Hey, it’s me, Molly! I’m stealing the blog from Tricia this week!
I hope everyone had a fun (and safe) 4th of July!
You know, every year around this time, with patriotic things everywhere, I start thinking about Quilts of Valor. I know, making QOV quilts is something you can do any time of year, but when those brand new red/white/blue fabric collections start rolling in, it’s kinda like a screaming billboard to make a patriotic quilt.
So as we are unpacking the red, white, and blue collections here in the shop (want to see what the VRD shop in CA looks like? Go HERE), Gallant was calling my name (yelling?) to make it from one of these awesome new patriotic collections.
Gallant was designed by our very own Tricia to meet the criteria for a Quilt of Valor quilt. The quilt on the cover of the Gallant Rose Card was presented to her cousin, Lisa, in 2022 at a family reunion QOV presentation.
You can read the blog post about the QOV presentation HERE.
Tricia’s cousin Lisa being presented with her Quilt of Valor.
So let’s get started! You will be amazed at how many different ways you can arrange the Gallant blocks — you can make this quilt over and over and you’ll never get bored.
VRD Gallant Quilt Tutorial
Making the Blocks
Gallant calls for red and blue fat quarters along with a background and an accent fabric for the top and bottom border to help make the size perfect for a Quilt of Valor (check out QOV quilt requirements HERE). Sounds easy enough, right?
After a lot of deliberation, I decided to use fabrics from the Liberty collection by Robert Kaufman and “Blossom on White Uncle Sam” fabric by Riley Blake for the background. Isn’t that a perfect background name for our quilt? LOL!
It didn’t take long to cut all the pieces for the blocks. And while I was cutting, I organized my pieces by color and size to make it easier to sew.
After you have all your pieces cut out, it’s time to get sewing!
Get ready, because these blocks almost sew themselves! Hah!
Lay out your A B C D cut pieces to make each block easier to sew. You can stack up all the A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s like I did below — this will make things go even faster.
Now sew the four pieced strips together into one unit –ABCD. Then add the last red strip to the side of D. Make 36 blocks. Like I said before, they go together really fast!
Laying Out the Blocks
Now on to the most fun part of making Gallant!
Seriously, there are so many layouts for these blocks that it was hard picking the one I liked best. (The first photo on the top left is the layout Tricia chose for her Gallant quilt.)
Here is the layout I went with:
Finish Your Quilt
Sew your blocks together in your chosen layout. Warning! Shuffling the blocks around can be very addictive. LOL!
Finally, add the borders to the top and the bottom of the quilt.
Quilt and bind.
And don’t forget your label.
DONE!
Now find someone to gift your Gallant quilt to!
A Quilt Challengefor You
Did you like the fabrics I chose for my Gallant quilt? If so, I’m going to challenge you to make a Gallant quilt to gift to your favorite veteran or to your local Quilts of Valor organization!
We have Gallant quilt kits HERE at the shop, featuring the same fabrics as my quilt. So grab your Gallant kit and make your own quilt.
How many different layouts can you create with your blocks???
By the way, we always LOVE seeing what you do with our VRD patterns and kits, so if you are on our VRD Facebook page, please post a picture of your Gallant quilt!
If you’re not hanging out with us on Facebook, you should be! LOL!
Here we are at the end of June with Independence Day sneaking up on us. I just realized that I need to start thinking about Christmas projects if I’m going to give any handmade gifts or quilts for the holidays this year. One of my favorite gifts to give are table runners.
I seem to remember a blog comment one time asking for a blog post about table runners. So I thought I’d share with you a rundown of our VRD Table Runner Rose Card Patterns arranged all through the year.
Wouldn’t it be fun to start a tradition of gifting a series of table runners to a special loved one or friend (or maybe even yourself!?!)? Maybe you’d only do one for each season. Or maybe you’d do the full 12 months. Whether you’d gift one every holiday, every month, every Christmas, or just because –imagine the delight of the recipient!
