I found this on the giveaway table at my local quilt guild's weekly Bee in 2020. It looked so sad. It was crumpled up and I honestly thought it was weeping. I walked over and whispered, "Are you all right? Do you need something? Can I help you?" She sighed BIG and said, "I'm alone. I know I'm ugly, but my fabrics are beautiful and my maker did the best she could, but I'm wonky and my seams aren't straight and I need some help!" I recognized the beautiful fabrics as those of Jinny Beyer. This was NOT an easy block to piece and I totally understood how hard it must have been for the maker. I turned it over and saw the "adventurous" stitching. (This photo shows the pieced corners removed) I grabbed the weeping star and assured her I would make her beautiful again! I found out who put it on the table (Suzanne; it was in her mother's stash) and then I went home. The first thing I did was introduce her to my sewing room and assure her it ...

You've seen this sweet little Boomer before, all dressed up and hanging out in my garden. I've added her to my new calendar, too. This is a vintage block first published by The Ladies Art Company in 1898. Boomer in the Garden The full name of this block is Oklahoma Boomer. Not sure why an Oklahoma settler was depicted like this for a quilt block, but I think it's really cute. I made this quilt over 30 years ago and still own it. If you look at the border, you will notice that it is not typical quilting fabric but actually decorator fabric! I sewed with what I had on hand and there was a designer fabrics outlet a few blocks from my house in an industrial neighborhood and I loved to visit and find big, bold prints for my quilts. I think it adds to Boomer's appeal. Don't you just love her eyelet lace skirt? I hand quilted this, too. Yes, those are ruched roses and yoyos and buttons and pieces of ribbon (the flower stems).  Here's another vintage quilt with 3-D rose...

Not sure why this block has this name, but, that's the way it's been for about 100 years. Here it is from the early 1920s as shared by Ruby McKim for the Kansas City Star (newspaper). Goose in the Pond is the June 3 block in my new Block a Day Calendar and it is 15" square. First, the fabrics I chose: Windham Fabrics: Moonlit and Solstice Those 9 patch units are small! I did a lot of piecing, but sometimes you have to change your mind as you go. I didn't like the center square to be the light green. So, yes, I took it apart! 5 horizontal sections of the Goose in the Pond Variation Here is my finished block. Whew- what a lot of pieces! But, I do like that center better with one of the Solstice prints, don't you? Goose in the Pond Variation: 15" block I had a similar block in my 2007 calendar and this is how Patricia Bryant photographed it: Goose in the Pond by Patricia Bryant I really like combining the Moonlit with the Solstice. The colors are so happy toget...

A vintage, traditional block is the Antique Album. My friend and former magazine editor, Jean Ann Wright, made this quilt and it appeared in my second book ( Supersize 'Em Quilts, 2009 ). It's not hard to piece, but you have to pay attention to the cutting if you want it to be the size you want! They are tricky cutting sizes because everything is stitched along the diagonal. Secret Garden Album: 16" block. 72" x 72" quilt I include this block in my new calendar and it appears on May 22 (today). Antique Album: 16" block I've made this block before but I'm going to make it again. Maybe 4 of them for a lovely quilt center. Notice that Jean Ann used cream sashing strips between the blocks to make them float. With 4 blocks and 2-1/2" sashings, the 4 block quilt center would be 38" x 38"! And don't you just love her pieced borders? They are 8" wide x 16" high! And they work, don't they? You may own a copy of this book (no...

Welcome to 2025! As a Benartex Sewcial Ambassador, I have the pleasure of working with some of their latest collections. My first set out of the box (literally) is Blessed Nest by Shannon Roberts. The box arrived early December: And this is what I found inside! Blessed Nest fabrics ready for my pre-planned project There were butterflies in one of the main prints (top fabric behind all the others above) and so I remembered a quilt I patterned for Quilt Magazine about 25 years ago. I printed the pattern and auditioned it on a 12-1/2" square of newsprint. It fits nicely! Butterfly pattern sized for a 12" block Then I traced it onto freezer paper. This way I am able to cut out my fabrics: Butterfly traced onto freezer paper What's next? Time to iron the freezer paper to my turquoise fabric which I selected to be the 4 butterflies. The waxy part of the freezer paper goes onto the right side of the fabric. The fusible webbing has been pre-applied to the wrong side of a blue f...

I am always inspired by vintage quilt patterns. Sometimes I don't even realize that what I think is one of my own ideas is actually from someone else's head! This vintage quilt was featured in one of our magazines (Big Block Quilts, 2002) and it must have stuck itself in the back of my mind because it reappeared 13 years later! Whirling Pinwheels: 70" x 70" Let's see the block as it appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1943. Wow - can you believe those templates? It certainly has my brain whirling! Whirling Pinwheel block from 1943 I was sent a fabric collection from Windham several years ago and they challenged me to do something with it. It was called Broken Stripes. Broken Stripes by Windham Fabrics I cut out half circles (first putting fusible interfacing on the wrong side): Rainbow blades Then I put them into a semblance of that Whirling Pinwheel block, except I got rid of all those crazy templates. I machine appliquéd the blades and center circle down. Whirli...

My perpetual calendar (Martingale, 2007) has the Arkansas Meadow Rose as the block for today, June 1. This is a vintage block from the early 1900s. Here's a photo of the block made by Patricia Bryant and the calendar page: Arkansas Meadow Rose: 10" block I made a quilt from that vintage block about 30 years ago. I still own it! First, let me share the simple digital art. I made the blocks in a 12" size and the full quilt is 44" x 44" Arkansas Meadow Rose: 44" x 44" And an old photo of the quilt: Arkansas Meadow Rose: 44" x 44" Yes, it's very predictable in it's assembly. But look at a copy of the page as it appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1935! That is a lot of piecing with odd shaped templates. I streamlined the entire thing. I get my best inspiration from these vintage patterns. But I have no desire to make them as they originally were executed! I hope you have a marvelous June 1 (a Saturday with the sun shining and cool breezes...

I can't remember how I acquired this lovely and LARGE vintage block, but I loved it at first sight. I named it One Block Rose Wreath because, well - that's what it is! It's a whopping 36" x 36" and I decided to give it a minimal treatment for borders. One Block Rose Wreath: 45" x 45" I think it's interesting that the maker put red squares in the 4 corners and the green leaves overlap in a casual sort of way. This was hand appliquéd. My 3 strips and 9 Patch borders don't take away from the beauty of the center block. Here is what I said about it when it was published: A special friend (whom I’ve never met!) buys, sells, and trades old quilts, quilt tops and blocks in Kansas City, Oklahoma. In fact, DottieMae Groves travels around the country in her quest for special quilting items to add to her antique shop’s inventory. In one of her forays she discovered a whimsical, folk art quilt block that is bigger than many wall quilts! There was nothing kno...

I came upon 2 very used, very old, very beat-up quilts about 10 years ago. Paid $15 for both! They were destined for the trash heap (according to the owner) and I swept them up just for the sheer urge to at least give them a proper burial. One became a dog blanket (trust me - it was torn, etc beyond repair). The other I put up in the closet and used it to cover my grandkids when they stayed overnight. Pink vintage quilt from the 1960s: 62" x 77" (approx.) The pink solids and prints are poly-cotton. The white is cotton and that's where the disintegration occurred. Sun damage. Sitting quietly up in my hall closet, wanting to grow old with grace. This quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted. The binding was attached by machine. Then I got this request from my oldest daughter: "Can you make me a vintage quilted jacket?" She sent links to "repurposed" quilts into jackets - $575!! I told her "no" right off the bat. I said it was anathema (forbidden)...