Category Archives: Uncategorized
Malibu
I know I talked about it on Instagram, but I don’t think I ever shared the Malibu quilt I made for Heather Ross last year on here. The quilt features Heather’s Malibu collection as well as her and Annabel Wrigley’s Ruby + Bee solids.
It’s actually mostly solids but with some Malibu fabric mixed in.
If you look closely at this quilt, it’s flying geese turned in different directions. There’s not pattern and I didn’t write one, but you can get the gist of it.
When I made this quilt, I had lots of half square triangles left from making the flying geese. I know there are ways to make flying geese without waste, but that’s not how I made mine.
Rather than toss all the half square triangles, I knew I could make something new, and now I have a second Malibu quilt.
This quilt is lap size(ish). I had no goal for it except to use what I had leftover.
Once I sewed the half square triangles together and pressed them open, I squared them up so everything would be straight and the same size.
Then I just started laying them out in no particular order or direction. I didn’t want the quilt to be uniform or in a certain pattern.
The result is that perfect scrappy half square triangle look I was going for.
For fabric that was otherwise going to go to waste, it didn’t turn out that bad!
Jewel Box
I think most of my life as a quilt maker has been spent making scrap quilts. I’m fine with this. In fact, I think I excel at scrap quilts, if I do say so myself. I love making them and the satisfaction I get from seeing my scrap bags whittled down is high.
My latest quilt is, you guessed it, a scrap quilt. This one is quickly rising to the top of my favorite quilts.
It is made with all Denyse Schmidt fabric, which I think really stands out with the black background – like little jewel boxes.
These blocks were possible because I save ALL the small pieces of scrap fabric – pieces that most people would probably throw away. Those little corners are only 1”x1” finished squares.
I know some quilters don’t like saving small scraps, or some trim all their scraps to 5” squares, but not I. Maybe it’s the frugal person in me or just that feeling knowing there is something I will be able to use a little scrap of fabric for, that I can’t toss them. And saving small scraps pays off big time when you can make something like this out of them.
When I started this quilt I hadn’t planned for it to become this big, but I realized I already had a quilt back I could use – a vintage bedsheet that pairs perfectly – so like the crazy person I am I made 21 more blocks. I wanted to use most of the sheet so there wouldn’t be much waste (hello frugal me again) so I made more blocks and will only have to trim the back once I’m done quilting it. Plus, I had more than enough scraps to make more blocks so it all worked out.
I have already started quilting this one and I can’t wait to show you the finished quilt with the very cool vintage bedsheet as the back.
Ludlow – Finished
This quilt has been a journey. Not in a bad way, just that it took more time and effort than I had planned on. In the end, though, it’s been worth it.
This fabric is the Ludlow collection from Denyse Schmidt. I only bought a fat eighth bundle when I got it, and I had to cut into it for something else, so I didn’t have a lot of fabric to work with from the beginning. Then at the start, I misjudged how many blocks I would be able to make but soon realized I would need sashing if I wanted it to be at least a lap sized quilt, which I did.
I don’t mind the sashing because it’s different than what I normally do, and in this case, I think it really makes the blocks pop. But usually, in my opinion, using sashing often makes quilts look a bit more traditional than my personal taste.
In the end it all worked because I had the perfect backing fabric that I have been saving for something special.
This is Little Folks voile fabric from Anna Maria Horner. It feels so silky soft and I absolutely love the pattern. Plus it pairs perfectly with Ludlow. There was only one problem: my quilt was just a few inches too wide. (I had not thought ahead to backing fabric when I made the top.)
So…I took the entire quilt apart and trimmed the sashing. I took off a little bit more than I needed to and could have left the sashing a bit wider – I wish I wouldn’t have done that but oh well.
Then, after I put it all back together and had started quilting it, I realized I had an error in one of my blocks and had a piece turned the wrong way. Ugh! I would have left it but I hadn’t quilted that part yet and could still fix it. The perfectionist in me couldn’t let it go, so once again I took a section of this quilt apart and fixed the block. It would have bugged me forever if I had left it. It was a major pain but I’m glad I did it.
After all my fixes and reworking of this quilt, I love the finished product. It’s a perfect little lap quilt.
