Tag Archives: OBW Quilts

Judy Jackson This OBW (#72) Is For You

As most of you know, in January I was teaching and visiting family in Lake Havasu, Arizona. I had shipped 15 of my OBW’s there for a trunk show. When I shipped them back to NY, UPS lost them. The quilts were lost track of and didn’t make to the Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH) in Illinois. I notified the UPS Store in Lake Havasu, they launched an investigation. My sister Mary started calling UPS. She was transferred from person to person and finally Judy Jackson (in a sort of Lost Found) answered the phone. Thank God! Judy began tracing my quilts and called us often with updates. Within days the quilts were located in UPS Corporate Offices in Georgia. The box had split apart and the label had come off. I sent photo’s of the quilts to Judy, plus my quilts are labeled with my name and State. I also had a list of the quilts in the box and my mailing address. My quilts were overnighted to me. Joy, Joy Joy! I have made 72 One Block Wonders, but I only have 19 myself. Most were given as gifts. My OBW’s were irreplaceable.

I’ve had this fabric by Timeless Treasures in my OBW stash for about 10 years. It is politically incorrect as there are no female delivery people. But I just could not resist making Judy a OBW using this fabric.

It made really cool Blocks.

As I played with the design I shared photo’s on Facebook. I was told it looked like a murmuration. I had to look it up – it is an organized formation when a flock of birds fly and change direction!

It is a very cool quilt to look at and identify where the blocks came from in the original fabric.

Pretty Cool!

This is the label on Judy’s quilt. Always find a way to label your quilts!

Join Me for a One Block Wonder Workshop

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.comwww.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.

Hug a Quilt Today!

I have declared it “Hug A Quilt Day”! I lovingly carried all my quilts back down to Tuckerville. I hugged each one as they were either hung or folded on a shelf. I’m so happy my quilts are home! Thank you all for your prayers, kind words and support!

There’re Back!!!!!!

Holy Moly, thank you Judy Jackson! My OBW quilts were delivered safe and sound 9:00 AM this morning after being lost for 13 days. Funny thing, they were in TWO boxes as I wanted. The UPS store in Lake Havasu put all 15 quilts in one box even though I didn’t want it that way.

Needless to say, there is a One Block Wonder in Judy Jackson’s future!

My OBW Quilts Have Been Found

Thank God and Judy Jackson of UPS – they found my quilts in Georgia. The UPS office in Lake Havasu, AZ didn’t package them correctly. The box was severely damage and the label came off. Luckily they found my list of quilts and my address inside the box. They are at the corporate office in Georgia and will be packed correctly and be on their to me in several days. Thank You all for your concern. I was overwhelmed with the your responses. God bless you all & Judy Jackson!

UPS Lost My Quilts

UPDATE: my quilts have found! Thank you all for your prayers and kind words!

I’m completely devastated! After my One Block Wonder Trunk Show for Quilting by the Lake in Lake Havasu, Arizona I shipped my quilts home by UPS only to have them disappear at the Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH) Facility in Hodgkins, Illinois. I have no idea how long their investigation will take. These Quilts are irreplaceable. I can not just remake them. I am writing this because I feel helpless and frustrated!

Spending Time in Lake Havasu, AZ

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!

Twas the Night Before Christmas – OBW #71

Twas the night before Christmas….no it’s more like a week and a half before Christmas and I just had to finish this One Block Wonder instead of doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m supposed to be working on my last quilt of the year for Island Batik.

I just love this panel by Timeless Treasures. My quilt measures 60″ x 62″. If you haven’t tried a One Block Wonder using a panel, here are my tips:

Happy Holidays!

Charlie the Unicorn – OBW #70

The Unicorn is all about opening up to infinite possibilities and that the infinite possibilities surround you and are available to you at all times.

I made this One Block Wonder for my son Jason’s birthday in a few weeks. Spiritually the Unicorn symbolizes success. If you summon the power of the Unicorn, the Unicorn will give you the blessings to be a success in whatever you choose to pursue. I love you Jason, Happy Birthday!

Here are my tips for using panels to make a One Block Wonder:

Northern Lights

The more you practice the better you get at something.  The same is true with quilting.  This quilt was supposed to be for my son Josh for Christmas (last Christmas).  Oh well, better late than never.  This panel is called Northern Lights by Abraham Hunter for Elizabeth’s Studio.  It claimed to be 36″ x 44″ but is was closer to 39″ wide.

I aligned my 6 panels, cut my hexagons and began designing around the panel.  I do not trim the panels before I align them.  Once they are aligned I can decide whether to use any of the borders or not.  I decided not to use the border in the blocks so when I guesstimated how much to trim off to even the edges , I included the borders.

I start by trying to get an idea of how many hexies will fit across the top and/or bottom of the panel. It is just like making a pieced border to fit around the center of a quilt. The width of the panel should be divisible by the finished size of my hexagon block.

You have two ways to make sure your hexagons will fit across the top and bottom of your panel. You can trim or add fabric to your panel and/or you can also adjust the size of your finished hexagon so it is divisible by the width of the panel.

Strip Width YeildsFinished Hexie Size
3.75”6.0”
3.50”5.5
3.25”5.0
3.00”4.5
2.75”4.0
2.50”3.5
2.25”3.0
2.0″2.5

I decided to cut my strips 3.75″ for 6″ finished hexagons and trim my panel to 36″ wide.  Six hexagons will fit across the bottom and/or top of the panel.

I kept playing with the design.

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Once I was satisfied with the design, I stitched the hexagons into four sections.

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I laid the top portion of hexies on the panel to help give me an accurate width to trim off.  I felt I would not lose an important part of the panel by cutting off the tree.

I trimmed the panel, Trimmed the portion of the hexies so it could be stitched to the panel.

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I discovered when the bottom set hexies were aligned with side hexies – I needed to add about 1 1/2″ of fabric.

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Now it all fit together wonderfully.  I just needed to hide the fabric I added and trim the top and bottom points.

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You can’t even tell where I added the fabric or hid it with smaller hexagons.  Next I will get quilted!

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No moose were hurt in the making of this quilt as Tucker was on duty supervising me the entire time.