"Retro inspired" - that's how Windham Fabrics describes Merry-Go-Round . What do you think? 23  Merry-Go-Round  fabrics One of the 23 lovely prints There is a large 108" backing that's got a Double Wedding Ring motif printed on it. Now, that's an easy way to get one of those quilts! My friend Julia R (one of my Calendar Girls and a quilt guild buddy) asked for a piece so she could teach her daughter how to hand quilt. I can't wait to see it! She'll be working with a 1 yard cut (36" x 44"). DWR cheater cloth Here's a simple DWR I made as a teaching sample several years ago using some 1930s reproduction prints. Many are Windham reproductions. I paper pieced the curved arches and then interfaced the edges to turn them under and appliquéd them to the cream background! The four corner half-square triangles gave me the straight edges! I have been sewing with the awesome 1930s reproduction prints for almost 20 years. This new collection is beg...

I hand pieced 24 of these Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks several years ago. Made with 3/4" hexagons. I had no clue what I was going to do with them. Then I saw a photo of fabric diamond backgrounds on another quilt. The light bulb went on! (My finished quilt is at the bottom of this page) Some of my 24 GFG units I measured and realized that I would need at least a 5-1/2" wide 60 degree diamond to fit these hexagon flowers. I can do that - I can cut one. And that's what I did. Wanna see? No templates! Now you know what to do with those diagonal lines on your acrylic rulers. I cut 5-1/2" strips of the white fabric. Then I trimmed the left side to a 60 degree angle. Now I can measure across every 5-1/2" and cut a diamond! The diamonds measure 5-1/2" from flat side to flat side in both directions. Cutting 60 degree diamonds This is what my little GFG blocks look like from the back before I take the papers out. The punched holes are so that I can get the...

The calendar block for today is the Churn Dash. It is a vintage block and is very commonly used in quilts. It is easy to piece and allows the fabrics to do their magic - and with a 12" block, you can see how beautiful these fabrics are. Diann C. is one of my Calendar Girls and she chose this block for her October use of this group of Windham Fabrics called Tempest ! Fat quarters of the Tempest Collection by Windham Fabrics Aren't they fantastic? I know Diann is having a fun time with these. And look how she staged her version of the Churn Dash block - who has a lavender colored pillow? Love this, Diann!! 12" Churn Dash block by Diann C. Lavender is one of my favorite colors and I'm smiling as I look at this and I hope you are, too. Do you have your own copy of my calendar yet? Or maybe you put it on your Christmas wish list? Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores See you tomor...

I get most of my inspiration from vintage quilts. The Comfort Block is a perfect example. It is the September 6 block in my 2007 Quilting Calendar. Here it is as made by Patricia Bryant of Australia. She wanted to stay close to the colors I used in the digital version. September 6: The Comfort Block September 6: The Comfort Block, 9" And it also appears in my newest Perpetual Quilter's Calendar for October 2. It is a nice, large 20"!! Let's see what you can do with this block. Here's my own Comfort Quilt made 20 years ago with a lovely floral collection. This was published in one of our magazines. The Comfort Quilt: 70" x 70" Here it is as a flat shot before I had it quilted. I chose to cut out large flowers from one of the prints and appliqué them to the two opposing corners. This uses 18" blocks. And one more made by my friend, Jean Ann Wright (who was my senior editor at Quilt Magazine for 14 years). She made this for my 2009 book, Supersize ...

Today is October 1 and my block today is the Pieced Ribbon block. As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My favorite Aunt Etta Mae died of that horrible disease in the early 1980s. So much has advanced in the treatment of it today and we celebrate all that good science, research and medicine. Pieced Ribbon: 14" First, let's see the Benartex fabrics I was working with. Gotta love those coffee cups and hearts and cupids. I think this is a Valentine's line called Hugs and Kisses, but pink is what I was looking for. Hugs and Kisses by Benartex The block is composed of squares, triangles and rectangles. Here is a photo of the two block halves. If you make this block for October, you can have it on hand for Valentine's Day 2026! Pieced Ribbon block halves Here is a digital quilt I designed for my 2016 Block a Day Calendar: Ribbons of Promise. Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes ...

This is a block for September 2 in my calendar. Susan B. sent it to me a few weeks ago, but it missed being posted on time. I wanted to make sure it made it in the September reveals! Golden Blooms by Susan B. - 12" Calendar is in stores everywhere. Check your local quilt shop first! Here is the fat quarter collection Susan chose to work with. It's called Moonlit by Windham Fabrics . Moonlit fabrics by Windham I have a few of these blenders myself. They are so fun with those little "v's" and crosses scattered around. Some more of the Moonlit fabrics Check out my calendar in quilt shops or these big retailers: on  Amazon at  C&T Publishing and in  Barnes & Noble  stores Are you ready for October? I am posting a lot of blocks for inspiration - and I have a few quilts that contain some October blocks. See you then!

I have a LOT of teaching samples. For 17 years I was teaching for the Sewing Expo (OSQE) and I needed to create 4-5 new workshops each year! Yes, you read that right. At one time, I had 40 of my workshop boxes in my garage and closet floor, stacked neatly with all sorts of samples. Some of my Chobani yogurt boxes of samples Circle of Stars was a variation of my larger Double Hexie Star . I used some small motifs from the awesome Paula Nadelstern Fabricadabra Collection. Circle of Stars (in center) Here's a single star of the six I made (no y-seams, of course). Fabricadabra Star I gave that center panel to my quilt guild and one of the members who works on the charity quilts made it larger with the inner borders and the dogtooth triangles. It's beautiful! Another large block that became a charity quilt is one of my samples from the Sassy Mariner's Compass workshop. I had many variations of this and it also appeared in my 3rd book. Here is my workshop sample: Sassy Mariner...