Triple Digit Triangles

Triple Digit Triangles, May 2026

Our Tennessee weather has been sizzling hot so I’ve been staying inside. The heat index was 100+ all last week. I picked a quilt for today that has summertime colors in bright pinks, reds, oranges, and yellows, tempered with some light gray.

I saw an antique hand stitched quilt with these triangles at an April quilt show and knew I had to make it. But not by hand! I ordered the Blue Wren kite/equilateral triangle die when I got home. It does have a Y-seam, but it’s easy with these perfectly cut pieces and consistent seams.

Alternating the 6” gray triangles emphasizes the colors, which I arranged in diagonal rows. I quilted straight stitch with red and orange variegated thread inside the gray sections for a perfect match. The backing is a gray, orange and hot pink large floral print with a diagonal orange & white dot strip.

Triple Digit Triangles is 47” x 49” finished. I’ve already started cutting more kite sections from my leftover bins to make a more traditional scrappy version later.

There’s more heat ahead for us so I will do what they tell old people to do and stay inside. It’s a grand excuse to sew all day and drink iced tea!

Blue Wren dies used:
6566 Equilateral Triangle 6”
6372 Kites to form 6” Equilateral Triangles

Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding

Calico Cottage

Calico Cottage, May 2026

Vintage quilt blocks nearly always capture my attention. I appreciate the designs, the colors, the fabric and the skills involved. Some are simple, others very intricate, and I want to sew them all!

This quilt features a relatively easy one published in the Kansas City Star (July 1943) as Mountain Peak, and also in Farm Journal (1877 – 1970) where it was called Old Italian Design. BlockBase and EQ8 software were used to lay out the pattern that I adapted to use Blue Wren’s Dandy 4” and Accuquilt’s 4” square die.

I cut a variety of floral, plaid, dotted, and striped vintage look fabrics plus white muslin. There are twenty-five unique 9” blocks. Sashing between them is 1” strips of a gray and white number print, also used in the 2” border.

A thrifted sheet with small pink roses was used for backing. Circular shapes with loops were quilted as an allover design, using white thread and a circle ruler on my Janome.

Calico Cottage finished at 50½” square.  Can’t you just see it on a cottage bed back in the 30’s or 40’s? I stitched this happy little quilt in May.  I enjoy adding my own flair as I re-create these antique designs.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6292 Dandy 4”
6015 Strips 1”
Accuquilt
55018 Square 4”
55017 Strips 2½” 

Country Clothesline

Country Clothesline, April 2026

Laundry blowing in the breeze, can’t you just smell the freshness of sun dried cotton?

This week’s colorful scrappy quilt reminds me of summer clothes and sheets hanging on the line in our backyard when I was little. An assortment of light and medium hued remnants made this project fun.

Flying Geese paired with strips were simple to stitch on Rockette, my Singer 500-A. Backing is a very soft vintage fabric from an estate sale, a cross-stitch pattern on light yellow background. Switching to the Janome, I quilted with pale yellow thread, using two different rulers, Which Way and Wiggly Wave.  

Country Clothesline is lap size at 48” square, ready for snuggling, to toss over the arm of the couch, or spread on the grass for a picnic.

I’m on a mission to keep my scrap bins from overflowing, so this quilt has kept them under control for a bit. There’s always a mess when I’m pulling out so much material to cut, but I absolutely enjoy playing with fabric! It’s very satisfying to remember when and where I found it. 

Of course, as I was sorting many ideas filled my brain for future projects...I will never run out of remnants...stay tuned for more bonus quilts.

Side note:  I keep a written quilt journal (using a weekly 2-page planner) of my projects with notes and sketches so I can keep up with details and techniques. I also maintain a master database where I can search, sort and find quilt names, dates, gifts/donations, and dies used. I am in the process of adding photos to it whenever I get a few minutes. 

Dies used:
Accuquilt 55456 Flying Geese 3” x 6”
Blue Wren 6047 Strips 2” x 6”