Fairy of Gratitude - Onoka

Hi there! Thanks for joining this very special post between X-Mas and the New Year! Wow! What a year 2020 has been! There have been so many ups and downs and downs and ups this year. And many of us are still struggling.

I admit, this year has been very hard me as well. In April we all thought we had COVID-19 but were already under lockdown self-quarantining and decided not get tested. Six months later, I allowed my blood to be tested for antibodies that tested neagtive. 

Did we have it or did we not? It doesn't really matter anymore. Life is turned upside down. Interactions with friends, family and acquaintances has been extrememly limited this year. My business has suffered. My phsyical health and mental health has suffered. I know I am not alone in this boat, but it is really hard to see the postive. I've always tried to be open and honest about my feelings and life. Some may see it as a weekness, but there are others out there too struggling just as I am. When we open up about the truth, we might just be able to help each other.

Something that has always allowed me to refocus is to design. I decided to design another foundation pattern - a new 16" fairy to fit the collection and welcome a better new year 2021. This year, Onoka, the Japanese Fairy of Gratitude was created. 

  

What am I grateful for?

I am grateful for so many things in life and wish I could express myself better sometimes. I am grateful for the friendships that I have. I am grateful for my home for my family for my knowledge. I am grateful for the generosity of friends, family, acquaintances and customers. I am thankful so many people are interested in my patterns and classes. I don't express it nearly enough! I am truly thankful and grateful for all of those things. What are you grateful for?

Since Onoka was not designed as a mix and match fairy to mix with Marissa, last year's fairy, I tried a different foundation construction method for her. She still has the y-seam, but the instructions on how to do this are in the pattern and are fully illustrated.

For those who are new to foundation piecing, the larger size of 16" rather than 12" is easier to work with although some of the pattern sections may seem too large. 

The Enchanted Paper Dolls are 12" and completely interchangeable with mix and match segments. 

 

 

The Fairy of Gratitude, Onoka cannot be mixed with segments from Marissa, the Fairy of Good Fortune. Onoka is taller and constructed through triangles rather than vertically. You can, however, still add, remove or change some of the lines on the foundation patterns to change the look of Onoka. I also constructed her to have the least amount of intersecting points to releave headaches. The fairy with the pink wings will be easier than the fairy with the purple wings to make.

Onoka would make a lovely pillow case. Just use 2" border strips to outline the block. Make a quilt sandwich, quilt and cut to 18 1/2" and your favorite pillow case tutorial to finish.

 Use contrasting piping or binding for an extra, special touch.

Of course, you can make a quilt from just the one block, adding, changing and highlighting different segments of Onoka or even flipping the blocks by tracing the segments in reverse. The shown quilt below uses a 2" finished inner border and a 4" finished outer border. The quilt would measure 60" x 76" - a great quilt for a special girl in your life. Have fun exploring the different colorations.

If you want to mix Onoka and Marissa, this is a fun design you might like. This quilt uses a 2" finished inner border and no outer border, just accent binding. This quilt would finish at ~ 52" x 68".

Thank you so much for joining me. Hopefully you've been inspired to make something beautiful with one of these patterns You can purchase them in my pattern shop on Etsy.

 Please check back soon for more fun patterns and designs. Wishing you a Happy New Year 2021!

GeoOptics Quilt Pattern

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by to check out the new GeoOptics quilt pattern. I am really excited about sharing this quilt with you too. It has been an idea floating around in my head since the beginning of spring this year. I wanted to create a pattern using a simple and traditional block and flip it into something different and unexpected. And if you love mini quilts, there is a mini version just for you. I hope you will enjoy the pattern.

The log cabin block is one of the oldest quilt blocks around. In fact, you might have sewn it as your first ever quilt block. It was one of the first blocks I added to my repetoire and used a quick strip piecing method. We still have that quilt in our household after nearly 20 years!

Well, there is a sister block - the quarter log cabin. She is just one-quarter of the original block. Now, you could sew log cabin blocks together and cut them through the middle twice to get four slivered log cabins, but it is simpler to just sew the block below without slicing. 

This block creates many exciting designs with simple rotations and repetition of blocks. Here are just a few common designs made with the quarter log cabin that you may already know:

 

I wanted to really maximize the interest of the quarter log cabin by spinning and rotating the blocks. I wanted more elements such as color value and color placement to really shape the design. I sat and tweeked for weeks until my idea evolved into my most favorite design - GeoOptics. See the use of darks, medium and light fabrics to ceate the design. What do you see? There is no wrong or right answer here.

