In 2026, our country turns 250 years old — and I decided it’s a year to go big or go home! We’re going to celebrate in true Sentimental Stitches fashion with a brand-new red, white, and blue quilt you’ll treasure. for years to come.

This special edition of Little Blocks will feature 50 unique blocks — one for each state. Each block will either be an official state quilt block or a design that represents something special about that state.

Now, I’ll be honest — a few of those state blocks include curved seams or details that are a bit too fussy to make in a 3" size, so I’ll make some creative judgment calls along the way. Some states even have more than one design to choose from, and a few include appliqué (and you know I can’t resist tossing in one or two of those!).

When it’s finished, this will be a truly one-of-a-kind quilt — a tribute to all 50 states and the spirit of America itself. Stitch by stitch, it’s going to be something special. 

Here are the little details -

• 50 different state-themed 3" foundation paper pieced quilt blocks, so all our points are perfect! I might surprise you with a bit of applique!

• You’ll receive a 3” block pattern each week for 51 weeks, and your final finishing instructions will arrive on Friday, December 18, 2026. 

• The vast majority of the 3” Little Blocks will be foundation paper pieced blocks. The remainder of the quilt can be rotary cut and machine pieced.

• You know how I love to hide those Little Blocks. within another block. With those sections, you’ll have the option to foundation piece those parts if that’s your favorite method of construction. 

• The finished size of the quilt is 69” x 86” as shown in the pictured layout, but you can always add another border if you want to make a larger bed-size quilt. 

We started on January 2nd, but you can join until the end of the month. It's a one-time fee that covers the entire year.

Sign up HERE

We're well underway in making Little Blocks 2025. Registration closed last week but if you'd like to join us, email me and I'll find a way to get you in and caught up. It's an easy quilt to keep up with this year with only a block or two a week.

I'm anxious for spring to arrive. I keep watch over the lake on our Nest cameras and can't believe how much snow they've gotten. They're almost 30 inches above normal right now. That ought to bring up the lake levels this summer. I was kind of hoping they would stay down a little. I liked having a beach again. The winter season isn't over and there can be lots of evaporation if we don't get spring rains so I'll have to wait and see how things turn out.

If you've read My Life in Stitches here on the blog you can probably guess I'm always on the lookout for vintage Wurzburg Company quilts made from their kits. In the last two weeks, I was lucky enough to come across two of the very old ones. The one above is the Swiss Quilt and I purchased it on eBay. I won't tell you who the seller was because I've already let them know that you don't ship a vintage quilt by smashing it down to the size of a small dog, stuffing it in a trash bag, and wrapping packing tape around it to within an inch of its life. I suggest they do better in the future.

This beauty I purchased from Vintage Blessings through Instagram. It's a very old one and I like it much better without the applique gridwork that was originally included in the kit. I'm always amazed after all these years that I can look at a quilt and know right away if it's a Wurzburg design or not. Jane Wurzburg had certain design elements she favored in her floral applique and also in the faces of her children's designs. My heart aches each time I think of such a talented, wealthy, and prominent lady taking her own life. I've been asked if these will be patterns and to be honest, I don't have an answer. I seem to be so busy with other things I don't know how I'd manage it. I wish I could convince someone like Riley Blake who has beautiful solid color fabrics to produce some of these kits. There are 120 patterns sitting in the storage unit - yes, a climate-controlled unit to keep them safe and thousands of individual applique and embroidery designs that could be used. Maybe I'll take some to the lake with me this year...... maybe.

Lily and Gracie are as tired of winter as I am and seek out the sun whenever possible. It's been cold here but we haven't had as much snow as at the lake. I think they've gotten over my being gone in February but little do they know I'll be heading to Shipshewana, Indiana again at the beginning of April and then we'll start planning for summer.

If you haven't visited the Online Shop recently I encourage you to do that. I appreciate your support more than you can imagine. New things are added at least twice a week and many of the past quilt-alongs are available as complete patterns if you missed participating in one. You can sign up for the email list in the right sidebar. I only send emails on Wednesday and Saturday so I won't be flooding your inbox.

I guess that's it for today - I wish you all lots of happy stitches!

