BLOCK OF THE MONTH OUTSTANDING QUILTS Part 2

Every year since 2008 THE QUILT SHOW has presented a beautiful BLOCK OF THE MONTH quilt project FREE for Star Members. These quilts have been created exclusively for The Quilt Show by the various designers, available only for that year from this worldwide quilting community, an Internet based show. 

These quilts always provide excellent instruction for exceptional designs. Everyone who completes one of these quilts has learned a lot and can be proud of their accomplishment.

Here are just a few of the many BOM quilts that have won awards at quilt shows around the world. Enjoy and be inspired:

 2021 COLOR MY WORLD designed by Wendy Williams. When I first saw this design, two years before it was our BOM, I loved it and knew it would be a success. The taping for the January 2021 show had to be done in August 2020. Do you remember the PANDEMIC? It was clear in April that Wendy would not be able to travel from Australia to the US to tape the show. I was sent the kit and had 8 weeks to make it, quilt it, and travel to Dallas for the taping. Here is mine:

                                                        

This quilt has won MANY awards at shows worldwide. It often wins VIEWERS CHOICE. This next quilt deserves special recognition. Carole Berry made this as her FIRST QUILT EVER. And she used WOOL! 

As she was making it, she shared progress photos on the FORUM of The Quilt Show. When it was complete, I told her she simply had to enter it in major competitions. So she did. 

Let her tell you how this quilt has done in competition. Don't think she is bragging, she is humble and gracious and deserves all the awards this quilt has brought her way:

Carole Berry "HOME"  Quilted by Cindy Paulson

FROM CAROLE: Attached is photo from the 2024 AQS Daytona Beach Show where I got first place in my category of Wall Quilts-Moveable Machine Quilted and Viewers Choice.

Other accolades "Home" received:

 

2023

AQS Grand Rapids 2nd Place

Maine Quilts 1st Place, Exceptional Handwork, Viewers Choice

Cocheco Quilters Guild 1st Place, Exceptional Merit, Viewers Choice

 

2024

Road to California 2nd Place

AQS Daytona Beach 1st Place, Viewers Choice

AQS Branson 3rd Place

AQS Paducah 3rd Place

AQS Lancaster 3rd Place

 

2027

AQS Engagement Calendar 

Thank you for encouraging me to show this quilt! I never imagined all the places it would bring me and the wonderful people I would meet. I’m currently working on a temperature quilt to commemorate our travels in 2024 following Home around the country. 

Here are photos I was sent from The Quilt Show members: 

Barbara Colvin York Quilters Guild

Karon Rufenacht  Natrona County WY fair - People's choice, 1st place and sweepstakes ribbon.  WY state fair - blue ribbon

Cec Larsen

Jacquelyn Jacobi 1^st place ribbon at the Victoria (BC Canada) biennial judged quilt show. In the bottom left I have substituted the Parliament Building in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, and in the bottom right I have substituted the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls Ontario, my home town. 

Jan Aji Ribbon Winner at her local show. 

Sandra Bonomo kept hers round when she had printing trouble and decided this was large enough. It is hanging at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier. She made a facing and adding tubing to create the perfectly round shape for display.

Several people made this design their own by changing the Skyscrapers in the four diagonal corners to represent buildings important to them.. Here is one of my favorites, made by Sunday Sew and Sew Donna Daniel. She added her church, the bell tower at the University of Alabama, the Saturn V Rocket at the Space Center here in Huntsville and the Washington Monument:  

                                            

2022 GARDEN PARTY DOWN UNDER designed by Irene Blanck. The taping for this BOM was August 2021 and guess what? The world was still on lockdown and Irene could not travel from Australia to Dallas for taping. So, once again, I had 8 weeks to make this quilt, quilt it and travel to the taping.

