Category: Quilting and Sewing

Awake , Arise , Stand , Listen.
What’s next?  Here is my Serve Quilt, the 5th pattern in my Resolute collection.  As I’ve said previously, each pattern was designed based on a single word.  I chose them for their value in my personal life AND in my creative life.  When I first made my list of words, I had no idea what kinds of quilts would follow.  All I knew was that it would challenge me and also be a very “me” sort of project.  Now here I am, at the end of the list.  So let’s talk about the Serve Quilt pattern!

Serve is primarily a half rectangle triangle (HRT) quilt pattern.  I have grown to love the HRT block so it was no surprise I began sketching with them.  I made a video/tutorial post for half rectangle triangles to assist you in making them.  It’s available here .  The HRT blocks in the Serve quilt create a large 8 pointed star, with a smaller center star at the heart.  There are 8 stars orbiting the main star.

My reasoning?  Let me quote from the pattern introduction:  “I feel like everything we experience and learn in life can be used to serve others. One definition of ‘serve’ is ‘to be sufficient for a purpose’. I like that. As I pondered and sketched, this star took shape. It’s big and bold, and it also has an orbit of smaller stars surrounding it. To me, it feels like showing up in our biggest, best, most sincere and authentic ways to serve others, even when things are spinning around us. I want to do more good in my sphere of influence. This design is how I say it in fabric.”

The quilt measures 72″ square, but it also includes measurements for a smaller, 48″ square version.  This original version is all made with solids, and I really love it, but I’ve also made a second, colorful version.  I think a scrappy version would be interesting to make.  So many options with this bold pattern !

I love buying cool fabric on clearance and saving the yardage for a quilt back down the road.  This amazing bird design by Thomas Paul was the perfect thing for the Serve quilt.

A blizzard rages outside as I type this.  I wish I could curl up with a book under this quilt today, but life has other plans.  I get to go serve!  I’m a volunteer in a place that’s dear to me, and where the weather changes nothing, so it’s out into the snow I go!  I hope you’re warm and safe, and hopefully doing something creative today.  Happy sewing!

In coming weeks I will share projects involving Half Rectangle Triangles, so I want to share my simple method for sewing and trimming them.  The half rectangle triangle (HRT) is a fun quilt block to make, but it does need to be trimmed correctly.  My first HRT project was my 20 in 20 quilt , which is a favorite of mine. I enjoy using them in quilts and I believe it’s a valuable block to have in your skill set.  There are plenty of tutorials and videos available online for this versatile and fun quilt block.  Since my Serve quilt pattern is full of half rectangle triangles (or HRTs), I decided to make my own half rectangle triangle tutorial.

*Note:  The blocks demonstrated in this video finish at 3″ x 6″, so they are trimmed to 3.5″ x 6.5″.

To begin, you will need (2) 4.5″ x 8″ rectangles.
This is the size I start with for the 3″ x 6″ HRT block.

The first video demonstrates cutting and sewing the half rectangle triangle block:

https://youtu.be/qB-E8ZAkudY The second video shows you how to accurately trim your HRT blocks without a special ruler, using a simple trick with tape on a ruler you already have:

https://youtu.be/gcLXsp3tjvY And there you have it!  My method for making a custom ruler for trimming your HRT blocks.  I actually own a few different “special” half rectangle triangle rulers, but I prefer this method.  It’s faster and simpler and works for both A and B HRT blocks.  Plus, I could have saved a lot of money!

I’m going to supplement the half rectangle triangle tutorial video above with a few photographs, which I hope will make it easier for you to make your own HRT blocks.  Here goes:

I refer to half rectangle triangles as HRT A and HRT B, depending on which direction the diagonal line follows.  We will make them standing on their short side, portrait style.  The half rectangle triangles with the angle running from bottom right to top left are HRT A. Triangles with diagonal line from bottom left to top right are HRT B.

Flip the triangle on the right, with right side down, on top of the left triangle.  If desired, you may pin before sewing because you are sewing on the bias.  Sew together along the diagonal.

