Deciding On A Layout for a Slab Quilt

In my last post I discussed finding a stack of fabrics in a color way which I really liked. While I was looking forward to fabric shopping, I discovered that if I were willing to add some prints, I had exactly what I needed in my stash!

The blocks are simple slabs: 8 inches square, unfinished. Slabs are typically 12.5 inches square, unfinished. But my stash is looking rather scrappy these days, and I found lots of 8 inch pieces. 12.5 would have been a struggle! So smaller blocks it is!

In my previous post, you can see my attempts to draw out the colors of the stack of fabric I fell in love with online. Looking at the quilt layout on the left hand side above, you can see the the colors which were in the fabric stack. A bright green, a pastel green, a school bus yellow, a lemon yellow, a light pink, bright pink (my addition), a magenta, a dusty purple and a dark purple. The set also had red and maroon in it, but that didn’t make a lot of sense to me. By I the time I had made the purple blocks, I already had 2 more blocks than I needed. So I was relieved to be able to leave out the reds!

While I like the gradient flow of the layout on the left, I find the jumbled colors in the layout on the right much more exciting. I looks to me like a pastel madras print.

I had one more thing to check before settling on a layout. Where the bolder colors scattered evenly through the quilt? I thought they were, but there is an easy way to check.

Take a photo of the layout, and then change the colors to grey scale. The more saturated colors show up beautifully. This layout looks pretty good to me. It might be a bit darker along the bottom, but my quilts tend to be that way, and I don’t think I want more of the intense purples to be up higher in the quilt.

I think I’m ready to sew this lap/baby size quilt together!

Color Way Matches Without Using Fabric

Left to Right: Procreate App, Berol Prismacolor colored pencils, Caran D’Ache Neocolor TM II Aquarelle

I saw a stack of fabrics which I really liked online. Ready to click the buy button, I read the reviews and discovered they weren’t quilting fabrics. Ready to go shopping, I decided to see what was in the stash first.

If I were willing to add some prints to the solids I had planned on using, I had everything I needed. Just proof that it’s wise to check the stash first if you have one!

I wanted to shared the colors in the color way I fell in love with. But I couldn’t use a photo from online without permission, and I had already put away the fabrics I had used to make this quilt.

So I decided to see what other modalities might do the job. I got close, but paint and dyes are two different beasties, so I knew I was unlikely to get exact matches.

I would have expected to get the best matches with Procreate on my iPad. Maybe I could have if I worked at it longer. But it turns out that the colored pencils did the best job. The two sets of colors in the middle and on the right were drawn on paper, so that’s why the background appears a bit grey. Procreate wins there, as that background is invisible.

A fun exercise which might be useful if I ever wanted an easy way to take some colors to a store to try to find similar colored fabrics to purchase.

My June and July Blocks in the Smithsonian Quilt Along with the National Museum of the American Indian

The National Museum of the American Indian is running a Quilt Along this year as part of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There are four 10 inch blocks that can be made into a wall hanging. Block patterns are released on the first day of June, July, August and September 2026.

You can read about, and join, this Quilt Along by clicking this Quilt Along Link which will take you to the museum’s website at the Smithsonian.

The blocks follow a historical timeline from the time before settlers arrived, through today, and looking toward the future.

The bison were a fun raw edge appliqué. I made mine with a collection of brown prints and a reproduction 1930s floral which I chose to represent the prairie.

The Hawaiian block is a needle turn applique block. I picked a bright yellow background (warmer and less green in real life) and a purchased hand-dyed piece of fabric with blues and greens I found in my stash. It reminds me of the ocean. I had done some needle turn appliqué in the past, but making a Hawaiian block with its tight curves was a new adventure for me. It took some time, but once I got in a rhythm, it was fun to stitch.

I’m waiting to make all the blocks before I assemble and quilt them. This is a great project. Please sign up and join all the folks across the country doing this sew along. It’s free.

