Scrappy Flying Geese Quilt

Hello Friends

I have a new quilt to share with you and this probably one of my favorite quilts I’ve ever made. If you have been following my quilting journey, you know that I love scrappy quilts. I find them so charming and whimsical and I simply enjoy making them so much. For a while I had the idea of creating this quilt and slowly I’ve been collecting the scraps for i. And a couple of weeks ago I had enough for all the flying geese and got working on it. The scraps are reclaimed scraps from a friend that has a small business of pet bandanas and she shares the bandana scraps with me (you can see some of her work here). Each flying geese is a different print to make it more scrappy and to create sort of a scrap book for my friend of the bandanas she has made as I wanted to gift it to her.

I just love they way it turned out. I quilted it using a serpentine stitch and the texture it creates is just so lovely. Such a happy quilt.

Quilt measures 54X63 inches

Until Next time

Martha

Carpenter's Star Quilt

Making a Carpenters Star Quilt has been on my wish list for the longest time and I finally got around to make one. It is such a fun quilt to make and really easy. I used a photo I found on pinterest as inspiration and I made the pattern up for a size quilt based on the fabric I had. I wanted to use up this vintage fabric that has been in my stash for the longest time and I think it is perfect for this pattern.

I feel like this year is the year of use what you have… so I went through my stash to find a backing for this quilt and to my surprise I found a piece of flannel with the sweetest flower print that was the perfect combo for the quilt. To quilt it I used the serpentine stitch on my Janome sewing machine and I just love the texture it creates.

A first for me on this quilt was the rounded corners and I machine bound the quilt. I’ve never machine bound a quilt before, usually I attach the binding by machine to the front and hand sew it to the back: I love the invisible finish but I might be a machine binding convert. I purchased a binding attachment for my sewing machine and it is amazing how fast you can finish the binding and I love how neat it comes out.

I love this pattern so much I see another Carpenters Star Quilt in my future.

Until next time

Martha

Daffodil Quilt

Hello friends

Looks like spring is starting to arrive here in California. A few blossoms are showing up in my little garden and I thought I’ll share with you this spring inspired quilt.

It all started with me trying to use some fabric (which I believe is vintage) that was given to my by a friend a few years ago when she was clearing out her mom’s sewing room. They are lovely prints, but I had not found the perfect project for them… until now. For this quilt I decided to use all the greens in that stash and complemented them with a yellow/mustard fabric I had in my stash. I really love this color combination; reminds me a field of daffodils in the spring. For the backing I used a soft flannels with the cutest mushroom print that happened to coordinate perfectly. I love when the perfect fabric combinations happen like that; totally by change and without much planning.

The pattern for this quilt is a simple nine patch block using the same yellow fabric for the center of each block to add a bit of cohesion. For the quilting I use straight lines vertical and horizontal grind and some diagonal lines as well. I love this quit so much and I’m already working on the next one from this vintage stash :)

Until next time

Martha

West Virginia Quilt

Hello friends

Feels like this year is going by really fast. I want to share with you mi first quilt finish for 2025. This quilt is a quilt commission I received in January. Such a fun quilt to make; I don’t usually use patterns for the quilts that I make. So the opportunity of creating a custom quilt with a specific pattern was a welcome challenge. The West Virginia Quilt pattern is from The Quilted Tulip a lovely pattern shop on Etsy. I think the pattern is fabulous and very clever how it creates the map of the state of West Virginia by using color value on the fabric choices.

Per the customer’s request all the color fabric used on this quilt are fabric scraps from my friend at Thistle Hill Pet Treats (she makes beautiful pet bandanas and kindly shares them with me).

Great project to start the year I think.

Until next time

Martha

Dresden Cushion

As the year comes to an end I wanted to share with you my last finished project of the year. I made this scrappy dresden cushion cover for a dear friend: she makes beautiful pet bandanas and share with me some of her fabric scraps. Every piece of fabric she sends me is beautiful and feeds my inspiration for more scrappy projects.

I just love how this cushion cover turned out! I decided to use Essex Linen in olive color as the background fabric and I think it is the perfect compliment for the scrappiness of the dresden blades. This is only the second dresden I’ve ever made and now I’m wondering why it took me so long to make another one. They are so fun to make and they are perfect scrappy project. I’m definitely making more.

I have so many ideas for more scrappy projects and quilts for the upcoming year; can’t wait to get started. In the meantime, wishing you a happy new year.

Until next time.

Martha

Lattice Quilt

Hello there!

I finished this lovely quilt a few weeks ago and finally got to photograph it. This quilt began a as stack of layer cake cuts gifted to me by a dear friend. She had sent the fabric in the mail: and as I was opening the package containing the fabric I was chatting to my husband and I said -oh this fabric is lovely! I wonder what should I make with it? to which he quickly replied: “you should make me a quilt!” -He rarely asks for a quilt of his own, so I quickly began thinking of a pattern. I wanted to showcase the prints and create a somewhat sleek design; thus a settled for a lattice design. I decided to use a contrasting fabric and I love the sort of 3D effect that it gives.

To create the blocks I used the “slice and insert” method usually used for improv quilting but I tried to be precise with the piecing (and lots of pinning). It was easy and really fast to create the blocks and not paper piecing need.

For the quilting I used a straight line pattern 1 inch apart. I’m really happy how it turned out and my husband has been using since I gave it to him (I think he likes it too :))

Until next time!

Martha

Lotus Blossom Quilt

Happy Sunday

Today I wanted to share with you a quilt a finished a few weeks ago for a dear friend, but I wanted to hold on sharing it here until she received it. Now that the quilt has safely arrived to its destination, let me share some details with you about it.

This quilt was a bit of a departure of the scrappy projects I love so much and I’ve been focused working on lately. I wanted this quilt to feel fresh and calming; and when I found a few yards of this sweet floral fabric in my stash I knew I had to somehow use it to make this quilt. After a bit of brainstorming I decided to make a flower block using the classic snowball block. For the the center of each block I wanted a some contract but not so much that it draw all of your attention to it, after auditioning a few fabrics I settled on using essex linen in olive color. And I’m so happy I did. I think the essex linen is the perfect compliment to the floral fabric.

To quilt this quilt I used the serpentine stitch on my Janome machine and I love it. I used a light pink thread (which I’ve never done before) and I’m so pleased with the results. I’m so motivated to using color threads on my quilts now. The backing I used a very soft flannel that happens to coordinate so beautifully with the yellow on the florals. So pleased with how this quilt turned out and all the lessons I learned making it.

Scrappy Quarter Log Cabin Quilt II

Hello friends

I finished another scrappy quilt. I just love making scrappy projects. It is so satisfying to see the transformation from a pile of random scraps into the most dynamic, eclectic and at times chaotic (in a good way) piece of fabric.

A while back I made another quarter log cabin quilt (you can see it here); it was such a fun process making the log cabin blocks that I wanted to make another one. However for this quilt I assembled the blocks on point and added a small border around to allow he scrappy blocks to stand out. I can’t decide which arrangement I live better. But I love both quilts so much. To quilt this quilt I venture out of my comfort zone and deviated from my go to straight line quilting and I’m so glad I did. I used the Serpentine stitch on my Janome machine and I’m totally obsessed with the texture it provides; it give is so much movement and a lovely crinkle. For the binding I found a cute vintage fabric in my stash, she selvage said it was designed in 2001 and it just picks out all the colors from the blocks.

I just can’t get enough of scrappy projects. I’m already working on a couple more. I can’t wait to share with you.

Until next time

Martha