This was only possible with the help of my Sunday Sew and Sews. And since the kit would not be available for months yet I used my own fabric. Over two long days Joan Cook helped me cut kits for 9 of us to use--each person made one pieced block and one appliqued block. They had exactly one month to complete their task--all met the deadline. In the second month I made the borders, assembled, basted and quilted it. This is one of my most favorite quilts because of the friendships that made it happen. Here it is on the set of The Quilt Show in Dallas:

                                                

Others I was sent:

Barbara Colvin Best Use of Color, York Quilters Guild

Janet Miller, Best of Show, 1st place Large Appliqué Quilts, and Best Domestic Quilting, The Arapahoe County Quilters, Festival of Quilts, 2023. Located in Colorado.

Liz Anderson Viewer's Choice and Best of Show, Cadiz, Ky show

2023 HOMEWARD BOUND designed by Sarah Fielke: 

Susan Wolak Quiltfest Rochester NY 2024

Joyce Cambron On Display at Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2025

2024 PICK A PETAL designed by Jen Kingwell:

Pick a Petal by Jen Kingwell 

2025 LAUREL RIDGE designed by Lynne Wilder:

Barbara Colvin York Quilters Guild, First Place and Best Traditional Quilt  

Evelyn Spaudling, Teal Time, Fanfare 2026 Huntsville AL 

2026 GAME ON! designed by Becky Goldsmith--this is the current year's BOM so no one has entered it in any shows yet. I expect to see ribbons on this design in the future too:

I recently completed both the SOLID and PRINT tops: 

2027 FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE, designed by Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson. This is a spectacular design that will teach you a LOT! I am learning things. Patterns will be released monthly starting in January 2027, FREE for Star Members Only:

OCEAN WAVES Colorway

MOUNTAIN MEADOWS Colorway

I will be helping to teach this project with lots of tips and suggestions. I sure hope you will join us on this Joyful Journey!

NOTE: A few of the photos were taken from the GALLERY on The Quilt Show. There are many quilts there to inspire and educate you. 

To see the Block of the Month quilts from 2008-2020 see PART 1

Let's quilt.

Barbara

BLOCK OF THE MONTH OUTSTANDING QUILTS Part 1

Every year since 2008 THE QUILT SHOW has presented a beautiful BLOCK OF THE MONTH quilt project FREE for Star Members. These quilts have been created exclusively for The Quilt Show by the various designers, available only for that year from this worldwide quilting community, an Internet based show. 

These quilts always provide excellent instruction for exceptional designs. Everyone who completes one of these quilts has learned a lot and can be proud of their accomplishment.

Here are just a few of the many BOM quilts that have won awards at quilt shows around the world. Enjoy and be inspired:

2008 BOUQUET FOR A NEW DAY, designed by Sue Garman. I had to hunt to find a photo. This was made by Ann Shibut: 

2009 STARS FOR A NEW DAY, designed by Sue Garman. This is my version. It was included in the book 500 TRADITIONAL TREASURES, published in 2014. Can you find my mistake?

2010 Sue Garman designed two for this year, STAR CRAZY and HUGS AND KISSES:

Hugs and Kisses by Sue Garman

Star Crazy by Jill Buttel 

2011 RUFFLED ROSES designed by Sue Garman. This is my version, completed in 2019, won Best of Show, Fanfare 2019, Heritage Quilters of Huntsville. Quilted by Lois Kindley:

2012 SEDONA STAR designed by Sarah Vedeler. Here is a spectacular example:

My, My, My, My Sedona! made by Alice Alinson

2013 TWO OF US designed by Sue Nickels and Pat Holly: 

made by Karen Boe Quilted by Barb Simons

2014 A TO Z FOR EWE AND ME designed by Janet Stone: 

Made by Barbara Colvin, First Place York Quilters Guild

2015 MY COUNTRY HOUSE designed by Lynette Anderson:

My Country House by Lynette Anderson

2016 RAJAH QUILT REVISITED designed by Lessa Siegele. This is a remake of an historic quilt with ties to England and Australia. This is my version:

Rajah Revisited by Barbara Black 

2017 HALO MEDALLION designed by Sue Garman. This started a lot of good things for me. The Sunday Sew and Sews group was formed, meeting in my home once a month for guidance on this project. Sue was quite ill and passed away January 8, 2017 so I was asked to help with the FORUM since I was making the quilt. I'm still here. Here are three especially great versions:

Janet Noever made this as a Sunday Sew and Sew. She made it her own by adding her beloved Seminole Piecing to a couple borders.

