Well, they're probably hiding out to stay warm with all these piles of ice and snow. But, we can look at some doves stitched up into blocks! This is the January 29 block in my calendar. It is a whopping 18" size, but that makes it easier to sew. Here it is done by my sister Janet, who is one of my Calendar Girls. Dove at the Window: 18" I also made not one, but TWO of these using the Solstice and Fantasy Collections from Windham. And the blenders are from their Moonlit line. Dove at the Window #1 And my second one: Dove at the Window #2 Notice those "diamonds" which are really two half-square triangles in the same fabric. This block is a close cousin to the vintage Carpenter's Wheel. Yes, Dove at the Window is also a vintage block, only I simplified the piecing as you see here. If you compare the block made by Janet and my two, you will notice that she doesn't use as strong a contrast between the units. Hers is a bit more "blendy." I hope to...

Sometimes it's not that important to have a lot of pieces in a block. That's the case for this block from earlier in the month. The January 2 block is the Turnstile. A traditional block made with 2 sizes of triangles. Linda D. used her collection of Insectarium and Watermark - both from Windham Fabrics - to make all of her blocks so far. Beautiful fat quarters of Insectarium and Watermark   Here is the block she made: Turnstile: 12" Thank you, Linda, for letting the butterflies take charge! What fun collections she has been working with, too. Click the link above to see all the fabulous Insectarium prints !

Today is January 27 and the featured block is Prairie Flower. This also appeared in my 2007 quilting calendar and I had several students make theirs in the larger 16" size. But first, my 4 block quilt in the 8" size as shown in the Quilter's New Perpetual Block a Day calendar: 4 block Prairie Flower quilt in Fossil Ferns  Don't you just love how those Fossil Ferns seem to glow? Here's a digital image I created and patterned for my Calendar Girls program in 2008. This uses 16 blocks in sets of 4 blocks each! 16 block Prairie Flower quilt Now for 2 more student quilts using the pattern above: What fun to put all these blocks together. They are simple and let the fabric do all the work! If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own  Prairie Flower   blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores

It's always fun to see blocks made up in different fabrics and that's what the focus is today. The block for January 22 in my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar is Underground Railroad and I shared my version on Thursday. Here is another one made by my friend Kathy M. Underground Railroad by Kathy M. - 12" She is using the Find Your Way collection by Lisa Ruble for Benartex Fabrics. Compare it to the one made by Diann C. with the Holly Jolly Christmas fabrics by Windham that I featured back in the Fall: Underground Railroad by Diann C. And remember the one I made in reds and blues using tiny 4-1/2" blocks? Thank you, Kathy and Diann for making such lovely blocks. This is a vintage, traditional design that has a lot of possibilities - and history, too!

The calendar block for today is the Autograph Block. It is a vintage design and has been used for signature quilts for well over 200 years. The calendar size is 14" and here is how my Calendar Girl Diann C. made it: Autograph Block: 14" Note the center light "cross" section. That's where the signature would go. Diann has staged this with pens at the ready! She's been working with the Tempest Collection by Windham Fabrics. Aren't they lovely?! Thank you, Diann, for sharing your block with us today.

Today is January 22 and the block for today is the Underground Railroad. So much history to this block! So much mystery and intrigue and secret places for safety. Yes, I'm referring to the dark days of slavery here in America and the paths out of bondage into freedom. Lots of stories about the Underground Railroad and so there, naturally, is a quilt block! Underground Railroad: 12" (in my calendar) I made a really small set of blocks for this quilt because I wanted to use a tiny panel in the center. This was made 25 years ago. I still have this sweet quilt. Underground Railroad with 4-1/2" (finished) blocks! - 35" x 35" I also used the block in a digital quilt I designed and published in my 2006 desktop quilter's calendar. It is the same layout as the quilt above, except I added some half-square triangles and stencils. Underground Railroad This timeless block has so much history behind it. And it creates so much movement when the blocks are arranged in a zig...

Today is January 21 and the calendar blocks for today are Crowning Glory. It's a 12" block and my Calendar Girls Karen B. and Julia R. AND Diane L. have been using Windham's fabrics to make their series of blocks. Yes, I had 3 of my Calendar Girls select this block and they didn't conspire to do it! Fat quarters of Insectarium and Watermark are used by Karen Here is Karen's Crowning Glory block with a fantastic butterfly in the center: 12" Crowning Glory block by Karen B. Karen also took a photo of the blocks she has made so far. 7 of the 8 are the same size. The top center one will need a few spacer strips around the outside so it can fit in. Julia R. also made a Crowning Glory block using her Duchess Collection by Windham Fabrics: Crowning Glory by Julia R. Here are some of Julia's fabrics: And the third block by Diane L. is being admired by a sweet doggy in his tuxedo! Crowning Glory by Diane L. And her fabrics are Grounded by Windham. Thank you, ladies...

