Free pattern day! House quilts

We've got dozens of FREE house quilt patterns... which ones will you choose? NOTE: This post has been UPDATED.  For the latest Free Pattern Day for House Quilts, CLICK HERE!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns, clothing, jewelry, and collectibles! For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter !      

Image credits:  Note: This post was updated on January 16, 2026. All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs.  If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Quilt Show catch up: Part 1

Are you ready for a Summer Quilt Show?  (Or a winter show, for those down under ?) Much to our surprise, we discovered a large cache of 2013 quilt show photos on our camera.  Let's catch up !

Midnight in the City by Linda Matteotti

This quilt won a ribbon and Honorable Mention, Pieced-Medium, at the 2013 Arizona Quilt Show.  Linda Matteotti, who is a professional longarm quilter, says:  "Inspired by Flavin Glover, this quilt is made up of 224 blocks. I designed it using EQ software. Each log cabin block is foundation pieced." You can see the original EQ design at Linda Matteotti's web gallery.

close up, Midnight in the City by Linda Matteotti

If you look carefully you can just pick out the monochromatic log cabin blocks surrounding the little black squares.  This close up photo shows that Linda quilted diagonal trapunto "ribbons" in a woven ribbons design with micro stippling in between. We think the quilting is fabulous.

The Golden Bluefish by Joan E. Salik

This realistic quilt caught our eye because of the lovely design and colors, and the beautiful batik fabrics. The border, which was cut in scallops along the printed design, complements the fish and the undersea theme. Joan Salik, who is also a quilt teacher, says: "I’m an Aquarian and have always loved the Sea, hence my Golden Bluefish! If you are really quiet, you can almost hear the surf."

close up, The Golden Bluefish by Joan E. Salik

This bluefish is done in really elegant blue and gold fabrics. The wavy quilting in the background adds a very realistic look to the watery blue sea.

Heaven and Earth by Carol Plath, quilted by Janice Bahrt

Carol Plath won a third place ribbon for this Pieced-Small quilt at the 2013 Arizona Quilt show.  She says: “I took a Bargello class at Amazing Quilts in Pinetop, Arizona; the class taught me the skills necessary to create this quilt.”

close up, Heaven and Earth by Carol Plath, quilted by Janice Bahrt

In this close-up you can see that Janice Bahrt enhanced the lines of the bargello design with her simple yet elegant quilting.

Scrappy Wrench Blocks by Carolyn Edwards, quilted by Sandy Holderness

For this fun quilt, Carolyn Edwards created four different sizes of churn dash (monkey wrench) blocks.  She says: “This is a Birthday Quilt in my favorite colors! Fourth in a series of pink and brown quilts."   She did a wonderful job in arranging and distributing the light and dark blocks across the surface of the quilt  (it looks more planned than scrappy!) 

 close up, Scrappy Wrench Blocks by Carolyn Edwards, quilted by Sandy Holderness

Here you can see some of the fun calico, paisley and polka dots fabrics in a range of pink and brown hues.  Sandy Holdernessquilted this quilt in large loops and swirls which add interest; the quilting also helps to soften the angular blocks.

Dirndl Dress Shop by Daniele Tanner

Dolly dresses are so much fun, and this three dimensional wall hanging features 16 traditional German and Austrian folk dresses.  Daniele Tanner says: “I saw [this pattern] at the Sewing Festival in January 2012 in Phoenix and I had to make it. The challenge was to find the different fabrics and trims."  Here are some close up photos of Daniele's cute blocks and trims:

close up, Dirndl Dress Shop by Daniele Tanner

Quilting around the dress and attaching the apron only at the waistband creates the charming 3-D effect.  Here is a classic Austrian-looking dirndl in forest green:

The "Dirndl Dress Shoppe" Pattern is by Alison Tichenor and Diane Carter at Cowgirl Quilt Designs.   You can be your own designer by choosing blouse, skirt, bodice and apron combinations; the pattern includes seven different bodice designs.

Image credits:  All photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Arizona Quilters Guild Show.

Quilt inspiration 2010: Houses

Did you know that 2010 was our first year blogging? That might explain why we've spent a few days recalling some of our most popular themes.  This is our last "recap" post, before we start a fabulous New Year of inspiration (tomorrow !)

In 2010 we did a series called "Our Town", featuring quilts with schoolhouses, homes, and entire villages.  Methods of construction ranged from log cabin to stained glass, traditional and foundation piecing, and appliqué. As a Realtor would say: We hope you see some houses you like !

Row 1, L-R: Row Houses, by Flavin Glover; Magnolia Quilt,  by Sue Spargo; Hillside Houses,  by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark; Welcome Home, by Alex Anderson. Row 2: Little Houses, and Little Old One Room Schoolhouse, by Ruth Powers; Little Amsterdam,  by the North Sea Quilters; Pedestrian Friendly, by Pat Dicker. Row 3: Wonky Houses, by Carol Morrissey; Firelight and Chimney Smoke, by Martha Milne;  There's No Place Like Home, block and full quilt, by Sonya Chinn. Row 4: Night before Christmas quilt and block, by Sue Garman; Welcome to the North Pole, by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins; Waiting for Santa, by Lynette Anderson. Row 5:  Up on the Housetop quilt and detail, by Cynthia England; and It Takes A Village, by Pippa Moore.

