I don't do handwork anymore other than a little crochet and some English Paper Piecing, mainly with hexagons. I thought you might like to see some of my recent finishes as a result of being part of Glorious Hexagons Facebook page. This is based on the book called " The New Hexagon " by Katja Marek. The New Hexagon book  I took mine immediately to get spiral bound so it will lie flat. My copy of The New Hexagon And coming this summer is a perpetual calendar with 366 more blocks! The New Hexagon Perpetual Calendar Now, let's see some blocks! First is my version of Twisted Hexagon (a class I've taught for a few years, but only using rotary cutting and stitching). This is Dawn, but I call it Twisted Hexagon  And here's Marena: Notice how this uses the same patches as Dawn  Marilyn is Block #32 and I used the Kaffe Fassett fabric called "Target" for that bull's eye center! Marilyn Block #32  Mary Ellen is Block #28.

My winner in the Benartex Bali Blog Hop fat quarter giveaway was Rosa. I'm still waiting for her to contact me. I give winners 48 hours and then I move on to second choice! Rosa - please phone home! I plan on tallying up the votes, but because I was on the road I couldn't do it during the hop. You will see more of these blocks and shapes. Here is what I did with that block I shared. And then I cut a few more diamonds and another block appeared. Like I said - I'm stuck on this shape! First, the Daffodil block with a small orange hexagon appliqued to the center. This is fusible, raw edge applique (the easiest and quickest approach). As soon as I covered up the center I realized I had created a Grandmother's Flower Garden block! Daffodil with bright center Then I thought about cutting diamonds without slicing off one end. It was a simple star pattern. But when you add the same orange hexagon in the center, it becomes the Daffodil block I really had in mind in t

Batiks from the  Dolce  and  Rio  Collections by Benartex Head on over to the  Sew in Love with Fabric  blog today to see what I did with some of these new batiks from Benartex. Yes, I'm still working with that jewel shape. Come see what I did! Five fabrics for Debby's flowers For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of the Dolce and Rio fabrics we're featuring in this blog hop, head over to  Sew in Love with Fabric to see my 3 new blocks. Come back here to let me know which of the 3 blocks you like (#1, 2, or 3). Contest is over midnight Wednesday, May 18. Click  here  to see the entire Rio collection. Click  here  to see the entire Dolce collection. 

Meet the Royal Court is a delightful novelty print from Windham Fabrics. With images of kings and queens, jesters and even the Royal Pet! I am enamored lately with the 60 degree jewel shape (some call it a "gem"). It is basically a 60 degree diamond with a triangle lopped off of one end. I am not too keen on single size templates. I mean, what if you want to work with a different size? Then you either are out of luck or have to buy another one. Why not use the lines on your acrylic ruler? Why not, indeed! Then you can cut just about any size diamond and jewel. First, here is the fabric collection: Fat quarters of Meet the Royal Court by Windham Fabrics Because I only have an 18" x 22" piece of each fabric, I am limited in what I make. I love those sorts of challenges. I cut 4-1/2" strips from most of the prints, saving the larger prints for a border. Then using the 60 degree line on my 6 x 12 ruler, I lopped off the left side. Then I measured 4-1/

A lot of talk of margaritas and Mexican food today. I can't handle a margarita (just ask my kids!), but I've always loved Mexican food. Raised in California and loved all things Mexican. I was reminded of the block I designed for Quilt Magazine in 2007 which I called Olé. And I remembered the Benartex " What's in My Pantry " Collection which I featured here a few months ago. I was thinking CHILI PEPPERS and there are two fabrics in that collection with chili peppers on them. What's in My Pantry? Here are my steps to quickly cut and stitch these two blocks (which I made this morning in one hour's time). I used these two pepper fabrics as the center of my blocks. Aren't they yummy? Chili pepper fabrics  with black background Chili pepper fabrics with yellow background First I cut the parts (pattern follows at the end of this post): Block parts for Olé Then I began stitching: Orange triangles at the top of the blocks Gre

I love playing with new fabrics. And I love getting fat quarters because it keeps my creativity under control. Windham Fabrics sent these a few months ago and I began planning and cutting but never stitched up my idea. Flora  by Kelly Ventura  is a collection of modern watercolor florals. Aren't those so yummy? I have stacked them and re-stacked them. Paired them in groups and generally played for a bit, dreaming up a simple way to showcase the fabrics. I settled on Snail's Trail Star and made it super sized at 18" square. Snail's Trail Star This begins with a 4-Patch of the 5 fabrics I selected (4 main colors and a background fabric). (I share the free pattern at the end of this post, along with clear cutting instructions). Then four of the same fabrics are cut into triangles. These are sewn to the sides as shown. Center 4-Patch with matching triangles, ready to be sewn This is what it looks like sewn: Sew on the triangles Then larger half