Calendar Girls 2016: May Trillium Wreath

How can it be May already? We are still having the April showers where I live, but at least they've brought lots of May flowers! Color, color everywhere.

The Trillium Wreath block stands alone as the center of this small table topper. Set on point with pink triangles and then a striped border using all my favorite colors.

12" Trillium Wreath Block

And the digital quilt:

Trillium Wreath: 26" x 26"

And I found the little quilt I made several years ago, folded up in my closet. Poor thing has a fold right down her middle. Will have to let her rest on the bed and relax, huh?

Trillium Wreath Table Topper: 26" x 26"

You do not have to go to Craftsy for this pattern. It will eventually go there, but for now you can download it from the links above.

Remember, you need to own a copy of my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar in order to get the pattern for the 12" Trillium Leaf block.

Patches and Leaves: March Calendar Girls Project

Today is February 29 and that means it's a leap year! I've decided to reveal my March project one day early because tomorrow I am featured at the Benartex blog Sew in Love with Fabric. Enjoy!

Here is the third project in my 2016 Calendar Girls Quilt of the Month!

Block a Day Calendar

Read the details about why you need a copy of the calendar in order to participate HERE.

March's project uses rotary cut squares and simple applique leaves to create a lovely block on point:

 Patches and Leaves Quilt uses the block from March 21 in the calendar. It is a 12" finished block and the quilt finishes to 56" x 68"!

Patches and Leaves: 56" x 68"

Here is a smaller quilt made by a participating quilt shop several years ago:

Six block Patches and Leaves

And how about a table runner? I made this using only three blocks:

3 Block Patches and Leaves Table Runner

The link below will take you to my FREE Craftsy pages where you can download the pattern. This is the only way I will offer this. And as was true with the 2015 Galaxy of Stars BOM, I request that you DO NOT make copies for your friends. Ask them to get it from these links. The ONLY exception I make is for those people who DO NOT have access to a printer or internet. Thanks for understanding.

Here is the link for the Patches and Leaves quilt pattern with attached newsletter.

And you can see ALL of the 366 blocks in the calendar here: Block a Day Calendar

See you next month (April) for our next Calendar Girls quilt.

2016 Calendar Girls: January's Prairie Flower

2016 Calendar Girls Program

Welcome to the first of 12 projects in my 2016 Calendar Girls Monthly Program. I can't call it a Block of the Month because these are not only blocks, but whole quilts! The first one features the Prairie Flower from my Quilter's Block a Day Calendar by Martingale.

Block a Day Calendar - not tied to any year

This is FREE to anyone with the calendar. Why do you have to have the calendar? Because I structured it so quilt shops could sell the calendar! This was designed in 2008 as an exclusive quilt shop program. It was to drive traffic into shops for a Calendar Girls monthly group. That was the only way you could get the pattern for the quilt. The calendar has the cutting instructions for the block and you now can get the pattern for the quilt AND a helpful newsletter specific to the type of construction for that particular block.

Here is the Prairie Flower Block:

Prairie Flower Block - January 6

And my own Prairie Flower Quilt:

Prairie Flower

Prairie Flower from a participating quilt shop

Prairie Flower digital version

The link below will take you to my FREE Craftsy pages where you can download the pattern. This is the only way I will offer this. And as was true with the 2015 Galaxy of Stars BOM, I request that you DO NOT make copies for your friends. Ask them to get it from these links. The ONLY exception I make is for those people who DO NOT have access to a printer or internet. Thanks for understanding.

Here is the link for the Prairie Flower quilt pattern with attached newsletter.

And you can see ALL of the 366 blocks in the calendar here: Block a Day Calendar

See you next month (February) for our next Calendar Girls quilt.

2016 Calendar Girls Projects

The CALENDAR GIRLS© Quilt Shop Program was a 12 month series of quilts based on blocks in the Quilter's Block-a-Day Calendar. It was exclusive to quilt shops in 2008 and NOW is available to individual quilters as my 2016 Block of the Month Program. Each month features a fully patterned quilt with all instructions and color diagrams, PLUS an accompanying one page newsletter full of tips particular to that project.

You have to have the calendar to make sense of the pattern! All cutting info and templates for the blocks are in the calendar. The pattern gives all the yardage info, sashings, borders, etc - just like any pattern.

