September is National Sewing Month! Here’s a great way to celebrate your love of sewing: build a stash of patterns to keep you in stitches whenever inspiration strikes.
Most every quilt pattern begins with a block, so block books provide endless possibilities. Make simple repeat-block quilts, spectacular samplers, two-block wonders with surprising secondary designs, and more—with a variety of quilt-block designs to unleash your creativity, the sky’s the limit.
Check out this week’s block books on sale below, where you’ll find quilt-block ideas for every style and skill level.
Animals from A to Z: A Quilter’s Ark by Margaret Rolfe
Whether you’re fond of animals on the farm, at the zoo, or in the wild, the cute critters in A Quilter’s Ark will help you put smiles on the faces of the young and the young at heart. Stitch these 4″ x 4″ paper-pieced blocks with amazing accuracy, even if you’ve never paper pieced before. Includes 53 animal blocks plus four quilt projects.
Click here for more of Margaret’s quilted creatures >
A Star for Every State: 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars by Carol Doak
These spectacular star blocks only look challenging to sew—with easy, accurate paper piecing, you can create them in a snap. Each 12″ block, pieced in four simple sections, is named after a US state. Road-trip quilt, anyone?
BONUS: Never paper pieced before? Watch as Carol demonstrates her easy paper-piecing technique right on your computer screen—a free video CD-ROM is included.
Browse all 50 star-studded blocks >
A Block for Every Day: Quilter’s Block-a-Day Calendar by Debby Kratovil
With 366 different block designs—one for every day of the year—this calendar will keep the inspiration coming. Each block pattern includes a full-color illustration and rotary-cutting key. The perpetual format allows you to use the calendar year after year.
The Ultimate Quilt-Block Collection: 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins
From the simplest blocks (Four Patch, Cotton Reels) to triangle triumphs like Minnesota (right), the late Judy Hopkins left us this ultimate resource as her legacy: 501 quilt-block patterns to last a lifetime. Sew these timeless blocks in six different sizes.
See all 501 blocks plus examples of rotary-cutting directions >
Picking a paper-piecing block book? Don’t forget the paper! We’ve designed our Papers for Foundation Piecing to be sturdy enough to withstand machine stitching but light enough to see through and tear through easily.
Blocks, rows, or anything goes: how do you typically build your quilts? Tell us in the comments!
It really depends on the quilt in question. Three of us made a "bird" quilt for an aunt who is an avid birder and used numerous sources for blocks including some paper pieced blocks from Margaret Rolfe. Other times it is a quilt made using one or two blocks using different fabrics. Each project may be so different depending on the pattern and the fabric choices. Try making the same block with different fabrics OR the same fabrics with different blocks!
—Vicky on September 7, 2015Quilting is such fun!
I start with blocks, go to rows and then anything goes — that’s the secret of a successful scrap quilt; something of which I have been very successful at. My next challenge is making something out of all the orphan blocks I have accumulated from others — that’s going to be a tricky one.
—Sue Fender on September 7, 2015I usually start with blocks but have done several row quilts and several anything goes quilts. They are all fun, it depends on the design you are going for. I love paper piecing, applique, pieced blocks and working with wool. Each has it’s own contribution to a beautiful quilt.
—connie b on September 8, 2015I get together with a friend once a week to sew. We often try a new pattern involving a new skill. Then we choose different colours, type of fabric, etc. and the results are are so different.
—Alfreda Rupert on September 11, 2015