Gayle

Don't wait to sign up -

the first blocks for all of the quilts

go out on January 5 - that's next Friday!

Half of the blocks are 6" blocks and the other half are 3" blocks. I'm throwing in a few special applique blocks just because I can!  The 3" blocks are foundation paper pieced. The 6" blocks will be a mixture of techniques with most being rotary cut and machine pieced but there will be some hand pieced and foundation pieced blocks too as I always present the patterns using the easiest, most accurate method of construction.  There are two sashing options. The layout isn't complicated - it's just a good old-fashioned classic setting.

Just like its name, this quilt is going to be a half-and-half mix of beautiful quilt blocks perfect for any fabric theme. I'll be channeling a life in the 1930s during 2024 as I stitch along with you but you can use any reproduction or modern fabrics.

• 49 different 3" blocks (foundation paper pieced quilt blocks so all our points are perfect ) and ....... 
• 50 different 6" quilt blocks too!
• A total of 99 blocks over 50 weeks
• 74" x 87" quilt
• Receive one 6" and one 3" block pattern via email each Friday. You can work on them over the weekend or make one each day!
• Once in a while, I'll share a family recipe that uses.........you guessed it! Half & Half.
• The one-time fee paid when you sign up is for the entire year
• The first blocks will be sent via email on - Friday, January 5

Sign up for Half & Half for 2024

I didn't forget about all you applique lovers out there and have a truly unique quilt for 2024. I'd like to introduce Pop Tart!

The minute I saw this quilt I knew it had to become part of my collection to share with you. It's well-loved, faded, and worn but oh what unique applique designs. The larger 8" blocks are mostly solids set together with what was a beautiful poison green print. The little 3.5" blocks are a myriad of 1800s prints with some fussy cutting to make them extra special. 

• 54 applique quilt blocks!

• 68" x 80" quilt.  
• Perfect for hand or machine applique in any style of fabric
• Perfect for wool applique too!!!
• You'll receive one large and/or one small block pattern each Friday for 52 weeks
• A one-time fee paid when you sign up is for the entire year

Sign up for Pop Tart for 2024

If you missed out on the wild and crazy quilt from 2023, you can join in on this one for 2024 too!

If you missed Call Me Crazy in 2023, you're getting a second chance throughout 2024. Same quilt - same blocks.  You'll be creating a wild and crazy scrap quilt in the style of an antique quilt now in the Sentimental Stitches collection. It was owned by well-known New York antique quilt dealer, Laura Fisher who Barbara Brackman said had a fabulous eye for the off-beat quilt. What a perfect description for Call Me Crazy!  Laura passed away in September of 2021 and I purchased the quilt from her estate.

Our quilt won't be quite as crazy as the original. You can make as many or as few of the blocks as you'd like. Use them now or save them for later.  You can add sashing between the blocks for a more organized look. The blocks will be foundation paper pieced and each one will have a classic 3" block somewhere within the weekly 6" block. 

The antique quilt was made using lots and lots of different fabrics from the late 1800s and earlier. You don't have to use those colors. Oh, how pretty this would be using 1930s prints. Just pull from your scrap bag.  Maybe you want to use all neutral colors - that would be amazing! Maybe you want to make a red and white or blue and white quilt - that'll work too. Perhaps you have a big box of everything imaginable - use it up. Trust me, it'll work.

• Iâ€ll be providing you with a pattern via email each week. Each 6" block will be a foundation paper pieced block and will have a smaller 3" block somewhere within it. 
• There will be a total of  54 different blocks.
• A color photo of each block will be included with your patterns.
• A fabric placement guide for each block to note your colors and assist with section assembly.
• One-time fee for the entire year
• Starts on the first Friday of January - January 5
• The supply list will be sent via email by Send Owl after sign-up
• Not a fan of foundation piecing? A full-size illustration of each block will be included if you want to figure out the rotary cutting measurements for traditional machine piecing.

Sign up for Call Me Crazy for 2024

If you're wondering about my Little Blocks quilts, I'm offering those for a final time in 2024. You can read about them in the Sentimental Stitches Online Shop.

