I taught my popular Twisted Hexagons workshop last month and decided to take a set of sample blocks and turn them into another quilt. This quilt has been in process for at least 8 years and it was just time to "get 'er done!" Twisted Hexagons . 10" blocks; 42" x 47" Those toile motifs in the center are from a 2008 collection by Windham Fabrics. I made several other quilts from those prints and had just enough left over to capture these 9 scenes. The fun floral border is from a Benartex collection. I'm not usually a fan of browns, but this quilt is one exception! Let me show you what I did with these fabrics for my last book . I  captured a very large motif in the center of this quilt which I called "Toile Garden Medallion." That center is 15" in diameter! Toile Garden Medallion: 36" x 36" When I taught this workshop for a few years, I had a second center motif with the flying geese. I retired the workshop and then finished the ...

I came upon this quilt photo the other day. I made the quilt some 23 years ago using an adapted pattern from another designer (Elizabeth Carlson). The quilt is long gone and I'm tempted to remake it. I actually still have the freezer paper templates! Curves and Birds: 15" x 15" The reason I was thinking about it is that I'm making new samples for my Tight Knit Circles workshop. The curves are similar to my freeform ones in the pattern. Don't you just love the addition of those two birds in that green border? Ingenious, right? I made a quilt that captures bird prints inside some curved photo corners. This pattern is almost 20 years old (2004); the quilt is a remake using some Benartex fabrics. First, what I call the " photo corners ." They look like what we have in our framed photos! Interfaced raw edge appliqué photo corners This is how I captured the bird print using a freezer paper template: Catching the bird inside the frame Here is the mini quilt fr...

Meadow Whispers  is a collection from several years ago. It has BUTTERFLIES on several skus. I used a simple block design from my  Colorburst Squares  workshop which has 3 variations of the Cobblestone block. I shared these a few years ago. I had some leftover fabrics and so . . . The butterflies of  Meadow Whispers Here is the fabric collection with those lovely butterflies on the left (3 colors). I was working with fat quarters only. I sewed until I exhausted myself (ha ha - I'm joking, of course). My method for making these is to stack 10-1/2" squares and cut them in pairs according to which one of the blocks I'm aiming for. My  Colorburst Squares pattern  simplifies it even further. Here are the 3 different blocks. Block 1 is the standard Cobblestone. Cobblestone Block #1: 10" finished For the first quilt, I used the 3 different blocks in my Colorburst Squares pattern . I made a total of 30 blocks - but I didn't use up all those fat quarters. I tri...

I had a bundle of 2 fat quarters with some other yardage in a theme: Butterflies! Yes, I know I blogged about them the other day, but this is a NEW quilt. I combined two older Windham collections to make a sweet baby quilt for our local guild's charity endeavors. (I cut and sewed this in just a few hours yesterday) I had some "Wonder" and some "Painted Wings". I figured out how to cut it up so I could make a 9 block quilt. Yes, I still use paper and pencil! Nine 6-1/2" squares from a fat quarter of butterfly print I only had a fat quarter of that turquoise and 8-1/2" x wof of the yellow stripe. If I cut carefully, I could get enough 2" strips to surround the butterfly squares. If I sewed the yellow 6-1/2" strips onto the tops and bottoms of the squares and the blue 6-1/2" strips onto the sides, then I wouldn't have a pressing issue. Sewing sequence for the 9 blocks Here are the 9 blocks stitched together. Those horizontal seams are p...

Painted Wings Collection  by Whistler Studios is a collection I was playing with in 2020. I am partial to bright colors with a lot of good contrast. I also like that there is a sprinkling of gray in this group. Painted Wings by Windham Fabrics I immediately thought of my "go to" butterfly appliqué pattern, Taking Flight . It is a vintage block that goes back to the 1930s. I have featured it in various projects on this blog in the past few years. I first made a freezer paper template. This way I can iron it onto the fabric and cut it out without pinning. I first applied fusible webbing to the wrong side of this blue print. I used fusible appliqué to make this very quick quilt. Freezer paper template ironed to right side of fabric  Cut out. Peel off freezer paper. Reuse freezer paper for more butterflies! Cut out butterfly body. Freezer paper will be reused for 3 more appliques. I selected four prints for the butterfly body, four prints for the centers, an...

