Quilting Trent's 100 Blocks Quilt

I'm quilting it!  Yes!  All in a loopy meander.  It is a kids quilt after all.  I hope it gets loved to death!

Oh kitty!  Love this cute kitty in a basket block.  I think it is Kay MacKenzie's design.

Trent has been climbing up onto a chair every now and then to see the progress.  He's dubbed the Irish Chain alternating blocks as "boxes that the truck are moving around".  I'm so glad he has a wonderfully working imagination.

Closing in on the Grape's Leaf.

Here you can see the Ukulele-Lei block.  That was tough to quilt over with several layers of thickness.

Can you see Rubber Duckie's tail?  "Rubber Duckie, you're the one!"

And.......Finished!  Here it is, starting to come off the machine!  Hip!Hip!Hooray!

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Nine Patch Scrap Quilt

Here's another scrappy quilt I've been working on.  It's a simple Nine Patch that was started with a charm pack, but has evolved to include some fabrics from my stash, too.  Charm packs make such great stating off points.  I love to pick a charm pack and then go through my stash, matching fabrics.  

This one is all blues, greens, reds, and creamy golds.  I'm sewing 30 blocks (only seven more to go).  This quilt will be for my middle son, Levi.  

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Pinwheel X Scrap Quilt

I've been playing in my fabric again!  I've sewn 20 of the Pinwheel X quilt blocks in pink, green, blue, and various whites. 

These are fast and fun to sew!  See how they form two different pinwheels when put side by side?  Large white pinwheels, and small pinwheels with the pinks, greens, and blues.

I keep moving them around and around on my design wall as I stitch them together.  I think I'll finish with a border from the blue or green, or maybe both.

If you would like to sew one too, I  have a pattern available for the Pinwheel X quilt in my shop at this link:  Pinwheel X Quilt Pattern.  It's a great stash buster!

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Flower Pin Pollination

I couldn't resist taking this picture.  We had a warm, sunny day in November, and this bee made it's way into my quilting studio.  He tried his best to pollinate my flower head pins.  He was all over my pincushion.  I wonder what kind of honey you get from these?  And will my pins produce seed and self sow?

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super Thanksgiving day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Aura Quilt - Day 8 - ???

Okay, so I skipped a few days.  I really have no clue what "day" we are on, but here's the progress on my Aura hexagon quilt.

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 10 Blog Tour Winner!

Congratulations goes out to Liz A.  She is the winner of  one issue of the new Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 10.

Liz wrote:  "What a fun block. Happy birthday to you and to my sister."

Thank you, Liz!  And a happy belated birthday to your sister.  Enjoy your magazine.

Thank you to each and every one of you who took time out of your day to read my blog and leave a comment.  I wish I could answer each one of your 194 comments personally.  Please know that it made my day special and your messages keep me smiling on a daily basis.

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 1000 Blocks! Blog Tour

 Woo-Hoo!  Quiltmaker!  1000 Blocks!  Congratulations!  I'm so glad I've been a part of this ongoing journey with the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazines.  Here we are, Volume 10, and it's wonderful.  So many amazing blocks to sew!

Here's my block, Persuasion.  This was a fun block to design.  I knew I wanted something with a pieced background.  The swirly rose just came about by happy accident.

Love this hearts on black fabric by Moda!  The hearts are just dancing all over the place.  

For my quilt, I sewed four Persuasion blocks.

 I wanted to put them into an on point setting with the blocks kind of spinning around from the center...but I ran out of fabric.  I even dug through my stash for some other fabric that would work - nothing!

So this is how the quilt turned out.  Still cute!

And now for the giveaway - today is actually my birthday - what fun to be on the blog tour and hosting a giveaway on my special day!  To win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 10, please leave a comment below.  Be sure I have a way to contact you, if you are the randomly selected winner.

