This is a terrific quilt for beginners. The blocks are very easy and are made larger than needed and trimmed to size. The leaves are all connector corners sew to plain blocks. This means that all of the leaf points will be sharp as there are no crossed seams to cut off the points and all of the blocks are a uniform, perfect size which makes the quilt assembly a snap. For those of you who are more experienced, this quilt goes together very quickly and is perfect for a quick gift. The angled border is optional. I've taught this class many times and have seen it done in pastels, thirties and was adorable in brights. Check out the Gallery for photos of other color palettes. Quilt measures approximately 65" x 80".

Union Blues is a lesson in "Making - Do". What is "Making - Do" you say? Well, we find these charming blocks in antique quilts when the quilt maker set out to make her quilt in a particular color palette but because fabric was so scarce she ran short of fabric and had to "make-do" in order to complete her quilt. My quilt uses a blue and brown color palette, and I created make-do blocks with some unlikely paring of fabrics in some of the blocks. While you certainly don't have to create "make-do" blocks for your quilt, it is fun and can be a bit of a stretch out of your comfort zone. Students in my class have loved the idea and the results and I think you will too! Union Blues was named for my love of Civil War history and features blocks from that era, the Churn Dash and Shoo Fly. Quilt measures approximately 82" x 82".

Cotton Blossoms was created from necessity. I teach a machine applique class and needed to find a pattern that had all of the basic elements of applique for a beginner. I thought, 'why not create one'? Cotton Blossoms has all of the basic shapes: flowers, leaves, free form circles, perfect circles, a star, square, triangle, heart (hiding as one of the leaves), stems, bias strips, and large, easy curved shapes. While this pattern was created for that purpose, anyone can make it using any applique method they like! Quilt measures approximately 25" x 27".

Rootbeer & Cotton Candy shows my love affair with pink and brown fabrics and is so soft and cuddly. It features three different blocks: two have pinwheel units and one has square-in-a-square units. The square-in-a-square block is made using Open Gate's Fit to be Square ruler, which makes construction a breeze and guarantees perfect units! These three blocks give the quilt interesting movement. The quilt reminds me of seersucker pajamas I wore as a young girl and perhaps would have been at a sleep over, staying up all night on a sugar high, drinking soda and eating candy like... you guessed it!! Geez... I could never do that now!!! Rootbeer & Cotton Candy is also fat quarter friendly! Quilt measures approximately 86" x 86".

I had this idea... choose four blocks that, when set either alone or with 'friends' would play well together by making some interesting secondary designs and Voila! Four different quilts from four easy blocks! Actually... swap the blocks around for yourself and the playful possibilities are endless. Quilt one uses only one block, quilt two uses two, three uses three and.. well... now you get the idea. Any fabrics or color way work great. Give it a try and make a John, Paul, George, Ringo or all Fab Four quilts for yourself! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!). Each quilt has only 13 blocks and uses 3 yards of fabric or less. I recommend using Open Gate's Fit to be Square ruler to make the Square-in-a-square units. Quilts measure approximately 36" x 36".

Raid your stash or use a wonderful fat quarter bundle of a favorite collection to make this easy quilt as it would look great in any fabric you choose! How about homespuns, reproductions, thirties, batiks??? Just be sure to use high contrasting fabrics in your blocks. The blocks are made with a nine-patch in the center, triple rails and squares... easy, right! The sashing is sewn to the block before the quilt is assembled. Fritzie's Closet is fat quarter friendly! Quilt measures approximately 73" x 84".

I'll bet you think that the block is the 'X' don't you! Nope... the block has a part of the 'X' in each corner and a pinwheel in the center. Aahh... now you see it! It's fun! The blocks go together easily and the design is completed with a row of units along the outside edge of the quilt center. I added the Half Square Triangle border for a touch of whimsy. Maizie Emm is fat quarter friendly and I used fat quarters from the Bound To The Prairie & Bound To The Prairie 2 collection by Kansas Troubles Quilters from Moda fabrics. Quilt measures approximately 68" x 80".

This quilt looks a lot harder than it is. Truth be told it's quite easy. There are 4 blocks in this quilt: cake stand, sawtooth star and two patchwork blocks that have the large flying geese and four patch units. That's it!! But look what happens when you place those blocks in the quilt!! This quilt is made using the Prairie Paisley collection by Minick & Simpson for Moda and I love how it turned out. When I saw the fabrics, they are obviously red, white and blue, but to me are also very feminine. When trying to name this pattern, I thought "what would be a name for an old fashioned feminist?" Suffragette was a perfect fit. I love the Prairie Paisely fabrics, but now I can't wait to make it out of reproduction fabrics. Can you see it in your favorite fabrics? Suffragette is fat quarter friendly. Quilt measures approximately 69" x 60".