I found this pattern (and it’s free) on http://www.jukeboxquilts.com.  The owner, Kelly Gallagher Abbot taught a couple of classes at the Crazy Quilt Conference in Omaha a few years ago.  She is a wonderful teacher and very giving.  She also has cool quilting/craft items for sale.

This pattern is super easy but you have to pay attention to the colors.  Otherwise you’ll get a purple dot where a yellow one goes.  This pattern can be done with a prepackaged fat quarter bundle or just bust into your stash.  It has an easy template (use freezer paper).

I read somewhere that kids that are diagnosed with autism really like puzzles so if you have someone in your life with autism, this is a perfect quilt for them.

Thanks for reading.

Okay, it’s not a quilt, but a quilt design.  While attending classes in a local college, there was a needlepoint class listed.  Thought if I was going to school to learn, why not include a fun class.

This project gave us lots of stitches to learn and it made a nice wall hanging.  It is currently hanging in the Linkey Art Museum, i.e. at Mom’s house.  Arts should always be taught in schools and at all levels.  It’s good to use both sides of the brain.

Thanks for reading.

I have written about other quilts where you take identical 4 1/2″, turn them around and make an interesting pattern.  The best  pattern to use is either a large floral print or even really ugly fabric.  The pattern takes on a different view.

Here are some of the squares.  You can see by the border fabric, there are large flowers. However by fussy cutting, you get the same block and you can make swirls with little buds, leaves or portion of flowers.

The nice thing is you sew the rows straight across, slice it, resew it in different spots and at the end, the quilt looks like it was sewn on the diagonal.  Truly a fun pattern.

Thanks for reading.

I was going through the mail about 18 years ago and found a City Services Class schedule.  One class was for quilting, cost was free and it was held down the street from my house.

Nothing more than a nice size wall hanging and we could all get it done before Christmas.  I finished it but never quilted it.  The top was always just around waiting to be finished.  I had too many other techniques to learn and the need to build up my stash of fabrics was calling.

Finally about 18 months ago, I put it on the longarm and quilted it with ornaments and bells pattern.  It still needs binding but I’ll get to it soon. 

Quilting for me is the most calming thing I can do (besides just sitting and playing with the cats) but I know not to start a project when my mind is filled with problems.  The cuts are wrong, the seams don’t line up and it generally turns into a disaster. 

So when you are starting or working on a project, set your timer for 20 minutes and then stretch – move to another room – step outside and take a deep breath.  Then go back to the project.  Things take on a new perspective.

Thanks for reading.

I met this quilter at the Anaheim Convention Center years ago.  She was selling her book and plastic templates to make Drunkard’s Path.  Unfortunately, the book is at home.  I’m writing this at lunch at work and can’t give you her name.

The photos and directions were so easy to follow, that the curves didn’t bother me a bit.  I did 4 different squares using 2 templates.  A co-worker was practicing on her new long arm and quilted it for me. She apologized because she used a slightly damp cloth to erase the blue marker.  Well, as we all know, reds can run (not this redhead but red fabric is very iffy). 

It was not a problem because it was just a sample piece and I had the secret weapon – Color Catcher.  These wonderful sheets get tossed in with the wash and any color floating out there gets trapped by this cloth.  No red bleed – no problems.

Thanks for reading.