coneflower quilt pattern | Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Visitors from 45 countries have stopped by Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats and have left approximately 600 comments. I’ve replied to almost all of them, except for the ones caught in my spam filter. That’s taken a bit of work and my husband can vouch for the fact that I’ve spent a good chunk of time sitting at my computer. I’m flattered to have almost 200 followers already. Those are pretty good statistics considering this blog is only eight months old.

Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs is hosting a special linky party for bloggers to post their five top posts. So here’s my year-end review highlighting some of the top posts.

Tu-Na?

Find out who Tu-Na is.

I introduced myself on my very first post Tu-Na? and explained the significance of that name. I have my five year old grandson to thank for that inspiration. It was a real “light-bulb” moment.

2. Tu-Na Travels: So Where’s the “Loot”?

Every pirate keeps their loot in a treasure chest. I guess that makes me a quilting pirate and this was my treasure chest.

This summer, my husband and I traveled around the entire state of Minnesota visiting and shopping at 72 quilt shops on the annual Quilt MN Shop Hop. I wrote about our adventures such as going for a sailboat ride and some of the delicious meals we ate. Each day I featured a quilt shop (two shops on Day Six of the hop) on this blog. While I could have chosen any of those posts (after all I met some very nice shop owners and staff who were more than just “Minnesota nice”), I chose Tu-Na Travels: So Where’s the “Loot”? because it was very fun to write. I could think of no better way to introduce all the stuff I bought on the hop than pretending to be a pirate. After all, some of it was such good buys that I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I can honestly tell you that I was rolling on the floor laughing out loud (for real) as I wrote and then read aloud this post. My husband even had to come to my desk to see why I was laughing so hard.

3. Tu-Na Travels: Tu-Na Helper’s Side of the 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop

This pic was one of the first ones we took using our selfie stick. I think we need practice with it.

My husband guest wrote a post Tu-Na Travels: Tu-Na Helper’s Side of the 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop telling his impressions of the trip and why he went along on it. Yes, he was lovingly nicknamed Tu-Na Helper since I put him in charge of photographing the shops while I interviewed and shopped.

4. Tu-Na Quilts: Presenting Anne’s Flower

Don’t let the curved seam on the stem scare you from making this block. It’s rather easy. This block uses a method I called “Piecelique” which is a combination of piecing and applique. I wanted to design a block that was pieced and kept the applique to a minimum.

Anne’s Flower was my first block that I designed. It is available at Tu-Na’s Pattern Shop on Payhip here.

5. Tu-Na Eats: Apples, Apples, and More Apples

I use an older point-and-shoot digital camera, but it takes really good pics.

Life was very busy this fall as we tended to an abundant apple crop. The post Tu-Na Eats: Apples, Apples, and More Apples gives you an idea of what we did with all the apples that we harvested. By the way, we are still eating apples and our oranges are now starting to turn color.

What I Learned Today:

Picking only five posts is very hard to do since I like all the posts I’ve written or I wouldn’t have included them on my blog.
Sometimes it’s nice to “toot one’s own horn” because it may go untooted otherwise.
I’ve “met” some really nice people through this blogging community and I thank you for reading my posts, following my blog, and leaving comments. I am so glad you stop by and I hope you’ll come back again.
Eight months sure went fast.

Question: Tell me about your greatest accomplishment or memorable moment from this year. Here’s your chance to “toot your own horn,” too.

Ideas do not just happen. They begin with a thought, a need, a picture, an object; some thing that jars the brain to think about making something either for the first time or making an existing object/idea better. The beautiful purple coneflowers were the inspiration behind Anne’s Flower block.

I took this pic of the coneflower with my old Nokia phone in 2011. Camera phones and my photographing ability sure have improved since then. But I think you get the idea.

This pic was taken last year outside of Old Alley Quilt Shop in Sherburn, MN. The coneflowers were just as beautiful when I was there this summer, but I didn’t get a close-up of them.

I featured Old Alley Quilt Shop on Day 2 of my 2016 Quilt MN Shop Hop posts. You can read more about this great shop here. Look for more posts about all my loot that I acquired on that hop and a perspective from my husband as Tu-Na Helper coming up soon.

Now back to the task at hand—designing a quilt block to meet the challenge. When these fabrics from Cloud 9 arrived, my brain saw a purple coneflower.

From the left: Amazon, Sky, Shadow, Iris, and Lilac

Since my artistic drawing abilities consist of stick men and daisies, my daughter-in-law encouraged me to try anyway and provided me with a sketch from which to work.

I’ve already seen paper-pieced and appliqued coneflower quilt patterns. This meant I needed to think of a new way to approach making this flower out of fabric. As I looked at the flower petals, I saw a resemblance to the Dresden plate and decided to design this block using that method. I wanted to keep it mostly pieced and keep applique to a minimum.

Mission accomplished! I think it resembles the drawing above and looks like a coneflower.

The stem involves sewing a curved piece. This was my first attempt at sewing on a curve (not counting setting in sleeves) but it was very easy.

If you have never sewn a curved seam, don’t worry, I had not either. My recommendations: DO NOT pin-just sew, clip the curves about half-way to the seam, and press well.

Although I’ve designed several other quilt blocks for use in my grandson’s Little House Quilt, I’ve never done a tutorial about it. This required making sure the pattern could be made more than once by just following the written directions.

For the most part, it worked the second time. So a couple of revisions were needed and we are done.

Two of Anne’s Flower blocks. Which one do you like?

This pattern can be purchased at Tu-Na’s Pattern Shop on Payhip here. You’ll find all the information (templates, instructions, pics of the process, and tips) you need to make this block in the pattern for Anne’s Flower. I could see a whole quilt made of these. Let me know if you make a coneflower using my pattern. I would enjoy seeing a pic of it and reading about how the pattern worked for you.

What I Learned Today:

I have a new appreciation for pattern writers. It’s harder than I thought.
Everything takes longer than I expect. Even in retirement, I need to work on my time management skills.
It is practically impossible to take a picture of myself while I am sewing.

Question: Have you designed a block or quilt? Tell me about it and what inspired you to create that specific design.

You can find all of the blocks on this New Block Blog Hop by clicking on the links below. Many thanks to Cloud 9 Fabrics for providing the beautiful fabric and our hosts Yvonne, Cheryl, and Stephanie for arranging this event. So go check out the other blocks, you might find one or two you’d like to make.

Monday, September 12th