Red and White Half Square Triangle Baby Quilt with Central Diamond

I have a little stash of reproduction 1930s fabrics and decided it was time to use some of them.

I seem to be focused on half square triangle (HST) quilts at the moment. Looking back at my blog I found quilts that had a diamond built into the pattern. That seemed like a great way to add the contemporary red and white bird fabric. It’s not a 30’s print but it plays well with them!

I opened Electric Quilt 8 and designed the quilt above. Some of my fabrics had been used so I only had strips. So I chose the cut the base squares at 7 1/2 inches. That gave me a 6 1/2 inch square which finishes in the quilt as a 6 inch block.

The binding is baby blue because that color is in some of the prints and is in the red and cream 30s print I used for the backing. It gives the quilt a nice pop!

I love this one. It is reminds me of a bandana! So much fun!

Here are some of my other HST with build int diamonds quilts.

Dalmatians and Half Square Triangles

Diamond is the Forest Quilt

Sending Greetings

Yet Another "Broken Dishes" Quilt

If you read my previous post, you know that I made a set of half square triangle blocks in an attempt to “rescue” a quilt with some blocks which the fabric design wasn’t uprint. But in the end, I didn’t use them for that project.

However, I loved these blocks. There were just enough to make a small baby quilt.

There is a novelty print with children playing on the back of this quilt. It is another favorite fabric that has been in my stash for a long time, just waiting for a use. I only purchased a yard and I had taken a “nibble”out of it for another project. So I only had enough to make this quilt linear, rather than the typical horizontal layout.
I have some other horizontal quilts and I do like them!

Quilt backing

The binding on this quilt is another stash item. I had a bit of binding left over from another quilt and with a bit of hunting around I found a fat quarter which I was able to piece to get just enough length to bind this quilt.

I really like the floral binding on the front of this solid quilt. It makes me smile!

Another "Broken Dishes", Really Broken This Time!

I had so much fun making the Spring Rabbits Broken Dishes quilt that I decided to make another one.
Directional prints are a problem in half square triangle quilts. I got all the rabbits upright in my last quilt because more of the triangle blocks were solid colors and the novelty print blocks are just an accent.

I wanted the blocks in this quilt to be half print and half solids. Turned out there was no way to get the mountains all upright. I made more blocks with solids to see if I could make it work like the last quilt, but I just didn’t like that.

So I decided to just go with the Broken Dishes theme…the pieces were just “glued back” every which way.

At a distance, the print looks like a camouflage print. It’s a lap size quilt, perfect to throw on the top of the bed as it will hide both yellow and black Labrador fur!

Sometimes bindings are just bindings. This time the multi-colored strip fabric helps to connect all the colors in the quilt. And it really pops!

Overall I’d say this broken quilt is a success.

"Spring Rabbits" Broken Dishes Quilt

A few weeks ago I was at the dentist for a routine cleaning. I was early for my appointment and noticed a beautiful coffee table book on Amish quilts from the Smithsonian next to the magazines.

It’s a beautiful book, a catalog for an exhibit. I found 2 quilts I especially liked. One was a traditional “Broken Dishes” made with half square triangles and the other was an improv crazy quilt which is very unusual for an Amish quilter. I was so engrossed in looking at the book that I didn’t hear my name when the dental hygienist call me!

I had a delightful fabric from Dollbelge with rabbits, spring fairies, birds and nests at home. I wasn’t sure how to use it. But the Broken Dishes quilt looked perfect. And it was.

I wanted to use all the fabric so added a panel on the back. I think it took me longer to set in that panel that it took me to piece all the half square triangles for the front of the quilt.

Here is the back of the quilt and photo of the book’s cover.

I have another focus fabric that will be perfect for another Broken Dishes quilt. And stay tuned for the a project based on the Crazy Quilt in the book!

