Fellow Quilters,

Today I’m coming to you from the Greek island of Crete, where Hubby and I are alternately trekking and dipping our toes in the Aegean Sea.

We are most certainly enjoying the delicious cuisine of this arid  Mediterranean country, perhaps some of the local beverages, and definitely the spectacular landscape.

This time last year we were also in the Mediterranean, venturing into north Africa for a brief stop in the Arab country of Tunisia.  So much of this area of the world is hot and dry – a desert.

Have you ever taken a ride on a camel?

In fact, the port in Tunis had some camels dressed to the nines in bright sparkling covers, and passersby were enticed to go for a short ride on these peculiar animals.

When this month’s theme for Quilt Block Mania was announced – desert – I thought of those creatures, a classic symbol of desert life.  I was not brave enough to go for a test drive on one of them, but I watched as a family with young kids took a trip around the port from the lofty height of the camels’ backs.  The kids were so very excited!

What brings to mind a symbol of desert?  Sand, most likely, stretching on as far as the eye can see.  And what better to traverse these vast tracts than a trusty camel?  Here’s my

Toes in the Sand block for this month.

My easy Toes in the Sand block for this month’s Quilt Block Mania – Desert theme

You can download the simple pattern here.

Just for fun, I colored up several blocks in non-traditional hues – how fun!  They remind me of the colorful covers worn by the Tunis camels.

A brightly-colored Toes in the Sand 48″ x 60″ quilt – I can’t get “Midnight at the Oasis” out of my head!

Here are some fun facts about camels:

Camels have either one hump (Dromedary) or two humps (Bactrian).

Camels are born without humps.

Camels store water in their blood (not their humps – they store fat in them) and can survive for weeks without water.

They are the only land mammals capable of drinking salt water without any ill effects.

Camels have three sets of eyelids and two rows of eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes.

A pack of camels is called a caravan.

Camels live on average 40-50 years.

Camels can maintain a speed of 25mph for over an hour.

Camels sleep standing up.

Camels have large, flat feet to help them walk on sand. The soles of their feet have a large surface area to stop them from sinking into the sand.  Camels have two toes on each foot. A hoof that looks like a toenail grows at the front of each toe. Cows, horses, and many other animals walk on their hoofs but a camel walks on a broad pad that connects its two long toes. This cushion like pad spreads when the camel places its foot on the ground. The pad supports the animal on loose sand in much the same way that a snowshoe helps a person walk on snow.

Looking for more desert-themed quilt blocks?  Here is a list of the other 18 quilt designers participating in this free monthly event – enjoy!

Coiled Snake by Carolina Moore
Pyramids by Patchwork Breeze
Bison Skull by Crafty Staci
Renewal (snake) by Eudaimonia Studio
Gecko by Inquiring Quilter
Cactus Rose by Scrapdash
Oasis by Appliques Quilts and More
Adobe House by QuiltFabrication
Sand in my Toes by Patti’s Patchwork
Diamondback Quilt Block by Brown Bird Designs
Desert Bear by Colette Belt Design
Yucca by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Arizona Poppy by Cristy Fincher
Palm Tree by Slightly Biased Quilts
Desert Cactus
A Prickly Pear in the Garden
Goldenhead Flower by Emerald Falls Quilts
Blooming in the Desert
Tucson Too Late by Orange Blossom

Have you been brave enough to ride a camel?  Share your experience below to inspire other quilters like myself.

Cheers,

Patti

From Wasaga Beach you can see the Blue Mountains where I live. Photo from Expedia

Fellow Quilters,

Spring is in full swing – I saw my first 2 robins yesterday 😊 – and beach days are just around the corner.  Hubby and I live on a ski hill (not beachy at all!) but the world’s longest fresh-water beach is a mere 15 minutes away.  On Georgian Bay, Wasaga Beach is almost 9 miles (14km) long, with a lovely gentle shoreline perfect for families with young children.  This iconic beach welcomes over one million visitors annually.  Perhaps you’ve been one of them!  Do you have a favorite beach?  I’ve listed my top picks below.

“Beach” is the theme for April’s Quilt Block Mania, and I had fun designing a block that is perfect for a beach tote, beachy placemats if you live in a beach community, or perhaps a fun wall-hanging.

