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The Wonky House Block Swap Ended March 1st. We had four groups of twelve and the houses were amazing. Here are the ones I made. Here is what I received!!! Our next swap is due May 1st, Wonky Trees. There is plenty of time for you to join. Click on the house on the left for details. I decided to make 8 colored trees. I also made one for myself. My nod to Dr. Seuss, who I just love! BUT after seeing the Lorax last night (great movie) I soooo need to make some pink and purple trees!! Hmmm, I wonder if I can draw them? Happy Sewing!

Learn how to make a wonky log cabin quilt pattern with this step by step tutorial. This scrap-busting project is perfect for beginners.

I've been asked many times for the pattern for my Jungle Buddies wonky block quilt. Would you believe there is no pattern? It was started with just idea in my head and tools I had on hand. I’ll show you just how easy it is to create your own wonky blocks and make them look balanced, even if you . . .

Disclaimer: The products in this post were given to me at no cost by Island Batik and Quilty Box. Won't you be my neighbor? This is the quilt I made for the December Island Batik Ambassadors challenge. This month's challenge was Whimsical and Wonky. This was a tough one for me. I like to be playful with colors and fabric, but most of my designs have a lot of structure. My quilt features Island Batik fabrics from the Paisley Dot collection and Check it Out, plus a few scraps from my stash. I used Check it out for the sky and the backing, too. Here's a closer look at the center house block. I used Carrie Bloomston's Wonky Little Houses pattern from the October 2018 Quilty Box. Her pattern is super simple, featuring the three houses I made. She encourages you to add other elements to your quilt to personalize it. I added lace trim and button doorknobs to each house. At this point, I felt like the brightly colored wonky houses looked a lot like a child's drawing. So I created a fun tree in the same style and put a sunny yellow circle up in the sky to be the sun, moon, or a planet ~ use your imagination. I used Hobbs Heirloom Cotton Batting and Aurifil threads in matching colors to quilt my street scene. It looks cute on my front porch glider. When the weather is nice, I do a lot of my hand sewing here. Here is a closer look at the quilting. I quilted straight lines into the houses to look like wood siding. I did some fun echo quilting around the sun and the tree in the sky. Everything was quilted with my walking foot. The yellow Paisley Dot fabric makes a wonderful sun (or moon, or planet)! I cut 10" strips of turquoise and aqua green Paisley Dot fabrics and randomly sewed them together to make the binding. I really love the way this quilt turned out. It's adorable! I'm not sure what I am going to do with this quilt, but it would make a fun children's play mat. Imagination...I think a lot of stories could start out with this sweet collection of homes. 2018 has been a fabulous year as an Island Batik Ambassador - I've loved every minute of it! I have one more project to sew for the big year ending blog hop. My hop day is January 21st. I'd better get sewing! The hop starts soon. Be on the lookout for a bevy of inspiration with the Island Batik Ambassadors, coming your way! Be Creative ~ Sew Something Beautiful Today! Jennifer Thomas Click here to visit the Curlicue Creations shop! Subscribe to the Curlicue Creations Newsletter * indicates required Email Address * This is an affiliate advertisement. Clicking on this link and making a purchase may result in my receiving a commission.

