Quilts made of small pieces of fabric that are sewn together to make a quilt top. Can be made of scraps, coordinating colors, or a certain theme.
I want to pay tribute to a fantastic woman who recently died. We all need encouragers in our lives, and she was marvelous at being one. She was a wonderful woman in her own right, and I am so thankful she was part of my life. Her obit talks so much about her life, but they also leave so much out. I would like to take a few minutes to do a tribute to my mom-in-law—from myself as a quilter….
Here in central Indiana autumn has arrived. Temps have been much cooler in the last two weeks. Farmers are busy harvesting corn and soybeans. Leaves are turning from green into glorious autumn colors. Our first frost of the season is predicted for this week. And the wood stove has been going in the evenings. A great time for settling in and doing autumn quilting in rural Indiana. I have spent the last few evenings reading other quilt blogs, enjoying their…
Do you need a quick and easy project to decorate for fall? It could not get simpler than this Autumn Table Runner. Table runners are great projects for trying out a new pattern or technique. The size and small number of needed blocks makes them perfect for beginner quilters too. And it is a great way to try out color combinations, and machine vs. hand quilting. Autumn is my favorite season. I love the colors, the weather, and the activities…
If you have been reading this blog for the past ten months, you know that I was doing the mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter. The title is Rhododendron Trail. I ended up following My Own Rhododendron Trail, but the top is done. I love how it looks. Remember that now the pattern is for sale on Bonnie Hunter’s website. It is a copywrited pattern, and I am going to be diligent not to give away the part counts and/or measurements….
Sometimes a quilt top appeals to me and I just have to bring it home. This happened with this vintage Churn Dash quilt when I saw it at an antique store in Oaktown, IN in 2010. Even better, it fit my budget at $30. The blocks are 8″ square and are made of cheerful 30’s and 40’s prints. A solid orange sashing is between the blocks. Here is an easy pattern to make your own. I kept it where it…
Once upon a time, this quilter searched out and purchased all the reproduction William Morris fabric I could find. It was fascinating and I was hooked. And so the William Morris Revisited quilt was conceived and born. It was very difficult to find a pattern that showcased these beautiful fabrics. There was no way I was going to just stick these in any quilt. In August 2013, I was going thru the patterns again looking for the perfect pattern. Yes,…
My Fans Are Charmed was a really fun quilt to make and not nearly as scary as the first fan quilt that I made in 1988. I guess ten more years of quilting makes a big difference in how I approach a pattern. Each blade of the fans (there are 488 total) is from a different fabric. Maybe not a “true” charm quilt but I had fun sorting through the scrap bin and trading with other quilters to get the…
I love to English paper piece hexagons but not so much diamonds. This Tumbling Blocks (English paper pieced) was pieced using this method in 1990-91. It was an experiment, and I chose three colors to make the diamonds and a floral fabric that coordinated for the background. I found that the diamonds were harder to baste together than I thought they would be – maybe because of the sharp points of the diamonds. Plus, the more I worked on it,…
Life is busy. I am behind on my quilting projects, especially the mystery quilt I started back in November from Bonnie Hunter. But at least the mystery slowly progresses and has not stopped. My list of quilt projects does not need to include any new UFOs. I like to make mystery quilts because they are not my normal type of patterns and color combinations. Outside the box can be a good thing. Currently I am working on week 4 and…
I believe in giving back to my community. And veterans are some of my favorite people. Fabric was donated to me for making quilts for some local veterans. Bring together 5 quilters on a Saturday and guess what? It is possible to make 10 snuggly quilts for our local vets because veterans deserve quilts too. Making those lap quilts: The first five quilt tops are 8″ blocks. We quickly ran out of red, white, and blue. There was still other…