My Scooping Sand block for the April Quilt Block Mania blog tour

Here is my Scooping Sand block.  What’s a beach day without a pail and shovel to build a sandcastle?!?  You can download the free pattern here.

Twenty other designers participated in QBM this month and there are some terrific blocks.  I was surprised how many used a rainbow color palette.  You can find links to their free blocks here:

Sun Block Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Beach Ball by Patchwork Breeze
Ocean Sunset
Beach Reading by Inquiring Quilter
Follow Me Fish
Sand Castle by Appliques Quilts and More
Beach Umbrella by Inflorescence Designs
Beach Hut by QuiltFabrication
Scooping Sand by Patti’s Patchwork
Snowy Owl
Beach Bum Bear by Colette Belt Designs
Scrappy Starfish by Sewistry
Seashell by Slightly Biased Quilts
Crab by Tourmaline Thyme Quilts
Sea Lion by Emerald Falls Quilts
Seaside Horizon by Cristy Fincher
Sunshiny Days Block by Craftapalooza Designs
Buoy by Oh Kaye Quilting

Eyes on your Fries

Hubby and I have travelled to some pretty awesome areas of the world and experienced some spectacular beaches.  Some of my faves are:

Siesta Key in Sarasota FL USA – the white sand is so fine and powdery.

Ninety Mile beach in Ahipara NZ, on the western shore of the top of the north island.  It is actually a highway but only when the tide is out.

Byron Bay on Australia’s Gold Coast.  Watch the strong surf and the undertow!

Waikiki Beach in Honolulu HI USA – famous!  Hawaii has so many lovely beaches, including Lahaina.

Langkawi Beach in Malaysia – beautiful, and the entry into the water is gentle (no shelf)

Philipsburg St. Maarten – lovely white sand.  Truth be told, most of the Caribbean islands have great beaches.

Beaches of the South Pacific, including Tahiti, Bora Bora and Fiji

Mexican beaches including Cozumel and Acapulco

One of the best beach days ever in the Conflict Islands

What about you?  Please post a comment below telling me about your favorite beach – I might need to add it to my bucket list.

Speaking of comments, time is running out to enter the giveaway for a scrumptious pack of 10” squares of Margo by FIGO Fabrics.  Head on over to my March 26^th blog post to participate – the deadline is April 6^th.

Speaking of time running out, there are just a handful of spaces left in Watergirl Quilt Co’s Alaskan Quilting cruise September 8^th -15^th.  Top-of-the-line Bernina sewing machines are provided for the classes – choose 4 of the 12 fun tip-filled classes taught by yours truly, host extraordinaire Michelle and the entertaining Paul Leger.  Class selection starts shortly, so reserve your spot now for the best selection on your preferred picks.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Does life have you going in circles some days?

Today I’m circling back to an email I received last summer from the editors at Quiltmaker magazine requesting designs for the March/April + May/June supersized issue.  In it, they put out a call for quilt designs that use large-scale fabrics.  Not one to shy away from such a tempting challenge, I perused the upcoming collections of Northcott, Banyan Batiks and FIGO Fabrics in search of a collection containing a variety of large-scale prints.  I zeroed in on two FIGO collections, including a bright colorful FIGO collection called Margo by Sydney-based botanical illustrator Adrianna Picker. 

The Margo collection by Adrianna Picker

The detail in this lifelike collection of fruits and florals is exquisite and the color palette is fresh and inviting.  The addition of a bold 2-color stripe sealed the deal (I cannot resist a good stripe😊).  When I discovered that the collection came in tile packs of (42) 10” squares, I jumped in with both feet (I work best with a narrow set of parameters).

Once the fabric collection was chosen, I started playing with design ideas.  I don’t normally combine lots of large-scale prints in my quilts – I like to offset their busy-ness with some smaller-scale or tonal solid-ish fabrics.  Working with the pack of 10” squares necessitated the inclusion of all 14 designs however, so no opportunity to save some prints for another project.  The color palette is also delightfully busy – everything but red is used.  How could I separate the prints and bring some order to the chaos of busy-ness while making best use of the 10” squares?

Around (a-“round”  – haha) the same time, I was also working on the block-of-the-month design for my local guild (I am the BOM coordinator).  This year’s theme is blocks with curves.  One of the blocks is a circle in a circle.  Hmmm… could I apply this concept to my pack of 10” squares?  How could I use every bit of each square, while still using circles?