In quilt design and pattern writing, it is very important that others understand what you are saying. So, this time, I wanted to get back in alignment with my own thinking and learning process. I wrote the pattern with little text, more diagrams and more tables. Hopefully you agree that this method is easier to understand especially if English is not your first language. 

I sent out the preliminary patterns to my favorite quilt testers and was amazed to see what they delivered! I am always so stunned to see what others can do with my patterns.

This gorgeous version was created by Ute, who threw in just a hint of color to make it a stunning wall/art quilt. My eye just keeps dancing and dancing around the quilt discovering the different color pops.

Sewn by Ute of Uma.Saar

What truly illuminates this design is the use of color value – light, medium and darks and their placement within the design/blocks. The slow transition in color or value allows a secondary design to emerge. Do you see it? 

But let’s kick it up a notch. What if we bring color into the design?

The original design of lights, mediums and darks is still there, but another design in rainbow transistion flows across the canvas diagonally. Isn’t it beautiful? The added use of rainbow fabrics for a pieced binding with the lightest color in the corner, frames the quilt nicely. This is another added feature to the quilt design. Of course you could just use a one color binding, but I love how the corners sparkle with the yellow color.

If you are looking for a quilting desing, you could go with really fancy custom quilting, but I think a practical allover quilt design also does the trick just as well. Here it is mocked up with an orange peel quilt motif in EQ8 - Electric Quilt Software.

If you have a large stash or want to make up a throw or queen size quilt with your favorite fat quarters, this pattern is perfect for you! Here is another one of the layouts included in the pattern. I will definitely be making this design as well! This pattern will truly become your go-to, patchwork pattern.

Just take a look at our next quilt from one of our pattern testers. I especially love the use of a dark background to bring out the colors. This beautiful quilt was made by Hanna. She chose one of the other four designs found in the pattern booklet. Just look at her sparkling color transition within her blocks!

Sewn by Hanna of hannas_liebe

There are four different size quilts each with the same adjusted block size. You can pick which quilt you prefer – mini, wall or art, throw or queens size. The skill level increases as the blocks and quilt gets smaller. The mini quilt is the hardest.

Hanna had so much fun sewing the pattern, she made the mini version as well. This is one of the other layouts listed in the pattern book. It truly is fun to spin this block around and come up with new designs!

Sewn by Hanna of hannas_liebe

I am currently finishing up the hand quilting on this beauty – the mini quilt version which finishes at 24” x 24”. I think it will make a great oversized pillow.

 

If all of these quilts are too colorful for you, take a look at Martina’s quilt, she is known for her soft use of soft and sublte shades. It is an amazing scrappy, tone-in-tone, low contrast quilt!

Sewn by Martina  of malu_27117

Are you just not into square quilts? Well, Ulrike had a very interested recipient who was eying her design in process, but wanted a true rectangular bed quilt. No problem – Ulrike and I talked about how she could stay true to the design. She added another row to the top and bottom with a continuation of the design. She also adjusted the borders to make them slightly thinner. The pattern is easily adjustable to whatever suits your needs and preferences.

Sewn by Ulrike of Ulrike_Brauns

May, another of our incredible pattern testers, decided to use the three-fabric design to create this lovely throw sized quilt. It is so stunning with a slight Christmasy touch, don't you think? She quilted it on her  home sewing machine with some awesome matchstick quilting. Check out a glimpse of the super cool striped binding!

Sewn by May of fabraholicquilts

I would like to thank our pattern testers for their awesome work! They all used their own fabric stashes, creativity and know-how to produce their very own one-of-a-kind quilts. Photos courtesy of the creators! They totally hit their designs out of the ballpark! Each one is so lovingly made with an eye to detail. We are so fortunate to have such a great crew!

I had so much fun making samples and testing the pattern myself, I just couldn’t stop. I first made the mini, the the wall, then a super fun scrappy, stash buster accented with Figo - Earth in black.

I had a lot of fun picking out the rainbow gradient fabrics from my stash. I have a lot of fat quarters but most of them are slightly cut into. When choosing shades and gradients, I tried to always have a very luminant color as the middle value and worked lighter and darker from there. It was a fun way to play around with some of the lighter, neglected fabrics in my stash.

During the cutting phase, I realized sometimes, there wasn't enough fabric, so I just picked out something else and rolled with it. It really was so much fun.

 

I asked the very talented quilter, teacher and shop owner, Sabine Feldmann of Quilt Oase to make a simple allover design, because this will be our new sofa quilt. My husband has already adopted it as his own. It finished at 70” x 70” and is wonderful for snuggling in the autumn months. I just love this allover design!

