Half and Half Block #4

Estevan

Estevan is what I call a half & half block. It is made by combining 2 different units. As a result, unlike most blocks, it is not symmetrical.

Half & Half Block #3

Hague

Half & Half Block #2

Climax

Half & Half Block #1

Foam Lake

To Be Continued..... Part 6

I've been showing you the individual letters from my quilt To Be Continued..... Today is the last day.

To Be Continued..... Part 5

I wish I had picked different colors for this quilt. I tried to go through the color spectrum from green through blue to purple as I advanced through the alphabet. It seemed like a good idea but it didn't work. I should have picked a couple of blues to go with the yellow background and left it at that. Then the quilt would have had greater unity.

Don't misunderstand me. I might use these colors again on another quilt. The colors do go together. It's just that they didn't work with this quilt.

To Be Continued..... Part 4

There are 29 letters in this quilt from 29 alphabets. They may look involved and complicated but none of them are. Take a close look and what do you see? Straight seams that anyone can sew. Diagonal seams at 45 degrees that can be made using the connector corner method, sometimes called sew and flip, which anyone can do. And that's it.

The one exception is the first A and it can be paper pieced quite easily.

To Be Continued..... Part 3

There are 29 letters on the front of this quilt that I named To Be Continued.... Each one is from a different alphabet. When they are all together like this, it is easy to over look one or two.  So I've decided to show them to you one at a time, starting  2 days ago.

To Be Continued..... Part 2

Every year my wife Linda and I put quilts into the Heritage Park Quilt Festival here in Calgary. The year this quilt was part of the festival I had two other alphabet quilts exhibited as well.

We met a friend in the park who said she'd seen my quilts and they were wonderful. Then she said that someone else did an alphabet quilt and it just didn't flow.

Linda and I had been all over the park and the only alphabet quilts we had seen were mine. It was this quilt she was referring to.

And she was right. It doesn't flow. Every letter is from a different alphabet that I'd designed. They don't look like they belong together because, in point of fact, they don't.

To Be Continued..... Part1

This is a sampler quilt. It shows samples of 29 different pieced alphabets on the front with another one on the back.

I began my quilting career by designing pieced alphabets and quilts to put them on. It didn't take me long to realize that it would take me years to sew all the quilts for all the alphabets I had designed. So I made this quilt using a few letters from some of my alphabets.

Since I intended to continue designing new alphabets and alphabet quilts I named it To Be Continued.....

Four Patch Block #6

Prince George

Once again I've designed a quilt using a four patch block.

This is the block, Prince George, that I designed for this quilt.

Four Patch Block #5

Chetwynd

Often when I design a quilt, the blocks form secondary patterns and are no longer obvious. This is not the case this time.

This is the Chetwynd block. Not only is it not disguised by secondary patterns in the quilt design, but it is easy to see how it can be made from 4 patches.

Four Patch Block #4

Fort St John

Blocks in rows and columns can sometimes be monotonous. So once in a while I like to design a quilt with offset blocks.

The four patch block I designed for this quilt is named after Fort St John. It's in northern BC, not far from the Alberta border.

Four Patch Block #3

Kimberley

The last two days I showed you quilt designs based on four patch blocks that I'd designed. I am going to do that again today.

Today's block is called Kimberley.

Four Patch Block #2

Cranbrook

This quilt design is the result of simply repeating a four patch block that I designed. I call the block Cranbrook.

Four Patch Block #1

Fernie

This quilt design is from a four patch block I designed. I've named it Fernie.

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 6 comes out 13 November, and I have a block in it on page 58. I thought you might like to see it.

Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt #6

North Cooking Lake

A ninepatch pinwheel block starts with a design on a ninepatch grid.

This is the design for North Cooking Lake.

Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt #5

Galahad

When I design a ninepatch pinwheel quilt I start with a ninepatch grid, then I ask what if and make changes to it to get a new ninepatch block in outline.

In this case I added some half-square triangles.

Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt #4

Seebe

To design Seebe I started with a ninepatch grid.
Then I asked:

What if I replaced some of the squares in the ninepatch block with half-square triangles?

Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt #3

Seven Persons

The design for Seven Persons started with a ninepatch grid. I asked:

What if I replace some of the squares with half-square triangles?

Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt #2

Campsie

I began designing Campsie by asking:

What if I add some half-square triangles to a ninepatch grid?

A Ninepatch Pinwheel Quilt

Dead Man's Flats

To design Dead Man's Flats, I started with a ninepatch grid.

Men Quilt Too!

Quilt Show #2

Usually I treat this blog as a sketchbook in which I explore quilt design ideas. I seldom use it as a showcase for my quilts.

However, that said, for the second year in a row I'm taking part in an on-line quilt show, sponsored by Pigtales and Quilts.

This is my opportunity to prove that I occasionally do some real work and sew the quilts that I design.

Quarter of Nine #13

This Quilt

 

 

 

Begins With

 

 

 

A Jacob's Ladder Block

 This Block

 Makes This Quilt

Quarter of Nine #12

What You Should Know About

Quarter Of Nine Blocks

* They are easy to make.
* They are fun to design (play) with.
* They start out as traditional blocks.

Designing Quilts On Computer

Using Paint

Part 2

In Part 1 I began showing you how I design quilts using the Paint program that comes with Windows XP.

Quarter of Nine #11

Start With A London Roads Block

Make A Quarter of Nine Block Quilt

Designing Quilts On Computer

Using Paint

Part 1

I don't use a quilt design program to design my quilts. I use the version of Paint that comes with Windows XP. It has its limitations but it is an easy way to get practice designing.

Let me show you what I do. (If you have a different version of Paint, the exact procedure may be a little different from what follows, but the basic idea will still be the same)

Another Look At Weyburn

Brenda King sent me a smilebox for participating in the Weyburn quilt show. I'd never even heard of a smilebox before let alone received one. I thought you might like to see this one: smilebox

This Is Me

In Weyburn Saskatchewan

Linda and I just got back from Weyburn Saskatchewan, where every 2 years the Weyburn Crocus Quilters put on a quilt show.

We had a great time and were impressed by the wonderful quilts we saw and the wonderful quilters we met.

What If You

Change The Grid

Of ...

...A

Contrary

Wife

Block ?







You get this wonky Contrary Wife block.