Broken Dishes No More Table Topper
and No Broken Dishes Here! Table Runner
20″ Sq Table Topper and 8.5″ x 44″ Table Runner
Pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 5/2025
In making my Broken Dishes quilt I ran out of the blue floral fabric needed for additional sashing, so I decided to use the extra eight blocks to make a table topper and table runner. I free-motion quilted them in the same way as the quilt, with flowers, vines, and leaves of all sizes. They had turned out beautifully until, when ill, I made the mistake of trimming them too closely for beauty of those edge points to show when bound. It was when binding them that I noticed my mistake. I was heartbroken and knew I couldn’t live with them as they were so I removed the binding and trimmed them again, then re-bound them. In doing so I diminished the Broken Dishes blocks, making them simply square-in-a-square blocks, but now I can truly enjoy them. (Lesson learned… don’t pick up a rotary cutter when you are sick!)
Broken Dishes Revisited
51.5″ x 67.5″
Pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 5/2025
When my Mom passed, I inherited a beautiful twin-bed sized (80″x65″) tiny blue check and white quilt made for her in 1950 by her Aunt Betty. I’m not really sure if Aunt Betty was an Aunt by blood, marriage, or maybe simply a dear family friend, but I’ve long admired her workmanship.
It is in wonderful shape and was beautifully hand quilted in a checked grid. I tried for years to identify the pattern. Thanks to some online friends, I finally identified it this year as the traditional Broken Dishes pattern with pieced sashing in between the blocks.
Using Tilda Avery Blue floral paired with a tone-on-tone white fabric with a subtle leaf pattern, now 75 years after the original was made, I made my large lap-sized version to pay homage to Aunt Betty’s gift given with love. Her’s is the ‘oldest’ family quilt I have. I free-motion quilted my version with flowers, vines, and leaves of all sizes.
Kristina’s Table Runner
16″ x 48″
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 5/2025
Some quilts are long in the making, others come together in a flash. This is one of those.
When one of my Ladies Zoom Bible Study friends, in answer to our prayers, was moving from our midst to Michigan it was cause for celebration. Knowing her ‘style’ to be ‘modern farmhouse’, I improvisationally began to traditionally piece beige-ish/tone-on-tone fabrics with a quote from Psalm 9 centered on the front. On the back, ladies in our core group sent me their hand written well wishes and signatures which I transferred to muslin fabric. A free-motion quilted meander completes the quilt in time for it to join the recipient on her journey.
Morris Garden
Table Topper and Rail Fence Table Runner
22″ Sq Table Topper and 15.5″ x 44.5″ Table Runner
Pieced and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 3/2025
When March blew in like a lion this year, it was the perfect time to create something new and green for my kitchen tables. This William Morris focal fabric called out to me to be made two ways. The table topper, made using a kaleidoscoping technique, highlights some of the various designs that hide within the fabric’s design and the table runner shows off its beauty in a traditional rail fence layout.
Trailing Vines Doll Quilt
14″ x 17″
Pieced, hand appliqued, and hand quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 3/2025
Having long admired the remakes of the Susan McCord (circa 1880-1900) Trailing Vine quilts being shared on social media, I was thrilled to see Carolyn Kimble make a miniature version. Hers was created using a miniature pattern by Tina Gravatt that appeared in an older issue of Lady’s Circle Patchwork Quilts magazine. I sketched out my pattern on muslin and scrounged through my scraps and stash to create these lovely trailing vines. I bordered the applique sections with pink and completed the quilt with hand quilting throughout.
Rail Fence Doll Quilt
17″ Sq
Pieced and Hand Quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 1/2025
I’m so very blessed to have a dear forever friend who loves traditional blue and brown quilts! When fabric shopping together she picked out these fabrics to make herself a quilt. I couldn’t resist getting some of the same to make her a doll quilt for her birthday. I love how these fabrics accentuate the woven look of the traditional rail fence pattern! And because it is extra special, I hand quilted it.
Doll Quilt Swap 2025
18″ x 18″
Designed, pieced, and quilted by Sue Hickman Berryville, VA 1/2025
After having had such fun participating in last year’s international doll quilt swap, I was delighted to be able to participate again this year. This year’s 88 participants are from around the world… Australia, USA, France, England, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Canada, and Germany. Each participant is paired with a secret swap partner. I don’t receive my doll quilt from the same person for whom I’m making a doll quilt. There is much excitement as in-progress social media posts are made and as the doll quilts begin to ship to their intended recipient.
This year, I began looking through my books of traditional blocks for inspiration. When I saw that ‘Goose Tracks’ also was known by the name, ‘Pride of Italy’, I decided that would be the perfect center for this quilt. I designed a paper pieced pattern for the center block. I worked on two matching quilts at the same time so I would have one, too. I then surrounded these center blocks with striped borders with tiny nine patch cornerstones. Next, I designed a fun multi-faceted border, followed by a thin green border over which I inserted a piece of antique lace. Around that, I added a scrappy border comprised of 1″ pieces, two wide, with cornerstones. Finally, a simple floral border completed each of these quilts. I freemotion quilted them on my longarm to add texture, emphasizing various design elements.
I couldn’t be happier with the end result! I think my swap partner will be, too.
