Today is St. Patrick's Day and I'd like to share some lucky quilts with you! You've seen a few of these before, but I truly love revisiting them again and again. The first one is the oldest and I still own it. The label says 1994, but I know I made it several years earlier. All hand quilted! Yes, that's decorator fabric for the border! Irish Chain quilt early 1990s Here is one I made using the embroidery unit on my Pfaff sewing machine to add those little butterflies. It appeared in my first book (2004). I think I still have this somewhere. Black and Pink Irish Chain: 31" x 31" Here's a beauty sent by one of my Calendar Girls and she has it as a backdrop for a block she stitched later in the month. I just had to add it today! Diane L. quilted this herself. Irish Chain by Diane L. And, finally, my Irish Cross and Chain from years ago: Irish Cross and Chain Wishing you a very lucky St. Patrick's Day!

Today is November 17 and the calendar block is Twenty-Five Patch. It is one of the two blocks that make up the Irish Chain quilt! Here is the block made up by Susan B. Isn't this so cute with her turkey? Twenty-Five Patch by Susan B. Here's my quilt from early 2000 which uses the same 25-Patch, only in a smaller size. It appeared in my first book, Bold, Black and Beautiful (2004). I was enjoying the embroidery unit on my Pfaff sewing machine and was able to capture two motifs stitched in pink in the large un-pieced section of the Domino Chain. Double Irish Chain: 31" x 31" Yes, those are small blocks (4-1/2")! The blocks in my calendar are much larger (10"). Let's see them. Twenty-Five Patch: 10" And the block for tomorrow, November 18 is Domino Chain: Domino Chain: 10" Now, let's see a REALLY old quilt I made in the early 1990s (ignore the date stamp there). That was when I was still hand quilting. I hadn't discovered machine quilting...

Yes, another "vintage" quilt from my quilting vault. This has been back and forth across the USA. I made the quilt in the early 1990s and then decided to give it to my step mother (who lived in California with my dad) in 1994. It's a Double Irish Chain. Double Irish Chain: 30" x 30" I hand quilted this one, too! I used a stencil for those cream blocks. I can't imagine how much time it took! Obviously, I just quilted diagonal lines along the squares. And notice that border - it's a beautiful piece of home dec fabric.  Close up of hand quilting I loved those pre-printed quilt labels with pretty flowers and unique shapes. I did NOT turn those curvy edges under; I simply interfaced it - stitched and turned and sewed it down. No handwork on the turning! Closeup of quilting and label For some reason, I ended up with this quilt when my dad passed away in 2004. I treasure it and it still amazes me that I did so much hand quilting! I need to put this out on displ...