Wonky Quarter Log Cabin It's a finish! 50 x 60 I used some colorful and wider selvages to make the blocks. Most of the selvages came from quilt back trimmings to that is why they are wider. I normally don't like to leave that much fabric with a selvage. Most of my selvages are cut thin and I save them to use as garden ties. I used some spider web fabric squares for the start of the blocks. Blocks finished at 10.5 inches. I finished the top in April 2023. I quilted it on my DSM with swirls in gray thread. The binding is scrappy -- darker pieces from the leftover bindings box. The back. And ready for donation! The theme in my sewing space this month has been STRINGS. I've finished up 8 string quilts and have been working on three new quilts - Feather Bed, Spider Web and Eight Point Stars. I think that is about all of the finishes I will have this month but will continue to work on the new starts for the rest of the month. Maybe I will run out of strings. I differentiate between string quilts and strip quilts. For me...strings just happen. I don't cut into any fabrics to make string quilts. Most of the time strings are a result of quilt back trimmings or wonky end cuts of yardage. If someone sends me longer strips of fabric I first measure the width and if it is an even 1.5, 2, or 2.5 inches in width then I usually have one or two projects in process that can use that strip. If it is wonky or not exactly one of those widths then it goes into my string box. On the other hand...for me... strip quilts usually involve some cutting of yardage or even width strips I receive from other folks who send fabric and scraps my way. Next month the theme in my sewing space will be KIDS. I hope to work on finishing kiddo sized quilt tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) stack and dig into the orphan blocks and make a few tops. And sew on... **** CELEBRATE! (my word of the year) July 24 - I wasn't really up to celebrating much of anything. My sewing space used to be a back porch and has a flat roof with a very slight slant . I noticed a small leak in my ceiling the last time it rained. After that son helped me get up there and put a tarp over where we thought the leak was. Well, it rained yesterday and rain still leaked in. I took a good look out the window at the roof when it was raining and I think it might be collecting nearer to where the water flows into the gutter so we need to move the tarp. We have known we need a new roof and gutters for awhile because roof is about 30 years old (we replaced it a few years after we moved here) but with hubby in and out of the hospital, too weak to do much and still with many doc appointments pending for osteoradionecrosis in the jaw and dysphagia I have not gotten around to getting any quotes. And I don't want to have someone working on the roof when we aren't around. So, anyway, I went to bed without celebrating a thing. And then...hubby yelled for me. and woke me up. His feeding tube was about ready to fall out. I do have a spare one here but first tried pushing that one back in and then measured the volume in the balloon that kind of holds it in place in the stoma and it was low so I added some distilled water to it with syringe and he was able to hook back up to the feed pump ok. Today I will have to measure volume of that balloon again to make sure it doesn't have a slow leak. So, I was proud of myself for staying calm in the midst of crisis and taking care of business - definitely cause to celebrate. I'm surprised I can do some of the things I do. Last time his feeding tube fell out it was Christmas Day and we ended up in the ER. They did not have the right Gtube to insert so they put in temp foley cath. We ended up at the surgeon's office the next day and he put in a new one. I asked him what to do next time it fell out and he said "watch me put this in" and get a spare one for home. I didn't want to but I watched....just in case...

We're making liberated houses this month for the Block Lotto. I know that even if you like the look of liberated or wonky houses, you might not be in love with the technique. An alternative is to draw your house and use the drawing as a foundation for paper piecing. Here's how. Sophie's DON'T FORGETS: When drawing a PFP pattern, remember that ALL lines must be STRAIGHT and that all lines must begin and end with a "T-intersection" with a previously drawn line. Remember that a paper piecing template looks like the MIRROR IMAGE of the finished block. If, for example, you draw a house with a door on the left and window on the right, your house block will have a door on the right and a window on the left. Begin with a sheet of paper (or other foundation material) that is at least 1/2 inch larger than the finished size of the block you want to make. Draw a square that represents the FINISHED size of your block–for the September Block Lotto, that would be an 8 inch square. Remember when you are making the block, you will add 1/4 inch on each side of this square for the seam allowance, making a 8 1/2 " square. Draw the horizontal-ish line that will represent the top of the main body of the house and the bottom edge of the triangle which forms the roof. On the bottom half of your drawing, add two vertical-ish lines that will define the left and right sides of your house. Draw a line between the two lines in step three which will define the top edge of your door and window. On one side of your house, create the door by drawing two lines that begin at the line in Step 4 and end at the bottom of the square. On the other side of your house, create a window by drawing two more lines that begin at the line in Step 4 and end at the bottom of the square. Then add the horizontal line between them to define the bottom of your window. Define the roof by drawing two, intersecting slanted lines. NOTE: IF YOUR ROOF DOES NOT EXTEND TO THE SIDE EDGES OF YOUR SQUARE, YOU WILL HAVE TO CREATE TWO SECTIONS FOR YOUR PATTERN. CUT THE DRAWING APART ALONG LINE DRAWN IN STEP 2. BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PIECE THE BLOCK. Now, number your template with the paper piecing order: 1 - window 2 - space beneath window 3 - house section beside window 4 - house section on the other side of window 5 - door 6 - house section beside door 7 - house section above door and window 8 - sky on one side of house 9 - sky on the other side of house 10 - roof 11 - sky on the side of roof which does NOT extend to the top of block (MISNUMBERED as 12 in the drawing below) 12 - sky on the other side (MISNUMBERED 11 in the drawing below). Remember that the block you piece will actually EXTEND beyond the square 1/4 inch for the seam allowance. I usually cut out the paper pattern adding the 1/4 inch on each side of the square to make sure I DON'T FORGET.

