Next to a hexagon, I love circles the best! They have so many possibilities for quilt design. And I've combined the hexagon and circle for some new blocks using the Sashiko Collection (Windham Fabrics). I blogged about this fabric last year.  Sashiko Fabrics by Windham Here is some REAL hand stitched sashiko by yours truly. I've been working on this, off and on, for about 15 years. Hand stitching some sashiko More sashiko Now for my circles. I used a cottage cheese lid (the same size as a CD) for the circle. I interfaced it (with a used dryer sheet!) Easy interfaced circles Then I turned them right side out and centered them on a 6-1/2" high fabric hexagon. I machine zigzag stitched them using monofilament thread. Invisible. Beautiful. No handwork! Sashiko circle and hexagon block Now it's time to clip away both the interfacing and the background fabric (to reduce bulk). I made 16 blocks (and need one more). Here is my idea: It's a slight variation on my  Big Block...

I came upon this quilt photo the other day. I made the quilt some 23 years ago using an adapted pattern from another designer (Elizabeth Carlson). The quilt is long gone and I'm tempted to remake it. I actually still have the freezer paper templates! Curves and Birds: 15" x 15" The reason I was thinking about it is that I'm making new samples for my Tight Knit Circles workshop. The curves are similar to my freeform ones in the pattern. Don't you just love the addition of those two birds in that green border? Ingenious, right? I made a quilt that captures bird prints inside some curved photo corners. This pattern is almost 20 years old (2004); the quilt is a remake using some Benartex fabrics. First, what I call the " photo corners ." They look like what we have in our framed photos! Interfaced raw edge appliqué photo corners This is how I captured the bird print using a freezer paper template: Catching the bird inside the frame Here is the mini quilt fr...

This is an updated post I ran in 2014 when I was challenged to make something for Fall Quilt Market by Windham Fabrics. They had little scraps (actually 1/8 yard cuts) that were part of their upcoming Broken Stripes Collection. They're called "Strike offs" because the fabric mill wants them to approve the colors, etc, before they print thousands and thousands of yards! Aren't these beautiful?! Broken Stripes  Collection by  Windham Fabrics THEY SAID : Laura and I were just talking about you yesterday!  Do you remember all the mini quilts we had hanging in the booth at Spring Market (2014)?  We are hoping to do the same for this Fall and wondered if you would be interested in sewing a mini quilt for us with one of the new collections? Rules are 18 x 18 inches, and be as IMAGINATIVE as you want!  :) I SAID : Sure. Just send some companion fabrics (which I ended up not using). Solids from the  New Colonies  Collection See those samples in the first pictur...

Next to a hexagon, I love circles the best! They have so many possibilities for quilt design. And I've combined the hexagon and circle for some new blocks using the Sashiko Collection (Windham Fabrics). I blogged about this fabric last year.  Sashiko Fabrics by Windham Here is some REAL hand stitched sashiko by yours truly. I've been working on this, off and on, for about 15 years. Hand stitching some sashiko More sashiko Now for my circles. I used a cottage cheese lid (the same size as a CD) for the circle. I interfaced it (with a used dryer sheet!) Easy interfaced circles Then I turned them right side out and centered them on a 6-1/2" high fabric hexagon. I machine zigzag stitched them using monofilament thread. Invisible. Beautiful. No handwork! Sashiko circle and hexagon block Now it's time to clip away both the interfacing and the background fabric (to reduce bulk). I made 16 blocks (and need one more). Here is my idea: It's a slight variation on my Big Block ...

Do you like circles? I do! I didn't always because the thought of turning the edges under by hand made my eyes roll into the back of my head. Then I discovered a clever way to do it all by machine and I've made lots and lots of quilts with circles in them.  This is one I made 25 years ago out of lots and lots of scraps. Yes, these are Drunkard's Path blocks. This was inspired by a Pepper Cory design. Flying Under the Radar Quilt I made these blocks by interfacing the circles and then appliquéing them onto larger background squares. Then I cut them into fourths. Do you get the picture? That's what's going on in these blocks from about 10 years ago. Casablanca Collection by Blank Fabrics. More Drunkard's Path blocks How about this one? These are interfaced and turned, all by machine. You could make one of these trees for each holiday or season of the year! Facets of Color Tree Here is one of the classes I'm teaching (virtually) for Road to California (Saturday...

Welcome to Day Four with circles. The first quilt here is made entirely of CASHMERE! I used some salesman's samples of wool cashmere and made this 54" x 82" quilt for my husband. I cut quarter circles from one sample and squares from another and then raw edge appliquéd them on using a buttonhole stitch. Wool Cashmere Quilt: 54" x 82" NO fusibles were used. NO interfacing. Just wool to wool. Yesterday, I forgot to show you how I trim from behind my appliquéd circles. I leave the interfacing in until they are stitched - it stabilizes the edges so they don't get wobbly. Trimming away behind appliquéd circle And we all are familiar with yo yos, right? These delightful little circles are fun to make and use as embellishments. These yo yos are made with authentic 1930s fabrics I helped my daughter design this project using a large yo yo quilt that we selectively took apart and then mounted on a canvas. It hangs above her bed. We used a bazillion pins to anchor thi...

I love circles. They're so perfect and round and come in all sizes. They appear everywhere, especially in my kitchen. I've used various jar lids for many quilts. This green appliquéd circle was traced from a cottage cheese lid (or maybe it was from yogurt - not sure). Circle of fabric traced from a jar lid Oh, now I know. It was from a margarine lid. (That stuff is banished from my home now, but at least the lid was useful!) Tracing the circle onto interfacing I've shared here in blogville about my method for using NON-FUSIBLE interfacing to turn the edges of fabric. Then we clip into the interfacing and turn for a beautiful smooth finish. No needle turn, hand work for me! Stitched, trimmed, clipped and then turned. I made this modern looking Christmas Tree 4 years ago and it hangs in my home year round. I used various prints from my Kaffe Fassett fabric collection and some Kona Snow for the background. I stitched around each circle using monofilament thread. Facets of Colo...