My "Sweet Dreams" Quilt, A Modern Quilt Studio Sew Along Project

Last month Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, of Modern Quilt Studio, hosted a one day improv baby quilt sew along. They named the quilt “Sweet Dreams”. Two of my improv loving quilt friends sewed along too, and we had fun texting, comparing our progress.

The quilt featured 3 bars which were improv pieced. The official quilt had the bars running from side to side. I wanted to make the quilt a bit larger, so I floated my bars. The colors were chosen to match the back of the quilt…which I know the child who gets it will consider the front!

Back of my “Sweet Dreams” quilt. Or is it really the front???

It took me about 1.5-2 hours to piece each of my bars, so the quilt isn’t really a one day project. I knew that my current dogs are not yet old enough to meet proficient Sleeping Dogs standards, so I sewed up my bars the week prior to the sew along. We didn’t get the final directions until the day before. I was able to complete the top the day of the sew along, but only because the majority of the quilt was pre-pieced and I just needed to assemble it.

This is a fun project and I might make it again—either with improv pieced bars or bars of using a fun fabric.

Years ago I took a great course “Designing Modern Quilts” which Weeks taught on Craftsy. Here’s another toddler improv quilt that I made using blocks from Week’s class. Interesting that it also has a dog theme!

My Version of Quilters Playcation 2026 Completed Quilt

This year Cheryl Arkison hosted her Quilters Playaction Adventure Sew Along for 30 days during January and February 2026. Every afternoon she created and demonstrated how to make the block of the day. Most of the blocks were improv but a few were precision pieced traditional blocks…or part of a tradition block.

Some of the blocks had roots in current events, some were related to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy which were happening during the sew-along weeks. In fact, Cheryl often had an event on the computer, on mute, as she was sewing the block of the day with us.

I added a corner to one block and replaced the numeric logo for the the 26 Olympics with an improv head of my Lab/Golden dog.

It was so much fun working on this quilt, especially as I had 2 guild friends also making it.

I was at loose ends when the project was done. I’d be planning my day to be free at the time Cheryl was live on Instagram each day and then realize there was no new block and I could get dinner ready at a more reasonable time instead.

I decided to quilt the block in a 3 inch square grid. It was easy to do and I love the way the grid fills the negative space in the blocks which looked mostly empty.

Such a great project. So grateful for Cheryl’s creativity and generosity in offering her free Quilters Playcation Adventure Sew Alongs.

Improv Quilt Project hosted by Chery Arkison, Halfway Point

Getting this photograph turned out to be a bit an adventure. We just had a 2 day snow storm and the drifts are deep. I thought the dogs had packed enough of the snow down for me to reach the clothes line on the fence. Well, I got there, but my boot sank down, with the snow coming up to my knee. But, I got a daylight picture!

This is the first 15 of 30 blocks in the Quilters Playcation Adventure Sew Along 2026 hosted by Cheryl Arkison. Thirty blocks in 30 days. Lots of improv piecing and a smidgen of precision piecing. Cheryl’s favorite block tend to be improv and feature one curve, or more!

Two more weeks to go to complete the project!

You can see other folks blocks on Instagram with the hashtag #qpas2026.

Improv Quilt Project hosted by Cheryl Arkison

I haven’t been doing any quilting for a while now, but this year Cheryl Arkison is hosting a 30 day 30 block Quilters Playcation Adventure Sew Along 2026 from mid January to mid February. So I jumped on board. Here are the first 10 blocks which make up the first 2 rows.

The star fabric and some of the yellows and greens were purchased as a set I curated myself years ago. Intermittently I’ve pulled out the set, didn’t know what to do with it, but still loved it. This year it had just the amount of yardage of the feature fabric I needed for this Sew Along. I always thought it would be a Christmas quilt. But as it is all stars, it’s perfect for sewing during Epiphany

Raw Edge Appliqué Snow People Quilt Blocks

I’ve been working on making raw edge appliqué quilt blocks of snow people over the past several weeks. I started off with just a plain, everyday hardworking snowman. My friends suggested a hat or scarf was needed. I couldn’t add anything to my first snow person because I’d already trimmed the block to the finished size 10.5 inches that I wanted. So Number 1 is staying basic.