Please be sure to visit the Quiltmaker blog, Quilty Pleasures, to get links to all the designers on the blog tour today and the rest of the week, plus fun surprise giveaways by Quiltmaker.  1000 Blocks!  Woo-hoo!  Congratulations, Quiltmaker.

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Volume 9

Hello.  Welcome to the very last day of my Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Day 9.  From Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 9 I've sewn one block and one quilt.

Triangle-O-Rama, Block #897, designed by Me!  The first completely pieced block I've designed for the 100 blocks series.

I also made this quilt, Cosmic Blast using the Triangle-O-Rama block.  The Cosmic blast quilt appears in Quiltmaker's Quilts from 100 Blocks, Fall 2014.

If you didn't already know, the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 10 Blog tour starts today!  Please visit the Quiltmaker Blog, Quilty Pleasures for links to all the designers participating on the tour, plus great giveaways by Quiltmaker.  I will be on the blog tour tomorrow to reveal my block for Volume 10, plus giveaway a copy of the magazine.  See you then!

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Volume 8

Hello!  Welcome to Day 8 of my Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown.  I've sewn four blocks and one quilt from Volume 8.

Ukulele-lei, Block #701, designed by Sandi Colwell.  Love, love, love this block!  It's so happy!  The ukulele strings were fun to stitch.  This will be part of Trent's 100 Blocks quilt.

Shadow Play, Block #714, designed by Me! Another design where I'm playing with cutouts, layers, and shadows.

I also made a Shadow Play quilt, which appears in the magazine.  I've set the blocks into larger blocks and repeated a motif for the center of the quilt.

Rollin' Along, Block #717, designed by Kristy Wolf.  Another one of my all time faves!  This block was super fun to stitch, all the way up to the tiny red bird perched atop the flag.  I love it!  This is one of Trent's quilt blocks.

Mixmaster, Block #797, designed by Denise Starck.  This is the first block Trent chose for his 100 blocks quilt.  

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Volume 7

Hello.  Welcome to my Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Day 7.  

I have sewn 3 blocks and one quilt from Volume 7.

Summer's End, Block #609, designed by Me!  I made this block with wool look flannels fusible appliqued onto a muslin background.  So warm looking.

I also made a Summer's End quilt, which appears in the magazine.  This is one of my all-time favorite quilts.  It's so cuddly!

Cuppity Cake, Block #630, designed by Sandy Fitzpatrick.  Oh yum!  This sweet block is part of Trent's 100 Blocks quilt.

Bus Stop, Block #696, designed by Denise Starck.  Another block for Trent's quilt.  He has really enjoyed riding the school bus for his first year of school.

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Volume 6

Hello. Welcome to Day 6 of my Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown.  What am I counting down to?  Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 10!  Ten amazing issues of 100 blocks each - that's 1000 blocks!  Woo-hoo!  Here are the blocks and quilt I've sewn from Volume 6.

Snow Day, Block #509, designed by Denise Russart.  This block is for Trent's 100 Blocks quilt.  He just loves playing in the snow with his brother, Levi.  They are already watching the weather carefully this season, watching and waiting for that first snowfall.

Happy Puppy, Block #511, designed by Rob Stanphill.  How cute!  Who could resist this sweet little dog?  Another block for Trent's quilt.

Tango, Block #513, designed by Me!  Tango was my block for issue 6.  Here you can see I'm still playing with circles, cutouts, and fusible applique.

The Tango quilt also appears in the magazine.  It was wonderful to sew this colorful quilt in nine delicious batik fabrics.  

Cat Nip, Block #542, designed by Dianne Gardner.  More kitties!  Oh kitties!  Isn't this pair just too cute?  Button eyes and ribbon collars.  They are also for Trent's quilt.

Rescue No. 1, Block #597, designed by Denise Starck.  This one is for Trent's quilt, too.  I'm sewing three of Denise's truck blocks for his quilt.  They each have a lot of pieces, but as long as you keep them organized, sewing is a snap.

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown, Volume 5

Hello.  Welcome to Day 5 of my Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Countdown.  Volume 5 was a busy one for me.  I sewed 16 blocks and 3 quilts from Volume 5.  This was the last issue that I had the pleasure of testing blocks for.  What an enriching experience that was.  I came out of it feeling like I can quilt just about anything.  Here's what I made from Volume 5.

Abloom, Block #401, designed by Barbara Cherniwchan.  This is the first block that appears in Volume 5.  I made mine using the fusible applique method.  Lovely curves in this block.

Fresh Flowers, Block #406, designed by Cheryl Haynes.  Her original block has a light background.  I changed it up by using this night sky fabric with bright colors.  The butterfly button and french knot detail really make this block fun.

I liked it so much that I designed this little wall hanging featuring the Fresh Flowers block.  This is currently hanging in my quilting studio hallway.

Ray of Sunshine, Block #407, designed by Mary Andra Holmes.  This was fun to sew also.  I adore fusible applique!  Once again, I changed the background from a light, white fabric, to this dark brown for a dramatic result.

Sitting Pretty, Block #410, designed by Kay Mackenzie.  Oh kitty!  You know I love my kitties, and my boys do too.  Trent selected this block for his 100 Blocks quilt.

Icicle Star, Block #416, designed by Sheri Diesburg.  A fantastic foundation pieced block.  Sorry my photo is a little fuzzy.

Circle of Friends, Block #420, designed by Carolyn Cullinan McCormick.  This is a great block for scrap busting!  Look at all the fun fabrics I was able to use in this block.

May Showers, Block #421, designed by Jennifer Ofenstein.  This paper piecing block has a ton of seams!  I had a little trouble getting them all lined up correctly, and my rain drops are still falling up!  Oooops!  But it's cute. Jennifer is awesome.  She's a paper piecing diva.

Polka Party, Block #429, designed by Me!  This was my block for Volume 5, my first try for a "modern" style design.  I love the combination of squares, circles, and the tiny flower in the center.  I have sewn this block in a few different color combinations for great results, too.

I made a quilt, Fresh 'N Fancy, for the Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Spring 2013 issue featuring my Polka Party block combined with Fresh Cut, Block #343, by Sara Tuttle Khammash.  The on-point setting really works for these two blocks.

Old Town Star, Block #448, designed by Katie Blakesley.  I adore this block.  It was fun to use the bat novelty print in combination with the red check and green tone on tone.  

Framework, Block #454, designed by Emily Cier.  This was a challenging block for me to sew.  There are a lot of long, skinny pieces.

Window Panes, Block #458, designed by Jennifer Dick.  Another block by a Jennifer!  Yeah!  Go Jens!  This block is simple, but fun.  It would be interesting to play with a lot of these up on a design wall.

Diamond Eyes, Block #459, by Monique Dillard.  Very nice classic looking block.  The cornerstone diamonds almost make it look like a quilt in itself.

Crossroads in Life, Block #466, designed by Carolyn Goins.  Another block that features great movement.  Simply by playing with color and block placement, you could create a quilt that really makes your eyes move.

Diamond Mine, Block #474, designed by Faith Jones.  Faith used all solids in her block for an ultra-modern look.  My block features the Mosaic collection by Timeless Treasures.  

Flower Burst, Block # 476, designed by Debby Kratovil.  Debbie's block features a large fussy-cut flower in the center.  I loved using the fun bat print fabric again for this block.  It almost looks like you are viewing the bats through a round window at night.

Star Light, Star Bright, Block #487, designed by Scott Murkin.  I used the bat fabric again for the edges of this fantastic hexagon star block.

I sewed nine of the test blocks together into this quilt, Wedding Chapel Windows.

Thanks so much for reading today!  Please join me for the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour on November 18th for a fun giveaway of issue 10!  1000 Blocks!  Wow!

Until next time...please visit the Curlicue Creations Shop...and have a super day!

Get Creative!

Jennifer Schifano Thomas