Modern Quilt Month: Bento Blast

It's Modern Quilt Month here at Quilt Inspiration! We'll be posting a new modern quilt each weekday... we hope you enjoy our photos! Today's fun quilt is a "Bento Box" design.

p.s. Please see our E-Bay shop for great bargains on patterns and vintage collectibles. For continuous free quilt patterns and blog updates, please visit us on Twitter.

Bento Blast by Nicole Wegleitner, quilted by Penny Boese

Bento Blast was based on a Nine Patch Bento Box quilt pattern by Janet Wickell. Nicole Wegleitner says, "In 2020, I was inspired by my best friend's mother, and decided to take up a quilting hobby. This is the first quilt I ever made and it took roughly 6 months from start to finish." The greens and blues make a lovely complement against the bright white and gray squares.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2023 Quilt Fiesta (Tucson, Arizona).

Free pattern day: Cat and Dog quilts!

Here is a purr-fectly wonderful collection of FREE cat and dog quilt patterns, pillows, and dog beds! NOTE:  This post has been UPDATED.  For the latest patterns please visit our Free Pattern Day for Cat & Dog quilts (CLICK HERE!) 

Also check out our E-Bay shop for jewelry, clothing, and collectibles! For more free quilt patterns, follow us on Twitter.

Image credits:  This post was updated on August 7, 2026. All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs. If any links are broken, we'd love to know; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

Free Pattern Day: Attic Windows Quilts

Attic Windows are a great way to showcase special blocks or large prints. They can be constructed with mitered corners or, the easy way, with half-square triangles at the corners. NOTE:  this post has been UPDATED.  Tor the latest freebies, please see our Free Pattern Day for Attic Windows quilts (CLICK HERE!)

Also check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and collectibles!
For more free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.

Image credits:  This post was updated on April 28, 2026. Individual images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs; complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links. The photo montage shown on this page is a derivative work that is the property of Quilt Inspiration. If any links are broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it. Please email us at QuiltInspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.

The Best of Cat Quilts! Part One

Every cat owner knows that cats love quilts... and we love cats. Thus it makes purr-fect sense that the cat is one of the most popular motifs in all of quilting.  In order to seek out the best cat quilts from around the world, we "previewed" over 150 Cat Quilts (and we are not making that up). We are so excited to show you our very favorites, in three parts, with our thanks to all of the artists for their inspiring work. Stay tuned... you won't want to miss any of 'em !

Look Out for Scout, 35 x 39, by Penny Sander

When we came across "Look Out for Scout", by Penny Sander, the word that came to mind was: breathtaking. The quilt won first prize for wall quilts in 2009 at the Rising Star Quilt Show. Scout's face contains 16 colors and over 1000 one-inch rectangles. In a word: Wow. The quilt will also be shown this November at the 2010 International Quilt Festival in Houston (if you're going, you can look for it there!) The quilt featuring Scout is not the first of Penny Sander's award-winning quilts: she also created the fabulous Where's Buddy as part of a 2006 quilt challenge (black and white with one accent color). "Where's Buddy" used over 2000 one-inch rectangles to depict the cat in pictorial form; that quilt won first prize for Challenge Quilts at the 2006 RSQ show (if you click on the link, you can read about "Where's Buddy" and ogle all of the winning quilts). Also note that the 2010 Rising Star Quilt show is coming up soon: October 16-17 in Lexington, MA !

In His Dreams, 30 x 34, by Sharon Malec, at Malec Designs

Sharon Malec is a contemporary quilter who creates original art quilts, and a line of patterns, under her eponymous site: Malec Designs. Sharon is best known for her realistic depictions of dogs and other animals. Her highly regarded books include The Dog Lady Speaks and The Dog Lady Goes Wild. However, do not be deceived by the unassuming moniker of "The Dog Lady"... among her achievements, one of her quilts -"Barking up the Wrong Tree" - is in the permanent collection of the Museum of the American Quilter's Society in Paducah. Sharon Malec's designs even include a lion, tiger, and bear. One of her recent creations is the magnificent "In His Dreams", shown above (click on the image to enlarge it and view the exquisite detail). Additional designs in the cat kingdom include a lifelike tabby cat and the dignified black and white cat shown below.

Black and White Cat, 25 x 11, by Sharon Malec, at Malec Designs

Finally, here is something truly wonderful: you can put your own pet into a quilt. Sharon will draft a personalized pet quilt pattern for you, starting with a photo ! This would also make a fantastic gift for any pet lover.  For more inspiration, visit Sharon Malec's online gallery and her animal collection.