Learn how to make a simple drawstring bag in this step-by-step tutorial with photos. A perfect sewing project for beginners.

This is the basic way that I make wonky hearts. There are many other methods to make hearts, but I've found this to be the easiest way to get a bit of a rounded shape. Have to admit to being out of practise with the hearts - don't think I've made any in four years. First off, I start with a square or rectangle and cut through the middle of it. I like my hearts to lean so I cut at an angle. This particular square was 3 1/2". Next I lay one of my heart pieces on top of a background piece so that I can slice through the fabrics at the same time. Just have to make sure that there is at least a quarter inch or more of the background sticking out. This is just a bitty triangle. Repeat for the other side as well. This is what the background triangles look like before they get sewn on. As usual with triangles, at least a quarter inch has to be offset. This is what it looked like when I sewed both those triangles on. I obviously cut the one on the left a bit too skimpy. Not to worry, I just made my cut a bit deeper when I straightened up the sides. Now when I say straighten - I mean a straight edge following the heart fabric. New triangles are made for the upper outer corners, in the same manner as the earlier triangles. After those are attached, you'll straighten the edges just like we did before, following the edge of the heart fabric. Bigger triangles are cut for the bottom outer corners. For this step, make sure to at least hit the inner corner with your cut. If you make too shallow of a triangle, you'll have a flat-bottomed heart (which isn't necessarily wrong). Attach those triangles. Straighten the edges and join together. To finish off the heart block, attach fabric to the sides, and top or bottom if needed. When I made "All You Need is Love" I only added the side fabric as I joined the units together (ie one strip of fabric in between heart units, not two). Here are some hearts I've made recently. I'm not liking those pointy bits I'm getting on top of the hearts - I'm going to have to do a better job of not overlapping those top triangles. I also like it better when the bottom bits of the heart come right together - I like them more offset. I'll loosen up as I keep playing.

JULY Quarter Log Cabin Made of Selvages 50 x 60 5.3 yds donation quilt 47 Wonky Log Cabin 45 x 54 4.4 yds donation quilt 46 Wonky Log Cabin 54 x 72 6.7 yds Donation quilt 45 Wonky Log Cabin 60 x 72 7.4 yds Donation 44 Strings 40 x 60 4.3 yds Donation 43 Wonky Log Cabin 42 x 56 4.2 yds Donation 42 Heartstrings 60 x 80 8.2 yds Donation quilt 41 Heartstrings 60 x 80 8.2 yds Donation quilt 40 JUNE Monkey Wrench Pastels Donation finish 39 40 x 40 2.8 yds Donation finish 38 Sixteen Patch 42 x 42 3.2 yds MAY Even Nine Patch in Uneven Nine Patch 59 x 72 7.3 yds MARCH 37. Orphan Norton 40 x 48 3.5 yds 35. and 36. 30 Patches Animal Crackers each 40 x 60 each 4.3 yds 34. Pinks on Point Monkey Wrench 43 x 43 3.3 yds 33. Little Cowhands 42 x 45 3.5 yds 32. Basket Weave 42 x 48 3.7 yds 31. Fish Net 40 x 56 4 yds 30. Lacy Heart 39 x 42 3 yds 29. Cool Monkey Wrenches 40 x 50 3.7 yds 28. Square Deal? 42 x 60 4.5 yds 27. Monkey Wrench Blues 40 x 60 4.3 yds 26. Jar Quilt 41 x 51 3.8 yds 25. Smooth Sailing 40 x 48 3.5 yds 24. Snowball in Snowball 37.5 x 49.5 3.5 yds 23. Under the Sea 42 x 48 3.7 yds 22. Monkey Wrench 40 x 50 3.7 yds 21. Orphan Barney 42 x 48 3.7 yds 20. Orphan Alice Row Quilt 40 x 49 3.6 yds 19. Chinese Coins with selvages 41 x 60 4.3 yds 17. and 18. Two finishes Each 35 x 50 Each 3.3 yds 16. Orphan Imogene 42 x 48 3.7 yds 15. Arrowhead Puzzle aka Garlic Knot 42 x 54 4.1 14. Monkey Wrench in purple and lime 40 x 50 3.7 yds 13. Paper Chains 42 x 48 3.7 yds 12. Monkey Wrench in warm colors 40 x 50 3.7 yds 11. Crow's Nest 40.5 x 54 4 yds 10. Snowball/Nine Patch 45 x 54 4.4 yds 9. Fishing Trip Around The World 42 x 54 4.1 yds 8. Green Monkey Wrench 40 x 60 4.3 yds 7. Bright Hopes 42 x 60 4.5 yds JANUARY 6. Blue Weave 58 x 72 7.2 yds 5. Diagonal Bars 65 x 85 9.3 yds 4. Monkey Wrench 42 x 42 3.3 yds 3. Orphan Fred 42 x 60 4.5 yds 2. Orphan Cora 42 x 42 3.3 yds 1. Orphan Lester 42 x 54 4.1 yds 2024 Yardage Used: UFOs Jan. = 31.7 yds Feb. = 0 Mar. = 110.6 yds May = 7.3 yds June = 6.0 yds July = 20.9 yds UFO total = 176.5 yds NEW Jan. =0 Feb. = 0 Mar. =8.1 yds July =27.8 yds NEW total = 35.9 yds Grand total = 212.4 yds *** Donation quilts44 in '24 finishes = 47 44 in '24 donated =42 Fostering Crossroads 30 WAS/QBB 12