Since then I’ve made 2 more. One with a hat and one with a scarf. Hopefully my friends will be happier now! Frankly, I like them all!

I cut the background block 11 inches square. Then I used a dog bowl to trace the circle for the head. (My compass wasn’t big enough to draw a circle large enough).

I used both Steam-a-Seam 2 and Lite Steam-a-Steam 2 to fuse the pieces onto the background. I found the regular product easier to work with. It was difficult to get the second sheet of paper off a circle when I used the Lite version.

I really like this fusible product. Both sides are sticky so it’s possible to put the piece of fabric down and it will stay in place. But it’s also still possible to pick it up and move it around. Once the piece has been ironed, it’s permanent. The only downside was that it does leave a bit of gummy stuff on the sewing machine’s needle. But that wipes off easily, so it’s something to look for, but I didn’t find it to be much of a problem.

Check my last post to read about how I did the machine appliqué stitching.

This project needs to be done in layers. Here’s a sequence of how I made the snow person with a scarf.

1. Three tips for sewing. Use your needle down option with the needle in the down position if your machine has that feature. That way the block can’t slip and slide away from you.

2. Use an open toe foot so you can actually see where you are stitching.

3. And finally, take your time. If you stitch slowly and adjust the fabric incrementally as you sew around the curves, you will get a great result!

I think I’m done making these blocks with just these three. But they were a fun little project!

Notice: This blog is not monetized: I do not use affiliate links. When there are links in a post, they are to give credit to another creative person, because I like or have used a product, or to help the reader easily find supplies for a project.

Raw Edge Appliqué Holiday Kitchen Towel Embellishment

I’ve been gifting kitchen towels to friends and family for years. I was sewing 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares together to make a strip attached along the lower part of the towel. I had pulled together fabrics to do something similar this year…but then I did some raw edge appliqué for another project. Why not do something new this year? So back I went to the bin of holiday fabrics to look for motifs to appliqué!

I picked up stack of towels at IKEA this past summer, so I already had those, and I did find a couple great fabrics in my stash.

I have a variety of double stick fusible web options in my cupboard, This time I pulled out Steam-a- Seam ® 2 made by the Warm Company. I discovered that I really like working with this product, especially because I can put my fabric down on the fusible and it stays put because the product is sticky. But you can pick your fabric up and move it around if you need to. That is so helpful, and makes cutting out the motif to fuse a breeze!

Once the final shape is cut out, the appliqué is fused to the fabric with a steam iron. The Warm Company states that it is fused permanently.

Then off to the sewing machine. I used my trusty old Bernina 440 to stitch around the edges of the fused appliqué. I chose the overcast stitch, leaving the stitch width the the same as the machine setting but decreasing the stitch length to 1.5 so that the stitches were closer together.

See what stitches your sewing machine has to see if there is something similar you can use.

This was a fun, quick project that I was able to complete in a half a day.

Notice: This blog is not monetized: I do not use affiliate links. When there are links in a post, they are to give credit to another creative person, because I like or have used a product, or to help the reader easily find supplies for a project.

Little Christmas Stockings

Over the past 25 years, a good friend made me two sets of three Christmas stockings for my dogs. The original ones where knit from yarn scraps and had stripes on the legs. Each dog had a name tag with a tiny Christmas rubber stamped image and their name written in calligraphy. The second set of Christmas stockings were for my most recent 3 dogs. The socks were middle sized and each had the dog’s name done with color work in the knitting. Sadly all three are now dogs of the heart, no longer on the hearth. (Though actually my house doesn’t have a hearth but you get the idea)!

My friend is in her late 80s now, and I don’t think she’s doing any knitting now. But I want to continue the tradition, so I’m making my current two dogs stockings of their own.

