The Magic of Tumbling Blocks

Tumbling blocks are quilts of illusion! The traditional tumbling blocks pattern lends the appearance of three dimensions. When made from strip sets, they do not required complex piecing or Y-seams. Here are two fabulous quilts we enjoyed at recent shows!

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3-D Blocks, made and quilted by Laura May.  

In this beautifully made quilt, each block is created with light, medium, and dark solids, creating the 3-D illusion. The red ribbon on the right denotes a second place prize at the 2025 Quilt Arizona show!  Laura May says, "When I met my husband in 1975, this design was painted on a wall in his bedroom, using just three colors. When I saw this pattern I decided to make it for him." Based on a published design: Arcade Game by Jaybird Quilts. 

Cat's Meow - 3D Stacked Blocks by Natalie Baker, quilted by Wanda Ginn.  

Beautiful batiks create the sophisticated look of this quilt. Natalie created this quilt from strip sets; no Y-seams were required! Natalie Baker says, "Starting as a strip quilt this ordinary beginning quickly turns into a geometric challenge... Mastering left and right sides of triangle accuracy completes the 3-D block illusion." (Can you see the vertical seam that bisects the light-colored diamond on top of each block? That shows where the strip sets are sewn together.)

Note: We searched for this pattern by name {Cats Meow - 3D Stacked Blocks} and found a link on Pinterest to a book titled ABC 3D tumbling blocks... and more by Marci Baker.]  For more Quilt Inspiration, please check out our FREE Pattern Day for Tumbling Blocks (CLICK HERE!) 

 

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Quilt Arizona show (quilt by Laura May) and the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show (quilt by Natalie Baker.

Best of Utah 2018 - Day 2

We had lots of fun seeing the pretty quilts at the 45th annual Utah Quilt Show in Springville, Utah. It's a juried show, featuring quilts of all styles and sizes. We hope you enjoy the "eye candy" below !

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Gravity by Lydia Mack

Lydia Mack (a member of the Armed Forces stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas)  says, "Wherever the Army sends me, my creativity goes too. I love the bold solid colors contrasting and shining next to the black and gray. We all need a splash of color in our lives."
The Gravity quilt pattern is by Julie Herman at Jaybird Quilts.

Lydia's expert workmanship shows through in her precise piecing and hand quilting of these vibrant solid colors.

Rainbow for Lars by Rebecca Wolston

Rebecca Wolston writes, "Rainbow maker, color me home. When I was expecting my baby, I was anxious to get started on a quilt, but didn't know the gender yet. So I went to the fabric store and chose 36 different colors to make this rainbow. I figured that both boys and girls appreciate color, and I loved the chance to play around with so many shades of the basics."

Close-up, Rainbow for Lars

Rebecca continues, "My husband helped me do the math for the back and helped me with the basting before I machine quilted it. It was special to combine efforts for the first project for our child." Rebecca's quilt is a pretty blend of both light and dark values and is so versatile that it can be used and valued by all members of her family.

August Morning by Sheryl Gilliland

Sheryl notes, "I love color, and this quilt was inspired by hot August mornings, with the promise of coolness yet to come in the autumn."

Close-up, August Morning

Sheryl has made very artistic use of batiks, prints and striped fabrics in carefully piecing these New York Beauty blocks. August Morning reminds us of the Radiant New York Beauties featured in the book by Valori Wells.

Playing with Bubbles by Sheryl Gilliland

Here is another beauty by Sheryl Gilliland, who started this quilt at a friend's home in Florida.  The friend had a stash of hand-dyed and over-dyed fabric, and Sheryl had some shibori fabric she had dyed, so the quilt top background was created in one glorious 3-day improvisational stint. 

After the background was created, Sheryl made circles of different sizes from African fabric, appliqued them to the surface, and quilted the piece.  The textured African circles seem to float like bubbles on the surface of the quilt..With its wide array of warm color tones, enhanced by the purple shades of the border, Sheryl's quilt turned out to be most spectacular.

Sunset-Sunrise by Maria Hawkins, quilted by Kristen Webb

This colorful French Braid quilt is aptly named Sunset - Sunrise.  Maria Hawkins says,  "Starting with two brights from opposite sides of the color wheel [purple-yellow] and then finding intermediate colors was a challenge.  My son who has a great sense for color helped pick and arrange the twelve colors.  Finding the correct value and hue of each color was important."

Maria Hawkins' expert piecing can be seen in the perfectly matched points, while Kristen Webb's wavy line quilting adds movement to the otherwise straight lines of the design.

Maria and her son have a perfect eye for choosing fabric shades, as this French braid pattern showcases their lovely selection of complementary colors.


Challenging Kane by Sylvia Borschel Lewis

We really enjoyed this contemporary quilt, with its bold contrasts and improvisational design.  This was a challenge for the Raising Kane Quilt Guild last year.  Sylvia Borschel Lewis says, "We were given a fat quarter of an "ugly" print and needed to use a recognizable amount on the front of the quilt.  The challenge fabric is the multicolored print.  I actually liked the fabric!"  (So do we!)

