Improv Squares

 This quilt is made from a tutorial by CluckCluckSew, 'Easy Stack, Cut, and Sew Blocks'.

 

I used a variety of fabrics from bunnies, dogs, to canned vegetables and gardens.

 

The backing is filled with small dogs. 

The quilting is a simple stipple design, and I made a scrappy binding. Finished size is 39" x 52".

This is my thirteenth charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 92 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Colorwash Quilt

 This quilt is the result of the sew-along initiated by Terry Rowland of @trowstudios. Using scraps to make improvised 3.5" blocks and then sew the blocks into a colorwash design. I dug into my scrap bins and started making blocks.

After making about 10 blocks a day it took me a little bit over a month to make all the 320 blocks needed for my quilt, in all colors I had available in my scrap bins.

This is the resulting colorwash quilt. The colors go (almost) seamlessly over from one part of the quilt to the other. The quilt measures 48" x 60" and is my favorite make so far. Who would think that a bunch of scrap fabrics could result in this beauty?!

The quilt was taken out for a photo shoot on a windy Novermber day. No problems for my quilt holder to hang onto it.

As you can see there is no snow yet where I live. Actually it is very warm for being late November. The colorful quilt really brightens up the surroundings.

The backing fabric is an interesting one. For the binding I used a striped fabric in black and white.

I used cotton Hobbs batting with scrim binder for the quilt sandwich.

Using all kinds of fabrics for the blocks can result in surprises, like this ODD block. I love it!

The quilting was done with Aurifil thread 50wt, shaded light grey in color #4060 and white #2021 in the bobbin in an organic style.

Striped binding for the win!

No, my scrap bins didn't shrink much in volume after completing this quilt... 

Keep on quilting!

 

Kawandi Needle Book

 Sometimes I just want to sit down and relax with a slow stitching project, no time limits, just for fun. Kawandi quilts seem to be my new relaxation.

 

This time I used blue and green scraps to make a needle book, this is the finished product.

The process started like this. The little quilt started like this. It is completely hand sewn. I used Aurifil 12wt thread in color 2720, a thread that was a good match for the scraps of fabric.

The completed fabric all stretched out, measuring approx. 4" x 8". A button and a crocheted loop was added for closure.

The inside (or backing) of the Kawandi is the softest flannel. A few pieces of wool fabric was cut with my pinking shears and sewn in for my needles.

Another tiny Kawandi project is completed, it feels good!

Keep on quilting!

Kawandi Quilt

 

Kawandi quilts seem to be one of the hottest projects around these days. I jumped on this wagon and made a charity quilt for the children's ward at my local hospital.

There are lots of interesting fabrics in this quilt, colorful prints with animals and many recognizable objects. This will be perfect for a little child.

Kawandi quilts are 100% handsewn and are sewn from the outside in. The first row of the project with fabric pieces of different sizes. 

The starting point of this quilt was the softest  piece of a flannel backing from my stash. With a thin cotton backing I started stitching.

A detailed picture of the process. Since you sew through three layers, the project is being quilted as you go (QAYG). I used a white cotton crochet yarn for the big stitching.

I made a little test project first of 6"x9" to get acquainted with the technique.

My big Kawandi quilt measures 28"x41" and is the softest and most cuddly quilt I have ever made! It is the most relaxing and rewarding quilting technique I have ever tried.

This is my twelfth charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 91 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Halloween Pouch

 Holloween is in a month's time, and those kind of projects are popping up all over Instagram. I have made two Halloween quilts in my early days as a quilter, Number 1 , Number 2 . Wow, it was actually 10 years ago!

 I figured out it was time to make another Halloween timed project, this time a practical pouch. Noodlehead's Open Wide pouch is my go-to pattern. Focus fabric is from my stash, and the bottom is recycled denim.

 The backside is a huge spiderweb!
I folded a strip of pumpkin fabric and sewed it in between the top and bottom fabric.

 

The lining fabric is black with orange dots, so appropriate! A fast and fun little project.

Caterpillar Quilt

The starting point for this quilt was a panel of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I read this book by Eric Carle many times for my kids when they were small.

There was no way I could cut up this panel so I used it as a focal point for the quilt.

 A narrow, blue strip border was added around the panel in addition to colorful blocks. Pinwheels with fruits and berries gave an extra dimension to the quilt.

 I also found a paper pieced butterfly block (designed by Lillyella Stitchery) that I had made a few years back. It was perfect to be placed in the upper right corner of this quilt because the caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly in the end!

Final dimensions for this quilt is 36" x 43", a good size for a small child. 

This is my eleventh charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 90 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

My first Kawandi

 

Here's my first attempt of making a Kawandi quilt. I dove into my bin with small scraps and had a blast! Lots of colorful pieces were hand sewn into the final product, it was a really relaxing process. 

