I pulled out my copy of that Appliqué Quilts 2004 magazine (which featured the Wild Strawberries quilt shown on Wednesday) and discovered a few more lovely quilts. Again, I used an orphan block that had been submitted to our editorial office. Let me show you one: Ohio Star with Ruched Roses This block is a combination of piecing (the Ohio Star) and appliqué, along with the "ruching", which is the gathered red "lumpy" fabric. I donated this to a quilt museum for fund raising. Here is a photo of it up close. I added the borders and little folded triangles to repeat some of the colors. Ohio Rose with Ruched Roses. 12" block, 19" x 19" quilt  Turn to page 12 and you will find my lovely classic beauty from the vintage Laurel Wreath series. I made 4 blocks using the birds and then pooped out. The collection has 25 blocks and they all have a laurel wreath with 25 appliquéd leaves. Now do you know why I pooped out? You can see the entire quilt (digital) here...

Here we are in August and in the Northern Hemisphere we are sweating! I'm thankful for Willis Carrier and his invention of the air conditioner! I hope you're ready for the color page of calendar blocks for August. Let's see a few of the blocks. August 6th (Saturday) showcases the Florida Jay block from the Laurel Wreath quilt . I actually made the block into a quilt! I gave this to a dear neighbor several years ago. The Florida Jay block from the Laurel Wreath quilt Here's the French Countryside block from February 2007. Lovely appliqué with the extra dimensional stitching. This block appears on Sunday the 8th. French Countryside Block: 10"  Then there's Golden Teardrops from November 2007. Here's the quilt first: Teardrops Quilt And the block that appears for August 30th. This is Golden Teardrops which finishes to 5"! Golden Teardrops Block: 5" And one more, a Dancing Autumn Leaves block. Dancing Autumn Leaves: 10" These are all digital bloc...

Text link for Raychel's Garden FREE pattern from Monday's post has been fixed. Laurel Wreath is a set of vintage blocks that I updated about 20 years ago. There are 25 blocks composed of 20 flowers and 5 birds. Each block has a gorgeous wreath that surrounds these flowers and birds. Let me show you these wreaths - and then you will understand how I pooped out after 4 blocks! I used Garden Maze blocks to set them together. Laurel Wreath Quilt : 45" x 45". Block Size: 12" Yes, I made the 5th bird - the Florida Jay. I made it into a small quilt which I gave to a neighbor about 10 years ago. Isn't that just the most gorgeous floral print border?! The quilt is about 28" x 28" (I never measured it). There are 25 leaves on that wreath and I appliquéd every one. I was exhausted! Single Block with Florida Jay This was a Kansas City Star series from the 1930s, designed by Florence LaGanke under the name of Nancy Page. There is a LOT of chatty info that accomp...

More birds today. Let's see some vintage quilt patterns from the 1930s. This first small quilt uses the Florida Jay from the pattern set called The Laurel Wreath . I made 5 of these blocks (with different birds in the center) and then pooped out! Those wreaths have 25 leaves to appliqué! Florida Jay 12" block  Here's a digital rendition of the Laurel Wreath quilt . Birds and Flowers are featured inside those amazing wreaths. Yes, I drew every single one of those birds and leaves and flowers about 20 years ago. They are from 1931 and were designed by Nancy Page for the Kansas City Star. The Laurel Wreath quilt : 90" x 104" with scalloped borders Here is a REAL vintage quilt that includes all the blocks. Isn't it gorgeous?! Laurel Wreath with a Greek column looking border Here are the other 4 birds I stitched and then put into a quilt. Like I said, after making these I swore off making the blocks with flowers! Blocks are 12" x 12". My pattern for this...