Wildflower
Last week on my Instagram account, I shared the new Wildflower collection from Kelly Ventura and mentioned that it had a very granny chic or grandmillenial vibe to it. And as a self-identified grandmillenial, it’s right up my alley.
If you Google grandmillenial style you will see a few different definitions, but the one commonality (I think) is a love of florals, and the new Wildflower collection has some good florals.
This fabric leans a little more traditional than I typically go for, but it’s still fresh and the colors are so beautiful. I love how the florals are complemented by the more subtle geometric fabrics as well.
This quilt is a combo of simple patchwork squares and square in a square quilt blocks – at an angle and every other row. Easy!
I don’t know that these pictures do it justice, but I think it turned out really beautiful and I’m pretty happy with it. There is a lot going on in this quilt, but sometimes more is more.
Happy quilting!
Avenues – Finished
Here we are in February and I’m finally getting around to writing my first post of 2021. I’m so much better on Instagram! You can follow me @brooklynquiltingco there. Regardless, I do still like to try and post here on the blog so my photos have another place to live online.
And with that, here’s my first finished quilt to share in 2021.
This quilt block was an experiment that turned out…OK. I don’t love it but I also don’t hate it. This block was inspired by a pillow I saw and I think it works better as a single pillow rather than many blocks sewn into a quilt. But quilting is all about experimenting and I have no regrets.
You can read about it in my original blog post and the inspiration for it HERE.
I do, however, like pink so I’m calling the color combo a win.
The one thing that does always work for me is a scrappy quilt back, which I think most of my quilt backs are.
I have lots of new things I’m working on in 2021 and will be sharing on Instagram, with the occasional blog post when I get to it. Tune in!
Star Rush – Finished
As we approach the end of the year, I have a few finished quilts I want to get up on the blog before I start fresh in 2021. This version of a star quilt is one of them.
When I first posted this quilt topI wrote about how I didn’t love it. After I was done with the top, I realized I could have made different fabric choices that would have worked better, but it was a good learning experience, nonetheless.
The main problem is that the red star points don’t stand out enough. I wish I would have made all of them solid red so they really popped. You live and learn, or in this case, you quilt and learn.
The one thing I do love about this quilt is the back of it.
I used a vintage bedsheet and it went perfectly with the top.
Every time I go to a thrift store I check for vintage sheets that are in good condition for quilt backs. They are usually wide enough for a back so you don’t have to piece one together. Plus, they add a unique touch and are not only a great way to save money, but they also reduce waste.
The binding is Alison Glass and really tied the front and back together.
That’s it for this quilt. It’s now folded and part of a growing stack of quilts I don’t have much room for. I’m sure all of you know what I’m talking about.
Lemonade Stand – Finished
Let me introduce you to my longest-ever quilt project. I had to go back and look, and I originally posted this quilt top in the summer of 2015. So five years later, here we are.
When I went to read my first blog post about this quilt top, I was reminded that it turned out much pinker than I had planned. It is quite pink! But you know what? I love pink, so it’s fine.
Plus, at this point, I worked on it for so many years I’m just happy it’s done. I think I finished quilting it a couple of years ago, but then it sat waiting for binding for a long time, and I pretty much procrastinated every step of the way. But again, it’s done. Don’t we all have those projects that just kind of hang over our heads?
This quilt is a mix of Amy Butler and Lotta Jansdotter fabric, as well as a few other odds and ends I had in my stash.
The back is solid yellow and is actually an old bedsheet I found in my parents’ linen closet. It’s a mystery where it came from, how it got there, or what other bedding it went with, but it works well with this quilt top and really shows off the quilting.
I am a huge fan of using bedsheets – whether new or old – as quilt backs. I’m especially a fan of recycling older or vintage bedsheets as a way to reduce waste. Let this serve as a reminder to always check the linen closets of family members. You never know what goodies you may find.
Now, five-plus years after I started, I’m finally adding this quilt to the finished pile. Feels good.
Rafter
Sometimes I have a quilt idea in my head and I miraculously manage to execute it exactly how I was thinking, without making adjustments along the way. This is one of those times. It took some planning but I did it.
This quilt utilizes two of my favorite things: rainbow colors and scraps. Yes, your read that right, this is actually a scrap quilt.
