Merry Christmas!

2018 Christmas Stars Quilt based on the Inklingo 3 inch LeMoyne Star shape collection – original design by Annika Kornelis

 

I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, or other Happy Holidays, and all the best for 2019!
I have not done much blogging, EQ-ing or quilting in 2018, but I felt I had to at least put up a Christmas quilt design. And if you have followed me for a couple of years, you know my Christmas quilts usually have stars. And, I have a problem with the traditional Christmas red and green! It has to have at least a third color, or be a very soft green or something.

This design is inspired by a spectacular, scrappy antique quilt from the collection of the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Michigan, USA. I think I first saw it in a blog post by Barbara Brackman, and I saved a picture of it.

Edyta Sitar’s Stars Upon Stars Quilt

Edyta Sitar did a reproduction pattern, which recently also was in Quiltmania issue 128.

While I love this quilt, I would not make an exact reproduction.

  • First, I prefer symmetrical quilts.
  • Second, the relative proportions of the differently sized star points (diamonds) did not look harmonious to me.
  • Third, and perhaps, most important, not all sizes of diamonds are available as Inklingo shapes.

So, I tried to remedy all of that in EQ8. I came up with a design that is based on one size diamond only, using the 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Star shape collection as my starting point.
The original star block is 12 inch [30,48 cm.] with 5 rows of diamonds, and 3.5 inch [8,89 cm.] stars in the corners.

My design (center measuring about 64 x 64 inches [163 x 163 cm.]) has four rows of the 0.88 inch [ca. 2,2 cm.] diamonds, which also makes the large star 12 inch. By adding 0.5 inch [ca. 1,3 cm.] strips to the outsides of the smaller stars in the corners, I could use the 3 inch [ca. 7,6 cm.] star there, too. The stars in the corner stones are also 3 inches.

2018 Christmas Stars Quilt Peach, with sashings like the original antique quilt – original quilt design by Annika Kornelis

I drafted both the original sashings, and a sashing block of my own design, using the 0.88 inch diamonds there, too. You would have to make it so that you add about 1/8 of an inch [2 millimeters] somewhere along the length of the 12 inch sashings. I think that’s doable by piecing slightly scant seams.

The original sashing can also be made with Inklingo shapes, if my mushy brain is correct. It uses 1.5 inch QST’s and 1.06 inch squares. Check the Index of Inklingo Shapes for availability.

2018 Christmas Stars Quilt based on the Inklingo 3 inch LeMoyne Star shape collection, color variation of the picture above – original design by Annika Kornelis

Merry Christmas! XXX Annika

Inklingo Ribbon Flower Christmas Quilts

Inklingo Ribbon Flower blocks (12 inch) alternated with Inklingo Dresden Plate Basic Pieced blocks, with a 3 inch sashing in between, and 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars in the cornerstones – original design by Annika Kornelis

Finally I got to play with Inklingo Ribbon Flower in EQ. I designed some Christmas quilts, combining the Ribbon Flower blocks with several other Inklingo blocks.

In the quilt above, the 12 inch [30,5 cm.] blocks are in a horizontal set, with a 3 inch [7,6 cm.] sashing in between. The Inklingo Dresden Plates finish at 9 inch [22.9 cm.] originally, so I virtually put a 1.5 inch [3,8 cm.] frame around each block, to make it finish at 12 inch.

In the cornerstones and the red borders are 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars. I’ve said it before, I think every Christmas quilt needs to have stars! :-). I think they look like snowflakes in this one.

The entire quilt finishes at 74 inches [188 cm.] x 92 inches [233,7 cm.]

Inklingo Ribbon Flower Christmas Quilt, alternated with 4.5 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars (free shape collection!) in a horizontal set and 3 inch LeMoyne Stars in the border – original design by Annika Kornelis

In my Christmas quilt design above, I put the 12 inch Inklingo Ribbon Flower blocks in a horizontal set without sashings. The stars in between are 4.5 inch [11.4 cm.] Inklingo LeMoyne stars, from the free shape collection, again framed to make the blocks finish at 12 inches.

The turquoise border is 3 inches, with 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Star blocks. First, I put 6 inch [15,2 cm.] red borders around the center part. And then, to make it a rectangular quilt, I added 9 inch [22,9 cm.] red borders to the top and bottom. This makes the quilt 80 inches [203 cm.] x 98 inches [249 cm.].

Same Inklingo Ribbon Flower quilt as above, in a color variation, showing patch outlines – original design by Annika Kornelis

 

12 inch Inklingo Ribbon Flower alternated with 12 inch Inklingo Clamshell Rose blocks in a horizontal set with 3 inch sashings, and 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars in the cornerstones – original design by Annika Kornelis

And my final Inklingo Christmas quilt design. This time I combined the Ribbon Flower blocks with Inklingo Clamshell Rose blocks, with the 4 inch clamshell shapes in a 12 inch block. Again, 3 inch sashings with the cute 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars in the cornerstones.

