Fellow Quilters,

Yet another busy year is flying by.  Here we are in July already and I haven’t yet had my annual trek to the local garden center for herbs and a splash of “annual” color for my flower beds.  I’m hoping to get there next week – fingers crossed that they still have some basil in stock.

What has kept me from my gardening, you ask?  Travelling!  With Hubby to far-away places, to quilt shows, and to guilds and shops for trunk shows and teaching.

Puffin Island in Reykjavik Iceland

Hubby and I recently travelled to Iceland (which is green and lovely, and has lots of puffins 😊),

Very cold (it was -20C with the windchill on May 25th) Qaqortoq Greenland

Greenland (which is NOT green – not a tree in sight, and lots of icebergs) and Newfoundland (delightfully charming – Canada’s easternmost province, with the occasional iceberg).

Lots of icebergs sailing away from Greenland

While strolling along the main drag in St. John’s NL, I stumbled upon a most fabulous quilt shop – East Coast Quilt Co. – and of course had to have a photo with the giant patchwork whale.

East Coast Quilt Co’s patchwork whale

I presented a trunk show and Borders workshop to the Kemptville Quilt Guild in eastern Ontario, then the Common Threads Quilt Guild in Ottawa before teaching 2 days of classes at Watergirl Quilt Co. and greeting the Quilt Tours International bus tour on their Quilt Canada/Quebec City tour.

The happy students in my Garden Blooms workshop at Watergirl Quilt Co

Speaking of Quilt Canada, I was there too – were you?!?  I helped hang the quilts, volunteered in the Youth Challenge area, took 2 inspiring wool applique/embellishment classes from Sharon Fisher, went to the dinner trunk show event (excellent!), did a 1-hour demonstration in Northcott’s booth to an enthusiastic crowd of quilters, then shopped till my wallet was empty.

My haul from the tempting merchant mall

Anna Maria Parry and I with my Garden Blooms quilt made with her fabrics

It was a busy show, with gorgeous quilts, many enticing booths and so many familiar faces!  Thanks to everyone who stopped to say hi.  Reconnecting with fellow quilters is one of my favorite things about quilt shows.  It fills my creative soul!

I’ve also been hard at work finishing up a plethora of new patterns.  PC322 Twinkle features The Christmas Mouse flannel collection and showcases the darling 7” squares and border stripe.

PC333 Making Tracks features the stunning Tundra Crossing collection.  The bear paw borders challenged my design/pattern drafting skills (I love a good challenge) and you get the benefit of not having to do the math for this intriguing quilt.  It would be equally suitable for any bear panel.

Anna Maria Textiles’ first batch of collections is starting to ship to stores, along with 3 of my patterns featuring these delicious fabrics.  PC330 Garden Blooms is a fat ¼ friendly pattern with fun 3-dimensional centers in the flower blocks. I taught this pattern as a class at Watergirl Quilt Co last month, and the students nailed those centers!

I fell in love with the printed diamond fabric from the Shooting Star collection and showcased it in PC331 Diamond Daze. This vertical strip quilt is surprisingly quick to piece.  Any large-scale fabric could be substituted for the diamond print.

Stretching my modern creative muscle, I created PC332 Synergy, a fat ¼ pattern that utilizes the colorway fat ¼ packs of Anna Maria’s first release under her new AMT brand. How fun to see these contemporary fabrics updating a classic Melon Patch design!  Because curves can be intimidating for some quilters, I recorded a how-to video for this pattern and the link is included in the pattern.

I’ve also been busy with this month’s Quilt Block Mania design 😊.  The theme this month is Style and Fashion.  Hmmm… because the current pattern that I’m finishing up has some New York Beauty blocks, I took my inspo from this and designed my The Met Gala block.  This block has it all – it has some paper-piecing, some curved piecing and a touch of applique.  So, when you first look at the block it doesn’t look anything like a gala – I get that.  But wait – put several blocks together in an on-point layout and the magic happens!  Ballgowns appear!  You can use the same color for all the ballgowns, or use a different color for each one, choosing a lighter and darker pair of shades for each one. The upper portion of the gown is created by corners from adjacent blocks, so you’ll want to use a design wall and add the bodice portions to the gowns after the rest of the block is completed.  You can download the The Met Gala block pattern here.

You’ll find the 14 other participating pattern designers’ blocks at these links:

Lipstick quilt block by Carolina Moore
Lips by Crafty Staci
Buckeye Beauty Quilt Block
The Met Gala
Stiletto by QuiltFabrication
Calla Lily by Inquiring Quilter
Fingernail Polish by Memory Barn Studio
Broken Dishes & Mary Kay by Sarah Marcina
Texas Boots by Emerald Falls Quilts
Photographer Nutcracker
Words by Patchwork Breeze
Party Dress by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Stylin’ by Appliques Quilts and More
New York Gorgeous by Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio
Sun Hat by Stitching Across the Globe

Stay tuned for 2 more AMT patterns coming in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

How’s your month going so far?  Spring is in the air (finally!) for those of us in Northern climates.  Hubby and I have been travelling through Belgium (Hubby is a war history buff so this was a bucket-list trip for him), and it has been unseasonably warm, with beautiful sunny “sit-on-a-patio-with-a-beer” days.

