Fellow Quilters,

I had a delightful taste of Spring last week alongside my colleagues in the FIGO booth at QuiltCon 2023.  We escaped Toronto just before a snowstorm and enjoyed the “light jacket” weather in Atlanta GA as a reprieve from winter.  Even our booth was Spring-like, particularly the section featuring Heather Bailey’s gorgeous Local Honey collection.  Heather spent 2 days at the booth chatting with her fans.  It was a thrill for me to have the opportunity to meet the designer behind 2 of my favorite collections, True Kisses and Local Honey.

Designer Heather Bailey delighted QuiltCon attendees in meet-&-greet sessions

Speaking of Spring, the theme for this month’s Quilt Block Mania is flowers.  Who doesn’t love flowers?!?  I almost picked up a bunch while grocery shopping yesterday – they instantly brighten the day 😊.  While there is still snow on the ground, I know that the first flashes of color will come from the crocuses as they pop their cheery purple blossoms through the snow. Crocuses are among the very first flowers to bloom each spring.  Crocus flowers come in Easter-egg colors of purple, yellow, lavender, cream and white.  With that in mind, I designed a delightful block featuring this harbinger of Spring.

Crocuses block by Patti’s Patchwork

Here is my Crocuses block , made with 4 lovely lavender shades of Northcott’s Toscana.  You can find the pattern here.

To test my block, I used some handy scraps on my cutting table, left over from my Faster & Fabulous Bargello class on the Quilt Bee at Sea Hawaiian cruise last month (I still haven’t unpacked one suitcase!).  These scraps were from the peach/orange/red Dream Weaver ombre by Northcott and a few Patrick Lose Mixmaster blenders.  Once everything was cut, I was ready to press my ½-circle flower bases.

My Crocuses test pieces are cut and ready to go

I trimmed my plastic template used to cut the bases, removing the seam allowance, and starch-&-pressed the curved edge around the template – a nice crisp edge!

A spritz of sizing helps set the crisp smooth curved edge

Once the bases were stitched in place, the blooms went together quickly.

This version of Crocuses looks more like tulips

My test version of the Crocuses block looks like tulips, another Springtime favorite.  Choose your favorite palette and create your own bouquet.

You can also combine this block with one or more terrific blocks from the other participating designers this month – there are 26 blocks this month!  You can find the links here:

Chubby Daisy Quilt block by Carolina Moore
Violet by Inquiring Quilter
Dahlia by Inflorescence Designs
Poppy by Boberry Design Co
Summer Poppies
Coronation Bloomd
Rose of Sharon by QuiltFabrication
Irises by Paleofish Designs
Lavender by Palm Creations
Crocuses at Patti’s Patchwork
Tulip by Penny Spool Quilts
Improv Pansy at Lovingly, Lissa
Daisy by Appliques Quilts and More
Cone Flower
Summer Flower by Crafty Staci
Mother Nature’s Memos
Kaye Collins- Big Blossom
Flower Shop
Star Flower Quilt Block
FPP Flower at The (not so) Dramatic Life
Spring Tulip by Around the Bobbin
Pretty Pot
Happy Sunflowers by Blue Bear Quilts
Poppy by Sallys’ Sewing Circle
Reversible Flower Block | Happy Hippie Studio
Primrose Pinwheels by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Flower power

For an earlier Quilt Block Mania post, I designed another floral block – a rosebud wreath

Rosebud Wreath by Patti’s Patchwork

– and this block was the inspiration for one of my upcoming classes at A Mountain Quiltfest June 5-8 in Pigeon Forge TN.  I am teaching 4 different classes this year, and am joined by some other world-class teachers, including keynote speaker Jacqueline de Jonge of Be Colourful.  You can find the full list of classes and show details here.

Speaking of colorful, I am filming my learn-to-free-motion-quilt tutorials next week using my Color Play learn-to-quilt panel and want to address issues that quilters have while learning to quilt.  If you have tried f-m quilting and are still not comfortable with it, or haven’t tried it because you are afraid to take that first step, I’d love to hear from you.  Please post a comment below and let me know what’s holding you back, or which technique/design/skill in f-m quilting you’d like to learn.  I’ll tailor the videos to your requests.  As a thank you, everyone who comments by March 20 will get a chance to win this month’s giveaway – a cheery fat ¼ pack of X’s and Oh’s by Northcott.

