I was asked to teach my Flying Swallows class again, though it hasn't been confirmed. I started thinking about those diamonds and how they appear in several other vintage inspired quilts I've made. First, my most recent Flying Swallows quilt using Michael Miller's Fairy Frost fabrics for those diamonds: Flying Swallows : 48" x 48" The diamonds are easily rotary cut from 2-1/2" strips (this shows cutting from 3-1/2" strips, but the same method). Think differently about those diagonal lines on your rulers! My first Flying Swallows : First Flying Swallows from 2000. Now let's look at the diamonds - very neat, huh? NO templates! Rotary cut 45 degree diamonds Swallows in the Window uses the SAME diamonds. The way the background triangles are arranged and the addition of a center square makes this unique. Here's the vintage pattern for a 9" block (gasp!!) And my most recent Swallows in the Window quilt (my second one). Uses the SAME diamonds. Sw...

Swallows in the Window is another vintage block that uses 45 degree diamonds. I hope you saw my Flying Swallows post earlier this week. Swallows in the Window vintage block Then, digging WAY back in my archives I came across Hearts and Swallows. This was made in 2001. I had to do a bit of fabric manipulation to make those diamonds behave in the corners, but it worked! Yes, these are also 45 degree diamonds. Hearts and Swallows This would not be hard to make today. Those 4 corner units are really half Lone Star blocks!  I always wanted to make another one.  It would be fabulous to capture a beautiful print in that center. But the center size will be dictated by the size of those corner diamonds. Trust me. That's the way math works! Swallows in the Window Here is the current project I'm working on using those Fairy Frost diamonds and a beautiful fabric collection called Romance by Windham Fabrics (2018). Yes, it took me awhile to cut into the set of fat quarters! The diamonds a...

Two vintage quilt patterns use 45 degree diamonds to indicate swallows. First, there's  Flying Swallows . (I'll be back with some Swallows in the Window quilts later this week). There seems to be a serious interest in this pattern. My Etsy shop has sold a few dozen in the past 2 weeks! Flying Swallows is based on an 8 Pointed Star, as seen here by one I created in 2002 for Quilt Magazine. Flying Swallows, 2002 I have designed a few digital quilts since then for a few fabric companies. Here's one I used for Blank Quilting in 2008: Flying Swallows using the Fun Dip Collection This is a class sample from 2020 using some lovely red fabrics by Windham. That center is a whopping 24" block! Flying Swallows . 24" center. 38" x 38" quilt Oh. Don't get nervous! There aren't any y-seams, I promise! Here is another of my class samples. I made it in bright colors. First - the 45 degree diamonds.  45 degree diamonds in bright colors How did I cut those diamond...

I had some 45 degree diamonds left over from my Flying Swallows workshop. They reminded me of another swallows pattern that uses the same units: Swallows in the Window. Yes, a vintage block from the early 1900s and pieced using templates. I like to rotary cut my patches and that's what I did.  Hint: I will show you my latest creation using these fabrics (Romance, by Windham) as you scroll down. As you will see, I took poetic liberty with the hummingbirds and call them swallows. Romance Fabrics by Windham This Hearts and Swallows quilt is from 2001. I had to do a bit of fabric manipulation to make those diamonds behave in the corners, but it worked! Those little triangle points along the pieced border are like prairie points! Hearts and Swallows This would not be hard to make today. Those 4 corner units are really half Lone Star blocks! Let's see the vintage Swallows in the Window block that I'm talking about. There are NO y-seams in my version. Here is a digital version of ...