I’m so happy, Judy Jackson called this morning to say she received the OBW quilt I made her. She is absolutely thrilled and loves the quilt. Included in our thank you to Judy were hats made by my sister and chocolates!
I am so grateful to you for caring and doing a wonderful job. Thank you for finding my quilts!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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….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!
You may have realized I love history and cemeteries. As my sister and I were visiting family in Forest Hills Cemetery (Utica, NY) we were drawn to this tree.
When I saw this panel I couldn’t believe my eyes. I have been taking photo’s of this tree since 2010. It is very near the grave of John Adams Great Granddaughter Mary Louisa Adams. Johnson and not far from our family. I love trees, I think I was a Druid in another life! Needless to say I just had to make a One Block Wonder using this panel from Quilting Treasures.
First attempt at designing.
When I stitched the rows together, I discovered I needed to add some fabric so the hexies would line up as I wanted them to. Then I had to disguise the added fabric and soften the edges.
I’m pretty happy with it. Below is a downloadable description of how I design a OBW with panels.
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 Yeilds | Finished 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.
Once I was satisfied with the design, I stitched the hexagons into four sections.
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.
I discovered when the bottom set hexies were aligned with side hexies – I needed to add about 1 1/2″ of fabric.
Now it all fit together wonderfully. I just needed to hide the fabric I added and trim the top and bottom points.
You can’t even tell where I added the fabric or hid it with smaller hexagons. Next I will get quilted!
No moose were hurt in the making of this quilt as Tucker was on duty supervising me the entire time.
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.
If These Threads Could Talk 