The pattern is on Ravelry. It’s called “Mini Christmas Stockings” by Julie Williams of Little Cotton Rabbits. She sells the pattern but the cost is very reasonable.

The stocking is knitted flat and then seamed up the back. The instructions are great, but each time I knit one (I’m on my third) I see details I missed before. But I think that just I don’t knit a lot. I can complete a stocking in an afternoon if I have some quiet time to concentrate on the designs.

These stockings are really sweet. I’m using yarns I have, so the weights don’t necessarily match exactly, but that seems to work out anyway, I love how they work up, so I’ll probably make a few more and then decide which ones I want to keep for my dogs.

"Lucy in the Sky" completed quilt

My Beatles themed Summer Challenge quilt got done in time to be entered in the contest at our guild’s second meeting.

I know the diamonds (the grey squares) were probably the blocks that should have been accentuated, but the yellow blocks are the stars that will shine best over time. So they are the blocks to which I added extra stitching. They are all a bit different. I like things a bit wonky!

On the back is a colorful dot pattern and somehow is reminiscent of musical notes, at least to me! Anyway, I liked the added color!

The binding is a black and white tiny strip. As yardage, it really boggles the eyes. But in a 1/4 wide binding, it’s great.

Check out my September 11, 2025 post for information about the quilt pattern.

Both dogs would have looked great posing with this quilt. but Zebedee was outside and willing!

Knitting Tiny Hedgehogs

My hand was really stiff and swollen after my the cast for my fracture was removed. But I had good function in my first and second fingers. They hadn’t been in the cast like my 4th and 5th fingers, but their mobility was definitely impinged by it!

One Saturday morning, walking home from the Farmers Market, I stopped in at Tight Knit, a new knitting store in the Square. There, on the front counter, were 2 small knit hedgehogs, made by a client. They were adorable! And small! I figured that my hands were probably up to knitting a tiny hedghog!

I asked the owner if she had a pattern and was told the pattern was “Hans the Hedgehog”, and could be found on Ravelry. Turns out the creator of the pattern is someone whose work I know well. Margaret Bloom is the author of two awesome books on about making peg dolls. Both of which I have in my crafting bookcase and have used extensively. Old friend, new medium!

Ravelry will redirect you to Margaret’s website, “We Bloom Here”, and the pattern I used to knit the Hans the Hedghog {Sic} is in a blog post from November 25, 2013. As I would expect, the pattern’s directions are excellent. It takes me a bit over an hour to knit the tiny hedghog (2.5 inches) plus a bit more time to embroider the eyes, nose and sew on the felt ears.

My occupational therapist was delighted when I told her I’d been able to knit and totally smitten when I showed her the picture of what I’d made. I didn’t think it was a big deal to be knitting because my thumb, first and second fingers were doing most of the work. But she told me it was great therapy for my affected 4th and 5th fingers as they are used for balance while knitting. Fascinating! I knit the larger green hedghog for her, just because she loved them so much.

Googling Hans and Margaret Bloom today, I discovered that Margaret has written a new pattern for a BIG Hans the Hedghog! He comes out at nine inches! He’s pretty cute too, but my favorite Hans is the little 2.5 inch fellow!

If you fall down the Google rabbit hole, looking for more about Hans the Hedgehog, you’ll discover that he is actually a Grimm Fairy tale. It’s a bit peculiar. But that may just be me…I’ve always found Grimm fairy tales to be, well, grim!

"Lucy in the Sky" Quilt Top

Our quilt guild’s Summer Challenge this year was to pick a title or a line from a Beatles song and use as the inspiration for a quilt, wall hanging or other quilty project. I initially was going to use the song “Fixing a Hole”, and planned to sew a house block, putting a Sachiko patch on the roof.

But leafing through catalogs, I found this pattern, “Sunnyside” by Busy Hands Quilts in a Connecting Threads catalog. The tune “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” instantly started going around my head! So that clinched that!