Belgium and its people have been delightful.  We have dutifully tried most things that Belgium is known for:

Frites (don’t call them French fries) – quite good, although my personal favourites are still the ones on Holland America Lines’ poolside Dive In burger bar.

Chocolate – really, really good!  Need I say more?!?

Beer – I am not a lover of beer (it’s too bitter) – I might drink 6 or 7 per year.  However…when in Rome, do as the Romans do.  We went to a beer museum and I dutifully sampled a couple of the 1600 beers brewed in Belgium.  To my utmost surprise, I liked them.  In fact, I found quite a few very tasty non-hoppy beers.  I am now a fan of Belgium beer.

Waffles – I steered clear of the ones I saw (too touristy) because, with all the yummy beer (and chocolate) I’ve been consuming, my pants were becoming too snug☹.

Bicycles – cyclists rule the road!  There are cycling paths on almost every road and the cyclists have the right of way so you’d best stay out of their way.  Even the UberEats delivery people use bicycles.

Cemeteries and WWI memorials – while travelling through the region surrounding Ypres, we visited several meticulously-maintained cemeteries and memorials for or dedicated to the soldiers of other countries who valiantly fought to liberate Belgium from the oppressive rule of Hitler, a leader who believed he had the right to freely take land beyond Germany’s borders.  We visited Hill 60, an area captured by Canadian troops as the Allied Forces pushed back.

Unknown tombstones at Tyn Cot Cemetery

We solemnly toured Tyn Cot, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world, viewing row upon row of tombstones recognizing unknown soldiers of the Great War.

We stopped by the Brooding Soldier monument, which inspired John MacCray’s In Flanders Fields poem.

In Flanders Fields by John MacCrae

At 8pm, we stood in silence with well over 1000 people to witness the daily ritual of Last Post at Menin Gate – so incredibly moving.

Last Post at Menin Gate in Ypres

This event has taken place every day for the past 100 years. Menin Gate is a massive stone arch inscribed with literally thousands of names of fallen soldiers who have no grave.

We also toured the museum at Passchendaele, to see the horrors of life for the tens of thousands of soldiers who fought in the swamp-like trenches there for more than 3 years.

The trenches in Passchedaele, the Western Front in WWI

Walking through these trenches was surreal – unlike in 1917, when it constantly rained, for my visit the sun shone brightly, and the air was filled with cheerful birdsong.

As you may know, Northcott designs a Stonehenge fabric collection each year in support of Quilts of Valo(u)r.  I was privileged to design the pattern – PC327 Maple Medley – for this year’s Oh Canada collection, and I will be teaching this project at Watergirl Quilt Co. in Prescott ON June 11.

Maple Medley PC327

If you’d like to join me to make this eye-catching QOV-sized quilt, contact the crew at WQC for details.  We’ll be covering 2 different methods for making the maple leaf blocks as well as top tips for working with panels.

So, back to those cheerful birds I heard in the trenches.  They prompted me to design my

My Daylight Flight block for May’s Quilt Block Mania

Daylight Flight block for this month’s Quilt Block Mania (the theme is “up in the air”).  Daylight Flight is the classic Birds in the Air block with the added twist of a sun.  After hearing the Last Post at Menin Gate, I thought about the sky at different times during the day or night, and came up with this fun runner depicting morning, mid-day, sunset and midnight.

My 4-block runner depicting sunrise, mid-day, sunset and midnight

Today’s trivia:  We generally don’t see birds flying at night, however migratory birds prefer to travel at night while predators are sleeping.

There are 16 other pattern designers playing along in this month’s Quilt Block Mania. You can find their free block patterns at these links:

Pig with wings by Carolina Moore
Dragonfly by Crafty Staci
Kite with tail
Daylight Flight by Patti’s Patchwork
Hot Air Balloon by QuiltFabrication
Pancakes by Inquiring Quilter
Feeding Time by Robin Kinley Designs Etc
Contrails by Memory Barn Studio
Scrappy Birds by Katie Mae Quilts
Propeller by Patchwork River Quilting
Pinwheels and Northern Lights by The Quilted Diary
Space Rocket by Emerald Falls Quilts
Pilot Nutcracker
Flying Birds by Patchwork Breeze
Raven’s Flight by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Butterfly by Appliques Quilts and More
Night Sky by Studio B

Last month I shared my Bollenstreek tulip block for QBM.  The crew at Watergirl Quilt Co. liked it so much that they twisted my arm into teaching it as a 3-4 block runner ½-day class on June 12.

Join me June 12th to make this cheery runner

Contact Watergirl to sign up for this fun class.  I was able to see the fields of tulips up close last week – stunning!

