Blue Elephant Stitches

Diamonds on Point Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 14:57:00 +0000

Good morning dear quilting friends! Here’s a quilt that I finished in spring and then never got to photographing and listing it in my shop… it’s not for a lack of liking it. I’m very happy with the color scheme and pattern. This mix of colors is really ‘me’! And I feel like the houses which I added last minute really add that unexpected touch of whimsy.

This is approximately a twin size and is listed in my Etsy shop. I’m so full of ideas for quilts right now, so I hope to be in the space a lot more this winter!

State of the Sewing Room - February 2022

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 02:21:00 +0000

How have I never had a quilt cupboard? You know those inviting looking wardrobe/armoires you see with one door hanging open and stacks of quilts inside? This cupboard is not deep enough, I realize, but it's a start! A quilt maker should definitely have one of those, right? I think I've been pretty ruthless with selling or giving away most of my quilts. I've always felt like why would I keep them if I didn't need them. Almost like the act of letting them go freed me up to make more. Some have been a bit painful to part with, but for the most part, it was a good feeling to think I wasn't attached to them... now I wish I had kept a few more! So that might change in the future. I think it wouldn't hurt to have a few more hanging around. I can still give them away if the moment presents itself, but at least I have the option!

And then this quilt! It was such a happy accident that I immersed myself in this week! I happened to open my UFO drawer, which I do occasionally, just to see if I have any urge to work with anything in there. Because of the way I quilt, there are never entire unfinished quilts in there. I never cut out an entire quilt ahead of time. I usually try making a few blocks to see how I like it, and then sometimes I'm just not feeling it, or something more exciting comes up. But I've made a few blocks and can't just throw them away, so they go in this drawer. And of course after a year I have no desire to finish them exactly as I had thought, so they're pretty hard to work with.

This time tho, inspiration struck!

Starting with the orange and blue/purple triangle blocks... this is a block from Cultural Fusion Quilts. I love the lively look these blocks have, they're quite improv and the only reason I quit with them was because the color palette I started with overwhelmed me. It was just looking too bright and crazy for me. But this time I looked at them and thought they looked like a sunset. And then I had a couple of these free form house blocks and I thought, 'I could make a scenic quilt with these together!'

And then those log cabins in green and browns would make the perfect ground beneath the houses!!

And those blue stars can fit in the sky. I mean, stars can always fit in somewhere!

And then everything else just kind of mashed together...I tried to only use fabrics that had been partial blocks in that drawer and not add other fabrics. I did have to add a few strips to make everything fit.

I love this quilt now though! I think I'll add a row of blocks on the top to make it rectangular since I'm not a fan of square quilts. I'll have to make them from scratch though because the drawer is about empty!

Just one Gwen Marston inspired medallion quilt that I'll finish soon and show you...

Star Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 22:09:00 +0000

Here's a simple, cheerful quilt to show you! It's already long off to it's new new home, but no matter.

The flying geese blocks that make up the points of the stars had all those little triangle corners that get cut off, so I sewed them together and made the diamonds that go around the outside of the quilt. Kind of a make work project since they were so tiny and not very accurate! But I think they make the quilt, so I guess they were worth it!

Since I made my resolution to finish two quilts before I could start a new top, I now am faced with basting and quilting two quilt before I can start another project. But I've used up my roll of batting so need to order another one! So maybe I'll just start another top while I wait?....

I'm hoping I'm off to a wobbly start to getting more quilting done. The last year was a bit lacking in quilting time, but I think I need to work on my efficiency in housework so that I can carve out more time!

Nine Patch on Point

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 18:18:00 +0000

Another recent finish, just a simple nine patch set on point. I was quite intentional about the value of the nine patch fabrics as I wanted a cross hatch pattern, but a subtle broken one. So some blocks are definitely high contrast, but not nearly all. The last photo I included because it shows the quilt from somewhat farther away which helps to see the overall design.

I love a quilt that looks interesting and attractive from close up, and from farther away. So this one includes many favorite fabrics that i love.

Its a large twin size, which I find myself making a lot more of these days.

Norah Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 02:08:00 +0000

I knew it had been a while since I'd written a blog post, but can't believe it was May?! While my blogging came to a complete standstill in summer, my quilting has resumed, which means I have quite a few more quilts to show you!

This top was pieced at least a year ago, but since it was one of those that I decided to hand quilt, it took me a long time to finish!

It's the Norah quilt, which has a basic tutorial at this link. Its a pretty simple quilt, which you could make as big as you wanted! I really enjoyed using a bunch of bright and happy fabrics in this one, and then used a Liberty voile on the back. The black hand quilting gives it a nice edge and keeps it from being too sweet!

