Are You Rethinking Quilt Events This Fall?

All of our social quilting events have come to a grinding halt. I was in the middle of an Atlanta teaching event for the Sewing Expo when the last day was abruptly cancelled (March 13, a Friday. - Hey, Friday the 13th really was bad this year, right?)

My Saturday class, Flying Swallows, never happened.

Flying Swallows with NO templates or y-seams!

And then 6 more contracts were cancelled. Whew! I totally understood, but that certainly knocked the wind out of me.

I have created a quick, 6 question SURVEY to find out YOUR thoughts on plans for Fall quilting events. What safety features do you need? What's your guild doing? And you can even leave me comments. I'm not tracking anyone, honest.

I'd love to hear from you. If you are on my MailChimp list, then you already got the info. No need to take it twice. I would really appreciate it if you could give me your feedback.

Just because I know you like quilt pics here, I'll show you the classes that were cancelled or put on hold:

Ezekiel's Crown is a paper piecing class which was scheduled for a guild in Frederick, Maryland.

Ezekiel's Crown

Pyramids and Jewels is a 2-for-1 class that was scheduled for a Fredericksburg, Virginia guild.

Thousand Pyramids using a charm pack

And the leftovers from Thousand Pyramids are the basis for the afternoon class, Fractured Jewels.

Fractured Jewels

Modern Vortex was scheduled for a New Jersey guild.

Modern Vortex

And there are 4 other classes from the Lakeland, Florida and Cleveland, Ohio OSQE Shows. And then there are the 3 classes from the MAQ retreat in Gettysburg, PA. But I'm hopeful these can be rebooked.

Let me know YOUR THOUGHTS about attending any quilting events in the near future. Thank you!

FREE Pattern Saturday

The traditional day for Memorial Day observance is May 31. It has changed over the years to be scheduled over a weekend (for parties and parades and graveside memorials). We observed it last Monday (the 25th). I designed this quilt, Hey, Hey, USA for Windham Fabrics to go with their Pride and Honor Collection of fabrics. Perfect for any Americana observance (remember: July 4th is coming!).

Hey, Hey, USA: 60" x 81". 18" blocks

This also meets the Quilts of Valor size requirement!

These are blocks I designed in 2004 for my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar (Martingale). I have shown the blocks here before. Why not again?!

Here's Old Glory Star, which is my July 4 Block:

Old Glory Star

This is how Patricia Bryant in Australia (who made ALL 366 blocks) staged hers:

Old Glory Star by Patricia Bryant

And Yankee Charm:

Yankee Charm

Patricia's Block:

Yankee Charm by Patricia Bryant

Star Spangled Banner Block:

Star Spangled Banner Block

Here's my own 3 Block Wall Banner:

So, you can have the FREE Hey, Hey, USA pattern by going to the Windham website. It's a perfect QOV project to make and keep one for yourself. And don't forget to take a look at the Pride and Honor collection.

Log Cabin Week, Day Five

Today I want to show you my Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam Quilt (you've seen it before) made with Log Cabin blocks and 9 appliqués.

First, a small Sunbonnet Sue quilt I made in 2004. Very vintage.

Blue dresses for both ladies!

And this little pillow I made from a tiny appliquéd block (3-1/2"). Added a ruffle and it now resides with my little granddaughter

A few years ago I was asked by Windham Fabrics to create a design using one of their 1930s reproduction collections, which would then be a pattern in Keepsake Catalog. What's more in tune with 30s fabrics than Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam?

16" Blocks (4 log cabins). 48" x 48" quilt (no borders)

Oh, you want to see some of the blocks up close? Certainly! Each of the 9 blocks uses solids for the appliqué and a variety of prints with white. This is how I got ready to make the blocks. I like to say, "Some days I like to cut; some days I like to sew."

Strips ready for a 4-Block unit

And how does the 16" unit look (four Log Cabin blocks together before adding the appliqué)?