Morning Mews, by McKenna Ryan, at Pine Needles

Many of McKenna Ryan’s wildly popular designs include wild animals, but "Morning Mews" is a three-quilt series that features felines of the domestic kind, from left to right: Dora, Clifford, and Chip. Each individual quilt is approximately 17" x 22", and each one is a miniature work of art. Clifford, the curious black-and-white cat shown above, is framed by the colorful leaves of a tree and by majestic mountains in the distance. Alongside Clifford, two yellow birds risk their lives (er, enliven the scene!) These picturesque quilts use McKenna’s own line of fabrics from Hoffman California. For more information, visit the Morning Mews page at Pine Needles, the home of McKenna Ryan Designs. Also take note of the e-postcards on each page, which you can send to friends and family!

Catching the View, 33.5 x 39.5, by Janet Wickell, at About.com

The three silhouetted cats are the stars of "Catching the View", but the attic windows provide the perfect setting. In typical cat fashion, the cats are perched in the windows, staring at the scenery, which includes little butterflies that dart in and out of the windows. The rectangular windows are each pieced with 12 floral squares in the watercolor style, then surrounded by the sky-blue mitered frames. Note that the frames are on all sides of the windows, unlike an attic windows quilt that has frames on two adjacent sides. This pattern was developed by Janet Wickell as one of her "quick little quilt" projects. We admire this quilt because of its combination of beauty with simplicity (which is no mean feat!) For more information, visit Janet Wickell's site on About.com.

Next week:  Stay tuned for Part Two and Part Three of "The Best Of Cat Quilts"... we have some amazing applique and contemporary quilts to show you !

Basket Quilts Part I

One of the most popular themes in quilting, basket quilts are fascinating because of their dozens of different blocks. Because baskets historically have been used to carry so many items into the house for the family, they are a cozy symbol of home and hearth.

As you will see in these next two blog articles, there's almost an endless variety of pretty basket blocks and a variety of different ways to construct them.

Rick Rack Baskets, by Glenna Hailey

Glenna Hailey of Hollyhock Quilts designed this cheery quilt in 2006 for a sample in Karen Snyder's store, Anna Lena's Quilt Shop. Warm colors and retro feedsack prints create such a whimsical and cozy look. We can't help but smile when we see that the rick rack motif, which forms the basket handles, has been extended to dance around the outer border.  Petite appliqued flowers add extra charm to the border.  As is the case with many patchwork baskets, the base and bottom of the baskets are composed of right triangles.  For additional patterns by Glenna Hailey, see the Hollyhock Quilts Patterns Page and blog.  Also, visit Karen Snyder's store at Anna Lena; her blog is Anna Lena Land. 


Flower Basket block and pattern

 Because many basket quilts are set on point, they can look difficult to assemble.  When we were new quilters, we were surprised to see that basket patterns are much less challenging to sew than they appear. They are actually sets of squares, half-square triangles, and rectangles which are pieced together and can be efficiently sewn by machine.

Janet Wickell of About. com Quilting  provides an easy-to follow assembly diagram, which we are showing here for a checkerboard flower basket pattern.  Starting from the left, the triangles and squares are sewn together to make one large right triangle. Then the half-square pink triangles of the basket handle are added. In the middle image, the side rectangles and base triangles are added.  Later, this block will be rotated slightly onto the diagonal, so that the viewer will see the basket standing straight up. For a more detailed explanation on basket block construction, please see Janet Wickell's very helpful instructions on about.com


Hawaiian Rainbow Basket Quilt, Red and White Variation, by Lisa Boyer

Here's an adorable  Cherry basket quilt, made from a variety of luscious red fabrics. For a traditional Cherry basket look, Lisa has pieced one large wide triangle for the main part of the basket, with two small triangles for the base.  She has then turned the square block on the diagonal, as explained above, and has appliqued the curved handle. Lisa has achieved a lovely contrast by using white background fabric to really make the baskets come alive and "pop" off the quilts. She's selected a large scale red print for the border that nicely matches the baskets. The pattern for this gorgeous quilt can be obtained at Lisa Boyer's website.

Lisa is also the author of two wonderfully humorous quilt  books:  That Dorky Homemade Look  and Stash Envy. To see more of Lisa's creative work and patterns, please visit her website.


