It's been a busy week in the sewing department! On Monday, I pin basted my nine patch quilt. I quilted it with my walking foot yesterday and I have binding picked out to cut and sew on today. This quilt will be done and ready for show and tell at our September guild meeting! I used a 28wt light grey thread for the quilting.
It is absolutely gorgeous weather here in Northern Virginia - sunny, breezy and temps in the 60s and low 70s. To celebrate this delightful day, here is a brand new quilt/pattern - layer cake friendly and on sale! It is 25% off till Sunday, June 7, 2026.
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| Thank you, Paul |
Arboretum is a layer cake friendly quilt that I made for the Norwegian Quilt Magazine, Quilteblad.
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| Arboretum on the Cover |
It is the fabrics, Garden Glory - an original collection by Claudia Pfeil for Island Batik, that enchanted me.
I love every fabric in this collection, no exceptions. So I designed a ...
read moreRainbow Sprouts is a multicolored, beginner-friendly, scrapbuster quilt pattern that was first published in Make Modern Magazine's Issue #68.
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| Rainbow Sprouts |
Rainbow Sprouts is now available as a standalone pattern in my Etsy Shop.
Made with Island Batik's Basics, Rainbow Sprouts is the answer to the question - Why do leaves have to be (mostly) green?
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| Yellow, Orange & Red |
Each leaf has a dark and a light fabric and the number of those combinations is only limited by your imagination.
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| Teal and Green too |
Finishing at 61" by 84", Rainbow Sprouts uses 16 fabrics (8 light and 8 dark ...
read moreWelcome to Polite Society.
Polite Society
Designed in EQ8 and made with the Island Batik collection, Essence, Polite Society is a precut-friendly design published in Precut Quilts Made Easy (A Quilter's World publication).
This is a beautiful collection. Look for it in your local quilt shop. For background, I used the Island Batik Neutral Egg White. The binding is another neutral named Glaze.
Published
I quilted using a variegated thread and my trusted walking foot. You guessed it - my favorite squiggly stitch :-)
Beginner Friendly Quilt Pattern
Polite Society is a super easy, beginner-friendly, jelly roll pattern that you can ...
read moreMeet Aidan!
Green Stars
I made a baby quilt (don't know the baby's name)
Starting here
I have not met the mother (unless you count meeting on Teams)
Design Wall
So when Lina (not her real name) mentioned that she was going on maternity leave, I asked her if there was color/theme to the nursery.
Striped Binding
Green and Dinosaurs, Lina replied. And THAT was enough :-D
Dinosaur Centers
I found loads of cute green fabrics in my stash. I love that gnome fabric, which I got from the last Quiltcon.
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| Many cute fabrics |
Christine and I spent last weekend at Camp Kintail at the crafter's retreat. Others were making paper crafts, scrapbooks, knitting and painting. Four participants were quilting. It's always fun to see what everyone is making. The food and snacks were plentiful and tasty too.
My first project was an open wide zipper pouch that I had started at home. This one may just stay here for me to use. This project was a good place to use the large scale print that I loved but would not be good to cut up into smaller pieces
In May of last year, Mary Helen reached out to me with a request for a T-Shirt Quilt. I said Yes, but it would have to wait till the end of the year.
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| On the banks of the Potomac |
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| Stabilizing T-shirts |
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| Layering ... |
Welcome to Day 3 of the Starry Seas BlogHop.
Here is my response!
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| Dawn to Dusk |
When Jennifer of Inquiring Quilter asked me to join the Starry Seas BlogHop, I did not respond at once. I needed to see the fabric collection first.
Hmmm, what does that inspire? Let's take another look.
It reminded me of my commute. My new job requires me to leave home before dawn and return after dusk, meaning that I experience sunrise and sunset (especially during these winter months), through the sometimes murky train windows. It is both sad and beautiful.
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| Dawn |
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| Dusk |
Meet Sulaxi.
