Classes in the New Year, Part 1

Upcoming Class . . . Circles of Geese

My Geese Have the Blues

I began making circles of Flying Geese several years ago using my own paper pieced patterns. And then made them into quilts which also became options for my book "Paper Piecing Perfect Points." My publisher only chose one, the above quilt not on that list. But I love this quilt because of the various fabric textures (especially the wild circles/bullseye fabrics in the center).

Zoo Animals with Geese Ring (just a quilt top center)

The publisher didn't want this one, either. Sigh.

But here is the one they chose for the book. I made this several years ago and fussy cut a lovely toile for the center and then again for the four corners in the border.

Toile Garden Medallion

Ooops! One more with a full circle in the center:

Yakkity Yak Dinosaurs

And here is a variation of this ring of geese which I made to add to a large Mariner's Compass. I upsized the whole thing and, yes: this was paper pieced on a very LARGE coffee filter!

And here is what I made for the Nancy Drew Blog Hop a few months ago. Same Geese Ring, new center. Don't you just love it?

Who Knew, Nancy Drew?

The ring is pieced in 8 units:

Pre-cut rectangles ready for the spikey parts surrounding the pics of Nancy Drew

OK. Where am I teaching this class? The Quilt Patch, Fairfax, Virginia, February 22 (Saturday) from 10 am to 4 pm. Contact the shop for information on how you can join me! 703-273-6937

Tessellating Leaves - Free Pattern

One more Christmas quilt from long ago

I found this picture from about 10 years ago. I gifted it to someone and I sure hope they are enjoying it for the holidays (can't remember who I gave it to). I realized that I have the pattern in pdf format and you can piece the 4" blocks either in the traditional way by rotary cutting patches or try your hand at paper piecing.

The pattern is written for using fat quarters. Don't you just love the way the shapes interlock. That's what "tessellating" means. Enjoy!

Free Tessellating Leaves pattern

Merry Christmas Quilts

Diadem Quilt from my Supersize 'Em Quilts book

As I was looking at the quilts on my wall this morning, in the quiet of the early hours, I realized that I was gazing at a few of my Christmas quilts. The one pictured above is called Diadem because, well, that's the name of the traditional block! The center fabric is a large 10" finished patch so you can feature a beautiful large scale print. And the corners are paper pieced for a 14" finished block.

One Day Lone Star (a workshop I teach)

All rotary cut patches. This was sewn in the hopes of having it "picked up" by a magazine a few years back. No one picked it up, so I took it on the road. I love teaching this class because many students actually can finish most of the center star in a day. Don't you just love that awesome floral print I used for the background? This was a collection from Blank Quilting called Holiday Splendor.

I had some leftover fabrics and used them to create my Magic Triangles quilt.

Magic Triangles

I absolutely love this fabric collection. I have another project I'm working on using the leftovers of the leftovers!

I wish you and your family and friends a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas and Happy, Prosperous New Year filled with good health and laughter. And, oh yes! A lot of good quilting time.

Baltimore Album . . . My Way

Classic red and cream basket of blooms

Anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT hand applique, so when I found a pile of Baltimore Album blocks for sale I immediately grabbed them. Did I say they were NOT hand appliqued? Oh, sorry about that. These are printed panels that only replicate beautiful, traditional blocks and boy did I have fun with them!

Beautiful blue urn with a classic pineapple and pomegranates

I pulled colors from the panels: green, blue, mustard, deep crimson and cream. I searched my stash and found perfect fabrics to make Dogtooth triangles. These were tricky as the panel size could not be divided evenly into thirds. I fudged it - so don't look closely at the triangle points as they touch the panel - I lopped off points. But hey - I'm not into perfect, are you?

A lovely wreath, book and bird. Have you ever seen a bird with a book in real life?

Stop looking at the lopped off points! Look at the beautiful urn of flowers!

And how will they look together?

Four blocks.

