Remember my previous banner? The one with my Diamonds and Blooms quilt in the center? Center of Diamonds and Blooms from Paper Piecing Perfect Points Placed my blog title and a few extra words in the center Then my blogging friend, Madame Samm , gently told me I needed to update that banner. From her designer's eye, that slab of white in the center of the quilt was too much. Yes, she was honest with me. I expect nothing less from friends. I don't like people to tiptoe around me. Just say what you mean; just don't be mean about it. I'm wearing my Big Girl pants! She had one idea in mind, created it and asked me what I thought. Here is how she viewed my blog identity: I travel a lot, I use a lot of green in my quilts and she wanted folks to STOP and take notice. Debby's travel identity! I asked that there be some more quilts in there (as in a LOT of quilts). I absolutely love this font. She told me she DREW it - it's her authentic

Discovered these 40 GFG blocks in a thrift shop in Cape May, NJ One last quilt from my Hexagon Quilt Vault. Way back when my 3 daughters were small (early 1990s) we took a little vacation to Cape May, New Jersey and stayed in a friend's beach house. I took a trip into town and discovered these 45 antique blocks in a thrift shop and the price tag was HUGE (for me): $50! I buried them behind some other items, dashed out of the store and consulted with my husband. He said, sure - go get them. Of course, it helped that I still had a few $20 traveler's checks in my wallet (no ATMs back then). I went the next day, bought them. Took them home. Stroked them. And then my insides melted into butter - these things were hand pieced and there was no way I was going to finish them by hand piecing!! What did I do? I trimmed them, ironed the raw edges under, machine sewed them into vertical rows onto green background strips, sewed the strips together and I had my quilt! The double bed it

Welcome to Day 6 of the Joys of Hex blog hop (OK, Hexie Queen Hop )! Free pattern and tutorial here: Hexagon Pinwheels and Plaids I pulled this Hexagon Pinwheels and Plaids out of my Hexagon Quilt Vault and there's a FREE pattern along with step by step pictures on how to make this quilt. You won't believe the neat trick for sewing those triangles together! In case you didn't get to see Karen's Blog yesterday due to a broken link, take a visit to: SewMuch2Luv Now, get set for two more days of awesome inspiration. Today's bloggers are: Tuesday, August 27     We Shall Sew       Life@RuffHaven Pieced Brain        Den Syende Himmel       Creatin’ in the Sticks       Meadowbrook       Sandra Kaye Designs        Let’s Patch it Up       Sew Many Yarns       Around the Homestead  Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much?

Spiderweb 4 block table topper; no batting Straight from my Hexagon Quilt Vault - my Spiderweb pattern with Bella Fabrics . This is lined with three different prints. You can see my steps here: Turning 60 Blocks sewn, lined, then stitched together with invisible thread Remember, you can catch up on any bloggers you missed last week by going to the Hexie Queen Hop button above. Now, take some time to visit our Day Five Bloggers. They are sure to inspire and uplift you today. Monday, August 26    Scrapbook-ChickaDoodle     Kathys Quilts       A Quilt and a Prayer      I Piece 2 - Mary       Life, Quilts and a Cat, too     Quarter Incher       Sew Much 2 Luv       Kwilt Krazy       Selina Quilts       Espritpatch      Nunu’s Quilt World

 Three little folded Hexagon flowers. Yes, those are prairie point leaves Same technique using authentic 1930s fabric yo-yos I pulled these from my Hexagon Quilt Vault. I made these years ago using my method of folding hexagons into, well, smaller hexagons! And one more . . . Folded hexagon flowers, gros-grain ribbon and dragonfly fabric. Now take a visit with today's creative bloggers. Stay awhile and get your creative juices flowing. It's Friday, the weekend is here, and if you missed anybody, you have two days to catch up before we start up again on Monday. Remember, the entire list of bloggers for this Hop can be found on the Hexie Queen Hop button/tab above. Or just click on the Hexie button at the top right of this page. Friday, August 23 Sew Peace to Peace    Quilt Crossing          sarah did it!    Jane’s Quilting       Life in the Scrapatch    Lixie Makes It    Creative Notions       Modern Handcraft       Feathe