Mine ended up being about 48" square. Kind of an inbetween size, but it was a nice size to hand quilt because it was easy to haul around with me and have sitting on my lap. (Yes, I baste these quilts the same as one I would machine piece and then just hand quilt with out a hoop. You just have to be careful that you don't pull your stitching to tight as it could tend to pucker up too much if you do.) I love hand quilting this way because it's so easy!)

Scrappy Trip Quilt in Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Thu, 06 May 2021 14:32:00 +0000

Wasn't it time for another Scrappy Trip quilt! I need to make a couple of these every year it seems. It's such an enjoyable block to make. I used a lot of spring and summer fabrics in this one.

I tried to use the darker value strips as the center of each block which gives it a more defined pattern, although not overly obvious.

Jacob's Ladder Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 16:23:00 +0000

Here's a Jacob's ladder quilt. I so enjoyed and love the finished product of my nine patch Jacob's Ladder. But that was a lot of little pieces. This quilt is a four patch instead of nine patch, so gives a similar effect but is quite a bit quicker!

To make one the size of mine:

Cut your 4 patch squares at 2.5".

Cut your squares for the half square triangles at 4 7/8".

As for the values:

Always pair a light with a dark. But be sure to mix in medium values and only compare to the current fabric you are piecing it with. Don't overly concern yourself if pieces are in a lighter or darker category. It's those medium value fabrics that are sometimes called a dark because you pair them with a light, and sometimes called a light because you pair them with a darker print, that make for that interesting dynamic.

If you are too distinct with your dark and light, you won't get that softer look that fades in and out. It will have a very defined pattern, which is fine if that's what you want! But I tend to like a less defined pattern, where in some parts of the quilt it's more defined than others. This comes by using a general rule of lighter and darker but not overthinking it!

Cross Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 13:36:00 +0000

This cross quilt was started last fall, with a specific person in mind. I wanted something a bit more muted and simple in design than what I generally make. Along the way, I decided to make this person something else instead, but I finished the quilt anyways.

Now that I see it in photos, I realize that it is still fairly busy and has a lot going on. Guess it's just really hard for me to make a quilt without adding texture and print and color! I really do like it though, it's nice to do a different color palette for a change.

That one green print with the little stitches on it? Those stitches are part of the fabric, I didn't put them there. Just thought I'd mention it as I don't deserve the credit for those sweet little stitches! Fabrics like this with added interest and texture are always a win to have in your stash.

It finished up at approximately 54" square. I'm not usually a fan of square quilts, so not sure how this happened? I think I got lazy and didn't feel like making more blocks to make it a rectangle.... anyways, here it is and I like it!

Penny Patch (ish) Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 17:59:00 +0000

Before I begin talking about my latest quilt, I want to thank all of you who commented so thoughtfully on my last post! To manage my online time, I have generally chosen to not interact extensively online, which means I often don't reply to comments. Thus I gratefully receive each comment I get as a beautiful gift, knowing that it takes an effort to communicate. I don't expect or require it in any way, but it's still much appreciated! (and you should go read the comments from my last post, they are interesting and not necessarily the replies I expected!)

Now let's talk about this quilt! I was feeling frustrated with some recent quilt block fails, and nothing was feeling 'right'. I just wanted something fool proof and scrappy. I thought of Stitched In Color's Penny Patch Quilt, as it's one I did long ago and always thought sometimes I'd make another. I found her instructions and studied the quilts made with this pattern. I always do this, mainly to analyze values. As I often say, the colors are the fun part but the value placement is what makes the whole quilt design work, or not work.

At first glance, I knew that I wanted to have all the blocks in the quilt of a similar value. The exception would be those little four patch squares that run in diagonal lines up and down. They would be the opposite value. So in this case I wanted a dark moody quilt (I was listening to Lord of the Rings:). I decided all the main quilt body would be dark value and the little four patch squares would be light.

Now you are thinking "Yes Jolene, that's all fine but this quilt does not look like the Penny Patch quilt?" Well, after making a couple blocks I realized that just this one block from the quilt pattern would make a lovely design on it's own.

So I continued making blocks like this, and think it's a great simple pattern that is almost no fail. You could try using the opposite values to what I did for a lighter quilt. Or use the entire Penny Patch pattern in the values I used here. (I plan to do this)

For a simple visual, I'm adding a photo below that shows the sizes you need to cut for this one block. I always make my quilts by cutting enough fabric for a few blocks, maybe about 6. I make these and put them up on the design wall to analyze my value and color selections. Then I choose some more fabrics and cut another 6, and on and on. This way I have control as I go along and don't waste fabric by cutting it all out and then realizing I don't like the way it's looking.

Here's what you need for one block. So simple, right?! The magic happens when you start putting the blocks together! It's addicting I tell you. I'm curious if this is a traditional block that has a name? Or maybe multiple names as many blocks have. If you know of one, I'd love if you'd mention it in the comments and I could add it to this post.

