Category Archives: BQ quilt

Looking Sharp

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This quilt is made from a panel. I cut the panel into individual blocks comprised of cactus blooms and pieced them into squares using the Maple Island Quilts pattern – BQ.

Looking Sharp – Finished to the flimsy stage on July 4, 2011.

I bought the cactus block panels at the 2010 Creative Stitches and Crafting Alive Show held at Tradex in Abbotsford.

The BQ pattern is written for 12″ and 18″ sized blocks.  In order to proportion the block to fit the cactus prints, I resized the pattern to make a 9″ finished block.  I then set the blocks together with sashing and cornerstones from the same fabric as the background fabric in the blocks to give the appearance that the blocks are floating on the quilt top.  I used cornerstones to assist with lining the blocks up from one row to the next. 

This pattern remains one of my “favorites” as it pieces up quickly and is a great go-to for showcasing those prints that I seem to be attracted to.  This quilt was pieced to the flimsy stage on July 4, 2011 and was quilted on June 10, 2025 proving that we should never give up on even the oldest of our UFOs. 

Looking Sharp as a finished quilt – almost 14 years from the flimsy stage – hanging in the Chilliwack Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show.

Quilt size: 56″ x 76″

Cacti BQ Quilt

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Today was the last day of my 5 day Easter weekend holiday. Tomorrow, it is back to my day job. The weekend was filled with the usual weekend activities–laundry, grocery shopping, vacuuming, and dusting. Good Friday we enjoyed a special family meal in celebration of Easter. The extra long weekend also afforded time for quilting.

I finished off a super secret project that I can not share pictures of right now and I worked on a project for me.

While in Arizona in February 2009, I purchased two panels of cacti prints from the Santa Fe fabric line by RJR. I set the blocks together using the BQ pattern from Maple Island Quilts after seeing a quilt made by Kathleen Moorhead Johnson http://www.augustwindquiltdesigns.com/page13.html.

Check Spelling

The dark Southwest print to the left of my quilt top is a fabric from the same line as the cacti blocks. Although I purchased this fabric with the intention of using it as a border, I am not sure I like it with this quilt top. I will have to think further on this. Also, I still have some more cacti blocks so I am thinking of adding another row of blocks before calling this one finished.

Borders?

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This quilt was made from a pattern by Maple Island Quilts, called BQ2: http://www.mapleislandquilts.com/quiltpatterns.asp

I started this one on Friday morning and finished it to the flimsy stage on the same day.

The pattern says that borders are not necessary on these quilts, but I am not so sure I agree. Those who know me know that I like to add borders to my quilts. I think borders frame the quilt and corals the blocks. I am undecided whether to add borders to this one or not. If I did add borders, I was thinking of a narrow strip of the black for an inner border and a wider strip of the green as an outer border. I am also trying out a new idea that Pat (http://bellcreekquilts.blogspot.com/) gave me. The flimsy is being held to my garage door by large magnets fastened to the back of large clips. They seem to hold the quilt top just fine. No need to round up quilt holders now (as long as my quilts are not too large!). Also, no more pictures of quilts with hands and feet! LOL

This is a closeup of the gorgeous lily fabric.

BQ#3 – Fruits and Vegetables

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I have an idea for the next BQ quilt that I want to make. I saw a picture of a quilt made from the BQ pattern in the Fall / Winter 2006 issue of Quilt Sampler magazine. The quilt was from a shop in Tucson, Arizona, called, The Quilter’s Market. I wrote to the Quilter’s Market to see if I could purchase a kit to make this quilt. I have not received a reply so now I am collecting fabrics on my own to make this quilt.

This is a photo of the picture that was in that magazine. The quilt is made with vegetable fabrics. I am going to make my version with fruit and vegetable fabrics.

I had Monday off from work so I headed to Bellingham, WA with my parents to do some shopping. While in Wal Mart, I found the following fabrics to add to my BQ#3 collection. The fabric on the far left is a black and white check to use for sashing the blocks and the corn and peppers will be added to my collection of vegetable fabrics.

These fabrics are fat quarters of fruit fabrics that I purchased at Hamel’s earlier in the year. There are apples, strawberries, tomatoes, lemons, and citrus fruits.

While the clerk was cutting my fabrics in Wal Mart, my Mom asked me if I was buying enough for two quilts. Do you think she is looking for another BQ quilt? It looks like I will be cutting out two quilts at once again–one for me and one for Mom! LOL