The white borders are 6 inches wide. Including the red 1 inch [2,5 cm.] border/binding, this quilt finishes at 63 inches [160 cm.] square.

Merry Christmas and ‘Vrolijk Kerstfeest’ from Rotterdam!

XXX Annika

Star Sampler Quilt for Inklingo’s Anniversary

Inklingo Star Sampler - original design by Annika Kornelis, to celebrate 10 years of Inklingo!

Inklingo Star Sampler, original design by Annika Kornelis, to celebrate 10 years of Inklingo! – Inklingo Star Sampler, eigen ontwerp van Annika Kornelis, om 10 jaar Inklingo te vieren!

Click here to go straight to English

Dubbel Hoera! Inklingo bestaat deze maand dus tien jaar, en uitvinder Linda is vandaag jarig. Gefeliciteerd, Linda & Monkey!

Natuurlijk moest ik een quilt ontwerpen voor deze gelegenheid, en het resultaat zie je hierboven (en onder). Ik ben er lang mee bezig geweest, het wilde maar niet lukken. Ik denk dat ik eigenlijk te veel wilde. Linda heeft al zo ontzettend veel Inklingo Shape collections gemaakt in die tien jaar, dat het onmogelijk bleek om een representatief overzicht te geven in één quilt.

Ik heb me dus maar beperkt tot sterrenblokken. Die zijn geliefd, klassiek en ze vervelen me nooit. En ik vond het wel toepasselijk om Linda in deze vorm de sterren te geven die zij en Inklingo verdienen!

Toen ik een tijdje bezig was met een zo breed mogelijke selectie van alle mogelijke Inklingo-sterren kwam ik er achter dat ik met alleen de achtpuntige sterren al een grote uitdaging had. De zespuntige sterren, de tienpuntige etc. vielen dus af.

Het is nog best lastig om van blokken met verschillende afmetingen een harmonieus geheel te maken. Om die reden heb ik ook maar een beperkt palet gebruikt, 5 kleuren in de blokken.

Daarbij had ik mezelf nog een uitdaging gesteld; ik wilde graag precies 35 verschillende sterren in de quilt verwerken, terwijl de quilt wel nog een normaal formaat moest hebben. En het is gelukt!! :-)

Inklingo Star Sampler met rode achtergrond. De blokken zijn precies hetzelfde gekleurd als in de lichtblauwe versie bovenaan. Een andere achtergrondkleur geeft een heel ander effect!

Inklingo Star Sampler met rode achtergrond. De blokken zijn precies hetzelfde gekleurd als in de lichtblauwe versie bovenaan. Een andere achtergrondkleur geeft een heel ander effect!

De 35 sterren zijn omdat dat precies het aantal sterren is dat Linda en Inklingo volgens mij verdienen, in plaats van het normale maximum van 5 sterren. Waarom, kun je lezen in deze grappige review van een anonieme Inklingo gebruiker ;-).

Ik zal later meer informatie geven over de blokken, maar hier alvast wat algemene informatie over de quilt.

Het middendeel, zonder de randen, meet iets meer dan 76 x 76 inch [194 x 194 cm]. (Om de meeste variaties heb ik randen van 1 inch [2,5 cm.] en 1.5 inch [3,8 cm.] getekend).

Een zelfde blok maar van een ander formaat reken ik als verschillend, dus het is een echte sampler.

De blokken meten:

  • 3 inch [7,62 cm.],
  • 4,5 inch [11,4 cm.]
  • 6 inch [15,24 cm.]
  • 9 inch [22,9 cm.]
  • 12 inch [30,5 cm.]
  • 13,5 inch [34,3 cm.]
  • 18 inch [45,7 cm.]
  • ca. 30 inch [76,2 cm.]

Die laatste is de Feathered Star in het midden, die is iets kleiner dan 30 inch. Dat heeft Linda gedaan zodat je de optie hebt om in het midden een 9 inch [22.9 cm.] blok naar keuze te zetten. Dat is echt zo slim!

Inklingo Star Sampler, lilac background, different block coloring.

Inklingo Star Sampler, lila achterground, blokken anders gekleurd.

Ik heb er de 9 inch Inklingo Star geplaatst. Dat middenblok telt dus als 2 blokken, en zo kwam ik precies tot het gewenste aantal van 35!

Drie blokken heb ik met extra strips rondom afgemaakt op een veelvoud van 1,5 inch [3,8 cm.], zodat ze mooier in mijn layout pasten. De Feathered Star in het midden is daardoor 31,5 inch geworden [80 cm.]. 

Inklingo star Sampler met neutrale achtergrond. Blokken nog steeds hetzelfde gekleurd.

