Backgammon Quilt

I used a cotton tea towel printed with a backgammon board for the center of this quilt.  I found the towel in the antique store when I discovered the bandana which I used for the “Say Cheese” baby quilt.  I framed the game board with black strips and the red and yellow squares, then added a simple border of black fabric with white specks.  The quilt is 48.5 in X 58.5 in.  It is machine pieced and quilted.

Here is a close up of the center.
And even closer.
Here’s the back.  The center strip is more golden yellow than it showed up in my photo.

Color Wheel Wall Hanging

I finally finished the color wheel wall hanging quilt!  As you may recall, it is from a 1993 color wheel kit designed by Susan McKelvy (author of Color for Quilters).  I began the quilt earlier this summer and finished it a few weeks ago.

It is machine and hand pieced.  It is machine quilted.  It is 29 in square in size.

Here is a closer photo to show the quilting better.
Here you can see the quilting of the border.

The back is a black cotton.  I tried to get a good photo of the quilting from the back, but it didn’t work out.

Ohio Star Color Wheel

A few weeks ago I posted the color wheel kit I purchased years ago and finally got around to making.  This was made from some of the left over fabric and uses all the colors of the wheel.  It is an Ohio Star block within an Ohio Star block framed with a dark blue fabric.  I machine pieced and quilted it.  The wall hanging measures 24.5 in square.

Here is a close view of the center to show the quilting done with a light to medium blue thread.
Here is the back (the fabric is actually the dark blue used for the quilt border on the front of the quilt.  It looks washed out here.

Flowers in Hands

Recently I removed some beaded flowers from an old Liz Claiborne sweater.  When thinking of how to use them, I recalled Picasso’s Flowers in Hand.   I partially copied/ partially free-handed the flower position, stems, and hands.

I machine stitched the hands and stems, then added the blue fabric border.  I did the machine quilting next, hand sewing on the beaded flowers after I had the binding done.

The quilt measures 15.75 in X 18 in.

Here you can see the beaded flowers and stitching.
Here is the back.

Rooster Quilt

This miniature quilt is made using a feed sack which held rice.  The rooster logo is framed by a black and then a red/black sash.  The quilt measures 10.5 in X 12.75 in.  It is machine pieced.  It is machine and hand quilted.

This photo shows the rooster and quilting better.  The rooster is quilted with cross-hatching while the outer area is an intertwined cable.  These were hand quilted.  The area next to the black strip was machine quilted “in-the-ditch.”
The back has a sleeve for hanging.

Miniature American Flag Quilt

This miniature American Flag quilt is similar to this one and this one, only much smaller.  It is a basic brick pattern for the strips. Each brick measure 0.5 in X 1 in.  I placed a purple heart in the star field.
The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 7.25 in X 11.5 in.
The purple heart is machine appliqued.
The back features “fast triangles” for hanging ease.

Yellow Flower

 Updated 3/2017--  all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.

This small art quilt was inspired by a photo of a multinodular goiter in a JAMA article (photo credit), the upper right image here.

I took the photo and enlarged it more than 400% to create this template on freezer paper.  I applied light-weight fusible web to the back of my black fabric and the freezer paper to the front.  Then using an #11 blade I cut out the design.

The black fabric was then fused to the background fabrics.  First the yellow print and then the gray print.  The raw edges were then machine appliqued.   The border consists of two thin strips (an inner black and then the print) and a larger black.

I machine quilted the piece.  Here is a  close view of the yellow flower which was fussy cut from a wonderful Batik.

Here is the back before I sewed on the label but after sewing on the sleeve for hanging.  The quilt measures 17.5 in X 19.5 in.

The quilt is for sale on Etsy.

Shadowfold Play I Quilt

The center motif of this small art quilt is an exercise in using the techniques from the book Shadowfolds by Jeffrey Rutzky and Chris Palmer.  The book is full of interesting was to make geometric designs by creating folds in fabric.

Using border fabric I added a mitered border.  The border is machine quilted.  I used the beads to quilt the center motif which was made using white fabric.  There is a layer of blue-green fabric between the quilt and the batting so the folds show more.  The quilt measures 9.5 in square.

Here is a close up to show the border, the folds, and the beads.
The back is a lovely gold fabric with triangles for ease of hanging.  A bamboo skewer is used along with a picture hanging hook.

Heart in Hand Quilt

Updated 3/2017-- all links removed as many are no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.