Four Patch in a Square Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:39:00 +0000

Here's another quilt that I finished a long time back and now realized that I didn't add to my blog. This is a favorite of mine, and is one of the few quilts I plan to keep. It's a time consuming pattern to make as it includes lots of little pieces, but it's so cute in any fabric, it's a no fail pattern!

I do have a simple tutorial for this block here.

With so many seams, this quilt ends up being a little bit stiffer than some. This is also something to consider when trying to make soft quilts. More seams can make it less soft. Now this is not something I concern myself with alot. It's only noticeable when there is a large amount of seams in a small space like this quilt.

I backed it with a double gauze and hand quilted it with a golden colored perle cotton.

Hills Improv Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 01:15:00 +0000

This quilt has gone to it's new home awhile back as well, but I just realized that once again there are a backlog of quilts that I have not blogged about. I don't want this to happen, as I like to keep a journal of my projects, even if not many people read blogs anymore. This is also a special quilt that I've put off blogging about because I don't know how much to say about it.

Let me explain a bit. Almost every larger quilt I work on has a book, or theme imprinted into itself. This is because I usually listen to audiobooks while I'm quilting. So quite often a larger quilt will naturally correlate with the book I happened to be reading. This doesn't neccesarily mean that the quilt has any meaning or theme related to the book, it is just connected in my head. Of course the stronger connection or reaction I have to a book, the stronger the remembrance is years later. There are definitely some quilts that don't have any book connection, but there are also some quilts that I made 4 or 5 years ago that I clearly connect a book with the quilt.

I've sometimes thought it would be interesting to mention this book in my blog post, or possibly name the quilt with a theme from the book. The reason I don't is fairly simple. It feels like a leap into my personal life which I've clearly drawn a line on since my first days of blogging. I share almost no personal information here which has been a conscious choice on my part. I have sometimes wanted to share more, as I realize there can be value in this. There are also drawbacks, a big one for me being that I'm not interested in dealing with a highly interactive online presence. I appreciate comments and encouragements so much, but my real life takes most of my available energy and I guard my quilting very closely as a relaxing hobby. So to start talking about the books I read and my inspirations for various quilts might seem like a simple thing, but for me it's crossing a high line of privacy that I've mostly maintained. Now, I'm not saying that to change this would be a bad thing! I'm obviously considering it!

Another reason is that I sell most of my quilts, and I feel strongly about the person who buys my quilt being the new owner of the quilt and it's no longer 'mine'. This is the aspect that I'm curious how others would view this. If you were purchasing any handmade item like this, would you like to know the maker's interpretation and inspiration? Or might that take away from what it possibly could mean to you? I'd love it if anyone would weigh in on their opinion!

Basket Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 01:12:00 +0000

This quilt was started at least four years ago. My plan all along was that it would be a queen size for my guest bedroom. It took me a long time to finish, because it was a bit of a slog. And I had to really puzzle over how to get the block setting right. The blocks had to be on point, and I was very particular about their spacing! I used a variety of navy blues for the baskets, and a wide range of whites and off whites for the background fabrics as well.

It was inspired by a photo of an antique quilt that had blue baskets like this that got cut off at the sides of the quilt. It also had a similar spacing to these baskets which I was determined to achieve. The distance between baskets and how they are offset from the rows above and below them actually makes a big difference in the look of the finished quilt! I've included a photo of the quilt that inspired me. It's from the book Warman's Vintage Quilts, which I highly recommend if you enjoy antique quilts. There are no patterns, just hundreds of photos of old quilts.

This ended up being such a big quilt that I got it long arm quilted. I love the finished quilt, but realized that I just didn't need it since I already had a lovely quilt that my mom had made me which I wanted to use in my guest bedroom. I sold it in my shop, and have been selling more larger quilts. I'm finding that larger quilts are selling faster than smaller ones, which is making me rethink the standard idea that smaller and cheaper sells better. Maybe more of my buyers want larger throw and bed quilts? I'm happy to oblige!

Jacob’s Ladder Nine Patch Quilt Scrap Quilt #7

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:50:00 +0000

Remember my quest to use up all my scraps? Well here's #6 all finished up!

Years ago I had a quilt book that included this pattern. I no longer have that book, but I did make a quilt in 2012 from this design. I included a photo of it here because it's interesting to see how the design look changes with your placement of value and how clearly defined your lights and darks are.

In my earlier quilt, the lights and darks are opposite locations. Also, my earlier quilt had mainly very lights and very darks, whereas my current scrappy quilt has every value of light, medium, and dark, which gives it a softer look.

I made up a little drawing here that will hopefully help you if you want to make this design. I just showed you how to make one block (it's a big block, like 18.5" square) so to make a nice lap size you could make 12 blocks in a 3 by 4 setting like I did here.