Inklingo star Sampler met neutrale achtergrond. Blokken weer  hetzelfde gekleurd als in de rode, de blauwe en de dambordversie hieronder.

Wat namen van de gebruikte blokken: LeMoyne Star (variaties), Blazing Star, Polk Ohio, Star Flowers, Waltzing Matilda, Key West Beauty variaties, Inklingo Star, Morse Star, Midnight Fireworks, Diamond Star.

Sommige blokken stonden kant en klaar in EQ, andere heeft Linda voor ons getekend en sommige heb ik zelf getekend. Het was nog een hele administratieve klus om te inventariseren welke blokken in welke maat gemaakt kunnen worden in Inklingo, maar ik geloof dat ik ze nu allemaal goed heb.

(Ik kwam er vanochtend, nadat ik alle plaatjes voor dit blog al gemaakt had, pas achter dat ik een van de blokken in een niet-bestaande maat had opgevoerd! Dus dat moest allemaal weer gecorrigeerd worden.) 

Hoe je al deze sterren nog enigszins hemels in een achtergrond genaaid krijgt, daar moet ik nog even op puzzelen. Als je heel ijverig bent, zou je in elk geval de achtergrond kunnen maken van patchwork van 1,5 inch vierkantjes [3,8 cm.].

Inklingo Star Sampler met dambord achtergrond. Elk vierkantje is 1.5 inch.

Inklingo Star Sampler met dambord achtergrond. Elk vierkantje is 1,5 inch. De gele driehoekjes langs de rand zijn 1,5 inch HST’s, en in de hoekjes zitten 1,5 inch QST’s.

Al de benodigde vierkantjes en driehoekjes zijn in elk geval beschikbaar als Inklingo patroondelen. Het voordeel is dat je dan zonder aftekenen de achtergrond machinaal in een schuin rasterpatroon kunt quilten (cross hatching), met een boventransportvoetje met een naadgeleider, evenwijdig aan de naden.

Binnenkort meer! Zingen jullie ondertussen het speciale Inklingo-verjaardagslied mee voor Linda? Pom, pom, pom…Print, Cut, Sew…!

XXX Annika

ENGLISH

Inklingo Star Sampler met rode achtergrond. De blokken zijn precies hetzelfde gekleurd als in de lichtblauwe versie bovenaan. Een andere achtergrondkleur geeft een heel ander effect!

Inklingo Star Sampler with red background. The blocks are colored exactly the same as in the blue version at the top of this post. A different background color has a very different effect!

Hurray! Hurray! As you know, Inklingo has been around for ten years this month, and today is inventor Linda’s birthday! Congratulations, Linda & Monkey!

Of course, I had to design a quilt for this occasion, and you can see the result above. It took me a long time to design this, I just could not get it to work. I think I wanted do do too much in one design. Linda has already published so many Inklingo Shape Collections in those ten years, that it soon turned out to be impossible to give a representative overview in one quilt.

So I limited myself to star blocks. They are well loved, classic, and I can never get enough of them. Plus, I thought it would be fitting to award Linda all the stars she and Inklingo deserve, in this way.

When I had been working a while to find and create a broad overview of all the available stars in Inklingo, it dawned on me that I would have my hands full with just the eight pointed stars. So the six pointed and ten pointed stars etc. had to go!

And it is tricky to create a harmonious whole with differently sized blocks. For that reason, I also limited my color palette, to just 5 colors for the blocks.

On top of that, I had given myself another challenge; I wanted to use exactly 35 different star blocks in this quilt, within a reasonable size limit. And I did it! :-)

The 35 stars are because it is arguably the number of stars Linda and Inklingo deserve, instead of the regular maximum of five stars. You can read why, in this funny review by an anonymous Inklingo user ;-).

I will provide more info on the blocks later, but here is some general information on the quilt.

Inklingo star Sampler met neutrale achtergrond. Blokken nog steeds hetzelfde gekleurd.

Inklingo star Sampler with neutral background. Blocks still colored the same as in the blue and red versions above.

The center without borders measures about 76 x 76 inch [194 x 194 cm]. (To most variations I added borders of 1 inch [2.5 cm.] and 1.5 inch [3.8 cm.]).

I count blocks with the same design but in a different size as different blocks, so it is a true sampler quilt.

Block sizes are

  • 3 inch [7,62 cm.]
  • 4.5 inch [11.4 cm.],
  • 6 inch [15.24 cm.]
  • 9 inch [22.9 cm.]
  • 12 inch [30.5 cm.]
  • 13.5 inch [34.3 cm.]
  • 18 inch [45.7 cm.]
  • circa 30 inch [76,2 cm.].

The latter is the Feathered Star in the center, which is slightly smaller than 30 inches. Linda made it like that, to provide us with the option to put any 9 inch block in the center of the Feathered Star block. That is so clever!

