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Showing posts from February, 2020

FREE Pattern Friday - The French Connection

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Mardi Gras. Lent. Fleur de Lis. How about a pattern that pulls all of those together, whether you observe Easter and the 6 weeks working up to that Holy Day? I created this quilt for Blank Fabrics in 2012 and I have the pattern as a 5 page pdf to share with you today. The French Connection with Fleur de Lis block The appliqué Fleur de Lis block is 12" x 12". The quilt size is 52" x 52". It was made with the Savoy collection, but any beautiful fabrics with good contrast will do. I made a few other things from those fabrics. Here is an apron (I used some commercial pattern and have since given this to one of my daughters.) Apron A few little items (tissue holders are quick and easy) Edged tablecloth and other small items using the Savoy Collection  And I even added a ruffle to a pre-made canvas tote! Ruffled Tote You can have the pattern for the quilt above. I call it The French Connection . There are NO y-seams; making those pieced sashings is

Windham Wednesdays with Pop Dots

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Well, this is just a sneak peek  because I didn't finish my project. What? That's never happened to you?! On my way to a fun project with Pop Dots Pop Dots is a . . . well, let's just let the web description do the telling! POP DOTS by Another Point of View Pop Dots  - a geometric optical illusion! Available in an array of bright colors including rainbow ombre options with black and white backgrounds. Pieced quilts with simple quilting will create stunning results. Rainbow quilts are all the rage and Pop Dots wont disappoint! 16 PRINTS / SHIPS: January 2020 Here is a sneak peek of all the fabrics. I was sent fat quarters, so you know this won't be a king sized quilt. I love a good challenge and I'm on my way to success. You just have to wait and see! 16 fat quarters of Pop Dots In case you're new to my blog, I have been using my EZ Double Wedding Ring template set. I've been making DWR quilts with this shape for 20 years. My fi

Technique Tuesday: Keep it Reel

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Here's a fun novelty print that isn't girlie and will appeal to anyone (male or female) who enjoys fishing. Keep it Reel  from Benartex has some awesome fishing images: fish, reels, fishing gear, and great colors. I decided to make two pillowcases (and not a quilt!). But I was sent a stack of 1/3 yard cuts so I had to improvise. I can do that. I love a good challenge. Pillowcase #1 using Keep it Reel fabrics And one more: Pillowcase #2 I selected two prints with the same background color, seamed and topstitched the seams, and went on to make the pillowcases. The pillowcase pattern I typically use calls for a 27" x wof piece of the main print. I used two! Two similar prints (color and scale) joined for the main case Now let's see a few steps. You can visit a few other of my pillowcase posts for more detail. Again, I am using the prints from Keep it Reel (so I can keep it REAL!) Black print cut 10" x wof for the large hem. Red print cut 3&qu

Little Hexagon Tote Bags

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This is a repost from 2012! I discovered the photos on my computer and thought it would be fun to see these again. And I've updated the 7 page pattern to 17 pages because I decided to include the original quilt where the little hexie blocks came from. And I have a printable page of 1" hexagons so you can start stitching right away! Two little CD bags using my leftover Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks There's nothing quite like SCRAPS to make me feel cozy. These little CD bags were made in 2004/5 with some leftover grandmother's flower garden blocks from a quilt in my first book. I thought it would be nice to capture just one in a little bag just the right size for a CD. I made two and finally found the original photo that appeared in Patchwork and Quilting Magazine. And I included a lesson on English Paper Piecing. Here is the quilt that gave me these leftovers. This was in my first book and I include this as a bonus pattern with the little CD Tote Bag .

Gee's Bend Quilters and Black History Month

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I've shared my adaptations of the 8 Gee's Bend quilts from several years ago. I have new blog followers all the time and thought I'd do it again with some quilts I made using my own improvisational stitching (at the bottom of this post). First, let's see my version of the Housetop Denim quilt. My  Housetop Denim : 51" x 62" And the very improvisational one created by Rita Mae Pettway: Rita Mae Pettway's  Housetop Denim: 70" x 84" You can read a LOT of background info on these talented quilters and see dozens more quilts. I discovered this last year and it's a gold mine! The site is called  The Gee's Bend Quiltmakers . As most of you know, I had a CONTRACTUAL agreement with Windham Fabrics to adapt these quilts, signed off on by the Gee's Bend Collective. I own all rights to my adaptations. There is no copyright theft here (as I've had someone accuse me of). Now, back to this awesome  web site . Since it&#