Sylvia used multicolored thread which matched the lilac and magenta hues of the colored fabrics.

Her selection of pattern, surrounding fabric, and quilting motif has resulted in a stunning contemporary quilt.


Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.

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.

Free pattern day: Baby quilts! (part 3)

Here are 30 free patterns for adorable baby quilts!  NOTE:  This post has been UPDATED.  for the latest freebies, please visit our Free Pattern Day for Baby Quilts, Part 3 (CLICK HERE!)

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IMAGE CREDIT: This post was updated on April 18, 2026. We update our links every 6 months as needed; however, websites may change their pages in between updates.  If any link is broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Kaffe Fassett Quilts

A luminary in the world of textiles and quilting, Kaffe Fassett has inspired quiltmakers all over the world to work with color in an instinctive way.  Here are colorful quilts that feature Kaffe Fassett collective fabrics, along with some of the original quilts from his bestselling books.  Also, scroll down for the free Autumn Triangles Quilt pattern by Liza Prior Lucy and Kaffe Fassett.

Thanks, Again by Sheila Arnold (Arizona Quilters' Guild, 2015)

Sheila Arnold says, "Kaffe Fassett fabrics and a solid grey negative space bring a traditional hexagon block into the modern genre." This quilt was based on the Science Fair pattern by Julie Herman at Jaybird Quilts.  We like the way the hexagons create an asymmetrical zig-zag border.

We enjoyed the various feather and swirl quilting designs within the hexagons.  The quilt was presented to Patricia Benner, the outgoing president of the Arizona Quilters' Guild.

Targets, 59 x 78",by Jaime Watson (River City Quilters' Guild, 2014)

This brightly colored quilt was based on the "Right on Target" quilt pattern from Kaffe Fassett's Country Garden Quilts. Jaime Watson says, "I had the Targets fabric but couldn't figure out what to do with it until I saw Kaffe Fassett's design.  He saved me!"

This easy pattern alternates log cabin blocks with squares done in the focus fabric. Jaime Watson even used the focus fabric within some of the blocks, creating a see-through effect! 

Long Diamonds Quilt by Kaffe Fassett, Liza Prior Lucy, Sally Davis and Judy Stockler, quilted by Judy Irish

This easy half-rectangle quilt is a great way to feature striped fabrics. The pattern for Long Diamonds is in Kaffe Fassett Quilts: Shots and Stripes.

Prismatic Blooms, 59 x 81", by Jill Orr (Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild)

Jill Orr says, "I loved the design of this [bordered diamonds] quilt in Kaffe's Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts book.  It came together very quickly which helped me keep busy as I was waiting for fabric to come in the mail to finish another quilt!"

Jill Orr used a whole variety of large and small floral print fabrics with an emphasis on pastel hues.  The finished quilt top was free-motion quilted with a spiral design.

Fireworks at the East River, 60 x 54", by Fumiko Tanabe (Japan)

This quilt was exhibited at the 2015 World Quilt show in Florida. Fumiko Tanabe says that the inspiration for her original design came from watching the July 4th fireworks.  The unusual Kaffe Fassett border fabric really enlivens this quilt.  From a distance it looks like feathers, but upon closer inspection, we see that it is a Chard fabric from Kaffe's 2012 collection in the Autumn colorway.  As of this writing, you can find the fabric at Hannah's Quilts.

close up, Fireworks at the East River by Fumiko Tanabe

Fumiko constructed the New York Beauty blocks in a variety of polka dots and floral fabrics to express the bright colors of fireworks in the night sky.

Lady of the Lake quilt by Liza Prior Lucy and Kaffe Fassett

The Lady of the Lake quilt, made in 9 different muted hues of shot cottons, is one of the most popular designs in Kaffe Fassett Quilts: Shots and Stripes. The white half-square triangles make up the sawtooth design. The blocks are separated by a neutral gray sashing with half-square-triangle cornerstones.

On Point Handkerchief Corners quilt, 85 x 85", by Liza Prior Lucy and Kaffe Fassett

Two sizes of blocks create an interesting graphic design in this handkerchief corners quilt, which was featured in Kaffe Fassett Quilts: Shots and Stripes.  Since the stripes provide plenty of pattern, the blocks were simply quilted in the ditch.  In constructing these half-square-triangle blocks, it is necessary to line up the stripes on the diagonal.

Autumn Triangles Quilt, 72 x 84", a free pattern by Liza Prior Lucy and Kaffe Fassett at Westminster Fabrics (PDF download)

Image credits:  Original photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration. The Kaffe Fassett quilts were photographed in the Where Have All The Flowers Gone exhibit at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.

Free pattern day ! Dresden Plate Quilts

The Dresden Plate quilt block was named after the ornately decorated tableware of Dresden, Germany. Some fantastic Dresden Plate variations and settings can be found in our free pattern archive.  NOTE:  This post has been UPDATED.  For the Free Pattern Day for Dresden Plate Quilts, CLICK HERE!

Note: Please check out our eBay shop for great bargains on handmade jewelry, patterns and collectibles!

Image credits: This post was updated on April 14, 2025.  If any links are broken, we'd love to know; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.