March 2022

Archive | March, 2022

Spring Migration

Fellow Quilters,

Me and my gal pals at the ski hill

Last Friday I got together with my gal pals for a fabulous day of skiing, skating and snowshoeing. It is still very much winter where I live, with enough snow on the ground to (hopefully) snowboard for another 5 weeks. We’ve had 3 days of 6-10” of fresh powder in the last 15, with more snow coming this week. Despite that, I can see that Spring is just around the corner – the days are longer and sunnier. What’s more, the birds are chirping in the trees as I ride up the chair lift. What an uplifting sound! I’ve even spotted some robins in the bush on our hikes up the hill – nothing says Spring like the sight of a robin.

Speaking of birds, that’s the theme for this month’s Quilt Block Mania, in a rainbow of bright “toucan” colors. Like several other blogger participants, I immediately thought of flying geese, probably the most well-known bird block in quilting. I chose the graphite color for the background since birds start their morning song while it’s still dark. I combined large as small flying geese since Springtime brings a new batch of young’uns. And I arranged them in rows, depicting the annual Spring migration. Here is my Migration block.

My Migration block for QBM March ’22

The block looks quite ordinary on its own but look what happens when you combine lots of them in a quilt – fun!

Combine 16 Migration blocks for a cool lap quilt

You can download the free pattern here. And you can find the links to the other 15 designer’s blocks here:

Birds on a Wire by Carolina Moore
Signs of Spring by Inquiring Quilter
Cute Bird by Powered By Quilting
Flamboyance by Becca Fenstermaker
Migration by Patti’s Patchwork
Peacock Quilt Block by Appliques Quilts and More
Blue Bird by by Mom and Me Quilting Co.
Chubby Chicken Block by Kaye Collins
Hummingbird Quilt Block by Julia of Inflorescence
Flying in Formation by QuiltFabrication
Birds Circling by Nancy Myers
Lorikeets by Sue Griffiths
Fly Away Home by Scrapdash
Puffin Head by Penny Spool Quilts
Birds in the Air by Perkins Dry Goods
There is always one
Budgie on a Branch by Blue Bear Quilts

Last Fall while in Dolphin World in Dominican Republic Hubby snapped this photo of me feeding some colorful parakeets – their claws are sharp on the scalp!

Feeding parakeets in Dominican Republic

Speaking of fun, it’s also the first month of the

Two special Quilt-alongs supporting Quilts of Valor

For the Brave Quilt-along and With Glowing Hearts Quilt-along – it’s not too late to sign up! I’ve partnered with Northcott for this fabulous event that runs monthly until December, is free to join and has some terrific prizes. In my dedicated QAL newsletter I’ll be sharing extra tips to help you piece each of the unique pieced blocks and easily assemble this stunning quilt. Find all the details here, sign up for the For the Brave QAL newsletter here or the With Glowing Hearts QAL newsletter here. Wont’ you join me for this special QAL event?

Also check out last week’s post here to see lots of other fun creative things that I’ve been working on lately. You just might find a new favorite!

Cheers,

Patti

Tags: patti carey, Quilt Block Mania

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Uncategorized
Author Patti

Out from Behind the Scenes

3 Mar

Fellow Quilters,

Happy March! Typically, my first-of-the-month blog post is for my participation in the fun Quilt Block Mania event, however it has been postponed for a week due to scheduling issues. So instead, I’ll chat about some other stuff going on at Patti’s Patchwork that has been tucked behind the scenes for a while.

Back in July 2021 I answered the call for submissions for Quiltmakers magazine and my design was accepted for the March/April issue, on newsstands now or available online here.

I’m featured in Quiltmaker March/April ’22

My unique design features hexagonal log cabin blocks in a lap quilt made with FIGO’s stunning Honey Blooms collection. I used my Electric Quilt program to design the quilt and create the diagrams. I had to delve into EQ a little deeper than usual to figure out how to draw this block as I envisioned piecing it. What a sense of accomplishment when I succeeded! I am always learning something new with this quilt design software program and also always impressed that it has the capability to make my visions a reality.

Honey I’m Home made with FIGO’s Honey Bloom collection

I just love how this quilt turned out! Because it features log cabins that look like honeycomb, made with Honey Blooms fabrics, I called it Honey I’m Home – haha.

Last Fall I mentioned my upcoming Color Play fabric collection for Northcott and showed a couple of sneak peek images. The collection (which I designed with the help of EQ) is a learn-to-free-motion-machine-quilt tool that also doubles as a fabulous colorful collection for easier-than-it-looks dynamic quilts. Here’s the collection.

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

Quilt shops can purchase it now for August shipping, so please head into your local shop and ask them to order it. I designed 3 patterns for it, including a learn-to-quilt sampler that has 3 design options using the pre-printed blocks – no block piecing required! Simply cut squares of the block fabric and quilt ‘til you wilt 😊.

Color Play patterns available late Summer

The patterns will be available late Summer. I’ll be doing a series of how-to tutorials on YouTube using these blocks (did you know that I have a YouTube channel?), and probably be doing a quilt-along with them later in the Fall. Stay tuned for further details.

Speaking of quilt-alongs, the For the Brave QAL and With Glowing Hearts QAL launched yesterday – woop, woop! I’ve partnered with Northcott for this monthly event that runs until December.

Two special Quilt-alongs supporting Quilts of Valor

The how-to videos will be on my YouTube channel and the special QAL monthly newsletter contains extra tips and details for better piecing (sign up for the newsletter here). Northcott has rounded up some really terrific monthly prizes for those participants who post pics of their blocks on Instagram with #ForTheBrave2022 or #WithGlowingHearts2022. You can find the detail on Northcott’s website on the Resources tab.

And if that’s not enough, I have 3 new patterns!

PC282 Woodlot pattern includes king-size

PC282 Woodlot is the updated version of Woodland/Oh Christmas Tree and now includes 4 sizes from wall to king. It uses packs of 2½” strips. You can find it here.

PC283 Stone Strip Sampler also uses a strip pack and is a great pattern for a block-of-the-month or quilt-along program.

PC283 Stone Strip Sampler also uses a strip pack

There are 10 months of blocks, and the pattern includes 3 quilt size options to make with your finished blocks. You can find it here.

PC281 Misted Pines is an updated version of my iconic Winter Solstice, this time featuring the Stonehenge Gradations textures in 3 quilt size options including king-size.

PC281 Misted Pines in taupe, Robins egg/Blue planet and Mystic colorways

I am in love with the Mystic colorway! And I am thrilled with the Robins egg/Blue planet colorway too – it reminds me of the Great Smoky Mountains and Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge TN where I’ll be teaching in June. You can find the pattern here.

So, I have an extra copy of the magazine containing Honey I’m Home to give away, courtesy of Quiltmaker. For a chance to win it, please leave a comment below by midnight March 10 telling me which of the 3 Misty Pines colorways is your favorite.

Chat soon,

Patti

Tags: Misted Pines