Welcome!
I’m delighted that you’ve chosen to embark on this adventure of gems and joy! This 9-month Block-of-the-Month program was designed for quiltmakers who love gemstones and the amazing stories surrounding the most famous of them. Not only will your quiltmaking community be intrigued by these gems, they’ll also learn new techniques and skills.
What level of quiltmaker can create these gems? From years of experience, I can confidently tell you that anyone who can put 2 pieces of fabric right sides together with a quarter-inch seam allowance CAN DO THIS. I call this technique “traditional piecing using freezer paper as your template”.
This isn’t foundation paper piecing: we don’t sew to paper, we don’t use the flip-and-sew method, and there’s no need to claw paper out of the back of your block when finished. So many quilters new to this method have commented to me that they love it. The patterns go together beautifully and it’s FUN.
So let’s get started!
Resource Library Contents
Here you’ll find all the documents, videos, images, and suggested email content for the Diamonds & Drama Queens BOM. This page is exclusively for YOU, the independent quilt shop owner. This page link should never be shared with your BOM participants.
Instead, you’ll want to encourage participants to visit YOUR website. These resources will give you the content to set up a special BOM page on your website and/or create the monthly email blasts that share the info with your participants.
The first section contains all the information you need to kit the project: fabric translations, yardage requirements, downloadable pattern/instructions to create a double- or queen-size quilt with their finished blocks, marketing images to promote the BOM, and a listing of my favorite supplies that you could offer participants.
The second section contains all the information you’ll need to promote and launch the monthly programs. This information is sorted by pattern, so that all resources for that month’s project are in one convenient location.
* Kit Resources
* Marketing Resources
* Tutorial Videos
* Patterns & Instructions
* Feature Videos
* Suggested Email Copy
MJ’s Contact Information
Email: [email protected]
Cell/Text: (502) 287-3034 (Eastern)
Kit Resources
Fabric Translations & Yardage By Block
Click the button below to download the PDF document containing fabric translations & yardage by block. The last 2 columns show yardage for 2 different cutting options.
Cutting Option #1: Precision/Economical — If you prefer to cut fabric the most economically (thereby reducing the cost of the bundle for your participants), the second to last column shows which fabrics can be cut as Fat Eighths and which can be cut as Fat-Quarters. You’ll see that all but 5 fabrics in this program can easily be cut as a Fat Eighth.
Cutting Option #2: All Fat Quarters — If you prefer to move inventory via this project, the last column shows the yardage required for each block when all fabrics are cut as Fat-Quarters.
(Note: Recommendations for Free Spirit Solids and Michael Miller Cotton Couture are in progress.)
Yardage Requirements (for all 9 blocks)
Click one of the buttons below to download the PDF document containing total fabric yardage requirements for all 9 blocks depending on your cutting strategy (i.e., Precision/Economical or All Fat-Quarters). Since a few blocks share colors, I wanted to be sure to point those out here. In short, this document shows you the yardage for all 9 blocks by color code. I’ve used KONA Cotton’s color titles, but the similarities extend across all fabric lines.
Instructions for Double-Size Quilt Using the 9 Gem Blocks
Click the button below to download the PDF document containing the instructions for transforming the 9 blocks into a double-sized quilt.
Marketing Resources
BOM Email
Announcement Text
The attached document includes language that you may want to use for the Diamonds & Drama Queens Block-of-the-Month program announcement.
The images used in this document can be found in the section below.
BOM Marketing Images
Click the button below to download the PDF document marketing images that you can use in emails, newsletters, and social media posts.
Tutorial Videos
In the videos below, I demonstrate the technique used in creating the Diamonds & Drama Queens BOM patterns. I like to call this technique “traditional piecing using freezer paper as your templates.”
Please keep in mind that this is NOT foundation paper piecing! We don’t sew to paper. We don’t use the flip-and-sew method. And we don’t have to claw paper from the back of our blocks when finished.
If your participants can sew two pieces of fabric right sides together with a quarter-inch seam allowance, THEY CAN DO THIS!
The pattern I’m making in these videos is a little gem pattern I call “En Pointe”. I created these videos for participants of the National Quilt Museum’s monthly BOM program. But don’t worry! The techniques are exactly the same ones used with my Diamonds and Drama Queens blocks. You can either use the videos to learn the technique yourself so that you can demonstrate it to your BOM participants OR you can share these videos directly with them.
Understanding the Codes & Visual Clues, Plus Cutting Apart Your Freezer Paper Template
Ironing Facets to Fabric & Cutting Them Out
Cutting Curves With a Rotary Cutting Using the “Rock & Roll” Method
Construction Techniques
Resources For Monthly Blocks
This section is arranged by block. I’ve put the blocks in the order that first introduces participants to the technique and then leads them through the skill-building challenges of subsequent blocks. However, you may organize the blocks in any order you wish!