Now let's talk a little bit about using value. I prefer my current use of value over my original quilt. I love the way mixing in medium values with both the dark and light areas can blend the design and make it more interesting. So don't overthink whether your medium values are dark or light. You'll be amazed how the design will emerge beautifully even though you could use the same medium value fabric in both the dark and light sections.

I also included some dark squares purposely in the lighter section. I actually started out thinking I would do that for the whole quilt, then changed my mind and decided to stick with mostly lights in those areas. But this adds interest and movement to the quilt! It's really hard to mess up a design like this! Small block quilts are so forgiving this way, although they do take a long time to piece!!

Now let's talk a bit about backing choice. I find choosing a backing to be a hard decision sometimes. There are times where there's an obvious best choice, but sometimes I have no idea what will compliment the quilt. I usually carry the quilt top over to my fabric cupboard and stand there with it over my arm for awhile, holding it up to different backing fabrics. In this case, I saw this yellow vintage sheet out of the corner of my eye, and instantly felt a physical tug towards it. But I dismissed it subconsciously because I thought the quilt had enough yellow. And also yellow seems like a less popular choice, less likely to appeal to most people. (I think about this slightly when planning to sell a quilt) So I tried a lot of different fabrics but nothing seemed right and in the end I realized that this yellow piece was the one! I'm so glad I used it, as I think it's the perfect companion for this cheerful scrappy quilt.

Fabric Destash!

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 17:49:00 +0000

Hi friends! If there are any of you still reading this, I wanted to let you know that I listed a bunch of fabrics from my stash in my Etsy store!

I get a lot of requests on how I get a large selection of fabrics for scrappy quilts. Well here’s your chance to add some dimension to your stash! There are four color stories, muted light, muted dark, bright light, and bright dark.

They also are available in two sizes, 2.5” strips and 5” squares. And besides that a bunch of Destash fabric and even a few UFO’s.

My shop is here.

The Secrets of My Fabric Stash

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 22:55:00 +0000

Occasionally I receive questions on how I choose fabrics for my quilts, and/or acquire fabrics for my stash. There's not a simple answer for this, as it's a bit of a task to analyze one's own intuitive process! I've decided to put my mind to the task here and see if I can dig out any rhyme or reason that could be useful to you!

And I must add, before I go any farther, that anything I mention here is my own process. I'm not implying that you are doing anything wrong if you do the complete opposite!

So, there are kind of two questions that I get approached with. One is how I choose fabrics for a quilt, and the other one is how I choose fabrics from the store to add to my stash. Now, these two questions are quite related, so we'll see where we end up!

I started by going over to my fabric cupboard (shown above) where a majority of my fabric is stored. The only fabric you won't see here are some larger backing pieces which are hanging in the closet, some larger chunks of home decor/ vintage fabric which I use for curtains, tablecloths, etc. and my tub of vintage fabric.

As I stand in front of my fabric cupboard, here are a few observations I make about my own fabric purchasing.

I never buy full fabric collections. (except Denyse Schmidt) I don't think in collections. (I'm not saying I never have bought a full collection, because I certainly have. And some good things have come from this, such as finding a new favorite that I didn't realize I would like)

Vintage fabrics I buy in person at thrift stores, or receive free from various sources:) Almost all other fabric I buy online since I'm not near any brick and mortar quilt stores. This creates it's own challenge which I will address yet.

If I could use only one fabric designer's fabric it would hands down be Denyse Schmidt. She designs fabrics inspired by antique textiles, so that's a no brainer! It's actually not that I always love her prints so much. Some of them are downright ugly. But they always work in my quilts. And I always run out of her fabrics before any other because I'm always reaching for them. It's a very rare quilts of mine that wouldn't have at least one of her fabrics in it.

Which brings me to one of the very main important points that I've learned in my fabric buying. I have had my share of misses, ordering prints that I thought I liked online, and then some of them I knew immediately when I set eyes on that I didn't like them. And some were pretty but they've sat on my shelf for years and never been used. So analyze which fabrics you actually use to make the quilts you love. In my case, a lot of these fabrics are not all that exciting. You will learn by trial and error which are colors and scales of prints that are useful for you.

Case in point are these two prints from Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt. I think I could say I've used these fabrics more than any others. I reordered them quite a few times, until they went out of print and now I have just the tiniest sliver of the green one left. (please reprint these Denyse!) I find that two color prints are what I use most. Small geometrics and small florals...

Here's another extended stack of much used prints. Some I've reordered, some I'm rationing, some I'm always looking for a similar replacement because they're out of print. I find that I use a lot of muted blues, green, grays, tans and neutrals. Pinks and yellows tend to be more accents, at least I don't go through them as quickly, so even though I'm so drawn to them, I have to keep my purchase of them in check! I find though that I can never buy too many muted blue/greens because I'm always running out!