Cycling through the tulip farms in Bollenstreek NL

Last but not least, I have a new pattern in the Patti’s Patchwork shop – PC325 Freeze Frame is made with Northcott’s First Snow collection, shipping shortly.  The pattern features a lengthwise panel and an allover scenic and includes 3 sizes from throw to queen.  The attractive bonus wall quilt pattern is super easy.

That’s all for now – we’ll chat soon 😊

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Have you heard the expression “in like a lion, out like a lamb?”  It generally refers to the month of March, which can have wildly swinging temperatures and erratic weather.  I don’t recall specifically what the beginning of March was like, but I can certainly attest to the end of March going out like a lion this year!  Much of our area had hours of heavy rain, followed by even more hours of freezing rain.  The temperatures rose (heavy rain for hours again) but not before ice-laden trees snapped under the burden and thousands of homes were left without electricity. For the few hours that we were without power, we ran an extension cord from our neighbor’s generator to our almost continuously-running sump pump to prevent our basement (a.k.a. my sewing space) from flooding.  Many of our neighbors still have no electricity, as crews work around the clock to repair downed lines.

My local quilt guild has cancelled 3 in-person meetings this winter.  I am hopeful that this week’s meeting will be a go – we all need the connectivity that an in-person meeting brings.   The forecast is for Spring-like temps – yay!

Hubby and I strolled through our neighborhood yesterday surveying the ice storm damage and noticed some early-season bulbs sprouting in a few gardens – a sure sign that Spring is finally on the way.  Shy snowdrops and crocuses appear first, followed by sunny daffodils, frilly hyacinths and cheery tulips.  This sight inspired me to design a bright colorful block for this month’s Quilt Block Mania blog tour.  The theme is “Garden” and my Bollenstreek block has 4 common bursting-with-Spring shades of tulips radiating out from pencil-thin “leaves”.

Bollenstreek block by Patti’s Patchwork for Quilt Block Mania April

It goes together quickly and would be lovely in a 3-block Spring table runner or a pretty lap quilt.

A 40″ x 14″ 3-block runner

A cheery 46″ x 59″ 12-block lap quilt

You can download the Bollenstreek pattern here.

While you’re at it, why not check out the other 17 bloggers’ blocks and links as well, including another tulip-themed one by Studio B:

Garden Bunny by Carolina Moore
Garden Basket by Crafty Staci
Creating a Quilt Garden
Bollenstreek by Patti’s Patchwork
Wheelbarrow Blooms by QuiltFabrication
Spring Has Sprung
Oriental Lily by Inquiring Quilter
Watering Day by Robin Kinley Designs Etc.
Mushroom by Memory Barn Studio
Ladybug by Patchwork River Quilting
Gardening Days by The Quilted Diary
Texas Bluebonnets by Emerald Falls Quilts
Gardening Nutcracker by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Seed Packet by Patchwork Breeze
Garden Fences by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Watering Can with Flowers by Appliques Quilts and More
Evening Primrose by Wild Plum Lane
Spinning Tulips by Studio B

So, what is Bollenstreek, you ask?  Let me tell you 😊 (If you’ve been there, you already know 😉)  It is Dutch for “flower-bulb region”.  The Netherlands is world-renowned for their flower bulbs, particularly tulips.  From late March through mid-May, millions of bulbs burst into bloom, creating a rainbow of magnificent color across a patchwork landscape.  I have longed to see this spectacle, and this year Hubby and I are venturing to the Netherlands to take in this incredible sight.  We have rented bicycles for a day trip though the Keukenhof flower park.  Needless to say, I can hardly wait.  Stay tuned for pics!

Canadians have a special fondness for tulips.  You see, for the past 70+ years, the Netherlands has sent 10,000 tulip bulbs to Canada annually, a tradition that began as a gift of thanks from the Dutch Royal Family and the Dutch Bulb Growers Association after Canadian troops helped liberate the Netherlands during World War II.

Maple Medley PC327

Speaking of WWII, I have a new Quilts of Valour pattern – Maple Medley PC327 is now available.

It features a gorgeous Autumn-inspired tree panel and includes 4 sizes from lap through queen, including a QOV-sized throw.

Coastal Collage PC321 works well with any scenic or larger-scale print

Fresh off the press are 4 other new patterns:  Coastal Collage PC321 features Atlantic Coast’s scenic prints and coordinates and is perfect for a beach picnic blanket.

This is a super pattern for any larger-scale scenic or pillow-panel-type block.

Cowboy Blues PC326 has a barn-raising setting with a unique pieced border

Trip Around the Rodeo PC326 features the fussy-cuttable larger-scale prints in Northcott’s Cowboy Blues collection.  This fun quilt has a unique pieced border, and the pattern includes 4 sizes.

Placemat Pizzazz PC324 is a clever way to use placemats in a quilt

It’s never too early to start Fall/Halloween projects (better done than late!).  Placemat Pizzazz PC324 shows a clever way to use placemats in a quilt that’ll be done in a flash.  This pattern uses Patrick Lose’s Hip, Hip, Halloween collection and includes 5 sizes from bed-runner to queen.