A few weeks ago something totally unexpected happened. If you've read the "My Life in Stitches" page on the blog you know my family has a long history in quilting. The short version goes back to the F.A. Wurzburg Co who manufactured quilt kits and art needlework items during the early 1900s. My father got his first after-school job with them in 1926 and never left. He held several positions within the company and invented the machine that made the first slotted quilting stencils. When the company fell on hard times in the later years of the depression my father took over what remained of that business incorporating it into his mail-order company called Needleart Guild which was started alongside the Wurzburg Company to sell quilting stencils to individual quilters around the country. I worked with my parents growing up and for almost 20 years as an adult. When they retired, the Needleart Guild went to my brother and I started Sentimental Stitches. Sounds simple enough and that might have been the end of the story.

I had saved lots of things from the Wurzburg Company while working with my parents and over the years have collected quilt upon quilt along with any of the art needlework items I could find but a great deal of the things from the Wurzburg Company and Needleart Guild remained with my brother - until a few weeks ago, that is.

On September 9th all of the archives of the Wurzburg Company and Needleart Guild were transferred to me.

Thanks to my husband, son, and nephew, everything not already part of Sentimental Stitches was moved to a storage facility. It was a hot, dirty, strenuous job I can't thank them enough for doing. There's a lot of dirt and dust bunnies that can collect over 100 years!

Because I was in Traverse City, Michigan, my son made this little clip to give me a glimpse of some of what he and my husband were moving. It may look like just a bunch of old stuff so I'll try to explain. You'll see artist's drawings, boxes of partial quilt kits with fabric samples, machine parts, button and trim samples, art needlework catalogs and advertisements, tuff board quilting stencils manufactured by hand, old office equipment, and fabric cutting dies. This is just a glimpse.

I can't begin to tell you everything this entails but I guarantee you it's more than you can imagine and it took them 2 1/2 days to move.

Each one of the paper rolls in the back of the truck represents a crib or full-size kit quilt pattern. These are the stamping masters that were used to transfer the markings to the fabric as quilt kits were manufactured. The Christmas tree box in the second picture is full of the handmade wood paddles used to spread the ink across the stamping masters. It was my father's first job at age 13 in 1924 to clean those paddles at the end of the day.

Are you wondering what kind of quilt patterns are in those rolls?

I picked a few I doubt you've seen before. If my memory is correct, there are well over 100 designs.

And then there are the Cuddle Dolls - Sewing bags - Pincushions - Dresser Scarves - Doilies - and on and on.........

Embroidery designs? Imagine books about 24" x 30" in size. Each one is 2" thick and filled with pages and pages of embroidery and applique designs. There are thousands of them!

I'm afraid I don't have a picture of those design books handy but did find a photo from moving day of another huge stack of loose designs. I think you get the idea there are thousands of designs.

I can almost guarantee you've never seen those two black, metal machines. Those are the machines that made the very first slotted quilting stencils back in the 1930s. Their tables and motors aren't there but when reassembled, I could show you how the stencils were cut. I was taught to cut stencils when I was about 12 years old and made thousands of them over the years.

The black wood case next to the machine contains mimeograph masters to print instructions for the quilt kits.

More quilts? How about a few applique quilts this time..........

There are boxes of record books containing information on fabrics, threads, floss, trims, buttons, and anything used to assemble a kit. They tell how much it cost to manufacture a kit and how much they were sold for. You'd be shocked! Each quilting stencil manufactured was timed for how long it took to make it.

Those record books have the potential to change quilt history from that time period and things we believed to be true. For instance.....

This quilt is in the collection of the Grand Rapids Public Museum and was given to them by Mrs. Robert W Irwin (Irwin Seating), a prominent Grand Rapids, Michigan resident. The making of the quilt is attributed to my father and the Needleart Guild. As nice as that sounds, it's not true. Within the record book of samples that were made, I can provide the museum with the actual date the quilt was made by the Wurzburg Company specifically for Mrs. Irwin along with what was paid for it and probably who made it for her and how long it took to be made. Can you imagine someone timing you to see how fast you could applique? Yikes! The interesting thing about this is sample quilts were only made for the stores that sold the quilt kits which leads me to believe Mrs. Wurzburg and Mrs. Irwin were friends. Based on their social status within the community, it would be unusual if they didn't know each other.