This is something that is very personal, but I'd say it's a better idea to buy fabric that works with the quilts you want to make, rather than make quilts that fit with the stash that you impulsively purchased. (speaking from experience) Are these fabrics as fun to buy as those cute multicolored florals and prints? No, but they're sure easier to use up!

Here are some more examples of my all time favorite prints. Sadly most of them are used up, except for these little squares in my scrap bin. It's interesting to note that most of these give a vintage vibe, but only a couple of them are actually vintage. (only two of them are vintage, can you pick them out?)

I'll give a short description of each of these just for interest's sake. I won't link to them because most of them aren't available.

1. Sweetwater by Moda - Sweetwater is a good staple for text prints which I always like to sprinkle in my quilts.
2. A new print that I bought from a Korean store on Etsy. There are some great fabrics in these Etsy shops (I'll link to a few at the bottom)
3. Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley ( need I say more?)
4. A vintage sheet. I don't use a lot of these in my regular quilts as I would tend to make a quilt just out of vintage sheets or else out of other cottons. But this print I just loved for some reason, and I'm sure i'll never find more of it... boo hoo....
5. A Lecien fabric, Memoirs Au Paris maybe? Not sure on that collection name, but Lecien brand has some lovely prints. Go search for Lecien on Etsy! Or Yuwa... ok I'll stop on than one for now!
6. Hmm.. it's a reproduction print, pretty sure it's a Jo Morton print (she puts out many collections of reproduction fabric) I tell you, your fabric stash needs a few of these, even if you don't think you like those reproduction style quilts! A black like this, with a bit of an old fashioned design on it? It will make your modern fabric choices sing!
7. I think this is a Robert Kaufman stripe? I'm so lazy and don't feel like researching these all!:) But I do know that Robert Kaufman has these types of striped fabrics. They're woven cotton, and your stash absolutely need a few woven cotton stripes! Especially in a classic blue!
8. A Liberty of London print. I think I could safely say that any two color Liberty print is going to be a classic in your stash.
9. Don't know this one, as I purchased it as a rolled up fat quarter in a brick and mortar quilt shop. It's one of those that I loved at sight and used it sparingly and carefully and didn't throw away even the tiniest scrap. And if I saw if for sale I'd buy a yard of it for sure!
10. Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley of course! This green is just so very useful to me. I've not found any other fabric prints in this exact shade of green.
11. This was from a Little House on the Prairie collection that was printed a few years ago. By Andover, and yes, Andover has some great old fashioned prints here and there!
12.A Moda polka dot. Can't remember which designer? But I can always count on Moda for some good muted colored polka dots. Almost every collection they put out, and there's a lot of them! has a polka dot in a useful color.
13. Lori Holt Granny Chic, brand is Riley Blake. This one is pretty new so probably still available, although I shouldn't tell you this because I want to buy some more of it before it's all gone!
14. Denyse Schmidt - can't remember which collection but this red and the green like it were some of my favorites and I'm so sad they're gone! Her little geometric prints just work for all my quilts!
15. I think this is from a Feedsack Collection, probably by Windham. An older one so I'm sure it's not available. I loved this one so much! Oh well, there's always new ones coming!
16. A button down ladies shirt that I bought at the thrift store. I don't do that very often, but just loved this print when I saw it!
17. And then, last but not least, this Anna Maria Horner print! This is one of those big florals, that could seem like it would not be as useful, but I used it all up! I guess it must have been the right colors for me...

So, that was long and I don't expect you to have read through it all... my purpose was to show you that my stash has been acquired over years of looking in multiple sources and learning what I actually use, versus what catches my eye and seems pretty at a glance. Also, to find these prints online takes a fair bit of time. The last year I've done very little fabric purchasing simply because I want to use up more of what I have and cut back on my own consumerism! I used to keep up on fabric companies and designers and their new collections. This allowed me to sift through and find the prints that I thought were exceptional and needed to come home to me:)

I've found that the best way to not be tempted to buy more fabric is simply not to look at what's available, so the last year I have not kept up with new fabrics much at all! The reason I'm saying this is that I don't want in any way to contribute to anyone feeling like they need to go out and buy a bunch of fabric!

Yes, a well rounded stash is very useful for making interesting quilts. But too much can be stifling and overwhelming, so that's why I advise you not to buy full collections, but rather find individual prints that you love.

I've decided to write a separate post with tips on finding and shopping for fabrics online as well as the links to some shops.

Scrap Quilt #6

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Tue, 05 May 2020 13:43:00 +0000

Time to show you another of the scrap quilts! This is one that wasn't in the plans either. As I was nearing the end of cutting up all the scraps, I seemed to have a nice sized pile of little strips that hadn't been cut into anything else.

