Here is a fun quilt I made and had published in a Fons and Porter magazine in 2010! While the fabrics are no longer available, I'm sure you can find and use just about any fun novelty print for this quick and easy kid quilt. Playful Pups : 38" x 41" There are five 10" blocks made using those sets of four pups in the attic window setting. Then I added some rectangles of floating dogs on black so that I now have a 3 x 3 block setting. Adding the different borders gives this a fun feel - and also, I didn't have enough of any one fabric! If you do a search on my blog here for "magical mitering" you will find several lessons with lots of pics to help you with the 3 page pattern. I just did a lesson last week - Magical Mitering - so you can start there. Can I show you one other quilt I made with this fun collection? I've since given it away. This uses a different colorway for the doggies. Playful Pups #2 Here is the panel. Isn't it cute? I realized I...

I created this Magical Mitering Lesson 10 years ago and never published it here on the blog. I thought you'd enjoy this easy technique that I developed 25 years ago. I still use it when I want that extra special diagonal border treatment in the four corners of my quilt. Lovely garden themed fabrics: Savannah Collection by Benartex One of my most requested techniques is that which I refer to as "Magical Mitering." The Savannah Collection is perfect for this in that I will treat groups of 4 small panels as a "window" unit. For example:  Two sections of 4 small panels Two groups of panels with "attic window" strips Each set of 4 panels measures 9-1/2". I commend Benartex on making sure that the black sections between each panel measures 1/2" so that I didn't have to destroy one panel to cut out another. I was able to get the required 1/4" around the outside. I cut the two contrasting strips (yellow and black prints) at 2-1/...

Sometimes I just want to stitch a BIG block and let the fabrics get all the attention. I grabbed some Kaffe Fassett prints the other day and did just that. I wanted to remake a block from this quilt I made in 2007. It appeared in my Supersize 'Em Quilts book (2009). There are four 20" blocks. Dancing with the Flowers : 76" x 76" It's a vintage block from the Kansas City Star, 1933. Mine is a slight variation with whole squares in the corners and not pieced triangles. I taught this as a class in the early 2000s in Atlanta and we used both versions. I know I finished and quilted this quilt. It probably was published in Quilt Magazine. Now it lives in another home (somewhere!) Jack in the Pulpit with Roses Here is the block I made the other day. First, the parts: Parts for Dancing with the Flowers (single block) I mitered those stripes, but not the traditional way. I've shared my Magical Mitering technique here before and you can find lots of demos of that if y...

Just to let you know: I am NOT a cat person, but this collection called Cat-i-tude is so gorgeous, I just may have to make an exception. What do you think of the main panel? As you can see, each of the six frisky cats is a good size to become the center of an awesome block. And, from what I know about cats, they ALWAYS like to be center stage, right? Main Cat-i-tude panel Now let's look at the fabrics, blocks and final project! Cat-i-tude Fabrics (minus the panel) And a small piece of a border print: Catitude fabrics with border print I was very drawn to the 6 panels of those frisky cats. I cut them out (they will finish pretty close to 10" square. My plan was to use an ATTIC WINDOW treatment using my Magical Mitering technique. I pulled two fat quarters for each of the six panels that I thought would work best. Blue kitty lighting up his life!  Frisky green kitty batting at an ornament. Another frisky kitty wanting to taste those ribbons. Yum...

Attic Windows; Mitered Borders The Savannah Collection, English Garden type panels The Maker's Experience ( Original Sewing and Quilting Expo ) is featuring my step by step tutorial today on Magical Mitering . I did this for Benartex Fabrics this past summer and many of you may not have seen it. You can also see links to my classes which I begin teaching in March. Take a visit and learn how truly easy it is to miter blocks or borders without using those pesky y-seams.

Joan G from Georgia with my Welcome Home quilt pattern I lived in Atlanta for 8 years and had many wonderful quilting friends. Joan was a member of my quilt guild and she even took a paper piecing class from me that I gave in my home. She swears that I gave her the tools to fall in love with that technique. I say she just needed a little nudge! See that quilt up there? Joan took my 2012 Block of the Month patterns for the Welcome Home quilt and made it up just in time for a family reunion a few weeks ago up in New York. She hung it on the front porch so every single friend and family member would see it as they drove up the driveway. It is SO BEAUTIFUL, don't you think? This BOM was available for 12 months, but is no longer available here. Sorry! Back to that paper piecing. When I had 30 quilts stolen in January 2005, one of those quilts was my Carpenter's Wheel. It was paper pieced and Joan offered to remake it for me. Now, that's a TRUE and LOYAL friend, don't...

Thanks to all of you who made my Monday with Blank Fabrics a very popular blog post. I teach my Magical Mitering lesson all the time with many happy students! Today I share a 6 block quilt made with the Noblesse Collection in the cream colorway. Magical Miters and the Noblesse Collection by Blank Fabrics The fabric does all the work. And I didn't bother to fussy cut the flowers; I just let my rotary cutter made that decision for me (and I also didn't have more than 1/2 yard!). How did I make this, you may be wondering? Well, I shared it all in last Monday's post and you can find it HERE . This version uses strips around all 4 sides of the center square, instead of only two sides for an Attic Window. This really has a graphic counterpoint to the curves of the flowers. I only had 3 fabrics for each of the two colorways. I used the other two in the border; simple rectangles for a border. If you have read this far, then I want to let you know that on WEDNESDAY I am shari...

Noblesse Collection by Blank Quilting Today is Monday and I've been busy over the weekend sewing with an upcoming line by Blank Quilting called Noblesse. They are very romantic in feel and while there are only 3 fabrics in each of the two colorways, the main fabric provides other possibilities as shown in the pic above. I selected 3 of Blank's blenders to go with my 1/2 yard cuts. Did you know you can do a LOT with 1/2 yard cuts? No? Then allow me to show you! I will upload more pics, the finished quilt tops (yes, 2 tops) and a chance for you to win some PRIZES - FABRIC! I will send out another blog update, so you need to be on my list to get that info so you can enter. Here is a one page pdf that works with any mitering project: Magical Mitering Here is my Magical Mitering technique which is used for these Attic Window blocks. I will reveal more as the week goes on, but first to show you how I created the blocks. Attic Window, Step 1  Since I was working with ...