We all have them: bundles of fat quarters that we don't know what to do with. They are exciting fabrics but we begin to think that having only a piece 18" x 22" is going to restrict us in what we make. Well, I had this fun FQ bundle of Rumble by Windham Fabrics since 2015! FQ bundle of Rumble fabrics by Windham Those lions and tigers and elephants and birds were screeching so loudly last week that I had to pull them off the shelf and start cutting! They told me that they waited enough and it was TIME to Rumble! I was able to make not one, not two, BUT THREE little kids' quilts from the four animal prints, the blenders and some random fabric in my stash. First, I made a 4 block quilt using an old pattern I made for Quilt Magazine 17 years ago. I altered the center squares so I could get more cuts from the leftovers. The striped border is not from the collection. I quickly realized I didn't like sewing with so many triangles, but I had already cut things out and the

Twisted Hexagons is my favorite "go to" pattern for little kids. You can capture a fabulous motif in the center hexagon and then finish it off with 6 half-hexagons. No y-seams (you know the story). I used just about the very last of the collection with only ONE fat quarter remaining. Aren't these fun fabrics from 2012? Sockey the Monkey and his fabrics Here's a single block from a previous quilt. Don't those monkeys look happy? I finished my last set of blocks last weekend (actually, on Memorial Day). I put the 3 horizontal rows together and then scoured my stash for borders. Don't you just love the black and white dots?! The blocks are 10" high, with a 5" high center hexagon. 9 Block Twisted Hexagon quilt: 40" x 46" OK. You're probably wondering what the "making do" in my blog title has to do with this. Well, let me show you. I needed two more half-hexagons in the red with yellow bananas. And so I pieced the fabrics. Here -

I've shared this quilt center before. It's a simplified Pat Sloan block that I modified in size, cutting, and color arrangement. First, the fabrics. These blenders are from Michael Miller's Krystal Collection. The print is a REALLY, REALLY OLD no-name fabric that I held onto until the right fabrics came along as "go withs." Then I did a tutorial on how to make the block. You can read about it here  and here . This is how the blocks looked once I put them into the quilt center. I wanted to make each star with two colors (and background) and not just one. Star Spinners quilt center: 36" x 45" I didn't have any fabric that would give me the 45" length for those two sides. I had to get creative. Here is my solution: Star Spinners quilt top with borders: 45" x 56" I found a print with the colors I needed (the butterflies). I added 5"  navy squares (fabric from the center blocks) to each end of the butterfly print and put 5" square

I pulled out my copy of that Appliqué Quilts 2004 magazine (which featured the Wild Strawberries quilt shown on Wednesday) and discovered a few more lovely quilts. Again, I used an orphan block that had been submitted to our editorial office. Let me show you one: Ohio Star with Ruched Roses This block is a combination of piecing (the Ohio Star) and appliqué, along with the "ruching", which is the gathered red "lumpy" fabric. I donated this to a quilt museum for fund raising. Here is a photo of it up close. I added the borders and little folded triangles to repeat some of the colors. Ohio Rose with Ruched Roses. 12" block, 19" x 19" quilt  Turn to page 12 and you will find my lovely classic beauty from the vintage Laurel Wreath series. I made 4 blocks using the birds and then pooped out. The collection has 25 blocks and they all have a laurel wreath with 25 appliquéd leaves. Now do you know why I pooped out? You can see the entire quilt (digital) here

 This is a repost from 10 years ago and you can have the FREE PATTERN , too! Did he really have to count them? Imagine my horror after dinner the other night as I watched my dear husband Phil walk into the hallway, stop in front of this mini quilt and begin counting the strawberries by POKING EACH ONE WITH HIS FINGER! Poke - one; poke - two, up to 8 plump strawberries. I gasped: "What are you doing? You're not supposed to TOUCH quilts. You KNOW that, right?" He looked chagrined - and grinned like a Cheshire cat (or like a junior high boy caught in the act). He IS a keeper and like I always say: I'm still married to my first husband after 36+ years  46 years! Never found anyone better. But where did I go wrong about teaching him how to treat quilts? It was the lure, I guess, of those plump strawberries. His own strawberry garden didn't yield any this first year, so maybe he was just getting out his frustrations. I found my pattern for this quilt which appeared in A

