Scrappy Runner Finish and Fibre Fling 2025

Hello and welcome 😊 Thanks for dropping by. This week I was able to finish my scrappy runner and prepare my pieces for Out of the Box (OOTB) Fibre Artists' show, Fibre Fling 2025. Things are very slowly getting back to normal and I am very grateful!

Scrappy Runner Finish

It's finished and I'm so happy with it. 

My Scrappy Runner and the two cuties

If you recall, I made this runner, and the cuties, to place at the back of my car, to help me find my car when in a parking lot! It worked!!!

The cuties were posing on the trunk of the car

They are now installed in their new home.

This is what I see from outside. A great way to find my car😍

Here is a close-up of the runner. Some of the free motion quilting (FMQ) can be seen but some of it was very hard to see, as I was stitching it! The plan was to do an all-over pattern but after the first 5 strips, where I couldn't see what I was stitching, I decided that variety was a good thing!

FMQ - on the 4th and 5th strip, I couldn't see what I was stitching!

More FMQ designs and the Velcro that keeps the cuties attached

The other end of the runner

Here is the FMQ from the back. I used scraps from the runner to bind the quilt. That's always fun! 

Runner seen from the back

So much FMQ texture

The Scrappy Runner is also my Table Scrap Challenge for April. I thought that the colour was teal, which my runner has quite a bit of. Being scrappy, it also has red in the orphan blocks, which is the actual colour of the month. 😁 So I'm good for both colours but not the theme, which is rain. However, the cuties are bound to see rain since they're in the car! 

Rain on the car!

Fibre Fling 2025

Here are the two pieces that will be at Fibre Fling this weekend. I spent the evening preparing the pieces to be hung. I'm afraid that I don't always finish my pieces for exhibition (with hanging sleeve, label, etc.) as soon as I'm done.

You may remember my Project Quilting 16-1, Mythical Creatures. I made it in the allotted week, based on a TextileArtist.org workshop with Woo Jin Joo, on Korean mythology. You can check out the post in Related links below.

The Rabbit's Adventure - based on a Korean folktale.

My second piece, called Scrap Happy, also comes from a TextileArtist.org workshop of July 2022. It was with Natalya Khorover and involved working with scraps. I didn't finish the piece as she suggested because I loved the scraps and embellishment as they were. I attached it on a canvas. I looked for this piece in my blog but it looks like it never got posted. So here it is, Scrap Happy. I have donated it for a raffle. Visitors to the show can buy tickets and put them in the boxes of the art that they would like to win. The funds go to the Food Bank, so it's a worthy cause.

Scrap Happy

Fibre Fling 2025 - Friday and Saturday

What I learned

• As always, I love playing with scraps. The runner was a fun, whimsical project that helped me get through these tough few weeks. Looking at the cuties in the back of the car makes me smile. This is exactly why I make quilts and art!
• It'll be nice to see The Rabbit's Adventure on display at the show. It's my best piece so far this year.
• I'm actually going to miss seeing Scrap Happy in my studio. I hope that it goes to someone who will also like it's whimsy and colour.

Related links

• Fun Scrappy Runner and Free Motion Mavericks, April 17, 2025
• Imagine and Free Motion Mavericks, April 09, 2025
• PQ 16 - 1 Mythical Creatures - A Korean Folktale, January 10, 2025

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check some out after you've linked up below! Sew & Tell, Needle & Thread Thursday, Monday Musings, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Beauties Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2025, Oh Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching, 

2025 Table Scraps Challenge, Favorite Finish (April 2025)

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 528 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. 

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts had two quilt patterns published! Two great quilts from one lovely fabric line. 

Preeti's Brighton quilt was published in Make Modern Magazine

Preeti's Let's Dance was published in Quilter's World

Donnalee used one of her rulers to quilt gentle curves on her Wonky Hearts panel quilt. To see more details on how she quilted it, check out her post.

Wonky Hearts quilted by Donnalee 

Quilting Gail was on a retreat and used her new book, Picture Patchwork, to make three quilts. The first one is a great little train. Check out her post to read more about the book and see her other projects. Gail quilted the train using Silly Moon Rulers: Rocket and Beanie.

Quilting Gail's latest quilt - Train from a great new book

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Secret FMQ and T-shirt Quilt Update on Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome to week 448 of the Free Motion Mavericks' linking party. I hope that you've had a good creative week with time at your sewing machine or studio! I've been busy making a runner that I'll be able to reveal next week. I can share the back since it won't give away much and you can see the free motion quilting (FMQ).