The record books on quilt kits manufactured challenge the identification of some of the quilts in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Applique, Several quilts attributed to Herrschner's, Paragon, Lee Wards, and others were actually manufactured and labeled for those companies by the Wurzburg Company. Were they Wurzburg designs or designed by someone else? In many cases, they were Wurzburg designs.

Please don't misunderstand and think I'm being critical of anyone. Everyone works with the best information they have at the time which leads me to the million-dollar questions ..........

Does it really matter that some of this information isn't accurate? - I'll contact the GRPM and Barbara Brackman so they can update their records

Does anybody want to learn about Jane Wurzburg and her family? - I have to admit I've always been fascinated by her, her interesting, amazing life, and how she created such beauty through tragedy before she took her own life.

Does anyone have an interest in making quilts or embroidered things from these designs? - I would hope so but it'll take an army of stitchers to help me.

Where should all of this end up so it's available for future generations of quilters to study? - A museum? Would they want to be bothered with things like this? If so, which one? I don't want this to end up stuffed in a basement somewhere so no one can view it.

I've got to admit, all of this is weighing heavy on my heart and mind. I feel a great sense of obligation to my Dad and his legacy. These things have been saved for nearly 100 years. They have been treasured and protected by two generations of my family alone. I'd hate for that to have been done in vain. For now, the storage unit is on autopay until decisions are made.

I also feel a great sense of obligation to the quilters of today and future quilters too. It's not lost on me that once I'm gone, there's no one who can share this history. Having lost my mother and two aunts to Alzheimer's the worry of my memory fading looms large in my mind as I'm not getting any younger. I've thought several times about getting started on this but something always held me back. Now, there are no more excuses.

The time it's going to take just to catalog all these things is almost mind-boggling. I can't just drop everything Sentimental Stitches is doing to focus only on this unless there are enough people who want to take part in something really unique that would allow me to do that. Would they be interested in making quilts from these patterns? What about the thousands of embroidery designs? Is hand embroidery interesting enough or do more people do machine embroidery? Would anyone watch videos of me going through boxes and telling stories? Would they want to see a setup of how quilting stencils were made or how quilt kits were manufactured? Another big one - Are the quilt patterns in good enough condition for me to even draft them or will I need to treat each roll before I can open it for review?

So many questions I just don't have answers for so there will be lots and lots of prayerful thought going on around here as decisions and plans are made.

Many years ago I remember my Dad asking me what I thought the future was for our family in quilting. I thought for a minute and without hesitation said "I think our future is in the past". Perhaps that'll be true...............

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Quilters are an amazing group of people - talented, creative, and generous. I've always been proud to say I'm a quilter and hope you feel that way too. If you're so inclined, say a little prayer for me that God's hand will guide my path forward.

I wish you always - happy stitching,

Gayle

Isn't this a great depression era quilt? It's part of the Sentimental Stitches quilt collection and Lily took to it right away when I brought it out on the deck.  Almost all of the blocks can be rotary cut and machine pieced. The little hearts are applique but you can substitute another block if applique isn't your thing. 

Start pulling together your favorite scraps, fat quarters, fat eighths, or layer cakes, and join me for 16 weeks beginning September 1st to recreate this wonderful depression-era quilt. The only large pieces of fabric you'll need are your background and backing but you could make those scrappy too! 

The finished size is 54" x 65" so it's a great lap quilt which is why I'm considering making mine using red and green fabrics for the holiday.  With the addition of a couple of borders, you'll have a queen-size quilt! I show you how.

•   Iâ€ll be providing you with a pattern via email each Friday for 16 weeks beginning on September 1 st
• Use any fabrics you like - this is a scrappy quilt and there are no right or wrong choices.
• Some weeks you'll make one block and some you'll make more. I'll be alternating between the singles and multiples so no one gets overwhelmed.
• A color photo of each block will be included with your patterns.
• One-time fee for the entire project

Sign up here to make Sweet Sixteen

I recently acquired this amazing redwork quilt and decided it was just too wonderful not to share with everyone. The embroidery designs are both unique and beautiful. The pieced sashing makes this quilt a real gem. I hope you'll enjoy creating your own heirloom week by week.

