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