So of course I made a log cabin quilt, as one does! I used my favorite shade of vintagey green/blue for the center blocks. In such a wildly scrappy quilt, it can be nice to have this little touch of connection between the blocks.

I ended up loving the blocks in this quilt so much, that it's almost a favorite! I guess there are a lot of little bits of my most loved fabrics in this quilt. And it always amazing to see all these different fabrics sitting next to each other in a block. I keep seeing a different block that is my new favorite!

I decided to quilt this one in the ditch between the blocks and then tied with yarn in the center of each block. I love the feel and texture this gives the quilt. It makes it a bit puffier and so soft and squishy.

And the Liberty of London backing sure doesn't hurt it! I bought a big chunk of this fabric when it was on sale at Fabric.com and I wish I had bought more because it's one of those pieces that I could back almost every quilt with. I love a two-color backing like this, and the shade and print on this one are the very best! (the print is called Capel by Liberty and it comes in a bunch of colors)

Dimensions on this one are 45"x60" so it's perfect for a lap quilt or child/toddler.

Scrap Quilt #5

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 15:44:00 +0000

So my last quilt (the pinwheel one) used up all the 'dirty' or 'muddy' colors. This one is all the 'clean colors. So the squares all started at 5", and I had to go to my fabric stash to supplement a few of the white background squares. I basically went from dark to light values on this one.

The backing is a vintage sheet which I've been saving for a long time. It's so cheery and it just seemed perfect for this quilt. Because it's a heavier weight cotton, it gives this quilt more a picnic blanket feel.

Dimensions:62"x65" (just realized when I measured this that I sewed on one more row the long way, can't remember if this was intentional! Oh well, it's rectangular now:)

Scrap Quilt #4

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 24 Apr 2020 17:08:00 +0000

I feel like this is a lot of photos of quilt #4, but there were just so many individual blocks and fabric combos that I love, I wanted to show them all close up!

So as I was cutting up all my scraps, I found that I had a lot of 5" squares or larger chunks that worked well for these squares. So I made a large stack of them. I wasn't sure how to put them all together in one quilt, as they seemed quite varied in their style.

Now, my previous quilt showed that you can totally put all fabrics together in a scrappy quilt, and with the right pattern it will look great. BUT, there are times when I like to separate what I call 'dirty' and 'clean' colors. Does someone have a better visual name for me? "Dirty" is not a bad name here, maybe "muddy" would be a better description. Anyways, I separated all those scrappy 5" squares into 2 stacks going by these criteria.

The quilt you see here is the result of the 'dirty' stack. When I decided to make pinwheel blocks, this cream and black polka dot jumped out as a fun sashing. And then you can never go wrong with this shade of green that I used for the little center blocks.

The pinwheels are all smooshed up against the edge without a border. This is directly inspired by a vintage quilt that I own, made by my great grandmother. (Someday I plan to show you all the quilts around my house that are made by my family!)

The backing is a super fun print in that shade of warm minty green. It's full of vintage sewing patterns and measurements, I just love it!

Scrap Quilt #3

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 21:47:00 +0000

This quilt was made up of all the leftover 2.5"x3.5" rectangles. There was obviously no color plans here at all. I included every piece that was left. I did alternate light and dark values (although only relative to the color next to it). And I would use up all of one fabric before moving on to the next. I like how this gives it a bit of presence without being totally chaotic.

Of course, to mix it all up completely would have looked ok too. That would have been a completely different look. But I do like how keeping all of one kind of fabric together gives it a bit of stripey flow.

This quilt is one of those that so totally doesn't work, that it does! I really like the unusual color combos that I keep noticing as I look at it. A lot of these are fabrics that I would not naturally pair together, so it's fun to see them hanging out together here.

The backing is a sweet floral print, and the size is 51"x58"

Scrap Quilt #2

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 16:09:00 +0000

I'm planning to show you these scrap quilts in the order that I made the tops. So as I was cutting out scraps, I realized that my blacks/darks and also my whites/lights baskets, had some larger chunks in them. I couldn't bear to cut them up into the smaller pieces so I decided to cut a bunch of 5" squares and see how many I would get.

And I got enough to make this lap sized quilt! I kind of love this design, using only half square triangles and then some squares in the corners to give it that star design. (original inspiration from @ruthhasegutierrez on Instagram. She's a quilter who dyes all her own fabric and makes amazing quilts)

Without planning this way, a lot of these scraps had bits of pink and yellow in them, so I purposely added a couple yellow squares, and then this pink piece of double gauze was so perfect for the back!

I quilted it in simple straight lines, which is my go-to type of quilting if I don't have some other idea.