Today is January 20 and the block is Shoofly Mosaic. Kathy G. is one of my Calendar Girls and she used the Under the Canopy fabrics by Windham to make it - and is having fun at the same time! Under the Canopy Collection by Windham I would be having fun, too, with these various forest critters scattered around. What do you think? 12" Shoofly Mosaic by Kathy G. If you do a search here on the blog for "Under the Canopy" you will come up with more of Kathy's blocks. I look forward to her final quilt made, inspired by my calendar and these fabrics. If you don't have your calendar yet: Check your local quilt shop for my calendar so you can have your own  Shoofly Mosaic   blocks. You can find my calendar here, also: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores Of course, you may have received it for a Christmas or Hanukkah gift. What are you waiting for - go make your own Shoofly Mosaic block!

Yes, it's still January and I put a Double Hearts block in this month and not in February! Why? Have no clue. Double Hearts: 16" (not 8" - that's a draft copy) I used a collection by Benartex Fabrics called Hugs and Kisses. Hugs and Kisses fabrics by Benartex But, just think: if you make it in January, then you are ready for Valentine's Day in February! Let's see how I made it. First, the center (which measures 8"): Center of Double Hearts Then I moved on to the outer heart. When I was finished, my hot pink crochet project insisted it be in the photo! Double Hearts: 16" x 16" This would make a sweet pillow or the center of a larger quilt. I have a good bit of those fabrics remaining. I think I will pull this block out and hang in my sewing room as I get ready for Valentine's Day (whatever that means, right?)

. . . and they're NOT from my calendar, but inspired by Katja Marek's "The New Hexagon Perpetual Calendar." I don't have a photo of her block, but it's fairly simple with triangles, diamonds and half-hexagons. For me, it was easy to convert this to rotary cut and machine piece! I decided to make it in a 12" (high) size. Here are some units before the final seams: January 17 Block  I stitched them all together and then made a small table topper using another set of fabrics. I had still one more block in mind, this time in browns using the Sgrafitto Collection by Benartex: This was an orphan block for several years and I turned it into another one of those Meals on Wheels placemats the other day. Here it is: Placemat: 15" x 17" Now I'm on the hunt for the block at the top of the page. It would make another lovely placemat, right?

A castle in the air? Or a mansion in heaven? No - just the block for today, January 15, which is Air Castle. Not sure where that name came from, but it's a simple block with easy patches to cut out and stitch. Air Castle page. 9" block Susan B. stitched her Air Castle block using the Moonlit Collection by Windham Fabrics. A lovely collection of blenders with a tiny print scattered on each. Moonlit by Windham Fabrics Just to show you how well they "play" with busy prints, here are a few I kept for myself. These are combined with another Windham collection called Solstice: Moonlit and Solstice Now for Susan's block. It seems Frosty is quite happy with what she did! Air Castle by Susan B. If you've been making any of the blocks from my calendar, I would love to see them. And I would love to post them here on my blog to show them off! Just send me a photo of your block via email: kratovil@his.com. And make sure I have your name!

It seems like I'm on a roll with these Meals on Wheels placemats that my guild collects. I've already made 15 in the past month and here are the latest. This EPP block was made several years ago using 1" hexagons and jewels. The fabric collection is First Frost by Benartex. I had no plans when I made the block; just wanted to put it together! Placemat for Meals on Wheels: 15" x 19" I made another one using a single block from Katja Marek's EPP calendar. This block is called "Debbie", but I don't spell my name that way! It's Block 30 in the calendar. Notice that I really didn't like that spelling, so I changed it. Debby block using My Little Chickadee fabrics by Benartex Here are a few steps to get to this block. First, I needed to fussy cut the chickadee so he/she stays within the size of the diamond. Then I made a mistake putting the red triangle on the first side. Time to rip! I finished the block and she sat for 10 years (yes, I made ...

This is a project I designed for Blank Quilting 19 years ago (how can that be?!). I called it Stained Glass, but that's because the fabric collection was named that - easy enough! I'm not sure I blogged about it, though I did do a search here and found nothing. So, here is the quilt in one of the colorways (mocha): Stained Glass quilt: 12" block; 45" x 45" quilt And the turquoise colorway: Stained Glass in turquoise I also added a tea cozy in the various fabrics: Tea Cozies Placemats aren't patterned, but you can see how it's a simple strip added to one side of the block. This is a free pattern! Stained Glass ensemble . Enjoy!

Today is January 10 and the block for today in my calendar is Lucky Star. Yes, I've actually stitched it more than once! Here it is in my Galaxy of Stars quilt Lucky Star: 12" Here's the whole quilt. Can you find Lucky Star in there? Yes, it's there at the bottom right! I don't have a photo of the whole quilt in a flat shot. Galaxy of Stars quilt This now resides with my daughter Hilary in Pittsburgh. I saw it last week when we went to visit. It's on the bed in the guest room and is still as bright and cheerful as when I made it 20+ years ago! Hope you're enjoying your Quilter's New Perpetual Block a Day Calendar. I understand that it's sold out everywhere - yikes! The publisher should have seen this coming. Won't be available until end of February, if we're lucky.