One day I was thinking about where or how to finish with a photoshooting of the Rainbow (Scrappy) Gradient quilt and wanted to incoroporate my home. I live along the Danube River in Germany, not more than one mile away. In the autumn months, it gets incredibly foggy but oh so much fun to go walking along the river. It's been really foggy around here, so I convinced my husband to go with me on Sunday mornging before our famous Sunday breakfast for a quick photoshoot. Let's give him two thumbs up for a great job!

You might have noticed that the quilt design is upside down. I rather like it that way with this backdrop and the seasonal mood to it. The blues represent the sky, the green the trees and the yellows and reds the fall leaves.

If you like what you see, you can purchase the printed ordigital pattern in my Etsy shop. Starting today and running through Sunday, enjoy 20% off all patterns! 

Would you like to support your local quilt shop? You can also purchase at these stores in Germany:

• Quilt ét Textilkunst - Munich, Germany
  
• Quilt-Oase - Nersingen, Germany
  

If your shop doesn't carry easypatchwork patterns, ask them too!

The pattern also shows a quilt on the back cover made only with Kona solids. I am finishing up the binding on it this weekend and can't wait to show you more. This quilt will be kitted and available at Quilt ét Textilkunst. Kits will be available soon. Please ask at your local shop for more information.

Thank you for supporting my quilt pattern and training business. I would like to extent my appreciation with a GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment below stating your favorite color combination or version of the new GeoOptics quilt pattern. One entry per person please.

One lucky person will receive 27 – 5” x 10” cuts of all of the fabrics used in the pattern book to create your very own GeoOptics - Rainbow Gradient Mini. You will also receive two printed copies of the pattern and one Creative Grids 3 ½” x 3 ½” ruler. All products and supplies courtesy of easypatchwork. 

Drawing will be held on Thanksgiving, November 26, 2020. Not associated with anyone other than easypatchwork. Not valid where prohibited. You must be 18 and older participate. Good luck to everyone.

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All photographs were kindly used with permission by the original owner - the one who sewed the quilt. All rights reserved to the originator. 

* * * * * * GIVEAWAY CLOSED * * * * *

easypatchwork Free Monthly Recipe Club

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. Today is the second of October and autumn is just beginning to show her beauty here in Germany. Fall is one of my favorite seasons! The colors of changing leaves, smell of fresh dew and buring wood and watching the wildlife prepare for the winter is so very exciting. My desire for cooking and baking have also been rekindled by the splender of the season. Last month I decided to post one of my favorite recipes that is simple, easy or practical on Instagram. But why limit the post just to Instagram and not share with everyone on the internet? 

I love to cook and bake even more than quilting, but I don't like a lot of fuss and spending loads of time in the kitchen. Let's celebrate the whole year together with a totally ad free (non-easypatchwork related) and no membership-fee recipe club? Just drop by this blog and download this month's recipe. Subscribe to the right just in case you forget and will be notified by Blogger. 

At the begining of each month, I will post one of my favorite no-hassle recipes. I will try to adapt it for both the English speaking world as well as the German speaking world with a few translations. Does that sound like fun? I hope so. OH, and tomorrow is a holiday in Germany - German Reunification day. So get out there and buy the ingredients. Now let's get started.

Simple Peart Tart

My son has developed a speacial taste for pears - a close sister the the apple. It is a no fuss, rustic fruit that mother nature gifts us in the fall. I'm sure you've made some sort of apple pie or tart before. Have you ever made a pastry with pears? They taste delicious!

Here's a recipe for an simple pear tart. Instead of baking an American pie, make a panless pie by bringing the edges of the pie pastry up around the filling hugging the yumminess. You can make this type of pan-free tart with any type of fruits such as apples, plums, peaches and cherries. Avoid berries due to too much juices flowing out of the crust.

ENGLISH		DEUTSCH
Ingredients		Zutaten
4 – 5 Ripe Pears 1 T. Flour 2 T. Brown Sugar ½ tsp. Cinnamon ⅛ tsp. Nutmeg Pinch of Salt ¼ Cup Slivered Almonds 2 T. Butter 1 tsp. Milk 1 Prepared Pie Pastry		4 – 5 Birnen 1 EL Mehl 2 EL Rohrohrzucker ½ TL Zimt ⅛ TL Muskatnuss 1 Priese Salz 50 g gehobelte Mandeln 2 EL Butter 1 TL Milch 1 Quiche und Tarteteig (Fertigprodukt)
INSTRUCTIONS		SO WIRD’S GEMACHT
Peel and slice pears. Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add to pears. Unroll pastry dough and lay on lined baking sheet. Place pear mixture in the middle of pastry leaving two inches free on outer edge. Fold pastry inwards over pears. Sprinkle with almonds and dot with cubed butter. Make an egg wash if desired. Mix milk and egg. Wash over pastry edges. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30- 35 minutes. Makes a minimum of four servings for one happy family.		Birnen putzen, schälen und in Scheiben schneiden. Mehl, Rohrohzucker, Zimt, Muskatnuss und Salz zusammenmischen. Birnen unterheben. Tarteteig ausrollen, auf einem Backblech auslegen und mit der Birnenmischung bis auf 5 cm zum Rand belegen. Tarteseiten nach innen falten. Mit Mandeln und kalter Butter besprenkeln. Ei mit Milch leicht aufschlagen und Tarterand bepinseln. 30 – 35 Minuten bei 200°C (Ober- und Unterhitze) im vorgeheizten Backofen fertig backen. Ergibt einen schönen Nachtmittagskuchen für mindestens eine vier köpfige Familie.

