The Dragon Fly Quilt Block

Enjoy them while you can!

Dragon Fly season is about to begin – at least it might be.

I really didn’t know much about dragon flies until recently, and what I discovered was quite interesting – if it’s all true, that is.

It turns out that the life cycle of the dragon fly depends on the weather.

Once the eggs hatch, the nymph cycle begins.

It would be great for that to last forever since little dragon fly nymphs eat mosquitos.

But, alas, the nymph stage can last from months up to 4 years – depending on the weather!

Maybe you’ll have dragon flies this summer, or possibly you’ll have dragon fly nymphs eating the mosquitoes.

Either way, you can celebrate the wonderfulness of dragon flies and their benefit to our good health in a quilt block:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1365-dragonfly-quiltblock.php

The Dragon Fly Quilt Block

 

Bat Quilt Blocks

Usually the only time of the year I think about bats is around Halloween.

But, as I was looking at a website that had special holidays, I discovered that today is Bat Appreciation Day.

I’m not sure that I fully appreciate bats – although they are somewhat intriguing to me.

When quilting daughter, Stephanie, was in Houston, she learned that Austin has the largest bat population in North America.

Possibly that’s where Bat Appreciation Day came from.

Regardless, today, you’ll see how to sew The Bat quilt block – there’s a video and step-by-step instructions to download:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1364-the-bat-quiltblock.php

The Bat Quilt Block

 

Pineapples and Easter

Pineapples have been a symbol of friendship for centuries, so it’s no wonder that quilters would create quilt blocks that represent the pineapple.

For those who celebrate Easter, have a wonderful Easter Sunday – with family, friends, watching children enjoying an Easter Egg Hunt.

And even if you don’t celebrate Easter, here’s a video showing how to sew the Pineapple Plant quilt block, and a free pattern – my gift of friendship to you:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1362-pineapple-plant-quiltblock.php

Pineapple Plant quilt block

 

May Basket Quilt Block

Oh, I know it isn’t May yet!

Actually we still have a few days left in March.

But I thought it would be fun to show you how to sew the May Basket quilt block together.

After all, it is a little challenging, since it has a bunch of diamonds – like many other basket quilt blocks.

Once you get the hang of sewing this together, it’s fun – but it will still take some time.

I’ve put together a video that shows the step-by-step instructions:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1323-may-basket-quiltblock.php

May Basket quilt block

 

Pattern Quilts and How to Quilt Weekly News

Oh, I’m so glad we aren’t making pattern quilts any more!

These are blocks and quilts that were made using fabric and sent to friends and family members so they could create a similar quilt.

Yes, it was way before magazine and newspaper quilt block patterns, and fabric was about the best way to share your
patterns.

You’ll read more about them in this week’s news and get your free quilt block patterns.

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/patternquilts.php

 

Puppies and Fish

Happy National Puppy Day!

Who would have guessed?

Since I’m kind of new to puppies, and actually now I’m living with “all grown up” doggies, I’m not sure whether puppies enjoy watching fish as much as my kitties did.

I do know that the puppies I live with now enjoy carrying around little stuffed raccoon toys.

Maybe they would enjoy fish toys, too.

Regardless, today I’ve got the All Those Fish quilt block in video.

This should be a relatively easy quilt block to sew – but you’ll want to watch for all of the triangles, so they don’t get stretched out of shape.

This is the kind of block that would make a great quilt for a child, a cabin retreat, or a sofa quilt for someone who loves fish.

Just change the color scheme for the one you love:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1361-all-those-fish-quiltblock.php

All Those Fish quilt block

 

an irish spring (quilt block, that is)

freedie and nietzsche here – the official how-to-quilt.com schnoodles – continuing our education about making quilts

we’re looking over clovers to see if we can find a 4 leaf one.

somewhere long ago we heard that 4 leaf cloves are lucky, and you know how doggies love to sniff.

the problem is that we can’t find any clover in our backyard – we’ve scoured for hours and combed every nook and cranny of the yard.

there are plenty of twigs, ivy leaves, ferns, and other beautiful things – but no clover.

maybe the guys with the noisy machines eat it all up.

anyway, maybe you’ll find some clover in your quilting, because penny has posted a video and pattern so you can create an irish spring quilt block – or wall hanging – or quilt.

it’s a really fun 3 leaf clover, and it’s easy to make – or so she tells us.

you’ll find the video and pattern here:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1360-irish-spring.php

Irish Spring Quilt Block

Watch the video showing how to sew the Irish Spring Quilt Block together:

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Kite Quilt Blocks

Ah, the winds of March.

I do remember fun times flying kites with my dad – box kites, kites with big long tails, dragon-shaped kites, all different kinds of kites.

It turns out that March is National Kite Month – in addition to the month we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

In today’s article, you’ll see some ideas for kite quilt blocks as well as a quilt block for St. Patrick’s Day – that’s a little different from the traditional Irish Chain:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1358-kite-quiltblocks.php

Kite Quilt Block

 

Presidents’ Day Quilt Blocks

Yeah, I’m a little ancient, but when I was growing up, there were two separate holidays honoring US presidents – Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s Birthday.

I’m not sure whether someone decided that there were too many holidays in February, or wondered why just those two presidents were honored with a holiday.

Regardless at some point, the holidays that honored these two presidents were eliminated and President’s Day was created.

Falling the Monday between the two birthdays, in my mind the holiday is still about Washington and Lincoln, and today you’ll find some Presidents’ Day quilt blocks – even before Presidents’ Day!

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1312-presidents-day-quiltblocks.php

Washington Star quilt block

 

 

Bird Quilt Blocks

Some special days are celebrated by most everyone while others are celebrated by special groups interested in a particular topic.

Whatever the celebration, you will probably be able to find a quilt block to make the day even more fun.

For the next few days, bird counters will go into backyards and count birds.

The purpose is two-fold:

- to get more folks interested in birds

- to keep track of where bird populations are

This is officially the Great Backyard Bird Count, and if you enjoy bird-themed blocks, you’ll find some here:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/1303-birdsintheair.php

Birds in the Air quilt block