Today is a special day for Americans as we celebrate our sweet land of liberty and especially as we celebrate 250 years of growing into that liberty for ALL. I can't imagine how noisy the fireworks will be tonight . . . I've made several Americana quilts in my 40 years of quilting. Here is one from LONG ago. I even hand quilted it (what did I know?) the photo is from 2014, but I stitched this in the mid 1980s! It's the same concept in the next 2 quilts. I put stars in the top left corner and the stripes are wavy. I made this quilt almost 20 years ago using a reproduction coverlets collection from Windham Fabrics. It was designed by Leslie Sonkin (marketing director for Windham at the time) and I stitched and then patterned it. American Beauty : 43" x 53" I also used the design to work with another collection by Windham (Stars and Stripes): Stars and Stripes : 42" x 50" Click on the links to get the patterns - FREE! Yes, I've shared it here before but...

Welcome July with me as we welcome the second block in the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian's Quilt-a-long . It is designed by Cissy Serrao who is a Hawaiian native and has created many beautiful Hawaiian quilt designs for many years. You can also have the FREE pattern for this block by clicking the link under the photo. This will take you to the Smithsonian site; scroll down, look for Cissy's photo, then you can download the 16 page pdf pattern with LOTS of great details about making the block. Block 2: Kanani O Ka Home (10") I have been thinking of my own Hawaiian inspired designs and many that were featured in our magazine pages over the years. So, I will be sharing those throughout the month of July with several of them FREE! But, first, let me show you (again) some authentic Hawaiian fabric squares that were scraps from making Hawaiian shirts. These are over 60 years old and my grandson Matteo helped me separate them into piles of matching prints. 300 Quilt...

I have a new book about American quilts through the past 150 years and I want to share a bit about it because it is SO awesome! This comes just in time for our 250 year celebration on July 4 next Saturday. Commemorative American Quilts by Sandra Sider I knew it was coming because the author ( Sandra Sider ) contacted me 2 years ago as she wanted to include one of my quilts! This quilt is over 35 years old and isn't my pattern, but it features some commemorative fabrics from our American 500 year anniversary. They are the Discovery collection by Jinny Beyer. And it's all about Christopher Columbus and his 3 boats, etc. The book is a celebration of our American history from 1876 until today. It is brimming with every sort of quilt and so much beauty and diversity of talent and design.  Sandra Sider  is an historian as well as a quilt enthusiast. She shares quilts that tell stories of family and friends, politics and celebrations. Here's my quilt. I tried to capture the vario...

Many times I like to revisit my traditional patterns and traditional fabrics. They comfort me like no other! Constitution Oak is one I created for Windham Fabrics in 2015 based on an historic quilt. It was published many years ago in a magazine: Constitution Oak Quilt, unknown date I have used this block pattern in my Block a Day calendars. I love the symmetry of the blocks, don't you? And I also love appliqué - when I can do it using my sewing machine! I actually took the plunge and made the quilt from the digital pattern (which you can find the link for below). The center is a 64-patch of squares. The corners are appliqué. I used an older Windham Fabrics collection called The Coverlet Collection . Constitution Oak quilt top - 57" x 57" I selected my fabrics for the center 64-patch and made that checkerboard. Then it was time to make my templates for the corners. I printed the templates and then copied them to freezer paper, which I then can attach to the fabric by iro...

Today is June 18 and the block featured in my new calendar is Glorious Blooms. I've made this many times because it's a super way to feature an awesome print in the large, 11" center! Here is how it appears in the calendar: Glorious Blooms: 20" Here's my most recent block stitched in three fabrics by Windham: Glorious Blooms: 20" in the Solstice and Moonlit Collections Here is the first quilt I made. It appeared in the Fabric Trends magazine many years ago: I also put it in my book, Supersize 'Em Quilts (2009, Martingale): Glorious Blooms with four 20" blocks I made another quilt and gave it to my guild for our local charities: And just a few more blocks to show you how fun those centers can be: Glorious Blooms with lots of prints! And the single block I made using an older Anna Griffin collection: This is a great way to get to a good sized center quickly! As you can see, I love making this block and think you will, too.

The block for today is called the Stairways. It's a nice 16" size and I designed a quilt using it and a block from May called the Album. Go back and look for the May 22 posting. First, the Stairways Block with simple patches: Stairways: 16" Combined with the Album Block (from May 22) and another I called the Four Leaf Clover, here is a quilt using all 3 of these. This appeared in my 2016 desktop Block a Day Calendar (red box). You may still have it! I know I do. Album Quilt: 102" x 102" Yes, so many quilts, so little time. But we can enjoy imagining them!

I took a trip to visit my daughter in Spain (2001) while she was studying abroad. She was in her 3rd year of college (Georgetown University). My husband and I figured we would spend a few days in France along the way. I found some beautiful fabrics in a Paris quilt shop, owned by an American woman! Three whirlwind days, but I made sure I got in some quilts! Here is one I made in 2018 from a delightful print I couldn't bear to cut up for many years! The center panel was purchased in that Paris quilt shop! (Though I think it was printed in the USA . . .) Memories of Paris The free pattern is one I made in 2006 and it appeared in one of our Sampler Quilts magazine issues. I call it  a  Feeling for Provence . It's composed of four 12" blocks (and some of those blocks are made of smaller 6" blocks!). I no longer have the quilt, but it sure is a beauty! A Feeling for Provenc e: 44" x 44" It's a lovely four page pdf in color with all cutting directions and the ...