Four blocks with the same center squares

Here's "Have a Heart Sue" in the center of four scrappy blocks with green centers.

Have a Heart Sue

And I cut ALL the strips and kept them neatly on my sewing table.

All strips ready for the other 8 blocks

Here is "Overall Sam."

Overall Sam

You can see this Sun Bonnet Sue and Overall Sam pattern in my Etsy shop. It is a 16 page digital pattern with full size templates for each of the 9 appliqués. Well illustrated with lots of color. Keepsake sold it for $20. My price is $10!

Log Cabin Week, Day Four

Welcome to Day Four, Thursday. Let's talk about curves! Here is my little model all dressed up in her prom dress with a tiny hat on her head, just hanging out on my desk with the geraniums. She is next to my Curvy Log Cabin quilt which, you will see in a bit, looks very much like Pac Man!

Little Model lounging on my deck with the flowers

This runner was made about 25 years ago and published in Quilt Magazine. I still own it and she's on my dining room table. The curves for this Log Cabin are created by using thin strips on two contiguous sides and thicker strips on the other two contiguous sides. Don't know what "contiguous" means? That's why we have Dictionary.com!

Celestial curvy log cabin table runner

You can see the logs in these blocks - and the MISTAKE block in the bottom right! Notice the two sizes of logs: thick and thin. That's what creates the curves.

Beginnings with only silver and blue

I decided to add 3 more colors. Again, you can see the thick and thin logs. I had to use Jean Ann's Curvy Log Cabin ruler to get these accurate.

Four different colored 6" Curvy Log Cabin Blocks

And the ruler with some of the small shavings as I trimmed:

6" Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool and the small scraps from trimming

And here's my Pac Man quilt. That's just what I thought when I saw all the 12 blocks together. What do you see?

Pac Man quilt made with twelve 6" Curvy Log Cabin blocks

Now for butterflies! I designed a project for Quilt Magazine about 20 years ago with this concept (there's nothing new under the sun, believe me). I used Jean Ann's 6" CurvyLog Cabin ruler for this one.

12" Butterfly Block using 3 Curvy blocks and a plain square

Here's my Butterfly quilt with 5 blocks set on point. I have FIVE hard copy patterns for sale in my Etsy shop for $6.00 each and NO postage! But you will need the 6" Curvy Log Cabin ruler.

Butterfly Quilt: 57" x 57"

And a lovely quilt made by a quilt shop in Minnesota using multiple colors.

Butterfly Quilt made by Quilting Divas Sewing Boutique in Minnesota

How's this for some curvy Log Cabins? Tomorrow we'll look at some more Log Cabin quilts and blocks so I hope you'll join me then. Thanks for stopping by.

Log Cabin Week, Day Three

Here we are at Wednesday. Today I want to share my Baby Logs quilts. All of these are Off Center Log Cabins. That means you begin with a square and then add logs to two sides only. The center is, well, OFF!

 I've made this almost a dozen times! First, here's the latest one (which is only in the block stage) that was inspired by a set of rainbow colored elastic bands in the Dollar Store! Can you see that lollipop looking thing in the plant? There are 12 colored elastic hairbands woven together.

Stepping out with rainbows!

You can see my process steps and detailed notes here: Rainbow Baby Logs.

A variation of Sweet Baby Logs using bright fabrics from the Bedrock Collection

My first off center Log Cabin quilt was with a sweet collection called Stella. I called it Sweet Baby Logs because it's so, well - sweet! I made this using a fat quarter bundle - yes! Just fat quarters!

There are TWO widths of logs which are added to one side only. But it still finishes square!

Sweet Baby Logs

I cut all my strips out ahead of time for several blocks. Here are the parts for the bottom right block in the quilt above (pink center). The mirror image of the block is its neighbor to the left and also the block directly above it. Yes, all my lights are not the same print (I only had fat quarters, remember?)

