Thanks for stopping back in! I have more with that Festive Season collection. Remember that group of half hexagons? I used them to make a strippy half-hexagon braid quilt, alternating with more of those cardinal panels. Had to get creative with the borders. It works, I think. Half Hexagon Braid with Cardinal panels: 50" x 50" It is still hanging in my closet awaiting the quilting. I hope to take it out, find a backing and finish it before Christmas. Then, I will give it to a friend or relative who is looking for a seasonal lap quilt. You can find my easy Half Hexagon Braid pattern  in my Etsy store. Then I took one of those fussy cut cardinals and half hexagons and created a large table topper. The outside patches are elongated half-hexagons. I added the green 30 degree setting triangles to "square" it up and quilted it with gold metallic thread. (Hard to see here) I took some scraps and photo window cards and created some sweet cards. What do you think? Photo wind...

I really don't do much Christmas sewing in July - too hot to think about it. I typically sew when I receive a new fabric collection. This Festive Season set of fabrics is from Benartex, 2017. I made quite a few things with them and don't think I even have scraps left over! What you can't see in that photo is the awesome vertical print with cardinals! I made sure they were featured in a few quilts. Let's see one, huh? This is a 2-Block Twisted Hexagons quilt with birds on black background as center hexagons and then birds on white background as the border (well, the two side borders). Cardinals in Winter: 35" x 47"; 15" (high) blocks Yes, I had to use two different prints for the borders. I didn't want my cardinals to fly sideways! This is how I fussy-cut the centers (I used this single cardinal for another quilt). I cut a window template out of freezer paper so I could capture exactly what I needed. Fussy Cutting a cardinal motif This was put in the c...

Twisted Hexagons is my favorite "go to" pattern for little kids. You can capture a fabulous motif in the center hexagon and then finish it off with 6 half-hexagons. No y-seams (you know the story). I used just about the very last of the collection with only ONE fat quarter remaining. Aren't these fun fabrics from 2012? Sockey the Monkey and his fabrics Here's a single block from a previous quilt. Don't those monkeys look happy? I finished my last set of blocks last weekend (actually, on Memorial Day). I put the 3 horizontal rows together and then scoured my stash for borders. Don't you just love the black and white dots?! The blocks are 10" high, with a 5" high center hexagon. 9 Block Twisted Hexagon quilt: 40" x 46" OK. You're probably wondering what the "making do" in my blog title has to do with this. Well, let me show you. I needed two more half-hexagons in the red with yellow bananas. And so I pieced the fabrics. Here - ...

Remember that batch of half hexagons from last month? These were cut about 12 years ago and have been waiting for a special quilt! I made the Half-Hexagon Braid quilt, and had so many more left over that I made a second one. Half Hexagons waiting for another quilt Bubbles and Hexagons is a pattern I first made and had published in Quilt Magazine in 1997. You can see what I mean by the hexagons part (two half-hexagons make on hexagon, right?): Here is the one I made as my workshop sample for 2018. It's hard to tell that those whole hexagons are really composed of two half-hexagons, but they are! This is a perfect project for those 2-1/2" Jelly Roll strips! Check out my easy pattern on Etsy. Bubbles and Hexagons : 41" x 51"  I used a stack of these half-hexagons in the browns and made this 42" x 49" quilt. I floated the hexagons with the white print so none were chopped in half. I had to get creative with the borders because I didn't have enough length of...

I began this project in 2017. No, wait; I'll do the math - 6+ years! I finally got the blocks together into a quilt top, but, for the life of me - I can't find it. Here is the block. I call it Isadora. I made 10 of them in various prints. If you visit the blog post  you will find the cutting sizes of all these patches! Isadora with blue tiaras and gold diamonds This uses a few diamonds. I cut these with my rotary cutter. Rotary cut diamonds Then I cut my half-hexagons. I used my 60 degree triangle ruler. When you purchase one of my  60 degree rulers  I include a two page tip sheet for cutting: Whole hexagons Half hexagons 60 degreeTriangles (duh) 30 degree setting triangles Half hexagons in blue and gold I cut a whole hexagon from this gorgeous blue print. This finishes to 5" from flat side to flat side. This was cut from 5-1/2" strips. I did NOT cut this with a fixed size acrylic template. Just my handy, dandy  60 degree triangle ruler ! I added two triangles, which...

I am working through my workshop sample boxes, trying to finish up a few quilts that have languished too long in those boxes! My Half Hexagon Braid class was so popular for several years (and still gets some attention). This purple quilt has been a top for at least 15 years and I finally had it quilted. It will be donated to my quilt guild for a local charity. Half Hexagon Braid quilt : 42" x 47" I first created this as an article in Quilt Magazine - 1999! Can you believe it? Here is how the artwork appeared. We gave templates for each of these quilts. I've yet to make houses like this, but it's certainly possible - and easy! Yes, I did make not one but two of those half hexagon flower pot quilts. One uses authentic 1930s prints for the yo-yos: I remade this using some current floral prints: Back to the purple quilt - I had to piece those vertical floral borders because I only had 1/3 yard. You don't believe me? Seamed border print! Here is the acrylic template t...

Most of my quilting inspiration comes from vintage and traditional blocks. Wagon Wheel is one of them. I have English Paper Pieced this as well as rotary cut and stitched it. Here's one made via EPP using the Grand Illusion fabrics by Windham.   Wagon Wheel block Notice there is a full hexagon in the center surrounded by 6 half hexagons. Here are two hexagons ready to be surrounded by those half-hexagons. Two whole hexagons Same center hexagon with the half-hexagons turned 180 degrees. You've seen my Twisted Hexagon blocks before, and I think it's fun to see these two distinct blocks made with the same fabrics! Twisted Hexagon using the very same patches! Back to Wagon Wheel. I've shared tutorials on making these via rotary cutting and piecing. Unfortunately, you would have to stitch a y-seam (in fact, 6 of them!) to do it the traditional way. I sewed the half-hexagons into a circle and then interfaced the center hexagon and appliquéd it to the center. Easy! Rotary cut ...