I used Aurifil 12wt thread in white 2024 to create this wonderful, scrappy piece of art that measures 9.5" x 6.5".  Maybe my favorite mug rug. Love the big stitches.

Already planning a bigger piece for next time, probably refining the technique a bit.

Keep on (hand) stitching!

Scrappy Strings

 

 

 Making quilts implies that there will be leftover fabrics. Colorful strings make interesting new scrappy masterpieces.

For this quilt I dug into my bins for novelty prints and bright fabrics. Each string block was 6.5" unfinished.

I added a grey border around the blocks, assembled some frankenbatting and pieced a backing from duvet covers.

I decided it was time for some FMQ practice, this time swirls in silver colored thread. To finish it off I pieced together leftover binding pieces from other projects. Finished size for this baby quilt is 40" squared.

The backing consists of a flannel duvet cover I have used on several projects, plus an added strip to make it big enough. This is a cozy and warm backing.

This is my tenth charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 89 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

 

 

Bitty Blocks Discovered

 

 When I was tidying my sewing space I discovered a bunch of these tiny blocks that were a part of a free sew along hosted by Quilting Daily. I think it started in 2015. I didn't keep up with the sew along, other projects stole my attention.

If  I had completed the sew along of these Bitty Blocks it would have resulted in a scrappy twin size quilt. Well, I didn't make that. So, what to do with the blocks? Why not make a charity quilt for the hospital? A few new blocks had to be made to get the quilt to a decent size.

 I added white sashing in between the blocks in addition to a white border to even it out. A green print border completed the quilt top. 

Frankenbatting was used in the quilt sandwich. It is quilted with vertical wavy lines. To finish the quilt I used leftover binding pieces from other projects. Finished size of the quilt is 34" x 42".

A truly scrappy project!

This is my ninth charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 88 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Street Grid

 A few years back I bought a good amount of the fabric line Birchtree Lane by @connectingthreads. I have used the fabric in lots of projects, and love the combination of blues and greens. This time I wanted to make a bigger quilt to showcase the great fabric line.

 I have had this free pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics printed out for a couple of years. It is called Street Grid and is designed by @patbravodesign. It is a bold design and it was fun to make. It looks more complicated than it actually is, it's a relatively quick project.

I had to utilize the nice day to take the quilt out to my trusted quilt holder, the uprooted tree in the forest. Look how the greens in the quilt match the scenery!

 

 The finished quilt is 56"x70". In addition to the Birchtree Lane fabric I used some additional solids. I FMQ quilted it with a stipple in white Aurifil thread #2021.

 

Here's a closeup of the quilt on my porch. My goal for the year is to use fabric from my stash and not buy any new fabric (if I can avoid it). It is great to see some reduction in my stash.

This is my eighth charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 87 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

 

TQL 30 Years!

 

 My quilt guild turned 30 last year, but we couldn't hold a party for obvious reasons. The celebration was held this summer, instead. 

A pattern for this Mug Rug was given to all members of the quild. This is my take, the resulting size is 6.5" x 9.5".

 

Keep on quilting!

 

Scrappy Glory

 My scrap bins are constantly overflowing, and in attempt to reduce the amount I dive into them from time to time to make interesting charity quilts. 

 

 

This time I cut lots of 2.5" squares (480 to be exact) in various colors, in addition some fussy cut novelty prints. I have done this before , but then I just did a random placement of the squares.

For this quilt I grouped the squares into 16-patches of similar colors/values. The resulting quilt is a colorful one with lots of interesting prints.

 

  I did a crosshatch quilting in light greyish blue thread, and finished the quilt with a scrappy binding. The quilt will be perfect for a small child with its size of 40"x48", lots of scrappy glory to look at.

This is my seventh charity quilt for the year 2022, and number 86 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!

 

Summer Sewing

This summer I brought with me a couple of fabric bundles on my vacation. The plan was to make a couple of quilt tops.

 

 After winning this great bundle of Valentine's fabrics from @thedancingbobbin I added some white solid to make calm down the design a little and to make the quilt a good size for a charity quilt.

I didn't want to cut the prints down too much to loose the detailed designs, so a traditional patchwork layout with blocks cut 4.5" and the remaining scraps cut into 2.5" blocks for four-patches made use of the entire fabric bundle!

 The quilting was done after I came home. Here's the whole quilt laid out on my deck. Quilted in a simple crosshatch design with Aurifil thread in white, and with a striped binding attatched. The finished quilt size is 48"60".

 

 The second bundle also got some additional white solid added. This is a smaller one of 40"x48" with a cute sheep-counting backing. The quilting is done as one the previous quilt, but this time I added another striped binding from my stash.

These are my fifth and sixth charity quilts for the year 2022, and number 84 and 85 all time for the children's ward at the hospital.

Keep on quilting!