Example of block pattern in the calendar

Beginning in January, I will share the project and newsletter on my blog. I hope to have sample blocks so you can see them in REAL fabric. I have several project pics of quilts made by participating quilt shops, too. And several of my own. Here is my small Prairie Flower quilt using Fossil Ferns.

Four block Prairie Flower quilt from the January pattern

If you can't find a calendar to buy (online, quilt shop, etc) I have a limited number of Calendar CDs available for sale ($12.99 plus postage). They have all the blocks in the desktop calendar in TWO sizes along with another 12 quilts! I can only mail these within the USA and Canada. I have two remaining desktop calendars also for sale ($19.99 plus priority postage because it's so heavy).

YOU CAN SEE ALL 366 OF THE BLOCKS IN THE CALENDAR HERE: QUILTER'S BLOCK A DAY CALENDAR

January -- Prairie Flower 51" x 51"	February --Warm Welcome Home 34" x 38"	March -- Patches & Leaves 56" x 68"
April -- Dancing Double Cross 63" x 63"	May -- Trillium Wreath 26" x 26"	June -- Idaho Beauty 35" x 57"
July -- Americana Sampler 56" x 56"	August -- Free Trade Stars 36" x 36"	September-- Union Squares 44" x 44"
October-- Blazing Autumn Leaves 55" x 59"	November -- Glory Leaves Placemats 12" x 18"	December-- Star & Wreath Table Runner 22" x 48"

Galaxy of Stars - Housekeeping and Updates

I want to catch you all up on what we have so far. Also, I've received requests and questions from several bloggers and I have NO WAY to answer you because your email comes in as a "no-reply" comment. For example:

Pamela had a wonderful comment about how she has all of her fabrics and plans on finishing the quilt in 2016. She's made several blocks already. But I had no way to get in touch with her and tell her "Kudos, Pamela!"

Then there's Sandy:

Do you see what I mean? If you don't get a question answered from me within a day or two, it's probably due to the fact that I can't get in touch with you. Remember my email: kratovil@his.com. Yes, I made that public! You can always write to me there with Galaxy of Stars (or whatever blog topic) in the subject line.

Now for the blocks so far:

• I've given patterns for eleven 12" blocks (one more coming in December), 
• one 24" block, 
• the pattern for the 6" blocks,
• and the pattern for the Square in a Square border blocks.
• You should also have the supply list of materials and a layout diagram.

The Galaxy of Stars page (navigates from a button at the top of my blog):
 http://debbykratovilquilts.blogspot.com/p/galaxy-of-stars-bom.html

Should be current. I was notified that the link I gave in the November block for the extra Sawtooth Star Variation was broken. Again, I couldn't get back to the commenter because it was a noreply-comment.

I added the Sawtooth Star Variation block as a separate post November 15. There is a picture of the block from the quilt and the link to the pattern:

Sawtooth Star Variation makes 11 blocks so far!

Next week, before Thanksgiving, I will give more info on my upcoming 2016 Block of the Month projects. I actually have a page that shows all 12 of the projects that are based on my Quilter's Block a Day calendar.

Would you like to see them? Would that help you decide if you want to participate? I also have several quilts from when quilt shops offered it, but those won't be revealed until the appropriate month.

And remember, I am also offering patterns for my Adinkra Quilt:

African Adinkra Quilt in blues and browns

And the first Adinkra Quilt I made (and since gifted):

African Adinkra Quilt using authentic African fabrics

Galaxy of Stars - Block #11

Yes, it's true. Block #11 of the 12" size has yet to be revealed. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both Amy O. and Suzanne J., they were worried they had somehow missed a block. This is because they are actually keeping up with the blocks, sewing them each month and Suzanne is actually going to finish the quilt top and give it to her brother and sister in law for Christmas! (She did assure me she will take it back and then quilt it as she has time. I thought she was also going to quilt it!)

So, here is the 11th of the 12 blocks that finish to 12". I gave you the center block (24") and the pattern for the small 6" star blocks that are fillers. I lost track. Even though I used to be a high school math teacher, I guess I am getting rusty when it comes to counting!

This is called Sawtooth Star Variation, all rotary cut and stitched (whew!) The last block will be paper pieced, so I had to give you an easy time of it on this block.