Isn’t that one of the biggest joys of quilt-making — the giving?
Let’s take a tour through the year with Villa Rosa Table Runners.
I hope you enjoyed this curated selection of VRD Table Runners arranged by months of the year. Maybe these runners will inspire you like they’ve inspired me. I’m thinking “Table Runners Through the Year” would be a really fun trunk show or guild program. What do you think? Something to add to my to-do list?
With 595 (Yes, I actually counted them. LOL!) Rose Card patterns currently in our VRD catalog, I thought it would be fun to show you our top selling Rose Cards. Please keep in mind these are the top patterns on our Wholesale website, which means these are the Rose Cards being purchased by your local quilt shops, online shops, and other retailers. Interestingly enough, this list changes constantly, so by the time this post launches, this list will most likely have been updated. Just sayin’………
I wonder how many of these top sellers you already have in your Rose Card collection? Scroll through the list and let’s find out!
Soooooo, how many of these top sellers do you have? Me, I have all of them, of course. LOL! I provided the link under each pattern cover to make it easy for you to purchase the ones you don’t have yet. Remember, Rose Card patterns retail for $2 and shipping is free for patterns.
Now I’m curious — how many of these awesome Rose Card patterns have you actually made? So far, I’ve made Sisterhood, Pumpkin Hollow, Cat City blocks, 2M, Splendor, Hillside Charm, Daring Spirit, Firecracker, Hypnotized, and Slice of Summer. Of course, some of these are my own VRD patterns, so I already have a head start. LOL!
We’ve even done tutorials here on the blog for several of these patterns too:
If you are a retailer, these Rose Cards are the patterns that are the Wholesale VRD hot sellers right now and you should have these for sale in your shop. Just making a suggestion…….
Well, that’s it for me this week. Don’t forget to grab these Rose Card top selling patterns because you can never have enough Rose Cards. They really are like candy without calories — all 595 of them!
I hope you all enjoyed last week’s photo tour of the Villa Rosa Quilt Shop with guest blogger Molly Cook. I certainly did as I’ve never seen the shop in person. Thanks, Molly! We look forward to you popping in on the blog again soon!
I’m happy to say I’m now a few weeks post knee replacement surgery and my knee is doing great. It’ll be a little while before I go bowling or line dancing, but I’m on the mend now.
Today I am excited to interview Heidi Cook, who is one third of the Villa Rosa Designs Cook Family designer trio, along with sister, Molly and Mom, Tamara.
Tricia: Hi Heidi! Thanks for taking the time to do an interview for the blog!
Heidi: Sure, glad to help out.
Tricia: Tell us about yourself.
Heidi: I live in Nevada County, California and I’m the youngest of 4 kids. And we were all home-schooled.
Tricia: Wow, that must have kept your Mom really busy. Anything else?
Heidi: I raised pigs for 5 years for our local Nevada County Fair.
Tricia: Cool, I was in the 4-H here in PA, but it was a cooking 4-H. Boy, that was a long time ago! LOL! Where/how did you meet Pat Fryer, Rose Queen and owner of Villa Rosa Designs?
Heidi: I met Pat at our local quilt guild.
Tricia: When did you learn to sew/quilt?
Heidi: I started sewing at age 9 when I joined the Junior Quilters through our local quilt guild and I started sewing for community service.
Tricia: 9 years old? WOW! So you’ve been sewing for quite a while, then?
Heidi: Yep, 18 years.
Tricia: I know you and Molly sew, but how about your other 2 siblings? Do they sew, too?
Heidi: The oldest, Naomi, started sewing first and she works at a fabric shop in Arkansas. My brother, who is between Molly and me, sewed till he got married.
Tricia: Wow! That is amazing! How long did you sew before designing your own quilts and patterns?
Heidi: I started designing my own quilts with scraps but it was officially about 8 years before I actually came out with my own patterns.
Tricia: What’s your favorite part of quilting/designing?
Heidi: Picking out the fabric, of course! LOL!