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| Thank you, Paul! |
Sulaxi is my response to the Island Batik Timeless Traditions Challenge and Blog Hop. This challenge requires us to make a Lap (or larger) Quilt using the assigned Summer 2025 collection with the following stipulation.
Use any or all of the following classic, traditional blocks! Use a minimum of 5 different blocks in your quilt in any combination and size of the blocks.
Meet Milo.
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| Milo |
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| Milo on the Cover! |
I designed Milo in EQ8 and used the Island Batik fabric collection Essence and the neutral Egg White.
Milo was completed earlier this year. Pictures were taken in January. See the icy backdrop.
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| Icy River, Hot Model :-) |
I used Hobbs Thermore Batting. The backing is Dark Grey Solid. The binding is Egg White Neutral. I used walking ...
read moreStella made the cover!
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| Published! |
Stella is not only published in the We Like Quilting digital/online magazine's September 2025 issue, she made the cover! I am thrilled.
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| Stella |
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| Egg White Background |
Island Batik's April Challenge requires us to make a lap-sized (or larger) quilt using the timeless Drunkard's Path Quilt Block, making sure that the technique used is curved piecing and not applique.
Naturally, many ideas were considered and discarded. I am saving them to a very long list of possible future quilts.
In the end, I chose the quilt block - Moon Over the Mountain. I have been fascinated by this quilt block for a long time. I looked for tutorials and found few but none of them appealed to me.
It was time to design it myself.
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| Thank ... |
Welcome to my stop on the Sunlit Garden Blog Hop.
I was thrilled when Jennifer Thomas of Curlicue Creations asked whether I would like to join the Sunlit Garden BlogHop. Of course, I said YES!
Here is my quilt, named Miracle Fish!
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| Miracle Fish, 60" by 60" |
The red and green together is evocative of Christmas, but this collection has vibes of Spring with floral reds and leafy greens. Christmas made me think of Christ and Christ made me think of Fish.
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| EQ8 Mock-Up |
Three days and two nights of quilting! I always bring more with me than I can possibly do while I am at a retreat but I like to have options in case I feel like changing projects. However, by the time I left today, I only had one project that I did not touch. Much was accomplished! I started out slowly with a warm up projects. I am making nine patch blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year. March's colour is yellow. They are a bit brighter than they appear in this picture. The lighting in the ...
read moreIsland Batik's February Challenge and BlogHop requires the ambassadors to use their assigned Fall 2024 collection (I got Radiant Burst) and the Studio 180 Design Tool (I got Wing Clipper) to make a Table Runner or a Bed Runner.
Sounds simple? Yes. But wait there is more.
1. We must make at least 12 units.
2. Use as many fabrics (from the 20 in the collection) as possible.
NOW, we have a challenge :-)
Well, here is my response.
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| Glowing Front |
And I used leftover blocks from Mirabelle to make the backing, so it is two-sided.
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| Moody Back |
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| Double-Sided Runner ... |
Do you remember Lula May?
The scraps leftover from Lula May became Signal Sam.
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| Signal Sam |
Signal Sam is my response to the December Challenge which states "December brings another month to embark on your own project, regardless of its size, theme, or technique! Seize this chance to unleash your creativity without constraints. Enjoy the process!"
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| Leftover Strip from Lula May |
There is something very satisfying about taking the scraps from a completed quilt and making a brand new one. I definitely enjoyed the process.
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| Bold and Beautiful |
Signal Sam uses the Island Batik collection Celebrate, designed by Kathy Engle ...
read moreAbove average temperatures for several weeks and then suddenly it was cold and windy. I guess it is an indication to stay indoors and sew :-D
Should you need a new pattern, Fireworks is now available in my Etsy Shop as a standalone pattern. You can get it at a discount of 25% for one week.
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| Fireworks |
Fireworks is a simple pattern that requires no special rulers/templates and is NOT paper-pieced, making it suitable for all skill levels.
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| Brightness |
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| Walking Foot Quilting |
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| Thank you, Paul |
I used Island Batik ...
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