After playing with the fabrics in my Electric Quilt EQ8 design program for a bit, I arrived at my chosen design. 

My EQ8 digital image of my proposed design

Half the blocks have neutral a.k.a. solid-ish rings to separate the prints, while others combine busy and not-so-busy prints.  The light-colored neutral sashing further gives another layer of order, while the cornerstones add a pop of fun.  One of the bold stripe fabrics adds an extra sizzle as binding.  Happily, my design, entitled Cirque de Fleurel, was accepted.  I started cutting and sewing.

My finished Cirque de Fleurel quilt

So, about the circle blocks.  They’re not that hard 😊!  Really!! Think of it this way – each circle block has just one seam, and each ring block has only 2 seams.  Yup – just 1 or 2 seams per block.  Easy!  It’s not fast sewing – you want to take your time – but, with only 1-2 seams, each block takes only 5-10 minutes.  The first one will take double that, but they get much faster.  Trust me 😊.  Here are my best tips for you:

Tip #1 – mark each circle, ring and block background in 8’s by folding in ¼’s and creasing (or snipping 1/8” into the seam), then folding again to mark the 1/8’s.  Four of the crease/snips will be on the straight of grain and 4 will be on the 45° bias.

Tip #2 – when pinning pieces together, check that the straight-of-grain creases/snips on one piece are matched with the straight-of-grain creases/snips of the other piece.  You really don’t want to sew straight-of-grain parts to bias parts – trust me!

Tip #3 – sew with the circle on the bottom and the block frame (or ring) on the top.  Keep those raw edges aligned with each other and also keep them aligned with the edge of your ¼” foot.

Tip #4 – if your machine has a “needle down” function, I encourage you to use it.  Stop to re-adjust the 2 layers as often as necessary.

Tip #5 – If you’re pressing the seam toward the background (frame) piece, you’ll want to make small snips in the seam allowance of the background piece on the curved seam.  Same goes if you’re pressing the inner ring seam toward the ring.  Your block will lay flatter.

Tip #6 – press the ring blocks only once the background piece has been added.  If you press them after adding the ring but before the background has been added, you may distort the ring ☹.

I cut my pieces out with scissors – my Karen Kay Buckley micro-serrated purple handle ones are the bomb! 

I used my Karen Kay Buckley scissors but an Olfa circle cutter is a great option

Please cut exactly on the traced line.  I traced the circle and ring onto template plastic and traced along the edge of the plastic onto the back of my fabric.  If you have an Olfa rotary circle cutter, this would be an excellent opportunity to put it through its paces.  I quilted my quilt with an allover design and a lovely variegated thread, using a rayon print from the Margo collection as my backing fabric – so soft and dreamy!

Cirque de Fleurel is featured on page 41 of the jam-packed March/April + May/June double issue of Quiltmaker.  This fab issue hits newsstands today and includes 12 delicious projects with detailed instructions for each.  I love Toby Lischko’s Lava Lamps and Ramona’s Scrappy Braid.  There’s also a Q & A on African fabrics with expert Lisa Shepard Stewart, and Brenna Riley Gates’ Top Ten Tips for Fussy-cutting – ideal for large-scale prints!  You can download a copy of the issue here for instant gratification.

To entice you to pick up your own copy of the magazine and give Cirque de Fleurel a whirl, FIGO Fabrics has given me a tile pack of Margo 10” squares to make your own quilt. 

A 42-piece pack of Margo 10″ squares is up for grabs

Thanks, FIGO!  For your chance to win this fab FIGO prize, please leave a comment below by April 6 telling me about your favorite curvy block that you’ve made or want to make.  Do you love or hate blocks with circles/curves?  Successes, struggles?  I want to hear it.  Please share your thoughts.  I can’t wait to read them.

