This next project I want to share with you is such a great scrapbuster!

I saw a quilt like it at my friend's mother's house and knew it would be such a fun project 

so I just had to make one too!

Here's a brief description of how to make this beginner-friendly quilt:

1. Gather a bunch of 4-1/2" wide scraps (they can be any length you want). 

I cut mine anywhere from 1-1/2" to about 5-6" in length.

2. Sew them into one long strip.  Press the seam allowances open.  

3. Cut that strip into 4-1/2" segments.   

Some of the fabrics will be wide and some will be narrow strips.  

You're not supposed to worry if they're really narrow - that's what

makes this pattern charming.  (I would adjust my ruler to avoid

having a piece that was smaller than 3/4" though).

4. Lay out the blocks, rotating every other one so the strips alternate directions.  

5. Sew the segments into rows.  Press the seams in one direction, 

alternating the direction with each row.  

6. Sew the rows together and press all the seams in one direction.

You can make this quilt any size you want.

I made mine pretty big to use up a bunch of fabrics from my stash.

I did an 18 x 21 layout (378 segments) so my quilt

finished at 72" x 84".  That means I needed a 4-1/2" wide 

strip of scraps about 48 YARDS long!!!

I had my friend, Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilt it for me

with a new-to-me panto called Spring.  It's made up of

circle and petal shapes.  Do you see the little bee Jen added in, just for fun?!?

She always hides a little object in the quilting for a fun game

of hide-and-seek.

I had the white and purple polka-dot fabric in my stash 

(but didn't have quite enough so I added in a strip of the mint green fabric

to make my back long enough).  Then I bound the quilt in the aqua floral fabric

from my fabric line, Treasured Threads by Poppie Cotton.  The specific name 

for that fabric is Double Crochet in the color Teal.

This project was really easy and really fun!

I highly suggest doing it if you have a lot of scraps!

I am having a quilt sale soon.

I have so many quilts that are just sitting in closets, not getting used

and I need to recoup some of my costs for them (plus gain back some closet space!)

So you can visit my Etsy shop HERE if you're interested in a pattern or a quilt.

This quilt will be included in the sale which will probably start on Monday 9/18/23.

Feel free to pass along this info to anyone you know who loves handmade quilts.

I would appreciate the shares!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy quilting!

Lattice Quilt

 Hi friends!  Today I'm sharing a fun

quilt I made with some blocks I received

in a block swap.

This was a project I participated in with my local quilt group.

We do swaps a few times a year.  This time, our swap coordinator

sent out some simple instructions for these lattice blocks along with

some earth-tone color palette pictures for inspiration.

We swapped sets of 40 blocks each month for 3 months.  We could swap more than one set if we wanted to...but I only did one set each month.  That gave me 120 blocks and then I made 104 more blocks on my own for a total of 224 blocks.  I probably should've just made more sets to swap but I wasn't sure what my plan was at the time.  Oh, and one set of fabrics could not be repeated more than 7 times so that we had lots of variety.

We were asked to not trim or press the blocks before swapping so everyone could do that themselves, according to their own preference and with their own ruler.  I tried to stay on top of the pressing and trimming each month so I wouldn't have to do it all at the end.

After I had all the blocks pressed and trimmed I spent a long time laying them out in rainbow (ish) order from top to bottom.  I have never spent so long laying out blocks before!  There is no exact science to this method.  I only focused on the triangle colors and didn't worry about the colors of the skinny rectangle pieces.  I tried to create balance.  It's not perfect but it's pleasing to my eye.  I did a 14 x 16 block layout so it would be symmetrical.  I made the last few blocks at this stage so I could see what colors I still needed.

I stacked all the blocks up in rows and numbered them with my Marilee's Numbered Pins 

to keep everything in order.  Then I sewed them together using the web piecing technique.

Click HERE to get a free PDF describing how to do that method.  I love it because it saves time and thread!

Can I be honest here for a sec...?

When we first started the swap I thought this was going to be the ugliest quilt ever!
Haha!  I did not see how all of these fabrics were going to come together.