After washing, this one ends up at 49"x 56", so again a nice smaller throw quilt.

And as usual, this quilt as well as all these scrap quilts, will be available in my shop.

Scrap Quilt #1

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 14:42:00 +0000

So excited to start showing you my finished scrap quilts for 2020! For a bit more background, read this post here. Basically I decided to clean out every. last. scrap. and see how many quilts it would make. Turns out it made 8! And these are all small to large lap sized quilts...

So this first one was made from the large stacks of 2.5"x3.5" rectangles. I found this to be a good size to cut from my scraps. Because I tend to have lots of partial bits of 2.5" strips leftover from other things I guess.

As I mention in my scribbles/halfway tutorial above (sorry guys, i'm so bad at taking the time to write a proper tutorial, I'd rather sew!) anyways, as I mention, I divided the rectangles roughly into stacks of light, medium, and dark. The mediums pile was by far the largest, with the lights coming in second and the darks having the fewest.

I then started sewing vertical rows, doing 10 light rectangles, then 15 medium rectangles, then 10 dark rectangles. This is so very flexible, as far as the size you want your finished quilt to be, and also depending if your scraps tend more to light, dark, or medium.

As you can see, partway through the quilt, the color values dip down with less dark and more light. I wanted to add this interest and this quilt was really giving me the vibes of a sunset sky and the darks seemed like the hills on the horizon. I didn't want it to have a completely straight line so I switched to 14 light, 15 medium, and 6 dark (oops, mistake in my written instructions above... the total number has to add up to 35. or however many rectangles you are using)

Then towards the end of the quilt rows I went up to my original numbers of 10 light, 15 medium, and 10 dark.

I added in some geese, which I outline the basic size you'll need in the instructions above. As you can see, the quilt was really feeling like a sunset sky to me. I'm amazed how the quilt glows with color, and I did NO color selection whatsoever. It's just a complete random selection of all my scraps.

And I do love the back, as the black and white seem like a perfect foil to the vibrancy of the front. After washing, the quilt came out at 55"x 69", so a perfect throw size quilt.

Christmas Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 19:04:00 +0000

I pieced this quilt before Christmas, with the idea that it would be a Christmas throw that was not too Full-on Christmas.

I can’t say that it feels like a quilt I would generally make. Like maybe it’s a bit too proper☺️.

I do really like the offset design and the quilting was done by a local long arm quilter, which gives a nice different look than my usual straight lines.

I must add that the backing is a Liberty print. If you’ve felt a quilt made with Liberty ( or any lawn fabric) this need no more explanation! It’s just extra drapey and light and soft...

It’s approximately 60”x80”.

Scrap Quilts Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:43:00 +0000

Hello dear quilting friends! The last few weeks I've been chugging away on cutting up all my scraps and making them into quilt tops. As you can see, I've been successful in completely cleaning out my scrap bins. ( had to quick take a photo because a day later I already had some scraps to add!)

I don't generally like to make a bunch of tops before quilting, as I like to keep a bit more of a flow so I'm not stuck with a massive amount of finishing. But this project felt different somehow, so I'm finishing up all the tops before I begin quilting. I thought it would be fun to show you the completed tops as well as where I'm at, because I'm almost done!

I'll add them here in the order I completed them.

First top I completed, made of 2.5"x3.5" rectangles. I find this size to work really well with the scraps I have, since I seem to have a lot of 2.5" strips. In general just sewed from light to dark in each vertical row. Love how this one turned out!

This one wasn't in the original plan, but I kept finding more 5" squares and large chunks in my darks/black bin, so decided to make a HST quilt with them.

Then this very random one to use up all the leftover 2.5"x 3.5" rectangles...

I've used this pattern before, from Sunday Morning Quilts. I really like it on a low volume quilt.

This one was not planned in my original cutting/planning. I didn't realize how many 5" squares there would be, and I hate to chop those into smaller pieces, so I made this pinwheel quilt. The sashing and cornerstones are not scraps... I feel like this is a quilt that is better in real life than in photos. It's a more subdued vintagey vibe which I love.

By this time I was getting close to the bottoms of my scrap baskets. I had quite a pile of strips and long skiny pieces, so of course I had to make a log cabin quilt!

This is only half of the top because I ran out of 1.5" squares. I'll scrounge around and likely find plenty of bits and pieces to cut up for this!

Maybe finish up the other half of this one today! These were the 'bright' half square triangles, whereas the pinwheel quilt was the 'dusty' or 'muddy' fabrics.

And here's what's left on the design wall! Those 2.5" squares are the very final bits and I may cheat and put them in the drawer since they're not enough for a quilt and I don't have a great plan for them.

So that's 8 quilt tops from my scrap baskets! Size range from small to large lap size, think 50"-65" width and 55"-75" length.

