It’s that time of year again….time for Quiltmaker’s 100 block tour.  If you’re new to the blog or haven’t been here for awhile know that it’s been a busy year for Kelli and I.  Both of us moved to new houses.  Kalissa, Hubby and my, youngest daughter got married.  I started a new job and we have a new collaboration book out  75 Fun Fat Quarter Quilts.  It’s been a very busy year!!  It was so busy we almost didn’t make it into the issue.
It’s always fun to be a part of the issue but the block for the issue almost wasn’t. Â We needed to have the block in to Quiltmaker in late February/early March. Â Well if you’re a long time blog reader you might remember that time in my life. Â We had moved and I had started in home childcare. Â My quilting room was in shambles.
I wasn’t really ready to design anything and even if I did, I really didn’t have my fabric unpacked. Â We love 100 blocks and didn’t want to be left out of the fun so Kelli came home one day with the plan that she wouldn’t leave without a block to submit. Â She went to the sewing room to see what she could unearth as far as fabric goes and I went to the computer to design something.
While on the computer I checked comment on the blog. Â I sorted through them and happen to see an icon by the comment a blog reader left. Â It looked like this….
I thought it looked kind of interesting and wondered if I could recreate that on the computer and use it as a quilt block. Â I don’t design using EQ. Â I designing using the regular Microsoft Word program. Â (I’ve written a tutorial on it that you can see here)
Well this is the block that I came up with. Â I thought it was interesting but wanted to see how it would look with other blocks. Â What would those red flying geese on the corners do when butted together with other blocks.
I put four blocks together and loved the design. Â The red flying geese created a pinwheel….AWESOME.
Now was time to put them together into a quilt… Â On the outside blocks I took off the some of the flying geese. Â In the end, I was very happy with the quilt.
Well as good as luck as I was having at the computer, Kelli wasn’t having luck in the sewing room. Â She said all she could find was 100% cotton recycled shirts.
I said -I guess that’s what we’ll use then…and we did.
Kelli worked out the math and made the block.
..and that my friends is how the block came to be in the magazine. Â Kelli and I both really want to make this quilt. Â Wouldn’t it be a great guy quilt?
Anyway…As you probably know many of the quilt block designers sponsor a giveaway in conjunction with the blog tour. Â We are doing just that. Â Please leave a comment here on the post and we’ll pick two winners.
Winner #1 will win a copy of the 100 Blocks magazine that will come from Quiltmaker.
Winner #2 will win an autographed copy of the 100 Blocks magazine and copy of American Patchwork and Quilting’s new 2016 calendar featuring our quilt on the front cover.
We have our own on line store where we sell autographed copies of our book Country Girl Modern, the new collaboration book 75 Fat Quarter Quilts and the calendar. Â Right now we’re running some great deals. Â Feel free to check them out here.
We’re so happy that we got a chance to be part of the tour and magazine. Â It’s always fun. Â Watch for some fun things happening here on the blog. Â Wednesday we are featuring our UFO finish it up challenge. Â Friday we have a new quilt to show you from our 75 Fat Quarter Quilts book….and on Saturday we’ll be adding a new free quilt pattern to add to our free patterns. Â This pattern will be especially fun for 100 Block lovers as it’s a baby quilt and you can add any of your favorite 100 blocks to create your own design.
Don’t forget to check out Quiltmaker’s blog so you can see what other great blog there are to hop around to today.
We’ll pick a winner next week…leave a comment here telling us your favorite quilting project you’ve ever made for your chance to win.
My favorite block was from a quiltmaker magazine called Best Friends
My favorite project that I have made was a Christmas tree skirt. I really enjoy reading your blog every day. auntie.clark@gmail.com
The first quilt I made is still my favorite & it is still on my son and DIL’s bed. It was a king size applique BOM, each month being a different Northwoods scene depicting that month of the year.
I love your block. The pinwheels and 9 patches really shine. Thanks.
The first quilt I ever made was a long cabin table topper, that I still love.