I first experimented with a wonky frame around my blocks in my Yarn Bomb Trees quilt. It was a fun way to put things off kilter. My rebel self finds...

I have to say, I love this quilt! This has been one of my favourites to make (and now look at!) for quite a while. I'm not sure whether ...

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I've almost finished the quilt that will be my granddaughter's 3rd birthday gift. There are just a couple of blocks to be hand quilted. Here it is being held by my DH, the proud grandpa - and a close up of the cat blocks. In the 6 inch block swap, my partner Carole asked for any blocks in any colours. These are the blocks on their way to England. After a long dry spell we are enjoying days of gentle soaking rain. Everything is growing, the dust is settled and the temperatures a lot more comfortable. Of course the humidity is absolutely exhausting.

This free quilt pattern from RQM Patterns is the “9×12 Wonky Star”. Download

For each block you want to make you need a square. I wanted 16 blocks so I made 16 squares all the same size. I raided my stash for this and picked fabrics that coordinated and looked nice together…

Explore ZiKiarts' 6157 photos on Flickr!

-Mesures 36 by 52 inches This charming little fox astronomer baby or lap quilt is machine pieced and quilted out of 100% cotton and batting. It features a field of pieced blue wonky stars that pair beautifully with the navy blue whimsical printed fox cotton fabric of the back. This item was crafted with patience by hand in Southwest Ohio's Miami Valley. It has been gently washed and dried to achieve its antiqued crinkle look. We do not accept returns, but please contact us if there is a problem with your order. Care: machine wash cold on gentle cycle with mild detergent. Tumble dry on the lowest available setting.

This blog is meant to be a place to come and enjoy quilts with color, easy piecing, story quilts, laughter with a joke or two, a little wisdom,stories with sentiment, an editorial or two,encouragement to pay it forward, the idea that NICE is a good thing, some crafts, family, friends work, some painting, cooking and decorating and alot of creativity and invention from Mary Lou who is an author, designer, teacher, quilter, and Grandma- CORRECT email- [email protected]