Autumn Blaze PC323 is a popular pattern with 3 design options for a lap or throw-sized quilt

The stunning Autumn Breeze collection is showcased in Autumn Blaze PC323.  Pattern includes 3 design options for lap to throw-sized quilts.  Choose either a light-background version or dark-background version (or both!).  These richly colored fabrics have just started shipping to shops.

A stitched sample of my upcoming Garden Blooms PC330 pattern

I have several more patterns to finish up before my tulip-time trip, including this pretty Garden Blooms one that I pieced at a retreat a few weeks ago.  I’ll be teaching this project at Watergirl Quilt Co in Prescott, ON June 12^th and sign-ups are available through the shop.

Michelle with her lovely Seven Treasures sashiko lap quilt top

Lastly, Watergirl Quilt Co. owner Michelle finished her Seven Treasures quilt top from my class on a Hawaiian quilting cruise a couple years ago.  Doesn’t it look terrific?!?  I have just 3 kits left in stock (I sold 2 last week).

Wishing you a joyful day,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Button Drop wall/topper quilt

I had the opportunity to attend QuiltCon in Phoenix AZ a week or so ago – what fun!  I and several colleagues staffed the FIGO and neighboring Anna Maria Textiles booths for 4 busy days, chatting with modern quilters from around the globe.  I ran the giveaway “Button Drop” game, where participants tried their luck at winning a selection of FIGO fat ¼’s or coordinated scrap packets.  Our Button Drop board featured a backdrop of the new Stash tonal collection, and I designed a free pattern to replicate this board – all Modern Quilt Guild members receive a digital goodie bag containing the link to the pattern.  If you’re an MQG member, it’s in the email sent out last week.

Pop Sugar BonBons using Heather Bailey’s new blender

Some attendees purchased an MQG swag tote bag that contained, along other things, a chip (charm) pack of designer Heather Bailey’s new blender program for FIGO – Pop Sugar is a fun fresh cheery blender with 30 tasty shades.  I designed a fun wall/topper quilt to use this 30-pack of 5” squares – Pop Sugar BonBons is a 43” square project that positively pops with color!  You can download the free pattern from FIGO’s website here.  I love playing with Heather’s luscious collections – I haven’t met one that I didn’t swoon over.  Her newest one, Full Bloom, is shipping in May and I can’t wait!

I had the pleasure of (finally) meeting the iconic Anna Maria Parry, the mastermind behind Anna Maria Textiles, Northcott’s newest division.  Anna Maria’s fabrics are so outside of my comfort zone.  Despite that, I have pushed myself to design with them and have been thrilled with the results.  Watch for some new patterns featuring AMT coming out in the next few months.  I attended her engaging and informative lecture at the show and am now inspired to take a fresh look at the next batch of collections.

Anna Maria Parry of AMT in her booth at QuiltCon

I made a couple of AMT outfits for QuiltCon, including a jewel-toned buffalo-check wrap skirt and also a top that I wore for my photo with Anna Maria.

It was lovely to get to know my colleagues, some of whom I hadn’t met before, over drinks each night after the show.  The beverage of choice was cocktails and the variety was impressive – everything from fruity concoctions to inventive ways with whiskey.  And each evening, once the drinks were in hand, we clinked glasses in an age-old cheer.

I was reminded of these times when the call for this month’s Quilt Block Mania came out.  The theme is fancy drinks, and since I was late to the party (haha) so to speak, I missed the chance to do martini.  Instead I chose to depict an overhead view of Old Fashioned glasses in a cheer.  An Old Fashioned glass, or rock glass, is a short wide tumbler with a heavy base.  It is typically used for Old Fashions, Manhattans, Negronis and Sazeracs, or any cocktail being served “on the rocks”.  The trend these days is to use one oversized ice cube to keep the cocktail chilled instead of several smaller ones.

My On the Rocks block features 4 classic cocktails with large ice cubes – red for Boulevardier, gold for Old Fashioned, amber for Manhattan and light brown for Sazerac.  The cubes and beverages are appliqued on, as is the gray bias glass rim, made from narrow bias.

My On the Rocks block for QBM – cocktail glasses with large ice cubes

A close-up

I thought this could be a fun table runner for your favorite mixologist, changing up the colors of the drinks to suit the taste of the recipient.

A 3-block On the Rocks table runner for your favorite mixologist

The light gray circles are either clear liquor or empty glasses 😊.  Each ice cube is a lighter shade of the beverage surrounding it, which reminded me of one of the theme exhibits at QuiltCon – American Patchwork sponsored a transparency category.  Choosing the correct color for the ice cube is critical to achieving this transparency.

