CLICK HERE   to view this on my blog and not in the Follow It newsfeed. I have been sewing with Benartex Fabrics for 25 years. It all began when I was an editor with Quilt Magazine. Fabric companies sent bundles of their fabric to our office and with the promise of us using it in a featured quilt, they agreed to take out an ad. What a novel idea, huh? The first quilt is one you've seen here many times, the Royal Star. Based on a vintage block, I converted it from templates to rotary cutting and paper piecing (those pointy points). Yes, she was a cover girl! Royal Star made with Fossil Ferns fabrics This was also the cover quilt for my first book. But, let's talk about the QuiltCon block, since QuiltCon is this coming week in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was given 6 fat quarters of the Superior Solids and asked to make a 12" block. I selected 4 of the 6 with a block from my new calendar in mind. Four Superior Solids for my block They insisted they wanted to be photographed ...

First book came in 2004. Proposed in 2002. I had been an editor with Quilt Magazine for 10 years and knew my way around designing, sewing, and publishing and figured I would be picked up immediately. Ha! I was rejected by the first publisher (C & T) and was so depressed. Then, after attending a local writing seminar where I heard - just pick yourself up and go to another publisher. This happens all the time to writers who later become SO famous (can you say J. K. Rowling?) Royal Star appeared in 2 of our magazines I wanted to feature quilts made with black. I wanted to call the book "Black By Popular Demand." They didn't like it, so we named it "Bold, Black and Beautiful." I didn't think it was so catchy, but the publisher holds the purse strings. They also didn't mind that the eventual cover quilt had graced a magazine cover. Royal Star on book cover The contract was fair - a standard document recognizing my rights to my Intellectual Property and ...

I guess you could all me a Calendar Girl since I've published 18 quilting calendars over the years! Three wall calendars and 15 desktop Block a Day calendars. I was glad when my publishers decided to stop them after 2020 - my brain was SO empty! Last year for the desktop calendars I began the desktop calendars in 2006. I drew all the art, wrote all the directions, calculated all the supplies for dozens and dozens of quilts and several hundred blocks FOR EACH YEAR! Yes, I did this until 2020. In the meantime, the original publisher was purchased by Andrews McMeel - the largest calendar publisher in the world and they decided they would also like a few wall calendars. I found this easier to do since I only offered them previously published quilts (and all the instructions were written!) 2012 Wall Calendar of Quilts featuring Snow Crystals Many of the quilts in the calendar I sell individually. It's a bargain to get 13 of them on the calendar! Let me show you a few of these quilts...

Day Four: Royal Star has been shown here before. I was sent a bundle of Fossil Ferns from Benartex in early 2000 and I redrafted a vintage block (called Royal Star!) for paper piecing. I combined the Fossil Ferns with solid black and came up with this wildly popular quilt. I never would have dreamed it, but it is still a favorite. This is Big Block Quilts 2001. Big Block Quilts 2001 featuring Royal Star You can find the pattern for this in my Etsy shop for only $4.99! I converted the vintage pattern from templates to easy rotary cut center 9 patches and paper pieced star points. Here is a real vintage remnant from a Royal Star quilt. A little variation on those points, but the center 9 Patch is there. Can you imagine ALL those templates! It also became the cover quilt on my first book: Bold, Black and Beautiful Quilts. I still own the quilt and probably won't ever give it away. The Fossil Ferns just glow on this black background! Here is another quilt that wanted to share the cove...