100 Blocks Vol. 16 Blog Tour

It is time again for another Quiltmaker 100 Block blog tour - Volume 16 is available in stores now and I am pleased to announce my Heart Chain block is included in the issue!

Quiltmaker has put together a Road Rally tour highlighting a number of block designers.  Check them all out on their Quilty Pleasures blog.  They are hosting a fun souvenir hunt with some great prizes!

Here is the block I designed.  It is called both Heart Chain (and Heart Beats) within the issue.  

Can you tell I designed it way back in February?

Making my sample block required me to make my own road rally...

First stop was the mailbox and finding the instructions for block #1559.

There were lots of pieces to cut...

I used Robert Kaufman's Quilter's Linen in 4 colors.

A few half square triangles to mark...I love my Hera marker for that task.

Making these tiny hearts required lots of trips between my sewing machine and my ironing board.

But they are so adorable they are worth every step!

 I soon had a finished block! 

I wanted to turn it into a mini so I decided to frame it with some 2.5" strips.

...but it's travels were not over.  Down the hallway and into my quilting studio it went.

Yep...I loaded my little 16" mini onto my big 12 foot longarm frame.  It looked pretty ridiculous.

But when you are used to using a certain tool, you overlook the silliness of it!

Now my Heart Chain mini is ready for it's next road trip.  I will be sending it off along with a copy of the magazine to one lucky reader.  (US only please).  All you need to do is leave me a comment on my blog telling me which state you are from and what state you would love to travel to.  I will randomly draw a winner Monday the 20th after 9 am PST.

(Please be sure I can reach you if you win.  There have been lots of "no-reply" commenters lately.  Leave your email address if you are not sure.  If I can't contact you, you can't win!)

The blog tour is going on all week over at Quilty Pleasures and you have until Sunday midnight to enter the grand prize giveaway.  So head over to Quiltmaker's blog and check it out!

If you want to order yourself a copy of the magazine - you can do so here! 

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Converge Block in Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Magazine

I am so happy to announce another of my block designs is published in the newest issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!  Volume 15 will be on sale tomorrow May 2nd and you can find instructions for my Converge block on page 37.

Here is a photo of my original block.  For fabrics I used Quilter's Linen for the solids and Widescreen by Carolyn Friedlander for the background (all by Robert Kaufman).

This is a block design I had drawn up using EQ7.

Using this program allows me to see how the block will look in a finished quilt (without having to actually sew one up).  This layout is 48" square.

Quiltmaker always sends a fun gift when they send out the magazines to the block designers.  This time it is a fun apron with all 100 blocks printed on it!

Quiltmaker is hosting a Blog Tour May 1-5.  Be sure and check out some of the great blocks and designers that can be found in this newest issue.  I am sure there will be issues of the new magazine being given away so don't miss out!

A big thanks to Quiltmaker for publishing another of my block designs!

Don't forget to pick up your own copy starting May 2nd.

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My Last Finish for 2016

Here it is, the last finish for 2016!

This little quilt was made using the Runway block I designed for Quiltmaker's 100 blocks last fall.  I sewed up four of the blocks to show how they look put together and made a wall hanging.  The block is paper pieced and you can read more about it here.

 The piece measures about 30" square.  I plan on hanging it in my sewing room with some of my other minis and wallhangings.  I might just have to make a bigger quilt from this block one of these days - I really like the design.

 I even got a little fancy with the quilting!

I wasn't sure I was going to find time to get this one quilted up, but I realized that this could be the first time in MANY years that I started a new year WITHOUT a stack of quilt tops of my own to quilt up.

Yep...at this point every quilt top I have finished is quilted and bound!

Woo Hoo!!!

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Runway Block - Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol. 14 Blog Hop

Oh Happy Day!  It is time again for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Hop.  And I am pleased to announce that not only do I have a block in this issue but my block is even on the cover!

Today is my day on the Blog Hop along with many other great designers.  The hop has been going on all week so if you haven't checked out all the other designs, grab a cuppa and get ready to be inspired!

My Runway block is #1318 and you can see it on top there on the left margin.

My block is foundation pieced - so you do need to find the pattern pieces in the center part of the issue. You need two copies of each component.

I made my block from two colorways - aqua and orange.  Yum!  I used Karen Lewis' Blueberry Park for the prints and Kona Navy and Ash for the solids.

And here it is all sewn up!

Are you curious how some blocks look together?  I made up four blocks and put them up on my design wall for you.  Here I laid out the blocks to create aqua and orange focus squares.

But you can also lay the blocks out so the colors of the geese are grouped together.

I love how the geese come together in the intersections.

I decided to sew up a small quilt with the aqua all in the center and finish it off with some fun pieced borders using up some of the leftover scraps.
I think this will make a fun mini for my sewing room wall!

I hope you have been enjoying the rest of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour.  There have been some really great blocks being shared by some amazing designers.

***This giveaway is closed and the winner has been notified. Thanks to all who entered***



One of my readers has the opportunity to win a copy of this volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner sometime Monday November 21st.  International entries are welcome!

For even more giveaways and other opportunities to win a copy of the magazine, be sure and check out the Quilty Pleasures Blog. You can find links to all the other designers participating in the hop.  Good Luck!


Thank you Quiltmaker!

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Posies All Around - Quiltmaker 100 Blocks vol. 13 Blog Hop

Bring on the margaritas - I have some great news!  I am so pleased to announce I have a block published in volume 13 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  Today is my day on the Blog Hop along with many other great designers.  In fact, the hop has been going on all week!

If this is your first visit here, I hope you take some time to look around.

My block is #1258 and is called Posies All Around.  The inspiration for this block came about when I was working on my Scrap-A-Palooza sampler.  I was putting together various blocks that formed an X shape.  I used a similar block for the center of my quilt but I knew I could improve the scale, design fewer parts and create stems for my flower buds.

When I was sewing the test block, I knew I wanted some bright colors so I pulled some Bike Path prints.  It was the middle of winter and I wanted a garden of color.  Once I picked my fabrics,  I had to decide whether to use a single color or put multiple colors in one block.

 For the magazine, I decided to send off one block in a single color.

Once I discovered they were publishing my block, I decided to go back and make another block using 4 different colors.

The magic of this block definitely happens when you put them into a project.

 So I turned these two blocks into a couple of couch pillows.  I just added a small sashing of the background fabric around the block then finished it off with a pieced border.
I love these new summertime pillows!

And I just couldn't help myself - I reduced my block to 6" and included it in my Splendid Sampler - after all, I am sure it was an innocent oversight that I wasn't asked to be one of the block designers. (Ha!)

I hope you have been enjoying the rest of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour.  There have been some really great blocks being shared by some amazing designers.

One of my readers has the opportunity to win a copy of this volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.  Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner Sunday May 8th.

******This giveaway is closed. The winner is Jo and has been notified by email. Thanks for all the wonderful comments!*****

For even more giveaways and other opportunities to win a copy of the magazine, be sure and check out the Quilty Pleasures Blog. You can find links to all the other designers participating in the hop.  Good Luck!


Thank you Quiltmaker!

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