Locked Squares Tutorial and Quilt

Christine @minerva_huhn, asked me a few months ago to share in her love of quilting bees. She set up a forum with beginner bee blocks for new (German) quilters. Her idea was to introduce them to new blocks and get them started with their own beehives. The first of each month, she releases a new block for members to share with their bee mates. On the fifteenth of the month, a guest quilter also presents her deigner quilt block - one she thinks the newbie quilters would also like to make. The block could be self-designed or an already known block but should have the standard 12” x 12” finished dimensions. 

 

When Christine asked me to join in, I was sold on the idea of helping young quilters explore their creative talents. Of course I wanted to share in the fun and quickly agreed to help. After many days of thinking and exploring blocks to present, I finally decided on my own, self-designed quilt block called, “Locked Squares.” It is a beginner block but also designed for experienced quilters. 

Do you remember the little sneak preview in my Instagram feed?

The block was designed back in February before the entire Corona-Virus Pandemic. I wanted an easy, modern and geometric block that could be used with precuts or scrap fabrics. The design should also be a scrap buster project. Quilting bees are best when you use scrappy fabrics so you can see the same block but in an array of different fabrics. Therefore, each participant can also add in fabrics if needed and all blocks look slightly different. 

This block could be made with a lot of inset seams, but I wanted it to be do-able for everyone, especially newbies. [SIDE NOTE: I actually drew up and sewed a block with inset seams that you can see on the left side of the photo posted above. Although everything lines up wonderfully, it shouldn't be used as a starter block.] So, it was broken down easily into three sections for the locked squares and then framed. I decided to frame the block to cover any inconsistencies in block sizes which can happen in quilting bees.

You can skip directly to the PDF download here. You will be redirected to the easypatchwork website. Feel free to take a look around. You might find another tutorial or download that is interesting for you. There are two versions for your convenience - English or German. I wrote a full pattern instead of a tutorial, because it is so much more practical to download a complete pattern than to scroll through text and print countless sheets of paper.

As you might notice, I used directional fabrics in this block. The pattern also includes cutting instructions especially for directional fabrics as well. So, you can use all of the luscious small to medium prints including stripes and other pattern repeats in your quilt.

The freebie also includes a full size quilt with twenty quilt blocks! How cool is that! That should be enough to get you and your quilting bee started on a fun quilt.

So, hop on over to the easypatchwork website for your own instant digital freebie for this quilt block and sofa quilt. Copyright clauses do apply even though it is a free pattern. Please read the pattern for more details. Have fun sewing and please share your makes with the hashtag #lockedsquares. Thanks for joining. 

A big THANKS to Ines, Tina, Carola and my husband for translations and corrections into German. 😙

Lots of catching up . . . help is on the way

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by and reading the blog today. There is so much to catch up on since my last post in February 2020. I had big plans for the blog with new and exciting posts, but one thing led to another, and we were all plagued by COVID-19 and the ramifications. I will admit, it wasn't at all easy for us. We were thrown quickly into a lockdown in early March and lasted for a good six weeks. My teeangers were stuck in "home-office" as well as my husband, and I was, unfortunately, thrown into the traditional role of a happy housewife catering to my family.

The first couple of weeks during the lockdown, we had (what we thought were) really bad allergies. My husband and I both suffer from asthma. I had a routine checkup the beginning of March and was in better shape than ever, seriously. This is what I use as my baseline. Then, two weeks into the shutdown, my lungs starting closing up, I started coughing a lot with a really deep dry cough and sore throat. I felt warm but didn't show any signs of a fever. I would grab my emergency spray more often than usual and would lose my breath several times during the night. Now, these are common symptoms of COVID-19 but they are also known and manageable symptoms of asthma. I am used to dealing with them. We were uncertain if they were simply "normal" asthma flair ups or something else. We had no fevers which was the most common symptom of COVID-19. We chose not to get tested, because it if were just allergies, we didn't want it to become worse by catching the disease, and we were already in lockdown, self-quarantining.

