Asterisk by the Confused Quilter

This bright and modern Asterisk Quilt is the creation of the Confused Quilter, an Army wife and mom to grown kids. 

The fabrics are from the "Crazy for Dots and Stripes" line by Michael Miller. The quilting was professionally done.  Beautiful! 

Shanna's Asterisk Quilt

This beautiful Asterisk Quilt is the creation of Shanna in Texas. I love the light touch of the white asterisks on the colored backgrounds. It looks like snow. Well, Shanna is originally from Alaska, so that makes sense! Nice job, Shanna! 

See her blog: Sparrow in Flight.

What's a Lucinda Chair?

 Lucinda from Septemberbird has a Chair quilt in this book:

Pat Sloan shows the page on her blog:

 Quilters have had a lot of fun with this! Take a look at all the Lucinda Chair quilts on Google! 

Here's one from mamacjt just to whet your appetite! Check out that quilting in the white background!

I'd like to see the Septemberbird blog, but it's by invitation only. You need a password. I've never heard of that before. 

Chairs on Quilts, Quilts on Chairs

"Have a Seat" by C J Fuhrman was featured on Quilt Inspiration. 

Dream Chair by Alethea Ballard, featured on New Pieces in Berkeley, CA. 

Grandmother's Flower Garden chair from RoomRx.

A Lucinda Chair quilt, found on Pinterest from "Take a Load Off." Isn't this charming? I love that binding too.

Asterisk Pattern is Finished!

Regular readers will remember this quilt: "Asterisk." I was thinking about the 9-patch block and planning to make a tic-tack-toe style grid when it hit me! How about making all 4 lines meet in the middle? I'm sure other quilters figured this out long before I did, but that's how I found it. Tonight I did a Google Images search for "Asterisk Quilt" and I was amazed at all the quilts! They're beautiful.

So if you missed this one a while back, take a look at the brand new pattern. It's easy too.

If we haven't seen your Asterisk quilt here yet, email me a photo at karengriska@optonline.net. 

Saddest Quilt Block

Isn't this the saddest quilt block you've ever seen? The other blocks in the quilt have the same broken heart design with different words. 

More blocks from this quilt are featured on Cheryl's blog: Fiber Arts and Quilting. 

Gee, now I feel like I need to cheer you all up.

  (Read JoAnne's comment for a different take on this quilt block.) 

This pep talk quilt was on exhibit in Sisters, Oregon, and featured on the Bring the Monkey blog.

Upcycle Scrap Quilt Pattern!

Got scraps? I was making the Trellis quilt and got this one too, for no extra charge! I literally upcycled the scraps off the quilt room floor. Fast and easy raw-edge machine applique scrap quilt. Lots of clear how-to photos. PDF Pattern, 8 pages. Great for beginners, and quilters with a lot of scraps. Print it or save it on your computer. $5.

As always, I love to add little surprises like the flower pot in the block below.

Tina's New Selvage Quilt!

Tina from Rhode Island just finished a beautiful selvage spider web quilt! It took her only 2 weeks! 

Note the little orange pinwheels, the fabulous machine quilting, the selvage stripe on the back, and take a good look at the binding in the bottom photo! I've never seen binding like that before, have you?  :-0

See her post on Seaside Stitches. Yayyy, Tina!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This wonderful Double Irish Chain quilt was made by Renee Healy of California. She's a member of the East Bay Heritage Quilters. I love the green dappled background and the winding stream! 

These two quilts (above and below) were featured on Quilt Inspiration. That blog is appropriately named!

Jour de Semaine Charges by Gyöngyi Váradi, seen at the Hungarian Patchwork Society. Featured in the magazine Magic patch n° 90 - Jeux de couleurs (France). Shown above.

This Tres Belle Irish Chain was made by Lois and featured on the Little Quilts Blog. Little Quilts is a quilt shop in Marietta, Georgia. Lois is one of their customers.

There's some green for ya!

National Quilting Day!

The International Quilt Study Center & Museum is has a wonderful National Quilting Day planned. I wish I could be there today, but they have a collection of Online Exhibits too.

I made this log cabin quilt a few years ago and it's still one of my favorites.

How will you celebrate? I'll be working on my new speedy raw-edge applique scrap quilt. 

Asterisk Quilt in New Book!

I was shopping yesterday and just happened to see my Asterisk quilt on the front cover of this book! What a shock! The quilt was in Quiltmaker magazine a few years ago. This book was published by Martingale in 2012. I had no idea they were publishing this. I'm sure I gave them permission back then to use it; they are very conscientious about that. This is quite a thrill for me!

New String Quilt Pattern! Trellis

String quilts are so much fun to make, as you probably already know. But if string quilts are new to you, take a look at this pattern. It's a real stash-buster, and easy too. I like the little bouquet in the lower left corner. I've included some variations in this pattern too.

I think my next quilt will be made with the scraps from this one. Haha. Happy quilting!

Chris' Selvage Bag

This charming selvage bag was made by Chris in Indiana. It's her first selvage project; isn't it a beauty? You can see more about this bag on her blog: Over the Moon Arts.

Also, take a look at her completed quilts.

Trellis String Quilt with a Little Bouquet

Do you see the little bouquet in the center of this string quilt? See the close-up photo below. It's a nice focal point in this busy quilt. String quilts are fast and easy. Pattern coming soon.