This month’s draw prize for those who leave a comment about free-motion quilting questions

Good luck to you!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Aloha!  Greetings from the beautiful islands of Hawaii, where I am spending 18 glorious days at sea on the Quilt Bee at Sea cruise aboard Holland America’s Koningsdam. Together with roomie Michelle of Watergirl Quilts and 71 other quilters, we are having a quilt retreat like no other.  After 5 days at sea with 5 days of classes, we took in the sights of Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai today.

Kapaia Stitchery shop owner Jean with roomie Michelle and me

Our stops included The Kapaia Stitchery where we chatted with owner Jean and her friendly staff.  Of course, we couldn’t leave empty-handed – fabric souvenirs are the best!

Today’s “souvenirs” from Jean’s shop

I am having sew much fun connecting with the quilters during my classes.  In fact, connecting is the theme of this month’s Quilt Block Mania.  The design in my modern block may not appear to be a connection unless you are familiar with one of the first methods of connecting.

My “Hello” block for Quilt Block Mania

Yup, it’s Morse code for HELLO – how fun 😊.  You can find the pattern for Hello here.

And here’s a modern lap quilt using 4 different sizes of the Hello block.

A modern lap quilt using the Hello block

I’m not the only blogger in the Quilt Block Mania blog tour that used an alternate language.  One of the other blocks is braille – very cool.  And most of the blocks feature Valentine colors or theme so you can use several of the 27 blocks for a seasonal sampler quilt.  You can find the links to the other bloggers’ blocks at the following sites:

Heart and Star
Woven Heart by Inquiring Quilter
Puzzle Block by Inflorescnece
Connected Hearts by BoBerry Design Co.
Mardi Gras Geese
Chain Link by Sugar Sand Quilt Co.
Linked by QuiltFabrication
Irish Chain
DNA by Palm Creations
Hello at Patti’s Patchwork
Lover’s Knot at Lovingly, Lissa
Double Hearts by Appliques Quilts and More
Key to my Heart
Connections by Penny Spool Quilts
WiFi Signal by Crafty Staci
With Love By Sew Cute And Quirky
Text Me!
Braided Love by Kaye Collins
Celtic Tree of Life By Sallys’ Sewing Circle
Hearts Together Block by Sew Worthy Mama
Sunshine Village Church by Sarah Marcina
Braille Block
Left and Right Block at The (not so) Dramatic Life
Love Encircled by Jessica of Blue Sky Modern Craft
Celtic Hearts by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Half Friendship Star with Heart by Blue Bear Quilts

Speaking of connecting, if you’ll be in Atlanta GA for QuiltCon February 23-26, please stop by and say hi to me and the FIGO design and marketing team in the FIGO booth.  We’ll have some make & take items as well as some engaging games in which you could win some mag FIGO swag.  See you there!

Until next time,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Today is the first Tuesday of the month, prompting my monthly post in the Quilt Block Mania blog tour.  This post is going to be a bit different, however, as I take you on a journey and whet your creative appetite.  You see, the theme this month is Barn Quilts, a topic that is near and dear to me.  Let me explain…

I live in rural Ontario, in Simcoe County.  It is a farming community with livestock farms raising cattle, sheep and horses, as well as crop farms growing corn, soy, hay and canola.  In 2017 the county decided to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial by creating a barn quilt trail of 150 “quilts” and invited farm owners to participate.  These “quilts” are 8ft x 8ft, depicting a quilt block (traditional or custom-designed by/for the farm), painted on sheets of durable metal and typically hung on old barns.  With the generous support of local businesses and community groups there are now 154 barn quilts on the Simcoe County barn quilt trail.  On my commute into the office, I pass no less than 8 barn quilts celebrating the heritage of that farm or the history of the barn on which the quilt is hung.

The Star & Arrows block in Nottawa, ON

The barn quilt trail draws visitors to our county and certainly adds interest to my commute.  The coordinator of the trail recently spoke to my local quilt guild, sharing fascinating details of the process, so that guild members can better appreciate the trail and its significance.