Thanks for reading 😊

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

I have a couple of special quilt-related news items to share with you today.  Let’s get started 😊

I am part of a fabulous group of quilt pattern designers, and these guys and gals are A-MAZE-ING!  They inspire and motivate me.  We come from all parts of the quilt world – piecing, applique, FPP, EPP, traditional, modern, you name it – and bring a wealth of knowledge to our collective group, very much like a quilt guild 😊. Twelve of us got together to talk SCRAPS/STASH and have created a special Love Your Stash pattern bundle of scrap- or stash-friendly patterns to share with you.  Why is it special, you ask?  Because each designer contributed one of their favorite stash-friendly patterns and you get all 12 pdf patterns for US$19.  What?!?! Yes, $19, but only for the next 5 days (March 7-11), then the link to buy the Love Your Stash bundle expires.

Let me show you these terrific patterns:

If you’re like me, you can likely make multiple versions of all 12 of these stash-friendly patterns with what you have on hand.  Think of it as Spring-cleaning your sewing space – haha! This Love Your Stash pattern bundle is all about getting that fabric unfolded, untied, unstacked and sewn.  Each pattern will help you find the perfect fabric from your stash.  From small pieces – to larger…or go totally scrappy and collect fabrics of the same color and value to mix and match together.  This bundle will help you feel happy about using your stash of scraps and remove the overwhelm of finding the right pattern to use up that awesome stash.  All 12 patterns are accessible immediately after purchasing.

So, I really dislike being bombarded with emails about special time-limited offers.  Last week I subscribed to a newsletter and almost unsubscribed the same day because I received 6 emails from them that same day ☹.  I appreciate each one of you, and I don’t want you to unsubscribe, so this will be the only email I send about the Love Your Stash pattern bundle.  I think it’s a steal-of-a-deal and I hope you do too – less than $2 per pattern is an awesome price! – and these patterns will motivate me to dig into my stash and remove the “I have too much fabric” guilt.  When you click on the link to purchase the Love Your Stash pattern bundle, I make some $$ (and appreciate your support) and it costs you nothing extra 😊.  It’s a win-win.  Just a reminder that the link expires March 11 so please take advantage of the offer now – your stash will thank you.

Just for fun, I played with my Beach Umbrellas design in the Electric Quilt software program and came up with 2 new color options – one that uses a stripe and one that doesn’t – super fun!

Mod version of my Beach Umbrellas – using textured scraps and some striped fabrics

I am looking forward to delving into my sizeable collection of Alaskan-themed fat ¼’s to make room for some newer ones from my upcoming quilting cruise in September with the Watergirl Quilt Co team.

In other news, in the past 2 months I have had a lot of interest in my Barn Raising PC301 pattern.  It features Northcott’s Stallion collection and works with any 36” x 40” horizontal panel.  If you’re wanting to make this quilt using the Stallion collection, you can use the super-helpful Product Finder on the Stallion page of Northcott’s website to find a shop that has the fabrics.

Piecefully yours,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

What feeds your soul?  Is it spending time with family?  Perhaps connecting with friends – the “family” we choose?  Maybe it’s travelling or participating in your favorite sport or puttering in the garden or cooking up a storm in the kitchen.  How about journaling or singing or acting in a local theatre troupe?  Or even swinging a hammer, decorating or crafting?

When I look at the not-so-short list of things that feed my soul, a common thread is “making”.  I have been crafting since I was a kid, likely because my mom and Nana crafted.  Sewing, knitting, painting and cooking were routine activities in our home, particularly when my Nana visited.  I have very fond memories of making sequined or painted Christmas ornaments with my siblings under Nana’s guidance. I started sewing on my mom’s trusty Singer sewing machine when I was 7 years old and was far more excited than her when she (a.k.a. we) received a top-of-the-line Husqvarna machine for Christmas a few years later.  We always wore hand-knitted sweaters and mittens in the winter, and before long I was knitting and crocheting alongside Mom and Nana.  They encouraged us kids to assist with meal preparation and even plan some meals.  No excuse for not eating dinner!  As a result, my siblings and I are quite adept in the kitchen.  Hubby is equally proficient in the kitchen (he is the resident sous-vide specialist) and is also a maker, although his niche is fixing things or home improvements.  Our sons also have the “maker” gene – Older Son is a carpenter who also loves to tinker with old vehicles, while Younger Son has Dad’s “fixing” gene, and both boys are fabulous cooks.

Where is all this leading?  Well, this month’s theme for Quilt Block Mania is “maker”.  A full slate of 24 designers has each designed a block featuring various creative hobbies, from woodworking to painting, to needlecrafts and more.  I couldn’t decide which activity to choose so I designed a block that encompasses all of them.

