Showing posts with label scrappy quilting. Show all posts

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Inspired to Make a Purple BB Quilt

Hi and welcome 😊 It's been a busy week. I'm not sure what I did, but time flew, so I must have been having fun 😉. I got inspired by the wonderful BB (or cuddle) quilts that Frédérique took to the hospital last week, so I put two projects together (BB quilt and July's purple Table Scraps Challenge) and got going. It's almost done and will be finished by the end of the month!

Purple BB Quilt

I wasn't in the mood for anything challenging, so I started sewing purple scraps together. I find it very soothing. Sometimes these scrappy panels become something, and sometimes they sit there, waiting for an opportunity. It's all good, it's about relaxing and doing something I enjoy.

Purple BB quilt - almost done!

I started with scraps from my purple/pink basket and then went digging for scraps in the strips basket. There was more than enough to make the main section of the quilt. Then I added this amazing pink/red border. Because I'm accuracy challenged, I cut my border strips too small😕and had to replace them.

BB quilt pinned and ready to quilt, with possible thread choice

I started FMQ with the threads above but it was a disaster! My tension was horrible, so the front thread was really showing in the back. I almost never unpick my FMQ but there was no living with this - what a mess! Since I didn't trust my tension, I used the light pink thread for the top and bobbin. It wasn't perfect, but I could live with it!

Tension problems - what a mess!

Eventually the tension got better. Using the same colour of thread in the bobbin really helped.

Better tension and the same thread colour helped!

Here are some pictures of the FMQ - unfortunately they're not great images although they are enhanced a bit.

A better picture of the FMQ, as seen from the back

Flower with petals from the front of the quilt

Enhanced - the colours look weird but the FMQ is visible

The BB quilt finishes at 22" x 22" - perfect! I now only have the border to quilt and the binding to do. I'm going to use that yummy pink/red fabric to finish it off. I'm sure that's the best choice.

Lovely pictures in the back yard!

BB quilt from the back - guess who miscalculated again!

Growing in my back yard

As I sat having coffee in my backyard, I spotted some blue among the plants. I haven't mowed it in a while so many things are coming up! This lovely, as I identified it in the plant identification app, is a flax flower! In the summer of 1991 in South Porcupine, Ontario, I planted flax in my backyard garden. Back then I was a weaver with dreams of spinning my own linen. I had a small yield of these beautiful little flowers but when I looked into what it took to get linen out of a flax plant, I gave all of my plants to another weaver who knew what she was doing!

Flax growing in my backyard

I was wondering how these random flax plants got into my garden - then I googled flax seeds in bird feed and the mystery was solved. Flax is good for birds and it's found in the feed. There are only about a half dozen plants, so not enough to process, just admire. I case you're interested, it's the rotting of the plant stem that is the first part of making linen. I know how smelly rotting plants get - that was my initial aversion to making linen. So this year, I am thankful for the pretty, delicate plants growing in the backyard!

What I learned

I was trying to FMQ a couple of nights ago but couldn't see what I was doing. I was surprised that the pink thread didn't show up on some of the lighter purples.
It was easier during the day to FMQ - either my eyes weren't as tired or the natural light helped.
I FMQ all kinds of flowers and ferns into the quilt - it was so much fun!
I even used the FMQ (freehand flower swirls) design that Vicki used in her Criss Cross quilt. I love finding designs that aren't too difficult to draw.
I managed to miscalculate the fabric needed for the backing - I guess that my subconscious wanted to make a pieced backing!
Now I just have the border to FMQ as well as sewing on the binding. I'll get this done before the link up to the July Table Scraps Challenge ends.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 541 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts is making more Lil Bear Hug Quilts for charity. They are so cute and the perfect opportunity to practice FMQ and to use up orphan blocks.

Lovely crosshatch and orange peel FMQ by Kat

Storm at Sea orphan blocks turned into Lil Bear Hug quilts by Kat

Vicki, from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting made two seasonal table toppers. She's now ready for the fall and Christmas!

Vicki's lovely fall table topper

Details of the FMQ and ruler work in Vicki's topper

The holly table topper, FMQ the same way by Vicki

Gail from Quilting Gail made this lovely quilt - I just love the white and purple, it's just so fresh looking! She quilted it following all of those curves.

Gail's pretty purple quilt, FMQ by following the curves

Sandra from mmm quilts! made another one of her Winter Blues pattern quilt, but this time it's called Kismet and is made with part of a jellyroll. Wow! She was right - it does work!

Sandra's Kismet quilt - how lovely in that jelly roll fabric

Sandra couldn't just quilt it with straight lines! From the back, you can see where she changed the direction of those lines. That's very effective!

From the back of Kismet, we can see where Sandra changed
the direction of her lines.

It's now your turn!

Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Orange Scraps and a Baby Quilt

Hi and welcome 😀. I've been sewing baby scraps into a cute baby quilt! Since my studio is still a mess and very, very hot, I've laid out the quilt on the dining room table. I found a 40" x 42" piece of yellow fabric that is perfect for the backing. That made designing the quilt easy since I just laid the blocks and fabric on the backing. It's all about keeping it simple 😍

Scrappy Baby Quilt Flimsy

I've called the post Orange Scraps since that's the June colour of the Table Scraps Challenge. The quilt fabrics are beautiful scraps of mostly muted orange, blue, gold and gray.

Scrappy baby quilt flimsy is finished!

This afternoon it was all sewn up except for the two side borders. I used the two longest scraps for the top and bottom, so the side borders are heavily pieced. I waited until our AC was working before ironing the borders.

Quilt top with just the borders to attach

As I mentioned, I used the dining room table to audition and design the quilt. I started off with the 4 blocks I had prepared a couple of weeks ago. A lot of the design was based on the fabric I had. After placing the blocks where I thought they might go, I added fabric to complete the rows. It's essentially a quilt with three rows. The blocks make up most of each row, with additional fabric strips added to make it look good.

Bottom row sewn together

Bottom border and the two rows sewn together

The side borders had to be pieced because although I had largish fabric pieces, they were going in the wrong direction. I wanted all of the cute animals facing downwards.

I'm really looking forward to FMQ the blocks since I'll be able to use dot-to-dot quilting a la Angela Walters.

Another look at the scrappy orange baby quilt flimsy

July's One Monthly Goal

Since I managed to achieve my June OMG, I'm going to add a goal for July. With the studio now cool (but still messy), and life somewhat normal, I'm going to work on putting together the Cowboy quilt panel that I was doing during the SAHRR this winter. The panel and blocks are still on my design wall so at least it's accessible 😁 I would love to have a flimsy ready by the end of July, but I'll settle for any progress!

This was the last layout option...we'll see!

What I learned

The entire quilt was made from scraps that I received. I'm so glad that I was able to use most of them up. There are now only scraps to be divided among the various scrap bins.
I'll have to find some binding fabric that plays well with these.
The quilt is roughly the same size as my backing - so I may have to add a few scraps to make it slightly larger, or trim the existing quilt. The largest it can be is 40" x 40"
These are not my usual colours but I'm so glad that I got to play with them. Maybe quilts don't have to be bright???😉
I also played with a few more hexies but I'll keep them for a day when I have nothing else to show.
My dining room table will be cleared of quilty things. Once it's cool enough, I'll be bringing my laptop up there also. People will be shocked!
I'm so happy to be linking up to June's Table Scraps Challenge. I did the orange but not the beach theme.

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 538 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was another very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting finished a UFO Jelly Roll quilt. We know how good that feels 😊She backed it in fleece and FMQ with large stippling. It's perfect for a lovely quilty hug!

Vicki's most recent UFO finish!

Donnalee made another cute mini - this time it's a pumpkin! We're looking forward to seeing her larger pumpkin wall hanging.

Donnalee's cute pumpkin mini

Quilting Gail finished Canuck Quilter's Mystery Quilt. She made the traditional option. It's really lovely with her ruler and FMQ. You may want to check out Canuck Quilter's post - both the traditional and the modern quilt are really lovely.

Gail's finished version of Canuck Quilter's Mystery Quilt

Gail's lovely FMQ and ruler work

Debbie of A Quilter's Table made and quilted a lovely modern scrap quilt based on Carole Lyles Shaw's Stash Jazz pattern to donate through her guild.

Debbie's Stash Jazz quilt, quilted in a grid

Brenda of Song Bird Designs has been custom quilting her latest quilt, Sedona Starburst. Here are two of the blocks. You may want to check out Brenda's blog to see the lovely quilty details!

Check out Brenda's post for better images - it's worth it!

Frédérique of Quilting Patchwork Appliqué shared with us the lovely BB quilts that quilters in her area made. They will be donated to the hospital. Check out Frédérique's post to see the other cute ones!

The quilt is made in a log cabin style and then cut in ovals

It's now your turn!

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Scraps, a Finish and FM Mavericks

Hello and welcome 😓 I'm hot and miserable (no AC) but I'm not letting it get to me, at least in public 😀, so enough about that! This week, I played with scraps - my happy place! I also FMQ (free motion quilted) Poppy's little placemat for her water bowl. Everyone in the family now has a placemat. Yay!

Playing with scraps

My DIL's mother made a few baby quilts and gave me all of her scraps. There were some decent sized pieces that played well together, so I'm sure I have enough to make a baby quilt for charity. What fun! These are the four blocks that I've made so far.

Blocks for a baby quilt

I used an assortment of squares and added wonky flip and stitch ends to turn them into wonky snowball blocks. I sewed the four wonky snowball units together and added fabric strips on each side.

Wonky snowball blocks

I did the same thing to other blocks but added the wonky flip and stitch on just two sides. I've searched but I don't know what these blocks are called. If they have a name, please let us know.

Wonky on two sides blocks 😁

First two sets of blocks - the colourful ones

The other set of blocks in muted colours

When I get back to these (before the end of the month since they will be my orange Table Scraps project for June), I'll have to decide on the size of the quilt, play with the design, add sashing, etc.

