Category Archives: Quilts with Animals

Unicorn Love

Magical and mystical unicorns…everybody loves them!


Unicorn Quilt

This adorable Unicorn Quilt measures 34″ x 41 1/2″. The unicorn is paper pieced; the flowers and alphabet letters are applique.

The unicorn is very easy to paper piece, and is great for a beginner. This unicorn would also make a super cute pillow. The alphabet letters and flowers are included in the pattern.

Unicorn Block

If you are looking for a smaller project, this paper pieced Unicorn block measures 8″ x 8″ unfinished. Here’s an idea of what it might look like in a pillow.

Have a magical week! I will be vending at the Mukwonago Quilt Show (Wisconsin) this Saturday and Sunday. I’d love to chat if you can stop by.

Linking this week with:

Clever Chameleon

Stitch All The Things

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Forest Friends

My friends from Julie’s Sewing Center in Green Bay, WI are featuring my Forest Friends pattern in a PAPER PIECING CLASS this Saturday, March 23.

Forest Friends

You can learn how to create all six animals for the quilt, or do a smaller scale version by creating the table runner.

Table Runner

These animals are nice and easy, great for beginners! Both the lap quilt and table runner are in the pattern.

Thanks to Vonnie, for teaching this class. Vonnie also had some fun creating a tote from my Cute and Clever Totes book.

One side of the tote has a Hen…

and the other side has a Rooster.

Love her choice of fabrics! This may be another class offered at Julie’s Sewing Center in the future. You can call their shop for more info…(920)965-0680.

Linking this week with:

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Sew Fresh Quilts

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Stitch All The Things

Midweek Makers

Silly Mama Quilts

Clever Chameleon

Going to the Dogs….

One of my proudest moments in 2018 was the creation of the “Doggie In The Window” quilt. The Orange County Quilters Guild in California contacted me in 2017 about using my dog block patterns to create their next Guide Dogs Of America charity quilt. I was thrilled!

Doggie In The Window

The hard working guild members used 30 of my different dog breeds to construct this 60″x 70″ masterpiece. The quilt traveled throughout the US during 2018, and was raffled to a lucky winner in December. This is their big yearly contribution to their favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America.

Close Up

I have been designing paper pieced dog blocks since 2014 and now have about 50 different breeds. This obsession started as a fun way to connect with my customers. They would email me photos of their pets, and I would try to recreate their breed in a quilt block.

I created this quilt pattern, “Dogs Only” after designing my first 11 dog breeds. Then all **** broke loose, and I was flooded from all over the world with requests from customers who wanted a specific breed to substitute into this pattern. Here are some of my favorites…

King Charles Cavalier

Corgi
Collie, (pillow sewn by my friend Julie)
Pomeranian

Do you see what I mean by my “obsession”? You can see many more doggies on my Etsy shop….and if you see a breed I am missing, drop me an email at:

maryannhertel@gmail.com

If it is significantly different than a block I already have, I might be tempted to continue with my fave obsession!

Linking this week with:

What A Hoot Quilts

Clever Chameleon Quilts

Stitch All The Things

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Quilt Fabrication

Confessions Of A Fabric Addict

Sew Fresh Quilts

My Quilt Infatuation

3 Dogs and 1 Sassy Cat

Here’s one of my favorite table runner patterns for Christmas, 3 Dogs and 1 Sassy Cat. Please excuse me for reposting this photo, as I have already shared it with many of you, but it is so darn cute and a Christmas pattern that my many dog and cat loving friends adore.


Here’s my friend Lana’s version, made into a wall hanging. Love it!


Lana used some lovely fabrics for her version.

Here is a close up of each pet…


Stocking Hat Dog


Candy Cane Dog

Turtleneck Dog


Sassy Cat


If I had to choose a favorite, it would have to be Candy Cane Dog…how about you?

Well, you know how one good design can lead to another? 3 Cats and 1 Dog With a Bone was a natural follow up.

And my favorite in this group has to be the Dog With a Bone.

Happy Holiday to you!

Linking this week with:

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Love Laugh Quilt

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Quilt Fabrication

Sew Fresh Quilts


Paper Pieced Turkey Pattern…Gobble, Gobble

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I’m getting out my meager amount of Turkey Day decorations. For some reason, I don’t have nearly as many November goodies in my stash as I have for Halloween and Christmas.

This googly eyed TURKEY is a fun block to add to a pillow or potholder.

If you are looking for a cute and quick project for Christmas, I just finished this ELFY SHOE block pattern.

One of my sweet customers requested a block that would be similar to my WITCHY PILLOW . Remember, I try to keep all of my blocks the same size, so any block pattern fits into any pattern.You always give me the best ideas!

Congratulations to Nancy, the winner of my Cat’s Meow Quilt pattern. Thanks so much for everyone who participated in the Pick A Pumpkin Blog Hop last week. I loved all the comments, and wish I could have replied to all of them. Thanks so much for all the love you shared!

Linking this week with:

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Stitch All The Things

Clever Chameleon

Cooking Up Quilts

Free Motion By The River

Esther’s Quilt Blog

 

 

 

Pick A Pumpkin Blog Hop Day One

Thanks for joining me today for the first day of the PICK A PUMPKIN BLOG HOP, sponsored by Carla Henton from Creatin in the Sticks. I have been working on one of my favorite subjects, paper pieced black cats and pumpkins. Don’t miss my GIVE-AWAY…you’ll find it at the end of this post.