This is as far as I've gotten. I have about a dozen panels. I've pieced the triangles and will continue to play with these. I've been working on them for about 2 years. I'm never in a hurry. Do you think people making Baltimore Album blocks finish theirs in 2 years? I think not!

I will use a thin 1" strip between the blocks to "float" the cream and to avoid having all those points come together.

I hope you enjoyed my cheater's Baltimore Album quilt progress. I think I will pull the box out today and play a little more.

Quilt Calendars - The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Block a Day Calendar

Martingale is my book and calendar publisher and they feature 5 wonderful quilting calendars that will be sure to please any discriminating quilter. One of them is my own perpetual Quilter's Block a Day Calendar (both desktop and on CD).

You can see all five calendars here: Stitch This! Blog by Martingale
There are 3 wall calendars of quilts and two desktop calendars of blocks (mine and Judy Hopkins). You can see mine here. You can also see ALL THE BLOCKS as contained in the calendar by visiting my web site. Yes, you can see all 366 of the blocks and their size (you just don't have access to the cutting instructions). This way you can decide for yourself if it's a value (which I think it is, btw).

   

Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar by Debby Kratovil Well-known author Debby Kratovil has been an avid block-pattern designer and collector for many years. Her perpetual calendar includes 366 pieced and appliquéd block patterns that spotlight traditional, pictorial, seasonal, and holiday themes. The pages are listed only by day of the month, not by day of the week, which means it can be used year after year!

The Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar Companion CD allows quilters to easily print each block from the calendar in two different sizes. The CD also contains 12 complete step-by-step quilt patterns.Want to see the astounding range of designs in the Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar for yourself? Debby has compiled illustrations of all the blocks from her calendar on her website. Visit Quilter by Design to see them all before you decide who on your list will get this gift that keeps on giving!

Gift list checked! Order the Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar and the Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar Companion CD now.

You can order these from Martingale, find them at your local quilt shop, or even order the companion CD from me. I don't sell the desktop calendar.

She Came; She Sewed . . .

Timber & Leaf Collection by Sarah Watts (Blend Fabrics, 2012)

My oldest daughter Audrey enjoys sewing with me. (Never quilts, btw. One can only hope.) She comes over from time to time with an idea and digs through my stash and we work out the details using my 40+ years of sewing experience. You may remember this time last year when I created a few things from this awesome fabric collection:

An apron for Audrey from the fox fabric, which she loves!

More fox fabric with the tree rings print

My "go to" pattern for a flanged pillow. Added a simple bow.

Simple tote, pattern from my favorite magazine Stitch

Audrey wanted to make a flanged pillow for the nursery for our upcoming 3rd grandchild (her first baby, a girl). She pulled out the Timber and Leaf Collection and here is what we came up with:

We chose a soft gold for the flange so the bears would pop!

We made two of these pillowcases for her own bed and squeezed out the last of this gray print

Decorated a bag with giant yo-yos and clip earrings

Her sister in law, Marga, was visiting from Mexico (she lives there with her husband; they're both Spaniards) and she sat and decorated a pre-made shopping bag. I have this huge bag of giant yo-yos from a yard sale that she chose from. Leftover clip earrings from my mother in laws jewelry box.

We had a marathon day but quite fun. It's always a good day when I can sew. And Audrey loved everything we made, of course!

Boogie in the Hen House (But No Black Ties)

Fowl Play Collection by Benartex Fabrics

Contest is over and Joyce is my winner of the fat quarter bundle with 6 of the chicken panels. Congratulations, Joyce!

I get to rock out again in the hen house with the Fowl Play fabrics I used a few weeks ago in a tutorial for Benartex. These are just so much fun, as you can see in the stack above: little chicks, chicken wire, chicken scratching and BIG hens with names from REAL chickens from a REAL chicken farm. There's even a border print with chickens on a wire which I used at the top and bottom of this table runner.

Table runner using my Arrowheads "tilt" template

You can see what I did here: Rock out in the Hen House

I wanted to revisit these fabulous chicken and rooster panels and do something very different. This time I chose those with the blue chicken wire backgrounds.