I made a Little House on the Prairie quilt using the free pattern found at during quiet time blog. In fact, Amy featured it on her blog on Oct. 30th. I gave this quilt to my best friend’s seven year old granddaughter in celebration of an answered prayer. Ever since this little girl could talk, she’s prayed nightly for a daddy and her mother was married the middle of October. I loved making it and loved giving it to her. I concentrated on using her favorite colors: pink, purple, and blue. I’m now gearing up to make one for my five year old grandson who also loves the Little House book series and will be switching out some of the blocks and including blocks with red mittens, covered wagon, real log cabin, an ox, and replacing the black cat with a pattern for a gray kitty and a mouse.
Congrats! It’s a great guy quilt; I’m thinking patriotic colors of red white blue.
I have lots of favorites. My favorite is still my first original design: my Dresden Maltese Cross firefighter medallion. It’s just amazing how the design all came together. It led to my first tutorial and a friendship with the designer of the template I used to help cut the shapes I needed.
reillyr2(at)hotmail(dot)com
I think my favorite quilt is always the one I am working on at the time you ask. Right now I am making an I Spy quilt for our youngest grandchild. It is twin sized made with two inch hexies and triangles. I pieced the top by hand using EPP.
Your block looks great. My favourite project has been my double wedding ring quilt. If only I could get around to quilting it!
I really like your block. Would love to win!
My favorite quilt…well there are three…a wolf quilt, my daughter’s wedding quilt and the autograph quilt from that wedding! I got to design all three, so maybe that’s why I like them the best!!
Fun block! I like the pinwheel that appears in the quilt layout. My favorite quilt was one I made using Terry Atkinson’s Lucky Stars pattern in red, black, gray, and ivory.
I really can’t say I have a favorite quilt because it always seems like the quilt I am working on right now is my favorite. Then I start a new quilt and that one becomes my favorite. Thanks for the great giveaway.
My favorite quilts to make were my first-ever baby quilts for my nephew and wife’s twin baby girls. It was so much fun chosing the fabrics and trying to make them alike but different at the same time. Was very pleased with the results. I ended up using different colors on the inside borders and corner stones on outside borders.
I think my favourite quilt I’ve made would be a “Stack ‘n Whack”! They’re so much fun.
If I had to pick a favorite it would be the quilt I made for my 5 year old granddaughter. It was so much fun picking out the fabric.
I love your block and look forward to the fun things coming up.
What a great jumping off point for you to come up with your block. I enjoy your make do attitude which seems to turn out well. Thank you for a chance to win.
My favorite would be the very 1st as quilt I made. It gave me the confidence to know that I could teach myself to quilt. I sewed clothes for over 30 years but since that 1st quilt I don’t want to even hem a pair of slacks lol.
My favorite quilt is one made out of large tumblers using pink, yellow and orange batiks. It just makes me happy!
I’m thinking that block may just be the start of my next quilt. I enjoyed reading your thought process.
quiltschon@att.net
My favorite is a Christmas quilt for which I appliqued a 24 inch center block with chickadees and branches. It was surrounded by blocks made by my quilting friends. thanks for sharing your ideas.
Your blocks look great when they are put together in a quilt!
My favourite quilt is the crib quilt I made for my grandson.
Love your block ! Makes me think of Bonnie’s designs. Make do and get creative with the secondary designs.
My favorite quilt was a John Henry Baby Quilt (from the Mountain Artisans book) made for one of nieces.
My favorite quilt was a redwork baby quilt for my youngest granddaughter. She is now 17 yrs. old.
My favorite quilt is called my Ugly Quilt, I made it to practice my FMQ so didn’t care about the fabrics I use…it is my most used quilt.
My favorite quilt that I have made is now over 40 years old. I made it for my son’s bed and also matching curtains. Would you believe he still uses it!
The block is great but the combination is wonderful.
The one I am working on now. It’s called Woodland Daybreak and is from Pleasant Valley Creations
Thanks for showing us a small glimpse of how you work your ideas – I like the block with men’s shirts and can see it in bright flower prints also. I may have to try to make one! thanks, cindy
Great block. Got a shed load of shirts waiting to be used so I’ll keep my fingers crossed to win. Thanks Jo, love your blog.