You'll be surprised each week with a beautiful and not-too-difficult block to embroider. 

The finished size if you recreate the antique quilt is 81" x 81". I'm also giving you instructions to make the quilt finish 88" x 88" if you want to make a queen-size quilt.

• Iâ€ll be providing you with a pattern via email each Friday for 50 weeks (49 embroidery blocks and sashing instructions.
• The one-time fee covers all 49 blocks for the entire year.
• The first block will be emailed on September 1
• Use any thread and fabric color you like.  I own embroidered quilts made using red, cheddar, pink, and blue thread. You could use multi-color threads so there's no wrong choice.

Sign up here to make Red Threads

Happy Stitching,

Gayle

Several weeks ago I saw a quilt at auction and for a few minutes, I thought about buying it. Then the light bulb came on and I said " I know what block that is". I decided it would be way more fun to make something like it, in my own way. You have to be amazed at the things quilters of the past were able to accomplish with limited tools. Granted, they didn't have the distractions of television and social media to suck time away from their creativity. I challenged my creative spirit to come up with a way to make the block using modern techniques. I'm thrilled with the results and am having a blast working on this. I hope you'll want to work on this too.

Do you recognize this quilt block? It's Florence Peto's Pine Tree. It's a pretty great block and as you can see I've colored it in a little different way. Why?

The greatest thing happens when you put four of these together and..............

Skip the tree trunks and viola! You've got a Strawberry Star!

Yes, those are some small pieces but I've worked all the bugs out and you can easily foundation piece this block. I couldn't believe it myself - it really goes together smoothly!

I give you cutting instructions specifically for foundation piecing.

The foundation pattern is shaded so you know where each piece of fabric should go.

The foundation is numbered so almost every seam will nest together when sewing the sections. You remove the paper as you go along.

In the pattern, I share all my tips and tricks about thread choice (Invisafil is a must), what foundation paper to use (Carol Doak's Foundation Paper is best for this project), the perfect stitch length (go with 1.60), and so much more so you'll have great success on your very first block. (Yes, you could rotary cut and piece this block. If that's your thing - go for it. I've had better luck with the foundation method. My blocks are perfectly flat and square.)

You can make 1 star - 4 stars or go crazy and make 12! I did include a layout for a nine-block quilt which finishes at a great usable size.

You can use this as a stash buster project but the triangle pieces are perfect to cut from a jelly roll, charm pack, or layer cake! Pretty great huh?

I should also mention this is a great block to work on while you're at a quilt retreat or when you're binge watching something on tv.

You've got to try Strawberry Stars!

Happy Stitching,

Gay

A picture is worth a thousand words so let's get started -

Depending on the size you're making you'll start by sewing your strips together as directed.

Label your strips as directed. I used the Alphabitties for this.

Cut your strips in segments according to the directions. Be sure to follow the directions to label your segments. Easy peasy so far, right? If you're wondering which fabric I'm using, it's from the Christmas Memories collection by Riley Blake.

You need to cut the angles on your segments. You can use a specialty ruler but to be honest.............

I found it a lot easier to just rotate my ruler back and forth. If you want to order one of the specialty rulers just email me and I'd be happy to order one for you.

We're going to sew the side seams. Backstitch at the top edges and clip the corners before turning right side out..

Now, these are pretty sharp points and I poked holes in my fabric before I realized these are not going to be sharp points when you turn them right side out. Once I accepted this, things continued to go pretty fast. I opted to use a scalloped blade in my rotary cutter rather than zigzag or serge the top edges of the segments. Next time, I think I'll do one or the other but didn't have the serger with me at the lake and was too lazy to change my throat plate to do a zigzag. Pretty bad, huh? I am keeping myself organized with these cute paper plates.

Now we are getting to what I found to be the tricky part. This is going to be the base for your tree. A solid-color fabric is recommended. I was going to use a piece of my tree fabric but the wrong side of the fabric would show under my branches so I went with the only coordinating solid-color fabric I had at the cottage. In retrospect, I wish I'd followed the pattern and made a paper pattern to cut from. I think I would have been happier with the shape of my base. It came out a bit narrow for my segments but still worked. You can see I was following the instructions for folding my base piece.

