I keep these quilts in a section of my hall closet that has other holiday quilts (Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day - you get the picture!) and I pulled them out yesterday so I could hang them throughout the house.  This single LeMoyne Star appeared in my second book: Supersize 'Em Quilts. The block is 19" x 19" and is all rotary cut with NO y-seams. Single LeMoyne Star: 31" x 31" I also made this 9 block star quilt with the same collection. Notice that there are 3 different renditions of a LeMoyne Star! Yes, these are also 19" square. Windham Fabrics owns this quilt. Farmhouse West Stars: 92" x 92" And one more that I made using one of the Storybook Collections from Windham. Here it is with my neighbor's Barbie dressed in her Air Force uniform (my neighbor served with the Air Force). This just came out of that closet - she's SO happy and is celebrating in my living room! Storybook Americana Lone Star : 31...

I have made a LOT of quilts with the red, white and blue theme. Here is an oldie, but the pattern is still available at the Windham Fabrics web site (yes, I make a LOT of quilts with their fabrics). This is from about 2007, but still a fantastic beauty! FREE PATTERN! American Beauty Quilt  by Leslie Sonkin and Debby Kratovil Here is a VERY old one I made even before I came into the professional quilting world. I even hand quilted this. I'm pulling it out to hang this weekend. Stitched and hand quilted about 25 years ago And one more: this was given to the family who lost their dear son in Afghanistan. It is hanging over his bed in his bedroom. His mom considers it a precious reminder of his beautiful - and short - life. This is also a FREE PATTERN. Americana Quilt with Hearts If you are with me in this crazy email subscription transition, I think I've found a way to make it easy. Remember, the end of June Blogger will retire the email feed. If you wish to continue getting these...

I have posted these quilts here before, but the fabric company has removed the link. I have since put it on my own server and you can find it there. Here is my post from 2017. Sweet Land of Liberty . Yup. That's us. I have designed a few quilts based on antique game boards. I could only find one photo on my computer, so that's all I can share. This quilt was designed and sewn (and published) in 2004. This was based on a vintage game board. It has since been given away to my brother in law. Parcheesi Game Board I used this as the basis for the  Sweet Land of Liberty fabrics.  I love the center pentagon star block. Yes, only five points! There is no curved piecing. Everything is done with raw edge appliqué. And here's my quilt designed with the line with the same name. All the templates are full size and it's been edited with several sets of eyes. Hope you enjoy making this for someone who has a love for vintage patterns. The red, white and blue is just as traditional as...

Back in town again after a few years away. I'm excited to be back in the classroom with motivated students. The Raleigh Show is August 5-7, 2021. What am I teaching? Machine Quilting: Basics and Beyond , Thursday August 5: 8:30 - 11:30 am Start your quilting experience on the right foot --- with Debby’s liberating, beyond-straight-lines, feed-dogs-down process. You’ll enjoy her simple methods for taking your stitches beyond beginners’ meanders and loops. In the dozen years she’s been teaching beginning machine quilting, Debby’s students have been most comfortable following shapes, and so she gives you lots of practice time during class to use stencil shapes and one of her favorites, freezer paper shapes. Discussion includes quilting blocks (no matter the size) and borders, and a treasure trove of samples to illustrate how dynamic her KISS (Keep It Small and Simple) quilting style can be for you, too. I supply all the quilting samples and stencils. Just come ready to play! Playing ...

I've been trying to finish up a few dozen quilt tops and while I've done about that many, it also doesn't seem like I've made a dent! Remember, I do this for a living (though I haven't made much living from them in the past year . . .), so I'm only as good as the next quilt! Sunshine in My Garden was made using some leftover paper pieced units from another quilt. Those are VERY sharp points, right? The center block is 16" square. Set on point it is a whopping 22.5" (from point to point). I pieced the setting triangles to give the illusion of that blue block being appliquéd. Sunshine in My Garden: 44" x 44" Notice that my borders do not match, but because they are from the same Gardening Collection (by Windham), they work! This is a quilt waiting for just the right child! Next is my Cameo Blooms quilt. I had this lovely motif from the Kaffe Fassett Cameo fabric and I cut it out and then added 1-1/2" (finished) strips in rounds. A very e...

