CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. The Shoofly Block is our feature today. It's simple with just 4 squares and 8 triangles. It was made by Kathy M. and she has been using the Find Your Way Collection by Lisa Ruble for Benartex. 14 fat quarters with so many possibilities! The main print in the dark background is my favorite. Kathy used just two fabrics for the block today. Shoofly Block: 12" I just received another Shoofly block from Linda D. and her's is sweet with lots of color: Shoofly by Linda D. Thank you, Kathy and Linda, for a lovely Shoofly blocks. Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about that (as I am). General inquiries, website orders, product support:  ctinfo@ctpub.com Marketing department:  marketing@ctpub.com Sales department:  sales@ctpub.com It has taken 4 months to get the next batch of calendars and I'm h...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Today's calendar block is the Flower Basket in a 10" size. I've used this block before to make some quilts and I've pulled one photo from 2004! Here is the block made by my Calendar Girl Diann C. She stayed with the brown and gray as it's shown in the calendar, but used a deep purple for the "flowers." Flower Basket by Diann C. Diann is using the Tempest Collection from Windham Fabrics. Tempest Collection Now, let me show you my Sassy Baskets quilt from 22 years ago. (That was the name I gave it.) This is the staged shot taken for the magazine. Not sure of the final size. Bright, Sassy Baskets I like how the baskets are turned 90 degrees to their neighbors. Thank you, Diann, for your lovely rendition of this very traditional block. Do you have your own calendar yet? Did you want one for Christmas but they were sold out? Please let my publisher know that you were disappointed about tha...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Today is February 16 and the calendar block is Double Geese. I made this several months ago and almost forgot it! But it was quacking really loudly in the closet and I had to let it out! The fabrics are SO glorious, aren't they? I used some of my Kaffe Fassett prints and they did not disappoint. Double Geese: 18" x 18" With such a large block you can use large scale prints (as you can see). They won't be chopped off into little, tiny pieces. Those five squares are cut 6-1/2". My Flying Geese units are 3" x 6" and are wonderful to show off those "wavy" prints. I pieced a few dozen of these without a plan in mind. Then - voilá - this block appeared! I have these leftover. 3" x 6" flying geese units with nowhere to go Now for another block to beg me to make it using the rest of these units. I'll wait for them to call to me from the drawers where they are sleepin...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. I have been sewing with Benartex Fabrics for 25 years. It all began when I was an editor with Quilt Magazine. Fabric companies sent bundles of their fabric to our office and with the promise of us using it in a featured quilt, they agreed to take out an ad. What a novel idea, huh? The first quilt is one you've seen here many times, the Royal Star. Based on a vintage block, I converted it from templates to rotary cutting and paper piecing (those pointy points). Yes, she was a cover girl! Royal Star made with Fossil Ferns fabrics This was also the cover quilt for my first book. But, let's talk about the QuiltCon block, since QuiltCon is this coming week in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was given 6 fat quarters of the Superior Solids and asked to make a 12" block. I selected 4 of the 6 with a block from my new calendar in mind. Four Superior Solids for my block They insisted they wanted to be photographed ...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. Happy Valentine's Day to all, near and far. Hearts abound in fabric, too! I made a few blocks using my calendar and so did one of my Calendar Girls. Here is the first one I made using the Equinox Collection by Benartex: February 14 Heart Block: 12" And the lovely block made by Diane L., who is using the Grounded Collection by Windham Fabrics. February 14 Heart Block by Diane L. And let's see a Valentine quilt from years past. These are simple appliqué patches. This one used some batiks from Benartex. The pattern is from my Cookie Cutter Hearts. Cookie Cutter Hearts And the large quilt made 20+ years ago in my Cookie Cutter series. I called it Hearts on Fire. Hearts on Fire: 43" x 63" Thank you, Diane, for your lovely Heart Block. I can see how this would be fun to make into a love-ly Valentine's quilt or coaster or a few into a table runner.

This is NOT a political post - I stay away from that topic as best I can. Yes, we here in America like to celebrate our early presidents who led us into freedom as a fledgling, new country. Whitehouse Steps is a vintage quilt block and it stands for the official home of whatever president lives there. It is white and beautiful and quite large. I've even toured the real one down in Washington, DC. Here is the block from my 2007 Quilter's Perpetual Block a Day Calendar. It was made by Patricia Bryant of Australia. She even managed to find a photo of our White House and put it in the center! 11" White House Steps by Patricia Bryant My new calendar block is a whopping 22"! I made a sweet quilt using some Americana themed prints by Windham Fabrics: Steps to the White House quilt I stitched it again and it's waiting for me to quilt it. I added some extra inner borders to get it to a 40" x 44" size (for a small child). Whitehouse Steps: 40" x 44" Squa...

CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. February 10 features the Lone Pine Tree Block in my calendar. It's 6". Pine Tree  February 11 (tomorrow) features the Little Star Block: The House (from Monday) and these two blocks were designed to go together. They were featured in a previous calendar and I made a quilt with them. But I can't find the picture of my quilt! Here are 3 quilts made by blog followers who used my Warm Welcome Home pattern: Warm Welcome Home pattern And another: Warm Welcome Home pattern And one more: Warm Welcome Home pattern Here is the link to the quilt pattern . You must have a copy of the calendar to make the quilt (to cut the block patch sizes). It includes a coloring chart for you to plan your fabrics. It is a 3 page pdf, and though it says it's a "quilt shop only program," that was from 2007 and I'm not offering these patterns to quilt shops at this time. Enjoy!! And if you make the quilt, I'd...