Every piece of fabric, minus the purple Tula Pink Fairy Dust fabric, is all scraps.
I think many of us quilters have white fabric laying around, and then it was only a matter of digging through my scrap bag to pull ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) colors to get the rainbow look. This is why I save small scraps! For projects like this. Plus, I hate wasting fabric so I always have a healthy scrap bag ready to go.
I am planning to write a whole blog post about my scrap quilting process, which I kinda take pride in because I have a philosophy of leaving no scrap behind. That blog post is coming in the near future, but back to this quilt.
The only fabric I had to buy was the Tula Pink Fairy Dust, which I wanted to get anyway. From the minute I saw it I knew I had to have it, and I think it is perfect for this quilt.
Tula has since come out with more color options for Fairy Dust, and so many of them would work, but I’m partial to the purple.
With all of the colors happening on the front, I need to start thinking about the back. Not sure which direction I’m going to go yet, but I feel like it needs to be Tula on the back as well. Thoughts?
Fantasy – Finished
After months of barely leaving my neighborhood, trying to stay home and stay safe, I am slowly entering back into the real world, although the real world looks quite different and certainly feels different than pre-coronavirus. And I imagine that feeling will continue until we get a vaccine, but it’s good to have some things, like quilt photos, back on.
And on that note, here is one of my quarantine quilt finishes.
This quilt is made with the Fantasy collection from Sally Kelly, with some Artisan Cottons from Windham mixed in.
I’m very pleased with the final quilt. The pattern, the colors…everything works for me.
I pulled one of the fabrics from the Fantasy collection and used that for the back.
Typically, I like to use a different fabric for the back of my quilts than one that I used on the front, but when Sally Kelly designed this collection she offered a handful of the prints in cotton lawn, and I thought one of those would be nice to use for the back.
I really like the lightweight feel of cotton lawn, and when you have a larger-sized quilt like this one is, I think sometimes it’s nice to use a lighter-weight fabric, like a cotton lawn, for the back.
This quilt has now found a home draped across my bed. I’ll have to take a picture of how I styled it in my bedroom with my duvet cover. Keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram account for that. Until then, WEAR A MASK.
Jacob’s Ladder
This blog post is coming to you live from quarantine life in my apartment. The last time I hopped on here to share a blog post was in January before all of our lives took a dramatic turn and we suddenly became familiar with the term “social distancing.” How quickly things change.
While this is a scary time, I’m trying to focus on the positive and the productive, which for me has always been quilting. Not only is quilting such a happy activity for me, but I also feel very accomplished when I finish a project. So cheers to quarantine quilting!
Moving on to an actual quilt, today I’m sharing the last quilt photos I took back in December before most of the world went on lockdown. Say hello to my Jacob’s Ladder quilt.
A Jacob’s Ladder quilt is one of those patterns I always had my eye on but had never gotten around to making…until now.
These blocks are very easy and come together pretty quickly.
All of the fabric used in this quilt is from different Denyse Schmidt collections. It’s kind of a mishmash of colors but I did repeat colors so there is some consistency. You’ll notice yellows, reds, navy blue and aqua blue, green, black and pinks and purples. (I think that’s all of them.)
I know I make a lot of quilts with Denyse Schmidt fabric, and I wish I could say I’ve made a dent in my collection, but it’s still going strong. For the rest of my quilting life I will be making quilts with her fabric, and I’m not mad about it.
You’ll also noticed that I did a light/dark pairing for each block, and then alternated blocks from light to dark. Does that make sense? There’s so many different versions of Jacob’s Ladder and I liked the light/dark look. Find a version that works for you!
That wraps up this quilt – for now. I may just get this backed and quilted while in quarantine. Who knows! I have so many quilts to finish and hopefully I can get through some of them during this time. I’m not working in any particular order, just whatever strikes me in the moment.
I also have a stack of quilts that need to be photographed, but now I’m not sure when that’s going to happen. No promises when I’ll be back with a new blog post, but you can always find me on Instagram sharing works-in-progress and other fun things.
Until then, stay safe, and do whatever self-care you need to in order to get through this surreal moment we’re all going through together. XOXO.