Tricia: Yep, that’s definitely one of my favorites too! What about your least favorite?
Heidi: Cutting it out.
Tricia: Do you have a favorite pattern from those you’ve designed?
Heidi: No! They are all my children — how could I pick just one as my favorite — they are all my favorites.
Tricia: Here are Heidi’s VRD Rose Card patterns to date. You can find them HERE.
Tricia: Wowzer, Heidi! You certainly have a lot of quilt patterns! And I see a theme in all their names — food. Am I guessing right that you like to cook?
Heidi: You guessed right! LOL! I not only cook, but I love to garden too!
Tricia: What else do you do when you’re not quilting or sewing?
Heidi: I like to play coed softball and keep score for the senior softball league.
Tricia: Any advice for quilters who want to become quilt designers?
Heidi: Graph paper is your best friend!
Tricia: Just so you know, dear readers, Heidi is a big part in prepping for the shows whether it’s the Facebook live sale or the quilt shows. Thanks, Heidi! It’s been great getting to know you better and we all look forward to your upcoming “foody” Rose Card patterns.
Heidi: Thanks for having me!
What fun to get to know another of our amazing VRD Designers! Take care and don’t forget to scoop up some of Heidi’s delicious patterns!
Hi everyone! Molly popping on to show you around the shop. Hold on tight, this might turn into a roller coaster ride!
Our quilt shop got started in a spacious 2 story building, just outside town near the air park, in 2019.
Remember when I said it was spacious? 4 years later and we are bursting at the seams — (no) pun intended.
Where should we start our tour of the shop? How about the front door? Here we have all our VRD Rose Card patterns on 4 large racks — with well over 500 patterns, those racks are bursting!
Nearby, we have a “dump” table where we toss FQ bundles that give you a taste of the fabric collections in the shop. Some of the bundles are also last chance bundles.
You still with me? Now we are moving into the main room in the shop where the fabric collections are mostly divided by designer: Tula Pink, Anna Marie Horner, Charley Harper, Art Gallery, Australian, Kaffe, 4th of July, Black & Whites, ombrés and of course our basics — Grunge, Palette, Canvas, Blossom, Spotted….
And to keep up with the “demand of cutting” we have 3 cutting boards— 2 are in the main room and 1 is in the side room. The side room area is mostly used for all your online order preperations.
Let’s head up the stairs and take a peek at our “employees only” area — Bonnie calls it “the scary place”. LOL! Upstairs has the same space as downstairs but that’s where the similarity ends. There are 2 long arms to quilt the many samples along with back stock and — of course — the area for the Facebook Live Sale on Friday nights.
Do you know about our Facebook Live events???
You can shop our quilt shop from the comfort of your home every Fry-day afternoon at 4 PM Pacific Time (7 PM Eastern Time). We’ll show you the latest patterns, kits, bundles, and collections as well as our latest markdowns. You can find more information about our Facebook Live Sales HERE.
Thanks everyone for joining me for the tour. Hope to see you at the shop soon — tell ‘em Molly sent you!
I am sew excited to be interviewing Molly Cook, who is not only a VRD designer, but also works at the Villa Rosa Designs quilt shop in Grass Valley, California. Molly is actually part of a designing trio called the Cook Family, which is made up of Molly, sister Heidi, and Mom Tamara.
Molly Cook, standing in front of a version of her Vineyard VRD Rose Card pattern.
Tricia: Hey Molly! Thanks for taking some time to chat on the blog today.
Molly: Hello!
Tricia: Ready?
Molly: Sure, let’s get to it.
Tricia: How did you meet Pat Fryer, the owner and “Rose Queen” of Villa Rosa Designs, or how did you become part of the VRD family of designers?
Molly: I met her at a guild meeting and she saw my show and tell that I designed by myself.
Tricia: How did you discover quilting? How long have you been quilting?
Molly: My Grandma started teaching her grandkids to sew around the age of 10, so I’ve been sewing for 11 years.