This has been such an enjoyable project. And I'm looking forward to quilting them too, amazingly! I think most of them will be simple straightline quilting.

2019 Scraps Become 2020 Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 21:16:00 +0000

I decided January was a good time to make some scrappy quilts and use up these baskets of scraps. I'm going to tell you how I'm planning to do that, but first I had some questions on my scrap storage method.

I have used this rack and method for years and it has served me well so thought I could share it with you.

The aqua rack is a hand-me-down Baker's Rack from my mom. It was originally brown as many baker's racks tend to be. (Keep your eyes open at the thrift store, you might find one!) I spray painted it aqua, which is a quick and easy job on this type of furniture since there's so little solid surface to cover. Any bookcase will do though! It doesn't need to be a baker's rack.

The best secret are these metal baskets. Now, I also bought these at least 10 years ago, so searching for something similar now, I was shocked at the price. Since you would need 6 of them for the system I use, they can get pricey quite fast. I won't link to any specific ones here, but rather give you an approximate size that I think works well.

Mine are 12"x13", and 8" high. This size seems to work well for the amount of quilting I do. They get filled to overflowing after about a years worth of sewing (although the blue fills faster than the rest) and then I have to do something with them!

Second in importance is that they are see through. Actually this is not crucial to the function, but just nice to see at a glance which color is where and how full they are.

I divide all scraps only by color, not size. I have 6 categories.

Red/Pink/Purple
Green
Blue
Orange/Yellow/Brown
Black/Gray
White/Low Volume

As I said, Blue seems to fill extra fast for me, so I find myself making more blue scrappy quilts. I find sorting by color to be the best method for me, but I'm trying to analyze why this is...Not sure, but curious if you relate to this, or would rather sort by size, value, or just stuff everything in one big container!

So here I am making stacks! This is so enjoyable for me! Too bad there are so many other more important things that come first for my time...

When deciding to completely clean out and use up these scraps, I find it works best to cut for a few quilts at once. The two reason for this are the large variety in sizes of scraps, and also I know these scraps will make at least a few quilts, so I might as well have a nice variety in each quilt as I go.

Choosing the quilt designs to use is the most fun of all! I try to think about the sizes of scraps I have most of, to be most efficient in my cutting and use of pieces. I often have lots of 2 1/2 strips. Actually lots of strips in general, with less squares that are larger than 3". I also need to have a pattern that includes at least some small pieces to use up those itty bitty 1 1/2" squares.

So here's what I'm cutting up this time.

* 2.5"x3.5" rectangles

I made one like this here already. Am planning to use a different layout this time. Inspired by @kitchentablequilting.

*A Jacob's ladder with 9 patches instead of 4 patches. Called Tumelo Trail by Bonnie of Quiltville. This makes use of 1.5" squares.

Here's my start to the Jacob's Ladder/Tumelo Trail quilt. I wanted to make sure I was going to like it before I cut it all out! This pattern is in Bonnie Hunter's book Scraps and Shirttails 11, except I'm not doing the sashing in between blocks.

*I'm also making a stack of 2.5" squares. 2.5" is a size that tends to be common in my scraps, so the pieces that aren't long enough for the 2.5"x 3.5" rectangles mentioned above, get put in this stack.

Not sure what it will be, but there's endless uses for these squares!

*Finally I've got 'strips' which are just strips of any width or length that don't fit in any of the categories above. For example, a looong 2" strip feels wasteful to cut into a bunch of small 1.5" squares. Since they don't fit into any other category, I just put them on the pile of strips and I'll make some kind of strippy quilt with them. (is this gonna be my favorite one in the end?! It could sound like it!)

And since this cutting job is going to take me a while, and other projects are bound to come up in between... (not to mention the sheer volume of teetering stacks of cut squares and rectangles) I'm nicely stacking them into containers which can be put away in between.

I'm mentioning this because it is not in character for my haphazard usual way of working, but if feels good, so we'll see if this is a new addition to my process

Aunt Bet's Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Jolene) — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 18:27:00 +0000

And one last finish to record for 2019! I just sewed the last of the binding on this one yesterday.

The pattern is Aunt Bet's Quilt, by Frankie and Ray. Truly a lovely and enjoyable pattern to make. So simple, but works with so many fabrics. I definitely want to make this one again!

This is one of those few quilts that I loved my color choices all the way through, and still love the finished quilt today!

I hand quilted it in fans and used a double gauze on the back and Quilter's Dream Poly batting. This makes for a dreamy and puffy texture to the finished quilt.

The finished quilt measures approximately 48"x60", which is the perfect size for a smaller lap quilt.

Edited to Add: Adding this to the Fourth Quarter Finishalong. Here's my post with the original list of quilts to finish.