Even though we had several sets of keen, editors' eyes looking for any mistakes in my Block a Day Calendar, alas - some slipped through. My Quilter's New Perpetual Block a Day Calendar  underwent more edits looking for any errors and we fixed these for the upcoming second printing. I will be adding these as I can through the end of the year. I apologize as a human. But for now, these December blocks in the first edition needed corrections. December 9: The Rosebud has an extra patch we didn't identify. It is the larger rectangle on the four outsides. We are calling it Patch F and it measures 1-1/2" x 4-1/2". December 9 Rosebud: 8" December 5 is the Star of Hope. I made this up in Hanukkah colors and shared it last summer. I also shared this last week and offered the FREE PATTERN . Check it out. December 5  Star of Hope : 16" Here is one of my blocks in fabric: Star of Hope December 6 is the Jerusalem Block and I got that one wrong, too. The "B" ...

There's nothing like hearing that an orphan has been adopted into a loving home! And for us quilters, we can rejoice when a block, that was left out of a quilt, finally gets to be surrounded by other lovely fabrics. This is the 3rd orphan paper pieced birdhouse that I was able to feature in the center of the Meals on Wheels placemats. I call it " First Apartment " and I see by my computer files that I first designed it in 2002! First Apartment: 6" x 12" I made one and put it with a few others into this VERY old quilt. You can see it at the bottom left. Isn't this so cute the way my senior editor staged it for photography? She found some well loved birdhouses to hang out with! Birdhouse mini quilt, published in 2000! I added the simple strips to make it a placemat: First Apartment placemat: 14" x 18" I can just imagine the smiles when the recipients get these birdhouse centered placemats, can't you? You can see all of my Big Birdhouse Bonanza p...

Double Perch is a block I designed about 20 years ago and included in various bundles of paper piecing patterns. I taught workshops and this little block was used as a sample for my steps. Here is a photo of the back of the block in progress from 2013! Double Perch wrong side After paper piecing the main birdhouse, I still needed to machine appliqué the "doors" (circles) and perches. Block size: 5" x 10" Doors and perches before appliqué I finally got around to that little bit of stitching and finished the block. But, alas, it sat alone in the block orphanage for 12 years! Then, upon hearing about the need for Meals on Wheels placemats, I knew this little birdhouse could have a loving home after all! I grabbed my box of batiks and pulled some cheerful prints and finished this in no time! Double Perch placemat: 14" x 18" This is one of 10 large birdhouses in my 22 page pdf pattern in my Etsy store. No tiny, little birdhouses - these take advantage of a s...

My local quilt guilds like to help out with Meals on Wheels for senior citizens. (Hey - I'm one of them - do I get a placemat?) A lightbulb went off in my head and I realized I could now find a fantastic home for several orphan blocks. Three blocks were leftover from my Birdhouse series of workshops. They were paper pieced and they worked perfectly. The first is my 60s A-Frame with a 10" height. 15" x 17" placemat with my 60s A-Frame block I used this block before in a sweet quilt that still hangs in my kitchen. It uses the Home Grown Collection by Benartex. I call it Birds and Bees at Home. I made it in 2019. Click the link to see those fun birdhouses up close. Birds and Bees at Home I made another quilt using extra blocks and another panel. I made this in 2024 and gave it to a neighbor who was recovering from a nasty fall while on vacation in Europe! More birdhouses They both use that 60s A-Frame block. Isn't it cute? I'll be back in a day or so with anothe...

Sometimes we make errors. Sometimes they're BIG errors. But the good part is that we can fix them! My new calendar has 3 blocks in December for Hanukkah. One of them slipped through with some serious cutting errors. Let's see 3 of them and then get the FREE pattern.   I shared this yesterday: December 4 Four and Nine Block: 16" I remade it using the Golden Harvests fabric by Benartex.  Four and Nine Block in blues and golds Then I have the Jerusalem Block for December 6 (tomorrow). It's 10". Here is how it looks in the calendar. I decided that the center needed something exciting so I added my 6" paper pieced dreidel. Jerusalem Block with  paper pieced dreidel  in center. Do you remember my Dreidel Bags that appeared in Quilting Arts Magazine a few years ago. That's the block I used for the center of this! Dreidel gift bags using 6" paper pieced dreidel block The Star of Hope is our FREE block . It's the December 5 block and I got it ALL WRONG in...