I marked..................

I cut using my pinking rotary blade............

I stitched as directed...............

Turned, pressed, and stitched. Take a break ......... As I said, next time I'm going to make a paper pattern for this section. I'd like this piece to have a little more body to it and might add a seam allowance to the pattern so I could make a nice turned edge on the sides instead of just turning the raw edge to the inside one. I suppose you could use felt for the base. That would give you nice edges even turning up the bottom edge. I also felt it was about 1/2" too narrow when I went to attach my segments.

I used a wood grain fabric for my trunk. It's from The View From Here by Northcott Studio.

You're going to start adding your tree segments at this point. You can see how mine extends off the edge on both sides. I experienced this with each segment and maybe I sewed something incorrectly but it bothered me so I'll make sure that doesn't happen next time. Also, before you sew the first segment in place, I'd center your trunk underneath it against the base and stitch it in place when you stitch the first segment. The directions don't tell you to do this but when I got to the trunk instructions it was obvious I could have done this so the raw edge at the top of the trunk was neatly tucked away.

Keep adding your segments as directed. I recommend doing this on your cutting mat so you can keep everything nice and square. You don't want to end up with a lopsided tree.

The finishing instructions were pretty clear. After I tied my hanging cord through the enclosed tube I was able to tuck the knot to the inside so everything was neat and tidy. I've had trouble getting the velcro to stick to my star but that could be because I painted both sides and didn't rough up the back before gluing. I'll work on that.

Thanks to Barb Tomasov for the following tip - If you have trouble getting your star to stick, Barb used a Command hook which has the two-sided tape that sticks to the wall and holds pictures that are much heavier than the star. She cut it to the length of her velcro to match the hook and said it worked like a charm.

I hope you'll have fun making a tree and please, make a few extra to cheer someone up during the holidays. If you get stuck somewhere, email me and I'll do my best to help.

Happy Stitching,

Gay

Block 81

attributed to: Elizabeth C Reeves

This is such an interesting block. Select the perfect fabric to applique each of the motifs.

Block 82

attributed to: Rebecca D Deacon

A pretty, wide petal dresden plate block. You can piece the petals together before you applique the ring to the background square to make this block easier to construct.

Block 83

attributed to: Deborah D Coles

This block is going to be a challenge. Those diamonds are little pieces. You can hand or machine piece the block or use the foundation paper piecing pattern. Either way, I wish you good luck!

Block 84

attributed to: Mary Jane Buzby / 1841

What a pretty block! I really like this one. It's similar to another block sewn earlier. The tulips in this one are so sweet. Again, you can piece the ring part together before sewing it to the background.

Block 85

attributed to: Caroline _ Horner

What a perfect block to end with! Not only is it beautiful but it has a surprise or two I'm sure you'll find as you begin stitching.

That's a wrap my friends!

Ella Maria Deacon Quilt - Month 21

Block 77

attributed to: Mary Ana Deacon

This is a pretty little block. Sew your petal sections together and them applique them to the background square.

Block 78

attributed to: Sarah Foster / Mount Holly

This is a classic block. Your pattern is printed straight on the square but you can easily tilt it a little to match the antique block.

Block 79

attributed to: William D Horner

This is one of my favorite blocks in the quilt. We've made this one before but in different colors.

Block 80

attributed to: Lydia R Kemble

This is an easy pieced block with rotary cut pieces. You'll have it together quickly.

Ella Maria Deacon Quilt - Month 20

Block 73

Attributed to: Letitia B Hale

You'll want to piece this ring together before appliqueing it to your background fabric.

Block 74

Attributed to: Aunt Ann Reeves / Mount Holly / 1842

This block is all broderie perse. It should be fun to pull together the fabrics for this special block.

Block 75

Attributed to: Mount Holly / R.A.H. Woolston

This is a beautiful block! Design and fabrics. You're going to love working on this one.

Block 76

Attributed to: Elias Buzby / 1842

This is the easy block this month. Rotary cut and machine pieced.

Ella Maria Deacon Quilt - Month 19