The new issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks hits the newsstands today. Here’s my block!

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I think it’s my 14th time being in the magazine. Super fun!!

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

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Welcome to All About Appliqué on this second day of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.

Here’s my block for Volume 14, “Little Falling Star.”

QM100-MACK

When I sent the block in, I called it “Shooting Star,” because it’s traveling upwards. You could make it more of a falling star just by rotating it a quarter turn.

QM100-MACK-falling

And if you want to to travel the other way just reverse it from there.

QM100-MACK-falling-rev

I used some beautiful batiks to make this version. You could also make it look very playful by using colorful prints. Here’s another version.

shooting star

You’ll notice that here I chose to leave out the inner trail and let the groovy flower print shine. :)

Of course, shooting or falling stars are really meteoroids, but it’s much more fun visually to render them as stars!

Hope you have fun with your star, and also enjoy the 99 other fantastic blocks in Volume 14. I already have my advance copy, and let me tell you, it is a feast for the eyes. If you’d like to win a copy, just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before noon California time on Friday, November 18.

(Remember that if you are subscribed by email, clicking “reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Click over to the blog itself on the internet to leave your comment at the bottom of the post. Thanks!!)

And don’t forget to start every day the rest of the week at Quilty Pleasures to take part in the blog hop.

Happy sitiching!

Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

Volume 14 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks is about to come out. I have a block in there once again, and I’m participating in the blog hop that starts on Monday to celebrate!

Vol14-blog-tour-coming-socialmedia

Starting Monday and continuing all week, start at the Quiltmaker blog Quilty Pleasures and they’ll provide links to all of the designers that are in the hop that day. Everywhere you go there will be chances to win a copy of the magazine, plus additional prizes. That’s a lot of chances!

My day is Tuesday, November 15, and I’ll show you my block. See you then!

By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

Volume 13 winner!

Filed Under Magazines | Comments Off on Volume 13 winner!

Congratulations go to Lori Butler! She came up the winner of a copy of 100 Blocks, Volume 13, courtesy of the editors at Quiltmaker!

100-9

If you still need to get your copy, you can look for it at your favorite newsstand, or order from quiltmaker.com. They have hard copy and download.

Until next time, with some exciting news!
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

Welcome to All About Appliqué on this third day of the 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.

My block was inspired by the famous and beloved quilt by Susan McCord, Trailing Vines, which is in the Henry Ford Museum. Here’s a closeup of her fantastical leaves (photo courtesy of the museum). I have passionately loved and admired the inclusion of red and blue.

trailing-vines-closeup

I design my appliqué blocks in Adobe Illustrator, a vector graphics program. Usually I do not use color to fill in the shapes, because what happens is that I become attached to those colors and drive myself crazy trying to match them in fabric.

Well guess what, that’s exactly what happened this time LOL. I started playing around with color, and it was all over. Here’s my digital mockup, seeing what the leaves would look like cut out of strip sets.

illos-make-beleaf

Predictably, I couldn’t rest until I replicated what I saw on my computer screen. Most of the colors I found with ease, but I tore my stash apart looking for that just-right light tan. Finally found it! Yay!

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The background is a light misty gray hand-dyed fabric from Always Unique. It’s gonna give it somewhat of a moderny look.

Here’s my pile o’ strips.

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Laid out into two different strip sets.

strip-sets-beleaf

And here’s my finished block, Make Beleaf. I used raw-edge fusible machine appliqué.

I love combining patchwork with appliqué, so these stripped leaves are right up my alley. Of course you can use all sorts of different colors, and the leaves can be used in a million different ways. Templates and complete instructions are found in the magazine. Have fun making yours!

The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Tuesday, May 10.

Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet (click on the title of the article) and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by on the blog hop!

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

After taking a break for a couple of issues, I have a block once again in the newest issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks.

A bunch of the designers are participating in a blog hop to celebrate this very lucky 13th issue!


My day is Wednesday, May 4, but you should follow the hop all week long! Beginning Monday, start each day at the Quiltmaker blog Quilty Pleasures for links to the designers and chances to win prizes all along the way.

Fun!!

See you next week,

Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

Greetings gentle quilters!! It’s Wrap-up Day for the 100 Blocks Volume 11 blog tour! I hope you’ve been having a rollicking week visiting all of the designers. I’m so proud to have one of the 100 once again. This marks the 10th time for me, how very cool!!!