After we recovered, I tried to get tested for antibodies at my house doctor, but they stated those tests weren't as accurate as you would think, and they didn't know how long antibodies would last if any. So, once again, we may just be one of those "uncounted cases."

For the most part, we have recovered. Then, a couple of weeks ago. I started having more lung problems again, feeling like a boulder is beging pressed against my lungs. It brings you down quickly stealing your energy too. Sprays don't help. It happens a couple of time a week which is manageable but still scary. Who knows what the long term complications for people of have contracted the disease will be?

We are still are taking all precautions`, though, just in case we were not infected. We wear our masks, wash our hands regularly and keep a safe distance from others. It really is a wild world out there. I crack up watching smokers pulling down their masks to smoke. I am a former smoker myself. My asthma finally got so bad, I couldn't smoke anymore. I am grateful for that. Yes, I am grateful. I quit smoking 18 years ago! I was able to quit but my parents weren't. My father contracted small cell lung cancer several years ago and died and my mother had COPD. Let me tell you, as soon as you go into a lung doctor's office  due to symptoms, you start to rethink everything! Please quit smoking! I read that more than one million people in England quit. You can too.

Enough of those stories. Please don't take pitty on me or worse, claim there is not COVID-19 out there. I am just recounting my experiences. Maybe you, too, went through the same thing?

On my good days, I started working on some really cool foundation patterns for medical occupations. I started out with a vintage candy striper that never made it to an actual pattern. Who knows, I might make her into a free 12" block pattern.

I worked on the figure with different dresses and styles throughout the decades until I decided on a vintage nurse from the 1950's. I named her Nurse Nancy. She has a lovely, California coppertone tan as my husband said. And with a vintage nurse from the 1950's, there had to be a strong doctor to support her. My daughter said he looked like former President Obama. I had a lot of fun designing both characters. They are a bit larger, measuring at a whopping 16". It is very hard to get a lot of detail in with the stethoscope at 12". I wanted to make both blocks relatively simple to make. The 16" size is perfect for pillows and gifts.

A good friend of mine was kind enough to test Nurse Nancy for me. She used FPP text from another designer and wrote "Danke" on the left side which means, "thank you," in Gemran. She gifted the pillow to a nurse who loved the idea and made one herself. That was so clever, kind and generous of her. You can see more images here from Ines @naehzimmerplaudereien.com.

 

Here is another beautiful Nurse Nancy created by Ulrike @ulrikebrauns. These ladies really know how to doll Nancy up. She looks striking with brunette hair too. The cross is a little tricky but so worth it.

You can also take a look at the hashtag on Instagram to see more beautiful Nurse Nancy figures. We had a few testers on this pattern and they all turned out wonderful!

Physician Phil was a bit trickier. It was one of the first real men in the easypatchwork paper doll collections other than Santa and his elves. I learned that men have wider shoulders and are taller than females. 

This was my first attempt at sewing Phil. That THING on his head is a light reflector if you just didn't get it. : ) I added the medical bag to his free hanging arm to allow him to appear more vintage.

There is a lot of bonus material with Physician Phil. What gave me a lot of problems with this figure was his arm with a strip of background fabric showing through. It makes it harder to sew, but it gives more depth to the figure. It is okay to omit the sliver of background fabric between the arm and body to make it easier if you choose. 

He also comes with Pharmacist Freddie. You can change up the hairstyles on him for a more mature doctor (bald, balding, receeding hair) if you prefer. More hairstyles are included in the pattern.

There is one image that is not shared in the pattern that I would like to share with you here.

I proudly present Grocer George. He is slim, trim and ready to help you with your groceries, ladies (and gents.) These are the colors of my local grocery store - V-Markt. Feel free to use your own store colors. Our grocery clerks are heroes too, keeping our shelves stocked with all of the necessary goods to keep us happy.They greet you with a smile and yell at the shoppers if they aren't wearing their mask and keeping their distance.

If you want to surprise your favorite "seasoned" medicals with a couple of 16" vintage blocks, you can purchase and print these beautiful blocks directly from my Etsy shop. You should have the latest PDF viewer to print from home. Please check the scaling before sewing too.

Thanks again for dropping by. Let's applaud all of the brave, selfishless, and inspiring individuals that help us stay safe and healthy! We appreciate your kindness, your sacrifices and your determination to keep going. Thank you!!

Oh, and a little side note, I am having a lot of trouble with the new Blogger interface. Where in the hell did the spell check button go? And these new templates are giving me a headache. Anyone else having problems here?