What is your social beverage of choice?  Which colors would you use for your beverages?  My cruise roomie Cathy likes Earl Grey, code for Pinot Grigio wine.  I prefer a Rob Roy, although lately Hubby has been making me tasty Crab-apple martinis made with crab-apple syrup from our tree – yum😊 (he is a closet mixologist).  Perhaps one of the other 16 blocks in this month’s QBM blog tour is more to your taste.  You can get links to them here:

Tropical Drink by Carolina Moore of Always Expect Moore
Pink Lemonade by Crafty Staci
Mardi Gras Hurricanes
Milkshake by Patchwork Breeze
On the Rocks by Patti’s Patchwork
Coco Loco by QuiltFabrication
Hot Coffee To Go
Christmas Cocktail by Inquiring Quilter
Sip Happens by Robin Kinley Designs Etc.
Unicorn Lemonade by Memory Barn Studio
Friendly Mule by Patchwork River Quilting
Margarita by Emerald Falls Quilts
Bartending Nutcracker by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Raspberry Lemonade
Mod Martini by A Piece of Quiet Quilts
Pina Colada by Appliques Quilts and More
Lemon Drop by Studio B

Last month I forgot to mention that my Frame It throw-size quilt is featured in the Winter 2025 issue of Quiltmaker magazine, on newsstands now (or get it online here).

My Frame It quilt featured in Winter 2025 Quiltmaker magazine, available now

I used my Outdoor Adventures fabric collection for Banyan Batiks for this easy project.  It is terrific for any large-scale coordinated collection to show them off.

I also want to mention some new patterns in the Patti’s Patchwork shop:

The gorgeous Boho Blooms fabric collection inspired my PC320 Boho Starburst – pattern includes wall, throw and king sizes.

PC320 Boho Starburst

The to-die-for stripe in the collection also inspired PC319 Crescendo, an easy bargello pattern that needs only 2 fabrics plus binding – sizes include throw, queen and king.

PC319 Crescendo is an easier-than-most bargello

I used Northcott’s Eagle Pass, with its breath-taking panel, in PC318 Soar! – pattern includes throw, twin/double and queen. 

PC318 Soar! works beautifully with so many panel collections

This is a great pattern for any panel-based collection.

Calling all sports fans!  Make a cozy quilt for game-watching using PC328 Team Spirit.  The pattern includes a full alphabet along with appliques for various sports.

PC328 Team Spirit includes many options

Make a lap quilt or upsize it to twin with the addition of a border.

I also dropped the new Stonehenge Celtic Roots collection into my popular PC233 Solstice Star design and love this color option.

PC233 Solstice Star done up in the new Stonehenge Celtic Roots collection

I’m madly finishing up the next batch so stay tuned for more quilty goodness.

Speaking of quilty goodness, I’m doing a virtual trunk show for the Glendale Quilt Guild (Glendale CA) on March 13^th.  I’m teaching free-motion quilting and binding on March 14/15 at Watergirl Quilt Co in Prescott ON, then doing a panels trunk show.  On March 24, I’m talking about Alternate Gridwork at the Gwillimbury Quilt Guild, then doing a trunk show and circles workshop March 26/27 at the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild.  Please come and say hi if you’ll be at these events.

That’s all for now, see you soon 😊

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

As I write this blog post (late Monday night so that it can post bright and early Tuesday morning), it is snowing big white fluffy flakes.  We have full-on winter right now – it has been one of the coldest and snowiest (is that a word?!?  See below for snow trivia) winters in years.  This past week, we had one day with 12” of fresh powder on some of the runs on the ski hill.

How I want to snowboard

I have not snowboarded in that much snow before and, by the time I tried one of these runs, there were lots of tracks from other skiers.  I realized that I had met my match, and I can’t believe that I’m saying that it was too much snow for me. 

How I actually look in deep powder snow

I got stuck, my board was buried, and it took me an extra 15 minutes (it felt like an eternity) to get out of my predicament and to the bottom of the run.  Apparently, my sweet spot for powder is 6-8” – deep enough to float but not too deep to manage turns.  Thankfully there were several runs with this lesser amount, and I was able to find enough to enjoy a few hours of winter bliss.

My fellow quilt guild members do not share my enthusiasm for snow.  Snow days become Sew days.  They would much rather be indoors busily creating in their sewing space or sitting by a toasty fire with some hand work.  Which brings me to this month’s Quilt Block Mania – the theme is “House”.  Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I designed a heart-warming block called Home Sweet Home based on the classic log cabin but with a heart in the center where a red square typically is placed.

My Home Sweet Home block

You can download the pattern here.

This block is easier to construct than you might think – I found a clever way to make the chimney section that doesn’t require any templates – yay!  When I tested my block, I didn’t have 3 shades of tan/brown so I substituted them with pink/plum.  I like it!

This got me thinking about using this block for a scrap quilt, changing out the “log” colors of each block.  Here is my Neighborhood 41” x 53” lap quilt – so fun!