Same chickens with a blue background

Then I did something radical (at least I think so). I ignored the square shape and cut them out using a hexagon shape!

OK. What kind of crazy thing is she going to do now?

If you've been following this blog for any length of time you know that I am enamored with hexagons and putting them together into a variety of ways. I decided to put these together into a hexie ring. No y-seams; only straight seam sewing!

Add two 60 degree triangles to each hexagon chicken

Sew three units into a larger half-hexagon (top and bottom as shown here)

But there's a BIG HOLE in the center!

Yes, there's a big hole in the center, right? Time to cover it up. Cut out a hexagon, interfaced it, turned it right side out by clipping into the interfacing.

Interfaced hexagon

All edges of the hexagon neatly turned under without any hand applique!

What does it look like finished? Well, first the center which I call: Chicken a la Ring

Chicken a la Ring Center

And now for the table topper, which I am gifting to my daughter Hilary's friend Anita who happens to have a fond affection for chickens. She actually was raising some in her back yard in Pittsburgh last year!

Chicken a la Ring Table Topper - on my dining room table

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Chicken a la Ring Table Topper - outside in the fresh sunshine!

Yes, there's a giveaway (if you've come this far).

4 fat quarters and 6 chicken panels (all different chickens)

Tell me your "favorite" barnyard animal (if you have one). Or if you have chickens or cows or goats at your house. Contest is over midnight Sunday November 24 at midnight. I am traveling and teaching, but I promise to read every single comment, though it's really hard to reply due to time constraints (and only an iPad with those blasted, funky keyboards). I love having virtual visitors!

Many thanks to Vicki of More Stars in Comanche who coordinated this hop. I love her blog and especially her dog TITUS. Hey, Titus - how're you doing today? (He's a dachshund who is as cute as my own dog). And of course, Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt who keeps all of us in line (or at least tries to). Now, go visit the other bloggers for today and see what they've come up with for the Black Tie Boogie!

Debby Kratovil Quilts (that's me)

Seams To Be Sew

Robins Fabric Nest

Scrapbook-ChickADoodle

Modern Patchwork Magazine Highlights

Yes, I have not one, not two, but THREE projects in here

The latest issue of Modern Patchwork is on newsstands NOW.

How can a 60-something quilt designer, in love with traditional patterns, create something to appeal to modern quilters? Why, use some of the newest fabrics and think outside the box. I love the refreshing, clean (not busy) and simple designs that our younger quilters are bringing to the quilt world. Here are my 3 projects that you will find in this magazine, on newsstands now:

The Improv Adventure quilt was made using the Windham Fabrics Gees Bend Collection of solids.
The hexagon kitchen ensemble was made using the Windham Fabrics Bella Collection by Lotta Jansdotter.

Improv Adventure - a fun class that I've taught that helps students step outside the box

3 Hot Pads, strip pieced using a 60 degree ruler (lined with batting)

Four block table runner using same technique as the hot pads

I think the straight line quilting is a modern appeal. I love the clean lines of it.

Here's my funny story about these three projects:

I submitted these and a few other projects to the editorial staff. A few weeks later they contacted me and said they would like to include these 3 projects. Then I realized I no longer owned them! I had already gifted them to my two married daughters. I had to ask for them back. The Improv Adventure quilt was already hanging on my daughter Audrey's wall. Her husband Dani said this is his favorite quilt and was heartbroken I would have to ship it to be photographed. You have to understand that when a project is scheduled for print, it usually sits with the editors for 3-6 months! I was lucky - it was only 4 months.

So, visit the Interweave web site to see some of the other projects: Modern Patchwork

Technique Tuesday with Benartex Fabrics and Giveaway

The Dori Collection by Benartex

Contest is over: Sharon of Phoenix, Arizona won the fat quarter bundle of Dori fabrics. Congratulations, Sharon!