I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast.

If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.

Like many quilters, I love hearts, and hearts find their way into many of my designs. I also happen to love spirals, so for my latest block I combined the two.

Scroll Heart by Kay Mackenzie

The magazine gives instructions and templates for making the block using fusible appliqué. But I actually stitched this block by hand, using a combination of regular and reverse appliqué. It gives the scroll an inlaid look.

I used regular hand appliqué around the edge of the heart. For the scroll, I used reverse appliqué to open and stitch the red fabric, exposing an inserted piece of black underneath.

However which-a-way you like to appliqué, I hope you enjoy the block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 11!

The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Wednesday, May 13.

Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)

Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

It’s almost time for Volume 11 of 100 Blocks to come out!

The editors of Quiltmaker, who put together this very special magazine issue every six months, are once again organizing a blog hop amongst the designers. Mark your calendars for the week of May 4!

There will be lots of prize-winning opportunities all week long. Start each day at the Quiltmaker blog Quilty Pleasures and they’ll send you on your way to visit the blogs of many of the designers who have blocks in the issue.

My day is Friday, May 8. See you then if not before!

Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop

Now before you start singing a J. Geils Band song, it’s not that kind of centerfold, and seriously, I’m no angel :).

But, my project Spice Pinks does appear right smack dab in the center of the current issue of Quiltmaker, bookending the pullout section!

May/June 2015!

Spice Pinks is an old block that was traditionally accomplished using curved piecing. I applied a little appliqué reimagining, and curved piecing no more!

And here I am, the closest I’ll ever get to being a centerfold angel.

Thank you Quiltmaker!!

Until next time,
Kay

By Kay Mackenzie

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who stopped by on the 100 Blocks blog tour. It was so much fun to read all of your comments, and I so totally appreciate all the nice words about my block and my designs. It’s been a warm, fuzzy week. :)

The winner for my stop on the tour was Sheila Ivany. Congratulations, Sheila! The Quiltmaker staff will send out your issue. Enjoy!

If you didn’t win during the week and will be looking for a copy of Volume 10, mine are on the way and will be up on my website soon, on the Patterns page. I also still have a few copies of Volume 9 if you need that one.

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Greetings gentle quilters!! It’s Kickoff Day of the 100 Blocks Volume 10 blog tour! I’m so happy to have a block in this landmark issue.

I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog, so take your time clicking around the categories, and use the keyword search as well.

I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my ninth time having one of the 100 Blocks. (I must have been asleep at the switch for Volume 2.) I just love participating in these special issues, and golly! Ten times ten, that’s 100 different original blocks that have been published since the whole thing started. Quite an accomplishment… comgratulations to the Quiltmaker staff!

My latest title from Martingale, Scrap-Appliqué Playground, is all about different ways to put scraps together and cut appliqués out of them. After the book came out, I started playing around with more ideas for cutting appliqués out of something other than just one fabric. In the last issue I had Half-Log-Cabin Tulips. Another clever way to use a traditional pieced quilt block for appliqué is Nine-Patch Posies!


Cutting a flower “just so” from a traditional nine-patch block gives a fun, stylized look to a very traditional appliqué motif. Of course you can change up the colors as you like.

The magazine gives complete instructions for making the block, and includes the flower template that fits just right on the pieced nine-patch. Awesome.

I hope you enjoy this block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 10!

The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Friday, November 21.

Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)

Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Just finished one of the most hectic times ever. Palm Springs, followed by PIQF, followed by a visit from the in-laws, followed by a guild show. All I can say is, I lived through it, and am mighty glad to be home amid peace and quiet and down time. Happy rabbit. :)

Over this last weekend I was in Roseville, California, for the Pioneer Quilt Guild show. A quilter stopped by to let me know that she had a quilt in the show made using my Teapots 2 to Appliqué patterns. What a treat for me!

Asian Teapots by Karen Price

Thank you for the shout-out, Karen!

Beautifully hand appliquéd.

And hand quilted!

On another note, Volume 10 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks comes out later this month.


I have a block in there once again, I’m happy to say. The kickoff blog tour is November 17-21.

These blog tours are lots of fun, with many prize-winning opportunities along the way. My day is Monday, November 17. See you then!

