Familiar words to many of us from our childhood: Hey diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon. Windham Fabrics took the prints from the old nursery rhyme and made the sweetest collection, Cat and the Fiddle . They asked me to create something and I used one of my cow patterns and had her jumping over the moon. First the cow: The Cow Jumping Over the Moon I also made a Moon Block, but I couldn't fit it in the quilt. But I'll show it here: The Moon and Stars Block I let the fabrics do all the work in the blocks. There is a Cobblestone block and a Snowball block. The blocks are 12" and the quilt, as shown, is 51" x 51". The Cow Jumped Over the Moon You can check it out and see the prints up close by clicking on the links. I hope you enjoy it! The Cow Jumped Over the Moon FREE pattern

My yard is coming up daffodils and forsythia. I love to see all that yellow (except on me - I cannot wear yellow; I'm a pink person). It reminds me of some items I've made using that sunny color. These daffodils are from my old house and they were growing wild. Lovely Daffodils I absolutely love the timeless combination of blue and yellow and I made this using one orphan block (the flower in the star center) and then sewed some simple cup mats and tea cozy using my own teapot appliqué. I have since given that ensemble away. Tea Time ensemble I used my same pattern for Windham Fabrics and you can have the tea cozy and tea pot appliqué FREE. The link for this FREE pattern to use any way you like is here:  Tea Cozy and Tea Pot Appliqu é. (You will also see other patterns at the Windham site that are awesome!) FREE pattern for Tea Cozy and Tea Pot Appliqué I also remembered I had used my Pfaff embroidery machine many years ago to make a teapot with tea cup, but n...

April showers bring May flowers! So, you know we need an umbrella when it rains! The block for this month of showers is the Umbrella . You can see it in the center of my Stepping Out quilt below. I still haven't quilted my little Stepping Out quilt that I shared in March. Maybe it will happen sometime this month. Here it is again. Remember, once I pattern it this will be FREE to those of you who have purchased any of my Red Hat patterns via Etsy. I have your emails, so I know where to find you! Red Hat Stepping Out Quilt I've already shared the Red Hat , the Gloves (both right and left hands) and the Purse . You can see those blog posts by clicking the links. From there you can find the patterns at my Etsy shop. I love this umbrella . I created this in early 2006 when I designed some patterns for my local quilt shop in Atlanta. You can see my cut out patches as I have arranged them on the 10-1/2" background square. I auditioned threads for the machine appliqué u...

OK, I have to admit. I do NOT like the word rhombus. Yes, I was a high school math teacher at one time and I'm sure that word was in my lesson plans. But, hey, how to you use that word in your circle of friends? "Hey, Sally. I love your rhombus engagement ring!" Yeah, right. Well, you're probably thinking, "Sheesh. She sure does have a bee in her bonnet!" Not so. Diamonds are diamonds are rhombuses. They both mean the same thing, which is: " an  oblique-angled  equilateral  parallelogram"  which is what Dictionary.com says. Now, let me move on to some quilts with diamonds. That's why you've come anyway, right? First some DIAMONDS. Diamonds cut from 4-1/2" strips This is my Baby Blocks quilt using those diamonds. I call it "My Diamonds Have the Blues" (pretty original, don't you think?) My Diamonds Have the Blues (60" x 60") And a few smaller ones: Baby Blocks using 3-1/2" diamonds A...

I must like this pattern, as I've made this several times. I have a whole lot of blocks from teaching it a dozen times last year! Now to put them together. I have fixed the links to the pattern. Many thanks to those who alerted me! Here is my first one: Gretchen quilt in black and red prints Then I received a bundle of fabrics from Red Rooster and made this one: Gretchen Quilt in happy colors Then I made some sample blocks for my recent workshops. I used some of my precious shwe shwe cloth from my Africa days 40 years ago. Yikes! What took me so long to cut into these? Blue indigo prints from Africa make up four Gretchen Blocks  And I had just a handful of the reds: 4 Red Gretchen Blocks I love shot cottons mixed with Kaffe Fassett prints and I made these this morning (yes, I get up early). What do you think? First, realize that there are NO TEMPLATES. You are only working with two sizes of squares and a magical way with your rotary cutter! ...

Are you still with me? Today I share my 3rd class which I am teaching this summer at the MAQ retreat in Gettysburg, PA. I will have another English Paper Piecing class which concentrates on using diamonds with hexagons. Sunday, July 16: C16   English Paper Piecing with Hexagons and Diamonds Skill Level:  All skill levels. This is a hand sewing class. Description:  English Paper Piecing is a great take-along hand piecing project, perfect for making traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden (GFG) blocks – and more! Discover simple diamonds, which, when combined with the hexagons, offer exciting possibilities for altogether new blocks adding a creative dimension to your design options. My collection of samples is a treasure trove of inspiration, where you’ll see all sorts of ways to use your hexagons and diamonds in a variety of settings and projects. Techniques covered  English Paper Piecing, hand sewing, designing with hexagons and diamonds. Kit Requir...

Part Two of my MAQ class lineup in July. I shared on Monday what I'll be teaching on the first day of the quilting symposium: English Paper Piecing, Going Beyond the Hexagon . If you missed it, make sure you get over and see all the pictures ! My Saturday class (July 13) is The Traditional Pickle Dish . You may be asking: What is a Pickle Dish? And why would I want to make a quilt out of pickles?! It's not made out of pickles; the sharp points take their cue from an old fashioned cut glass pickle dish. Here's just one block. Yes, this is PAPER PIECING and curved piecing, not for beginners. Pickle Dish Block: 12" x 12" Here's my description: This is NOT a Double Wedding Ring but the vintage block that simulates a glass pickle dish with sharp points, which are possible using foundation paper piecing. The center melon shape and background curved unit are doable using my easy pinning method. The 4 blocks are set together for a square center. More blo...