This quilt is the one that produced all the tiny scraps featured in yesterday's post. The pile has grown!

Upcycling from the quilt room floor

I'm working on a scrap quilt that is producing lots of tiny scraps. (Notice the irony here? I didn't, at first.) They looked so pretty on the floor, I decided to arrange them on a white 10" square with a dab of glue behind each scrap. Then starting from the outer edge, I sewed  a  big spiral all the way to the middle. I was going to make a wreath, but why leave the middle empty when there are so many nice fabrics?

I don't know if this will ever be a quilt but it looks great on the design wall in the meantime.

Two Flying Geese Quilts

Joan made this quilt last summer using the Quilt in a Day flying geese ruler. You can read more about it at Needle Turnings. 

This is "Geese Flying Over the Pond" by Tia of Tia Curtis Quilts. A customer sent her a pile of fat quarters and asked for a 60" quilt...no other instructions. I love the fabric with the brown dots. Nice quilting too!

Flying Geese Inspiration

This is Kelly's flying geese quilt on her design wall last summer. She was surprised to see that it looked like a Christmas quilt. I like the busy look and the unlikely fabric combinations keep me searching. The little bit of black is perfect! Nice job, Kelly! See her blog: Kelly Girl Quilts.

Help Dig a Well, Maybe Win a Quilt

My friend Pam in Tennessee put her heart into this big hand-quilted quilt! She was making it for her Dad. He's in a nursing home now and wouldn't enjoy this big quilt, so Pam came up with a great idea. Raise funds to dig a well in Africa and give the quilt to one of the lucky contributors! She's planning to raise $7,000.

Take a look at her blog post and consider a donation. Drawing is at the end of March.

Also, please share this info on FB, Pinterest, etc.

P.S. Isn't this quilt gorgeous? Years ago, Pam won the Workmanship award for quilting at the TN State Fair. And she has her own sheep for spinning wool, and she home-schools...Pam is one amazing lady!

Wedges Quilt Pattern: Fast, Fun and Modern

Here's the latest quilt pattern, a modern improv wedge quilt. 

This bright, modern quilt is made by eye! There is very little measuring. Basically, you “wing it” and then tweak it. Using this method, the quilt goes together fast so trust your instincts and enjoy!

Could you please Pin, FB, etc? Thanks!!

I hope you're having some quilt fun today.

I'm going to visit with my sister (and quilting buddy) Eileen tonight! 

Classic Quilt

Isn't this a pretty quilt? It was made by Dede in California. She sells on Etsy at PeppersAttic. This quilt is listed for $225 and it measures 52" x 69." It has muslin on the back and it's nicely machine quilted with big swirls. How can she offer such a great price? I think I'll ask her and I'll report back to you.

REPORT: I just heard back from Dede. She says she's been making rag quilts for years, but due to arthritis in her hands, she's transitioning over to traditionally pieced quilts. She's starting out with low prices.

Garen's "Kisses" Quilt

 "Kisses" was made by Garen. She's from the USA and now lives in the UK. On one of her trips "home" to visit family, we met for lunch and had the best time talking quilts. Please come again, Garen!

Isn't this a happy quilt? Nice job!

Fine Lines Quilt Pattern is Finished!

How fine, you may ask? How about 1/4" finished! This is fun to make. Take a look.

I love how this quilt came out. I was stumped for a while with the border, but then it all worked out. The border looks like a big blanket stitch. It's machine quilted with wavy lines in the sashing, both vertically and horizontally. (Haha, for me, that's a lot of quilting! Piecing is my passion, not quilting.) 

Like the others, this pattern is a pdf, so you get it fast by email. 

If you're on Facebook or Pinterest etc, please spread this around. Thanks!!

When This You See Remember Me

This quilt was made in memory of my two grandmothers, Gladys and Barbara. You probably recognize the sentiment that was popular in old embroidered samplers: "When this you see remember me." These words are written with lots of old buttons, even one from an old Girl Scout uniform. One of the borders is full of buttons too. The rick rack is regular size and extra-jumbo. There are lots of memories represented in this quilt including an old pearl necklace and tea bag tags. 

Make a good memory today.

Thin Sticks, a Modern Quilt

Today I'm finishing "Thin Sticks." There's a long narrow scrap of gray in the upper right corner showing what the binding will look like. The outer edge looks like a blanket stitch, doesn't it? 

This quilt is fun to make. Lots of improvisation. Depending on the order you add the sticks, they look like they are in front of, and behind each other. More details soon!

We're having perfect quilting weather. The wind is howling and there's a crust of ice on everything. Can't do anything but sew, right?

Vote for Rain Dance!

"Rain Dance" by California artist Karen Tarlton.

She is a FINALIST in Artiste's contest. The winning painting will be featured on a wine label. 

Right now she's #3; we just have to push her over the top.

Follow this link and click LIKE in the upper right corner. Then scroll down to "Rain Dance" and vote.

See more of Karen's paintings on Etsy: Karen's Fine Art.  

I'll let you know how she does.

Thimbles Quilt Pattern is Ready!

The pattern for Thimbles is ready! This is a fun stash-busting scrap quilt with optional embroidered stars and ties. And of course there are lots of fabrics with little surprises hidden in there. I love to do that. 

My goal has been to publish a pattern/month, and now I'm a little ahead of the game. I'm trying to make hay while it's winter. 

Happy quilting!