Baby quilt with fan border

Here's an example of using the baptist fan pattern in a border....

Speedy 1/2 square triangles trick

I found this trick on the internet lately, called tube-strip piecing. I am working on a quilt that needs hundreds of half-square triangles, and this is a really neat time-saving trick.

You put together 2 strips, right sides together, and sew a 1/4" seam on both sides of the strip:

The cut at a 45 degree angle. A ruler with these markings make it easier. I am using 3" strips here, and it will yield 3.5" squares. There will be a little waste on the end with the first cut.

Keep cutting at a 45 degree angle, alternating directions. The cool part is you will be cutting off those pesky little dog-ears while you're at it.

You'll end up with thirteen 3.5" squares, from a 44" strip of 3" wide fabric.

Finger press them to the darker side, to get lots of these:

Another nice thing is that the diagonal seam is not on the bias, and will not stretch. This makes the block a little more stable.

Give this technique a try- it's really a time saver. I made hundreds of these little guys in no time. And they're much more accurate than cutting all those pesky triangles before you piece them together.

Quilt using the Peace pattern

This quilt was the reason I found the "peace" pattern. It was made out of cordurouy, and it quilted up just fine.

My summer schedule & custom quilts

I've been thinking about my schedule this summer... It's Chloe's last summer at home before she starts preschool, and I want to make the most of the time I have with her & the boys at home, especially with the short summers we have here in Iowa. I like to garden, and do quite a bit of canning, and enjoy evenings outside by the fire pit.

I've decided that I will only be taking a limited number of custom quilts from now until school starts again in the fall. I already have 2 large custom quilts booked (one for April and one for May), and so there will only be room for one or two more this summer.

I will still be taking quilts that require an all-over pattern as usual.

New patterns

Here are the latest patterns that are available using the Intelliquilter: