Today we planted 25 Oriental Arborvitae seedlings along 100 feet of the south fence line. The seedlings were shipped from West Texas Nursery in Idalou Texas, part of the Texas A & M Forest Service.  Home | West Texas Nursery

The following information is from The Morton Arboretum - The Morton Arboretum

Oriental arborvitae

Oriental arborvitae is similar in appearance to other species of arborvitae. Nurseries usually sell the cultivars of this plant rather than the actual species and those cultivars can vary greatly in appearance. Winter protection may be needed for this plant. Because it is typically short in stature, oriental arborvitae may be planted under utility lines. Also known as Thuja orientalis.

Botanical name: 

Platycladus orientalis

All common names: 

oriental arborvitae

Family (English): 

Cypress

Family (Botanic): 

Cupressaceae

Planting Site: 

• Residential and parks, 
• Under utility lines

Tree or Plant Type: 

Tree

Foliage: 

Evergreen (foliage year-round)

Native Locale: 

Non-native

Landscape Uses: 

• Foundation, 
• Hedge, 
• Mixed border, 
• Patio/sidewalk, 
• Screen, 
• Specimen, 
• Utility

Size Range: 

• Small tree (15-25 feet), 
• Compact tree (10-15 feet), 
• Large shrub (more than 8 feet), 
• Medium shrub (5-8 feet), 
• Small shrub (3-5 feet)

Mature Height: 

18-25 feet

Mature Width: 

10-15 feet

Light Exposure: 

Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily)

Hardiness Zones: 

• Zone 6, 
• Zone 7, 
• Zone 8, 
• Zone 9, 
• Zone 10, 
• Zone 11

Soil Preference: 

Moist, well-drained soil

Tolerances: 

• Dry sites, 
• Alkaline soil

Acid Soils: 

Tolerant

Alkaline Soils: 

Tolerant

Salt Spray: 

Moderately Tolerant

Soil Salt: 

Intolerant

Drought Conditions: 

Tolerant

Poor Drainage: 

Intolerant

A few days  later I realized we found some poison ivy. Itch, itch, itch....yuck!

Update on May 7

These plants have not been doing very well where they are planted. I decided to put them in pots and put the pots around the vegetable garden. They seem to be doing better but just not thriving.....

This tree was given to us by our sister-in-law, Dorothy. She got it as a cutting from my brother, Louis and his wife Donna. 

This is not the actual picture of the tree.

Here it is on March 20, 2021

May 7 2021

Chain Piecing

Chain piecing is a method of speed piecing where segments of fabric are fed into the sewing machine one after the other without stopping to cut the threads. This produces a chain of sewn segments that are then cut apart and pressed.

Chain Piecing Steps

Here are the steps to accomplish the chain piecing technique:

Needle Plate

The needle plate, sometimes called the throat plate, covers the area near the needle. There are 2 commonly used needle plates: the zig zag plate, shown above, and the straight stitch plate shown below. In this article you will learn about the differences in these plates and why you might want to have both of them on hand.

Using Scraps From Pre-Cut Strips

NOTE: In October 2017 I posted this one minute video on using scraps from pre-cut strips. Since that time I have probably made 5 or 6 more of these. That's a lot of scraps.

Here is the finished quilt!

Strip Piecing: Free Pattern and Tutorial

If you need a quilt that's easy, fast and fun to make, the Strip Pieced Diagonal Beginner quilt is for you. I found this easy strip piecing pattern a few years back when I was looking for easy quilts to make for Veterans.

Using just three fabrics and strip piecing, you will love how quickly this quilt comes together.

Paper Piecing Floating Points - Free Pattern and Tutorial

I have seen plenty of paper piecing patterns with spikes and star points. Paper piecing makes these points nice and sharp at the seam allowance. Even with the precision of paper piecing, we can sometimes end up with cut off points when piecing the units together.

What can we do to prevent ever cutting off our points? The answer is paper piecing floating points. Floating points mean the points do not end at the seam allowance. Instead, the points end in the interior of the unit.

The floating points for these spikes will never be cut off because the points don't end at the seam lines for the unit.

Amazon Star, The Biggest Quilt I Ever Made!

Here it is guys. Amazon Star designed by Quiltworx.com. It finishes at 104" x 104". I have never made a quilt this big. My daughter, Diane, wanted a duvet cover for a king size bed. So I offered to make one for her. This is a picture of the finished quilt top taken by China at Sew Special Quilts in Katy Texas, where I purchased the fabrics.

Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial

Quilters use paper or fabric as a foundation for piecing quilt tops. this tutorial shows how to use the foundation paper piecing method. Quilters use paper foundation to quickly and easily piece designs with strong, sharp points. Other paper pieced designs include very detailed flowers, faces, animals and lots more. 

There are many ways to obtain designs for foundation paper piecing.

Color Block Quilt

The Color Block Quilt is pieced using strips of fabric. Choose 13 coordinating or contrasting fabrics. Cut each fabric into strips then piece the strips together into rows. Fabric from one row flows into the next. You’ll be amazed how fast this top goes together. The Color Block quilt finishes about 60″ x 72″.

Strip Piecing Tutorial

Strip piecing is a technique using strips of fabric sewn together in parallel rows. The parallel rows are called strip sets. Cut the strip set into segments called units. Sew the units into the quilt top. This strip piecing tutorial shows you how.

Strips are cut in various widths from selvage to selvage. Using this method cuts down on the time it takes to cut and sew units together.

String Quilts

Traditionally string quilts are pieced using a foundation of lightweight muslin or newspapers. In old quilts you often see the newspapers still inside. A string quilt uses long scraps of fabric. You can use scraps of any color or use coordinating colors for your quilt.

For my Quilts of Valor I use scraps of blue and red with a single white or tan fabric on the diagonal. I place the blue fabrics on one side of the diagonal and the red fabrics on the other side. This creates a look that is similar to the log cabin block. Where log cabin blocks have a light and a dark side, this block has a red and a blue side.

Lone Star Block Mini Workshop

The Lone Star block is a classic design. It is traditionally made by piecing rows and rows of diamond shaped fabrics into larger diamond shapes. Piecing these diamond shapes, with all the bias edges, is often difficult to do, especially for beginner quilters. Instead of cutting fabric into diamonds, this workshop shows you how to use fabric strips. This free mini workshop shows you step by step how to make a Lone Star block. The following techniques will be demonstrated and explained:

Understanding Quiltworx Papers

This set of 8 videos were the first videos I ever made and shared on YouTube in March of 2017. I had just become a Certified Instructor for Quiltworx, Judy Niemeyer Quilting. If you are a fan of Quiltworx patterns, I hope these videos help you!

This tutorial will help you understand how to use the paper piecing patterns published by Quiltworx.  It demonstrates how to cut fabric and paper piece the flying geese units shown here. 

How To Fold And Store A Quilt

My friend, Jackie Theriot, owner of Black Cat Creations, suggested an article on how to fold and store a quilt without getting creases in it over time. This is something that has always concerned me. Generally, most of my quilts are given away or donated to causes. But the ones I will always keep are simply folded and placed on a shelf. They do have creases in them but Jackie has inspired me to look into this problem and find a solution. Here is what I found.

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Shaded Nine Patch Scrap Quilt

The Shaded Nine Patch block consists of three light squares, three dark squares and three half square triangles made from both light and dark fabrics. When you look at the completed block it resembles a half square triangle. This means you can set these blocks in a multitude of ways. All the log cabin settings will work, all the pinwheel settings work and any setting that uses half square triangles works. In this download there are seven example layouts. What I like most about this block is that you can piece lots of them and decide later how to set them.

The finished block in this quilt is 9" so each of the squares and half square triangles finish at 3".

• The squares are cut at 3-1/2".
• For the half square triangles normally the squares are cut at 3-7/8" but we will cut them 4" and square up the half square triangle later.

Here are a few setting for the Shaded Nine Patch block.

All facing the same way.

Streak of Lightning

Zig Zag

Pinwheels

Barn Raising

Download Free Quilt Pattern - Shaded Nine Patch Scrap Quilt

Happy quilting!

Carol

Five Steps To Mitered Corners

This article was originally posted in July of 2018 on my old website.

Mitered corners look great on quilts. Many quilters shy away from sewing them because it seems complicated. Break it down to these 5 simple steps and get the results you want every time.

Step 1: Cut Border Strips

In this example we use a quilt top that measures 11" x 14".

 

The borders are cut at 3-1/2" and finish at 3".

From Squares to Star

A star block with perfect points made from squares

I saw this technique at a retreat sometime in 2015. These star blocks are easy to cut, easy to piece and make beautiful quilts. The block is made from 2-1/2" squares and 3-1/2" squares.

Progress On Scrap Garden

Revised February 17, 2021

Changed number of units needed to complete quilt.

---

Last weekend I cut the fabrics for this quilt block. This is the sample I made before cutting all the fabric pieces with my AccuQuilt.

I started with the half square triangles. I stitched all 124 HSTs. Then pressed them all to the dark fabric.

Churn Dash Block Using Fat Quarters

The churn dash quilt block is an old favorite. It's a 9-patch block, meaning there are 9 units of construction. There are four half square triangle units, four rail fence units and one plain block unit. In this article you will learn how to piece a 12" finished churn dash quilt block. Look at the end of this article for other finished block sizes. There is a link to instructions to make a Churn Dash Quilt approximately 66" x 80" finished. For these instructions you can use scraps or two fat quarters of contrasting fabrics. Two fat quarters will make two blocks.

How A Lockstitch Is Made

This article describes how a lockstitch is made. Most standard sewing machines produce the lockstitch.

Lockstitch - a sewing machine stitch formed by the looping together of two threads one on each side of the material being sewn. -- Merriam-Webster

This video was produced by Threads Magazine and published to YouTube on March 11, 2015.

Texas Edition: Yellow Rose

This block is part of the Texas Edition Block of the Month program.

Fabric and Special Instructions for Yellow Rose

For those of you in the Texas Edition BOM program, this video shows the fabric and special instructions for the Yellow Rose block.

Texas Edition: Welcome 2 Texas

This block is part of the Texas Edition Block of the Month program.

Trace The Pieces

NOTE: The Bluebonnet flowers at the bottom of the block will be a little challenging….but you can do it! I suggest you leave those till the end. Don’t even trace the pieces just yet. There is a video at the end that will help you through assembling the Bluebonnets.

Texas Edition: Windmills and Sunflowers

This block is part of the Texas Edition Block of the Month program.

Raw Edge Applique Process

The process of completing a raw edge applique project are illustrated in the Ol’ Texan Pick Up Truck Tutorial. The same process us is used for Windmill and Sunflowers.

Texas Edition: Ol' Texan Pick Up

This block is part of the Texas Edition Block of the Month program.

Trace The Pieces

You will need a light box for tracing. If you are making the small size you can begin tracing now. If you are making the large size, you will need to tape the large pages together to make the complete design. Once the paper is ready you can begin tracing the applique pieces. The video below shows how to prepare the drawing and trace the pieces.

Texas Edition Block of the Month Quilt

This block of the month program was done in 2019. The pictures are for inspiration. The patterns can be purchased from the designer, Tana Mueller, on her website Designs By Tana.

The first four blocks have lessons on how to make the raw edge applique blocks. There are links to them in this article.

This short video introduces the program.

Color Junction Quilt Video Tutorial

Here is a video I made in January 2020 showing how to make this quilt. It's just equilateral triangles!

This Week At Five Oaks

This weekend I started cutting my next scrap quilt I'm calling Scrap Garden. I've never been good at coming up with clever names for quilts but it's a scrap quilt and I'm making plans for a garden so Scrap Garden works for me.

The quilt is made from two classic blocks: 

Shoo FlyConsists of half square triangles and squares.

Fifty Four Forty Or Fight

Consists of a square, 4-patches and tri-rec units.

How to Make a Mondo Bag

These bags are really fun to make. I first posted this tutorial in January of 2018. For Christmas the month before, I made 14 of these bags, one for each of the women in my family. They were a big hit.

In July of 2019, after a subscriber asked me about the lining, I added a video I found that explained the lining a little better. It is included later in the tutorial.

The Bear Paw Quilt Block

The Bear Paw quilt block is a classic. This block looks great when set on point as well as in straight sets. This tutorial shows how easy it is to make the Bear Paw quilt block using triangle papers. First lets look at some Bear Paw quilt blocks in quilts. These pictures come from the QuiltNotesLLC board on Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/quiltnotesllc/bear-paw-quilt-block/

How to Piece The Bear Paw Quilt Block:  Step-By-Step

This method used Triangles On A Roll brand of triangle papers.

A chart at the end of this article shows the fabric cutting requirements for various sizes of finished blocks.

AccuQuilt Launch Party!

FEBRUARY 16TH, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CST

AccuQuilt Launch Party

BE THE FIRST TO SEE WHATS NEW FROM ACCUQUILT!

Don't miss the excitement as the first new dies of the year are revealed! These are special, limited edition dies you won't want to miss, along with inspiring new patterns and project ideas!

There's sure to be a special offer, too, so plan to join Pam and Erica for all the news! Register now to join the fun and qualify to win great prizes during the event.

Understanding Quiltworx Papers

Note: I originally published this post in 2017. At that time I was either attending sorkshops to become a Certified Quiltworx Instructor, or I was already certified. I can't remember when that was. It is not 2021 and some things may have changed but I think this should give you a good understanding about how the papers are used.

Units

You can tell a paper is a unit because the word UNIT is printed in bold lettering. Units are the foundation we use when we are using the foundation paper piecing technique to make a quilt top.

Note: When cutting units from the large newsprint sheets, cut 1/8″ to 1/4″ outside the trim line. This extra paper allows you to trim the unit to size after piecing.

There are many things printed on each unit, but for this tutorial we look at just a few of them. This is a picture of Unit CZR for a flying geese unit.

Trim and Sew Lines

Trim lines and sew lines are the two

Quilting Fabric Terms

Quiltmakers often choose cotton quilting fabric.  New quiltmakers should understand some fabric terminology.  In this article we explore 5 fabric terms. Learning these terms helps avoid frustrating and costly mistakes.

Bolt

First we look at a bolt. A bolt is a cardboard tube or flat plank. Fabric manufacturers roll long lengths of fabric onto the bolt to sell to stores and other manufacturers.  The 16 second video below is from Hoffman Fabrics.  It shows fabric loading

Starry Path Quilt Using AccuQuilt

The first quilt I made for my daughter used this block. It was finished in March of 1994. I don't recall actually piecing the quilt but I probably used cardboard or plastic templates I traced from a magazine. then cut them out.

Here is that quilt today.

You can't see the border too well from this picture, but each of the four accent fabrics

Mini Trunk Show - Four Scrap Quilts

These four scrap quilts were all made using the same process of cutting scraps as I finish projects. Sometimes I just cut scraps for the fun of it. Most of the quilts I make are about 60" x 80".

This 60 second video shows the process I used for all these quilts.