Yes, back to back Christmas in July blog posts. This one will be with Windham Fabrics and I will be featuring the Storybook Christmas Collection. Let me give you a sneak peek at the fabrics. If you don't like 1930s prints, you can leave now! Storybook Christmas Collection by Windham Fabrics But if you don't come back on Tuesday (August 2), you won't see my tutorial on how to cut hexagons - any size hexagon - using a 60 degree ruler. That means, you don't have to have a template for each size. Just a trusty POWER TOOL! My project uses hexagons and I'll show you how simple it is to cut those incredible shapes. This is not original to me, but I love to share these sorts of things when I discover them. (And I can't even remember where I first saw it, but let's just say that the BIG ruler companies like Creative Grids, don't even have this information - yet). Windham knows that I enjoy working with their 1930s collections. This Storybook Vacation B...

Whoa! It's 100 degrees outside and I'm thinking Christmas? Of course; it's July! This week is the Christmas in July Blog Hop for Sew in Love with Fabrics (Benartex). My day will be Tuesday, July 26. Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on. First, I've been smitten by The New Hexagon book by Katja Marek. How do I know I'm smitten? I carry it with me wherever I go in the house. Upstairs to my sewing room: cut out fabric, match with papers, put parts in little baggies. Take it downstairs so I can read through it (for the hundredth time) when I eat lunch. And on and on. The New Hexagon book by Katja Marek And her new calendar: The New Hexagon Perpetual Calendar Here's a block I made last week (Mary Ellen, Block #28), which I upsized and then bound as a little quiltlet. I took this photo outside on my deck where my living Christmas tree "summers." Yes, Mary Ellen is in the branches of that tree! Mary Ellen, Block #28 T...

Do you remember those Kaffe Fassett blocks I showed you a few weeks ago? I cut 8 identical squares from the Lotus Leaf fabric and then cut them into triangles. Each stack of 8 triangles worked their magic and became such unique blocks. A real WOW technique that I've been using for about 15 years. Let's recap some of the blocks and then I'm going to show you how to set them on point. And let you see how I cut the "wrong" fabric and had to start all over. One block of 8  And yes, this was cut from the SAME fabric: Second block of 8  And one more. You can see the entire tutorial here: Spinning Pinwheels . 3rd block of 8 I want to set these blocks on point. That means I need TWO different sizes of triangles. One size for the four corners and one size for the sides. I will share my CHART for cutting these for ANY SIZE block later. For now, I began with more of that Lotus Leaf fabric. My blocks are 11-1/2" unfinished. That means they will fin...

I realize that some of you will roll your eyes into the back of your head (permission granted). 1930s fabrics and patterns? So "old school." But there is still a strong (though small) group of quilters who love these things. This is my latest pattern with Keepsake Quilting catalog. What do you think? Sunbonnet Sue Sampler The background Log Cabin blocks are 8". Four together form the background for the 9" appliqué patterns. No border. Finishes to 48" x 48". Here are a few blocks before the raw edge appliqué (and quilting): Have a Heart Sue And let's not forget Overall Sam! Overall Sam Keepsake Quilting offers both the pattern and the pattern PLUS fabrics as shown in the quilt (ie, a kit). I know which one of my daughters will claim this (once I get it back). This is a fun scrap quilt. And we know that Log Cabins and Sunbonnet blocks will never go out of style, right?

Stained Glass and Ruffles by Paula Nadelstern I love color and was asked by Benartex to create an updated version of a traditional block. I immediately thought of Seven Sisters because I have been teaching that as a workshop for the past 2 years. My sample is VERY traditional looking, don't you think? Traditional Seven Sisters Quilt I thought "stars" and decided to tweak this 6 pointed star using my newest design, Double Star. I first made it in blues: Double Star in Blues With the bright Stained Glass and Ruffles fabrics and a neutral gray, I came up with this take on Double Star. It appears in the current issue of Modern by the Yard . Modern Double Star You can read about this quilt (and get basic directions for cutting and stitching it) and see several other awesome and modern quilts and projects by visiting the Sew in Love with Fabric blog. The link for the online eMagazine is at the top right sidebar. I have a small pile of these 3-1/2"...

2017 Quilting Block a Day Calendar Yes, I still create these. Every. Single. Page! I hole up in my computer room day after day after week after month for about 5 months to meet the deadline. Not every waking moment, but let's just say a few hundred hours . . . Draw, assemble, layouts, fabric calculations (the old fashioned way with paper and pencil. I don't trust an Electric Quilt computer program). Would you like to see a few of the projects? I'm rather proud of my samplers this year (my 11th calendar for this publisher). I have the Civil War Sampler with 12" blocks: The Civil War Sampler And how about a Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt? Adventures of Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam And this is the first of three quilts (scattered throughout the calendar in order to break up the 50 blocks) in Hey, Hey, USA! Hey, Hey, USA! Part 1 of 3 I have blocks for all 50 states, plus Washington, DC. These are paper pieced. I'm thinking of using the C...

I made a quilt many years ago for Windham Fabrics and used one of their American Coverlets collections. Here it is: American Beauty quilt This was designed by Leslie Sonkin and then sent to me to pattern and sew. All I need is a sketch and I can pattern just about anything (Windham loves me for that). Isn't this a beauty? Windham decided to reissue the pattern and I created a digital quilt using the same pattern. Would you like to see that? This uses their new Stars and Stripes Collection . Stars and Stripes Quilt The pattern is free . The piecing is not hard. Those wavy stripes are NOT pieced, but raw edge appliqued to the red background fabric. Hope your weekend is filled with enjoyable things, including quilting!

Do you have a pattern that you come back to more than once? It intrigues you and each time you make it you find a completely different outcome? That's how I feel about this Spinning Pinwheels. Here's the first of 8 new blocks: Kaffe Fassett Fabrics And the fabrics I used: 8 identical squares cut 9-1/2" Let's see my previous posts. Click on this Chinoiserie link to see some amazing blocks - all so very, very different from each other! Spinning Pinwheels from 2013: Chinoiserie Fabrics My first one from 15 years ago: Purple Kaleidoscope using 6 squares And my second one using $1 a yard fabric from Walmart (yes, 15 years ago Walmart had a fabric department). One piece of wicked kitties with pumpkins, frogs, bats and all sorts of other things created this awesome quilt! I cut 8 MATCHING squares (9-1/2") and then used my method as described below. First, let me show you the 9-1/2" square I cut (8 times): I cut this exact square 8 ...