Quilting Inspiration and Education
Every quilter’s New Year’s resolution is to finish UFOs. I’ve made that resolution more ways than anyone I know.
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After Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day is the biggest card-giving day of the year. If you’re anything like me, you’re pressed for time to search for the right card. Furthermore, you’re 
annoyed at the expense of buying cards that don’t send the right message.
I have a solution for saying what I want, spending time where I want (my sewing room, not the card shops,) and saving a bit of money. That is, I use my fabric scraps to make paper-pieced greeting cards….
It may not seem like it, but there is still plenty of time to make this quilted basket for Easter giving. You can find the free pattern by logging in to the app, and going to the Library in Community/Gallery.
When I get down to business, I’m quick at getting my sewing and quilting done, but even a distracted quilter should finish this in under two hours.
My sister thought I was crazy when I forced her to make multiples at the same time. But, she agreed later that it doesn’t take twice as long to make multiples.
With a little encouragement from me, she completed three in three and one-half hours. It did require her to check her “everything has to be perfect to the milli stitch” attitude at the door. I was certain her grandchildren wouldn’t notice anything but the cute fabric and the gifts inside. It’s nice to be right once in a while.
Happy Spring.
Live well. Quilt Well.
We at Quilter’s Thread are looking into the histories of many traditional quilt blocks, and we’re starting to share them with you. Periodically, we will post a block, it’s common names and some information about it in the QT Blog area of the app. You’ll find these in the QT Blog feed. This post is written by Keta Gilliland, who is a friend and advisor to Quilter’s Thread.
Autumn Flurries
Yesterday winds were literally taking down trees outside my window. Then it snowed. A few hours later, the snow was gone, the wind had calmed and the day was peaceful. The weather reminds me of the Autumn Flurries quilt block.
In 1940, Nancy Page wrote in the Birmingham News: “The wind is blowing all four ways at once and sending these leaves or arrowheads or whatever you want to call them scurrying and flurrying. That’s why I called this pattern by the name of ‘Autumn Flurries.’” It is also known as Winged Arrows.
March Madness
Autumn Flurries uses some great techniques such as flying geese units, and quarter square triangles. There are a few ways this block can be put together, depending on whether you want a solid square in the middle, or if you use triangles to construct it. The orange and brown colors definitely have a Fall feel, but the pastels are all Spring. I call my pastel version March Madness.
Golden Eagles
Speaking of March Madness, this block would be great in your favorite basketball team’s colors. My alma mater is Marquette University, so I call the blue and gold version Golden Eagles. I’ve been saving my college team fabric for 8 years and finally know what I will be using it for!
One block, so many options! And it’s not just color options…use this block for an entire quilt or as part of a sampler. Let your mind be swept away with the possibilities of all you can do with the fabric in your stash, the scraps you have accumulated, or the beautiful new fabric line at your favorite local quilt shop. Once you stop your ideas from scurrying all four ways in your mind, planning out a quilt using Autumn Flurries will be a breeze!