July Calendar Blocks

Here are another 31 blocks - in two sizes - from my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar published by Martingale for 10 years (2007 to 2017). This 41 page pdf is packed with all sorts of blocks in a variety of sizes and techniques. I've included patterns for two quilts and a lesson on making a Yellow Ribbon block.

Here are the quilt patterns included:

Old Glory Star is a 12" block with the added 3" Yellow Ribbon blocks for an 18" x 18" wall quilt.

Old Glory Star

And Chain of Squares is a 12" block for a 65" x 77" quilt.

Chain of Squares: 65" x 77"

Here is the block that Patricia Bryant made and I shared here last year:

Chain of Squares block

I actually made a Chain of Squares many years ago. Here is the pic:

Chain of Squares quilt published in Quilt Magazine

Now let's see some of the other blocks that appeared in the calendar for the month of July. Remember that Patricia Bryant made all 31 of them in 2017 and they were featured here.

Illinois Rose

Nosegay

Heart Flower

You can see all of them by visiting the links listed on the right side of this blog; look for the July 2017 links. Patricia did such a lovely job in the stitching and in the staging for photography!

Thanks for stopping by. Remember, July 1 is Monday and my 7th block in the 2018 Tea Party BOM will be released. See you then!

Scraps and Blocks and Making Do

The Bella Collection by Lotta Jansdotter for Windham Fabrics is a favorite of mine. I designed a few things with these modern prints over the years. Let's see the stack of fabrics:

Stack of Bella Fabrics from 2013

 And to see some of the prints even better:

Trees and little birdies - my favorites!

I first designed what I call Bella's House. I had it longarm quilted by Kathy Gray of Manassas. She did a lovely job and I really thought a magazine would pick it up. Nope! Not a one. This hangs in my foyer for all to see.

Bella's House, 2013

Then I put a LOT of EPP hexagons together

Dozens of 2" Hexagons

. . . and made this. I call it my Zig and Zag of Hexies:

The Zig and Zag of Hexies

How did I do that?

Stitched together in long string

What does it look like from the back?

Hexies trimmed and ready to stitch to background fabric

This pattern is available in my Craftsy store. And something else? Of course! This appeared in Modern Quilts sometime in 2014.

Hexagon table topper

Now for what I've done with all the leftovers (ok, maybe not with ALL of them). I had 4 prototype window blocks which were too big for my final Bella's House. They sat patiently for 5 years.

First window prototype for my Bella's House above: too big

 And another. These finish to 11".

But I made another one . . .

And I made two more and they've been sitting in a box with the leftover fabric since 2013. I pulled them out and made 12 more blocks yesterday afternoon. What do you think?

Cobblestones, Windows and Trees

And those extra hexies up at the top of this post? I have 59. I'm going to put a white border on this and scatter those hexies all over the white border. I'll keep you posted!

Windham Wednesdays, Summer Solstice and Shoreline

It's here, it's here; the middle of the year. That means the Summer Solstice and (sigh) the days start getting shorter. But, we have 3 months of Summer and that means for many folks a visit to the shore/beach or whatever you call it.

Shoreline by Windham Fabrics is perfect for things "beachy." I decided to bring out my crab appliqué and see how he looked in that solid red fabric (hard to see in this pic, I know).

Shoreline Collection by Windham Fabrics

I transferred my half-pattern (because it's so big) to folded freezer paper and carefully cut him out. (OK; I don't know if it's a "he" or a "she."). I transferred fusible webbing to the wrong side of the red fabric, ironed my crab template to the RIGHT side of the fabric. Then I cut it out.

Crab appliqué template of freezer paper

 Doesn't he look awesome (and a bit scary with those claws!) on that khaki colored print?!!

Red Crab (9" x 11-1/2")

He's patiently waiting for me to figure out what I'm going to do. While I do that, I go and play with other fabrics! And since I'm in such an English Paper Piecing mood these days, I'm going to see if I can fussy cut some of these motifs!

Shoreline main print

I figured out that a 1-3/4" hexagon would be the best size to feature these motifs and so I made a window template out of - what else? - freezer paper! I did have some 1-3/4" hexagon papers in my stash (I ONLY use papers from Paper Pieces).

Fussy cutting two of the motifs for use with 1-3/4" hexagons

But I wanted to have something to go with that awesome red Crab! Now what's cooking? (Certainly NOT my red crab, of course!) Next week I'll visit those fussy cut hexagons. Now for my crab!

More hearts using one of the Shoreline prints

And then I auditioned them with my crab. What do you think? I call him Crab Happy.

My crab appliqué with several hearts made with EPP jewels

And here's what I got! I call this Crab Happy and is fat quarter friendly (because that's all I had, anyway). I played around with adding those fussy cut hexagons, but it just didn't work.

Crab Happy Quilt: 28" x 30"

My Crab Happy quilt is on my Craftsy pattern site and is a 5 page pdf which includes the full size (well, half) template for tracing onto freezer paper for raw edge machine appliqué. I also included a printable page for those Jewels to make the EPP hearts (just print on heavy paper or card stock). Well illustrated and fat quarter friendly, too!

