I have always drawn the most inspiration from vintage and traditional quilt patterns. Flying Swallows is one of those. There are several variations of both pieced and appliqué blocks, but I'm talking about the one based on an 8 Pointed Star, as seen here by one I created in 2002 for Quilt Magazine. Flying Swallows, 2002 I have designed a few digital quilts since then for a few fabric companies. Here's one I used for Blank Quilting in 2008: Flying Swallows using the Fun Dip Collection This was a class I was supposed to teach in 2020 for the Sewing Expo. Nope - all cancelled! I'm sitting on all the printed patterns, but I also have them as digital pdfs in my Etsy shop. Here is one of my class samples: Flying Swallows . 24" center. 38" x 38" quilt Oh. Don't get nervous! There aren't any y-seams, I promise! Here is another of my class samples. I made it in bright colors. First - the 45 degree diamonds.  45 degree diamonds in bright colors Let's see t

This blog will no longer notify you anytime I post something new by July 2021. It's something that Google/Blogger has devised, unfortunately. I am working on a new way to move that notification over to another email service. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, enjoy the beauty of this quilt. It's homage to all the birds that start chirping in my backyard at 5 am! And it's a true scrap buster. Why not pull out your own abandoned scraps and make a Log Cabin Birdhouse! "What?"you say. I don't know the size! You can make it any size you like, of course. This was an improvisational quilt - I just built it as I went along. Come back tomorrow and I will feature some flying swallows - a quilt, that is! A vintage block made up in today's fabrics.

I am teaching with the Road 2 California the 3rd week of May. Four workshops and three lectures. One of my lectures, Shortcuts from a Short Woman , is one that is very popular. I think I've presented it several dozen times. Since I'm creating new projects all the time, each presentation is never the same. Here is a photo snapped a few years ago by a guild. I was a bit slimmer then! My Shortcuts lecture includes about 4 dozen quilts and all sorts of process steps. The date and time? Friday, May 21rst at 10 am California time. It lasts one hour. What will I be talking about? As a quilt magazine editor for 14 years, I have made and published several hundred quilts! This is a trunk show bursting with tips, tricks, shortcuts and a variety of innovations that will satisfy any quilter. I demonstrate traditional blocks made with non-traditional methods. With 3-4 dozen quilts I show quick ways to create otherwise difficult blocks and finishing techniques: taking out the y-seam on Lone

Warp and Weft  by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of  Modern Quilt Studio  debuted in early 2019. These fabrics are not your ordinary cottons that are surface dyed, but are wovens with colored threads. As soon as I saw them I knew just what I'd like to stitch with them. My tried and true " Yikes! Those Stripes " pattern is a go-to anytime there are fabrics such as these in my studio. I featured these when they first came out and I came upon the blocks hanging in my closet the other day. I think I need to make some more. Let's see what I said about them 2+ years ago: First, the fabrics. I separated out the clear colors (many brights) from the grays. I have plans for those grays - on another day. Crayon colors from the  Warp and Weft Collection   And I added the red plaid to the grays and darker blues: Grays and blues with a single red from the  Warp and Weft Collection One thing I did notice about these fabrics is how soft to the touch they are! They have a lovely "han

I have a winner: Susan L. of Connecticut. Congratulations, Susan. Thanks to everyone who left a comment. Stay tuned for more fabric giveaways! Storybook VIII (that's 8 in Roman numerals, btw!) is the sweetest reproduction 1930s collection. Believe it or not, there are 52 different prints/skus. It came out several years ago and I have many of the prints. But the one that tells a story is the one that tells a story! I was able to get 3 sets from the yard of fabric and decided to NOT make another quilt for my granddaughter (and her mother thanks me). I took the 7 panels and machine stitched them to card stock so she and her brother Javier can actually read them as a book. What do you think? Storybook VIII panels The 7 panels are NOT the same size. That's because they were printed in a random arrangement on the yardage. Notice the pink card at the top right with the dancing bunny. I had to cut triangles off the corners because it couldn't be cut square (or the bunny would have

You ask: What's a Star Bouquet? It's a vintage block that has a LOT of y-seams. Check it out here in this lovely little English Paper Pieced (EPP) block. Six diamonds, six jewels and one hexagon, all stitched to each other with y-seams. Single Star Bouquet block  I finally reached a point where I wanted to put them into a quilt. 18 blocks and 4 plain diamonds. 18 Star Bouquet blocks in a quilt Look at all this color up close! Lots of Star Bouquet blocks This is what I mean by vintage: Here are the parts: Diamonds and jewels. Hey! Where's the hexagon? Diamonds and Jewels There she is, in the center! Star Bouquet and some fun little hearts made with the jewels I took each of those 18 blocks and appliquéd them to a larger white hexagon. And the rest of the patches are 60 degree triangles, 30 degree triangles and white diamonds. No y-seams, but you know that already! Do you like to English Paper Piece? What's your favorite block to make? What's your favorite part? What

Several years ago (2012) I received a lovely collection from Windham Fabrics called Addison. While I'm not crazy about browns, I did love the pinks and reds in the group. Addison by Windham Fabrics (2012) I set to work cutting a bunch of diamonds. I had something in mind. These are 60 degree diamonds. 60 degree diamonds cut from the Addison fabrics I let them sit for a few months as I had something else brewing in my head. There's always more than one quilt happening in my brain! This is an oversized Garden Maze block that I finally quilted last year! Don't you just love that butterfly fabric for the border? (It's not part of the Addison group). Garden Maze quilt I actually made two of them. Can you see the difference in the little squares near the corners? Yes, more butterflies in the borders. Garden Maze quilt #2 I then came back to those diamonds. This is my Seven Sisters quilt. It was a very popular workshop for a few years. No y-seams, of course! Seven Sisters Tab