12" Sawtooth Star Variation

And what about next year's Block of the Month? I have two ideas and I will probably run both of them. One is all applique based on my Adinkra Quilt. I have made the quilt twice and still own one of them. I also have blocks and patches all cut out for a 3rd one, so I have all the parts to share in steps.

There are 12 applique blocks and 13 Square in a Square blocks. This is easy raw edge applique. The fun part of this quilt is that there is a meaning ascribed to each of these symbols (ie, Friendship, Home, etc). This blue quilt was patterned for Blank Fabrics using their Ethnic Echoes Collection (several years ago). I sold the pattern on CD and in 2016 it will be FREE!

African Adinkra Quilt: 10" blocks, 69" x 69" quilt

Here is a picture of the first Adrinkra Quilt I made (now in a museum collection):

Original Adinkra Quilt, gifted to the African American Museum in Virginia

The other one is based on my Quilter's Block a Day calendar by Martingale. This means that in order to participate you will have to own either the desktop version or the CD version. This is more than a block a month - it is a QUILT project a month! This was a quilt-shop-only program in 2008 and I realized that this could get a lot of traction with all of you!

Block a Day Calendar with 366 blocks

The calendar is available on Amazon, at your local quilt shop and in limited quantities from me. More on that in December. But check out your LQS to see if they have them in stock. This is not tied to any one year; it is perpetual.

What sorts of projects will these be? There will be one a month for 12 months.

Glory Leaves Placemats (based on a November block)

Prairie Flower Quilt (based on a January block)

And for each month I give a tip sheet (like a newsletter) which is specific to that month's project: making half-square triangles, bias strips, etc. All the yardages and steps for making the projects are included, just like a stand alone pattern. Each pattern is 3 pages (pdf) and then the tip sheet.

Each month I also include a line drawing so you can make your project using your own colors.

The catch is that I don't give cutting directions for the blocks because that is in the calendar. You have to have the calendar to get anywhere!

So, think about it. And to see ALL THE BLOCKS that are in the calendar, go to this link:

Debby Kratovil's Block a Day Calendar

You can see all 366 of the blocks and get an idea of the breadth of the calendar. Hope you'll join me in one of the two BOMs for 2016!

Galaxy of Stars July Block and Tutorial

Can you believe it's July already? It's that time for another Block of the Month in the Galaxy of Stars quilt. Did you enjoy making that LARGE Woven Ribbon Star last month? I told you it was easy!

This month's block is called Stars and Stripes. While the colors aren't necessarily patriotic, the pattern is a traditional block that I converted to paper piecing. Here is the block in my quilt:

Stars and Stripes Block

I had cut out all the parts to make another block several years ago. I decided to sew those together:

Stars and Stripes using turquoise and purple

Here is the block from the back. All trimming is done as you go so that when you are finished, everything is neat and tidy:

Stars and Stripes from the reverse side

Then I pulled out my Windham Fabrics Artisan Cottons (shot cottons) . . .

Artisan cottons - can you see those contrasting threads?

Shot cottons are woven with one color in the warp and a second color in the weft (I hope I got that right). It gives the fabrics shimmer and depth of color like none other. So, let's see the block I made with these 3 colors.

Stars and Stripes using the Artisan Cottons from Windham Fabrics

And now let's look at the process:

Cut out the pieces as indicated on the FREE pattern (link below)

Patch #1 trimmed with Patch #2 added on UNWRITTEN side of pattern

Stitch well beyond both seam allowances (stitching on the pattern line from other side)

Trim other side of Patch #1, preparing for Patch #3

Patches 2 and 3 added and pressed. They MUST be trimmed before adding Patches 4 and 5

Audition Patches 4 and 5 because they can only go in these spots

Cutting sizes are indicated on the one page pdf pattern. I even tell you how to cut rectangles so that you get these two patches which are mirror images of each other.

Note how the stitching always crosses at the intersections. Ready to be trimmed on outside lines

One quarter of the Stars and Stripes block, pressed and trimmed

Here is the entire block again:

Stars and Stripes FREE Block of the Month for Galaxy of Stars

I plan on making several more of these blocks using more of the shot cottons. Did you see the fat quarter bundle?

Artisan Cottons from Windham Fabrics

I hope you've enjoyed this little lesson for the Stars and Stripes FREE Block. See you next month for block #8!