I love the longer days and the extra sunlight, but the chill factor is not nice where I live! Happy Spring to all (in the Northern Hemisphere, btw). My daffodils have been exploding with color for a few weeks now.   Here is a Daffodil Block from my Memory Bouquet pattern. Blocks are 9" x 12". This was designed by Eveline Foland for the Kansas City Star in the 1930s. I redrafted all 20 of the blocks. Daffodil Block from Memory Bouquet quilt Do you remember the entire quilt? I made this in 2002 with the help of my guild members. This appeared in Quilt Magazine in 2003. The Daffodil Block is at the top center. Memory Bouquet quilt : 63" x 63" I played with some yellow and orange batiks using some 60 degree diamonds and created a pieced daffodil. What do you think? I like the real daffodils better. We put some in a vase with water and get to enjoy them inside the house as well as outside. I wish you a happy Spring day and hope there are some flowers where you are!

No, I'm not talking about my underwear - I'm talking about getting a rejection notice for a quilt. As I shared a few weeks ago, I am in a quilter's challenge with my local guild. We have a theme - Spirals - and the rest was up to us to interpret that. I spent a few weeks exploring some ideas, visiting some old quilt files and trying to figure out where I would go. This is for an AQS show in the Fall. There were 17 guild members competing for 7 slots. I didn't get a slot. I'm not sad - I know how to take these things. And I'm genuinely pleased for my very talented guild members who will go to the next level. I hope to share their quilts here sometime after the show. Here is my quilt: Twin Spirals: 31" x 31" Here are the fabrics I used: Bright World  by Sharon Virtue for Windham Fabrics  Here's the main print. Looks like a Picasso painting, doesn't it? Bright World  main print  I chose 4 spiral prints, a blender and two others. Bright World fabr...

Here are a few recent quilt finishes for our local kids' charities. I sure wish I could make a dent in my stash, but I'm really trying hard! This fun quilt was made using the Dog Gone It Collection by Benartex. I simply let the panel squares do all the talking. I have enough to make one more of these. Some kid's gonna love this, don't you think? Dog Gone It quilt: 36" x 38" Notice that my borders are not the same print OR the same size. Why? That's all I had! The blocks are 10" square. Just a simple Four Patch and fun novelty print square used up the last of this Zoo themed collection. Then I found the best border fabric to finish it off (also in my stash). Some little kid is not going to want to go to sleep at nap time . . . Baby Safari animal prints: 36" x 36" How about some aliens? I picked up a piece of this funny outer space print from the giveaway table at my guild meeting. I added some simple strips, squares, inner borders and then fi...

Well, a school of fish, that is! Here is a blast from the past - 29 years past.  These fishy placemats appeared in Quick Quilts Magazine in 1996 and I've used these blocks in various calendars over the years. Here is the photo as it appeared in print. Fish Placemats I created 3 different fish patterns: Algernon the Angelfish, Thomas the Tuna, and Marvin the Mullet. Aren't they cute? Three little fish I upsized the patterns to 10" just to see how they would look. That pattern is available in my Etsy store. All cutting directions and templates are included, but don't panic! Those fish fins are doable using a Tri-Recs ruler (the Recs ruler cuts a perfect half-rectangle). Those fins finish to 3" x 6", so you use the 6-1/2" horizontal line on your ruler. I made  Algernon the Angel Fish  in the larger size (12") in 2018. A fun way to dip into your scrap bin. (But don't think you'll make a dent!) 12"  Algernon the Fish  using Kaffe Fassett scr...