charm Square
Doesn’t have to be a square but is usually sold as a square. The term ‘charm quilts’ refers to quilts usually made from a tessellating shape ie square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle, where all of the fabrics in the quilt are different. So a packet of charm squares contains many different fabrics. Great for charm quilts, or just to enhance your stash.

Holy Fabric
This fabric is beautiful and can often end up being discarded as you save it in your stash for that something special but never end up using it. Use it while you still love it and you’ll love it in a quilt for longer!

Patchwork
Cutting perfectly good fabrics into lots of tiny shapes and then sewing them back together, either by hand or machine, to make the most amazing designs. Of course it’s a sensible thing to do!

Quilting
1. Pertains to the hobby of making patchwork quilts.
2. The actual stitching which holds the three layers of a quilt together. The three layers include the top, the wadding/batting and the backing. The stitching can be done by hand or machine and can be purely functional or highly decorative.

Quilt Top
The part of the quilt containing the design, the patchwork or the applique. Many quilt tops don’t become quilts but remain as UFO’s or a kinder term is a WIP.

S.E.X.
Not what you think. Stash Enhancement eXercise. Usually a shopping trip with lots of girlfriends, lots of shops and lots of chocolate/coffee stops. Oh did I mention lots of fabric?

Signature Quilt
A quilt with signatures from friends, often made for special events. Also called a Memory Quilt, an Autograph Quilt or an Album Quilt.

Stash
Exactly what you think it means. A collection of fabrics, patterns, notions and books, or whatever else a quilter needs. Usually it refers to the fabric stash. Sometimes, these are kept in unusual places due to space constraints or from a need to keep more fabric purchases a secret from certain loved ones. Examples, in grocery shopping bags in the pantry, in the boot/trunk of a car, under the bed, or in the wardrobe.

Templates
Cardboard or plastic shapes cut to make multiple units of a pattern for quilt blocks or applique.

U.F.O.
An UnFinished Object. Sometimes found breeding in the back of fabric stashes. Best to not let this happen so store your UFO’s away from each other. Generally speaking, a quilt top that is sooo ugly you never want to finish it, let alone see it again. Might be best to simply give it away, or throw it away.

Wadding/Batting
The middle layer of the quilt. That which gives it the thickness for warmth. Can be cotton, wool, polyester or a mixture.

W.I.P.
Work In Progress. A kindly view of a UFO. This one you might actually want to finish at some point. These ones are OK to store together. You won’t mind if these ones breed because they aren’t so ugly!