Poppy Placemat

I finally FMQ Poppy's placemat. Here it is! 🐕

Front of Poppy's placemat with her water bowl (made by Jeannine)

The back of Poppy's placemat -
the top fabric is a Pet Value kerchief

What I learned

I'm in my happy place when I play with scraps. I think it's because I don't give myself pressure to measure - it's just pure play.
I was thrilled when I figured out how to flip and stitch using some very oddly shaped scraps. I took a lot of pictures, so I may prepare a tutorial some day.

Flip and stitch with oddly shaped scraps

I was not very grounded or prepared when I FMQ Poppy's placemat. I had no idea what design to use. I should have stopped and thought about if for a few minutes before starting. I have a FMQ journal full of possible designs that I can do, so there wasn't any excuse except that I was impatient.
The FMQ is ok - well at least the tension is good. It's just not cohesive or pretty. I'm sure that Poppy will not notice!
I love the water bowl that Jeannine made - it's cute, huge and covers most of the FMQ!😁
Happy Summer Solstice 🌞

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You might want to check some of them out! Please remember to link up below, even if you don't FMQ. Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!,

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 536 of Free Motion Mavericks! It was a very productive week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner quilted two lovely related quilts. Both were quilted in the same way - check out her post for more details!

The front of Gretchen's first quilt.

A lovely scrappy back with lots of interest, quilted by Gretchen

Gretchen's small quilt from the same left overs

Vicki from Vicki's Crafts and Quilts finished her scrappy brick quilt with all over stippling on her longarm. This quilt has a surprise! Vicki pieced a cute panel for the backing. It's now double sided!

Vicki's scrappy brick quilt - all finished!

The back of Vicki's quilt - a lovely panel

Janine of Quilts from the Little House made this really lovely landscape farm art quilt. She pieced it using foundation paper piecing! You'll want to check out her post for details on the inspiration, the making of it and the quilting.

Janine's lovely farm art quilt

Janine used many techniques to make this,
including embroidering the slightly sagging fence!

It's now your turn!

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Floral Fusion Finally Finished!

Hello and welcome 😀! I hope this post finds you well. I'm slowly getting back to stitching and working in my studio. I've also spent some lovely mornings outside in the backyard. Coffee always tastes better there! This week I even have a finish! Yay!!!

Floral Fusion wall hanging

My first post about the Floral Fusion SAL was at the beginning of September. I was pretty good at keeping up and started sewing the blocks together in mid-October. Unfortunately it's taken until now to finish it. It will finally be hanging on my daughter's wall.

Finished! Floral Fusion wall hanging

I went outside yesterday for the photo shoot. I just hung the wall hanging in front of my prayer flags.

Floral Fusion hanging in the backyard

In my last post, I mentioned that I had found some of the dark fabric from the wall hanging in my stash. It finished up quickly and looks great. I was hoping to finish this early and I did 😊. It's my June One Monthly Goal (OMG), so I'll be linking it to the party at the end of the month.

Floral Fusion wall hanging

What I learned & updates

I always have a hard time finishing up SAL or QAL on time - they usually linger for years as UFOs. I'm really happy that this one didn't!
I'm so grateful to Denise at the Quiltery for hosting her SAL. It was a lot of fun.
I got to use a lot of older floral fabrics - many of my mother's scraps from the summer dresses she used to make.
I'm also working on some mending - a pair of jeans that needs a new behind, and cut-off shorts that need a couple of patched to be presentable 😉
My studio is slowly coming along, but I need to rethink my book making storage. It's taking up too much space, especially for the much smaller amount of time that I spend making journals. The problem is that if it's not easy accessible, it'll never get used!
I have a few empty bins in the basement that I'll bring up and try to organise. Hopefully that's all I'll need!

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 535 of Free Motion Mavericks! Thanks for linking up your lovely projects! Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Gretchen from Gretchen's Little Corner has finished quilting another quilt - this one made with lovely embroidered blocks by her granddaughter. What a great joint project!

Gretchen's granddaughter embroidered these blocks!

Gretchen put together a lovely quilt using her
granddaughter's embroidered blocks

Kat from Scrapbox Quilts finished quilting two lovely quilts! The first one is a cute baby quilt and the other a lovely wall hanging!

A lovely panel baby quilt by Kat

A very cute foundation paper pieced
wall hanging by Kat

Vicki, from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting, did an amazing job FMQ her UFO quilt. Lucky for her, she had bundled up fabric for the border, backing and binding. That makes finishing up so much easier! Vicki custom quilted it on her long arm, doing a little bit every day. Check out her post for more eye candy!

Vicki's FMQ UFO - a real beauty!

Details of Vicki's quilting

Frédérique from Quilting, Patchwork, Appliqué, made this very cute textile card (4" x 6"). She was able to share it with us since it's been sent and delivered. Frédérique FMQ it and even included fancy machine star stiches.