Friendship connections

Fellow Quilters,

Do you have leisure activities other than quilting?  For me, quilting is all-consuming – I live, breathe and dream quilting (lol – sad but true!).  Hubby is an avid reader, and I used to read stacks of books when I was a kid.  I think university cured me of any reading habit, at least for many years – chemistry and economics textbooks are so boring!!!  Lately, though, I’ve been working through a pile of easy-read novels by Nora Roberts and her crime sleuth alter-ego J. D. Robb, that my friend loaned me.  I must admit that, once I start one, I can’t put it down until it’s finished.

I just read an older one from 2009 entitled Vision in White, about 4 joined-at-the-hip friends.  At the same time, I was also working on my design for the May Quilt Block Mania series.  This month’s theme is friendship, and the timing couldn’t have been better.  The novel clearly influenced by block design and got me thinking about friendships and how they are woven through the fabric of our life.  I’ve had the very good fortune to lecture and teach quilting in a variety of venues, from local and not-so-local guilds to national conferences and quilting cruises.  In all cases, I have met some of the nicest people on this planet and shared many memorable experiences, some of them involving jewelry (hello Betsey and Pam), or late-night wine (hello Michelle), and all of them involving quilting.  I wouldn’t trade them for the world, and they keep me coming back to these fabulous events/classes/cruises that take many hours of planning but are worth every minute.

In fact, next month I’ll be heading to Pigeon Forge TN for the annual Mountain Quiltfest conference June 5-8 to reconnect with the fabulous quilters from that area and to teach 4 classes including Panel Pizzazz, Rosebud Wreath, Starburst and Picture This. 

Rosebud Wreath 24″ wall quilt

I am looking forward to sharing lots of tips and tricks as I guide the students through these fun quilt projects.  You can find out more here.  This conference and show is a hidden gem, tucked into the Great Smoky Mountains.

I’ll also be joining World of Quilts on another Quilt Bee at Sea, this time in the southern Caribbean aboard Holland America’s Eurodam from February 14-24, 2024 – I’m so excited!  Coordinator Deb Roberts does a terrific job organizing these events, and many of the participants are past cruisers.  This time around I’ll be teaching a deep dive on borders and binding, as well as a fun flying geese sampler and a pretty project with some curved piecing.  You can find more details here.

But I digress – let’s get back to this month’s Quilt Block Mania. 

My block is called Hearts Entwined, and it perfectly represents the 4 friends in the Nora Roberts novel – their lives have become woven together into one cloth as their strong friendship developed.

My Hearts Entwined block for the May edition of Quilt Block Mania

  You can find the pattern for Hearts Entwined here.

There are 17 other designers participating this month and you can find the links to their free blocks through their blog posts here:

Friendship Heart Circle by Carolina Moore
Best Friends by Inquiring Quilter
Friendship Butterfly by Inflorescence
Mans Best Friend by Scrapdash
Circle of Friends by Sugar Sand Quilt Co.
Friendship Bracelets by QuiltFabrication
Hearts Entwined at Patti’s Patchwork
Friendship Chain at The (not so) Dramatic Life
Tea Cup by Penny Spool Quilts
Dog Paw by Crafty Staci
Scrappy Friendship Star by Katie Mae Quilts
My Best Friend’s House by The Quilted Diary
Striped Friendship Block by Kaye Collins
Circle of Friends by Applliques Quilts and More
Loving Friends by Epida Studio
Friends by Patchwork Breeze
Intersections by Brown Bird Designs
Pineapple by Emerald Falls Quilts
Friendship Bracelets by A Piece of Quiet Quilts

Looking for something new?  I have added several new patterns to my Patti’s Patchwork website, including Fanfare PC288, Picture This PC289, Rooftops PC292 (it uses fat ¼’s) and Good Vibrations Too PC295 (the lap & throw-size companion to my original Good Vibrations PC231).

I’m doing the final edits on 3 more, so watch for those in the next few weeks.

Quilt on and do what you love,

Patti