My Neighborhood lap quilt with differently-colored houses

There are 15 other house blocks in this month’s blog tour.  You can find the links here:

Dutch Row Houses by Carolina Moore
Modern House by Crafty Staci
Attic Windows by Scrapdash
Birdhouse by Patchwork Breeze
Home Sweet Home by Patti’s Patchwork
Gnome Home by QuiltFabrication
House Around the Block
Santa’s Candy Shop by Inquiring Quilter
Beacon by Robin Kinley Designs Etc
Castle by Memory Barn Studio
Outhouse by Patchwork River Quilting
School House Quilt Block by Quilting Room with Mel
Ranch House by Emerald Falls Quilts
Gingerbread House by Appliques Quilts and More
Carpenter Nutcracker by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Hill House by A Piece of Quiet Quilts

It would be super fun to switch out one of my Home Sweet Home blocks with the Outhouse block by Kayla of Patchwork River Quilting – it has a tree in it too!  Of course, the Home Sweet Home block would also make a great toss cushion or tote bag panel.

So, back to the “snowiest” word.  Yes, apparently it is a word, and can be used by the Andes Mountains (snowiest place on earth, with an average snowfall of almost 2000”), Japan (snowiest country in the world, followed by Canada) and Aomori, Japan (snowiest city in the world, with an average snowfall of 312”).  Amazingly, all that snow melts in time for Cherry Blossom season in April.  If experiencing this spectacle is on your bucket list (it’s on mine), my friend Michelle of Watergirl Quilt Co is taking a group of quilters on a Japan cruise next April 9 – 21, 2026 during the cherry blossom season.  Even I’ll be ready for Spring by then!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Welcome to 2025!  After a busy holiday, all the Christmas decorations got packed away yesterday for another year.  I like to keep them out until January 6^th (Epiphany).  The lights on our Christmas tree mysteriously went out a week ago, so Hubby and I bought some new strands 2 days ago at a post-holiday clearance.  We unstrung the tree yesterday when packing it away, checking each of the 10 strands of mini lights as we removed them. Every strand except one worked.  Hubby read the attached tag – “replace the fuses if the strand fails to illuminate”.  “Fuse?!?  Where is the fuse and do we have any spares?” he asked.  I dug out the bag of spare light parts, zipped into my sewing room for my screwdriver and seam ripper (to dislodge the tiny batteries) and emerged 5 minutes later with an fully lit strand – yay!  Mystery solved.  Maybe our replacement lights can be party lights in our summer screen room on our back deck!

As we roll into the new year (literally! – I ate far too many shortbread cookies), I have a fun new block for all the sports fans out there.  The theme for January’s Quilt Block Mania is “Sports” and I selected soccer for my block.  Soccer has been on my mind lately because Northcott is the licensee for FIFA 2026 and has designed a terrific collection of panels and coordinates shipping to stores in May.

One of my FIFA 2026 quilts

I designed 2 free patterns for this colorful collection and made them up last Fall for Northcott’s booth at our trade show.  One of my quilts has white circular appliques, which I quilted with pentagons to replicate soccer balls.  Well, guess what?!? Soccer balls are made with pentagons AND hexagons together.  The black shapes are pentagons and are adjacent to white hexagons.  A soccer ball has 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons and, when stitched together, they form a truncated icosahedron (trivia for your next cocktail party).  My block is a flat version of ½ of a soccer ball – it has 6 black pentagons and 10 white hexagons and looks like a chemical compound from my university chemistry classes (haha).  It is English paper-pieced.  I call it Soccer Gene .

Soccer Gene block by Patti’s Patchwork

I hope you like it 😊  You can download the Soccer Gene free pattern here.  Do you know someone who is a soccer player or fan?  Maybe they have the soccer gene and would appreciate this block.  Here is a link about the history of the soccer ball – did you know that they were made with a pig’s bladder at one time?

Most of the other 13 participating QBM designers used applique or foundation paper-piecing in their sport-themed blocks.  You can find them at these links:

Quilted Sports Jersey Numbers
Trophy by Appliques Quilts and More
Karate Gi by Crafty Staci
Girl Wrestlers by Scrapdash
Curling Stone by Patchwork Breeze
Soccer Gene by Patti’s Patchwork
Hockey Score! by QuiltFabrication
Ice Skates by Inquiring Quilter
Play Ball by Robin Kinley Designs, Etc.
Corn Hole by Memory Barn Studio
Sneaker Shoe by Patchwork River Quilting
Texas Football by Emerald Falls Quilts
Checkered Flag by The Quilting Room with Mel
Golf Nutcracker by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts

So, here’s my EPP story.  At my local quilt guild meeting last week, we tried our hand at 4 different hand-stitching projects including – you guessed it – EPP.  I had never tried it before, so I got a fabulous lesson from EPP afficionado Jamilla.  I got the low-down on how to glue my fabric to my paper, how to do a proper knot at the end of my thread, which super-fine thread and needles to use, how to start and end each seam with a knot, and how to whip-stitch 16 (!!) stitches per inch without stitching through the paper.  Um, won’t 10 stitches be sufficient?  Ah, no, apparently not.  I have to admit that I really enjoyed it and, despite my penchant for speed-sewing, I can see myself working on some EPP projects in the future. In the Soccer Gene pattern, I included a link to a comprehensive “how to EPP” video by YouTuber Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.  I invite you to check it out if you haven’t tried this technique yet.