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

The winner of my 100 Blocks Volume 9 drawing was No. 134, Marta!

Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by on the blog tour. If you didn’t win a copy of the new issue and you’re wanting one, I have them in stock now on my website, on the Patterns page.

I also have a few copies left of Volume 8, if that’s one’s still missing from your collection.

Following closely on the heels of the 100 Blocks blog tour was our monthly book feature and giveaway. The reader who came up the winner of Rami Kim’s book was No. 5, Dot. Congratulations! Dot says her son-in-law is of Korean ancestry and she’s interested in learning more about Korean art. Very cool!

In other news, I am so happy to say that my husband Dana and I are coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary on May 19! We’re going to Hawaii for a week, to Hilo on the Big Island.

I’ve done some investigating of quilt shops, but I could always use a little inside info! Any recommendations???

Aloha,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Welcome gentle quilters!! It’s Day 3 of the 100 Blocks Volume 9 blog tour! These tours are always a rollicking good time, and I’m happy to be part of things once again.

I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about all kinds of appliqué here on the blog. And, we have a featured appliqué book at the beginning of every month, given away in a drawing, which is way fun.

I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my eighth time having one of the 100 Blocks. I just love participating in these special issues!

My latest title from Martingale, Scrap-Appliqué Playground, is all about different ways to put scraps together and cut appliqués out of them. After the book came out, I started playing around with more ideas for cutting appliqués out of something other than just one fabric. I let my mind run wild, and realized that there are clever ways to use traditional pieced quilt blocks for this! It’s the best of both worlds!

Half-Log-Cabin Tulip by Kay Mackenzie.

Cutting a tulip “just so” from a traditional half-log-cabin block gives a fun, stylized look to a very traditional appliqué flower. Split leaves and a patched background complement the pieced nature of the tulip.

The magazine gives complete instructions for making the block, and includes the tulip template that fits just right on the half-log-cabin once it’s pieced. Very cool.

Of course you can change up the color of the background and the flowers. Here are just a couple of possibilities!

I hope you enjoy this block and all the other 99 fabulous and varied designs in Volume 9!

The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Sunday, May 4.

Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment at the bottom of the post. :)

Many thanks for your visit!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Volume 9 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks is coming out soon!

To celebrate the release of their newest block collection, Quiltmaker is throwing a big party in the form of a blog tour with lots of prize-winning opportunities along the way.


The tour goes Monday, April 28, through Friday, May 2. Start each day at the Quiltmaker blog Quilty Pleasures and they’ll send you on your way to visit the blogs of many of the designers who have blocks in the issue.

My day is Wednesday, April 30. See you then!

My block is the one on the right :).

Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the drawing to win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 8!

The lucky winner is #130, Nancy A. Congratulations!! The staff at Quiltmaker will be sending you your magazine. Enjoy!

Many of you suggested putting apples or flowers in the basket. Absolutely! Go wherever your creativity leads you!

If you didn’t win a copy of the magazine and you’re craving one, I have Volume 8 up on my website now, on the patterns page.

I’d like to welcome new subscribers and those who’ve said they’ve bookmarked the site. Excellent! Be sure to take some time to poke around the blog. We celebrate all forms of appliqué here, and there’s tons of great information. Check out the appliqué bookstore, the categories, and the keyword search in the left sidebar. On the righthand side, you’ll find links to tons of designers and pattern companies.

I just got back from a trip to England and Scotland, and I’ll be posting some photos soon. Let’s just say… I went to Liberty. And Cath Kidston. :)

Whilst I was abroad, the staff at Quiltmaker put up a post on their blog Quilty Pleasures featuring my Basket of Oranges block, and my book Scrap-Appliqué Playground! Very cool! Go check it out on the November 18 post.

And there’s an earlier post over there at Quilty Pleasures that I wanted to make sure you saw if you use Electric Quilt: Getting to Know My EQ Boutique.

Back soon!
Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

A great big welcome to you!! It’s Day 5 of the 100 Blocks Volume 8 blog tour! I know you’ve been having a blast and a half on the tour so far!