Remember this from last week? The fabrics are so clear and fun and fresh. Norma Rose by Natalie Barnes uses all my favorite colors. And they said they weren't done with me! Norma Rose Fabrics  (released in October 2020) So, I decided to play with more 4-1/2" diamonds! Here I am cutting them from a fat quarter. All I had were fat quarters! I cut a 60 degree slice from the side and then cut 4-1/2" diamonds using the 60 degree lines on the ruler. You've seen those lines before, right? Cutting 4-1/2" diamonds My idea was to surround these diamonds with strips, like a Log Cabin. My little Chicken Pin Cushion was overseeing things to make sure I was doing things right! I cut these strips 1-1/2" wide. Diamonds and strips I didn't take a lot of photos. I was just having fun cutting and stitching. As you can see in the partially pieced diamond above, I sewed the strips on all 4 sides, trimming as I went. These blocks turned out pretty large! 10" from flat s...

I have always wanted to make a Constitution Oak quilt. Vintage. Traditional. Lovely. Here is a vintage quilt that we featured in Quilt Magazine in 1998 (and it was OLD then!) Vintage Constitution Oak quilt I used this concept in a design for Windham Fabrics in 2010. What do you think? This uses the Coverlets reproduction collection. I still have a LOT of this yardage. Maybe I should go ahead and make it - especially since I worked out all the directions, templates, etc. Right? The pattern is FREE on their website. Constitution Oak quilt using the Coverlets Collection by Windham Then, I brought it out again when they wanted me to design something with their Blue and Grey Collection a few years ago. Constitution Oak using the Blue and Grey Collection by Windham I even played with the idea of including it in my Cookie Cutter Sampler. Here is a simple block. Constitution Oak in my Cookie Cutter Sampler It's always fun to get inspiration from vintage quilts, isn't it? Go ahead -...

Do you like circles? I do! I didn't always because the thought of turning the edges under by hand made my eyes roll into the back of my head. Then I discovered a clever way to do it all by machine and I've made lots and lots of quilts with circles in them.  This is one I made 25 years ago out of lots and lots of scraps. Yes, these are Drunkard's Path blocks. This was inspired by a Pepper Cory design. Flying Under the Radar Quilt I made these blocks by interfacing the circles and then appliquéing them onto larger background squares. Then I cut them into fourths. Do you get the picture? That's what's going on in these blocks from about 10 years ago. Casablanca Collection by Blank Fabrics. More Drunkard's Path blocks How about this one? These are interfaced and turned, all by machine. You could make one of these trees for each holiday or season of the year! Facets of Color Tree Here is one of the classes I'm teaching (virtually) for Road to California (Saturday...

After a 14 month hiatus at home (but also teaching virtually) I am going back on the road to teach in a real classroom! I'll be in Akron (Cleveland area) Ohio July 15 - 17, 2021 for the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo.  Here is what I'm teaching: Big Block Hexagons  - Thursday, July 15 from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Are you looking for a creative way to use a stack of 10-inch squares? Often referred to as Layer Cakes (yum, yum), we often wish there was some icing to go along with them, right? 32 squares (plus some light background fabric) will make this Big Block Hexagon quilt. We cut our hexagons – and setting triangles - with a multi-sized 60-degree triangle ruler (included in the kit fee). (If you have your own 60-degree ruler, bring it to class and Debby will rebate you the price of her ruler).  Bring your own fabric, see supply list for details. Big Block Hexagons : 50" x 59"  What about using some awesome novelty prints? A perfect child's quilt. NO Y-SEAMS!! Big B...

Today is Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) and is a celebration with parties and food in many Latin American countries. I remember many of my Mexican friends and school chums in California having fun with this day. I've shared some free patterns in the past that I designed to commemorate this with some holiday specific fabrics. (you'll find the link at the bottom of this post) Fiesta collection : Do you remember my Sugar Skulls? These fabrics are probably still current in your local quilt shop. Click the link under the photo to see my steps again. Fiesta Sugar Skull Dresdens I had made one of my Pentagon Wreath blocks using another fussy cut Sugar Skull. Here I am ready to appliqué it to an 11" background square (yes, it will finish to 10-1/2"). I pulled 4 light colored Bedrock fabrics for the background squares, and this is a very pale light blue (hard to tell in the photo). I'm ready to machine stitch it down using my Bernina 1230 and a simple, short zigzag stitch. Blue P...