Parts for one 10" block

My 10 page pattern is well illustrated and has a coloring chart for planning your fabrics, 7 pages with photos of the steps, and includes the Kaffe Fassett version with different width borders.

Baby Logs photo sent from a blog follower

Black and white and red all over!

Black and White Baby Logs

Here it is in a variety of blue prints from Kaffe Fassett. This is now quilted and ready to go on the road.

Blue and White Kaffe Fassett Baby Logs

And then there's Pixie Sticks! A fantastic scrap buster with alternating color and white strips. This appeared a few years ago in McCall's Magazine and it's a workshop I teach. Very much a scrap buster. I ran out of matching fabrics for several blocks. You can see them at the top and bottom of this quilt. Not to worry - I just made them scrappy! These blocks are 6" with uniform strips of white and color.

Pixie Sticks: 42" x 52". 6" blocks (Also called Candy Stripes Log Cabin)

Several Pixie Sticks blocks. These are reproduction 1930s prints from Windham Fabrics. I also gave this another name: Candy Stripes Log Cabin.

Several Off Center Log Cabin blocks

Pixie Sticks, beautifully quilted by Connie Gallant

One more Off Center Log Cabin you saw here a few weeks ago. This is my Sunburst Log Cabin and I fussy cut a motif for the center and then added strips of shot cottons around. Created an asymmetrical assembly.

Sunburst Log Cabin: 42" x 42"

Well, enough for today. Hope you enjoyed these Off Center Log Cabin quilts

Log Cabin Week, Day Two

Tuesday. Are you with me? Do you love Log Cabin quilts as much as I do? As much as most quilters do? I probably have made at least 2 dozen log cabin quilts in my 30 years of quilting and I'm sure I'm not done yet! They even make fabric panels printed as Log Cabins (more on those later).

Log Cabin panel by Benartex from several years ago

I love scrappy quilts. Here are two little quilts I made from some leftover/orphan blocks that my friend (and former editor) Jean Ann Wright gave me. (Jean Ann has a fabulous online store filled with Log Cabin inspirations, patterns and helpful rulers: Jean Ann Quilts.)

Traditional Log Cabin blocks in Star centers

These are also scrappy, but the arrangement is Courthouse Steps.

Courthouse Steps Log Cabin blocks on their way to becoming birdhouses!

I added some Flying Geese and poles to make these very scrappy Birdhouses!

Four very scrappy Birdhouses

So, we have birdhouses, but what about PEOPLE houses? This is called Warm Welcome Home and I also made this using Jean Ann's ruler. But, I've written the pattern with the option of making it WITHOUT the ruler.

Warm Welcome Home: 34" x 34"

Four of the blocks are regular Log Cabins. I cut two more blocks in half along the diagonal and pieced them back for that center block. Added roofs and a spunky border and this is a fun quilt with a warm, inviting feel to it.

I have 9 hard copy patterns left from teaching classes. You can find Warm Welcome Home in my Etsy store. BOTH methods for making this are included (with or without the 8" Log Cabin ruler.) $5.00 and FREE shipping.

One more with the log cabin house theme, only these log cabins are panels! This is from a 2013 Benartex collection called Dwellings. I took 5 panels and put a roofs on them. Same design as the Warm Welcome Home quilt. Don't you love it?

Mi Casa es Su Casa (My House is Your House)

And some potholders using the same motifs. When Modern Patchwork wanted to pick them up for publication, I had to convert them to paper piecing! They knew their readers would have trouble finding the exact fabric, so that's what I did!

Pot Holders using the log cabin motifs

And the ones I made by paper piecing. Very similar, huh?

One of four paper pieced blocks

My 9 page pdf pattern has full size foundations for these four blocks:

Second of four paper pieced blocks

 Number 3 block:

Third of four paper pieced blocks

 One more:

Fourth of four paper pieced blocks

Day Two, done. See you tomorrow for more Log Cabin quilts to inspire!