Brenda Miller got the Sunday Sew and Sews started when she asked me if I thought she and her sister, Joanne, were "capable" of making Halo Medallion. I offered to help guide them and the rest is history. Notice Brenda's lovely First Place Ribbon

Joanne Miller, sister to Brenda, and co-instigator in getting the Sunday Sew and Sews going also earned a ribbon on her quilt. All of these were featured at Fanfare 2019 Heritage Quilters of Huntsville

2018 THE PATCHWORK BARN designed by Edyta Sitar.

The Patchwork Barn by Sandra Thomas

2019 SIZZLE designed by Becky Goldsmith:

SIZZLE Made by Terri Taylor, quilted by Patty Wilson

2020 AFTERNOON DELIGHT designed by Sue Garman. A tribute to Sue after her passing, this pattern of hers is the only time a published pattern was used for the BOM.  

This beautiful example won BEST OF SHOW at the SW Florida Quilters Guild earlier this year:

AFTERNOON DELIGHT made by Terri Saarinen

This takes us through the first 13 years of Block of the Month Quilts from The Quilt Show. Have YOU made any of these?

Next week will feature the remaining past 5 years. I asked members of www.thequiltshow.com to send me photos of their winning Block the Month quilts and I received MANY from the most recent 5 years. See you next week!

NOTE: A few of the photos were taken from the GALLERY on The Quilt Show. There are many quilts there to inspire and educate you. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GAME ON! MONTH 8

Game On! is the 2026 Block of the Month quilt designed by Becky Goldsmith exclusively for THE QUILT SHOW: find Game On! information here. Join as a Star Member to get all the patterns and all the videos FREE. Membership is just $49/year and provides access to almost 20 years of shows and tremendous additional content. Join HERE

Now we are ready to move on to the larger borders--6" blocks. We are making the LEFT larger border:

The good news for some of you--there are NO PAPERS TO PRINT. This is just machine pieced in the regular manner.

I have a few tips. First, once you make the little four patches, they need to be trimmed to 2 5/8". I always measure blocks from the center BUT what is middle of 2 5/8"?  It's 1 5/16". We don't have a line on our rulers for sixteenths. 

SO, I made a 2 5/8" square of Vellum, so I could see through it. Folding it in half in both directions gave me the middle--I drew a line in each direction with a fine point pen:

Placing the Vellum square on the Four Patch, I used a mechanical pencil to draw in the four corners--this allowed me to see where to place a small square ruler--at the 2 5/8" mark on the outside edge:

I rotated it and trimmed the other two sides for a perfect 2 5/8" Four Patch.

UPDATE: A smart person posted on the FORUM how to make this border without a seam in the green—not as Blocks. Take a look at her idea:  Shirlett P’s good idea

Back to the Block method: I discovered my usual 1/4" seam allowance caused me a problem. Those 2 5/8" blocks are just a smidge too large for me  to make a 6" block accurately. How much too large? Oh, maybe 1/32".  Nothing you can easily measure.

When I made the first set of these blocks, using the precise 1/4" seam allowance I am accustomed to, I found I was going to "cut off" the outside points. You can see that where the brown sashing has been added:

SO, when I made the second set I experimented with using a slightly larger seam allowance.

