Category Archives: OBW Workshops

OBW Workshop Retreat April 25 – 28, 2024

There is still time to join me for a One Block Wonder Retreat at the fabulous Strong House Inn, Vergennes, Vermont! Not only will you be papmered by the great food and staff at the Strong House Inn, but you will learn:

Identifying and cutting your repeats.
Aligning repeats including difficult fabrics.
Choosing a ruler and understanding the difference between pointed & blunt tip rulers.
Deciding what strip widths to cut.
And of course, cutting all your equilateral triangles.
Designing with the hexagons.
Integrating stars & cubes. What you can make with thr Star 60 Tool.
Designing around a panel.

Make your reservations now at the Strong House Inn.

I have been quilting for 20 years. I have been a Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor for 10 years. Maxine Rosenthal released her book “One Block Wonders” in 2006 – that’s when I made my first OBW. I have been teaching this process for 18 years. So far, I have made 108 OBW’s (my friends tell me there is medication for that). Below is the OBW Supply list for you to download.

obw-supply-list Download

One Block Wonder Retreat at the Strong House Inn

2023 OBW Retreat

Come Zoom With Me!

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I made my first One Block Wonder (OBW) in 2006! I was completely captivated by the process and the one of a kind quilts that are possible. So much so, that I have made 90 OBW’s so far and I have been teaching this class for 15 years..

I am offering a two part Zoom class. Each class is approximately 3 hours. The first class you will Identify, cut & align your repeats. You will then cut your equilateral triangles. The 2nd class is scheduled at least two weeks later to give you time to stitch your hexagons and sort them by predominate color. The 2nd class is all about designing your OBW with or without panels.

Last January started my journey of adding stars to my OBW’s. Deb Tucker’s Star 60 Tool gives me the possibility of creating 6 different size stars in a multitude of sizes. I will be adding classes for the Star 60 Tool and the Checkerboard 60, Capped 60, Striped 60, Quad 60, and Framed 60 Technique Sheets.

From the Home page click on the tab “OBW Zoom Classes” for more information and to download the supply list.

Join Me for a One Block Wonder Workshop

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Make your reservation now at the Strong House Inn May 14 – 17, 2020 for a One Block Wonder Workshop.

Strong House Inn – 94 West Main Street – Vergennes, VT 05491 – Amy Djordjevic, Innkeeper – Phone: (802) 877-3337 – StrongHouseInn@Gmail.com – www.StrongHouseInn.com

Join me (Jackie O’Brien, aka Quilt Ninja) for a creative journey learning to making a kaleidoscope/hexagon block using one fabric or pre-cut panels. I have made 71 One Block Wonders. Two of my quilts are featured in Maxine Rosenthal’s book “One Block Wonders of the World”.

In this class I will guide you to: Identify & cut 6 fabric repeats – Align the repeats – Cut equilateral triangles – Sew the hexagon blocks – Sort the blocks by predominate color – Design with the hexagons

The blocks are made from one fabric with very little waste! You cut and sew equilateral triangles forming hexagons and then design with these kaleidoscopic blocks. There are NO “Y” seams.

Because this quilt features one repeated block, design involves playing with the colors and shapes in any way you choose. The quilt you produce will have more energy and movement than the original fabric.

obw-supply-list-copy Download

Spending Time in Lake Havasu, AZ

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I have been in Lake Havasu since January 4th. I was honored to be invited to teach One Block Wonder at “Quilting By The Lake” for the Havasu Stitcher’s Quilt Guild. I had a great group of ladies. They did a fabulous job!

The week ended with a OBW Trunk Show

The best part of the trip was meeting my half Sister Marti for the first time! We found each other through Ancestry DNA test. We had never met until January 2020.

Marti and her husband Mike! We have had so much fun.

I even got to meet “Walter the Orphan Donkey” from Oatman, Arizona! Walter was abandoned by his mother and this family brought him home, saved his life and are now raising him. Walter thinks he is a German Shepherd dog and even uses the dog door! You can follow Walter on Facebook. The donkeys roam around the town waiting for us to feed them.

A few more days and I will be heading back to snowy New York! I had such a great time. I can’t thank my new sister Marti and her family enough. They have made me feel so welcome and loved. I have a whole new family!