My Makr block for Quilt Block Mania’s Maker theme

Here is my MAKR block.

You can find the pattern here.

It would look great combined with any number of the other Maker blocks in a fun quilt for a crafty person.  (Have you noticed that there is an increased interest in making?  Making is having a moment!) You can find the links to the blocks below:

Gear Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Hammer by Patchwork Breeze
Canning Jars by Crafty Staci
Rotary Cutter by Katie Mae
Cricut Maker by Appliques Quilts and More
Spool and Bobbins by Inquiring Quilter
Music Maker by Scrapdash
Variegated Thread by EvaPaige Quilt Designs
Pretty Spools by Sew Worthy Mama
Pottery by Inflorescence Designs
Quilt Maker by QuiltFabrication
Maker block by Patti’s Patchwork
Heart Hand by Brown Bird Designs
Quilting Bear by Colette Belt Designs
My Favorite Things by Robin Kinley Designs, Etc.
Cross Stitch Block by Slightly Biased Quilts
Paint Palette by Tourmaline & Thyme Quilts
Sewing Friends by Epida Studio
Make My Mark by Cristy Fincher
I Love to Make quilt block by Victoria Peat
Rainbow Glimmers by Craftapalooza Designs
Sweetgrass Basket by Emerald Falls Quilts
Maker Block: Sewing Machine by Oh Kaye Quilting
Pincushion by Flowerdog+Co
Painters Tools FPP by Amanda Harris

Or perhaps you want to use the MAKR block on a tote bag to store your crafty projects.  Or even a small wall-hanging for your own “making” space.

A shout-out to Donna N for winning the January QBM giveaway – she won 2 free patterns from Patti’s Patchwork.  This month you’re all winners, as I’m sharing my favorite (and super easy) Valentine’s dessert recipe – Orange Chocolate Mousse.  It’s totally worth the calories!  And it feeds my chocolatey soul 😊

That’s all for now.  In this “love-ly month, please do something that feeds your soul and makes you smile (as my friend Michelle of Watergirl Quilt Co says) 😊😊

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Happy New Year!

Do you celebrate New Year’s Eve with a bang?  Or prefer to watch festivities on tv while curled up with a good book, a mug of cocoa and a furry friend?  I’ve got a fun giveaway if you post a comment (details below).  Many years ago, when Hubby and I used to cottage with my family, our New Year’s Eve consisted of a steak & lobster dinner followed by several hands of Court Whist (the predecessor to Bridge), and stepping outside at midnight to shout “Happy New Year!” to any neighbors who were also at their cottages.  These days, we get together with a few close friends to have a potluck dinner and perhaps some impromptu dancing to work off all those calories.

I live vicariously through my friends and colleagues who brave the crowds to go out on the town for New Year’s Eve.  Inspired by them, I designed my Party Glam

Party Glam by Patti’s Patchwork for the January 2024 Quilt Block Mania tour

block for this month’s Quilt Block Mania (the theme is “party”).  I imagined getting all dolled up in my stiletto heels, fancy dress and sparkles or pearls.  Nothing says “party” better than fire engine red stilettos!  You can find the pattern for my Party Glam block here.  And here’s a wall quilt/table runner made with 2 blocks and a narrow  border – fun!

Use 2 blocks for a small table runner or wall quilt

There are 15 other designers participating this month and you can find the links to their blocks here:

Party Crown Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Party Bear by Colette Belt Designs
Folded Napkins by Patchwork Breeze
Confetti Horn by Crafty Staci
Celebrate Letters by Tamarinis
Ballons & Streamers by Appliques Quilts and More
Happy New Year by Inquiring Quilter
Fiesta Block by Ships & Violins
Sparkler by Inflorescence
Gift Boxes by QuiltFabrication
Party Glam by Patti’s Patchwork
Cheers by Robin Kinley Designs
Free Disco Ball Block @ Slightly Biased Quilts
Cake by tourmaline Thyme Quilts
Fireworks by Cristy Fincher
Pinata by Flowerdog+Co
Dressed for the Occasion by Epida Studio

So, 2024 is promising to be a year worth celebrating.  I just had a quilt published in the latest issue of Fons & Porter’s Quick + Easy Quilts.