New fabrics to play with. I revisited a pattern I designed last year for another Benartex Collection which appeared in the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Magazine Issue 5. Come with me to the Sew in Love with Fabric Blog (Benartex) to see what I made with these.

Here's a sneak peek:

Is that a curve? Do you really want me to sew a curved seam?

Yes, I show you how to not only sew a curved seam but how to fussy cut a beautiful flower:

Oooh! What a lovely flower. How do I get it in the center of that circle?

Here's my giveaway: 4 fat quarters in the blue fabrics:

4 Fat Quarters from the Dori Collection

Just leave a comment for me here. Tell me you've visited the Benartex blog to see my tutorial and your HONEST thoughts about piecing curved patches. If you are not a Blogger, you must leave your email or you come through as a no-reply blogger and you aren't eligible to win. Contest is over midnight Sunday, November 17.

So, go visit the Sew in Love with Fabric blog today to see how I cut and sewed this block and turned it into a larger quilt. Don't be afraid - these curves are easy and I show a few tricks to ensure accuracy.

I love the happiness of this fabric collection, don't you?

For MY Boys Blog Hop

What can I say? A mother of three daughters finally has a set of boys and now I can make non-girlie things! Miles is 3 years old today!

Favorite activity when they come visit grandpa? Cruising in the wheelbarrow, just this past weekend!

My two little grandsons (1 and 3 years old, this week)

 Another favorite activity? Playing in the big "bubba" truck!

One big boy and two little boys in the truck bed. "Can I drive now, grandpa?"

So, you know I had to make trucks and things with wheels for the little boys.

Pam Rocco's patterns from a past issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine

I was going to make a quilt like Pam's and then realized that I didn't have the energy to put an entire quilt together. Plus, I wanted something for both boys to share. Why not over sized postcard versions of these cars, trucks and buses? Well, why not!!

You can see Pam's quilt - and get the free pattern at the QNM site - and my early blocks here: The Wheels on the Bus . . .

My daughter Audrey suggested I add family photos to the "windows", so I did for some of them.

Blue car with Tia Audrey and Miles ("tia" is "aunt" in Spanish)

One of my first blocks:

Simple blue car, quilted in simple echo lines

Here is Grandpa in the window of the green 1985 Dodge Ram pickup.

Turn your head around, grandpa! You need to watch the road!

Little green car. Don't you love that orange tailpipe?

Can Miles really sit in Grandpa's lap like that?

Big, green semi with Miles and Grandpa in the driver's seat (I think that's against the law, right?)

Miles' parents in the front of their orange eco-car

I paper pieced the cars and trucks, added batting, quilted in simple echo lines. Then, to save myself a lot of time, I used a specialty rotary cutter blade to "pink" the edges. Easy and quick. Love it.

Light blue fabric with cars (Benartex) for the back

Dark blue fabric with little cars

Big orange semi

Wow! Look at these crazy people in the front seat!

Tio Dani and Tia Audrey in front window; Aunt Pookie and Grandma in middle window; Great Grandparents in the back

The first bus I made.

You can have the free pattern for Pam's quilt by visiting Quilter's Newsletter:

City Traffic Quilt by Pam Rocco, as seen in the Quilter's Newsletter Magazine

Hope you enjoyed seeing the boys and their toys today.

Many thanks to Amy of Sew Incredibly Crazy and Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt
 for putting this all together!

And Samm? How's this for Superman? You have an action figure, I searched the entire universe and found him at the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia this summer and he consented to have his picture taken with me! That little boy grew up to be quite a BIG BOY!

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive . . .

Now go see what today's bloggers have to share about "For the Boys":

 

 Debby Kratovil Quilts (you are here)

Made By Me in Red

Freemotion by the River

Val's Quilting Studio

Tomorrow's Treasures Today

The Stitchin’ Post

The Nosy Pepper

The Reluctant Quilter

Happy Birthday Miles (today) and Matteo (last week)!