Pattern #1: Maximilian’s Folly
Overview
This Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Maximilian Emerald, a 21.04-carat Columbian emerald. It was allegedly owned by Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, archduke of Austria. Maximilian was persuaded by Napoleon III to depose the existing emperor of Mexico, Benito Juarez, and take his place. Maximilian and his wife Carlotta were crowned Emperor and Empress of Mexico in 1864. He was executed by troops loyal to Juarez just three years later when Juarez retook the Mexico City.
The gem came into possession of the Cartier brothers who set it with baguette diamonds on either side. Marjorie Merriweather post purchased it in 1929 and later donated it to the Smithsonian in 1964.
I fell in love with this emerald’s bluish green hue that includes flashes of bright acid green. The special Maximilian Emerald green colorway is therefore an analogous colorway that blends colors on both the blue-side and the yellow-side of green. Since this pattern only has 44 facets, I thought it would be a great introduction to my piecing technique.
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Suggested Email Copy
The attached document includes language that you may want to use for the Diamonds & Drama Queens Block-of-the-Month program announcement.
The images used in this document can be found in the section below.
Marketing Images
Pattern #2: The Red Star Diamond
Overview
Our second Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Red Cross Diamond, an enormous 205.07-carat, cushion-shaped, brilliant-cut canary diamond. While the original jewel is a lovely yellow, I took some liberties with it and turned it into a real Red Diamond. In truth, we needed a deep ruby-red gem and this filled the bill!
The actual Red Cross is the 4th largest yellow diamond in the world. It was auctioned by Christie’s of London in 1918 to benefit the British Red Cross Society. It’s name is also appropriate since the diamond displays a very clear cross pattern from the table view.
It’s believed that a member of a European royal family bought the Red Cross that day in 1918, that it changed hands several times, and eventually came into the possession of an American businessman.
Here’s where I’m going to put a twist on the story and introduce you to an astoundingly wealthy woman of the American Gilded Age who also became an icon for women’s suffrage: Alva Vanderbilt. This woman owned scads of gemstones, one of which could have been similar to the Red Cross. Please know that I’m not suggesting that she actually owned it! I’m using this opportunity to introduce you to TWO “gems”: the Red Cross Diamond and Alva Vanderbilt.
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
The attached document includes language that you may want to use for the Diamonds & Drama Queens Block-of-the-Month program announcement.
The images used in this document can be found in the section below.
Additional Marketing Images
Pattern #3: The Duke Diamond
Overview
Our next Diamonds & Drama Queens is inspired by this antique French-cut diamond, similar to the one likely purchased in 1947 by Porfiro “Rubi” Rubirosa to his new bride, Doris Duke.
Doris Duke lived in luxury all her life. However, when her elderly father and tobacco magnate Buck Duke died in 1925, she became the richest 12-year-old in the world. Doris lived life on her own terms. She sought to preserve her father’s legacy, create her own career, manage multiple love affairs and marriages, and give generously to causes that mattered to her. Yet she remained an enigma, aloof and aloft from those who wished to own her.
The French-cut faceting pattern evolved from the table-cut faceting pattern, one of the very first faceting patterns for diamonds. The French-cut regained popularity in the 1920’s in response to a need for a simply, yet spectacular, faceting pattern for small stones.
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
The attached document includes language that you may want to use for the Diamonds & Drama Queens Block-of-the-Month program announcement.
The images used in this document can be found in the section below.
Additional Marketing Images
Pattern #4: Evalyn’s Envy
Overview
This month’s Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the McLean Diamond, a spectacular 31.26-carat cushion-cut diamond owned by Evalyn Walsh McLean. Ms. McLean also owned the famous Hope Diamond. After Ms. McLean sold the diamond, it was obtained by the Duchess of Windsor who was formerly known as Wallis Simpson before she married the King of England. King Edward VIII eventually abdicated so that he could marry “the woman he loved”.
The pattern above showcases the lovely square shape with rounded edges and four facets radiating from the center culet of the gem. Have fun with it!
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Coming soon!
Pattern #5: The Clark Pink
Overview
Our Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Clark Pink, a spectacular 9-carat, Belle Epoque cushion-cut diamond owned by Huguette Clark. The fancy vivid purplish-pink diamond was the star of the show when Christie’s auctioned it in 2012. Expected to fetch $6-8 million, the winning bid was $15.7 million, making it the most valuable pink diamond ever sold in the United States.