I’m Kay Mackenzie, a designer and author in Santa Cruz, California. My website is By Kay Mackenzie, which has all of my books and patterns on it, plus select notions for the appliqué enthusiast. If this is your first time visiting my blog All About Appliqué, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find a wealth of information about appliqué — all kinds — here on the blog. If you’re a regular reader or you’ve been here before for one of these hops, welcome back!

I’m delighted and proud to say that this is my seventh time having one of the 100 Blocks. I just love participating in these special issues!

My block this time is traditional in nature. Baskets of fruit and flowers abound in our appliqué heritage. Here’s my Basket of Oranges.

One of my very favorite color schemes is the complementary combination of orange and teal. Putting oranges in the basket led me very naturally to choose a tealy blue for the basket!

There are many other possibilities of course.

Brown is a natural choice for baskets.

Making a bright quilt? How about a purple basket?

I hope you enjoy this block and all the other ninety-nine scrumptious and varied designs in Volume 8.

The editors of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks are sponsoring a giveaway of a copy of the magazine! If you’d like to enter to win, please leave a comment here on this post before 12:00 noon California time on Wednesday, November 20.

Good luck in the drawing, and remember that if you are subscribed to the blog by email, clicking “Reply” will not enter you in the drawing. Come to the blog on the internet and leave your comment there. :)

Many thanks!
Cheerio,
Kay

The lucky reader who came up the winner of the Quilt Art 2014 Engagement Calendar is… No. 1, Carolyn! Congratulations Carolyn! May it help you stay very organized and quilty in 2014.

Before I talk about what’s coming down the pike, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who chimed in on the subject of an appliqué self-help brochure. Your very thoughtful observations are all going into the pot as I think the subject over. I’ll revisit this in a later post.

Now: Some fun things are coming!

My last show of the year is put on by the Pioneer Quilt Guild in Roseville, California, November 9-10. I really enjoyed this show the last two years and am looking forward to it once again. It’s a nice facility, and a really nice group of gals.

Next: Volume 8 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks is coming out soon!

To celebrate the release of this newest block collection, Quiltmaker is throwing a big party in the form of a blog tour with lots of prize-winning opportunities along the way.

The tour goes Monday, November 11, through Friday, November 15. Start each day at the Quiltmaker blog Quilty Pleasures and they’ll send you on your way to visit the blogs of many of the designers who have blocks in the issue.

My day is Friday, November 15. And here comes another fun thing… I’ll be auto-scheduling the post to go up that day, because DH Dana and I will be in the U.K.!

Dana’s attending a statistics conference in London.

You knew that it’s The International Year of Statistics, right?

As soon as my quilt show and Dana’s conference are over, I’m flying out to join him. We’ll spend a few days in London and then travel north to Scotland, from whence my Grandmother Logan hailed. I’ll meet a second cousin and tour Inverurie, the ancestral homeplace.

Inverurie is just a little north of Aberdeen. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.

See you when I get back! I’m hoping to visit some fabric and quilt stores while I’m across the pond.

Cheerio,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

Still waiting to hear back from the winner of the October giveaway, so I’ll let ya know.

The November/December issue of Quiltmaker is on its way to newsstands and subscribers now. I got my advance copies, and, happy dance! My article got a cover line!

This piece has been in the works for almost a year now, and it’s so very cool to finally see it in print.

The pillow that I made came out beautiful. I think this block is one of my favorites that I ever designed.

The project is accompanied by a step-by-step how-to on back-basting preparation for hand appliqué, complete with photos.

Until next time,
Kay

Just finished up a hand appliqué project for the November/December issue of Quiltmaker. Whew! It’s always a load off my mind when I get to the end of this type of assignment. And yes, they really do work this far ahead.

It’s a really cute piece. Kind of holiday-y but also very much in the red-and-green appliqué tradition. The article will include back-basting, so be on the lookout for it.

Next weekend I’m driving up to Santa Rosa, California, for the Moonlight Quilters of Sonoma County show. That’s wine country! Dana tells me that we drove past on a trip that we took one time to Napa, but this will be the first time I’ve really been in Santa Rosa. I’m really looking forward to it. That’s one of the great things about being a traveling quilt-show vendor… I’m getting to explore lots of cool places in this wonderful state.

The featured quilter is the one and only Judy Mathieson!!

Judy is known for her extraordinary Mariner’s Compass quilts. She’s also a dog person so she’s all right in my book :).

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

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