Tricia: What’s your favorite quilt block(s)?
Molly: Any block that’s simple! LOL!
Tricia: I hear you — I love easy blocks, too. How did you make the leap from being a quilter to becoming a quilt designer?
Molly: I’ve been sewing for community service for years. Working with what I had, I ended up improvising on patterns.
Tricia: That’s really cool, Molly! Can you tell us a little bit about your design process?
Molly: I just gather fabric and lay it out and see how things fit together.
Tricia: What is your favorite/least favorite part of the quilt-making process?
Molly: My favorite is designing patterns and sewing them together. My least favorite thing is binding.
Tricia: I totally agree with you. Binding is definitely my least favorite part of the quilt making process, too. What are your top 3 favorite quilting tools?
Molly: My top 3 quilting tools are my rotary cutter, my rulers, and my scissors.
Tricia: I’m not sure I can pick just three favorite tools! LOL! What are you working on now? Any new patterns in the works? Can you give us a sneak peek?
Molly: I have a couple of new patterns in the works. I’m working on writing them up and making them easy to understand.
Tricia: Here are Molly’s VRD Rose Card patterns to date. You can find them HERE.
Tricia: Wow, Molly! You are one prolific designer! And there’s lots of variety in your patterns. Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve designed?
Molly: My favorite pattern would be Lickety Split, but Brickwork almost ties with it.
Tricia: What’s your favorite book?
Molly: I love Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti books.
Tricia: Type of music/musician?
Molly: Christian music.
Tricia: Movies and TV?
Molly: Lord of the Rings movies and I’m a Marvel Superhero girl!
Tricia: That’s so cool! What do you do when you’re not quilting/designing?
Molly: When I’m not quilting, you can find me reading a book, babysitting, or crocheting.
Tricia: You stay busy, don’t you? Do you have any advice to quilters who want to become quilt designers?
Molly: Just dive in. Find fabrics you like and go for it. Don’t start with a complex pattern — you won’t enjoy quilting if it’s got a lot of pieces or is hard to follow with all it’s instructions.
Tricia: That’s super advice, Molly! It’s been great chatting with you. Thanks sew much! We all look forward to seeing those new patterns you’re working on really soon.
Molly: Thank you for having me on the blog!
There you have it, Quilty Friends!
How cool is it to get to know the quilt designers behind your favorite VRD Rose Card patterns?
Awesome Applesauce! Molly is going to be our guest blogger next week while I take a few weeks to get my knee replaced and begin the recuperation process.
Well, that’s it for this week. Be sure to tune in next week to see what Molly has in store for you!
The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day here in my little corner of Pennsylvania! I hope your day is looking just as bright. Make sure you do something fun!
Today we are wrapping up our foray into the Basics of Quilt Blocks. There are, of course, more quilt block units out there, but the ones we’ve covered are the basic ones — at least in my opinion.
Any discussion of Quilt Block Basics would not be complete without Four Patches and Nine Patches.
Quilt Block Basics — Four Patches and Nine Patches
Four PatchNine Patch
Four Patch and Nine Patch blocks are probably two of the easiest quilt blocks to make. That’s probably a good reason why these blocks have been some of the most loved quilt blocks in history! From beginners to advanced quilters — these blocks have stood the test of time for centuries.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I collect vintage and antique textiles. I do have antique quilts and tops, but my favorite part of my collection is the piles and piles of orphan quilt blocks (I consider any block not housed in a quilt to be an orphan quilt block).
Speaking of orphan quilt blocks— did you know I wrote a book about putting antique and vintage quilt blocks into new quilts? It was my very first quilt book! LOL!
Anyway, in my quilt block collection, I have tons of Four Patch and Nine Patch blocks dating from the mid 1800’s all the way to the mid 1900’s. 100 years of quilt blocks — that’s a lot of Four Patch and Nine Patch blocks!
