He who dies with the most toys .....

Jack in the Box

And speaking of toys, the Jack in the Box quilt block pattern is an old and well established block. It is easy to construct and features large flying geese units and half square triangles. This is a wonderful four patch quilt block for beginners to get started in this addictive hobby.

The Jack in the Box is an old toy that you would be hard pressed to find anymore. But the image below might bring back some memories.

Download the free quilt block pattern for Jack in the Box.

Quotes about Toys

Antique Jack in the Box toy

• The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.
  ~ Sam Levenson


• The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.
  ~ Author Unknown


• He who dies with the most toys is, nonetheless, still dead.
  ~ Author Unknown


• I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio.
  ~ Joan Rivers


• Be it jewel or toy, not the prize gives the joy, but the striving to win the prize.
  ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

_{Jack in the Box quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Jack in the Box image courtesy iStockphoto}

Jack of all Trades ... Master of None

Lots of men and women are pretty "handy" around the house or yard or just, in general. We all know many things that are not necessarily considered a talent, but are great skills to have. Hence we are called a "Jack (or Jill) of all Trades and Master of None".

Handy Andy

So, today I thought you might like to see a quilt block called Handy Andy. This block is built on a five grid and it can be made in many different sizes -- most commonly as a 10" quilt block, but I have given you the instructions for several different sizes.

Download the free Handy Andy quilt block pattern.

Quotes about being handy / successful

• "When one must, one can."
    ~ Charlotte Whitton


• "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure."

  

  A Handyman's friend

  
  ~ Mark Twain


• "The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary."
  ~ Thomas Edison
  
  and finally ...


• "No. Try not. Do ... or do not. There is no try. [Star Wars IV]"
  ~ Yoda

_{Handy Andy quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Utility knife image courtesy of posterize at FreeDigitalPhotos.net}

Isn't every quilt a mosaic?

Mosaic quilt

Mosaics are everywhere. They are created from bits of a certain material (and often many materials) and then arranged and put together in such a way as to make a design. That's what making a quilt is all about. So when you think about it, every quilt is actually a mosaic.

The featured quilt block today is one I have named Mosaic -- for the simple reason that I do not know its real name. (An aside here -- if you happen to know the real name of this quilt block, please let me know). The block could not be simpler to make but the fun starts when you have made many blocks and then start playing around with placement.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

Since quilts are an artform, and the quilts you will see today displayed at shows feature some magnificant artwork, I chose to use Art as my topic for today's quotes.

Quotes about Art

• "Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art."
  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson





Street Mosaic

• "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."
  ~ Thomas Merton


• "The big artist keeps an eye on nature and steals her tools."
  ~ Thomas Eakins


• "Art is not to be taught in Academies. It is what one looks at, not what one listens to, that makes the artist. The real schools should be the streets."
  ~ Oscar Wilde

_{Mosaic quilt image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Street Mosaic image courtesy all-free-download.com/}

Celebrities, Wisdom and Feathers

For some reason, feathers came to mind today, so I went looking for an appropriate quilt block to feature and Indian Plume fit the bill.

Indian Plume

I have categorized this quilt block as at an intermediate level, not because it is difficult, but because there are quite a few pieces making up the block. This requires that you are precise in your sewing and that is the only difficulty you will face. The patches themselves are easy to create, so the only problem you will have is in choosing the colours that are right for you.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

And speaking of feathers, what would a series of quotes about feathers be without a reference to a peacock?

Quotes about Feathers

• I don't know if it's animalistic or what, but men become like peacocks with their feathers up when women are around.
  ~ Bradley Cooper


• I'm always in favor of more glamour. I embarrass my children, I think. I am the lady in feathers in the car pool line.
  ~ Mia Sara


• It was a meditation on life, love, old age, death: ideas that had often fluttered around her head like nocturnal birds but dissolved into a trickle of feathers when she tried to catch hold of them.
  ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez


• The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to get the most feathers with the least hissing.
  ~ Jean Baptist Colbert


• Now cut that out boy, or I'll spank you where the feathers are thinnest.
  ~ Foghorn Leghorn

_{"Indian Plume" image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
"Peacock" image courtesy of Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot at FreeDigitalPhotos.net}

"Kitty Corner" - Where did that term come from?

Kitty Corner quilt

After working on the quilt block called Kitty Corner, I then began to wonder (as is a frequent occurrence for me -- I'm always wondering about some mystery in life --) about where the term originated. Apparently, the term "kitty corner" (also interchanged in some regions as "catty-corner") was first used in the 16^th century and it means something that is "directionally diagonal from a certain point" according to the website Today I Found Out.

Download the free quilt block pattern for Kitty Corner.

 

Quotes about Cats

• "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
  ~ Robert Heinlein


• "If stretching were wealth, the cat would be rich."
  ~ African Proverb


• "If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."
  Mark Twain


• "In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats."
  English Proverb

"After dark all cats are leopards."
~ Native American Proverb

_{"Kitty Corner" quilt image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Leopard image courtesy of khunaspix / FreeDigitalPhotos.net}

It's Blueberry Season!

Well what could be more appropriate in 'blueberry season' (at least it is where I live), than to introduce you to a quilt block called Blueberry Compote?

This quilt block surprised me once I started playing around with it. Originally I had it designed using three colours, but decided the resultant quilts were sort of 'ho-hum'. So, by adding a complementary colour in small portions, I thought this was just the spark it needed. So, you be the judge.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

Blueberry Compote

Just because I wanted to get this blog posted with this new block, I don't have any quotes about blueberries picked out (pardon the poor pun), but here is a bit of a potpourri of quotes to brighten your day.

• "How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being."
  ~ Oscar Wilde


• "The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools."
  ~ Confucius


• "We owe a lot to Thomas Edison - if it wasn't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight."
  ~ Milton Berle


• "If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it."
  ~ Chinese Proverb

_{Blueberry Compote image(s) © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

Cats and Dogs and ... Mice?

_{Cat and Mouse}

Well I had to throw in "mice" in the title since today's featured quilt block is called Cat and Mouse. There is nothing difficult in creating this four patch block, other than that the construction is a wee bit different than the norm, so that can only enhance your skills in your quiltmaking journey.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

 

Quotes about animals

• "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."
  ~ Groucho Marx


• "Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to."
  ~ Mark Twain


• "Guys are like dogs. They keep coming back. Ladies are like cats. Yell at a cat one time...they're gone."
  ~ Lenny Bruce


• "Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
  ~ Anatole France


• "The cat is the mirror of his human's mind. The dog mirrors his human's physical appearance."
  ~ Winifred Carriere

_{'Cat and Mouse' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Cat and Mouse photograph image courtesy Euan's Life}

"What is sauce for the goose ..." - Who said that?

 Goose Tracks

Goose Tracks

The Goose Tracks quilt block is a wonderful introduction to quilting as it contains only the two most commonly used quilt patches -- the half square triangle unit and the square. But, don't let simple shapes fool you into thinking simple equals boring. You can create many a different and fascinating quilt with just these two patches. Download the free quilt block pattern.

Now, for you bird lovers out there -- test your knowledge using the title of this blog post. Can you name the author?

 Bird Quotes

Male white-rumped Shama

• "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."
  ~ Chinese Proverb


• "Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."
  ~ Dale Carnegie


• "What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."
  ~ William Shakespeare


• "If you feel the urge, don't be afraid to go on a wild goose chase. What do you think wild geese are for anyway?"
  ~ Will Rogers

_{Goose Tracks quilt block © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
"Male white-rumped Shama" bird image courtesy of panuruangjan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net}