I’m beyond excited! I felt honored to be chosen for Quiltfolk’s Cat issue. It’s amusing because I am a Chihuahua mom! But I think cats are cool!
The cat issue is full of beautiful cat quilts and cats!
The panel called Intricately illustrated Kitty is by Rubin Design Studio of eQuilter.com. I named my One Block Wonder quilt “Bedazzled”. The large hexagons are made with Studio 180 Design’s Star 60 tool. I call them Star 60 Spinners. My quilt measures 88″ x 71″. I am on page 106. Thank you Quiltfolk!
If These Threads Could Talk is joining forces with Mama Said Sew (Terri Butler) to create an awesome new partnership. You can follow our adventures on our new Facebook page “Mama Said These Threads Could Talk”.
We will challenge each other by making a coat and a quilt using the same panel! I, of course will make the One Block Wonder (OBW) quilt and Terri will make a OBW Coat. Aren’t they just fabulous? The panel is Elf and Dragon by Rubin Design Studio.
I just got home from a quilt retreat at White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, NY.
Terri and I have great fun together.
Terri is working on Steampunk Mona OBW Coat. I will start designing the quilt this week. We have new panels arriving from QT Fabrics and Lumin Fabrics.
Terri is making me a OBW coat from Creepin it Real panels by QT Fabrics. It’s not quite done yet!
I came home to find this panel by Oasis Fabrics called Hidden Treasures was delivered. It measures 35″ x 43″. This will be so much fun to make into a OBW quilt & coat! We will be sharing more soon!
My car is unpacked, I’m showered and having a good cup of coffee. I am sitting in my recliner under the watchful eye of Tucker!
Thank you to everyone at the Sew Nice Retreat, I had a great time.
Studio 180 Design Certified Instructors having fun!
Elf & Dragon panel by Rubin Design Studio on eQuilter.com Panel measures 33″ x 44″.
I cut my strips 3.25″ to yield 5″ finished hexies. I created 10″ finished Checkerboard 60 units with my Star 60 Tool to be part of the dragon’s body.
The photo above is the quilt top stitched together, but no borders yet. Next I hide what needs hiding.
“The Elf’s song was heard through out the forest. The mossy earth began to shift. The dragon rose from beneath the leaves and mushrooms. The dragon would always come when the Elf called!
Can you find all my appliques’? The Elf and Dragon measures 90″ x 70″.
This is me on Buck, our first horse. In 1966 I was living in Las Vegas. I was in the 4H Club. Every year we participated in a parade down the Las Vagas Strip. I was such a tomboy. I once caught a wild mustang and brought it home. He was tearing up the corral so bad I had to set him free the next day. At least he had water and a meal.
Mystical Horse OBW measures 94″ x 71″. I cut my strips 3.25″ which yielded 5″ finished hexies, cut with the First Choice ruler. I included 10″ finished Framed 60 Units made with the Star 60 Tool and Island Batik fabrics.
My friend and fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor Terri Butler has challenged herself to make a OBW coat for every OBW that I make. She got hers done before me.
Terri and I did a thing! Terri Butler is my friend and fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor. While we were at H&H Americas in Chicago we had an idea.
These two panels were created by Frond Design for Northcott Fabrics. Terri had it on her design wall and I have had them in my OBW stash for a couple of years. The normal thing would be to stitch the halves together and design around them. Why be normal? We decided to do what we do best. A One Block Wonder coat and quilt out of the same panels!
Terri chose the layout, quilted the individual sections and cut out the coat pieces.
Terri did such a great job with her interpretation of Daydreamin, I just love it. You can follow Terri at Mama Said Sew. Terri is a great pattern designer.
After aligning the 2 sets of panels, I cut 3.25″ strips that yielded 294 – 5″ finished hexies.
I didn’t want to just design what was expected. The words that kept creeping into my mind were mutual attraction, cross pollination. I decided to create a flower in the center that came from a seed dropped by a bird. My design wall is 106″ wide by 72″ tall. That’s why my OBW’s look like murals. I filled my design wall and still had 63 hexies left over.
Daydreamin measures 97″x 65″. The colors are just mesmerizing. We will share photo’s of the quilt and coat together soon.
No hexies were harmed during the construction of this One Block Wonder. The Supervisor was on the job.
1776 panel designed by the Morris Group for QT Fabrics measures 38″ x 32″. This beautiful Eagle panel will be in shops Fall 2025.
The 1776 fabric line offers everything needed to create your own 1776 quilt. You can finish it in time to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.
I chose 5 coordinating fabrics to add to my story. I choose fabrics before I know what my design approach will be. The flags with the light blue background ended up on the back of the quilt.