After much fiddling with my new EQ7 software, I finally have templates for my Wonky House block that are ready to share and download! You may remember this block from my massive Stash Bee block catch up from last month. Pauline requested wonky houses for her month back in February and I definitely hesitated as I've mentioned before that I don't do wonky very well. A lightbulb went off and I thought to design a paper piecing "wonky" pattern with EQ7. This way I could have my cake and eat it too...the block would be perfectly wonky...with the bonus of crisp template lines to follow along with. I'm not going to share a tutorial for paper piecing in general, as there are several awesome ones out there in blog land, and why reinvent the wheel. If you have never paper pieced before, or need a refresher, check out Faith of Fresh Lemon's Quilts Paper Piecing Tutorial her's is my favorite! The Wonky House Paper Piecing Templates can be found here. Block size is 12.5" unfinished, or 12" finished. Please download the file to your computer before printing the templates, as I've found the block sizing to be off when printing directly from Google documents. Cut out all template pieces and paper piece using the numbered sections on each template. Once all your sections are pieced, use the above diagram to assemble your block. Please note sections A, H and I are single fabric sections. Due to the size constrictions of fitting the template pieces onto standard 8.5" x 11" paper for printing, this was the only option. Also, please note that the above finished block is a mirror image (read: backward) of the template pieces. Once your block is pieced, admire your work! Also be sure to add it to the SewCraftyJess Flickr group, as I'd love to see your interpretation! If you are interested in the ramblings of my EQ7 experiences so far, check out the review below: I had been in the market for quilt design software for some time now, and had deliberated between several options. I have used the TouchDraw app for my iPad thus far for quilt patterns and tutorial illustrations, which has worked great, but I really wanted something to help design paper piecing templates. I checked out jumping in with Adobe Illustrator, but ultimately thought that might be a little more than I really needed (and pricier too!), as well as checked out a few online quilt design options including Thread Bias' Quilt Design Tool, but decided that I wanted something that would be downloaded to my computer and not require a monthly subscription fee. After ruling out these options, I settled on Electric Quilt's EQ7. After receiving my software in the mail (I ordered from Fat Quarter Shop) I spent quite a bit of time reviewing the users manual for EQ7, learning the ins and outs of the software, as well as watching the demo videos and tips that are built right into the software. I also purchased the book EQ With Me: Pieced Drawing, as I was still a little unsure of the best way to use the software to design blocks that I had in mind. I can't say enough good things about this book. It takes each of the modes available in the EQ7 software and teaches you how to use them via a multitude of step by step tutorials (lessons) detailing how to construct various blocks of assorted difficulty. If I had known about this book from the beginning, I would have skipped the users manual and dove right into the lessons, as I'm a hands-on learner. So far, there hasn't been a quilt block I've come up with that EQ7 couldn't design, or a quilt layout that didn't easily come together. I'm also a huge fan of the ability to import fabric swatches to get an actual image of what a quilt will look like with certain fabrics. As for the cons, my main dislike is the lack of instruction within the software and users manual itself for using each function to actually construct quilt blocks. Maybe its just me, but I find its one thing to understand how a tool works and another to apply that tool in a string of 9 other tools to make a finished product. Now as mentioned before, the EQ With Me book completely did this for me, but after spending all that money on the software, its understandable to not want to spend another $30 on a book to learn how to use the software. One of the main reasons I wanted this software was to design paper piecing templates not only for myself, but to share with all you lovely readers. While EQ7 makes the designing aspect of this incredibly easy (once getting the hang of things), it doesn't make the sharing part easy at all. I found (and confirmed) that there is no way to save the resulting pages of paper piecing templates as an image document or PDF in the software. While this is no big deal if only making templates for yourself, but it poses a huge problem if planning on sharing the templates as a download with others. There is a way around this, I used Shape Moth's suggestion of installing a free PDF creator (I downloaded this one for free and it works like a charm) that lists itself among your printer options, so instead of printing the final copy of paper piecing templates via a printer, you can "print" them by selecting the PDF creator from the drop down printer selector which then results in PDF pages to save to your computer that are ready to download, instead of printed pages. Let me make myself clear, most of my gripes I have have nothing to do with the actual function of how the software works to design quilts and quilt blocks, but instead are with the little extras that would help with the finishing stages of publishing and sharing paper piecing templates. Perhaps this is where I should have considered Adobe Illustrator (and its heftier price tag) for publishing purposes, but in case you perhaps are considering EQ7 for the same reasons, I thought I'd share my experiences. On the whole, I can't say enough good things about this software and its ease of use, and only a minuscule amount of gripes, which for the most part I have been able to navigate around. I definitely give it a two thumbs up, which if I had to purchase again, would do so in a heartbeat! Disclaimer: I have not been paid in any way for this review. It is simply an unbiased review of my thoughts and impressions to share with others who may be in the market for quilt design software.

Learn how to sew a wonky quilt block angled in both directions. This simple trick will help you make all your wonky quilt blocks the same.

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who participated in sewing me a wonky house or wonky tree to be included in Wonkyville. You ar...