I really like how this quilt turned out.  For now it is hanging in my office.  I have decided to use it to help Movin Meat raise money for The St Baldrick's Foundation.  It is listed on Etsy if anyone is interested in buying it.

The quilt was inspired by this scarf featured on Street Anatomy. I cropped a screen shot, brushed in the heart (suggested by the arterial formation), and then printed it out on a sheet of Colorfast fabric.  The border fabric is from an old flour sack.

It is machine pieced and quilted.  The small wall hanging measures 18.5 in X 23.75 in.

I embellished the heart in the hand using yarns and thread.
The back is a simple gray print cotton calico.

You Melt My Heart

Updated 3/2017-- all links removed as many are no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.


This quilt was made from the cut-out fabric from the EKG of my “Winter” quilt. You can see what I mean in this photo.

This small wall hanging quilt is 16 in square. It is machine and hand appliqued. It is machine quilted. The icicles in the heart are quilted with metallic thread.

Here you can see the deep red thread used to quilt the “frame” and the metallic used in the middle.
Here is a photo of the center of the back of the quilt before the sleeve and label were added.

I have listed it for sale on Etsy.  Never sold, so donated August 2012 to UAMS for silent auction at my 30th medical school reunion.

Winking Santa

I recently finished this miniature Christmas quilt.  The Santa comes from a Christmas card from years past which I saved with the intention to someday use it in quilting.  The Santa is machine appliqued using mostly cotton fabrics, but I did use scraps of white ultra suede for the hat trim and black ultra suede for the eyelashes. 

I added glitter glue to the hat trim for a little “flash.”  The white on white fabric used for the bread helped keep it from looking too flat. 
The quilt is machine quilted.  It measures 11 in X 13.5 in.  I sewed a sleeve on the back for hanging.    

War Eagle Cornbread Quilt

I bought this cornbread mix specifically so I could have the fabric bag it came in.  The graphics with the eagle includes the recipe for the cornbread.  I used a lovely navy fabric for the border which features either wheat or corn (not sure which).  I machine pieced the quilt, then hand quilted it.

The quilt is 8.5 in X 10 in.  The back includes a 2 in sleeve to facilitate hanging it.

Eye Words Quilt Finished!

The quilt I featured a few weeks ago is finished!  I machine quilted it using a golden yellow thread in a Baptist fan quilting pattern.  The quilt is 50.5 in X 68 in.

I have become a fan of word quilts and am thinking of doing another.  Topics might  include animals (dogs, cats, horses, cows, llamas, etc) or perhaps bones (ulna, tibia, sternum, tarsal, zygoma, etc).

Here are some additional photos to show the lovely fabrics.
I love the dragonfly fabric used in the word lashes.
The backing is a spotted batik.

I was initially going to give this to a friend who is an ophthalmologist, but my husband has urged me to place it for sale on Etsy.  So it will reside there for a while and if no one buys it, then I will still give it to my friend.

Girl in Basket Quilt

I made this quilt last month using fabric scraps for the crazy-pieced basket.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  It measures 16 inches square.  It is available for sale on Etsy.

I marked the quilt with a chalk marker which appears to not have completely washed out.  All the quilting was done with white thread.
Here you can see the quilting of the triangle corners.
Here is the back before I sewed on the label and sleeve for hanging.

Flying Colors Baby Quilt

Flipping through some of my quilting books, I decided to make an “airplane” quilt.  I looked at all the patterns in “Flying High:  the Airplane in Quilts” by Ragi Marino, but ultimately decided to use the “Lindy” airplane block from  BH&G’s America’s Heritage Quilts.  The book states the pattern was published in the Capper’s Weekly in the 1930’s.

The baby (or child’s) quilt is machine pieced with the propellers appliqued by hand.  The planes are in primary colors -- two red, two blue, two green, and two yellow planes. The quilt is 42.5 in X 43.5 in.

The quilt is machine quilted using outline quilting and grid quilting for the plane blocks.  The plain blocks are quilted with a “propeller” and circles.

Here is a close view of one of the yellow planes.
Here is a view of the back to show the quilting.

Let’s Ride Baby Quilt

I made this baby quilt using some novelty fabric my sister gave me (the dogs on motorcycles) and other fabrics in my stash.  The pattern is a nine-patch.  The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  It is 41 in X 43 in.  The back is simply white Kona cotton. 

It is cross-hatch quilted using white thread.