Four Patches and Nine Patches can stand alone as individual quilt blocks, of course, but they are also fantastic quilt block units, too! AND they can act as frames where you can insert other block units into the squares to create even more blocks! The options are endless (OH NO! I hear my EQ8 calling me….again!).
Let’s take a look at some blocks featuring Four Patch and Nine Patch units.
Four Patch Blocks
Bow TieCrockett Cabin QuiltDouble Four Patch or Sixteen PatchEconomyShooting StarWindmillCarrie Nation QuiltSquare Upon SquaresWorld’s Fair
Nine Patch Blocks
Attic WIndowButtonContrary WifeDouble Nine PatchOhio StarPlus SignRibbon StarRoad to California VariationShoofly
You can also mix Four Patch and Nine Patch units together into blocks!
Mixed Blocks
Four Patch ChainGreen ChainsRed CrossTrue BlueWater Wheel
I am not going to reinvent the wheel by doing tutorials for assembling Four Patch and Nine Patch units as there are a lot of them out there on the Internet. Instead, here are some fun quilt designs using a few of the blocks above.
A Few Simple Four and Nine Patch Quilt Ideas for You
Bow TieDouble Four Patch or Sixteen PatchCarrie Nation QuiltButtonContrary WifeDouble Nine Patch
Now we’re going to move right into my curated Four and Nine Patch List of Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card Quilt Patterns. I anticipate there will be a lot, so stay with me all the way to the end or you might lost along the way.
VRD Rose Card Patterns Featuring Four Patches and Nine Patches
WHEW! Did you make it all the way through the whole list? I hope I didn’t lose you somewhere along the way. LOL!
I really hope you found this Quilt Block Basics series to not only be interesting but also helpful and informative. As a designer, when I look at a quilt, I try to isolate the quilt block (or blocks) to identify the pattern if the name doesn’t jump out at me at first. Knowing the different units that make up quilt blocks helps me to do that. It also helps me to take these different units, mix them up, and magically end up with new quilt block designs and variations so that I can keep creating new quilt patterns.
We’re getting close to the end of this series on the Basics of Quilt Blocks — just one more post next week and we’ll be moving on to other topics. I originally called it a mini series and expected it to be maybe 3 posts, but I am having so much fun with it, that it ended up turning into a much longer series. Personally, I love any idea that inspires me to play with my EQ8 software and to go through our VRD Rose Card Pattern Catalogand look at all the patterns with fresh eyes. I hope you’ve gotten a lot out of this series too.
If you’ve missed any posts in this series or if you just want to visit it again down the road, I added the series to the right side of the blog for you, right beneath the 2022 Basic Quilting Skills Series.
What’s our Quilt Block Basics unit for today??? RAIL FENCES!
Quilt Block Basics — Rail Fence
Rail Fences — YAY!
Whether you like 2, 3, 4, 5, or more logs, Rail Fence units and blocks are workhorses in the field of making quilt blocks (workhorse and field….get it???). Sigh…… I know, I know. I’ll stop here before I go overboard with the farm puns and cliches. I’m sure you’ve heard them all before anyway.
Sew, what’s a Rail Fence? You newbies might ask.
For the purpose of this series, we’re going to focus on 2 and 3 Rail Fence units with equal sized logs and finished squares. Keep in mind, though, that Rail Fence blocks can contain more than 2 or 3 logs, logs do not necessarily have to be the same width, and finished blocks do not have to be square.
2 log Rail Fence unit3 log Rail Fence unit
Rail Fence units can stand alone as individual blocks or can be successfully combined with other basic block units to make even more quilt blocks. Rail Fence is the strong, silent type that fades into the background allowing others to be the stars of the show, but without Rail Fence, something would definitely be missing.
Rail Fences can be created with other methods when making quilt blocks. Sometimes a Rail Fence is actually a secondary design or a happy accident.
If you are getting the impression that I really like Rail Fences, then you are correct. One of the very first quilts I ever made from a pattern in the book, The Weekend Quilt by Leslie Linsley. That was the book that made me want to make quilts!