As promised, here is a tute on how to make this block, which I made for Sarah in the monthly Brit Bee. I've called it 'Wonky Corners' because I couldn't think of anything else! But if this block has a 'proper' name, please let me know! The effect of this block is achieved by alternating coloured strips with a dark solid (black in Sarah's block, and navy in this tutorial example). It works up to 12.5" finished. 1. Gather together scraps of fabrics. Varying lengths are good, and you could also use jelly roll strips. 2. Start with a 2.5" coloured square. Try to keep this in the same position - I keep mine to the top left hand corner of the block, and add strips to the right & bottom edges. 3. Angle the side of the starting square by approx. 0.5". 4. Pin a strip of dark fabric to this wonky edge. Flip it over to make sure that it will pass the top edge of the starting square. 5. Once in position, sew a 1/4" seam along the edge and press the seam away from the starting square. 6. Position the piece back on the cutting mat, making sure the starting square is lying square on the mat. Angle the side of the first dark strip & also the bottom edge. 7. Now pin, position & sew the 2nd dark strip along the bottom edge. Remember to overhang the dark strip slightly beyond the outer edge of the starting square. Again, iron the seams away from the starting square. 8. Angle the side of the 2nd dark strip and square off the opposite 2 edges - these are the edges which include the remaining raw edges of the starting square. They are the measuring point for keeping these outer edges square. I like to put a sticker in the left hand corner of my starting square to remind me to keep these 2 edges square. 9. Now add 2 more coloured strips in the same way as before. 10. Angle them, square off the outer edges, before adding another row of dark solid. 11. Continue adding alternate rows of coloured & dark solid fabrics, increasing in width as the block gets bigger. 12. I stopped adding strips when I got to 12.5" and then squared off the entire block. However you could stop or continue to whatever size you choose. Variations to this block could be .. * using white or pale grey solids with darker patterns * keeping the fabrics the same in each row (I used different patterns in my coloured sections) * using light shades on the top row and dark shades on the bottom row * using thin strips of solid with wide strips of pattern, or vice versa * increase the 'wonkiness' by increasing/varying the angles * not having contrasting solids at all! I would love to see your version of this block, should you decide to have a go. Please send me a pic of your finished block, and I'll put up a mosaic of all of them on my blog to inspire others to have a go! Happy sewing!

This quilt is a collaboration of blocks from a swap I was in. All blocks except one were made by quilting friends from my Craftser.org I had asked everyone to make 12 1/2 in. wonky house blocks made from bright fabrics with white backgrounds so they would all be cohesive. I think it turned out great. Each one of them is absolutely perfect. I can't decide on a favorite. I think it is which ever one I am focused on at the moment. My question is what is the best way to quilt this. Any ideas?

Made for Olivia Grace, using the Wonky zigzag pillow tutorial. teaginnydesigns.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/wonky-zigzag-pill...

Thanks to Leslie for the perfect little name for this sashing. I used a layer cake from Aneela Hoey's Little Apples line for this quilt ...

This free quilt pattern from RQM Patterns is the “12×12 Wonky Star-In-A-Star”. Download

Enjoy a trouble-free experience when thread sketching or thread painting by learning how to prepare your fabric for thread sketching — and the importance of what goes underneath.

I came across a beautiful improv quilt by Kathy Loomis via Pinterest and was pleased to find an informative blog post attached. Kathy explains the technique for making what I'm calling wonky stacks, a method she learned in a workshop with Nancy Crow. The technique is one of those easy, genius methods you immediately wonder why you didn't think of on your own. I pulled out my scrap strips to play (this technique is the perfect use for scraps). The method is so simple! Just sew strips together in groups of three (using light, dark, light or dark, light,dark), subcut into bars, and stack. I trimmed the bars to 4 1/2" wide and joined enough to make a column 20 1/2" long. I joined five columns to create a 20" pillow top. It was so fun, I made another, playing with value by using light aqua strips paired with navy strips. I quilted the orange pillow in straight lines and the blue pillow in a fun lily pad free motion design from Christina Cameli's book on free motion quilting. I backed both pillows with a simple self-lining envelope closure (tutorial from Crazy Mom Quilts). In the off chance you don't want to rush to your sewing machine and make your own, both pillows are available in my etsy shop.

These fun, funky, wonky trees are easy to make and create little waste. Learn how with my simple wonky tree tutorial.

