My apologies for sending out two blog posts on one day, but I want to remind you that today is the last day that Blogger (who hosts my blog) will have email updates. So, if you haven't switched over to Follow.it, then you won't get any further notifications from me. While I prefer how Blogger did things for these past 9 years, Follow.it is the only service that could handle email blasts. They do have those annoying ads at the bottom of my posts. I DO NOT PUT THOSE IN! Also, they delay notification by a whole day. If you don't choose to use the Follow.it platform - I don't blame you. All I suggest is that you check in here from time to time - maybe on a Friday to see what I've shared through the week. Now, on to my favorite quilt celebrating the 4th of July. Here is my Hey, Hey, USA banner with 18" blocks. I made this a digital pattern for Windham Fabrics. Check it out!  And it's FREE! My own Hey, Hey, USA pattern The Windham Fabrics quilt is larger (60...

Another day, another quilt or two on a magazine cover. Here is my Noah's Ark quilt which began as a round robin with other quilts on America Online (probably 1997). I made the center ark. Then someone added the animals and Noah and then the subsequent borders. I recently donated it to the Childen's Nursery at my church. It hangs for all the children to see! Noah's Ark quilt Here is the center: I made Noah's ark and the sky, clouds and background. Here's the magazine cover of Big Block Quilts Issue #58. Noah's Ark quilt on the cover of Big Block Quilts #58 Here's one more cover with 2 quilts. The Sunbonnet Sue quilt was somewhat monotonous but it was always a popular one to feature. You can see my Sunbonnet Sue single block mini-quilt in my Etsy shop. She is very similar to this one. And my 9 Block Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt is fun, too! Quilt Almanac 2005 The Hearts on Fire quilt at the bottom right was first featured in this magazine. It was the ...

Quilt magazines are no longer the main way we quilters get our inspiration and instruction. But when I began writing and designing for Quilt Magazine in 1993, they really were the top dog! I loved all my quilting magazines. Do you remember Quilter's Newsletter? Big Sigh, right? We continued to ADD titles through the first 10 years. This is the premier issue of Appliqué Quilts (2000) and that's my quilt as the large center (Garden Flowers) and also the little Dutch Hearts Sampler at the top left. All by machine, of course! On the cover of the premier issue of Appliqué Quilts (twice) That single large pot of flowers on the yellow background was an extra block that I had cut incorrectly. There's a seam in the yellow square, but it didn't keep it from being on the cover! I added dogtooth borders and then my curved picture frame outer border took it to a nice size. All machine work, btw! Then here's another from 1997. Quilt Almanac, which we produced once a year. I have ...

My husband once asked me: "Are you one of the famous quilters?" (He was trying to find a way to describe to his business acquaintances what I do in my world.) I laughed and laughed. Even though he's watched my journey these past 29 years, earning an income by making quilts and publishing them, it was hard to find a niche that made sense. I said: "No, I'm just a PROLIFIC quilter!" My Dresden Quilt from 1998 The fun part about having my quilts on our magazine covers (I was an editor with Quilt for 14 years) was that they PAID me a very lovely bonus for each one. Other magazines gave me an extra copy of the magazine! I've had TWO DOZEN magazine covers in those 14 years and I loved it! Many covers included several quilts; others had one spectacular beauty. This Quilt Almanac 1998 magazine cover showcased 5 quilts with my Amish Dresden Plate Quilt at the bottom right. Here she is in her entirety. Amish Dresden Plate This was made using a 30 degree wedge. We p...

I truly love these sparkling blenders. And they really DO sparkle! Here's a sneak peek at my Christmas in July post as I needed to pre-wash my Fairy Frost before combining them with the Minky. They were a little worried, but I assured them they would be fine in the washer - just a little bath before bedtime! Fairy Frost about to get a bath! I made 6 large Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks with that first set of matching Fairy Frost and Gingham Play. Aren't these yummy? Candy with no calories! Here are my blocks from the back. You can see how I stitch these hexagons. And my papers were cut from a variety of card stock that I had. Blocks from the back And aren't they beautiful from the front? Still unsure how I'm going to combine them with the others that used the Cotton Couture for the centers. It will eventually come to me! In the meantime, I was busy stitching some little hearts. These are called jewels and two jewels make a heart. I'm auditioning them on so...

Another day, another way with Fairy Frost. Actually, a continuation of yesterday and those lovely hexagons. Let's see some of the beautiful hexagons in Fairy Frost and Gingham Play. I cut my fabrics and then stitched a lot of hexagons. This photo shows the orange block done. Sweet, huh? Block parts with a single block finished I am not going to add the outer solid hexagons on the sides of these blocks. I'm going to float them on a background made up of various light colored Fairy Frost. I only have fat quarters, so that limits me. I like that sort of challenge! I'm going to try and recreate some version of a quilt I've made a few times before. The one in this picture was made with class samples from several years ago. I had four rectangular blocks and when I put them together the center was too boring! I added a fifth block to that center and it filled in the space beautifully. One of my students, Lori, said this was her favorite quilt from the workshop. I named it afte...

More blocks, more quilts, more sparkle using Fairy Frost . I'm back with some hexagons and English Paper Piecing. I've been working on these blocks for a few years. Not sure where I'm headed, but I am just along to enjoy the ride. And it's such a lovely ride to be working with lovely fabrics. This is Gingham Play by Michael Miller . I shared some of this in 2019 and I was using Cotton Couture with it. But I couldn't find quite the color match from the bundle I received, so I had an "aha" moment and grabbed some of my Fairy Frost. Aren't these SO beautiful together?!! Fairy Frost and Gingham Play It looks like candy, doesn't it? I began to cut it up to make more of my Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks. Oh, you haven't seen those? Allow me! First, this is what I used for my blocks which I started in 2019. Gingham Play and Cotton Couture I made a few large blocks using 2" hexagons. Here is my purple/lavender set. Various 2" hexagons...

I was taught early in my professional quilting career to "sew for the camera." That means to let the fabrics do the work so that viewers can see the various prints and want to BUY them! Magazines weren't published to entertain only; they needed advertisers to keep the doors open and that meant inviting fabric companies to come along for the ride (and pay for admission!) I have made the Flying Swallows quilt several times. It's currently a class I teach for the Sewing Expo. ( Next class is in Akron, Ohio .) The most recent version used Fairy Frost . Here are a few of the 45 degree diamonds I cut. Diamonds cut from Fairy Frost No - I did NOT use templates. Pull out your acrylic rulers and do you see those 45 degree lines that run along a diagonal? Yep! That's what I used!  Makes it very enjoyable for my students. I cut two different sizes of triangles from more Fairy Frost - and then BIG triangles from that dark blue. Now, what does it look like when put together? ...

I have been a huge fan of Michael Miller's Fairy Frost for many years. It's been around since 2001, in fact! I had a bit here and there and then I was sent a HUGE fat quarter bundle from their warehouse in 2020. What do you think? What? You can't really see them? Well, here are a few I pulled out for some projects. There's just about any color and hue that you might need. I selected these for my Festival of Lights quilt which I made in 2018. Two blues, a yellow, a gold, a red and the perfect white! And how do they look? Perfect, I think you'll say! First, the individual paper pieced units. I was also using the Festival of Lights fabric collection. And here's my quilt. Do you like how I turned one fourth of each block so that it looks like there's a 5th block in the center? Festival of Lights quilt quilt: 44" x 44" Here are just the fat quarters: Fairy Frost fat quarters And the project I'm currently working on using the delightful Gnome to Fa...