Huguette Clark (pronounced “oo-get”) was one of the last heiresses of the Gilded Age when she died in 2011, just a week shy of her 105th birthday. Her father, William A. Clark, built his fortune on mining and banking. While his contribution to American history is great, his story is largely forgotten likely because of a spectacularly corrupt political campaign he ran at the turn of the century.
Huguette’s own history was unknown for most of her life…and she liked it that way. A deeply private person, she loved art, illustration, and music. She cared little for the trappings of wealth, preferring instead to live a quiet life devoted to commissioning detailed miniature houses for her collection of porcelain dolls and Japanese figurines. She was smart, generous, and independent.
The pattern above showcases the cushion-cut shape with pavilion facets radiating outward from the culet. Enjoy!
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Pattern #6: Peggy’s Skating Rink
Overview
Our Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Portuguese Diamond, a spectacular 127-carat, octagonal-cut diamond owned by former Ziegfeld Follies girl and collector of husbands, Peggy Hopkins Joyce. Some claimed that Peggy’s married lover, Walter Chrysler (the car guy), presented the gem to her during their affair.
When Peggy sold the gem to Harry Winston in 1951, he concocted a story that suggested its mysterious haze was indicative of the finest Brazilian diamonds. He reasoned that since all the important colonial Brazilian diamonds had become the property of the Portuguese Crown, it was likely that this diamond was a former crown jewel.
None of the stories above are true. In reality, the diamond was discovered in South Africa about 1910 and was acquired by the venerable jewelry house Black, Starr & Frost. Peggy bought the diamond for herself by exchanging it for a $350,000 string of pearls and $23,000 in cash – a total of about $5.7 million in today’s dollars.
The pattern above showcases the octagonal shape and step cuts radiating outward from the culet. To ensure lovely, straight facets, be sure to place the long edges parallel with the straight of grain. I admit this is a challenging pattern due to the small pieces, so I have some modifications for you to consider if you wish. They’re in the instructions. Enjoy making this month’s gem!
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Coming soon!
Pattern #7: The Countess
Overview
Our Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Bismarck Sapphire, a 98.57-carat Burmese sapphire. It is exceptional for its outstanding clarity, rich blue color, and the fact that it is one of the largest and finest sapphires of its kind.
Historical records suggest that it was acquired by the Countess von Bismarck (nee Frances “Mona” Strader of Lexington, Kentucky) in India likely during her 1926 honeymoon cruise. She’d just married Harrison Williams, 24 years her senior and the richest man in America, and had embarked on a year-long honeymoon on his yacht, Warrior, the largest in the world at the time.
The Countess von Bismarck donated the sapphire (set in its Cartier necklace) to the Smithsonian in 1967. It is now part of the National Gem Collection and is housed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems & Minerals at the National Museum of Natural History.
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Coming soon!
Pattern #8: The Rembrandt Black Diamond
Overview
Our Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Rembrandt Diamond, a stunning 42.27-carat round, brilliant-cut black diamond. This beauty was cut from a 125-carat rough black diamond and took three years to cut and polish. It’s currently housed at the Diamond Museum in Amsterdam.
Very little has been written about black diamonds and even less about their color. One expert who wrote the definitive book on all aspects of the diamond industry wrote: “Prominent Diamantaires have long declared that there are no black diamonds and they they exist only in detective stories.”
Since then several notable black diamonds have been discovered and introduced to the world, including the Rembrandt Diamond. I share stories of a few of them in my presentation this month. Enjoy!
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Link to Video All About Cutting Curves
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Coming soon!
Pattern #9: Polaris
Overview
Our Diamonds & Drama Queens pattern is inspired by the Polar Star diamond, a 40-carat, round brilliant-cut, colorless stone of unknown color and clarity grades. It derives its name from the eight-pointed star cut on its pavilion.
While the description indicates that the Polar Star is colorless, the most famous photograph of it shows the diamond with a yellow-ish cast. I’m not certain, but the yellow-ish cast (which I replicated in one of the colorways offered with this pattern) may be due to the lighting conditions under which the stone was photographed.
This lovely gem named for “Polaris”, the North Star, attracted an entire constellation of drama queens. It’s history can be traced back to the elder brother of Napoleon, then to Princess Tatiana Youssoupov (a member of one the richest and most imperial families in Russia), to the Cartier brothers, and to Lady Deterding (the wife of Sir Henry Deterding, founder of Royal Dutch Shell). After being sold in 1980 to a Sri Lankan gem dealer after Lady Deterding’s death, the whereabouts of the Polar Star diamond remain unknown.
The pattern above showcases the Polar Star’s ample pillow shape with pavilion facets radiating outward from the culet. Enjoy!
Pattern & Instructions
Feature Video
Marketing Images
Suggested Email Copy
Coming soon!