Inklingo Star Sampler, lilac background, different block coloring.

Inklingo Star Sampler, lilac background, different block coloring.

I put the 9 inch Inklingo Star block in the center. So I am counting the center block as two blocks, and that’s how I got to the desired number of 35 blocks!

Around three blocks I added plain strips, to finish the blocks to a multiple of 1.5 inch [3.8 cm.] so that they would fit into my layout a bit nicer. The Feathered Star in the center ended up being 31.5 inch [80 cm.] with the strips.

Some names of blocks used: LeMoyne Star (variations), Blazing Star, Polk Ohio, Star Flowers, Waltzing Matilda, Key West Beauty variations, Inklingo Star, Morse Star, Midnight Fireworks, Diamond Star. 

Some of the blocks were waiting for me in EQ7, some of them were drafted in EQ by Linda for us, and some of them I drafted myself in EQ. It was quite a bit of administration to keep track of which blocks can be made in which size with Inklingo, but I think I have all of them right.

(Only this morning, after I had made all the pictures for this blog, I found I had used one of the blocks in a non-existing size! So I spent some time correcting that.)

I still need to puzzle on setting all of these stars in a background at least somewhat heavenly. If you are very zealous, you could make the background with 1.5 inch [3.8 cm.] squares patchwork.

Inklingo Star Sampler met dambord achtergrond. Elk vierkantje is 1.5 inch.

Inklingo Star Sampler with checker board background. Each square measures 1.5 inch. The yellow triangles along the border are 1.5 inch HST’s. The small yellow triangles in the corners are 1.5 inch QST’s.

All the necessary squares and triangles are available as Inklingo Shapes. The advantage of this is, that you could easily do some cross hatch quilting in the background without marking. Just quilt by machine with a walking foot and attached seam guide, following the seams.

More to come soon!

In the mean time, are you singing the Inklingo Anniversary song along with me, for Linda’s birthday? Na, na, na… Print, Cut, Sew!

XXX Annika

New: 3 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars

Inklingo 3 inch and 9 inch LeMoyne Stars - Inspired by Dawn Heese's design 'Winter Blues' from 'A Year of Cozy Comforts'

Inklingo 3 inch and 9 inch LeMoyne Stars – Inspired by Dawn Heese’s design ‘Winter Blues’ from ‘A Year of Cozy Comforts’

Click here to go straight to English

Ja, ik leef nog, en er gebeuren ook nog quilterige dingen hier! :-) Linda Franz heeft deze week een nieuwe Inklingo collectie gelanceerd, voor 3 inch [7,6 cm.] achtpuntige sterren.

En op Barbara Brackman’s blog Civil War Quilts http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.nl/2015/05/stars-in-time-warp-19-serpentine-stripes.html kwam deze week een mooi patroon met (andere) achtpuntige sterren voorbij waarvoor die 3 inch LeMoyne sterretjes precies van pas komen. Als je er nine patches van maakt, en die afwisselt met 9 inch LeMoyne sterren, kun je dit maken!

Hieronder nog een variatie die je kunt maken met deze Inklingo download collecties. Als je de 3 inch versie koopt voor maandag 25 mei, bespaar je 5 US dollar! :-)

LET OP! Als je je in de EU bevindt. Vanaf 1 januari 2015, mag www.inklingo.com door de nieuwe EU BTW-regels, betaalde ‘directe’ downloads alleen nog via een omweg verkopen. Lees hier meer.

 Veel plezier ermee, en een fijn Pinksterweekend!

XXX Annika

ENGLISH

Half Star Points 3 and 9 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars - inspired by Dawn Heese's Quilt 'Winter Blues'

Half Star Points 3 and 9 inch Inklingo LeMoyne Stars – inspired by Dawn Heese’s Quilt ‘Winter Blues’

Yes, I am still alive, and there are even quilty things happening over here! :-) Linda Franz has released a new Inklingo shape collection, for 3 inch [7.6 cm.] eight pointed stars.

And, Barbara Brackman’s blog Civil War Quilts http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.nl/2015/05/stars-in-time-warp-19-serpentine-stripes.html this week showed a pretty pattern with (different) eight pointed stars, for which those 3 inch LeMoyne Stars are the perfect Inklingo addition to the 9 inch LeMoyne Stars. If you set the 3 inch stars into nine patches, you can make these!

Here I am showing you two variations that you can both make with these Inklingo Shape Collection downloads. And if you buy the 3 inch version before 25 May, you will save 5 US Dollars! :-) 

IMPORTANT: If you are within the EU. As of 1 January 2015, due to the new EU law on VAT, www.inklingo.com is no longer allowed to sell ‘instant’ paid downloads. There is a workaround for those in the EU. Read more here.

Enjoy, and have a nice long holiday weekend!

XXX Annika