At another meeting a barn quilt artist also shared her work with the guild – not only does she design and paint full-size quilts, but she also makes small replicas for consumers to display in and on their own homes.  These weatherproof blocks are a sure sign that a quilter or quilt-lover resides there.  Barn quilt trails are not unique to my area – they have sprung up across North America to highlight local barns and farms.  Our artist speaker is kept busy with several trails.

Wanda Milankov’s Barn Blocks book

After running a monthly program through local quilt shop Thimbles & Things, quilter/teacher/designer Wanda Milankov selected 34 blocks from the trail, patterned them and wrote a book with instructions for making the blocks and some quilt options using combinations of the blocks.  The Barn Quilts of Simcoe County book is available from area quilt shops.

But wait – there’s more!  As the Block-of-the-month coordinator for my guild, I drew inspiration from our trail to choose monthly blocks and encouraged guild members to interpret them.  The year-end results were stellar!  Here are some of the completed quilt tops.

Some members replicated the blocks, while others changed the color, scale or layout as desired.  What fun!

Back to this month’s Quilt Block Mania block.  I selected the Celtic Knot block featured on the barn of J & J Borland of Egbert, ON.  Here is a photo of the Borland barn.

J & J Borland’s barn with the Celtic Knot barn quilt

And here is my Celtic Knot block.

My Celtic Knot barn quilt block

You can download the pattern here.

Now, in my QBM posts I usually show you a quilt layout or two where I have used my block on its own.  This month however I encourage you to make a sampler quilt with a variety of blocks from the other QBM designers as well – simply choose your own combination of blocks to create your very own barn quilt sampler just as my fellow guild members did.  So many possibilities!  You can access links to the other QBM designers here:

Barn Star Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Barn by QuiltFabrication
Independence Block
Sunflower Barn Block by Sugar Sand Quilts
Prairie Winds Block by Martha Jane Creations
Amish Star Block at Fab Fabric Girl
Squash Blossom Block by Paleofish Designs
Celtic Knot at Patti’s Patchwork
Maple Leaves by Inquiring Quilter
Goose in the Pond by Tamarinis
Dutchman’s Puzzle Quilt Block at Bonjour Quilts
Corner Star Block
Star of Hope Barn Block by Quiltblox
Meadow Flower by Inflorescence
Bright Star by Blue Bear Quilts
Bear Paw Block by BoBerry Design Co.
June’s Pinwheel Block and Quilt by Sew Worthy Mama
Tudor Rose block by Flowerdog Designs
Lucky Clover Block by Patchwork Breeze

My simple “barn quilt” block made with Color Play pre-printed blocks

Here is one final idea for “barn quilt” blocks, since some of the QBM designers’ blocks show an actual barn.  I showcased the 5” printed blocks fabric from my new Color Play fabric collection in a barn block – super simple, colorful and fun!

Here is a quick 5-block runner idea that I designed in Electric Quilt.

A 5-block “barn quilt” runner

What about you?  Do you live on or near a barn quilt trail?  Have you seen one on your travels?  If so, where is it?  Let’s share the barn quilt trail love and another way to enjoy our quilting “journey”.

Last month I asked you to share your comments about camping.  Thanks to all who took the time to comment – I enjoyed reading them.  The winner of a packet of Northcott fabric is Glenda T – congratulations!

Happy Trails!

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Autumn is in the air in my region.  The leaves are turning colors and falling like leaves – haha!  Thankfully I got my window frames painted before the temperatures dropped.  It’s the perfect time of year for invigorating walks in the fresh air, crunching dried leaves underfoot and munching on crisp apples from the farm down the road.

The view from my back fence

Our house backs onto a horse farm and there are paddocks along our fence line.  There are horses in them most days, and we hear them neighing to each other regularly.  Sometimes they engage in playfulness, chasing each other, jumping around and rolling on the ground when their blankets make them itchy.  It is funny to watch them!

I used this as inspiration for this month’s Quilt Block Mania design.  The theme for October is “farm” so my block is a horse poking his head over the fence our out of his paddock.  I call it Horse Play.

