Today's the day - short amount of sunlight but it all gets better from here on out! I'm getting ready and want to let those short days of Fall know that I'm not going to take it any more. I want more of the sun and I'm going to get it! You've seen this quilt here before when I  first blogged about it in 2015 . It's been quilted and it's ready to hang and wag it's finger at those dark days. And shine and shine from it's place on my wall. Winter Solstice Quilt:  Here Comes the Sun!  26" x 28-1/2" Do you remember when I showed you how this was pieced so that there are NO y-seams? Just because it's a hexagon does not mean I have to have set-in seams. Everything was cut based on that center hexagon from Paula Nadelstern's Fabricadabra collection by Benartex Fabrics . That hexagon was cut using my multi-sized 60 degree triangle ruler. It will finish to 10-1/2". No y-seams here! Those triangles are based on that finished height of 10-...

She's done it before: "Debby. Will you make this for me?" Big sigh (because of big love!) First, it was a quilt from a kit she bought. I made it. Then a second quilt. I made that one, too. By the 3rd ask, I put my foot down and said a big NO. She learned to quilt herself! Here are a few small samples I made just to test drive a pattern idea she had. This blue and white star is something she saw online and asked me to pattern it. I did, made it and then quilted it. Blue and White Star Here's the quilting as seen from the back. Just some straight lines. She wanted another block to be patterned. She thinks I can do anything quilt related (ha ha). She told me the size, sent some Moda fabrics and away I went. Now she looks in my Etsy store. She sees a pattern and then asks if I can resize it (no kidding!) Only for her - I resize nothing for no one (unless they want to pay me $50 an hour - that usually silences the request. And yes, I do get these requests!) Then she bought...

I realized that I had ONE more quilt made using that vintage block as inspiration. I designed this in 2009 for Benartex Fabrics using their Kitty Kimono collection. It was published online. Unfortunately, it is no longer a virtual quilt. I actually stitched it with REAL fabrics in 2012 and it appeared in my wall calendar of quilts in 2014. Kitty Kimono Quilt: 42" x 50"; 10" blocks Here it is in a rust colorway: I realize that the link from Friday for the Windham Fabrics free pattern isn't working, but that is because Windham has some real internet issues with their site. Here is the link via my own domain: Blazing Star pattern . And this is the quilt pattern you will receive: Blazing Star Quilt: 69" x 69" If you wish to have the 4 block quilt pattern as shown at the top of the page (Kitty Kimono), send me an email ( kratovil@his.com ) and I'll reply with the 2 page pdf that was up at the Benartex site (but no longer is there). It's too bad they don...

I am always inspired by vintage quilt patterns. Sometimes I don't even realize that what I think is one of my own ideas is actually from someone else's head! This vintage quilt was featured in one of our magazines (Big Block Quilts, 2002) and it must have stuck itself in the back of my mind because it reappeared 13 years later! Whirling Pinwheels: 70" x 70" Let's see the block as it appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1943. Wow - can you believe those templates? It certainly has my brain whirling! Whirling Pinwheel block from 1943 I was sent a fabric collection from Windham several years ago and they challenged me to do something with it. It was called Broken Stripes. Broken Stripes by Windham Fabrics I cut out half circles (first putting fusible interfacing on the wrong side): Rainbow blades Then I put them into a semblance of that Whirling Pinwheel block, except I got rid of all those crazy templates. I machine appliquéd the blades and center circle down. Whirli...

I'm pulling my Christmas themed quilts and toppers out of the closets. They are SO excited to see the light of day. I wanted something small to send my oldest sister who already has several quilts I've made for her. I don't want her to roll her eyes, but just welcome something small for her holiday table. This is a block I made several years ago based on Katja Marek's calendar. It is the November 19 block and I chose Christmas fabrics from the Benartex Collection: Festive Season . I made this in late 2017. Christmas Star Hexagon Block I cheated and increased the size and rotary cut and stitched the patches! I drew it in Adobe Illustrator and figured out the sizes to cut. Of course I could piece it via EPP, but didn't want a little block. As you can see from this diagram, it will be 12" high and approximately 15" wide. Size for cutting patches (it makes sense to me, btw) And here it is with lovely borders added: Christmas Hexie Star: 20" x 23" So,...

