I have a winner. I actually had one selected but she never answered my two emails and after 6 days and the blocks getting really agitated, I selected another: Carol D. from Texas. Her blocks are going out today! It's been awhile since I had a giveaway. But, looking through my box of orphan blocks I realized that they might like to go live in another home where they might not have to live in a box! I came upon my Coffee Pot block made in 2004 using a Kaffe Fassett print and his shot cottons. Stay with me - I have TWO blocks to give away! And a copy of the Tea Party pdf pattern. One person wins all. 10" Coffee Pot block  (can be trimmed down) I don't know why I used two fabrics for the background, but it's still lovely, don't you think? Here's the freezer paper template I used for my Tea Party BOM that ran in 2018. Coffee Pot templates Here is the remake I made for the BOM. Same fabrics, different background. 10" Coffee Pot Block #2 was made almost 20 years...

Sometimes I like to revisit projects that never made it to the finish line. I was sent a bundle of Bali batiks back in 2007 and was asked to create something. The colors reminded me of all the blazing colors we see here on the East Coast of the USA in the Fall. Even that purple shows up in our trees! Stack of batiks in Autumn colors I am NOT an artist. I basically draw stick figures when my grandkids ask me to draw something. Somehow I got this tree and ground drawn sort of freeform. Leaves were easy. That little curved foot bridge is a bit wonky. The left side border fabric is just sitting there. Blazing Autumn Tree This is as far as I got. Not sure where that little sample is today. I think I put it in a giveaway pile at my quilt guild meeting. I look at this from time to time. Love the colors. I think one of the (many) reasons it was rejected by Bali is that it couldn't be patterned. It would be too big. I did play around with those bright batiks and set some of my Snow ...

These actually are not Kaffe Fassett prints, but from Brandon Mably (who is part of the Kaffe Fassett Collective). I combined his house fabrics with some Bedrock blenders from Windham. The pattern is my Colorburst Squares quilt, which used 3 different Cobblestone blocks. First, the 50" x 50" quilt top:  Mably's Houses  quilt top: 50" x 50" Here are the fabrics I used. I had 4 different colorways in the House prints. I pulled several colors from the Bedrock Collection. House prints and Bedrock blenders Let's see the 3 different 10" blocks. Note that the center house print is in a different position in each. Block #1. Simple Cobblestone block Block #2 uses different sized surrounding strips. The center print is the same, but the surrounding strips are unequal. Block #2 And Block #3 has strips ONLY on 3 sides (tho it is the same size as Blocks #1 and 2.) So, when all put together using my Colorburst Squares pattern  (click the link to see several quilts I...

I designed this block in 1998 and it was published (as a digital file) in Quilt Magazine. I called it Shark's Teeth (why, I don't know). I've made it in a variety of fabrics (Christmas, novelty, solids). This one uses some Kaffe Fassett fabrics and solid shot cottons. 10" Shark's Teeth block Here is the digital file from March of 1998. Very colorful! Shark's Teeth digital file from March 1998   Here is one I've made in Christmas fabrics. 10" Shark's Teeth in holly fabric Browns and golds Here's the full size quilt top I stitched using the Kaffe Fassett fabrics. There was a LOT of paper piecing going on! There are 16 blocks (each block has 4 units) and I even coordinated the shot cotton backgrounds with the 2 greens and the orange. Don't you just love that outside border/ Shark's Teeth Quilt  top: 54" x 54" I am also selling this quilt TOP. This was not quick piecing by any means, but I certainly enjoyed the process. Do you rem...

I think things happen in my sewing room when I'm not around. Fabric and blocks multiply! Does that happen in your sewing room? 41 more blocks than I needed! ( They're for sale in my Etsy shop ) Here is a quilt I made several years ago and had it published in McCall's Quilting Magazine. I call it Pixie Sticks. Actually, they called it Pixie Sticks; I called it Candy Stripes Log Cabin. But, hey, they paid me so I didn't really care! Pixie Sticks made with 6" Log Cabin Blocks I love sewing with reproduction 1930s prints and pulled together a stack of candy colored fabrics and some white on white and just started sewing some Off Center Log Cabin blocks. These are small: only 6"! There are a lot of logs in these blocks. But, oh so yummy, don't you think? Here is what one maker sent me with her Pixie Sticks in process: Blocks in process by Renee K. Notice that some blocks begin with a colored print center square and others begin with a white square. This will gi...