Size Matters

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At least when it comes to One Block Wonders (OBW) it does. There are so many “Size” questions when it comes to choosing our fabrics. What size repeat should I choose? What size panel? What size strip width should I cut? What size design elements. The first thing I do when choosing OBW fabric is check the size of the repeat. Then I decide what size to cut the strips based on the size of the design elements. If I want to cut my strips 3 3/4″ wide then I want the design in the fabric to be larger than 4″ or I will not be taking the fabric apart.

I was going through my OBW stash and this found fabric I had started to cut up. I don’t know how long I’ve had it. It was The Saturday Evening Post line by Quilting Treasures. I had 4 yards of this striped pattern and another 4 yards of a different layout. I separated the strips and then found the repeat which was 8″ x 23″. I decided it was large enough to align the repeats and cut into 3 3/4″ strips. I could have cut the strips narrower for small blocks but I decided the design elements were large enough for 3 3/4″ strips which make 6″ finished hexagons. I used the ripping method to separate the strips to be sure they were straight. I have to say I don’t like this method. It made the edges wavy and was rough on the fabric. It may have easier to rip but next time I will use ruler rotary cutter,

It is not quilted yet but I do like the design. I used strips from the original fabric for the inner border. The outer border is from fabric number 2. It was also a striped with these small 5″ squares and larger 10″ squares below:

I have eight 10″ blocks of each, that leaves 6 panels for the blocks and 1 for the top with one leftover. Repeats can be from yardage or 6 panels can be used for our hexagon blocks. If I cut the strips 2 3/4″ I will get 3 strips will a little wiggle room left over. If I cut the strips 2 1/2″ wide I will get 4 strips with very little margin for error.

I made this 12″ block from hexagons cut from 1 1/2″ strips.

The photo of the tree is from Forest Hills Cemetery in Utica, NY. It is just above the grave of Mary Louisa Johnson, Daughter of John Adams, granddaughter of John Quincy Adams (6th President of the United States) & Great Granddaughter of John Adams 2nd President of the United States. The panel was 36″ 44″. It was so large it took 12 flowers pins to align it instead of the usual 6. I can’t wait to design it.

I spent last weekend cutting these panels into equilateral triangles. Now I’m ready to stitch away to my hearts content.

OBW Fabulousity

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Wowza, I just got home from teaching a One Block Wonder workshop to a great group of quilters whom I think of as friends! We gathered at the Strong House Inn in Vergennes, Vermont, where Innkeepers Mary, Hugh & Betsy spoil us with care.

We hit the road running on Thursday afternoon, almost as soon as I got in the room the cutting of the repeats began.

Carol had started hers hexies at home so she designed first, and what an awesome job she did!

I did not get a picture of Sally’s original fabric. It was motorcycles, racing flags and flowers on a bright clear blue fabric. Her design is so very cool. Ride Sally Ride!

Joan’s panel is in deep golds and rich colors. It seems one of her favorite blocks was very plain that she called “the Tortilla”! Can you find it?

Joan’s sister Sharon had a small aboriginal print from an 8″ repeat that she cut 2 1/2″ strips for a smaller hexie. Somehow I missed getting a picture of her final design which was totally awesome.

Deb’s panel is awesome and her hexie design is totally awesomeness!

Gladys’ fabric is so bright and cheerful. Her design is a true celebration of color!

Our very own Kathy Gannon had a fabulous large aboriginal fabric. The light in this photo does not shown how wonderful this design is. Kathy took the darker greens and fashioned a caterpillar crawling across the design. She also made great use of her left over fabric by making several size hexies to add a unique creative flair to her quilt. I can’t wait to see it finished.

Wonderful Jane found her fabric strips needed to be cut smaller to make best use of the design. She thought she would never get to the end of sewing her Mardi Gras hexies together.

Martha started with a great panel and came up with a very creative design. She loving calls some of her blocks “desert plates” that surround the center of light hexies.

Anne was not too sure about a One Block Wonder Retreat, but she went along with her sister Martha’s choice. What a completely awesome job she did. She is calling this quilt “Moon over Kyoto”!

Me at the end of the day laying in my bed exhausted!

What a great group of quilting friends. I miss you guys already!

I hope you ladies will share your completed quilts on our Vergennes OBW Class 2019.

And don’t forget to join the One Block Wonder Quilt Forum for inspiration.

I’ll be back at the Strong House Inn October 24, 25, 26 & 27, 2019 for “Everything You Wanted to Know about the Tucker Trimmer, But were afraid to Ask” workshop. We will make at least 4 blocks showcasing what units you can make, a table runner and a wall hanging, so make your reservations soon! Happy Quilting everyone.