I bought some fabric with bees on it (no stingers, that I can tell) and the hexagon shape is perfect for 1" papers for English Paper Piecing.  So, I cut some out and stitched up quite a few: 1" EPP bees And then I pulled some fabric that my sister gave me a few years ago and used it to make my first bee themed Grandmother's Flower Garden: Bee Grandmother's Flower Garden Not sure where I'm going. I think the bees will tell me! I have some other black/gray/yellow fabrics that go with this collection. Do you think I'll get away with an entire quilt featuring bees? Remember, our food supply will disappear if the bees disappear! Gotta love them.

Who's Angie? I can't remember, but I saw a photo in a quilt magazine several years ago and I think Angie was the maker. I liked it so much, I was inspired to make my own version. I didn't have a pattern - it was just a photo, but I can figure out just about any quilt block after 35 years of this stuff! Angie's Fans: 48" x 50" Sets of 2" (finished) strips - 4 together. Then, using a 60 degree triangle ruler, you cut out triangle wedges (8-1/2" high). I was very carefree in my use of strips, but Christmas themed. I went for strong contrast. The ruler is flip flopped along the strips and you get another color strata. These were diagonally stitched together. Cut 30 degree triangles to set them top and bottom. Will I make this again? NO! But it really wasn't hard. I just pulled out some awesome border fabric and hope to sew it on this week. Or not . . . I wish I had some process shots, but I don't. I wish I still had the magazine page I ripped out...

She sat quietly for many decades. She was tenderly put together, hexagon by hexagon - all by hand. They're 1" hexagons, btw. She was passed from family member to family member, made by an anonymous quilter, but I recognized her glory and rescued her from the Free Table at my local quilt meeting. Free? Really? Vintage quilt top: 65" x 76" The bottom was unfinished and I needed to square it up. I put Kona Snow under those wobbly edges and appliquéd the hanging hexagons onto it to straighten the edges. I straightened the hexagon side by slicing them - yes I did! I had plans and the quilt was SO excited to know it was going to be finished and loved. After quilting and before binding Go ahead - compare those two photos. They're upside down, but you get the point. Now let's look at the gorgeous quilting done by a master longarm quilter, Ada Gosser of 2 Tubs Quilting . She was so delighted to get to work with this quilt top. She knew what pattern to use, but also ga...

Today's the day - short amount of sunlight but it all gets better from here on out! I'm getting ready and want to let those short days of Fall know that I'm not going to take it any more. I want more of the sun and I'm going to get it! You've seen this quilt here before when I  first blogged about it in 2015 . It's been quilted and it's ready to hang and wag it's finger at those dark days. And shine and shine from it's place on my wall. Winter Solstice Quilt:  Here Comes the Sun!  26" x 28-1/2" Do you remember when I showed you how this was pieced so that there are NO y-seams? Just because it's a hexagon does not mean I have to have set-in seams. Everything was cut based on that center hexagon from Paula Nadelstern's Fabricadabra collection by Benartex Fabrics . That hexagon was cut using my multi-sized 60 degree triangle ruler. It will finish to 10-1/2". No y-seams here! Those triangles are based on that finished height of 10-...

I'm pulling my Christmas themed quilts and toppers out of the closets. They are SO excited to see the light of day. I wanted something small to send my oldest sister who already has several quilts I've made for her. I don't want her to roll her eyes, but just welcome something small for her holiday table. This is a block I made several years ago based on Katja Marek's calendar. It is the November 19 block and I chose Christmas fabrics from the Benartex Collection: Festive Season . I made this in late 2017. Christmas Star Hexagon Block I cheated and increased the size and rotary cut and stitched the patches! I drew it in Adobe Illustrator and figured out the sizes to cut. Of course I could piece it via EPP, but didn't want a little block. As you can see from this diagram, it will be 12" high and approximately 15" wide. Size for cutting patches (it makes sense to me, btw) And here it is with lovely borders added: Christmas Hexie Star: 20" x 23" So,...

A few years ago I randomly created some 2" EPP hexagons using some Michael Miller gingham fabrics. Then, I was inspired to recreate a version of an older quilt that I used when I taught EPP workshops. One of my students said this was her favorite quilt. Her name was Lori. So, I named the quilt "Lori's Garden Favorite." Easy enough! Lori's Garden Favorite I made the above quilt using some Benartex Fossil Ferns and some other Benartex collections for the borders. Yes, those borders don't "match." But, they work and that's what matters. Sometimes you don't have enough of a single fabric to have all 4 borders match. Who cares? I think this is more interesting. Here is one of the blocks up close: Single GFG variation block: 14" x 20" I still have the original quilt that I made 22 years ago with the same rectangle block, but this time I used sashing. I called it Grandma's Night Garden. It was published in Quilt Magazine and then it a...

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...

I posted this earlier in the week. I took a bundle of 1/2 yard cuts and selected a few to use for borders.  Then I auditioned them against the 8 block quilt center (which is 52" square). I cut the strips at 6-1/2" width and kept the same print in the corner blocks (both sides). Until this gets quilted, I can only photograph it on my kitchen floor! (I really need to find a place in my small house to tack it onto a wall). 8 Block Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt: 64" x 64" No y-seams. No templates. Easy to machine piece. Here's one of those blocks up close: GFG Block finishes to 17-1/2" square I'm going to pull out my box of Fossil Ferns (by Benartex) and see what other blocks I can make using them and these very LARGE Kaffe Fassett prints. They go together SO well, don't they?

I love large scale prints. I never chop them into little, tiny pieces! That's why fabric companies like to work with me because I make BIG blocks that sell more of their fabric! You've seen these blocks before, but I now have some border fabrics for a glorious finish. Did I say there are NO y-seams in this block?!! Granny's Garden  with Japanese Chrysanthemum and Fossil Ferns These use some Kaffe Fassett fabrics with Fossil Ferns. This first one is my favorite! It is 18" x 18" unfinished. I added those top and bottom strips of Fossil Fern background fabric to "square" it up. Remember, a hexagon is wider than it is high and I wanted these to be square. And another one in pinks: Single block in Pinks with light yellow Fossil Fern background I wasn't able to fussy cut the flowers, but I did need to use my window template of freezer paper because I was really close to being short of fabric! My freezer paper window template for fussy cutting (sort of) I...

This fun collection of holiday mice dancing and gift giving and generally getting into some mischief has been with me for over 10 years. I made 2 kids' quilts and gave them away, but still had some block parts.  One of 6 block/units featuring these mice I had some stars left over from another quilt using the same yellow and red prints. I discovered about 1/2 yard of the yellow and jumped for joy - now I had enough for this last quilt. Here is the first mouse quilt. I used my Hexagon Wreath and Stars pattern (first published with Creative Grids rulers). Hexagon Wreath and Stars: 40" x 45" https://www.etsy.com/listing/824780000/hexagon-wreath-and-stars-quilt-pattern This is the blue and white quilt that was made first. Compare this with the red quilt above. Same everything, but the white borders made everything float after the stars! Hexagon Wreath and Stars: 39" x 43" I had enough of the mouse prints to make a second quilt. A little funky with those split stars,...