What about you?  Do you EPP?  Share your favorite EPP tip in the comments below.  All comments posted by January 15 will be entered into a draw for some deelish Wild Abandon by Heather Bailey for FIGO Fabrics – perfect for EPP.

Congrats to Marie W for winning a copy of my PC145 Salt & Pepper pattern used for my son and DIL’s wedding “guest book”.

I hope 2025 brings you much joy, with plenty of time for your creative pursuits 😊

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Greetings from the Caribbean!  Hubby and I are cruising through the Eastern Caribbean, where it is hot and humid.  Today is a sea day, which means a work day for me.  My temporary office is the back pool deck and I have to say that the views from my “window” are terrific.  This is the view off the back deck yesterday in Dominica.

Sailing out of Roseau, Dominica

Have you started decorating for Christmas?  When I am at home, my growing collection of Christmas quilts is hauled out of storage on December 1 and each bed is “decorated” with a festive quilt.  The pictures hanging on the walls are replaced with wall quilts.  And my Christmas dishes once again fill the cupboards.

The ship has decorated for the holidays as well.  There are numerous Christmas trees in the various lounges, and garland in the common areas.

The atrium tree

The biggest display is the 15ft wide gingerbread village created by the culinary team, complete with a train, set up in the atrium.  The young children onboard the ship are fascinated by it, not just by the moving train but also the sparkling lights.

Sparkle is the theme for this month’s Quilt Block Mania, and 12 other designers have contributed blocks based on this seasonal theme.  My Starburst block is a favorite of mine.

Starburst block by Patti’s Patchwork

It is a quick and easy variation of the classic Spinning Star block – if you’re familiar with this block, you’re probably thinking that it looks exactly like a Spinning Star, and you would be correct.  The original version of this classic block has a partial seam, and most quilters avoid them when possible (they’re not chain-piecing-friendly).  While I am fine with partial seams (I was a garment sewer before I became a quilter), this one is very short and therefore more difficult than your average partial seam.  I redesigned this block to eliminate the pesky partial seam and turn the block into a 9-patch.  Wham, bam, done!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.  You can download the pattern for Starburst here.

You can find the links to the other pattern designers’ blocks below:

Sparkle Heart by Carolina Moore
Sparkly Star by Patchwork Breeze
Diamond Ring by Crafty Staci
Stellar by Inquiring Quilter
Sparkle Star by Scrapdash
Snowflake by QuiltFabrication
Starburst by Patti’s Patchwork
Tree by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Sparkle with San Diego Sewn
Aurora by Emerald Falls Quilts
Twinkle Twinkle by Epida Studio
Sparkly Ohio Star by Oh Kaye Quilting
Crown by Appliques Quilts and More
Sparkly Christmas Bell by Around the Bobbin
Prismatic Points

Have you found easier variations of your favorite blocks?  If so, please share the details by leaving a comment below.  Call me weird, but these things excite my brain 😊

Recipe time!  Holiday baking is a tradition in my family – my guys insist on it and are very willing testers as well as dish washers.  Christmas Crack(le) is one of my new go-to holiday sweets and it’s quite easy.  I tweaked the recipe (of course!), substituting Pretzel Crisps (they’re very thin, like crackers) in place of twisty pretzels or saltines.  The colorful photo is from momontimeout.com

Photo from momontineout.com

Christmas Crack(le)

6oz (180g) Pretzel Crisps (I get jumbo bags from Costco)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 11” x 17” (very large) baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spread pretzels in single layer, covering entire surface.
2. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Cook on medium heat until boiling, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Stop stirring and boil for 5 minutes.  Quickly pour over pretzels, covering most of them (it will spread as it cooks).
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips.  After 3 minutes, spread over toffee.  Optional:  Sprinkle with ½ cup chopped almonds/pistachios/dried fruit/holiday sprinkles  Chill for 1 hour and break into pieces.

Wishing you a joyous, peaceful holiday 😊

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

The past 2 months have been a whirlwind of activity for me.  September started with 2 back-to-back Alaskan cruises with the Watergirl Quilt Co team (sew much fun!),

The Watergirl crew and I with Jan of Changing Tides in Juneau AK

followed immediately with a stint in the Northcott booth at the Missouri Star Birthday Bash – always a good time!

Showing our Sock Hop spirit at Missouri Star Birthday Bash

Then I was called into service to help make some quilts for Northcott’s booth at Quilt Market, the Fall trade show in Houston TX (including this FIFA2026 one)

One of my FIFA 2026 quilts

, all while designing 5 new patterns, writing instructions for several others (my favorite is

PC312Cat-tails, followed closely by PC314 Shades of Autumn) and doing 5 workshops/lectures for local guilds.

