A Guest Post by Kay Mackenzie

Easy Applique

Hello Darcy fans! I’m Kay Mackenzie, Darcy’s friend and fellow quilt designer. Today Darcy’s letting me do the honors as I talk about my new book from That Patchwork Place, Easy Appliqué Blocks: 50 Designs in 5 Sizes.

Today is the last stop on my 10-day ‘virtual book tour.’ If you missed the first 9 stops, by all means go to my blog All About Appliqué and get caught up! Click on the category “Book-A-Round.’ You’ll learn something new about Easy Appliqué Blocks at each stop of the tour and get to visit a bunch of fabulous quilting blogs to boot!

The book just came out and I’m so proud of it. There are 50 different block designs that are easy to sew using any kind of appliqué you prefer. There’s a bonus CD that allows you to select your block and easily print it out at home in one of five sizes... plus in reverse. What I’d like to do today is tell you about one of the quilts that appears in the book’s “Little Gallery of Ideas” for inspiration.

Kay's Family Quilt

The is the Mackenzie Family Quilt. Each block in this funny little wall quilt has special meaning for me and my husband, Dana. 

The pi is for him; he’s a mathematician and used to teach at Duke University, which is why it’s “Duke blue.” (There’s no pi pattern in the book since it’s just a type character, but there are directions on how to find the character and make your own pattern if you’ve got a mathematician in mind.)

The cardinal and dogwood are the state bird and flower of North Carolina, my home state and where we met and married. 

Every afternoon we come together over tea. (It took Dana 15 years of marriage to learn to appreciate tea but now he never misses!) 

When I made this quilt we had three cats and a little dog. It takes a looong time to bring a book to print so sadly we’ve lost one of our three 18-year-old kitties. But we still have the other two and Willie, my little papillon.

Dana has been a tournament chess player ever since he was a kid. I had to do a chess block!

As for the bottom row, I’ve published collections of heart and basket designs, and the rotary cutter is for all us quilters :). 

Thank you for listening to the story of the Mackenzie Family Quilt. You can make a family quilt too! Choose blocks that have special meaning for you and your loved ones and stitch up a sampler.

Ask for the book at your favorite quilt shop. It’s also available from the Martingale & Company website, Amazon, and you can order a signed copy from my website.

Now for something really fun. Leave a comment on this post and have a chance to win a copy of the book! The winner will be drawn at 7:00 Oklahoma time.

Thanks Darcy!

Cheers,

Kay

Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

All About Appliqué