My Book - Sister Sampler Quilts

September 17, 2015

I've been sitting here staring at this blank screen and a book cover for 20 minutes. No... not just a book cover... The book cover. My book cover. There is so much to say, and yet, I'm speechless.

Today is finally the day when I can share with you what I've been up to behind the scenes for the past year. I wrote a book! I keep pinching myself, but it's not really helping. It's a lifetime dream to write a book, and until I can hold a copy in my hands, I don't think I will believe it's true.

I'll share more about the book with you later - from the title you can tell it centers around my love of samplers and BOMs. I worked with a great team at Fons & Porter Books (F&W Media) to bring you Sister Sampler Quilts, and it will arrive in December 2015.

For now, you can pre-order a copy on Amazon if you like.

Or if a signed copy piques your interest, pre-order that here.

I hope you like it!!!

Patchwork Auditions #7: Snowball

September 11, 2015

The Patchwork Auditions blocks are so much fun. Have you tried this little game I'm playing? Today I show you the final block in the series. The series looks at some classic blocks and exposes alternate colorings. My goal is to simply think about other ways to color a quilt block I have looked at hundreds of times. I've been making 3 of each block - 1 traditional coloring and 2 alternates. It's fun to see how different they look! Take a look at all the blocks I've explored here.

With each block, I've been providing a cutting list for the basic blocks in 12" and 16" finished blocks, but not a tutorial. Use the coloring sheet to generate your own ideas. I hope that you have been enjoying this series as much as I am. Soon, I'll show you how I plan to lay all these blocks out in a mega-quilt.
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Snowball (Traditional)
The snowball block is a stitch-n-flip favorite. The layout shown below actually shows 4 snowball blocks sewn together. This is a common layout throughout history. I found this basic block construction listed under many names - which is why I decided to break this block down to it's fundamental unit. The snowball. You can make an entire quilt just of individual snowballs, or group them together like I have in the block below.

Snowball Coloring Sheet Download the PDF here.

Block Structure

This block is constructed with (4) equal "snowballs". Each "snowball" consists of a center portion "A" that begins as a square. The "B" triangles are formed from squares that are stitched on the diagonal, and then pressed open (trimming the excess). See tutorial here.

Cutting List. I have listed cuts for both 12" and 16" blocks.

For 12" blocks.

Cut (4) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares. (A)
Cut (16) 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" squares. (B)

See Snowball Stitch-n-flip block tutorial here.

For 16" blocks.

Cut (4) 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" squares. (A)
Cut (16) 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares. (B)

See Snowball Stitch-n-flip block tutorial here.

Alternate Coloring Options
This is a fun and simple block to recolor. There are several ways to change it's look, and still the cutting stays pretty simple. These are just a few of the options I found.

G H I

My Sample Blocks

traditional Snowball(12" block)

letter E in the table above (16" block)

letter D in the table above (16" block)

Feel free to share any past or present Snowball blocks you've made with us to show how you colored it using #patchworkauditions #snowballblock. Enjoy!

Patchwork Auditions #6: Churn Dash

August 21, 2015

The Patchwork Auditions blocks are so much fun. Today I show you the sixth block in the series. I am not sure yet if there will be 7 or 8 blocks for this series. I know there will be at least one more (#7), but then I'll have to play with the arrangement to see if I want to add something else or repeat an earlier block variation. I'll be showing you my layout for these blocks soon.

The series looks at some classic blocks and exposes alternate colorings. My goal is to simply think about other ways to color a quilt block I have looked at hundreds of times. So far I've been making 3 of each block - 1 traditional coloring and 2 alternates. It's amazing how different they look! Soon, I'll put them together into a scrappy quilt. Find all the details here.

Join me on this laid back adventure if you like! Below you'll find a cutting list for the basic blocks in 12" and 16" finished blocks, but not a tutorial. Use the coloring sheet to generate your own ideas. I hope that you'll audition other color arrangements and play as I am. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Churn Dash (Traditional)
The Churn Dash block is a definite classic. This block combines the mainstay half-square triangle (HST) with a double rectangle block. The proportions of the block seem to change depending on the designer or the block dimensions, but fundamentally, it looks the same. The HSTs remain in the four corners with the length of the rectangles perhaps changing to suit what is needed. There are many ways to color this block. In fact, some of the other colorings have become known as completely separate blocks (like the Greek Cross - one of my favs). Pictured below is the most common way to make a Churn Dash.

Churn Dash Coloring Sheet Download the PDF here.

Block Structure

This block is constructed with (4) Half-Square Triangle units A/B. The "D" patches are equal rectangles in this example and the center square in the middle of the block is "C".

Cutting List. I have listed cuts for both 12" and 16" blocks.
Half Square Triangle Tutorial here.
Video HST Tutorial here.

For 12" blocks.

Cut (2) 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" squares. (A)
Cut (2) 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" squares. (B)
Cut (1) 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square. (C)
Cut (8) 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares. (D)

Note: square A/B HSTs up to 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" unfinished

For 16" blocks.

Cut (2) 6 1/4" x 6 1/4" squares. (A)
Cut (2) 6 1/4" x 6 1/4" squares. (B)
Cut (1) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square. (C)
Cut (8) 3" x 6 1/2" squares. (D)

Note: square A/B HSTs up to 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" unfinished

Alternate Coloring Options
I love recoloring this block. There are several ways to change it's look, and still the cutting list stays pretty simple. In this exercise, I simply am recoloring the block without changing it's basic construction. These are just a few of the options I found.