Mikayla’s Grace is a wonderful charity in my area of Wisconsin that supports families with a baby in the NICU (neonatal ICU) and those who experience the death of a child or pregnancy loss at hospitals in the Dane County area.

Crafters from all over make beautiful handmade baby items that they sew, knit or crochet and send to Mikayla’s Grace — from gowns, hats, and booties, to baby blankets and quilts. Several times a year volunteers meet to assemble these donations into care packages and deliver them to local hospitals to distribute.

Melissa recently sent out an email ...

Triple Irish Chain is not the most interesting block I have ever played with, but sometimes I really like what I find … and the one above is one of them. Lots of chain, but room for quilting to shine.

The quilting designs would have to be based on four leaf clover!

Winter Solstice Quilt Pattern

Interesting. Not my colours, too much piecing, but I really like it!

Like this one more than the first.

Still like the middle one best.

Love it …very interesting too.

No favourite for me today! Love them both.

I have never seen a lot of Triple Irish Chain quilts, which is understandable, but I have enjoyed playing with the design.

The first design includes space for quilting to shine, which I always like, whatever block designs surround that space.

Not as much space for quilting in the second, but it is an interesting shape.

I have even wintered over a couple of container gardens that I put on display by my front door during the summer. They are full of Boston Ferns and Wandering Jew. I'm amazed the ...

I have even wintered over a couple of container gardens that I put on display by my front door during the summer. They are full of Boston Ferns and Wandering Jew. I'm amazed the ...

Basic piecing, interesting design.

More interesting than the first.

The final design for the day, and my favourite.

This is just a recolouring of the Irish 9P project file … the old colours were pretty dull!

Nothing like a bit of green to freshen things up.

Love the second design!

The blocks are simply Nine Patch, nine squares, usually four light and five dark,which form a Single Irish Chain with alternate plain blocks. However, I have placed the dark fabrics in different places in most blocks, and used more or less of the dark than the usual five squares. If you sort your scraps from light to dark, put those in the middle back into the scrap basket ...

Love the first design for today.

Love, love, love the second one!

Must be some Irish blood in my veins, though if that is the case I should have used shamrocks for the applique! And the quilting.

Love the last one too … or three!

I should have used green for Irish, but Tangled Irish Chain Blues had a better ring to it … and I was trying to make myself use blue in my designs.

This is one of many of my project files nearing it’s use by date … which means I will have to create some new virtual quilt projects. I am going to have lots of fun!

Interesting!

Amazing what can happen when you mix up Single Irish Chain, Double irish Chain and Triple Irish Chain blocks!

Can you see that the applique blocks have squares pieced into the corners?

I like the one above … and should try this idea with different appliques. I think I need another seven days in my weeks so there is time to play in EQ8 for more hours.

A Single Irish Chain block is pieced like a Chimneys and Cornerstones, a variation of the Log Cabin block, so it seemed logical to me to colour the Irish Chain blocks like a Cornerstones block … and mix in the other Irish Chain blocks.

Interesting effect with some of the blocks washed out!

I have just realized that I have only used Single and Triple Irish Chain blocks … need to find more time to play with these!

I also seem to have misplaced Irish Log Cabin designs in straight settings … setting out on a search party to find that project file.