It doesn't matter what day it is if I'm having another GIVEAWAY , now does it? Remember, I promised to give away a free Gee's Bend pattern once a week for the month of February. (Go to the end of this post to learn how to enter this last giveaway of these patterns. But please look at my pictures first.) Last week's winner was Beth A. from Washington (state). She chose the Medallion Variation : Medallion Variation Quilt : 52" x 76" I'm back with some more of that awesome Mimosa Collection . This time I cut out a bazillion melons using my Double Wedding Ring tool (OK, not a bazillion, but it seems like it when you are cutting them one by one). All the red fabrics from the Mimosa Collection What am I going to do with them? Well, I have an idea that has to do with an Orange Peel block. Two template set in my EZ Double Wedding Ring pattern  I have used that center melon for a LOT of quick quilt projects. You can see below how I use fusible web

When I got married in 1977 to my dearly beloved, it was a double wedding ring ceremony. Simple rings, simple ceremony. It was in Africa and a garden affair (actually someone's lovely back yard). Most quilters imagine a Double Wedding Ring quilt to be daunting and I agree - unless you find some shortcuts. And I'm the queen of shortcuts! Two years ago I was sent a collection from Blank Fabrics called Mariko. From the Mariko Collection by Blank Fabrics I combined them with some blenders also from Blank called Rock Candy: Rock Candy Blenders I used the pattern I shared on Monday and foundation pieced 8 wedges: Foundation pieced DWR wedges (A mistake to photograph these on my green cutting mat!) Then I began to sew these to the melon shapes, squares and concave background pieces. SLOW is the operative word, I assure you! Sew one paper pieced unit (with paper removed) to the center melon Sew background piece to another pp wedge; now add corner squares

I keep coming back to some paper pieced Double Wedding Ring (DWR) arcs that I've been working on for about 6 years. I guess I'm not in a hurry. I've made quite a few DWR quilts over the years. My initial thoughts were - let's simplify! One of my first was this quilt (which is now a Craftsy pattern ): Shotgun Wedding Ring I know this is a big picture, but I wanted you to see the quilting on it. Amazing, isn't it? Michele Wyman of Acworth, GA quilted this for Susan Fisher, who made it. It appeared in my first book: Bold, Black and Beautiful Quilts. I called it SHOTGUN WEDDING RING because it was quick to make. Those melon shapes have a fused backing and are raw edge appliqued. The blocks are 15" square. (This quilt has 12 blocks) The multi-page, well illustrated pattern ($5.00) also includes a full page line drawing so you can color in your fabric choices. Here is another DWR quilt I made eons ago. It is a rag quilt with the edges of the melons frayin

 Happy 283rd Birthday George Washington Born February 22, 1732 George Washington was the first American president, commander of the Continental Army, president of the Constitutional Convention, and an innovative farmer. His example of character and leadership continues to inform and inspire future generations. George Washington, our first USA president Last year at this time I featured a tribute to George by showing off some fabric with his face on it. Do you remember? Fabric panels by Windham Fabrics  Yes, I actually have some of this! It is the Old Glory Election Commemorative Edition, c. 1850 Wow, George. What a large head you have. And flags for a headdress? I had some giveaways of these panels. I allowed myself to keep one of each. Not sure what I'll do with them, but hey - I don't have plans for much of my stash. I love modern quilts and fabrics. I also love traditional fabrics and quilts and the reproductions. Windham Fabrics does an awesome job w

We are still in February and that means red. Red for Valentine's Day. Red for National Heart Month. Well, red is also the color of FABRIC, right? I have a newish pattern with Cut Loose Press that uses a specialty ruler by Creative Grids. I have named it Red Hot Logs. Do you want to see it? Of course, you say! This is a quilting blog, for goodness sake. Red Hot Logs - 42" x 50" I was using the 8" Log Cabin Trim Tool by Jean Ann Wright. Jean Ann was my senior editor at Quilt Magazine for 14 years (she was editor for 25 years). She published just about everything I created. I learned EARLY to sew for the camera. Contrast. Contrast. Contrast! Red Hot Logs is a variation of the Log Cabin called the Greek Key. Kind of makes you dizzy if you look at it long enough. The quilt pictured is made with 20 blocks. A friend suggested she'd like to see it in blue. I like that! I'm going to work on it in blues. (I'll keep you posted.) I have a dozen I'd l

Winner of last week's Gee's Bend pattern giveaway was Gill W. of the U. K. She chose the Housetop 4 Block quilt. Congratulations, Gill. Leave a comment at the end of today's post for another pattern giveaway. Check out my Craftsy site to see all 8 of the patterns. If you win, you can have whichever one you want. Contest is over tonight at midnight (February 18, 2015). This week's winner is Beth A. of Washington (state). Congratulations, Beth!! Housetop 4 Block quilt This post has two parts: first my own improvisational quilting on a small version of a Gee's Bend quilt of my own making. The second is some samples for my upcoming classes. My oldest daughter has an awesome friend named Meg. They have been buddies since graduate school. I gave Meg her own Medallion Variation quilt last year. She saw the quilt top at my house and was awestruck. I listened to the voices in my head and got it quilted and gave it to her. I was a little tricky in my gifting: I

Yes, I know this is Friday the 13th. Shhh! I'm not going to talk about THAT, but instead focus on red letters. Remember that group of luscious red fabrics from Benartex ? Red fabrics from Benartex Well, I cut out some letters, but they got all mixed up! Can you help me untangle them? I think there's a message there but I somehow forgot what it was! Yikes!! Red Letter Scramble! I'm not sure if tomorrow being Valentine's Day has anything to do with it. But I will be working on these next week. Red is the color of February (remember this is National Heart Month), so there's no hurry. I'll keep you posted. But if you have any clue as to what message these letters might spell, let me know!

This is Black History Month and in a respectful nod to the Gee's Bend quilters, I am offering up a free pattern (any one of eight) to one lucky winner today. Then again next Wednesday; and the next; and the last Wednesday of February. That's 4 lucky winners! My winner from February 4 is Anja of Canada. She chose the Medallion Variation . Lazy Gal Quilt: 52" x 62" You can see all 8 of them here at my Craftsy site. The contest is over at midnight TONIGHT. 24 hour contest. Just leave a comment about anything on this blog. Make sure I have your email. Let me show you what's coming up next Wednesday with Windham. I received the new Mimosa Collection on Friday and sewed up a storm all weekend making a . . . (you'll have to come back next Wednesday.) I will be showing all the wonderful blocks I made and sharing another free pattern! The Mimosa Collection by Windham Fabrics And here's a wonderful view of all the prints. I could just sew with t

Air Castle Block from the quilt It's February 1 and that means I've added the second block in this series. It is called Air Castle and is a traditional block. Don't you just love those spinning points? Here is the block with the parts "exploded" (we use that term when referring to expanding block parts in illustrations). You can see how simple it is to put this together as a Nine Patch: Air Castle sections This  month is easy rotary cutting and sewing. I offer a one page pdf with simple diagrams for cutting and piecing. I hope you are enjoying the process! I noticed I had TWO Air Castle blocks in my large Christmas quilt (made about 20 years ago). I have stared at this for almost 2 months every night when I eat dinner in the dining room (much warmer than my stone cold kitchen). My husband asked me the other night what I was fixated on. I said, "Wow. I have two of the same block in that quilt and they are block #2 in my Galaxy of Stars BOM.&qu