In the midst of all that, my son asked me to make a quilt for his upcoming wedding – 4 weeks before the wedding!!!  Need I mention that he’s been engaged for 2 years?!?

What with all the wedding plans these past few weeks, when the call for the November Quilt Block Mania came out, I was in full wedding mode.  The theme this month is Market/shopping, so my block depicts – you guessed it – a bridal shop.  It’s mostly pieced, with a bit of fusible applique for the bride and the wedding bells.  In fact, Wedding Bells is the name of my block.  You can download the pattern here.

Fourteen other designers also rose to the challenge and designed blocks for this theme – you can find the links to their blocks below:

Money Themed Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Pet Shop by Patchwork Breeze
Quilt Shop by Crafty Staci
Santa’s Toy Shop by Inquiring Quilter
Market Bag by Scrapdash
Concession Stand by QuiltFabrication
Wedding Bells by Patti’s Patchwork
Lucky Clover Quilt Block by Brown Bird Designs
GIft Card by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Flower Shop by Cristy Fincher
Pinching Pennies by Elizabeth DeCroos
Gift Bag by Oh Kaye Quilting
Ice Cream Cart by Appliques Quilts and More
Market Stall selling Gifts by Victoria Peat
Bag Lady Market Bag by Around the Bobbin

So what quilt did my son and his darling sweetheart choose?  My PC145 Salt & Pepper fat-quarter pattern in the lap-size (thank goodness!), to be used as a guest book at their wedding. 

Salt & Pepper quilt for the newlyweds

The guests were asked to sign the back of the quilt, so a light-colored backing was required. 

Guests signed the back of the quilt

While their choice of quilt was likely unintentional, it was so appropriate – the block in this quilt has 2 opposites that come together, like 2 people in a marriage.  The wedding was just a few days ago, so I’m still coming down from the buzz.

My son and his beautiful bride

I have an extra copy of PC145 Salt & Pepper to give away.  This fat ¼ friendly pattern includes 4 sizes from runner to queen-size.  For a chance to win a copy, please leave a comment below offering up your best advice for my newlyweds.  What’s the best advice you’ve received?  Or what advice do you wish you’d received? All comments entered by November 12 will go into the draw.  Good luck!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

What is your go-to snack?  Do you prefer sweet or salty nibbles?  I’m a sweets lover – I’ll take chocolate over potato chips any day!  And not just any chocolate – no!  I want the good stuff, a.k.a. the expensive brands that have their own shops, where the chocolates are sold individually, and one is never enough.

I’m also a sucker (no pun intended) for candy, especially if it’s chewy.  My colleague Susanne has a weakness for the tiny Jelly Belly jellybeans, except the cantaloupe and pear flavors, so my job is to search through each bag to remove them (and eat them of course!) before she mistakenly pops one into her mouth.

Sweets is this month’s theme for the Quilt Block Mania blog tour, so I googled ‘sweets” for inspiration and found an old favorite – salt water taffy!   These chewy pastel-colored treats are not in fact made from salt water.  Through the pulling process, which makes the candy lighter and chewier, air is added by stretching out the mixture, folding it over, and stretching it again.  The fruit-flavored candy is then cut into bite-size pieces and wrapped in waxed paper to keep it soft.  Here is my Salt Water Taffy block

Salt Water Taffy quilt block by Patti’s Patchwork

You can find the pattern here If you want to try your hand at making a batch of salt water taffy, here is a recipe that I saw online.

In Canada at this time of year, you can find Halloween kisses, a form of molasses taffy candy, in shops alongside the usual trick or treat offerings.  When I was young, my siblings did not like them so I would barter small quantities of my other Halloween treats for larger quantities of their Halloween kisses – yum!  Canadians apparently either love them or hate them.  Most kids do NOT like them, however the stores sell out every Fall despite increased quantities being produced.  Maybe kids would like them if they tried making them a.k.a participated in a good old-fashioned taffy pull.  Here is a recipe for homemade Halloween kisses.

Thirteen other pattern designers also made sweet blocks for this month – you can find the links to their free blocks below.

Donut Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Swirly Lollipop by Patchwork Breeze
Caramel Apples by Crafty Staci
Scrappy Cookie by Katie Mae Quilts
Gingerbread People by Inquiring Quilter
Sweet Hearts by Scrapdash
Chocolate Roll by QuiltFabrication
Salt Water Taffy by Patti’s Patchwork
Sugar Skull Quilt Block by Brown Bird Designs
Lollipop Bear by Colette Belt Designs
Chocolate Box by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Let them Eat Cake
Yummy Yummy
Banana Split by Appliques Quilts and More
Sweet Slice by Cristy Fincher

I haven’t given away any treats for a while, so let’s have a Halloween giveaway. For your chance to win a packet of candy-colored Northcott precuts and some Halloween kisses, please leave a comment by midnight October 7 telling me your go-to sweet or salty snack, and whether you like (or not!) Halloween kisses if you’ve tried them.  Bonus points if you’ve made salt water taffy 😊

Cheers,

Patti