My quilt was a Rail Fence double-sized quilt will 4 shades of blue. I was sew proud of my piecing! It was the first time I’d sewn strip sets together and then cut them into blocks. At the time I didn’t know how to machine quilt yet, so I sensibly tied my quilt with white crochet thread and I used it for years on my bed.
Let’s take a look at some quilt blocks featuring Rail Fence units.
Apple PieCoxey’s CampGrecian SquareMonkey WrenchOdds and EndsRail FenceRoman StripeSimple Autograph BlockSplit Stripe
These 9 blocks are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to blocks with Rail Fence units.
How to Make a Rail Fence Unit
To make a traditional 2 log Rail Fence unit, first you need to know the finished size of your unit. So, let’s say our unit will be 6″ finished. To figure out what dimensions to cut our pieces, we will divide our finished size by 2 (6 divided by 2 = 3). But we need to cut our logs the same width of our finished unit, so we will need 2 logs 3″ x 6″ — BUT WAIT! — we need to add our seam allowances before cutting. That means we need to cut 2 logs 31/2″ x 6 1/2″. Then simply sew the 2 logs together along one long edge. Voila!
To make a 3 log Rail Fence, instead of dividing the finished size by 2, we will divide it by 3 (6 divided by 3 = 2 and we need to add our seam allowances, too). So, we will need to cut our logs 2 1/2″ x 6 1/2″. Decide in which order to sew your logs (whether you decide to use 2 or 3 fabrics in your unit) and sew the 3 logs together along the long edges.
A Few Simple Rail Fence Quilt Ideas for You
Here are two simple Rail Fence quilt designs using 2 different color combinations. But just imagine what you could create if you used multiple blocks, added more colors, etc. WOW!
Time to take a look at my curated collection of Rail Fence VRD Rose Card Patterns!
Before I forget I want to wish all you Moms, Grandmas, Aunties, Cousins, Step Moms, Pet Moms, Dads, Caregivers, Teachers and ANYONE who has touched the life of a child a very special Mother’s Day.
Thank you for everything you do everyday. Although you might not get a thank you or an acknowledgement, those little everyday things mean more than you will ever know.
Quilt Block Basics — Square in a Square
This week we are going to talk about the Square in a Square unit.
You may also know this unit as the Diamond in the Square quilt block.
Often, you will see this unit combined with other quilt block units to create really cool quilt blocks. The unit usually has an unpieced square in the center, but sometimes you will see that center square filled in with a pieced unit or block, which makes Square in a Square not only a unit, but also a frame.
Why am I telling you all this? Just food for thought if and/or when you are designing your own quilt blocks!
Let’s take a look at some Square in a Square blocks.
I find the Square in a Square unit to be a very good tool in my designer’s quilt toolbox because it can really add a lot of POW to a quilt block. Wouldn’t you agree?
Let’s take a couple minutes and play with this unit. Only a couple minutes, mind you, or I might get lost in Electric Quilt 8 all day. Seriously, I’m not kidding….
Here is our single unit again:
Here are 4 units together in a 4 Patch block:
And here are 9 units together in a 9 Patch block:
You can see how complex looking the 9 Patch version (our Kansas Star block from above) is, just by repeating the Square in a Square unit. And I added another color just for fun, which can add a whole other dimension. Do you see the star in the middle?
Let’s play with our color placement now. Same block, 3 different ways!
Now let’s go crazy and add a few other Quilt Block units that we’ve already explored — HSTs, Hourglass, and Flying Geese.
MUST. STOP. NOW. Or else I’m going to forget all about writing the rest of this blog post and keep playing in my EQ8 for the rest of the day. LOL!
How to Make a Square in a Square Unit
This unit is a breeze to make.
My favorite method uses a large square and 4 smaller squares, so I don’t have to worry about working with fiddly triangles and stretchy bias edges.
But, how do you know what size squares to cut???