Bekah's Basket Sampler Quilt,  84 x 84, by Betsy Rickles

The irrepressible gaiety of Kaffe Fasset's fabrics are featured in his book Country Garden Quilts,  which includes  this delightful variation of a Cherry basket pattern.  Instead of the single large appliqued handle, there are smaller handles on each side of the basket, separated by a stack of cherries piled in the basket, which gives a pleasing symmetrical effect. Like most basket blocks, these blocks are set on point, and the vibrant border of half square triangles mirrors the half square triangles of the basket blocks, thus creating an elegant cohesiveness. To save time, a kit with the exact fabric needed to replicate this quilt is available at  Glorious Color.


Cherry Delight,  61 x 85, by Alex Anderson

Red and white together is such a brisk and breezy color combination, that it's perfect for a summer quilt project. Click on the image to enlarge it, and you'll see a surprise in the center. In addition to patchwork, this quilt contains blocks of redwork embroidered cherries, stems and leaves. Surrounded by nine patch blocks, the baskets with their triangles pointing straight up, are often known as the "cake stand" pattern.  The crisp  outer border of prairie points is the perfect complement to the inner border of white triangles used to set the nine patch on point.   Cherry Delight and dozens of other darling patterns are available from JWD Publishing.


Basket Saturday Sampler, by Alice Kay Arnett

Alice Kay Arnett has done a wonderful job with these 20 different colorful baskets, including several different cherry baskets and cake stands. One of the most charming features of this quilt are the incredibly cute  miniature blue and pink baskets that peek out from the sashing. The flowered border works perfectly to complement the clear red, blue, and green solids used for the basket. For more inspiring quilts, and information on Alice Kay's workshops, visit Alice Kay Quilts.

Snowballs for all seasons

The snowball pattern is one of the oldest and best-known of all Amish quilt blocks. It is another pattern that fools the eye by creating an optical illusion. From a distance, a snowball block looks like a round circle, but it is actually an octagon, an eight-sided figure. Snowballs are easily formed by taking a square of cloth and sewing a triangle across each of the 4 corners. The triangles turn a 4-sided square into an 8-sided octagon.


We associate the snowball with the cold days of winter, but snowball quilts can be created in endless ways to represent all the seasons.

Springtime snowball quilt, by Janet Wickell



Janet Wickell's springtime snowball quilt uses Asian-themed chrysanthemums, large floral prints, hibiscus and cherry tree blossoms to display the delicate greens, pinks, and whites of early spring. The black background helps to display these fragile colors and make them "pop".

9-patch and snowball quilt, by Martha Dellasega Gray


In the quilt above, Martha Dellasega Gray has hand-quilted an exquisite snowball which brings to mind the light and lacy colors of summer. The calico prints remind us of raspberry sherbet, the soft blue water of a mountain lake, and the lavender wildflowers of an alpine meadow. She has taken the snowball block and rotated it "on point" (see yellow highlight) so that the triangles across the corners blend in with the with nine-patch block which separates the snowballs. Because the snowball itself is white, it recedes into the background, and the nine patch block pops out into the foreground. We've shown the detail view; to see the full quilt, visit Martha's site at Q is for Quilter.

Hot and cold snowballs, by Valerie Page


Valerie Page of Page Quilts has created a snowball quilt that brings to mind the clear blue skies, golden sun, and russet leaves of autumn. She used the opposing colors of red/orange and periwinkle blue/purple to create a high- contrast pattern, in which each snowball stands out from its neighboring block. If you look closely, you can see the tiny diamonds that are formed by the juxtaposition of the triangles sewn on all four sides of the blocks.

Around the Twist, Amish quilt, 2009


The magnificent snowball quilt called Around the Twist, above, was made by the Amish Church of Hutchinson, Kansas, and was featured at the 2009 Mennonite relief auction. The quilt displays the somber, stately hues of winter, of a world in repose. The white snowball blocks and alternating 9-patch blocks are turned on their points, as shown below.



For information on the upcoming 2010 Mennonite auction, visit the MCC site here.

Image credits and links: Geranium fabric (in snowball block), Martha Negley collection, at Westminster Fabrics; Springtime snowball quilt by Janet Wickell, About.com; 9-patch and snowball quilt, Martha Dellasega Gray at Q is for Quilter; Hot & cold snowballs quilt, Valerie Page at Page Quilts; Around the twist, Amish Church of Hutchinson (Hutchinson, KS), courtesy of the Mennonite Central Committee.