My Split the Layers throw quilt uses 10″ squares for “disappearing” blocks

My Split the Layers quilt is made with disappearing blocks – easy blocks that you cut apart and reshuffle the pieces to create new blocks.  I used Banyan Batiks’ Changing Seasons 10” squares for this pretty Spring throw-size quilt.  You can find the pattern in the March-April issue, on newsstands now or online here.

Later this year I’ll be joining the Watergirl Quilt Co team on 2 super-fun quilting cruises to Alaska

My classes for the Watergirl Quilt Co Alaskan cruises

in September.  Shop owner Michelle knows how to host a knock-your-socks-off party, so you can bet that these 2 cruises are going to be a blast!  If cruising to Alaska is on your bucket list, reach out to Michelle or her planner Scott to reserve your spot now.  Class selections will go out to registrants shortly and you don’t want to miss getting your first choice of workshops.

I’m already working on a sample for my sashiko class and will be testing the pattern for my new Skill-building Sampler shortly.

Once I return home from Alaska, I’ll be in full wedding mode for my son’s wedding to his darling fiancée.  Truth be told, she has been part of our family for a while now, but the official celebration is in November.

But first I’m going to celebrate the release of 10 new patterns, including 4 with the new Stonehenge Gradations – so delicious!

They will all be available at Patti’s Patchwork.com by January 8 so mark your calendar!  And I hear tell that there might be a newsletter-subscriber-only special price so if you’re not a subscriber yet, go here to sign up today 😊.

So, back to that giveaway I mentioned earlier.  If you leave a comment telling me about your New Year’s Eve tradition/custom/memory by January 6^th, your name will go into the draw for 2 free patterns from Patti’s Patchwork.

Good luck, and best wishes for 2024 😊

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

As I write this, I am cruising through Indonesia, exploring the various processes used to print batiks.

A high-end custom Javanese batik shop

It has been a fascinating journey – not only am I expanding my knowledge of batik printing (to expand my designing options for future collections with Banyan Batiks) but I am also exploring new-to-me areas of the world and gaining an appreciation of the lifestyle there, all while being pampered aboard a floating luxury hotel a.k.a. cruise ship.

Honestly, the only thing better is the option of quilting while cruising!  While I am not quilting on this Indonesian cruise, I will be doing so on a 7-day Alaskan adventure next September 8-15, 2024 out of Vancouver, BC with Watergirl Quilts/Gravitate Travel.  Michelle and Scott of Watergirl/Gravitate organized and very quickly sold out the initial cruise for August 31 – September 8 – bad news for anyone who missed out on this opportunity.  But wait!  They reached out to the team on Brilliance of the Seas and were able to secure a block of rooms for the following week, September 8-15, at the same fabulous rates – woohoo!  Instructors Paul Leger, Michelle Peters and I will be teaching the same popular classes as the previous week on fantastic Bernina machines (Michelle heard from numerous quilters who wanted to take every class but couldn’t due to time/scheduling constraints – there are only so many hours in a day).  I’m teaching 2 half-day classes – sashiko and binding techniques (including curved-edge binding!) – and 2 full-day classes – free-motion machine quilting and Skill-building Sampler (a new class 😊).  Hmmm… this cruise could be a Christmas gift to you.

So, what’s happening this month?  After taking a break last month, I am back on track with Quilt Block Mania for December.  The theme this month is Forest, and 19 designers including yours truly jumped at the chance to entice you with their free pattern for a 12” block.  I used my iconic Winter Solstice/Misted Pines pattern as inspiration for The Grove , my contribution to QBM.

The Grove, my 12″ block for the forest theme of Quilt Block Mania

Choose 3 greens and a scrap of brown to make this mini small-scale version.  You can download the pattern here.

The trick to this block is knowing how to line up the triangles pieces when sewing them together – sometimes they meet ¼” from the right edge and sometimes they meet ⅜” from the right edge.  I always make the pieces line up where they’re supposed to, instead of allowing my sewing machine to shift the fabric so that the pieces don’t line up as required.  I control my machine, not the other way around – this is super-important for consistent accurate piecing.