Remember that batch of half hexagons from last month? These were cut about 12 years ago and have been waiting for a special quilt! I made the Half-Hexagon Braid quilt, and had so many more left over that I made a second one. Half Hexagons waiting for another quilt Bubbles and Hexagons is a pattern I first made and had published in Quilt Magazine in 1997. You can see what I mean by the hexagons part (two half-hexagons make on hexagon, right?): Here is the one I made as my workshop sample for 2018. It's hard to tell that those whole hexagons are really composed of two half-hexagons, but they are! This is a perfect project for those 2-1/2" Jelly Roll strips! Check out my easy pattern on Etsy. Bubbles and Hexagons : 41" x 51"  I used a stack of these half-hexagons in the browns and made this 42" x 49" quilt. I floated the hexagons with the white print so none were chopped in half. I had to get creative with the borders because I didn't have enough length of

I decided to create a new board in my Pinterest site . Not sure if folks still use Pinterest, but it sure has a LOT of inspiration for me. My Double Wedding Ring  board has 16 photos so far. I didn't realize I had made so many quilts! Here's one of my recent quilt finishes. I've shared it here before. This is foundation paper pieced with 11" blocks. It's a workshop I teach from time to time. 1930s Double Wedding Ring: 44" x 56" I like to show how I simplified joining the blocks. I split that center 4-pointed curved background unit into four pieces. Here is what I mean by the 4-pointed curved unit. I took a vintage, 1930s quilt apart and I have plans! 8 pieced, curved arcs with single, center unit Here is what I mean by splitting the center: You honestly can't see the vertical and horizontal seams after the quilting. I wouldn't care, anyway! I've made two small table toppers with pieced center and curved outer edges. I paper pieced the arcs. I&

Meet the Royal Court  is a delightful novelty print from Windham Fabrics, with images of kings and queens, jesters and even the Royal Pet! The other dayI pulled out the remaining fat quarters and they reminded me of this post from 2016. I wanted to revisit what I did with these fun fabrics. Let me recap: I am enamored lately with the 60 degree jewel shape (some call it a "gem"). It is basically a 60 degree diamond with a triangle lopped off of one end. I am not too keen on single size templates. I mean, what if you want to work with a different size? Then you either are out of luck or have to buy another one. Why not use the lines on your acrylic ruler? Why not, indeed! Then you can cut just about any size diamond and jewel. First, here is the fabric collection: Fat quarters of  Meet the Royal Court  by Windham Fabrics Because I only have an 18" x 22" piece of each fabric, I am limited in what I make. I love those sorts of challenges. I cut 4-1/2" strips from m

In 2017  Windham Fabrics  released a line called  Mesa  and they asked me to design a western theme quilt. I dug around in my thousands of digital files and rediscovered some appliqué patterns from a few years past: a cowboy boot and a cactus. I combined these with my Arrowheads Block and came up with  Arrowheads in the Desert . What do you think? Arrowheads in the Desert : 62" x 62" I love the main print and used it as the backing. Who would want to chop this up? Mesa print Let's see those Arrowhead Blocks. I think they're pretty awesome. You can make them with the templates in the pattern or, if you have a set of Tri-Recs rulers (with an 8" height),  or my own Arrowheads rulers , or even the Creative Grids triangle rulers. Just two triangles creates these blocks. (These are NOT 60 DEGREE angles!) Cut triangles and piece a "triangle in a square" block This technique is popular, but no one makes them as I do, nor do they seem to want to make the resulti

Maker's Home  (2017)  has been quietly waiting for a place to shine. Little fat quarters on a shelf in my closet (out of the sunlight, of course). I am making more of those zipper pouches. My mother-in-law saw some I posted on Facebook and put in a request. Here's one I made the other day using the new Bright World fabrics . They have just come into quilt shops this month: Zipper pouch using Bright World. 9" high x 9.5" wide I honestly measured over and over, but it still is too small for her iPad! Oh, well. She will find a lovely use for this, won't she? Isn't the lining fabric in white and gray perfect? That's why I pulled out Maker's Home. She loves pink and turquoise and we all love flowers.  Here is  Maker's Home  by Natalie Barnes. Yes, these are from 2017 but they are beautiful for today! Maker's Home This pouch is bigger than the pink one and it fits the size of her iPad (which is the size of mine). What do you think? It's 8" h