I created a series of what I called Cookie Cutter blocks and a Christmas Tree was one of them. These are simple appliqué shapes that are stitched raw edge. This quilt also appeared in that infamous "Debby Kratovil Issue!" This was the second of 11 different shapes in this series. And it was a very fun workshop that lasted several years. Note both the quilt on the wall AND the small table topper. Cookie Cutter Christmas Trees Take a peek at some of my process photos in last year's blog post . Here are a few of the quilt samples from my early workshops. Unfortunately, these were part of that suitcase (with 30 quilts!) that was stolen in 2005 on one of my teaching tours. BIG OUCH! Trees in Blue and Yello w (2 pages included in my Etsy pattern for this!) And one where I took the cutaways and placed them on a table topper. Yes, these were from that first red and green quilt and the yellow and green quilt in the next photo. Tree cutaways scattered on a batik background square ...

Another day, another fun quilt from long ago magazines. This was my Palm Block Pillow made with some batiks from Bali Fabrics. We had great relationships with many fabric companies. They sent us their latest collections and we created projects to feature on our pages. They took out ads and that paid our bills! 6" Palm Blocks in a pillow Then I made a larger block using a 10" size. This was a popular workshop in 2007.  Palm block on point in a flanged pillow I sewed several and set them into this quilt. Didn't think you could put 7 blocks together like this, did you? I resurrected it for making a larger quilt and it's a workshop for the upcoming Raleigh Sewing Expo using the 10" size. But I do have it in the 7" block size in my Etsy shop . I was using fat quarters of these shot cottons to make these Palm Blocks. I used a few Kaffe Fassett printsLots of color! 8 Block Palm Quilt : 33" x 43" I don't sell the pattern in the 10" size. You'd...

Today's quilters are just not that excited to work with funky templates. I think the reason why my senior editor named me her Special Projects Editor was because she discovered early on that I love shortcuts and easy ways to otherwise difficult traditional quilts. The Gretchen is a case in point. Here is a page from the Kansas City Star, 1932. What do you think of those templates? Yikes, right!? Inside that "Debby Kratovil Issue" was my updated version of the Gretchen Quilt . I used a black and red and white collection by Blank Fabrics. The Gretchen Quilt (61" x 70") I was able to create some little tricks with a rotary cutter and the blocks go together so quickly with just simple squares and triangles. This has always been a popular workshop and I actually taught it to a guild via Zoom a few months ago. And it worked! Here are a few other versions (ie, different colors). This one was made with a fabric collection by Red Rooster. It was published the next year ...

Here we are on Day Five of the Magazine Cover Quilts and I have two that feature stars. The first is Blast Off! that let the fabric of planets do a lot of the heavy lifting. I just needed to stitch some blocks that looked like rockets (ok. maybe only a little). This is an updated version of Job's Tears that I converted to paper piecing. Blast Off! is the featured quilt on the cover of Quilt Magazine, Spring 2006 And here is the stylized shot as seen inside. I gave this quilt to a young boy almost 15 years ago. He's on his way to college now! Blast Off! 33" x 33". Block Size: 8" You may remember this next quilt as I featured it in a Block of the Month in 2015. It's my Galaxy of Star s. Quilt Magazine #73 (January 2007) Stay tuned for more on this issue. The senior editors joked that this was the "Debby Kratovil Issue" as it contained SEVEN of my quilts and a pattern feature for 4 FREE blocks. Never before and never since have I had so many in one iss...

Day Four: Royal Star has been shown here before. I was sent a bundle of Fossil Ferns from Benartex in early 2000 and I redrafted a vintage block (called Royal Star!) for paper piecing. I combined the Fossil Ferns with solid black and came up with this wildly popular quilt. I never would have dreamed it, but it is still a favorite. This is Big Block Quilts 2001. Big Block Quilts 2001 featuring Royal Star You can find the pattern for this in my Etsy shop for only $4.99! I converted the vintage pattern from templates to easy rotary cut center 9 patches and paper pieced star points. Here is a real vintage remnant from a Royal Star quilt. A little variation on those points, but the center 9 Patch is there. Can you imagine ALL those templates! It also became the cover quilt on my first book: Bold, Black and Beautiful Quilts. I still own the quilt and probably won't ever give it away. The Fossil Ferns just glow on this black background! Here is another quilt that wanted to share the cove...

Another day, another quilt or two on a magazine cover. Here is my Noah's Ark quilt which began as a round robin with other quilts on America Online (probably 1997). I made the center ark. Then someone added the animals and Noah and then the subsequent borders. I recently donated it to the Childen's Nursery at my church. It hangs for all the children to see! Noah's Ark quilt Here is the center: I made Noah's ark and the sky, clouds and background. Here's the magazine cover of Big Block Quilts Issue #58. Noah's Ark quilt on the cover of Big Block Quilts #58 Here's one more cover with 2 quilts. The Sunbonnet Sue quilt was somewhat monotonous but it was always a popular one to feature. You can see my Sunbonnet Sue single block mini-quilt in my Etsy shop. She is very similar to this one. And my 9 Block Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt is fun, too! Quilt Almanac 2005 The Hearts on Fire quilt at the bottom right was first featured in this magazine. It was the ...

Quilt magazines are no longer the main way we quilters get our inspiration and instruction. But when I began writing and designing for Quilt Magazine in 1993, they really were the top dog! I loved all my quilting magazines. Do you remember Quilter's Newsletter? Big Sigh, right? We continued to ADD titles through the first 10 years. This is the premier issue of Appliqué Quilts (2000) and that's my quilt as the large center (Garden Flowers) and also the little Dutch Hearts Sampler at the top left. All by machine, of course! On the cover of the premier issue of Appliqué Quilts (twice) That single large pot of flowers on the yellow background was an extra block that I had cut incorrectly. There's a seam in the yellow square, but it didn't keep it from being on the cover! I added dogtooth borders and then my curved picture frame outer border took it to a nice size. All machine work, btw! Then here's another from 1997. Quilt Almanac, which we produced once a year. I have ...