I used Deb Tucker’s First Choice Rulers to cut my strips 3.25″ wide, yielding 5″ finished hexies. The stars were created using the Star 60 Tool by Deb Tucker. I started placing my hexies on the top section first.
Numbering the rows keeps everything organized. Once I attached the top and bottom sections, I stitched the hexies on the left into rows. It shows how much the rows shrink when stitched together.
The photo on the left shows the quilt top together without borders. On the right the borders have been added, but not yet tweaked.
1776 measures 75″ x 66″. I wanted to make the eagle’s wings look larger than they were. As if their strength created air currents that actually moved the stars.
I wanted to share my next OBW project using the 1776 line from QT Fabrics. (Correction, the video states 1776 will be in shops Summer 2025. 1776 will be shops Fall 2025)
The Enchanted panel is designed by the Morris Creative Group and brought to us by QT Fabrics. In quilt shops now.
When I first saw this panel I thought of the song “Castles in the Sky” by Ian Van Dahl, 1999. I thought that I would try to design around the castle as if it was floating.
I always say “the fabric starts talking to me” while I’m make the hexies. I cut my strips 2.75″ wide to yield 4″ finished hexies. I did not use the borders when I cut my strips. I ended up with 210 hexies.
I knew I wanted to add Hollow Cube 60 units. I started designing, trying to figure out where I would place them, and what would they represent. I thought I would add them as part of the sky. Suddenly, while designing, the words “Middle Earth” settled in my brain. I used the Star 60 tool, and the Hollow Cube 60 Technique Sheet. I made a 12″ Hollow Cube 60, with 4″ hollow cube 60’s inside it. The area below the White Tower would represent the Shire where the Hobbits lived. The Hollow Cube 60’s are Hobbit Houses!
The White Castle in Lord of the Rings is the greatest city of Gandor. The citadel of Minas Tirith is a towering, fortified community built into the side of the White Mountains.
SO, Middle Earth was the inspiration for my design. I used QT Fabric’s Aura line of blenders for my cubes and the blue half hexies surrounding the castle.
It always amazes me how much the rows shrink when stitched together,
Enchanted measures 63″ x 66″. The Enchanted panel is in store now.
It’s a wrap! Wowza, what a great One Block Wonder Workshop we had with Amy’s Quilt Room in Uniontown PA! So much so, we have scheduled back-to-back 3-day workshops starting July 31st – August 6th, 2025. Check with Amy’s Quilt Room for details and reservations.
We started with a trunk show. My fellow Studio 180 design Certified Instructor, Carolyn Ratola made her version of Creepin it Real by QT fabrics. It is always so much fun to see how different they come out.
Getting started. We had a great space at the Hilton Garden Inn in Uniontown.
We got to visit Amy’s Quilt Room. Amy’s quilt shop is sooo wonderful. She has the best selection of Island Batik’s. It is so special when 4 Studio 180 Design Certified Instructors get to spend time together! From left to right; Amy Constible of Amy’s Quilt Room, Carolyn Rotola of CaTs Quilting in South Carolina, Jackie OBrien of If These Threads Could Talk, Whitesboro NY and Tina Dillard of Quilting Affections, Waldorf MD.
Tina’s winter scene is so beautiful. I love her star made from Quad units. She has a frozen lake down in the bottom left corner.
This panel was a challenge. But as you can see, Karen knocked it out of the park!
Dianne worked so hard to design and adjust this Van Go like panel, fabulous job! Carol was exploring and learning to make Hollow Cube 60 units. Her fabric created beautiful whimsical hexies!
Christine’s bird panel is going to sing! Kristi’s Aurora Borealis panel is just stunning!
I can’t wait to see Trixie’s Buffalo finished. Caryn’s beautiful midnight flowers is fabulous!
Madonna’s Unicorn is so colorful! Sherry’s Bears are just magnificent! She got the whole OBW together, I just love it!
Sherry’s horse panel by QT fabrics has the best colors. Gitta’s panel so playful!
Ann’s polar bears are going to be great, I love the colors. She is also adding Hollow Cube 60 units. Carolyn’s Northcott panel is going to be a work of art. She is painting with fabric.
Rhonda’s deer panel is amazing. I did realize how much blue she managed to pull out of it. Madonna won one of the door prizes. It was 7 mini versions of the Creepin it Real panel by QT Fabrics. We also gave away two Quilter’s Dream Battings generously donated by them.
This OBW Workshop Hosted by Amy’s Quilt Room was so much fun! I can’t wait to come back in August!
If These Threads Could Talk 