I hand pieced 24 of these Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks several years ago. Made with 3/4" hexagons. I had no clue what I was going to do with them. Then I saw a photo of fabric diamond backgrounds on another quilt. The light bulb went on! (My finished quilt is at the bottom of this page) Some of my 24 GFG units I measured and realized that I would need at least a 5-1/2" wide 60 degree diamond to fit these hexagon flowers. I can do that - I can cut one. And that's what I did. Wanna see? No templates! Now you know what to do with those diagonal lines on your acrylic rulers. I cut 5-1/2" strips of the white fabric. Then I trimmed the left side to a 60 degree angle. Now I can measure across every 5-1/2" and cut a diamond! The diamonds measure 5-1/2" from flat side to flat side in both directions. Cutting 60 degree diamonds This is what my little GFG blocks look like from the back before I take the papers out. The punched holes are so that I can get the...

The calendar block for today is the Churn Dash. It is a vintage block and is very commonly used in quilts. It is easy to piece and allows the fabrics to do their magic - and with a 12" block, you can see how beautiful these fabrics are. Diann C. is one of my Calendar Girls and she chose this block for her October use of this group of Windham Fabrics called Tempest ! Fat quarters of the Tempest Collection by Windham Fabrics Aren't they fantastic? I know Diann is having a fun time with these. And look how she staged her version of the Churn Dash block - who has a lavender colored pillow? Love this, Diann!! 12" Churn Dash block by Diann C. Lavender is one of my favorite colors and I'm smiling as I look at this and I hope you are, too. Do you have your own copy of my calendar yet? Or maybe you put it on your Christmas wish list? Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores See you tomor...

I get most of my inspiration from vintage quilts. The Comfort Block is a perfect example. It is the September 6 block in my 2007 Quilting Calendar. Here it is as made by Patricia Bryant of Australia. She wanted to stay close to the colors I used in the digital version. September 6: The Comfort Block September 6: The Comfort Block, 9" And it also appears in my newest Perpetual Quilter's Calendar for October 2. It is a nice, large 20"!! Let's see what you can do with this block. Here's my own Comfort Quilt made 20 years ago with a lovely floral collection. This was published in one of our magazines. The Comfort Quilt: 70" x 70" Here it is as a flat shot before I had it quilted. I chose to cut out large flowers from one of the prints and appliqué them to the two opposing corners. This uses 18" blocks. And one more made by my friend, Jean Ann Wright (who was my senior editor at Quilt Magazine for 14 years). She made this for my 2009 book, Supersize ...

Today is October 1 and my block today is the Pieced Ribbon block. As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My favorite Aunt Etta Mae died of that horrible disease in the early 1980s. So much has advanced in the treatment of it today and we celebrate all that good science, research and medicine. Pieced Ribbon: 14" First, let's see the Benartex fabrics I was working with. Gotta love those coffee cups and hearts and cupids. I think this is a Valentine's line called Hugs and Kisses, but pink is what I was looking for. Hugs and Kisses by Benartex The block is composed of squares, triangles and rectangles. Here is a photo of the two block halves. If you make this block for October, you can have it on hand for Valentine's Day 2026! Pieced Ribbon block halves Here is a digital quilt I designed for my 2016 Block a Day Calendar: Ribbons of Promise. Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes ...

This is a block for September 2 in my calendar. Susan B. sent it to me a few weeks ago, but it missed being posted on time. I wanted to make sure it made it in the September reveals! Golden Blooms by Susan B. - 12" Calendar is in stores everywhere. Check your local quilt shop first! Here is the fat quarter collection Susan chose to work with. It's called Moonlit by Windham Fabrics . Moonlit fabrics by Windham I have a few of these blenders myself. They are so fun with those little "v's" and crosses scattered around. Some more of the Moonlit fabrics Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores Are you ready for October? I am posting a lot of blocks for inspiration - and I have a few quilts that contain some October blocks. See you then!

I have a LOT of teaching samples. For 17 years I was teaching for the Sewing Expo (OSQE) and I needed to create 4-5 new workshops each year! Yes, you read that right. At one time, I had 40 of my workshop boxes in my garage and closet floor, stacked neatly with all sorts of samples. Some of my Chobani yogurt boxes of samples Circle of Stars was a variation of my larger Double Hexie Star . I used some small motifs from the awesome Paula Nadelstern Fabricadabra Collection. Circle of Stars (in center) Here's a single star of the six I made (no y-seams, of course). Fabricadabra Star I gave that center panel to my quilt guild and one of the members who works on the charity quilts made it larger with the inner borders and the dogtooth triangles. It's beautiful! Another large block that became a charity quilt is one of my samples from the Sassy Mariner's Compass workshop. I had many variations of this and it also appeared in my 3rd book. Here is my workshop sample: Sassy Mariner...