Why is this block called "Four and Nine?" Well, it's a 9 Patch with several 4 Patches in the same block! I shared this block back in July for the Benartex Christmas in July post. This is actually one of my Hanukkah blocks! (Hanukkah is later in the month) Four and Nine: 16" I first planned it in the calendar colors of just blue and cream . . . but then realized I wanted the navy blue and orange/gold as you can see in the top photo. I also made it using some really old Hanukkah fabric for the center. Isn't that the cutest print!? Four and Nine with Hanukkah fabrics If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own  Four and Nine  blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

I shared this December Yule Tree block before when I featured Jackie Robinson's A Winter's Day collection. It appears in my calendar on December 3. Here are some rows stitched with the last one at the bottom waiting patiently for the chickadees to give their approval! Yule Tree: 9" Here is the final quilt which is now off the closet shelf and enjoying her time in my living room! I made 4 of the Yule Tree with the center Star and Pine (18"). The other 4 Pine blocks (9") are from the center of that Star and Pine, which is my calendar's December 26 block. Chickadees in the Trees : 50" x 50" If you own my calendar and click that link above, you will find a basic pattern on how to make this quilt using any fabrics you have on hand - or even go purchase the Jackie Robinson collection! If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Yule Tree blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Am...

Today is December 1 and my block is Tessellating Star. This is one of my favorite patterns and I've made it into quilts several times. Here is the calendar block (with "tessellating" misspelled, but not by me!) Kathy M. (one of my faithful Calendar Girls) made her block using the Find Your Way fabrics from Benartex: Tessellating Star by Kathy M - 12" Here's the block as it appeared in my first perpetual calendar, stitched by Patricia Bryant: 12" Tessellating Star by Patricia Bryant Now let's see a few of the quilts I've made over the past 25 years! The first one was a challenge because I wanted each star to be a different fabric/print:. (Yes, the only photo was in my magazine). I remember distinctly placing each of the quarter blocks up on my design wall in my home when I lived in Silver Spring, Maryland! Multi-colored Tessellating Stars But, what really does "tessellating" mean? We think of the artist M. C. Escher and all his wonderful INT...

Numbers, numbers! I actually love numbers as a former high school math teacher. Numbers and formulas work. And quilters - we work with numbers all the time! Today is November 29 and the block for today is Four Patch in Nine. Leslie is one of my Calendar Girls and she used this fabulous Noteworthy collection by Windham to make her 12" block. Noteworthy fat quarters by Windham Fabrics Let's see her block for today: Four Patch in Nine: 12" Here it is in the calendar. Simple squares in 2 sizes with good contrast forming an X! Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Four Patch in Nine block. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

No, I'm not talking about toddler toys - I'm referring to a quilt block in my calendar: Building Blocks. Kathy M. (one of my Calendar Girls) made her block using the Find Your Way collection by Benartex Fabrics (designed by Lisa Ruble). Here are her fabrics first: Find Your Way fabrics And now her block: 12" Building Blocks by Kathy M. I also made this block last month using the Windham Fabrics Jolly Christmas collection: Building Blocks using Jolly Christmas fabrics Kathy also sent me a wonderful collage of her 6 blocks so far in my Calendar Girls adventure. 6 months of blocks from my calendar using the Find Your Way fabrics Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Building Blocks block. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

Today is November 27 and is also the American Thanksgiving Day! Lots of turkey and pumpkin pie at my house. And, no - we're not going to play Tic Tac Toe. That's the name of the calendar block today. Let's see what my friend Barb, one of my Calendar Girls, did with her collection of fabrics. She used some Insectarium and Watermark by Windham Fabrics Insectarium and Watermark She had several different prints than what's shown above. She captured some of the butterfly motifs in the squares: Tic Tac Toe by Barb R. Tic Tac Toe is a 12" block. It has some awesome possibilities for featuring special motifs, as you can see. Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Tic Tac Toe block. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

Moving Star? Aren't all stars moving out there in the universe, in those galaxies far, far away? Well, the name of our block today is Moving Star. It's a 12" block. Moving Star by Julia R. Julia does such precise piecing. Can you believe those points? And she featured the beautiful red flower in the center square on point. She has been using (and loving) the Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics. Duchess Collection of fabrics It's always a delight to work with fabrics that were designed to go with each other, isn't it? Thank you, Julia for making such a lovely block in such lovely fabrics! Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Moving Star block. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

Look up in the air! It's a bird! It's a plane! No - it's the Flying Dutchman! This was the block for November 23 and I overlooked it (shame on me). My calendar girl Karen B. made a lovely one using her Insectarium and Watermark fabrics by Windham. She just used the Watermark blenders for this. A perfect use of six different colors. Can you see the pinwheel in the center? Flying Dutchman by Karen B. Flying Dutchman is a vintage inspired block. There are a LOT of triangles here and that means a lot of points, but Karen conquered those points perfectly, didn't she? Here's the same block but with a very different coloring using only three colors. It was made by Patricia Bryant using my 2007 Block a Day Calendar. If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Flying Dutchman blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores