OUT with the OLD & IN with the NEW !!

I hope this finds all of you healthy & happily ready to say "goodbye" to 2015 & welcome a new year!  I just know that 2016 will prove to be an onward & upward year for all!

On to the quilting . . . Today I am very thankful for my machine quilters!!  I count my blessings to send my quilts off for machine quilting.  There would be many, many non-quilted tops folded up in my closets if there were no machine quilters close by!  

But now, hand piecing has slowly but gradually worked it's way into my quilting life &, surprising to me, is becoming one of my most relaxing quilting past times.   

ARDCO templates

Friendship Ring quilt

Hand piecing or in other words "Peaceful Quilting"

is my new joy & challenge!  

It all began with the Friendship Ring quilt & ARDCO templates! 

Friendship Ring block from the
Flying Geese fabric collection

        Then I played with more of the blocks in various fabrics of the Flying Geese & Friendship Ring collections.

Another version
of the Friendship Ring block with the
Friendship Ring fabric collection

This block to the left is a scrappy version with a little different fabric arrangement.  

Also fun!!

Patchwork Sunburst with indygo/cheddar
Manassas Junction collection

Playing with the strike-offs from the NEW Manassas Junction collection, I hand pieced a sunburst block!  

18 pieces each of 3 fabrics per block! 

The templates are in a lovely book  "Quilts from The Henry Ford" by Fons & Porter with Landauer Books, publishers.  I simply cut the plastic templates from the pattern & surprise - it worked!!  Went together & pressed flat!  Awesome! 

See the indygo/black/brick red/cheddar Manassas Junction Collection at P & B Textiles/Washington Street Studio/Manassas Junction !!

ARDCO hand piecing templates can be ordered at ARDCO Templates  or contact me at evonnecook@clotheslinequilts.com.