Just a circle of hexies sewn together Fussy cut owls in those trees - perfect size for a perfect block I pulled this from my Hexagon Quilt Vault: Owls are the Bomb Each block fits onto a fat quarter - Yikes! These were sewn into a circle and I added an appliqued center hexagon. All this was then appliqued to the red background square, which really was a fat quarter - can you believe it? You can see my steps to get to this block here: Owls are the Bomb. How about FREE Printable Sheets to transfer the markings to the wrong side of fabric so you can cut out and stitch 1" hexies without those pesky papers? You can have this file for PERSONAL use only; not to be printed and distributed, please. I know some of you like to sew along the line. This is perfect for just that. Print accurate cutting lines for perfect 1" hexies to sew by hand or machine  Yes, you can! If this sort of sewing interests you, then please go ahead and get the file. The second page has 12,

I have pictures of my Windham Scrap Bags! See below. But first look at my bugs. Check out the short tutorial here: Love Those Hexies I pulled this out of my Hexagon Quilt Vault. Check out the cute child's quilt made with easy hexagons: Love Those Hexies Hexie blocks sewn into 3 vertical rows with dotted sashing I received my TWO scrapbags from  Windham Fabrics yesterday for not one, but TWO winners in my giveaway. Aren't these fine? Scrap Bag #1, Front Scrap Bag #1, Back Scrap Bag #2, Front Scrap Bag #2, Back If you haven't already seen my post of August 20 and left a comment (only one comment per visitor will be counted in the giveaway), please check out my Hexie Projects. I will now have TWO winners because Windham sent me TWO bags. Now, please go visit these Hexie Hoppers to see what they've come up with today. I am so excited to see all the creativity; aren't you? Wednesday, August 21    Sunshine Gi

Hmmm. What can these be? I'm just saying . . . The Hexies are coming and you better be ready. The fun starts on Tuesday, right here and right at the Mother Ship: Sew We Quilt . Stay tuned. The Hexies are coming (did I say that already?)

See all quilts here: English Paper Piecing I am teaching a new class for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo beginning in Fredericksburg, VA (October 3-5). That coincides very nicely with the upcoming Hexie Queen Hop! I have been busy sewing (by hand) samples for my classes and realizing how fun and relaxing this can be. Those who know me call me the "Machine Queen" - I love my sewing machines! I gave up handwork years ago. Until a few weeks ago! My publisher sent me this book by Vicki Bellino and it's delightful. Here is one quilt that is a sneak-peek of what I will be revealing next week (just a LITTLE like this, mind you!): One of Vicki's delightful quilts What I love about Martingale books is that you can see ALL the quilts in a book before you buy it. And there is so much "how-to" information with clear illustrations for the techniques they use. There is a LOT of good information about English Paper Piecing and I even learned a few things my

The Diadem Quilt from my book, Supersize 'Em Quilts Christmas Vault - Day 8 @ Debby Kratovil Quilts Are you still with me? What a ride, huh? Today is Day 8 of the Ho Ho Ho Hop and these bloggers are so excited to share their creations. This is the last day and we've had so much inspiration. I am pulling out fabrics and planning some new things as a result of seeing so much awesome work!! The quilt pictured above appears in my second book. It is a traditional block that dates back to the early 1900s. I converted it to foundation piecing those sharp points and the center squares are nice and large (10") so you can showcase a large scale print. The block finishes to 14". And yes, this quilt comes out during the holidays! Here are the remaining bloggers for our hop. They may be last but I am confident they are sure to WOW us with some great ideas. What are you waiting for? Get hopping! August 9 Moose Stash Quilting Cathy’s Chatter Darlington Delights

Simple tessellating stars. Sewn like a Rail Fence block. Christmas Vault - Day 7 @ Debby Kratovil Quilts Yes, we are still at it! This is Day 7 of the Ho Ho Ho Hop and I think this is better than Pinterest!  The quilt above has been a "go to" pattern for years. I had one appear in my first book, Bold Black and Beautiful Quilts, which was done in autumn colors of black and golds. Truly lovely. I taught this as a workshop and have since retired it. It's a traditional pattern that is everywhere on the internet. I still own this quilt and she appears at holiday time (and I do try to press out that nasty crease that somehow appeared in this pic!). Go visit these fellow bloggers to see what they've come up with for today's hop.  August 8 Quiltscapes Marla’s Crafts A Stitch In Time Mehitabel’s Musings Buzzing and Bumbling Transitions For Meee A Little Bit of Lorene I Piece 2-Mary Under the Presser Foot A Reformed Heath’n Just S