My Horse Play block for Quilt Block Mania October edition

It’s a fairly easy block, and you can replace the pieced eyes with appliqued circles if you wish.  You can download the free pattern here.  Here is a small wall quilt with several horses of different colors poking their heads out of the stable.  Of course, the stable is red, just like the one at the farm behind my house.  I have used mostly Toscana fabrics, with some Patrick Lose Glam tossed in.

A stable of horses

You can check out the other farm-themed free blocks from the participating designers using these links:

Tulip Farm Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Rooster Sunrise by QuiltFabrication
Farmers Daughter Quilt Block
This Little Piggy by Sugar Sand Quilts
Duck Duck Goose
Horse Play at Patti’s Patchwork
How I Roll by Inquiring Quilter
Sunshine by Tamarinis
The Quilting Room
Windmill at Patchwork Breeze
Guinea Pig Quilt Block by Cristy Fincher
My Red Barn by Quiltblox
Summer Peach by Inflorescence
Red Beets by Blue Bear Quilts
Cow Block by BoBerry Design Co.
Scarecrow quilt block by Flowerdog Designs

What about you?  Do you live on a farm?  Or in farm country? Or are you a city slicker and have never been to a farm?    What’s your favorite farm story or memory?  One of today’s blocks is corn so here’s a fun farm fact:  every kernel in a cob of corn has a (piece of) silk.  Please leave a comment below sharing your story, memory or farm fact.  And thanks for stopping by if you’re on the Quilt Block Mania blog tour today.  If you like, you can subscribe by clicking on the button on the right.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

How is your summer going?  For many in my area, this is the first summer in 3 years that we are allowed to gather in groups larger than 5.  Hubs and I have 2 events this weekend that involve larger groups, however they are likely going to be outdoors where we can enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having.  Our summer is too short to be indoors.

Do you have a Summer To Do list?  In addition to working on my golf game, my list also includes repainting some window frames, designing some new quilt projects, and writing 4 patterns for Color Play, my new fabric collection for Northcott, shipping to stores in a few short weeks.

Color Play patterns available late Summer

I am super-excited about this collection because it is a “learn to free-motion quilt” collection, and I’ll also be working on some YouTube how-to-videos using the various motifs in the collection.  If learning to free-motion quilt (or practicing free-motion quilting) is on your bucket list, be sure to check out my YouTube channel and your local shop for the videos and fabric.

Color Play is a learn-to-machine-quilt fabric collection available in August

So today is another great round of blocks in the monthly Quilt Block Mania blog tour, and the theme this month is Jungle.  My first three block ideas – snakes, leaves, tropical flowers – were already taken by other designers.  You can find them in the links here:

Hippo Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Emerald Tree Boa from Inflorescence
Tiger at Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Snakes, Slugs and Snails at Scrapdash
Stacked jungle animals by Appliques Quilts and More
Palm Leaf by QuiltFabrication
Margaritaville by Inquiring Quilter
Chameleon Block by BoBerry Design Co.
Monkey Business at Patti’s Patckwork
Tropical Bloom
Jungle Vines
Toucan Quilt Block by Purple Daisies Quilting
Teal Gorilla by Blue Bear Quilts

So I brain-stormed with Hubs and came up with a fun block that makes me smile.  My Monkey Business block has a bit of applique along with piecing and includes a couple of partial seams.  No worries though – partial seams are not hard!  I have demonstrated partial seams in the last 2 blocks for the For the Brave/With Glowing Hearts Quilt-along event – you can watch the YouTube videos for Month 5 and Month 6 to see how I transform partial seams into “im-partial” seams – haha.  Download the Monkey Business pattern here.

My Monkey Business block for August ’22 Quilt Block Mania’s Jungle theme

It would make a terrific cushion for a young child and reminds me of the Curious George story books from when I was a kid.  Hands up if you read them too!

Speaking of Jungle-themed quilting stuff, I hear tell there are a handful of spots that have opened up on next February’s Hawaiian cruise with World of Quilts Travel.  Organizer Deb Roberts was able to secure additional sewing machines so there are a dozen extra spaces now available if you’d like to join us.  You can find the details here.

Until next time,

Patti