Math…….math…..math, of course! There is a nifty little formula to figure out the sizes of squares needed. You can also find cutting charts too, but what’s the fun in that???
You need to know your finished size. So let’s say I want a finished size of 6″ for my unit.
Next you need to add 1/2″ to your finished size and that is the size of your large center square. So, if I want a finished block of 6″, then I need a 6 1/2″ square for the center.
For the 4 small squares, you will need to divide the size of the finished unit in half (6″ divided by 2 = 3″) and add 1/2″ (3″ + 1/2″ = 3 1/2″). So for a 6″ finished block, I need to cut 4 squares 3 1/2″. Easy Piezy! (Maybe you’re wondering why I add the 1/2″? The 1/2″ is what you add to a finished size to account for your seam allowances. We add 1/4″ for each side which equals 1/2″ in total needed for seam allowances.)
Okay, what about an 8″ finished unit or block? I would need to cut 1 large square 8 1/2″ and 4 small squares 4 1/2″.
What about a 2 1/2″ finished unit? Then I would cut the large center square 3″ and the 4 small squares 1 3/4″.
Cool, huh???? Quilt Math never fails to amaze and amuse me (wink, wink).
So, let’s make the block now:
Layer a small square right sides together in one corner of a large square. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. Sew on the line. Repeat for the opposite corner. Cut 1/4″ away from each sewn line. Press open.
Repeat with the other 2 opposite corners.
I do want to take a moment to point out that you can get a Square in a Square look by using different units like HSTs, Flying Geese, and more. Just something to think about….
But wait! There’s more….
If you aren’t completely sold on my method, you have other options —
There is a cool Creative Grids ruler, you can find it HERE.
It’s Sew Emma has even created Square in a Square foundation papers in both THREE INCH and FOUR INCH sizes.
Next let’s check out my Square in a Square curated list of patterns!
Square in a Square VRD Rose Card Patterns
This clever quilt actually uses Hourglass units to achieve a Square in a Square.
A fun list of patterns, isn’t it? Don’t forget that when you order Rose Card patterns on the Villa Rosa website, it’s always free shipping for patterns. Always.
New Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card Patterns for May 2023
Moving on, do you know what day it is????
It’s the first Thursday after the first Friday of the month, which means NEW PATTERNS! YAY!!!
Here are the 5 regular patterns for May. Aren’t they great? Some nice variety in patterns and interesting options, wouldn’t you say?
Bubbles by Sugar Pine Quilts uses a fun bright collection of fat quarters and a background fabric.
31 is a new vertical panel quilt with a fun border. Join me in wishing VRD designer Molly Cook a Happy 31st Birthday this month.
Tiramisu is a very cool quilt featuring either 12 or 20 fat quarters. You get to decide which size of quilt you want with this one.
Happy Thoughts is my latest throw quilt pattern and it uses a focal or theme fabric and coordinating 5″ charm squares.
Tres Leches looks as yummy as its name! This quilt uses yardage.
You can get all 5 patterns HERE for the special price of $8.95. Yep, and the shipping is free.
And here’s my new Table Runner Rose Card Pattern for May called Fly Away.
When I was designing and then later making this runner, I kept thinking about the movie, Fly Away Home, so in homage to that great movie, I named my runner Fly Away. By the way, you can find the movie HERE.
Well, I guess that does it for me this week.
Please spend time with the ones you love this week end for Mother’s Day. Wouldn’t a quilt be a nice gift to show your loved one how much you care??? Just sayin’…………..
Wow! It’s May!?! 2023!?! How did that happen??? I’m so far behind in everything that I think it’s still 2015. LOL!
Do you remember that movie Cloned from the 90’s (I think)? That’s what I need — 3 of me — one to focus on each part of my life, then I could really get caught up with everything. Of course, things that sounds too good to be true usually are….
That being said, let’s jump right into our Quilt Block Basics this week and explore the Flying Geese (or Goose) unit.
