Today is December 20 and only one more day until Winter Solstice and the days get longer! So, let's see some lovely blocks to brighten our weekend. My Calendar Girl, Diane L, pieced the Grecian Square block and staged it not once, not twice, but three different times with some holiday pretties. First, we see the block getting Santa's approval; it has mine! Grecian Square approved by Santa: 12" Next, we see a sweet pup giving his nod of approval and welcoming it to Diane's house: Grecian Square with an approving pup And the third photo is brightened up with a lovely tree decked out with tiny lights! Grecian Square under the Christmas tree Thank you, Diane, for making the block AND the three lovely ways to showcase in time for the holidays. If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own Grecian Square  blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble ...

What a crazy thing to ask! 2015 is long gone. But I have discovered that the days of the week correspond with the 2026 calendar. So, January 1 in 2026 falls on a Thursday. So did January 1 in 2015, so you can enjoy the blocks and quilt patterns again! 2015 Block and Pattern a Day Calendar There are almost 250 quilt blocks for 68 quilting projects! That is a BIG wow, don't you think? I began creating these block a day calendars in 2006 and my last one (like this) was 2020. Of course, I've just released my 19th block a day calendar with C&T Publishing and that is what's called a perpetual calendar. That means it is not tied to any one year. The one pictured above is - but now it's being recycled for 2026! There are several projects that were created by my former senior editor Jean Ann Wright. We did this together for a few years and then I went solo again. The first quilt "out of the box" is the Kaleidoscope. It's one I designed for Benartex fabrics and ...

Today is December 17 and I want to share a block that came in last week from one of my Calendar Girls. It's the block for December 13 and is called Mrs. Keller's 9 Patch. Why? I don't know! Here it is from the calendar: Mrs. Keller's 9 Patch: 10" Very easy to piece and it looks wonderful in the fabrics that Susan B. used - Moonlit by Windham Fabrics. Moonlit Fabrics by Windham Here's her block, all ready for Christmas: Mrs. Keller's 9 Patch: 10" Thank you, Susan! Now the second block came in on time, well before December 11, but I overlooked it by mistake. It's a beautiful block made by Kathy G and is called Shoofly and Four Patch. She's been working with the fantastic Under the Canopy Collection by Windham Fabrics. Here's Kathy's block: Shoofly and Four Patch: 12" Thank you SO much Kathy, and again, I'm sorry I overlooked it. Doesn't that fox and deer and owl make you smile? If you don't have your calendar yet: Check y...

Today is December 16 - and just 5 more days until the days get longer - and two of my Calendar Girls chose to make the Centennial Block. (Yes, I do count the days to get out of the dark winter!) Julia R. staged hers with a Swedish Tomten little guy. Isn't he cute? But notice those stripes - it makes you think she pieced tiny, little strips for each of the 4 rectangles. No way! She cleverly used the striped fabric in the Duchess Collection as shown in the 2nd photo. Centennial: 12" She is using the Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics . They are timeless in their beauty. Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics Another Calendar Girl made the same block using Insectarium and Watermark fabrics, also by Windham. She has made good use of those awesome butterflies in her blocks. Karen B. made Centennial without any stripes. These look like very different blocks, don't they? Centennial by Karen B: 12" Thank you, Karen and Julia! Your beautiful blocks brightened up my day. I...

Today is December 14 and is the first day of Hanukkah (which starts in the evening). I've made several Hanukkah quilts over the years and, as you've already seen, I have several Hanukkah blocks in my Block a Day Calendar. Let me show you a few of my Hanukkah themed creations: This is a variation on my Seven Sisters pattern. Star of David table topper : 24" x 28" I made some paper pieced dreidels and turned them into coasters. But, the first ones were made into little drawstring bags and were published in Modern Quilting Magazine. Dreidel gift bag Two gift bags using very old Hanukkah fabrics! Here are 3 coasters I made: 6" Paper pieced dreidels for coasters I made these dreidels into blocks for a quilt using some Michael Miller prints: And one more using Hanukkah fabrics and my Starfish pattern : Festive Starfish quilt: 44" x 44" Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!

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. ( a pdf with all edits is at end of post ) 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 ...

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...