Making a runner

My brother is having a birthday/house warming party so I asked him if he wanted a small quilted project. He said that he could use a runner, 30" x 8", so that's what I'm making. The front is a scrappy, happy, improv quilt. 

FMQ back 

FMQ wavy intersecting lines

I'm surprised that it's not obvious from the back that these are wavy intersecting lines. It's pretty obvious from the front, but it is an interesting pattern from the back.

There are a few horizontal lines where I stitched in-the-ditch to stabilize the quilt before FMQ the vertical wavy lines.

There is also another horizontal line where I joined the fabric (the line that is not straight!😲)

Since the front was going to be scrappy, I checked the Joyful Quilter's website for the September colours and letters for the 2023 ABC (Table) Scraps Challenge. The September colours are aqua and the letters are P and Z.

When I looked online for a colour wheel, I found that teal is related to aqua and is a darker version of it. So I used aqua thread to FMQ the runner. Since the front includes quite a few colours, it could have been FMQ with a number of colours but the aqua thread looks good. You'll have to take my word for it until next week 😊

T-shirt Quilt Update

My numbers aren't adding up but it looks like I have 11 t-shirt blocks done and 13 left to go. I arranged the completed ones on my bed today, and this is what it gave me. Now I have to figure out how big (more or less) the quilt will be and work from there.

Some of the t-shirt blocks so far

About half of the t-shirt blocks

I'll see if I have enough blocks of the same width, and try to put these into rows or columns. I'm finding it all a little over whelming, especially since I don't really have a wall or floor big enough to place them all.

What I learned

• As I'm preparing this post, I can see that it's not going to be easy putting this quilt together. I like puzzles, but I prefer them smaller than my entire family room space 😊
• Many of the remaining t-shirts have white backgrounds, so I'll be able to choose the border colours based on the blocks that will go next to them.
• I'm going to try to keep math out of this, but doing research, a queen size quilt can be anywhere between 84" to 90" wide, and 90" to 105" wide! I guess that's a lot of leeway. 
• Of course I didn't write in my posts how big my first t-shirt quilt was, or even how big Version 2.0 was. I'm sure that I have notes...somewhere!
• Except for a cool Dragon Scale binding notebook for my daughter, a few hexies to get caught up with the #100hexies100days challenge and the binding on my brother's runner, I am not letting myself play with any other project until this one is put together (by Sept 30) and then quilted (the next week)!!! 

Related links

• The Joyful Quilter's 2023 ABC (Table) Scraps Challenge 
• Update on T-shirt quilt at Free Motion Mavericks, September 13, 2023

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check them out, after you've linked up below? Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Patchwork & Quilts, Peacock Party, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Finished (or Not) Friday, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2023, 

Free Motion Mavericks

Donnalee had great success quilting her monster! It was the largest quilt done one her Bernina 750Q. She also tackled some placemats and a runner made with panels from Connecting Threads. Way to go!

Donnalee's monster - quilted and done!

Donnalee's placemats

Donnalee's runner

Gail managed to finish and FMQ 2 wonderful quilts. I've used the images from her original post so that you can admire her FMQ!

Let's admire the lovely texture on Gail's quilts!

It's now your turn!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Playing in isolation

Hi, I hope this post finds you well. I'm afraid that I am now officially under isolation - that second bar appeared on the darn Covid test 😒. I don't know how much I'll be able to sew and stitch in the next few day. If I follow the same path as my daughter, I'll be sitting up somewhere with a fuzzy brain and no energy. Not looking forward to that!

Projects in progress

I'm making a runner and another wall hanging based on the Swirling Leaves piece that I made for the Hello Fall Blog Hop in 2020. It's always been one of my son's favourite, so I'm going to make him a runner. The other wall hanging is going to the workplace charity auction that will be held in November or December.

Swirling leaves wall hanging

I have enough neutral background stitched up for the wall hanging. Have I told you that I love improv piecing? I did learn a few lessons so far, so keep reading to find out what!😊

Stitching in progress with lots of trimming

Almost done the background for the wall hanging

Fabric strips pile

Next comes the borders and then the appliquéd leaves. A couple of days ago, on my way back from picking up the mail, I stopped in my neighbours' yards to grab these leaves. They make rather realistic leaf templates, don't you think?😁

Leaves and templates

I'll be digging into my scrap bins of hand-dyed fabrics gifted to me by Elaine Quehl. I'm sure that I'll find the perfect scraps of fabric for the leaves since they are the focus of the pieces!

Slow stitching update

I've been slowly working on my hand-stitched snippet roll which will be loosely based on our fall trip (see Related links below). It's a little more planned than a regular meditation block but once I start stitching, it's just as meditative. It's going to be a long snippet roll, so far about 44" long. It will hang on that antique bobbin which comes from the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum.   