Most likely you are familiar with the Flying Geese block, but did you know it is also a smaller unit used frequently in many quilt block designs? Let’s take a look at some quilt blocks featuring the Flying Goose unit.
Devil’s ClawDouble TFlying DutchmanFlying GeeseMemoryPuss in the CornerRoad to CaliforniaRolling PinwheelSawtooth Star
I’m sure you probably recognize some of the blocks above and can also see how much interest and movement the Flying Goose unit can add to a quilt block.
It’s really fun to be a quilt pattern designer because I get to take all these little units we’ve been talking about and mix and match them into new and different quilt blocks for new quilt patterns. I have the option to make things as simple or as complex as I desire. As I stated last week, I can really get lost playing with quilt blocks and quilt ideas in EQ8 — sometimes I completely lose track of time. LOL!
How to Make a Flying Goose Unit
Like many other units, there are numerous ways to make the Flying Goose unit. I’m going to show you my go-to instructions for constructing Flying Geese and I will touch on some of the other methods, too.
To make 1 Flying Goose unit, you will need 2 squares and a rectangle. True Flying Goose units are twice as wide as they are tall. You do need to know what your finished size of the Flying Goose unit is. Then you simply add 1/2″ seam allowance.
So, if you want a 2″ x 4″ Flying Goose unit, you need to cut 1 rectangle 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ and 2 squares that are 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″.
3″ x 6″? Then cut a 31/2″ x 61/2″ rectangle and 2 squares 31/2″ x 3 1/2″.
1 1/2″ x 3″? Then cut a 2″ x 31/2″ rectangle and 2 squares 2″ x 2″.
Easy Peasy, right?
Please note: If you like to make things a little bigger and then trim them to size, you can add 3/4″ – 1″ and then trim your units to the right size.
Art Gallery Fabrics has a lovely downloadable Flying Geese Cheat Sheet with instructions and a chart with cutting for common size units. Yay! Find the download HERE.
Now that we know the math secret for cutting, let’s make the unit!
Layer a square right sides together on the left side of the rectangle with the edges aligned. Draw a diagonal line from bottom left corner on the square to the top right corner.
Sew on the line. Trim 1/4″ away from the line. Open and press.
Layer a square right sides together on the right side of the rectangle with the edges aligned (the right side square will overlap the left triangle top by about 1/4″ in order to create the top seam allowance). Draw a diagonal line from the bottom right corner of the square to the top left corner.
Sew on the line. Trim 1/4″ away from the line. Open and press. (Note that the top of the unit will have the 1/4″ seam allowance.)
Voila! A Flying Goose unit.
Here are links to some other Flying Geese methods:
I have a group of wonderful delightful ladies who are part of my monthly “quilt class” at my local quilt shop, Homespun Treasures. It’s more like a slumber party or a gab fest than a class, though. LOL!
BIG SHOUT OUT to everyone in the class — Mary Lee, Sherry, Gaynel, Kim, Robin, Lisa, Jean, Donna, Debbie, Anita, Missi (an honorary member right now), and Gail (the shop owner)!
Anyway, this year our class is called Panels and Novelties Oh My! and we are featuring 10 Villa Rosa Rose Card patterns (one each month from March through December) using panels and novelty fabrics.
Did you know that in most cases, panels and novelty fabrics are interchangeable???
Our March project for April was Hypnotized. Here is a Gallery of the some of the quilt tops and finished quilts made by my Panel and Novelties group.
Aren’t they marvelous????
LOVE the Hypnotized pattern — it is sew sew versatile and looks good with just about anything! AND you can use panel squares or novelty fabric.
The last photo with the patriotic theme was made by my pal, Mary Lee, and was already completed and donated to our local Quilts of Valor organization before our April meeting.
Thank you, Mary Lee!
For more information about how you can get involved with the Quilts of Valor Foundation, please go HERE.
Well, I guess that’s it for me today. I am feeling so energized and inspired, I need to go make a quilt.
Villa Rosa Quilts 