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...

I came across a Winding Ways quilt I made in 2005 the "old fashioned way" using pre-cut patches for the 12 block units. These were Fossil Fern flannels that were laser cut by the John Flynn Company and all I had to do was sew them together. Twelve patches. For one block. Gulp! Winding Ways quilt center The beauty of the pre-cut patches is that they had notches along the sides to make sure you lined everything up perfectly. And it worked! Here is the back of another Winding Ways block and you can see where the notches are and how they are pressed. Perfect! Back of another Winding Ways block with notches This is what just half of the block patches look like! Every one is curved. Some blocks in process: Winding Ways blocks in process I decided to make 16 blocks using some Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Here are my first 10 which I combined with some shot cottons. 10 Winding Ways blocks. 10" x 10" finished And here is my quilt top arranged in an asymmetrical manner. What do ...

 This is my South Carolina Star block. It's designed to be sewn as a foundation pieced pattern. South Carolina Star Here is a little more info on what shot cottons really are: Artisan Cotton  by Another Point of View is a beautiful cross-dyed quilter's weight cotton that acts as a solid but with a zing! The rich, saturated colors truly pop and are simply spectacular. These solids are a mixture of pretty pastels, zesty brights and rich neutral tones. These fabrics also have a good feel (hand) and are just as "weighty" as good quality quilter's cotton. That's what I like! Look at those yellow/gold threads that are woven with blues to get this green. The fabric is NOT a flat color. Yellow/Green shot cotton by  Windham OK, you say. Yawn. Let's see some things you've MADE! I've shared this before. It's my Winding Ways quilt. This is NOT for the new quilter or one who is a bit shy of curved seams. Winding Ways block using Windham shots and Kaffe Fass...

 Just a quick post today. I want to feature my Winding Ways quilts, many of which you've seen before. Let me start with the most recent using the Sweet Wish Collection by Windham Fabrics. I made this in July. This uses my "cheater's" method which converts the 12 curved template pieces to one template and one square background piece. No kidding! You can see the steps in a recent blog post about this. Sweet Wish Winding Ways Here is a very old one I made about 20 years ago and published it in Quilt Magazine and it was also featured in my first book. I taught a workshop several years ago where we actually worked with all the templates and pre-cut fabrics. I had several samples. This next quilt uses the sample blocks I had leftover. I have since had it quilted and donated it to a local children's charity. Winding Ways made the old fashioned way with 12 patches per block! What do you think of my borders on these? Not a single fabric but strips. I like it (and it makes...

I make a lot of quilts. In fact, as we "speak" I have at least 3 dozen (more like 4 dozen) quilt tops hanging in my studio closet. Many are made for class samples. Some just because. Since I regularly receive fabric bundles from fabric companies to feature here on my blog, I just make whatever suits my fancy! Stella Baby Logs . No border. 40" x 50" My quilt guild here in Northern Virginia contributes about 200 quilts to a few local charities. The beauty is that I don't have to quilt them! Just hand over a top and one of several ladies will put it on her longarm machine with batting and backing and work her magic. I do like to put the binding on, so she gives them back to me and I bind them and then photograph them. Then back to Jeannie they go for donations. I figure I donate between 2 and 3 dozen a year. Do I make a dent in my stash? Hardly! The quilt above is one of 5 Sweet Baby Logs quilts I've made. It is so fat quarter friendly. The blocks are 10"...

I make a lot of quilts. Let me repeat: I make a LOT of quilts. I sew for the camera. I sew for the classroom (where I'm the teacher). I sew just because I LOVE to sew. And I love working with beautiful fabrics. This Winding Ways quilt (made with Days to Remember fabrics) was a class sample from 2012. 10" blocks. Notice my inner border - positive/negative colors. Winding Ways Yes, I stitched all 12 of those curved block patches - NINE times! But, they were laser cut by John Flynn's company, so that made it much easier. Check out my "cheaters" Winding Ways quilt pattern for easy appliqué for the same look. You can see a lot of step photos there, too. I went through my closets of quilt tops (at least 4 dozen) and pulled out 10 that I designated to go to local charities. (First wave; more to come) Another guild member quilts them on her long arm machine! Here's one more called Garden Maze. Same colors, but different fabric collection. Garden Maze quilt (about 40...

I woke up in the middle of the night (what's new?) and realized that, in my quest for the perfect collection of fabrics for an upcoming Mystery Quilt project with my local guild, I hadn't considered the Norma Rose Collection that's been sitting on my shelves for a few months!! It was sent by Windham Fabrics as they know I like to feature their latest collections here in blog-ville. Norma Rose by Natalie Barnes for Windham Fabrics (ships in October 2020) I should have known! I am particularly drawn to all of Natalie Barnes' designs. All the fabrics work well with each other. This collection has 20 different skus and plenty of contrast. Look at those printed grays! Five!! I have loved: Hand Maker (2016) Maker's Home (2017) Homeward (2019) I still have quite a few fat quarters from Hand Maker and Maker's Home. They will be a perfect blend with what I have. Here is Maker's Home . Can you see the similarities in the colors and personality? ...

Shot cottons? Do we need some gun laws enforced in our sewing rooms? Who would possibly shoot some of my defenseless cotton fabrics? Hurry! Hide under my sewing machine! OK. Now I'm serious. Shot cottons are beautiful fabrics that, on first look, appear to be solids. But then as you look a little closer, you see that there are two different colors of threads that are woven together. These are NOT surface dyed. Artisan Cottons from Windham Fabrics As you can see with that amazing magenta fabric on the right, there are RED threads in there. Holy cow! I think that proves it. But, I know what you're thinking: just let me SEE what you've done with these. I'm so glad you asked. One that recently came to mind (because I'm gifting it) is my Strips and Shots (there it is again: shots!) This is a simple Rail Fence block using a cream fabric in the two outside strips and the Artisan Cotton in the center. Shots and Strips: 38" x 44" Just a bunch of 2...