Meditative hand-stitched snippet roll

Fall colours in my back yard

I may have gone several hundred miles to take the Agawa Canyon train tour but I could have seen the fall colours in my own back yard. I took these yesterday. The fire bush is living up to its name! 

I also love the view from my back yard. The red maple in the school yard seems to be sharing its colour with the sky. 

A bit of a sunset from my back yard

It's past time to clean up the yard so I hope that the weather keeps cooperating for at least another couple of weeks.

What I learned

• Although I love improv piecing, mostly because I'm accuracy challenged 😊, I did discover that I do have to either:
• cut my fabric strips relatively even, or
• piece the fabric with a consistent seam.
• Turns out that if your fabric cut is uneven and your seam is inconsistent, even I will have to use my seam ripper 😲
• So, I started being more careful about my seam allowance and everything is great! I trim the blocks often to ensure that things are even.  
• After picking leaves to use as templates, it really important to either make the template within a few hours or to place the leaves under some books to keep them flat as they dry. Ask me how I learned that lesson!😉
• I even took the time to read my Swirling Leaves post to make sure that I remembered what I learned. I didn't write it down, but it looks like I created the background to fit the leaves placement. I didn't do this for this first quilt, so I'll see if it makes a difference. I'll update you on that when I make the runner, or finish this wall hanging.

Related links

• Swirling Leaves for Hello Fall Blog Hop, September 23, 2020
• Snippet Exchange, June 06, 2021
• Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

Linking parties

I'll be linking up this post to many linking parties. It's time again for Tips and Tutorials on the 22nd with Kathleen McMusing. Slow Sunday Stitching, Quilting & Appliqué, Off The Wall Friday, Put your foot down, Oh Scraps!, Peacock Party, Monday Making, 

Pink love for April's Table Scrap Challenge

This weekend was the first time in years that I went to an in-town quilting retreat. What a lot of fun 😀 

April's Table Scraps Challenge

April's colour was pink and the theme was "word". 

Pink Love table runner

I spent a good part of three days sewing at a local quilt retreat organised by the Common Thread Quilt Guild (CTQG). I hadn't been in several years, so it was really nice seeing familiar faces. 

I spent a few hours on Friday and Saturday sewing improv piecing strips. Each strip is a different colour and measures roughly 7½" by 40". I worked on the yellow and orange strips and have more than half of the strips done. I'll talk about these in a separate post, hopefully soon 😊.

Today I made my Table Scrap Challenge runner. On retreats we can use the guild's Accuquilt Go! Cutter, so I cut quite a few squares as well as a few shapes that I eventually want to use in projects. 

Using the guild's Accuquilt Go! Cutter

I love making 9 patch type blocks....and I don't care how many "patches" there are 😀. I put some pink and white-on-white 1½" squares together and then used the scraps left from the cutter to improv piece the borders. 

Sewing 1½" squares and adding improv borders

I put the top together and as soon as I got home (to my Jag), I cut the batting and backing fabric and started free motion quilting (FMQ). That's the best part and fun was had by all 😄. I started by stitching-in-the-ditch around the corner white pieces and then used some very pink Glide thread to FMQ.

In the pink borders, I followed the pink "waves" and then quilted loops or wishbones (I call them lj since that's what I think about when I quilt them). In each white corner, I quilted either my word "pink" or a flower. The centre of the piece is quilted in what I call "Flower Meander". It's my variation of Angela Walter's Feather Meander.

Details of the FMQ

Details of my word "Pink"

The back of the runner

Another view of the Pink Love table runner

My Table Scraps challenge quilts are always a squirrel because I only make them if I can find the time and interest to make them - and they are, of course, always at the last minute!

May's One Monthly Goal

I almost forgot to add my OMG for the month! I'm a member of the Fibre 15 group and are having a group show at the Stone School Gallery. I volunteered to make our comments book - so I'll be using some of the painted/dyed fabric to make a quilted journal cover. 

What I learned

• I am accuracy challenged, and it didn't help that I was making it up as I went along. I really should have paid more attention to piecing the blocks....oh well, they are cute!
• I love white-oh-white fabric but it's not easy to tell which side is the right one. Thank goodness it doesn't really show unless you look at it too closely!
• I thought that I was doing a good thing by cutting my batting ¼" wider than my quilt. I was going to make the binding that much bigger. I should have cut my binding strip larger than 2½" wide. I also finished it by machine with so-so results. Next time I want to do this, I'll have to check out a tutorial!
• Although I don't make quilts often, I really appreciated the use of the Accuquilt Go! Cutter. I'm hoping for before going to my next retreat that I'll have a plan so that I can cut my fabric using it.
• I was nervous about attending the retreat because I'm very much an introvert and depending on my mood, these events can be too much for me. I'm happy to say that I lasted longer than I thought I would each day. The food was great and the people so friendly. It was nice to be sociable after over two years of isolation 😀.