I've started making little Shoofly blocks that finish at 4.5 inches. I'm using little waste triangles for the corners, 2 inch scraps for the center and solid bits and pieces for the backgrounds. I've been working very hard to use up my bags, bins and boxes of scraps the last few years and next year will be the year of waste triangles for me. (I hope). For me waste triangles are usually the result of trimming up "flippy corners" on blocks like Snowball or Indian Hatchet or they result from cutting binding joins. In those cases I'm not a precisely-measure-and-trim-with -ruler kind of girl or a draw-a-line-and-sew-another-seam-on-the -corner-for-a-bonus-HST kind of girl. I just whack off with a scissors at what appears to me to be 1/4 inch. Voila! Wonky Waste Triangles! The Little Shoofly blocks join the Little Basket blocks I started making a few weeks ago... ...with all those 30s reproduction waste triangles trimmed off Indian Hatchet blocks. Those will eventually be combined with some little Hollow Nine Patches. Then there are all the Wonky Stars I have been working on (and off-mostly off) since 2016 using 2 inch scraps. I need to decide a direction for these and decide if I want to continue to make them or just use these up. I sorted them into little piles and found I have around 65 of them that are different colors on colors. Maybe these would make a nice bunch of borders around some center Star or Stars??? I also had a little pile of about 25 colored Stars on a WOW or mostly white background. I thought maybe I could make Double Nine Patches with them and decide on some alternate block to go with them. Or just use Double Nine Patches in a quilt. But I don't have many WOWs so... I also have a little pile of 15 Wonky Stars with white centers and various colors of scrappy backgrounds. Maybe I'll make more of those but make them into 25 patches. But, then that wouldn't use up more waste triangles...so... Of course as I sort through years of waste triangles I'll find some will be larger and I will sew those into wonky HSTs or Hourglasses or Crumb blocks or.... And some waste triangles will be waaaay too small and will be thrown into the compost pile or onto a path in the flower garden. And just so you know I have actually used waste triangles and am not just a hoarder or waste triangles I have made two quilts using them that were gifted. Confetti Waves was finished October 2018 and I arranged the waste triangles like an Ocean Waves block. Blue Skies and Butterflies finished May 2019. Have you made something with waste triangles?

This will be our second paper-pieced block :-) I think it is a fairly simple piecing and as you are all experienced now you should have no worries, right?! Let’s dig in…Note that this …

Charles Cameron in an engineer and award-winning modern quilter who uses his rulers to create wonkiness in his quilts.

US postage stamps 2006 +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Boykin, also known as Gee's Bend, is an African American majority community in a large bend of the Alabama River in Wilcox County, Alabama. In August 2006, the United States Postal Service released a sheet of ten commemorative stamps bearing images of Gee's Bend quilts sewn between c.1940 and 2001.

Wonky Curves and a Win

"Wonky Star" - in progress Today's workshop at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, Oregon was a lot of fun. We spent the day with Gwen Marston, who taught us about liberated medallion quilts. I know Gwen draws inspiration from antique quilts, so I decided to make a Wonky Star based on two very old New England quilts. Center Star, c. 1815-1825, New England, Museum of American Folk Art The eight-pointed star set on a square is one of the oldest pieced designs you'll find in American quilts, and this Center Star from New England, made sometime in the 1815-1825 period, is a quilt that sticks in my mind. It was fun to try a new spin on it. One of the quilts in my collection, a Rhode Island quilt c. 1800, also includes these eight-pointed stars set on squares. Star Medallion, c. 1800, Rhode Island The other inspiration quilt, which I brought with me, served as the idea for the color palette. The quilt is a wool economy block, c. 1810, from New England. It's a wonderful quilt, one of my very favorites, and I love the mustard, rust, and deep browns that go toward black. The binding is red on three sides and green on the other side, so I may include those colors - or not. Probably won't get too much bigger, since I feel like it has to be hand quilted. Maybe finish the border I've started and one more larger border. I want it to be the size of one of Gwen's quilts, a good size for hanging. The one thing I have to admit is I didn't get as much done as I thought I would. Talking the whole time, of course, and it's been a long time since I worked in a group environment, so I got distracted easily. Hopefully I'll buckle down and get more done tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday with Sue Spargo and Gwen. We're making wool applique quilts, and if you read my earlier blog, I'm a man with a plan!.

It was pretty busy in “MY ROOM” this past week. Here are four of the quilts that spent some time on my longarm machine that I lovingly call Bessie. She’s my computerized girl an…

Create a fun, modern quilt featuring embroidery designs from Efflorescence, a BERNINA Exclusive Embroidery Collection.

This one is for me!