*For more information, see the following articles:  Our Town, Our Town Part 2, Our Town Part 3, Our Town Part 4, Our Town Part 5, and Our Town Part 6.

Our Town Part 2

We've decided that some of the cutest quilts in the world are the ones with houses on them. They really appeal to us, maybe because "home is where the heart is."  Part One of Our Town was posted earlier this month.  Here are some more house quilts which really caught our eye.

Schoolhouse Block, 19 x 22, from "There's No Place Like Home" by Sonya Chinn, at Sonya's Snippets

Long-arm quilter Sonya, creator of the Sonya's Snippets blog, sewed this charming applique scene as one of the blocks for a block-of-the-month quilt which she calls 'There's No Place Like Home'. Sonya has added an individualized touch by placing the initials of her children's school on the quaint schoolhouse. The quilt was based on the "Home Is Where the Heart Is"  pattern.  The entire pattern is available from The Stitch Connection, which sells an array of seasonal block-of-the-month quilt patterns.

Little Amsterdam, 72 x 72, by the North Sea Quilters

The North Sea Quilters have produced this beautifully pieced and intricately quilted work which shows the classic houses of Amsterdam, plus one of the famous canals. Owned by Maria Laza, Leslie Carol Taylor, and Marybeth Tawfik, the North Sea Quilters in The Netherlands offers long arm machine quilting, workshops, retreats, fabric, and patterns. The North Sea Quilters website sells the Little Amsterdam Pattern Book, with a full set of instructions on creating this award-winning quilt, as well as a complete kit.  They have an interesting North Sea Quilters blog where they write about the quilt shows and workshops of Europe and the United States.  Products can be ordered directly from the North Sea Quilters, who are also launching a distribution channel in North America.

Pedestrian Friendly, 60 x 60, by Pat Dicker

Pat Dicker used high-energy colors to create a lively town adapted from Sue Garman's Block of the Month Quilt,  "All Around the Town".  Pat tells us, "I named the quilt 'Pedestrian Friendly' because the original design has cars on it, and I chose to leave them out, so that the 'residents' would just walk from house to house."  The result is a fascinating "green scene",  greatly enhanced by the playful polka dots and the serene striped border.

Here's a vivid close-up of "Pedestrian Friendly", where you can see Pat's excellent applique technique (click to enlarge the image). Can you spot the people in the house?  Pat writes,  "Here I had a little fun with crowds in the window and added the poppies, since they are the California state flower."

Magnolia Quilt,   64 x 61,  by Sue Spargo, at Sue Spargo Folk-Art Quilts

The gracious old homes and flower gardens of  Magnolia, Ohio, inspired Sue Spargo to create her enchanting appliqued "Magnolia" quilt. Her accompanying book and quilt kits for "Magnolia" are sold at Sue's website, where she also offers lovely hand-dyed wool and textural fabrics, patterns, books, and embellishments. Sue writes,  "My folk-art imagery reflects my multi-cultural background and my fascination with folkart from around the world. Inspiration comes from memories collected during my African childhood with its animals and grasslands, a sojourn in the green South of England and time spent in Connecticut, Tennessee, Utah and Ohio." For great photos of the creations from her latest class,  please take a look at Sue's blog to see how well her students are doing. "Magnolia" and other projects are also in the new book called Contemporary Folk, published by Quiltmania.

Row Houses,  86 x 104, by Flavin Glover, at Flavin Glover.com

Named one of the 100 Best American Quilts of the 20th Century, "Row Houses" was inspired by Flavin Glover's fascination with landscapes and architecture. The contrasting roofs, windows, and border really help the quilt sparkle with light and dark values.  As well as teaching classes, designing, and conducting workshops, Flavin is the author of a great book,   A New Look At Log Cabin Quilts,  which gives clear, easy-to-understand directions and ideas for creating many different patchwork designs in the log cabin format. Flavin Glover's online gallery also has many different houses which are fun to look at.  Flavin is a renowned teacher; to see if she is visiting a town near you, please see her workshop schedule as well as pattern information.

It Takes A Village,  44 x 36,  by Pippa Moore, at Kitambaa Designs

Pippa Moore is a Canadian quilter whose creations are inspired by the 3 years she spent living in Lesotho, South Africa.  Pippa says,  "I love working with rich, bright, saturated colour -- from the warm and vibrant colours of Africa and Mexido, to the blues and greens of my home in Vancouver Island."  Pippa has recently launched Kitambaa Designs, which features fabrics, patterns and kits like the one above, buttons, and African art. For news about Pippa's travels, classes, and workshops with the quilters of Uganda, please take a look at her blog  Kitambaa: The Colourful World of Pippa Moore.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.