Easter is almost here

Easter Basket quilt block

The Easter Basket quilt block is a relatively easy five patch block with half square triangles and a couple of rectangles thrown in for good measure.

The fun part of using some of the basket style blocks is that the motif is usually pointing at a 45 degree angle and therefore this leads to opportunites in your quilt. What is that you say?

By rotating the blocks by 90 degrees, they then work together creating a secondary pattern. This is usually a surprise because at first glance, that would not be evident.

So, download the free quilt block pattern and see what I am talking about.

An Easter thought for you

• Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life.
  ~ Janine di Giovanni

It's All About the Green Today

I'm a little late in getting started on this blog post today, because I was already out and about today joining in the festivities of celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Judging by this picture, all ages enjoy a good time.

Well what could be more Irish (in terms of quilting) than blocks called Irish Puzzle and Danny Boy? So, I thought I would present you with both, and of course, I went with making them in the obvious varieties of green.

Danny Boy is a simple nine patch block using mostly half square triangles, but the centre patch is the square in a square -- adding to the interest.

Irish Puzzle is a four patch block that is more of an intermediate level, due only to the number of pieces in the quilt block.

Time now to get out your green and start searching for some gold (at the end of that rainbow) and celebrate your own version of these blocks.

A salute to St. Paddy's Day

Irish Sayings

( ... how interesting that all of the authors are unknown)

• "It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking."
  ~ Author Unknown


• "There are only two kinds of people in the world. The Irish and those who wish they were."
  ~ Author Unknown


• "Irish diplomacy is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip."
  ~ Author Unknown


• "May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may God turn their hearts; and if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping."
  ~ Author Unknown


• "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough!"
  ~ Author Unknown

<sub>All images © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com

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X marks the spot!

X and Square quilt block

Thanks to my great friend Monika for giving me the (obvious) title to this blog post. (For some reason, I did not think of it!)

X and Square is the block. From this image shown, you can see where it gets its name. However, while playing around with the block, I made a version with four colours as well, and it looks quite different. You will have to check out the free pattern to see that variation.

I was having fun playing with this block (which at first glance looks rather boring). It always surprises me when those boring blocks make interesting quilts.

So, fun often leads to funny.

Mark Twain

Quotes to make you laugh today

• "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
  ~ Oscar Wilde


• "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."
  ~ Erma Bombeck


• "Be good and you will be lonely."
  ~ Mark Twain


• "Ah Mozart! He was happily married - but his wife wasn't."
  ~ Victor Borge

<sub>'X and Square' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'Mark Twain' image courtesy of public domain

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It's a Black Hole Out There

Black Hole quilt block

Today's featured block looks like it should have a fun name. It's a pinwheel and is an easy block to construct, made with only squares and flying geese patches.

So, why would this quilt block have the name Black Hole? That sounds ominous, but there you have it. Still, a black hole is a pretty thing out there is space.

So let's talk about space ...

Black hole in space

• "Space is to place as eternity is to time."
  ~ Joseph Joubert


• "Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion."
  ~ Democritus


• "Of all things visible, the highest is the heaven of the fixed stars."
  ~ Nicolaus Copernicus


• "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space."
  ~ Stephen Hawking

and finally, I found these ...

10 Amazing Facts About Black Holes


_{'Black Hole' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'Black Hole in Space' image courtesy all-free-download.com}


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Springtime --- where are you?

Winter, go away ...

Well, I can certainly say, that while looking out my window today, springtime can't come soon enough. Oh, I know -- my view is spectacular, but I've had enough of winter.

So, here is a bright and cheery start to a new quilting project -- the Springtime quilt block.

Springtime quilt block

This nine patch block will give you some excellent practice sewing your quarter inch seam allowance as there are quite a few pieces. Now, having said that, there is nothing difficult in making this block. Squares, rectangles, half square triangles and flying geese units -- all basic quilt patches -- are all that are used.

I stuck with the obvious colours, derived from the block name, but you can change up those colours for a an original and totally different look.

And speaking of springtime ...

• "The beautiful spring came; and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also."
  ~ Harriet Ann Jacobs


• "It's easy to understand why the most beautiful poems about England in the spring were written by poets living in Italy at the time."
  ~ Philip Dunne


• "The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
  ~ Henry Van Dyke


• "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
  ~ Hal Borland


• "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!' "
  ~ Robin Williams

<sub>"Springtime' quilt block image and "Winter" image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com

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Blackford's Beauty

Blackford's Beauty quilt block

I was trying to find out the what or who was the inspiration for the quilt block Blackford's Beauty and so far, I have not found it. So, I'm throwing this out there for anyone to give me the details. Any helpers?

Blackford's Beauty is one of those interesting blocks (at least to me) as it creates secondary patterns when you place it in your quilt in different ways. I just love secondary patterns. You get a surprise when you start playing around with placement of your blocks. This sample quilt illustration shows you what I mean.

This nine patch quilt block has lots of parts, but none of them are difficult. Squares, rectangles and a few flying geese units are all the parts.

And speaking of beauty ...

Blackford's Beauty quilt

• "People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within."
  ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross


• "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
  ~ Helen Keller


• "Beauty is simply reality seen with the eyes of love."
  ~ Rabindranath Tagore
  
  and then there is the conceit of some people ...


• "I am a thing of beauty."
  ~ Frank Sinatra

Jawhawks or Jayhawks?

Kansas University Jayhawk

I found this quilt block called Jawhawks -- a simple one to construct -- but the name was one I had never heard before. In fact, I can't seem to even find a definition of the word "Jawhawk". All searches point to "Jayhawk". So, if anyone has any information to further this conundrum, please let me know.

My personal opinion is that Jawhawk became Jayhawk because it was easier to say. Maybe those quilters in Kansas can enlighten me. YourDictionary says that the origin of the word jayhawk is "the name of a fictional bird, half bluejay and half sparrowhawk, mascot of the University of Kansas." And here is his picture. He's kinda cute!

Jawhawks quilt block

Now back to the quilt block. This simple nine patch is a good starting place for a beginner quilter. The corners are made using half square triangles, the second most commonly used patch in quilt making, and there are also a few flying geese units to add a little pizzazz. Now, since this is not a common block (at least under this name), you are in the driver's seat to create a unique quilt to impress your friends!

Download the free quilt block pattern.

It's for the birds

• "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright."
  ~ Stephen King


• "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


• "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."
  ~ Chinese Proverb
  
  but let's not forget about Kansas


• "When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a vague spot a little to the east of Kansas."
  ~ John Updike

<sub>'Jawhawks' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'Jayhawk' image courtesy printablecolouringpages.co.uk

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Who doesn't love a day at the beach?

Brighton Beach quilt block

Brighton Beach will get you thinking of summer days and fun in the sand -- at least I will be thinking about this. (Winter can just take a hike, if that was possible.)

This quilt block is a five patch, and an easy one at that, so is a great choice for beginner quilters. The added surprise -- (if you choose to set the blocks side by side in your quilt) -- is that a secondary pattern emerges -- pinwheels. And coincidentally, pinwheels are just the thing to entrance the kids while enjoying a day at the beach. A win-win situation.

So now it is time to dream of beaches and sunshine

Brighton Beach and pier

• "If there is a heaven for me, I'm sure it has a beach attached to it."
  ~ Jimmy Buffett


• "I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought."
  ~ Helen Keller


• "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea."
  ~ Isak Dinesen

<sub>'Brighton Beach' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
'Brighton Beach and pier image courtesy James Barker freedigitalphotos.net

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