But once I got them all laid out I started to really like it.  Oh, and in case you're wondering I did use all the blocks I was given except for a few that the seam allowances were really tiny or the middle rectangle was too wide.  Those kinds of things happen in a swap.  But I didn't hold out any because of their color.

P.S. There are lots of ways you could put these blocks together.  Some people did

a scrappy layout.  Some people put four blocks together and then sashed

those.  I wanted to do something different so this is what I came up with.  They all turned out really cute though.  They're all so scrappy.  Swapping blocks was "the way to go" with this quilt!

I backed my quilt with some fabric that I just so happened to have in my stash.

It's called Francesca in Mediterraneo from the Nonna collection by Guicy Guice for Andover.

I love that it incorporated so many earth-tone colors!

I had Jen Ostler quilt it with the Glass Castle panto by Karlee Porter.  I hadn't used that panto before but I really liked the movement it gave to the front of the quilt and it complimented the backing fabric nicely (it's a little hard to see in the picture but the background of the backing fabric has a similar design).

I finished binding it while I was at a quilt retreat in Montana last week.

My friend Brooke and I took our quilts down to the lake to get some pictures and 

I love how this one turned out!  It was windy and we were laughing so hard.

Isn't her smile and the lighting so great?!?

It was a fun project!

There are always some issues when you participate in a swap but 

overall I'm so glad I participated in it!  I love how this quilt turned out.

So worth it!

I've been asked many times for details on this block so I've created a simple PDF

with instructions and the details on my specific quilt.  Click HERE to get that

and let me know if you have any questions!

Happy quilting!

Positive Vibes Quilt

 Hello, hello!  I finally got some pictures of my 

finished Positive Vibes quilt that I want to share with you today!

I got her quilted a while ago but I am so slow at binding these days

and I'm even slower at getting pictures!

I designed this pattern to go along with my recent fabric collection

with Poppie Cotton called Treasured Threads.  The little rectangles in it

remind me of stitching.

It's fat-quarter-friendly and the pattern comes

with instructions for 2 size options - baby and throw.

I hosted a quilt-along for it in March and April of this year.

I even taught a few Positive Vibes classes for different guilds

recently and it is so fun seeing the different colorways people choose.

It's cute in every colorway!

I would say the skill level on this pattern is advanced beginner.

It has an on-point layout (so the blocks are turned 45 degrees).  

It's not much harder to sew a quilt this way.  

You just sew diagonal rows of blocks with triangles on the ends - 

to square it up.

I had my quilter, Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilt it for me.

She used the Diamond Loops pattern and I love it!

I think the diagonal lines and the curvature of the loops really compliment

the pattern and the fabrics!

I love a good scrappy binding and this one does not disappoint!

This quilt finishes at 71" x 85".  

A nice large throw-size quilt!

Glad to finally have her finished and photographed!

If you'd like to snag a copy of this pattern you can

visit my Etsy shop HERE.

And you can check out the two-color 

baby version I made HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

I'd love to hear what you think about this quilt

and let me know if you have any questions.

Firework Quilt Tutorial

Happy July friends!

Today I'm sharing another red, white, and blue quilt with you.

I just can't get enough of this summery, patriotic color combo!

I've been wanting to do something with the

 triangle cutoffs from my Glory quilt for a while now. 

So I used them to make 

3" finished Hourglass blocks.

And paired them with some coordinating 

solid squares that I cut from my stash.

I used 97 Hourglass blocks and 98 solid squares in this quilt.

I did a 13 x 15 layout so the finished size is 39-1/2" x 45 1/2".  

A nice baby-size quilt!  Are there any 4th of July babies out there?!?

I know a couple...

I had the backing fabric (leftover from another quilt back)

+ the binding fabric in my stash so I didn't buy anything

specifically for this project.  That always feels so good!

Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah quilted it for me.

She always quilts in an extra little motif for the

recipient to find; this time it was a heart.  So cute!

The panto Jen used is called Groovy Stars by Melissa Kelley.