My favorite quilt is two quilts! They are Christmas quilts I made about 25 years ago. They were made from a block of the month pattern I purchased from Oxmoor House. My first big quilt project which involved pieced and appliqued blocks. Your blog is great – thanks for sharing!
Hi, I love your blog. I read it every day. I printed the tute on designing on the computer. I have the quilt wizard program but love using Word to design with. I would love to win! Thanks for all you do for us quilters.
My favorite quilt always seems to be the one that I just finished, then I’m off and running to start another one – and that becomes my favorite. I just love quilting……
sascott4@hotmail.com
I think you are so clever and as I am always looking for new ideas I love your blog.
It is difficult to pick one favorite project when there has been well over one hundred. I try to do projects that I’m learning or practicing a new skill so they all become favorites until the next one. But if I have to pick, I would saw the mariner’s compass that I made my husband.
My favorite quilt that I’ve made – so far – is probably the one I made for my hubby over 10 years ago. It is a traditional bear paw block alternated with a miniature bear paw block. I didn’t realize how labor intensive that it was going to be when I started. It was one of my first forays into tiny piecing. But it came out great and we’re still using it! Love your blog – I read it daily!! Thanks for the chance.
My favorite was my 1st quilt… an ispy for a toddler. Soooo many mistakes in it, that it made it a one-of -a-kind for sure!!!
I always find “100 blocks” to be very inspirational. I have so many favorite quilts – the ones that stretched my skills, the ones that have a special fabric, my first english paper piecing, the ones made for a special person in my life. Thank you for sharing this issue.
Great block and quilt design. I think my favorite quilt project is one of my 1st ones – wedding quilt where each block was a reflection of the couple getting married. I hand quilted it also. Learned so much making it. Precious memories.
My favorite quilt is the king size sampler quilt I made for our bed.
My favorite quilt is a quilt I made for my granddaughter. I used patterns from Lori Holt. The front.had six tractor blocks. The back had a barn, six ears of corn and some cows. It was fun to make and she loves it.
love the 100 blocks mag! love the recycled shirts! Snow day here today, but had to grade and clean. Hoping to sew on UFO tomorrow. ONE group of papers left to grade in the morning and then the sewing machine is going to be humming!!!!
Love this block! I’m always looking for good pattern for guy quilts and I love the idea of making them from shirts. Goodness knows, I have a good collection of them! Thanks for the opportunity!
It is so difficult to pick just one favorite. One of my favorites is a combination of the contrary wife block and the greek cross block. I was trying to teach myself about values in fabric so I only used blue – lots of blues, light, dark, medium. Love that quilt. Learned a lot!
my favorite project ever, was the first quilt I made for my first granddaughter !! Now working on a quilt for grand daughter #3, grandchild 4 :)
I love watching for those secondary patterns that emerge when putting the blocks together – obviously you do too!
I guess I am a sucker for challenges, some came out great, other not so, but your block would make a neat quilt. thanks Kathy in Colo
My favorite quilt is actually two quilts – one for each of my parents on their 80th birthdays. They were also the first ‘real’ quilts I long arm quilted
My favorite quilt was a Quick Trip by Eleanor Burns. It uses 6 Fat Quarters and I’m color challenged when picking out that many or more colors for a quilt. But these came together great and the quilt was beautiful. It was a prayer quilt for a person in need so I was very happy that it turned out so well.
My favorite is always the one that I am just finishing up.
My favorite quilt is always the one I am working on at the time! If we are talking completed projects, my favorite would have to be “Blooming Baskets for Sarah Beth”, my original design created for the final challenge round of the first McCalls design Star Challenge. I didn’t win, but it was a fantastic experience that made me strtch myself as a designer and quilter.
I love that quilt! So creative :)
The favorite project I’ve made is the military-themed quilt for my husband’s Christmas present. As far as I know, he knows nothing about it. I’ve taken it to retreats and small groups to work on it. I’m excited to give it to him