This is my cheater's Baltimore Album Christmas quilt - printed panels! Christmas Vault - Day 6 @ Debby Kratovil Quilts Yes, this is as close as I have come to having a Baltimore Album quilt. I found these lovely, small cheater panels many years ago and set them with red squares and triangles for a quick quilt. Just a smidgen of border fabrics and I was done. I still hang this on my wall at holiday time. This is Day 6 of the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop. I have been SO INSPIRED by all the marvelous creativity I've seen so far. I want to sew it all! So much fabric, so many ideas, so little time . . . August 7 Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio From This to That I Like To Quilt Blog Leah @ L3designs Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much? Just Quilt It Meadowbrook Peanut’s Patchwork Around the Homestead Feathered Nest Studio In The Boon Docks MO Broker, My Creative Side I hope you take a few minutes to visit these folks. Enjoy the ride!

First we begin with fabric: the Let it Snow Collection by Windham Email followers click here to see blog post online: Debby Kratovil Quilts Elizabeth C. of Massachusetts won the fat quarter bundle of these fabrics. Thanks to everyone who shared such special memories of your treasured Christmas decorations!   Yep, today is my day to reveal my holiday project. Never mind that it's the middle of summer, we are all sweating like a dripping Popsicle! I love these novelty prints and, of course, making something for my little grandsons was upmost in my mind. First, I AM NOT CONFUSED. I know this is NOT the Hexie Hop, but I've been sewing with hexies all summer and they just happened to appear in this Ho Ho Ho Hop. (Come back August 20th for 8 days of awesome hexie projects with 75+ bloggers!) One center hexie (already basted) surrounded by 6 fussy cut robins (with pins holding the fabric to the hexagon paper). Fussy cut center hexie (2") surrounded with fussy cu

One Day Lone Star - the quilt no magazine wanted to pick up! Christmas Vault - Day 4: Debby Kratovil Quilts Today is the FOURTH day of the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop . And Carol ( Just Let Me Quilt ), along with Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt are our glorious cheerleaders. I sewed this quilt on spec for Blank Quilting , both of us hoping a quilt magazine would pick it up for publication. No one wanted it (their loss, I say). I turned it into a very popular and successful workshop which I've taught about 10 times. There are no y-seams, only straight line sewing. We work with pre-cut strips, make diagonal 9 patch units and most students finish the center units in class. I blogged about this same quilt (different colors) with a FREE pattern link here: Very Big Lone Star New week; new set of bloggers. Now it's time to visit all the creative people for today's Ho Ho Ho Hop (there are way too many "h" and "o"s in there!) August 5 Cherry’s Prairie Primi

One of my absolute favorite Christmas quilts, traditional Oak Leaf and Rose Wreath blocks Email followers click here to see blog post online: Debby Kratovil Quilts Today is the THIRD day of the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop . Carol of Just Let Me Quilt is the cheerleader, along with Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt .  I hope my followers are still with me for the ride! The red and green quilt above is one that appeared in Quilt Magazine many years ago. I started by hand appliqueing a block, realized I prefer my sewing machines, threw the first block in the trash and went to work creating the entire quilt by machine. I loved every minute of it! August 2 Quilt Doodle Doodles life, quilts and a cat too Elizabeth Coughlin Designs Ridge Top Quilts Editha Stitchin By the Lake Quilts, Fabric and Thread Tales Sew Many Yarns Kwilty Pleasures Kris Loves Fabric 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks Robin’s Fabric Nest Remember, this is the prize giveaway (see information at the Sew We Qu

These come from my Cookie Cutter Bonanza pattern set (on CD) - yum, yum! Email followers click here to see blog post online: Debby Kratovil Quilts Today is the second day of the Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop . Many thanks to Madame Samm and Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for pulling this all together.  I wanted to make sure that my followers got to see all of the fabulous creations made by today's Hop bloggers. The red and green quilt above is one that appeared in Quilt Magazine a few years ago. I still teach this workshop and students can choose one of 11 different cookie cutter shapes. This quilt comes out every year for the holidays. August 1 Vroomans Quilts Abyquilt MacDonald’s Patch Life and Everthing Around It Hill Valley Quilter Traveling Quilter Quilting Lines The Reluctant Quilter Pig Tales and Quilts Teatime Creations Ravelly1 Here is the giveaway at the Sew We Quilt site for participants in this Hop, with Timeless Treasures one of the sponsors: