A lot can be said about starching your fabric before cutting it for quilting and machine embroidery. Many quilters prewash their fabric before they do any cutting – personally I don’t do this because I like the shrinkage you get after you’ve quilted the three layers. I do however starch my fabric as I’ve found […]
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Cathedral Window
Cathedral Window was inspired by the historic church stain glass windows. The quilt block became popular in the United States in the 1930s. Every block is made using a folded patchwork technique similar to origami. A fabric square or circle is folded and stitched to reveal a contrasting fabric on the other side. There are […]
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Oak leaf and cherries
According to Celia Eddy, oak leaf and cherries is a popular appliqué motif. The popularity makes it difficult to date the first publication or origins. It features in Dolores Hinson’s A Quilter’s Companion printed in 1973. Templates for this appliqué can really be drafted from the picture. Reuse the leaf and the small circles so […]
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Foundation piecing
Foundation piecing is the primary method we use to develop our patchwork in the hoop blocks. It is a great method for piecing intricate blocks where the number of pieces could result in inaccurate measurements. When I think of foundation, I think of the first step in creating a building. Much the same way, foundation […]
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Baby Block
The baby block originates from star designs where the diamond was in use since the beginning of the 19th century. Baby blocks use the diamond shape to create an illusion of 3d. The colour placement is what creates the impression of depth. It reflects a stack of blocks like that which children build from blocks, […]
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Le Moyne Star
The Le Moyne star is named for the Le Moyne brothers from France. The family settled in Canada in the 17th century. Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville established the Louisiana Colony in 1689. His brother Jean-Baptiste de Bienville served several terms as Louisiana governor. In North America, the block underwent a name change due to regular […]
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Little Schoolhouse
The Little Schoolhouse belongs to a group of patchwork blocks that represent every day life and items closer to reality for those quilters in the late 19th century. From about 1870 it is also found in the context of the education campaign to get more children educated as led by the American federal government at […]
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Introducing the Block Barn
The Block Barn is our new series focusing on traditional quilt blocks. We will introduce you to a traditional block on a regular basis, and you can use the Block Barn to check on earlier releases. It is a similar concept to Block of the Month or Block of the Week, but we will not […]
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Placemats for Christmas
I’ve made some placemats for Christmas celebrations. The designs used are “Folk Christmas Redwork” . The finished size of each placemat is approximately 13″ x 18″. Using the diagram, this is for 1 placemat: Fat quarter 1/8 yard 1/8 yard 1/8 yard 1/8 yard Using the diagram, cut the following for a single placemat: Square […]
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Baby quilt
Here is a quick baby quilt using a very simple design. In this case, I used blocks, no batting, and flannel for the backing. It is soft, not bulky, and great for swaddling baby. Perfect for a newborn, and great for a baby shower gift. Perhaps add a burp cloth with matching fabric? You will […]
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