Related links

On for another week!

• Accuquilt Go! Cutter
• Table Scrap Challenge posts: 
• A little yellow and floral runner, March 27, 2022
• Fibre-Fling 2022 It's still on for another week!
• Fibre Fling 2022 - Free Virtual Show now on, April 23, 2022

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties, especially the April Table Scrap Challenge with the Joyful Quilter. It's also Muv's turn to host Free Motion Mavericks - remember to check it out! Oh Scrap! Beauties Pageant, Peacock Party, Patchwork & Quilts, DrEAMi! Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, May's One Monthly Goal, Midweek Makers, Put Your Foot Down, 

This mini was featured on mmm quilts' DrEAMi!

Project details

Pink Love runner

for the April Table Scrap Challenge

11½" x 12"

Materials: commercial quilting cotton 

Techniques: Accuquilt Go! cutter, piecing and improv piecing, FMQ

A little yellow and floral runner

No matter how busy I get, I love to do something unexpected and fun. This week I made a runner for The Joyful Quilter's March TABLE SCRAPS Challenge. The themes were yellow/gold and floral. It was good to play with simple blocks and a thrill to free motion quilt (FMQ) it.

TABLE SCRAPS challenge

As you may know, I try not to get too involved in challenges because I have so much going on....but every once in a while, I let go of that guideline and go for it. Also, since I didn't tell anyone that I was linking up (I love when there is no sign up), there was no pressure if it didn't get done. 

A yellow runner to welcome the spring

I was going to use one of Cynthia Brunz's (of the Oh Scrap! party) Scrap Mixology Modules (I have modules 1 to 3). I thought that I was doing great until I realised that I had just sewn a bunch of strips together but with no neutral colours in between for 9 patch. So this is a variation of her Chaser block, from her Module 3 Scrap Mixology booklet. 

When I start sewing strips together, something comes over me and I have no time to read instructions - I just want to sew and then I have to make it up as I go along.😊 One day, I'll start by planning a little bit so that I can make her actual Chaser block.

Scrappy yellow floral runner 

I don't have any photos of the process, except for all of the blocks on my design wall. At first, I really didn't like what I was seeing. As I started re-arranging the blocks in some sort of order, I started warming up to it. 

Since I took a whole bunch of pictures, I may as well share them with you. I find that I can see patterns and problems better in a photo than in real life.

A bit of a mix on the design wall

Putting some order in the blocks

Slowly getting there!

Flipping the brown edges around

Final design with strong yellow strips meeting

Once I decided on a final design, I started sewing them together in rows. Of course I managed to sew the rows in the wrong order but the un-stitching wasn't too tedious and well worth it.

Since the runner was supposed to be mostly yellow, I used bright yellow thread to FMQ a simple variation of Angela Walter's Feather Meander. It's a variation because I don't do much echoing and also add leaves and sprigs here and there 😊 My design is more of a flower meander than a feather meander.

Details of the FMQ

I also have to show you the back since it's such a great piece of fabric that a friend, who was clearing up her mother's stash, gave me! The binding is also from that gifting 😊

Isn't that an amazing fabric of pineapple and tropical flowers?

What I learned

• Sometimes I really need to slow down and actually think about what I'm going to do. I get in trouble when I just start sewing pieces of fabric together. It often comes out well in the end but it might be a little less stressful. 
• I'm starting to realise that I like the problem solving that goes with not planning too much, so I may have to just embrace the stress of the problem solving!
• It was so good to just sew and then quilt - no big expectations of artistic merit, just pure play (even if I got a little stressed about the layout!).
• The yellow quilting thread and the binding does make the runner more yellow than it looked on the design wall.

Related links

• Joyful Quilter's 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge page
• Cynthia Brunz Designs, Scrap Mixology Modules 
• Angela Walter's Feather Meander video

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Let's see what's going on out there! 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge, Oh Scrap!, Patchwork & Quilts, DrEAMi! (Drop Everything and Make it!) with Sandra, Put your foot down, Peacock Party, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF. Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, Needle & Thread Thursday

Project details

Scrappy yellow floral runner

Made for the March 2022 TABLE SCRAPS Challenge

22¾" x 13½"

Material: cotton strips

Technique: piecing and free motion quilting (FMQ)