I wanted to play with some other fabrics and show my students what it looks like with each 3-patch unit using 3 different fabrics. I still have quite a few of these fabrics left (cut into kites) and I'm trying to figure out a good design. I like trolling Pinterest for ideas; how about you? (I used my own kite template) This uses the 3-patch unit as found in the Rose Star quilt. Kite units using 3 fabrics Here are the 3 fabrics I used in the block above. Yes, same Rose Star patches! Sets of kites for my block Then I decided to split the center kites. What do you think? My template has seam allowances in the center so you can do this. To make it easy, I seamed two fabrics together and then aligned the template vertically (not shown that way here) and then cut. You have to cut one and then a mirror image of it. Can you see that? I also took the kite shape and pieced it. Inspired by a vintage block, here is what I did: Pieced kites Sewn into a hexagon center: And then I added a border....

Here is another variation on that simple Rose Star Table Topper. Same shape but I added some side setting triangles to really upsize it. I blogged about this last year. I was using the Harvest Gold fabric collection by Benartex. Here's the link for the post from May 2019. (Fabric giveaway is over) Harvest Gold fabrics on their way to a LARGE Rose Star If you visit that page link you will see a LOT of steps in how I constructed this Rose Star. Same method as yesterday's but I added setting triangles on the sides to "square it up" and then beautiful borders. Here is the top (before quilting). The digital pattern link is here . Rose Star quilt before quilting: 48" x 44" And I quilted it last week using my Handi Quilter Sweet 16. Notice that I turned it 90 degrees because I wanted it to be longer than wide. Here it is: Harvest Gold Rose Star: 44" wide by 48" high Just in time to hang in my house for the Fall. Love these fabrics! I also made this same ...

Another week, another theme. I probably won't do a full 7 days, but I know you'll be entertained with some lovely projects featuring the Rose Star. "What's a Rose Star," you ask? It's a vintage block that uses a patch shape called the "kite." And you all know what a kite it, right? Here are a few dozen kite shaped fabrics waiting for a quilty home. Kite shaped Kaffe Fassett fabrics Are you nervous? Are you thinking: Y-SEAM! Well, if you have a driver's license, you know how to make a y-seam, only it's called a "y-turn" in driving school. That's what I tell my students in my Rose Star classes. Here is the project I made using these patches. It's one of my favorite quilts. I'll show you a few steps, too. Rose Star Table Topper I realized I needed a dependable kite shaped template and had one made for me. While it cuts only one size, it's very easy to do without a lot of weird twists and turns. I also realized that the ...

Last day with one of my first Butterfly quilts. This was made about 18 years ago and published in Quilt Magazine. This is a simple Drunkard's Path inspired block. And those fabrics are wonderful, too. Sunshine Butterflies. 6" block. 28" x 37" quilt This little quilt brought some child a few smiles, I'm sure. It also gave me the idea for the next quilt, but the technique is quite different. This time I used a Curvy Log Cabin ruler (Jean Ann Wright for Creative Grids). Here's a closeup of the block: Three curvy 12" log cabin blocks joined with a plain square The logs are two different sizes (thick and thin). The "head" is a prairie point. And here's the quilt finished: Sunshine Butterflies : 47-1/2" x 47-1/2" The hard copy pattern in my Etsy shop assumes you have the Curvy Log Cabin ruler. Here is a second quilt made by a quilt shop in Wisconsin. Sunshine Butterflies by the Quilting Divas Sewing Boutique I actually found another pi...

If it's Wednesday, many times I like to feature fabrics by Windham (Windham Wednesdays)! Today is no different. In my search for butterflies in fabric and block patterns, I realized that a new collection I shared last week ( Meadow Whispers ) has BUTTERFLIES on several skus. No kidding! Let's see them again. The butterflies of Meadow Whispers Here is the fabric collection with those lovely butterflies on the left (3 colors): Another collection by Windham that I shared here before is Butterfly Dance . This was released in 2018. Let's see the amazing fabrics. Butterfly Dance fabrics Do you remember what I made with it? Well, let me remind you! This is from my Metropolitan Home Star pattern . Each of those "star" blocks is 21". The paper pieced points units are 7". I staggered the stars for more movement. This is ready for me to quilt. No more borders (because I was only working with fat quarters and when I'm done, I'm done!) Butterfly Dance : 49...

 How about some dresden plate wedges that disguise themselves as butterfly wings? This was the happy result of a mistake I made when I lived in Atlanta and was involved in a block swap with my quilt guild almost 20 years ago. Our task was to make a 10" block of our choosing and I figured I could make a simple Dresden Plate. You know - 12 wedges in a circle. This Amish inspired quilt has been shown here before. What happened is that I used a bigger template and the 12 wedges in the circle wouldn't fit onto a 10" square. They were meant for a 12" square - it was too big! I began to take them apart, thinking I was dividing the block into fourths. Instead, I ended up with three sets of four wedges (I used to teach high school math, so I should be able to do simple division). Then I got angry with myself and tossed the wedges onto the 10" square and they landed so that I saw butterfly wings! I just needed a body! Dresden plate wedges disguised as butterfly wings Here...

 I'm back and so are more butterflies! I came upon this lovely vintage dresser scarf that I made for my lovelier oldest daughter using a large block of appliquéd butterflies. I found it in an antiques market about 10 years ago and then decided to square it up, add a lining (no batting) and then bound it with real feed sacks. Lovely, right? And they are a bit sassy, too! Vintage butterflies Here are some fabrics that show some butterflies. The collection is called Bird Song by Windham. Bird Song fabrics I centered the fabrics in a simple Cobblestone block. And they also are the main part of the paper pieced birdhouse. Here's one more small block that I finished off with simple sashing and borders. The block was part of a contest for Quilt Magazine and my editor gave it to me to finish off. See that lovely blue butterfly in the top corner? That's it for today. I'll see you tomorrow for Day 5.

I've seen all sorts of tools and gadgets for making all sorts of shapes in quilting. But, making circles does not involve buying those new, expensive sets of metal donut shapes. I've been using my technique for over 30 years; that's because I HATE needle turn appliqué. Here's my design created for P and B Fabrics a few years ago. Two different sizes of circles. I've gone between raw edge appliqué and sewing with interfacing and turning. These can be made with either technique. Floating Circles is FREE online. Check it out! Floating Circles FREE Pattern Here's my Facets of Color Holiday Tree which uses this technique. I used a plastic margarine lid for the circle shape. No kidding! Do you know how many DIFFERENT sizes of circles you have around your house? I'll wait a few minutes while you go look around. Facets of Color Tree Are you back? Are you ready to see those steps? When I first thought this up (though I'm sure I'm not the first), I used my b...

How about a little embroidery? I made this quilt for my first book (Bold, Black and Beautiful Quilts). It was one of those 20+ quilts that were stolen in 2005. I embroidered the butterflies (and wreaths) on my Pfaff sewing machine. Here's a pillow sham I designed for Blank Quilting back in 2008. I never got to sew it, but this also uses a vintage appliqué butterfly block. I may just have to make this. I still have some of these lovely Inspiration fabrics in my stash. 22" x 28" center And one more that lets the fabric do the work. This is the Sakura collection from a few years ago by Benartex. I fussy cut the butterflies and then used interfacing to turn the edges under. Quick and easy! I had the collection with both the cream and black backgrounds. Here's one of the quilts I made. I simply appliquéd those circles to squares using a machine zigzag stitch. And then I clipped away the fabric from behind the circles. Wanna see? This quilt was also quilted and then donated...