Christmas 2019: Straits of Mackinac, Sandcastles, and Strip Twist, by Bonnie Hunter. To the right, a free Courthouse Steps pattern designed by Me!   Every year I give quilts to my closest family members.  I enjoy picking out just the right design and colors, and spending time during the year crafting a masterpiece just for them.   Click here for your FREE Courthouse Steps Quilt Pattern, designed by Dottie’s Quilt Shop!   (Straits of Mackinac and Sandcastles are in String Frenzy book shown below.  Essential Triangle Tool is very helpful in making these quilts.  Str ..read more

Broken Dishes layout using a green print as the alternating block   Broken Dishes, what a wonderful little quilt block!  It can be made quickly, and used in so many ways!  The Free First Friday Quilt Pattern for Broken Dishes is available HERE!   Of course, there’s the basic Broken Dishes Layout, block to block all pointing the same direction.   I like to make a bunch of blocks in my chosen color palette, then shuffle them around on the design wall.  All kinds of fun surprises jump out at me!   Nothing wrong with the basic layout, quite lovely.  Although ..read more

The Broken Dishes quilt block is a true classic!  Four half-square triangles, set together in a pleasing layout as shown.  It’s easy to imagine a lady of old, dropping one of her precious dishes on the floor and, through tears of dismay, saying to herself, “I could make a quilt block out of that!  And I know just what to call it!”.   Create half-square triangles using your favorite method.  Mine is the Essential Triangle Tool, more on that below!   You’ll need four half-square triangles of equal size for each block.   Square up each individual half-square tr ..read more

Laura’s Triangle Quilt made from a Fons and Porter Pattern   What always happens after a crisis, be it blackout, pandemic, or other disaster?  A Baby Boom, of course!  Are you ready for the next bundle of joy?   Wonky Rail Fence   It’s never a bad idea to have a couple of completed baby quilts on hand.  Keep it simple for a baby quilt, the quilt will undoubtedly be used as a playmat or bedtime “lovey” blanket, and washed frequently.  And don’t forget to keep your quilting spaced as wide as the batting will allow; tight quilting will have the effect of making ..read more

Santa from my Mother Goose Quilt, which I use as a Christmas quilt wallhanging   Maturity = weakening eyesight, unfortunately for most of us!  As we gain the skill to make finer needlework, we seem to lose the vision!  Luckily, the right light and magnification can make all the difference!   I recently completed this tiny sampler on linen. It was tough! This made me realize it’s time to upgrade my task lighting!   For years, I’ve been using the OttLite Floor Lamp 43828C 2-in-1 (shown above) to sew at night in the family room.  It’s ok, but I am having a harder tim ..read more

  America has been in quarantine for weeks now.  It feels like the world is closed, and in many ways it is closed.  It’s hard to stay creative and fresh with all the new pressures of the quarantine “lifestyle”!   Floral Block from Baltimore Album Quilt at The Mariner’s Museum, Newport News, Virginia https://blog.marinersmuseum.org/2014/01/baltimore-album-quilt/   I suppose this is the way pioneer women must have felt, crossing the limitless prairie in covered wagons, knowing their lives would never be the same after they crossed into this new world.  We have a big ..read more

My quilt inspectors, hard at work! Background is a sampler quilt I made from many blocks from many sources! The Covid-19 Pandemic has taught us all that there are things we “need” to have on hand for survival, or just to keep us sane.     Without getting paranoid, here are five things that will help you survive, or make you just more comfortable in general! I’ve also sprinkled in quilt pictures, since this is a quilting blog!  Enjoy! A hexagon quilt of 30’s fabrics, still in progress 1.  Cotton Fabric Stash, Thread, and Elastic If you’re reading this post, you’re probably a ..read more

Zinnia   I’m planning to clean up, decorate and begin to plant my garden during this quarantine.  The local speciality garden shops aren’t open, but I can get so many of the tools, seeds, and yard ornaments online!   HibiscusImpatienHibiscus   Have fun planting and decorating your garden!     Kathy at Dottie’s Quilt Shop www.DottiesQuiltShop.com   Dottie’s Quilt Shop is an Amazon Affiliate.  What that means:  when you click through on any of my Amazon items, I will receive a small commission from whatever you purchase on that shopping trip (quiltin ..read more

Irish Snowballs Quilt Top I love turning to my traditional quilt collection for inspiration!  Here’s a small baby quilt top I collected about two years ago here in Texas.   This top is so fragile, the fabric is almost see-through.  I won’t be quilting it, I bought it for the geometric inspiration. Closeup of Irish Snowballs   This quilt is created from simple Nine-Patch and Snowball blocks.  So what makes it Irish?  I think emphasizing the Single Irish Chain design in this quilt will really make it sing!     I want this baby quilt to be gender neutral ..read more

Quilters never have enough time to quilt!  Quilting is a time-consuming pastime, after all.  During this crisis, I’ve been busy making face coverings, finishing up a special quilt for a gift (can’t show you yet!), and trying to keep the chaos of my quilting room to a minimum! I’ve also treated myself to starting a new project!  I’ve wanted to make the “Spirit of Sacagawea” quilt for a long time, and I’ve readied the first three applique blocks for hand stitching.   My recent project is in bold colors of lime green, teal and purple.  It’s fun to use traditional color ..read more