The blocks on the LEFT were made with my usual seam allowance. The blocks on the RIGHT were made with the slightly larger seam allowance--they are MUCH better. The BLUE squares are now exactly 1/4" inside the edge and won't be but off:

As usual, I know I have to check myself as I go to be sure my borders aren't GROWING as I piece them. Two blocks sewn together should be 12.5" long. Three blocks should be 18.5" long. Four blocks should be 24.5" long. Join a THREE and a FOUR to get the 42.5" length this Border needs to be. Add the narrow brown sashing to each end and you have MONTH 8 done!

HOW MUCH bigger was the better Seam Allowance? Here is a photo of where my 1/4" presser foot was to give me the size I needed for perfect blocks. It's only a few THREADS, maybe 1/32". You might have to play with your presser foot or needle position if you find your blocks are coming out just a tad too large as I did: 

I find it very helpful to trim blocks with a ruler that is the size the block needs to be, 6.5" with seam allowance in this instance.  I put the 3.25" marks at the center in BOTH directions, North/South, East/West. 

This ruler has WHITE lines in BOTH directions at the midpoints that allow me to easily place them all across the middle of the block in BOTH directions. I can check to be sure there is a 1/4" seam allowance beyond the BLUE squares. This block is just right so I can trim it now:

I strive for perfection but can accept "close is good enough" sometimes. Not if you want to enter International Competition--then it has to be as perfect as you can make it. So I won't be remaking the PRINT KIT border--FINISHED IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.

Next month we'll make the TOP larger border.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

KEEPING BUSY

 There are always multiple projects going on in my Studio. Take a look: 

At my guild meeting last week I picked up two "Comfy Quilts" that needed binding. The first I did by machine, the second I am hand sewing the binding to the back. They will be returned next month and will be donated to one of several organizations the HERITAGE QUILTERS OF HUNTSVILLE  supports with quilts:

This is the time of year I work to finish the current Block of the Month for THE QUILT SHOW so I can concentrate on the NEXT BOM coming in January 2027. Game On! is  designed by Becky Goldsmith. I am making BOTH the SOLID and PRINT kit versions:

SOLID through Month 11, almost done:

PRINT through Month 11, ready for Month 12 to be completed. Flight of the Bumblebee, 2027's BOM, is on the wall behind it--I don't want to take it down until it's finished so the wall is a bit distracting:

I spent some time cutting all the fabrics/pieces needed for the remaining four borders that are made in Month 12. This allowed me to plan the fabrics as I like and each border is ready for sewing as I get to it:

LUCKY STARS is still ongoing. The next star is made by paper piecing using the pattern my friend Cyndi R created and the next ring of wedges is ready to be sewn by hand, English Paper Piecing (EPP):

I had another idea of how to use the great fabrics I get each month from my Sunday Sew and Sew friends should I decide not to make any more Lucky Stars. I have always been taken with Timna Tarr's Circle quilts and this would work. 

First, I considered using one neutral background like any of these, OR the neutral Charm Packs I have on hand:

Here is one of hers using neutral backgrounds and several fabrics in each circle:

Scrappy Snacks by Timna Tarr

But then I saw this one of hers and REALLY LIKE it:

O Happy Day by Timna Tarr

Good thing I don't have to decide today...

Some people may only work on one project at a time. That doesn't work for me as I always have several deadlines looming. 

This is also when I  plan next year's local classes. If you are local OR want to come to Huntsville for classes, let me know what interests you. My usual WORKSHOPS are listed above under the WORKSHOP TAB.  Here are a few thoughts at this moment:

FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE:  DEMO CLASS once a month, 2 hours, I will show exactly how to make that month's segment of this complex quilt. Membership in The Quilt Show is required--that gets you the FREE PATTERN once a month. You will sew at home:

FEATHERED STARS PAPER PIECED: learn detailed paper piecing while making the perfect block for a center medallion or start a full quilt of Feathered Stars:

MY FAVORITE THINGS: a four-day, once a month class that teaches so much, my favorite blocks, AND how to design your own unique layout, or use mine:

OH MY STARS: this will happen somewhere in 2027--perhaps a one day Workshop for a local guild. Stay tuned: 

Let's quilt.

Barbara