Windham Wednesdays with More Diamonds, Jewels and Hearts

Last week I shared about some mini hearts made using Jewel papers and English Paper Piecing (EPP). These are some samples for my upcoming EPP class in July. I'm going to stack the hearts and they will nestle into one another.

Stacked Hearts made using jewel papers and a variety of Windham Fabrics

I received a card in the mail the other day with Stacked Hearts. Cute, huh?

And then I got to thinking: Hmmm. Stacked Hearts. Stacked Hearts. I think I have a quilt by that name!

This is one of my appliqué patterns that I shared a few months ago as a Valentine's Day blog post. I used the Uncorked Collection by Windham Fabrics.

Stacked Hearts using the Uncorked Collection by Windham

Here's the range of fabrics in a set of fat quarters. Quite luscious, don't you think? I've already pulled the pinks for some EPP hearts.

Fat quarters of Uncorked by Windham

And, yes, for some reason I cut a square from each of those fat quarters. I think they were used to make another quilt (I'll share that another day).

6" squares from each of the fat quarters

This is my first Stacked Hearts quilt using a variety of Windham fabrics (Raj, Dot.com and Spin). Don't you love all that color!

Stacked Hearts

I decided to make a sample for my upcoming Machine Quilting workshops and used my Stacked Hearts appliqué as a stencil. I used freezer paper ironed to the fabric; stitched around it; peeled freezer paper off and then went to town free motion quilting both inside and out. A little crazy with those outside waves. Sort of reminds me of some Super Hero radiating her power - stand back!

Stacked Hearts

Now, let's see some of those Uncorked Hearts, shall we? Because I'm working with 1" jewels (which are also 2" along the long sides), I first cut diamonds from 2-1/2" strips. A basic ruler with the 60 degree markings is all I use.

Then I cut off one tip as shown. I always allow 3/8" (and not the recommended 1/4") for my seams. I like having more to work with and the fabric stays folded better! Quilt Police are NOT allowed anywhere near my sewing room!!

Trimming rotary cut diamonds for use with jewels

And how they look front and back:

Jewels pinned and ready to be transformed into hearts!

Three little Jewel Hearts. So sweet. So pink.

3 Jewels Hearts

Here are 3 of the hearts in two arrangements. Which do you like best?

3 Heart Wreath made using EPP jewels

 And let's get back to the stacked hearts!

3 Stacked Hearts

I have a few other EPP patterns using other shapes. Check them out!

My Pin and Needle Case is an awesome way to keep your EPP papers, pins, fabrics together. There are pockets inside and even "pages" using batting. This Grandmother's Flower Garden block uses 1" hexagons.

Hexie Needle Case

And my Zig and Zag of Hexies Table Runner made with some awesome Lotta Jansdotter fabrics. I used large, 2" hexagons for this. I actually made two of these.

The Zig and Zag of Hexies

Large, 2" hexies capture a lot of the print! Can you see that little frog sitting by the side of the river?

2" Hexies using the Briar Rose collection

Zig Zag Hexie runner using Briar Rose

Calling All Paper Piecers!

My best selling CD, Building Blocks and Borders, was first published in 2003. I created 40 different blocks for foundation paper piecing and then I made them in 4 sizes each: 3", 4", 5" and 6". That means you can mix and match over 240 blocks to your heart's content! Now I offer this as a pdf pattern on Craftsy: Building Blocks and Borders. And I haven't changed the price in 15 years - it still is only $13.00!

Building Blocks and Borders

These blocks have been used in my own quilts. Here is Slashed Hearts from 2007, which was published in Quilt Magazine so many years ago! This is one of several patterns on the CD which includes the reverse (mirror image) of the pattern. Don't you just love that rick rack?

Slashed Hearts using the 6" paper pieced heart

Can we see some of the other blocks?

20 of the 40 blocks in my Craftsy pattern: Building Blocks and Borders

 And here are the second set of 20 blocks:

I have a Shark's Teeth quilt using larger blocks, but here is a set so you can see them up close:

Shark's Teeth blocks

 And my larger Shark's Teeth Quilt which is a great Scrap Buster project!

Shark's Teeth using larger, 10" blocks

And using some older fabrics:

Shark's Teeth

And one more block:

Shark's Teeth

I've made Dancing Squares many times, too. This is perfect for fussy cutting the centers!

Dancing Squares blocks tilt both left and right

And one more is Velvet Stars, which is perfect as a Scrap Buster quilt!

Velvet Stars (in a larger block)

I'll share some other quilts that I have made with these blocks in coming weeks. If you love to paper piece and want to print your own patterns without tracing or going to a copy shop, then this pattern set is for YOU! Everything is accurate for view and print.

Go check out my Building Blocks and Borders pattern with 40 blocks in 4 sizes each! This is perfect for making your own Row by Row quilt, too!