Redesigning my Misted Pines pattern has been on my To Do list for quite some time, tweaking it to make the piecing easier.  When Northcott revamped the Stonehenge Gradations fabric collection used in this quilt, I took the opportunity to do this.

The new updated Misted Pines 2.0 pattern has easier piecing and is available now for January shipping

I’m thrilled to announce that the new pattern, Misted Pines 2.0 will be available January 1, and you can preorder it here now.

But back to Quilt Block Mania.  You can find the free patterns for the other 18 forest-themed blocks here:

Owl by Carolina Moore
Silent Witness by Inquiring Quilter
Forest by Inflorescense Designs
Forest Tree by Scrap Dash
Bear Paw by Epida Studio
Snowy Forest by QuiltFabrication
The Grove by Patti’s Patchwork
Mushroom by Penny Spool Quilts
Reindeer by Crafty Staci
Christmas Tree Farm
Enchanted Forest by Sew Worthy Mama
Wolves by Paleofish Designs
Fat Bear Week by Sallys Sewing Circle
Chipmunk by Katie Mae Quilts
Fox by Appliques and More
Heart of Oak by Flowerdog+Co
Snowman by Colette Belt Designs
Mountain Forest by Oh Kaye Quilting
Starry Sky by Patchwork Breeze

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Woo-hoo!  It’s October – my favorite time of the year 😊  I love the glorious show of color that Mother Nature creates when the weather turns cooler.  Not that it’s any cooler than it was 2 months ago – we are in the midst of an unexpected heat wave, as temperatures approach the high 70’s – crazy!!  I hope that similar great weather will be in the forecast when I and the Watergirl Quilt Co posse embark on an Alaskan cruise next September.  I hear tell from owner Michelle that there are just a few spots left, and I’m super excited to learn that a few of my favorite quilting people have signed up – a shout-out to Gayle and Sylvie from not-so-Northern Ontario, who are taking this bucket-list cruise with us.  If you’re interested, you can find out more or secure your spot here.

While this weather may have me singing “Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot”, I could also play with the lyrics of another temperature-themed song to sing “Baby It’s Hot (Cold) Outside”, because the theme of this month’s Quilt Block Mania is Baby.

I had fun with this baby-inspired block.  After viewing the designs from the 13 other participating designers, I reminisced about the days when my kids were babies, and the paraphernalia that was part of our life.  Going out with Baby requires an almost suitcase-sized travel bag filled with necessities for any potential situation – diaper changings, feedings, toys to amuse fussy young’uns’, books to read.  So much stuff!

My block, Feeding Time, highlights the classic baby bottle, and I love how it turned out!

My Feeding Time quilt block

Not only do baby humans use this, so do other baby mammals, from monkeys to goats to cats and more – you may see this if visiting a zoo during birthing season, particularly if the mom is not able to produce enough milk to feed her baby.

Sometimes baby animals use this iconic feeding device as well

Did you know that baby bottles have been around for thousands of years?  The current design, with its plastic or silicone bottle and rubber or silicone nipple is relatively new, dating from the last century, when women started entering the workforce en masse and it became challenging to stay home to nurse their babies.  Today, baby bottle production is a $3.4 billion industry.

My Feeding Time block, which you can download here, would make a darling wall-hanging for a nursery, or perhaps as a panel on a diaper bag or on a changing pad.

Make a 12″ x 48″ 4-block runner or a 48″ 16-block baby quilt With Feeding Time

How about using 16 blocks for a fun baby quilt?  Super-cute!! Or combine it with one or more of the other 13 blocks in this month’s QBM blog tour – you can find links to the other blocks here:

Safety Pin Quilt Block by Carolina Moore
Elephant Rattle by Inquiring Quilter
Cloth Diaper by Inflorescence
Bookworm Block by Scrapdash
20+ Black and White HST Quilt Blocks for Babies!
Crib Mobile by Patchwork Breeze
Baby Feet by QuiltFabrication
Feeding Time by Patti’s Patchwork
Soother by Penny Spool Quilts
Baby Bodysuit by Crafty Staci
Baby Nine patch at Epida Studio
Baby Botique
Teddy Bear
Baby Buggy by Robin Kinley Designs, Etc.
Hugs & Kisses Quilt Block

Which block would you combine with my Feeding Time block?  Let me know 🙂

Piecefully yours,

Patti