Calico Cottages on Steroids

 Hello Everyone,

My friend Diane came over yesterday and she brought her incredible Calico Cottages quilt for me to see.

Diane super-sized her quilt and it fit perfectly on our queen-sized bed. There was absolutely no chance that she was going to leave it with me......I tried.

Every house is different giving you a feast for your eyes as they travel around the quilt.  All of the blocks are bordered with one of the stripe fabrics from my Hearthstone collection.  

The muted hourglass units really set the house blocks off nicely.

The quilt was masterfully quilted by Dianne Schweickert in Livermore, CA.

Diane and her husband are spending a few days at their cabin up here in the mountains.  While it snows, Diane has been working on the binding.  Snow, quilting, and a finished quilt......what could be better?

This quilt is an excellent way to use up some of those scraps that are filling bins in your sewing room.  All of those itty-bitty scraps can be put to work and turned into an amazing quilt.  

Diane started making this quilt at one of my quilt retreats at Snowflake Lodge.  The houses are very addicting, and she couldn't stop making them.  She has enough houses to make another quilt!

If you are interested in making a Calico Cottage quilt, the pattern is located by clicking HERE where you will directed to my Etsy shop.

I have a question for all of you quilters in Quiltland.  I received a message from a very disappointed quilter that I did not include paper templates in my Heritage pattern.  I told her I only include templates in my one and only foundation paper-pieced pattern, such as Calico Cottages.

The quilter said ALL patterns she buys include paper templates which she prefers since she has a hard time cutting accurately.  Since I do not buy patterns from other designers, I'm wondering if other designers include paper templates for pieced quilts.  Am I behind the 8-ball here?  Should I include paper templates in my patterns?  I do include detailed cutting charts which I always thought were more than sufficient.  Please weigh in with your thoughts.

We've had a snowy week here at Sew'n Wild Oaks.  Next week looks like we are going to be buried under a lot of snow.  This makes for good quilting weather!  The folks in my area are calling this Marchuary.  (That's too close to mortuary for my liking!)  Anyway, we had just a few dustings of snow in January and February.  March has roared in like a lion, and we are getting our much-needed snow.

Soon,

Lynn