Carefully press the seams closed, then gently open and press again.  Your untrimmed half rectangle triangles are sewn together and ready for trimming!

The trick with HRT blocks is in the trimming.  Because the diagonal is not a 45 degree angle, simply squaring the block won’t work.  I marked the 1/4″ seam allowance spot on these blocks below, and you can see they are NOT on the seam.  Therefore, we have to trim differently.

Now, to trim, we will first make a “custom” trimming window on an acrylic ruler.  For this size block, take washi tape and tape a 6.5″ x 3.5″ window on your ruler.  For right handed cutting use the top right side of the ruler, and for left handed cutting, use the top left.

Here is my ruler all taped for right handed quilting:

Using a sharpie, mark the 1/4″ seam allowance spot with a dot in each corner of your taped window.  You will use these dots to align your seams for trimming.

Next, trim your HRT A block by placing the window over the block.  Check 4 spots, namely that the fabric on the bottom and left sides is covered by the washi tape.  This ensures fabric for trimming the last two sides.  Next, align the dots you drew along the seam, as you see the pointers indicating in the photo below.  Finally, trim the right and top sides.

Flip the block around.  This time, make sure the left and bottom cut lines run along the tape.  Again, align the dots on the seam (which should be easy) and trim again.

To trim a HRT B block, repeat the same process, but use the opposite two dots to align with the diagonal seam.  Again, be certain there is excess fabric on the left and bottom sides.  Trim.

Flip the block around and repeat the alignment, then trim the last two sides.

You now have two perfectly trimmed half rectangle triangles, one A and one B.  The seam at the corners are 1/8″ away from the corner of the block, ensuring that when sewn into a quilt with a 1/4″ seam allowance, the seam will be in the right place.

So many great quilt designs include HRT blocks, and they’re also fun to design with.  I hope you find this half rectangle triangle tutorial helpful, and that you will enjoy sewing them!

Today I’m introducing the 4th quilt in my Resolute quilt pattern series.  This is Listen, a quilt designed around thoughts of the word, “listen”.  It follows Awake , Arise , and Stand , and will be followed by Serve.  All these patterns are available in my Etsy shop .  These words are dear to me and I have loved designing a quilt pattern for each one.  The Listen Quilt Pattern feels different from other designs of mine, but I love it.  It flowed naturally once I started sketching.


As I said, I designed this series around words that are meaningful to me creatively and personally.   Interestingly, the definition of “listen” is so much more than hearing.  It means “to hearken; to give ear; to attend closely with a view to hear; to obey; to yield to advice; to follow admonition”.  Listening to the creative spark deep inside requires silencing other voices.  Both creatively and personally, I want to improve my listening AND be more discerning about which influences I actually yield to.


Pondering this, I found myself increasingly “looking up”, picturing sacred spaces that draw out the best in me.  The Listen quilt design grew from these thoughts.   This quilt design is simple, but requires precision and attention to detail, just like any true act of listening to someone we love.

As for the design itself, the Listen quilt features a fun star surrounded by a “trellis” or “lattice” design which frames the background and creates beautiful movement.


Melissa Kelley quilted the Listen quilt with beautiful rainbows all over, and I love it.

The backing is a gorgeous floral I’ve saved for years.  It’s an old Moda print by Erin McMorris, her popular paint by number roses.  I found it on clearance ages ago and saved it for the perfect quilt.  Listen was it.  I love the dramatic florals on the back of this elegant design.

Perhaps my favorite part is the border.  I avoid borders on most quilts unless they really add something to the design, therefore I challenged myself to keep drawing until I got it right.  I knew this design needed a border but I wanted it to grab your attention.  It continues the aesthetic of the quilt body, and it makes a bold statement.  I love it!

The clean lines, simple color scheme, and contrast all converge in this Listen quilt for a striking presentation, but there is a colorful version on the way.  I love my Listen, Candy Shop Style quilt just as much as this original.

I’ll share that version soon, but until then, you can find the Listen quilt pattern here .  I hope you’re creating something beautiful today!

-Jennifer