Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks

The new issue, Volume 16, is on the newsstands NOW!    I'm sure you want to rush out and look for it right away!

And when you find it, you know the drill -- turn to the appropriate page -- this time it's page 51.  Find my block.  Gasp, utter exclamations of awe!  Explain to passersby that you know the quilter who designed this particular fabulous block!  (It really is fabulous -- says so right on the cover!)

My block in this issue is called Step Right Up.  It is based on a design I found in my file, a sketch on graph paper that my son Sandy did when he was in school. 

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 16.
 The magazine is resting on a quilt that I made using my Step Right Up block.  

There's so much more to a quilt than the fabric!

I was reminded again recently how much more there is to a quilt than just what we see!  The quilt I was working on was a simple one, made from ordinary fabrics and using a basic pattern -- just squares with denim sashing between them. 

But to the friend who received it there is more to this quilt.  The fabrics are from shirts that her husband used to wear, shirts she herself probably purchased for him, and that she can remember him wearing as he worked around the house or sat watching tv in the evenings.  She can see a pocket in which he kept his pen, and buttons he opened and closed many times.

She will keep the quilt beside her chair and cover herself with its warmth, and with the memories, each time she uses it.  And I will remember that a quilt does not need intricate piecing or exotic fabrics to make it valuable. 

Memory quilt made from shirts.