Red Hot Flash is a quilt I designed for Blank Quilting in 2012. It's perfect for sets of 2-1/2" strips in two colors or several. The technique goes back 10 years before that when I first began making my Gretchen Quilt - no templates, of course! This quilt as shown is 59" x 70". (Yes, I shared the pattern again in 2019, but there are always new folks to this blog.) Red Hot Flash  by Debby Kratovil for Blank Quilting This is what I said in 2012: Well, I guess it's the nature of my age, that I would name a quilt after how I feel all the time. Why doesn't my husband understand that I need to have the AC turned down to 50 degrees? This pattern is for a brand new quilt I designed and sewed for Blank Quilting using ONLY one set of 2-1/2" strips. One set of 40 strips (2-1/2") Their sets of 40 strips are called Fabrications and other than the binding and a black and white swirly background print, I used all of the 40 strips for this 59" x 70" quilt...

I always say: "The fabric makes the quilt!" If you sew with beautiful fabrics, you will end up with a beautiful project. I have always delighted in working with Benartex fabrics and have sewn with them since 2000 when I worked with Quilt Magazine. Why am I talking about that today? Because I have been chosen to be one of their Benartex Ambassadors for 2025! Oh, I get to be a STAR! I love to sew. I love to share my quilts. And Benartex is going to send me some beautiful fabrics to make it happen. (Well - they've been sending me fabrics for almost 20 years, so they're just going to keep it up!) I will keep you posted on how that works out. For now, my first date to share one of their 2025 collections is January 6. I've chosen one (and it was SO hard to narrow it down to one). For now, my brain is spinning on what to do. I remember when I got to sew with their Fossil Fern Collection in 2002. The fabrics told me to make an updated version of the vintage Royal Star...

I emptied another workshop box a few weeks ago and found some fun border fabric to set my last 16 blocks/units together. I amazed myself to find that the leftover blocks would make a pleasing center, even though they are not all of the same fabrics! Red, green and blue prints for those backgrounds around the spiky paper pieced blocks. Sunflower Garden: 47" x 47"  The first quilt I made appeared in my last book (Paper Piecing Perfect Points, 2013). I called it Katie's Garden. Katie? A friend or relative? No. Just the name of the fabric collection from Benartex! Easy enough! I made a smaller quilt using 4 units (for one block). This uses the Gazebo Collection by Windham. Simple workshop sample I added some borders and quilted it and gave it away to some little kid. Side borders are chickens. Top and bottom borders are cats. I sure hope they get along and don't fight in front of the little kid! Gazebo Garden quilt: 40" x 40" Now, let's see the first quilt I...

Yes, another "vintage" quilt from my quilting vault. This has been back and forth across the USA. I made the quilt in the early 1990s and then decided to give it to my step mother (who lived in California with my dad) in 1994. It's a Double Irish Chain. Double Irish Chain: 30" x 30" I hand quilted this one, too! I used a stencil for those cream blocks. I can't imagine how much time it took! Obviously, I just quilted diagonal lines along the squares. And notice that border - it's a beautiful piece of home dec fabric.  Close up of hand quilting I loved those pre-printed quilt labels with pretty flowers and unique shapes. I did NOT turn those curvy edges under; I simply interfaced it - stitched and turned and sewed it down. No handwork on the turning! Closeup of quilting and label For some reason, I ended up with this quilt when my dad passed away in 2004. I treasure it and it still amazes me that I did so much hand quilting! I need to put this out on displ...

Yes, there are quotations around that word vintage. That's because it is something very old in my quilting history. I bought a fabric panel that mimicked a double wedding ring quilt sometime in the early 1980s. That puts it very close to 40 years old! The panel measures 32" x 42". I wonder what the quilt inspiration was for this! Double Wedding Ring printed panel quilt: 40" x 52" I started hand quilting it because that's what you did back then! I never heard of machine quilting, but soon discovered it and that's how I finished it. And I did some serious quilter's gymnastics with the backing and borders that I can't even figure out! Here's a closeup of the quilting. I actually hand quilted around all the melon shapes and little pink squares and hearts. I used my sewing machine to fill in the centers. Yes, I probably paid $1.99 for that center panel. And another $2 for the borders and backing. It's faded from all the years I've had it i...

My Block a Day Calendar from 2007 still sits on my desk. I turn the pages each day to see some lovely blocks. Today is October 30 and the block is Wild Good Chase. Here is the stylized shot from Patricia Bryant who made every single one of my blocks! October 30: Wild Goose Chase, 10" Yes, there are a lot of triangles, but it goes together very well. Here is the FREE pattern for both sizes (10" and 15"). I took every calendar block and showed how 4 blocks look together. If you make four of the 15" Wild Goose Chase blocks, that makes for a 30" quilt center! Enjoy!