As an author with C&T Publishing, I get to see their latest books firsthand. I was intrigued by this one that popped up in an email last month: Reclaimed Quilts I wanted to do a review on this because my oldest daughter Audrey loves vintage things, in particular, quilts. She has already had me make her a jacket from an old quilt that was sold to me for $5 and was destined to be a dog bed otherwise! I rescued it and it sat in my closet for about 10 years. You can see all the worn areas where the batting is coming through. Pink cutter quilt I bought a simple jacket pattern and laid it out on the quilt, hoping to avoid those scraggly parts. It worked! This is explained in detail in the  Reclaimed Quilts  book. Taking a vintage item and creating clothing for today is giving them a second life. Vintage quilt with jacket pattern There really was nothing else I could have done with this! It truly was destined to be a dog bed. Here is the lovely jacket I made. I even had enough to...

Yes, I still have some things to share from Carolyn Forster's book. I'd like to talk a little about the Kite shape on page 38-39. While it may seem that these should be hand pieced (which is what Carolyn does so beautifully throughout her book), I am the machine queen! 20 To Make One-Patch Quilts by Carolyn Forste r. One Patch Quilts by Carolyn Forster I became enamored with the kite shape when I saw a Rose Star quilt for the first time. What's that, you ask? Look closely at my quilt in this photo and you will see only kites! Rose Star quilt But, let's see the kites by themselves. Here's a group of 4 kites. They are 90 degrees in the top left/right corners; 120 degrees in the top point; and 60 degree angle at the bottom. That equals the magical number 360! Four kite units Yes, when pieced there are y-seams. "Just get over it," I tell myself as I stitch. But, then you can do such lovely things with these patches!  Y-seam from back of patches Groups of kite...

Today is Monday, September 22 and my calendar block for today is Georgetown Circle. This is a VERY traditional block that's been with quilters for well over 100 years (maybe longer). My oldest daughter Audrey graduated from Georgetown University, so I'm partial to anything named Georgetown! One of my Calendar Girls, Diann C. made the block for today. Georgetown Circle: 10" She used the Tempest Collection from Windham Fabrics. Let's see these awesome prints: Tempest fabrics They are a step above traditional marbled fabrics. It's like they were tossed in the waves! Diann did a lovely job with the two colors and her points are perfect, too! Thank you, Diann, for such a beautiful block.

Today is September 21 and the calendar block is Memory Star. Julia R. is one of my Calendar Girls and made this using her Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics. Duchess Collection of fat quarters Julia is a master quilter who does ALL things quilty well. She is an expert hand piecer, too (besides all of her gorgeous knitting projects). So, it surprised me when she told me that this block (she thought) was not meant for beginners. I believe her, though I never saw it that way. What do you think? Memory Star by Julia R. What she told me was that she didn't see the outside sets of Flying Geese units (blue and cream) and the red sets, too. Maybe she likes to piece Flying Geese units with a specialty ruler. That's fair, but that stuff can't make it into such a thing as these calendars. I'm old school - I cut quarter square triangles for the Geese and half square triangles for the Sky. Either way, she did a gorgeous job with this, don't you think? She loves this collect...

Today is September 20 and my calendar block is Homeward Bound. Karen B. used her Insectarium and Watermark fabrics from Windham to create the 12" block. Insectarium and Watermark fabrics She was able to capture a butterfly in that center square - and a ladybug and some grasshopper legs! Homeward Bound: 12" block I love seeing the purple and orange together to make this a lively block. Hope those bugs don't start hopping!

A goose is lost? Where? How did that happen? Who can help me locate the poor dear? As you can see in the photo below, the search party is getting briefed on how to launch their rescue! Lost Goslin: 12" Today's block is Lost Goslin. It's 12" x 12" and is composed of triangles and 4-patch units. This was made by one of my Calendar Girls, Kathy G. Kathy used the awesome Windham Fabrics collection called Under the Canopy . Here is a close look at the fabric fat quarters: Under the Canop y fat quarters And another Calendar Girl just got her version of Lost Goslin to me yesterday. SO beautifully done by Barb R. What do you think? Lost Goslin by Barb R. Check in with your own local quilt shop for both the fabrics and my new calendar. Buy a calendar for yourself and another for a friend or relative who quilts. You can check Amazon , and if you own it, please share a review! Quilter's NEW Perpetual Block-a-Day Calendar Thanks, Kathy and Barb, for such a lovely way wit...