If you want to make this baby-size quilt but don't have cutoffs 

from the Glory quilt, you will need:

Approximately 2-1/2 yards of red/blue scraps

1-1/2 yards of white fabric

1-1/2 yards of backing fabric

1/2 yard of binding fabric (cut five 2-1/2" x 40" strips)

To make (2) 3" finished Hourglass blocks, cut:

(1) red/blue 4-1/2" square and 

(1) white 4-1/2" square to make 

Here's a quick little step-by-step tutorial 

on how to make Hourglass blocks:

Step 1: Place (1) red/blue 4-1/2" square and (1) white 4-1/2" square on top of each other,

right sides together.  Mark a diagonal line on the top (white) square

going from corner to corner in both directions.  Sew 1/4" away

from one of those diagonal lines on both sides of the marked line.

Step 2: Cut through the squares on

both of the marked diagonal lines.

3.  Press the seam allowances toward the red/blue triangles

and then mix and match the units so two red/blue

triangles are opposite each other.  Sew the units together 

along the long edges (nesting the seams) to make

2 Hourglass blocks.

Step 4. Trim each block to 3-1/2".

(The center point of the block should be

the 1-3/4" mark on your ruler.)

Of course, you can make a 

Firework quilt as big or as small as you want.

Make as many Hourglass blocks as you need

for your desired quilt size.  

Click HERE if you want a Firework Quilt Coloring Sheet.

(There are extra squares on it if you want to make a bigger quilt!)

Also, if you're looking for more red, white, and blue

inspiration - check out THIS post featuring all 

the red, white, and blue quilts I've ever made!

What fun plans do you have in July?

We're going to Bear Lake at the end of the month.  Can't wait!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial today.

Let me know if you have any questions and happy quilting!

Kaleidoscope Quilt

 Hey there!  Today I want to share a really fun,

scrappy quilt I finished recently - my Kaleidoscope quilt!

I started with a bunch of random fat quarters from my stash...

And turned them into this finished quilt top!

The pattern I used is a free paper-piecing pattern called Kaleidoscope

by Sharon Holland.  Click HERE for the link.

I'm a HUGE fan of Sharon's work.  

She designs fabric for Art Gallery Fabrics and I swoon over

everything she creates!  Her Instagram feed is gorgeous and inspiring 

so be sure to check her out at @sharonhollanddesigns.

Sharon's Kaleidoscope pattern is for a mini quilt that finishes at 27-1/2" x 27-1/2"

(a 4 x 4 block layout).  The pattern has complete instructions and diagrams

 so it's a great project to practice the technique of paper-piecing.

The steps are repetitive and the project is small

so I highly recommend this for any paper-piecing newbie out there!

I LOVE paper piecing so I decided to make my Kaleidoscope quilt bigger 

with a 12 x 12 layout.  My quilt finishes at about 78" x 78". 

Because I multiplied the number of blocks to make by 9

I also multiplied the required background fabric by 9.

I had a LOT left over (I think I bought about 11 yards!) but unfortunately,

I don't remember how much was left over so I can't recommend 

how much to buy for this size quilt.  So sorry friends!

I started this project in February 2022 so I was thrilled

to get the quilt top finished just over a year later, in March of 2023.

A reminder that not every quilt comes together in just a few days

(like it sometimes seems on Instagram!)

I had the hardest time deciding on backing and binding fabrics

but I finally ended up with this rusty orange stripe for the binding.

It's called Morning Ray #187 by Edyta Sitar for Andover Fabrics.

The aqua floral backing (that you can see peeking out in the photo below)

is #9874 by Giucy Giuce for Andover Fabrics.

They don't really go together but the quilt is so scrappy that I don't mind.

Do you see the cute little heart that my quilter

Jen Ostler quilted into the design?  If you've been

around long enough, you know that she always quilts

an extra little shape into the quilt for the quilt recipient to find.  It's

a fun little game of hide and seek!

Jen used the Swivel Circles pantograph on my quilt and I love it!

A few friends joined me in this endeavor so I hope to get a 

picture of all of us with our Kaleidoscope quilts someday.

It was a fun project and I'm really happy

it's done so I can enjoy the finished quilt now!

Thanks for stopping by today!

I hope you feel inspired.

Let me know if you have any questions!