The cast has been off my broken hand for a few weeks, and finally I’ve had enough range of motion and strength to a bit of sewing each morning. The finished quilt is due this week. Not happening! But I’m delighted to have the top completed. Because our guild has one evening and one morning meeting a month, each with a slightly different cast of characters which warrants a second round in the competition, I hopefully can get it quilted and bound for judging at the next meeting in two weeks.

Accordion Photo Book

When my shy, big, black dog reached the end of her life in May, I knew I wanted to do something tangible to remember her. I’ve often sent pictures in to get photo books made, but Hazel was special, and I wanted to make something myself.

I finally decided on an accordion photo album. I cut two pieces of 8.5 x 11 black paper in half, the long way. Then I glued 3 of the strips together. Tacky Glue® caused the paper to wrinkle but Books by Hand® PVA glue worked beautifully.

i needed to fold the pages to fit the 4x6 inch pieces of chipboard I had for the covers. My hand is in a cast, so the folding isn’t perfect. but I’m ok with that.

I covered the chipboard with fancy wrapping paper, then glued the first and last folded pages to the two covers. Then I added some of my favorite pictures.

This book is really fun. when you reach the last page in the front of the book, the cover can be flipped and there is another sequence of photos on the other side. A little treasure book!

Slicing and Dicing Postcards for Little Accordian Books

I spent a couple days at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston this past week. I’ve loved postcards ever since I was a child growing up in Europe. We traveled a lot and visited lots of museums. The beauty of postcards is that they are inexpensive, taken in the best light conditions and provide instant gratification. This was especially great in the mid 20th century when photos were all taken with film, needed to go to the developer, and only then, days later did you know if you had captured what you had seen! And that was IF you were even allowed to take photographs.

I picked up 5 postcards at the MFA and decided to slice them up, using a technique I’d seen in some quilts. For the first two I simply cut the postcard in straight slices, the way the fabric for the quilts was cut.

The first two postcards I cut without marking the sections. Oops. I had to goggle the paintings to see how the pieces went back together!

This is “Rue Gauguet” by Nicholas de Staël. © MFA Boston.

After cutting two postcards in vertical sections, I decided it would be more fun, and more interesting, to cut the postcard into multiple sections.

This “Sun on the Lake” by Arthur Dove, at the MFA Boston.

And Winslow Homer’s “The Blue Boat”. ©MFA Boston.

A friend of mine once had a small letterhead print press in her home. The paper I used to mount the postcards was from a book of sample paper she gave to me years ago went they moved house. I need to trim off the faded edges but love being able to recycle it!

These simple little books are so much fun to make. I think I need to find some postcards!

Having Fun with Zines, Thanks to Lila!

So, my Labrador and I were having a lovely summer afternoon walk recently when we both spied a ball of sea foam green yarn in the middle of the street. My first thought was “Why?” Immediately followed with a thought about the potential for a large veterinary bill. I told Lila the yarn was not for her. But her adolescent retriever brain was way ahead of mine in assessing the situation and she instantly decided “I get it!” And she did, though in the process, she knocked me flat in the street, breaking one of the long bones in my left hand. I’m doing well, but there isn’t going to be any quilting for a least a month. So I’m on an unplanned holiday, which is actually rather nice!

I can’t to sew, but I can draw and paste, so I’ve been having fun making zines. If you don’t know, a typical zine is a little book created by folding and cutting a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. There are a variety of ways to fold and cut.

Here are 2 zines that I made this week.

The first is playing with colors and patterns.

The second one was made using a couple ladybug rubber stamps.The book is about one ladybug going on an adventure. So the apostrophe is in the right place! But when I found the stamp with the ladybugs walking in a row, I couldn’t resist adding it. Now it looks like there are multiple ladybugs frolicking, but it’s really just one!

The children at camp in June where I was the art director were fascinated by optical illusions. so rather than copy some, I decided to just draw and see what would happen. Bits work better than others. but I think it’s fun.

I’m having so much fun exploring another artistic medium.