CAT ON A PUMPKIN is an easy block with nice large pieces. Find a lovely orange fabric with some interesting texture for that luscious, fat pumpkin.

CURIOUS CAT has a quizzical expression.

CAT WITH A HAT is wearing a wonky witch hat.

MOONLIGHT CAT glows in the shimmering moonlight.

Use the cats alone as wall hangings or pillows, or put them all together to create a charming quilt. I call this the CAT’S MEOW QUILT.

WIN THIS PATTERN…Leave a comment for a chance to win this paper pieced pattern. Make sure your email is included in the comment so I can contact the winner. Also, make my day by SUBSCRIBING to my website.

Find more fun fall paper pieced projects on my ETSY or CRAFTSY shops.

If you want to learn more about how I design, please read this article about                                 Made By Marney from The Quilt Company.

Visit all of today’s participants in this blog hop:

Monday, November 5th

MooseStash Quilting

QuiltFabrication

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Just Because Quilts

Made By Marney

ShirleyC

Words & Stitches

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Linking this week with:

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Stitch ALL The Things

Clever Chameleon Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Silly Mama Quilts

 

 

 

More Woodland Animals

Often, my customers like to substitute different animal blocks in my patterns to get a more unique quilt. Here are 2 new paper pieced blocks that would work well in my Forest Friends quilt pattern.

This friendly Brown Bear is an 8″x 8″ unfinished block. Most of my paper pieced blocks are this size and can be mixed and matched into any of my patterns.

This Fawn would make a cute addition as well. I designed the fawn after finding a newborn fawn curled under a tree in my yard at the cabin. It was resting there for the day, and was later reunited with it’s mother.

So adorable! It laid in this position all day, never moving. Mother deer came in the night to gather her offspring and move on.

It’s always fun to be creative and make your own composition using the animals of your choice. Are there any other woodland animals that you would like to see in this quilt?

Linking this week with:

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Free Motion By The River

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Love Laugh Quilt

Stitch All The Things

Quilt Fabrication

 

 

 

Farmyard Stars Paper Pieced Quilt

Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin has instilled a life long love of animals. The “Farmyard Stars” quilt was motivated by all my lovely memories of animals and pets that we saw on our farm every day.

I love everything about this design. The animals are bold and bright with whimsical expressions. The black and white border presents a calming, yet quirky frame to the colorful animals. The animal sounds were machine embroidered in the sashing, but could also be satin stitched, appliqued, or skipped altogether.

I have a hard time choosing my favorite animal, but “Demi Moo” the cow is right up near the top. Remember, these are farmyard STARS, so each is named after a celebrity.

Here’s “Kitty Purry” the cat.

“Pig-Casso” the pig…

“Lady Baa Baa” the sheep…

And, another one of my favorites, “Pony Danza” the horse. Love those teeth! I have designed lots of horses, but he is precious.

To see the names of the other animals you will have to check out the pattern at Etsy or Craftsy.

Linking this week with:

Confessions Of A Fabric Addict

Kathy’s Quilts

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Stitch All The Things

Free Motion By The River

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Silly Mama Quilts

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Tish’s Adventures In Wonderland

So Scrappy

Confessions Of A Fabric Addict

 

More Paper Pieced Water Birds

Thanks for all the “water bird” suggestions you shared with me this week. I was inspired to create enough blocks to put together a lap quilt.

This Flamingo will measure 8″ wide by 16 1/2″ high, unfinished. I decided not to limit myself to just birds from the northwoods of Wisconsin. Since I adore flamingos, I had to include 1 in my collection of water birds.

This Heron also measures 8″ wide by 16 1/2″ high, unfinished. I like to have an assortment of block sizes, not all square.

The Pelican measures 8″x 8″ square. We actually get pelicans in Oshkosh during the summer!

Here’s my mock up for the lap quilt. I plan to use a 1 1/2″ wide sashing, but not sure what color fabric to use. Actually, the white isn’t too bad…any suggestions? Do you think I should limit this quilt to ONLY water birds from Wisconsin? I love getting your input 🙂

Linking with:

Kathy’s Quilts

Confessions Of A Fabric Addict

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Free Motion By The River

Quilt Fabrication

Sew Fresh Quilts

Busy Hands Quilts

Crazy Mom Quilts

 

Paper Piecing Water Birds

A few weeks back, I designed this LOON ON THE LAKE paper piecing pattern.

Every year 2 loons inhabit the lake near my cabin in upper Wisconsin. I love to listen to them singing at night.

I liked my loon block so much that I decided to design more “birds on the lake”. This is SWAN ON THE LAKE. The dragonflies add some depth to the block.

GOOSE ON THE LAKE reminds me of all the Canada Geese that come to visit in the fall.

And finally MALLARD ON THE LAKE. It’s always exciting to see my first mallard of Spring.

I haven’t actually used my blocks in any projects. I plan to make a set of pillows for my cabin. I would also like to add more birds to this collection so I could complete a full quilt. I am working on a PELICAN right now. Can you help me think of any other “water birds”? They don’t have to be specifically northwoods. Which is your favorite block?

Linking this week with:

Kathy’s Quilts

Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Cooking Up Quilts

Love Laugh Quilt

Stitch All The Things

Free Motion By The River

Needle and Thread Network

Silly Mama Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Sew Fresh Quilts