 I saw a Kaffe Fassett quilt in the Glorious Patchwork book (1997) that inspired me to make my own version of houses. His is composed of strip pieced bottoms and various triangles for the roofs. I like to get my fabric to do as much work as possible, so I pulled out several of his striped fabrics and this is what I got. My version of a Kaffe House Quilt: 54" x 64"   First, I had to determine what size I wanted my houses. I didn't want them 5" x 10" as are in the book. And I composed the roofs in a very different manner. I settled on a 6" x 9" house/roof/sky combo. My roofs are simply Flying Geese units. I cut 7-1/4" squares of "roof" fabric into 4 equal sized triangles, so I had 4 roofs per print. Flying Geese units for roofs You can also see some of the main house striped fabrics. I cut these 6-1/2" x 6-1/2". 6-1/2" squares of a variety of stripes But, looking at the fabric I selected for sky fabric left me less than enth...

I came upon an OLD digital file on my computer for a basket quilt. This was from early 2002 (yes, that's 20 years ago). I never stitched it - it was a pattern for a quilt in our magazine. I decided to tweak it some and sew it myself. What do you think? 5" paper pieced Basket Here it is before I trimmed it: Basket block before trimming  After trimming, I removed the paper from the back. Basket Block after papers removed I added information on the FREE Basket Pattern for suggested sizes to cut for each patch. This really went together quickly and I'm going to make a few more. If you like foundation paper piecing, then I am sure you will like this little block.

I came across a Winding Ways quilt I made in 2005 the "old fashioned way" using pre-cut patches for the 12 block units. These were Fossil Fern flannels that were laser cut by the John Flynn Company and all I had to do was sew them together. Twelve patches. For one block. Gulp! Winding Ways quilt center The beauty of the pre-cut patches is that they had notches along the sides to make sure you lined everything up perfectly. And it worked! Here is the back of another Winding Ways block and you can see where the notches are and how they are pressed. Perfect! Back of another Winding Ways block with notches This is what just half of the block patches look like! Every one is curved. Some blocks in process: Winding Ways blocks in process I decided to make 16 blocks using some Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Here are my first 10 which I combined with some shot cottons. 10 Winding Ways blocks. 10" x 10" finished And here is my quilt top arranged in an asymmetrical manner. What do ...

I came across a small quilt I made about 30 years ago, though it has no label with a date, etc. So how do I know it's from 30 years ago? It's hand quilted! I stopped hand quilting when I discovered that my trusty sewing machines could do awesome work in one tenth of the time! Here is my Boomer in the Garden quilt. Why is her name "Boomer?" Well, this is a vintage block from well over 100 years ago and that's what it was called. Boomer in the Garden. 22" x 26" quilt size I machine pieced the 9" x 11" block and added the sashings and borders. The flowers are my own inventions combining ruching (the gathering of the ribbons) for that 2nd flower from the left, yo-yos, and interfaced leaves in the left and right flowers. The flower stems are ribbons. Her skirt is "lace by the yard" trimmed with more ribbon. Let's see her up close: Boomer in the Garden with her flowers Then, I hand quilted this. I remember when I used to sit in the dini...

Mountain Mist was the "go to" company for both batting and patterns. One that I fell in love with is the Friendship Plume. What? You've no idea what I'm talking about? Let me show you TWO vintage and beautiful Friendship Plume quilts. Vintage Friendship Plume quilts I redrafted it into the size I wanted (I had to draw it myself - no pattern to trace!) and settled on a 15" size. Then, because I know my limits, I settled on making a pillow using my Fossil Fern collection. Friendship Plume in Fossil Ferns Then some other fabrics called to me and I made it again using some Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Both pillows have a flange (the floppy edge) which takes it up to 20" x 20". The back is one of those fold overs that allows you to slip your pillow form inside. Friendship Plume in beautiful autumn colors (link is for pdf pattern) Now to show you five blocks that I made and I'm selling! I only have one set, so first come first served! First, this is my freez...