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Celtic Valentine

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Celtic Valentine
2023
27” X 27”

Red and white quilt featuring 4 Celtic knot hearts.

I’m moving this off the home page but I wanted to keep it somewhere. This small quilt has had some time in the spotlight. Celtic Valentine started with a Celtic knot design graphic I purchased. I traced it in EQ8 to create a full-size pattern. Using the skills I learned in a workshop with Scarlet Rose, the bias binding applique went fairly quickly.

I wanted the quilting to be special, so I used a layer of wool batting on top of a layer of 80/20. The lotus designs in the corners came from an old hand quilting stencil I had in my stash. The crosshatching in the borders was done with free motion ruler work. All quilted on my Bernina 770QE+.

Best of Show Master Division, Ninigret Quilters, Westerly, RI 2023
Best Hand Workmanship Wall, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, Hampton Roads, VA, 2024

 

Sunflower EPP Block Pattern

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For my birthday, I’d like to offer you a free block pattern! First, some background…

A friend of mine rescued this charming vintage quilt from the bed of a pick-up truck. A man was using it to wrap furniture for a move! She shamed him into giving it to her so the work of the quilter could be admired. The quilt was in rough shape. Fabrics were worn and torn; batting was clumpy and lumpy. I felt the best way to enjoy it was to cut up the quilt and frame the better blocks for display. Most of the blocks have 10 points, but some have only 9!

antique quilt block

As an avid English Paper Piecer, I drafted the templates for EPP. The center and outer circle are appliqued. I hope you enjoy piecing this happy block with thanks to the mystery maker.

Click here to download the free pattern! EPP-sunflower-10-in

Lockdown Wrap-Up

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Quilters quickly found a way to stay connected during the pandemic! Most of us had plenty of fabric to keep us busy for several years, but let’s not do that again. Here’s a wrap up of my covid quilting time.

April 2020: We dove right into Bonnie Hunter‘s Unity mystery. My quilt top is still waiting to be quilted.

Patchwork medallion-style quilt in blues, greens and reds on a cream background.

Unity

June 2020: Scrap Snap for the win! These super fun and quick blocks from Quilts for the Making cleaned out my bin of cool-colored scraps. Kari was very gracious in allowing me to lead Ninigret Quilters in making blocks during a Zoom sewing day in September. It was a great way for us to test out the tech before hiring a teacher (and before I started getting paid for teaching on Zoom!).

Patchwork quilt made of squares and rectangles in blues and greens.

Scrap Snap

October 2020: Ninigret Quilters continued our “Rake up your Scraps” theme with Diane Harris teaching her Tango pattern. You can read more about mine on my old blog here.

Patchwork quilt made from African prints.

Safari Tango

November 2020: Heather Kojan presented her Improv Log Cabins to Ninigret Quilters. I really want to return to this project and make more.

Improvisationally pieced log cabin blocks

Improv Log Cabins

November 2020: Narragansett Bay Quilters Assoc hosted a foundation paper piecing workshop with David Sirota. I think the only way to get his Scrappy Chevron Stars pattern is through a class. Worth it! I have 16 blocks done of the 30 I have planned and cut out. Each block takes me about an hour to piece. I’ll finish it someday!

Patchwork star blocks in assorted solid colors.

Scrappy Chevron Star

December 2020: I took a whirlwind of a class with Jo Avery via The Festival of Quilts in the UK. She didn’t have much time (only 90 minutes), but she did an amazing job of effectively presenting each step of her Dandelion Clock block. I managed to get one block done and I love it!

Patchwork quilt block, improvisationally pieced in the New York Beauty style.

Dandelion Clock block

January 2021: A celtic applique class with Scarlett Rose led to two other projects that I designed myself. You can see my completed shamrock table runner here.

Celtic style applique quilt block

Celtic applique

January – February 2021: My friend Sharon and I designed a medallion mystery quilt for Ninigret Quilters. Talented members offered various technique demos as we released a new clue each week. We were thrilled by the number of members who participated and can’t wait to see their quilts hanging in our show in October!

Medallion style patchwork quilt

Medallion Mystery designed by Tina Craig and Sharon Dziekan

February 2021: The Interleaves workshop with Mel Beach opened so many possibilities! Read more about my little wall hanging here.

Patchwork quilt with interwoven striped effect.

Interleaves

April 2021: I was lucky to get into a Kawandi class with Sujata Shah. I have completed one more round since this photo was taken. It’s really a lovely, soothing process.

sewing room scene including a kawandi quilt in progress

Kawandi

June 2021: Last week, we learned Karen Eckmeier‘s top-stitched curves technique. I turned my blocks into a table runner so I could finish something for a change! I’m amassing quite the collection of table runners. I’ve never put one on the window seat before, but it works.

quilted table runner with alaphabet blocks spelling out the word zebra.

Zebra table runner

I think that’s everything for now! It looks like virtual live quilting workshops are here to stay. If your guild is looking for a teacher, either in-person or via Zoom, please pass along my name. And my on-demand EPP class is available on CourseCraft for individual quilters!