Hey there, friends! Welcome back to our regularly-scheduled Wednesday evening NTT! This week has been another whirlwind of crazy hours of sewing that I can't really share yet, but here's another sneak peek for you. These little birds are so sweet, and I'm loving the texture of the dense swirls.
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Another Week, Another Peek and NTT
Thursday, October 21, 2021
A Peek and NTT
Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all! I've had another week of secret sewing at lightning speed, and though I can't give you a full shot of the quilt, here's a little sneak peek. I told you that my third book is completely different from my first two, and it definitely is, but what can I say? Scrappy improv just makes me happy!
Suffice it to say that when I finally get to reveal everything I've been working on, you're going to love it! Until then, I'll just give as many peeks as I can.
Last week's party was amazing with so many great projects linked up. This Highland Cow quilt top by Anne-Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room is super cute!
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Bonus Pattern, Finishing, and Wrap-Up!
Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares
Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
October Sponsor News!
Hey there, friends! Am I the only one who has a tough time staying in the autumn spirit? I know it's only October, and I absolutely love all of the warm fall colors, but around this time of year, my autumn decor has been out for a few weeks and my mind starts jumping right to Christmas. I want to enjoy all of the orange, brown, and gold colors; all of the leaves and pumpkins and scarecrows, but deep down, I'm just itching to start putting up my Christmas stuff. I can't help it!
So with that in mind, today I'm highlighting all of the awesome stuff going on at my favorite fabric shops around the web, and I'm here to satisfy those of you who are like me- torn between a love of two seasons.
Let's kick off with Lady Belle Fabric, where this Lilliput bundle by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery fabrics definitely fits the bill for warm and cozy.
The woodsy feel of these fabrics is soft and earthy, and the palette is unique. They're perfect for an autumn quilt.

Or, if you've already moved onto Christmas projects, LouLou's has you covered there too! There are tons of Christmas fabrics available right now, and this Homegrown Holidays bundle is even on sale!

And finally, I always love shopping at Fort Worth Fabric Studio. They have a weekly bundle that is always perfect for the season, and if you're wanting a special touch for your Thanksgiving holiday table, take a look at this Amazing Autumn bundle. These colors are quintessentially fall!

Monday, October 18, 2021
All Dressed Up and Shockwave
Hey there, friends! This is the last week of the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog tour- can you believe it? And we're going out with a bang! The last two quilts included in the book are a couple of my favorites. First up today is All Dressed Up, and this is a fresh take on a traditional bowtie block.
All Dressed Up is all about the blues! This quilt uses color gradient and the arrangement of the light, medium, and dark blues give the blocks some real pizzazz; but the addition of the negative space really makes it unique.
The blocks look like they're spinning out from the center, and I wanted to choose a quilting motif that would accentuate that. A giant spiral that creates a vortex in the center does the job well, and I opted for a light blue thread that gives just a little contrast to the Kona Silver background.
This geometric floral print had been sitting in my stash for awhile, and I widened it out with a piece of Kona Royal Blue. I love how it shows the tight spiral so well on the back of this quilt. The binding is a perfect shade of light blue- Kona Stratosphere.
Linda at Flourishing Palms made the All Dressed Up quilt for the blog hop, so head over there and take a look at her gorgeous version of the pattern!
The final mini quilt in the book is Shockwave, and I love this one so much. It was actually a contender for the cover! This quilt is kind of a mix between two traditional blocks- the pineapple block and flying geese.
The Shockwave quilt uses the warm, fiery side of the color wheel, and sets all of that scrappy improv goodness against a Kona Nightfall background. I have thought about making a cool color version several times, and I know it would look just as amazing.
The quilting on this one is all linear with coordinating thread, following the shape of each section of the quilt. There is so much fantastic texture!
Remember my Gossip Queen quilt? Well, I had a chunk of this orchid fabric leftover from that backing, and because the colors are similar in this mini quilt, I knew it would be perfect. And this yellow diagonal stripe binding continues the color movement right to the edge of the quilt.
Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room made the Shockwave quilt for the blog tour, and you definitely need to check it out!
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck. I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop! :)
Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares
Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework
Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Happy NTT!
Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all! This week has been Fall Break for my son and we have been out of town visiting family for the last several days, so no sewing for me, but I have a full day in my studio planned for today. Before we left town last week, I did take some time to update my blog header, and I am really loving it!
Have you been keeping up with the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog hop? This week's posts featured four more quilts, and you can see them HERE and HERE. I can't believe it, but we are almost to the end of the tour. Just two more posts!
Last week's party had lots of amazing link-ups, like this beauty by Sew Preeti Quilts-
This lovely quilt is by Quilting Gail-
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
Sunset Crossing and Positivity
It's time to showcase another two quilts from my new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting. I can't believe we're almost to the end of the blog tour! Today features two more quilts from the Standards With a Twist section, starting with Sunset Crossing.
Sunset Crossing uses scraps in a summery palette to add pop to the crossroads quilt blocks. I love how the blue and aqua scraps play so well with the Kona Peach and Kona Melon solids.
I let the blocks be my guide for quilting this one. Each crossroads block is quilted with coordinating thread with lines that follow the X shape with tiny crosshatch quilting in the center. Stippling in the background adds lots of texture to the Kona White background.
This small blue and aqua floral print came right out of my stash and looks great on the back, and I finished it off with a Kona Melon binding. By the way, I really love that with mini quilts, I usually don't have to go shopping! Most of the time I can pull everything right from my stash- including the backing and binding!
Kate at Katie Mae Quilts made Sunset Crossing for the blog tour today, and I hope you will head over to see her lovely mini quilt!
Positivity is the second quilt being featured today, and this one is absolutely, positively, SO very easy to put together! The scrappy purple and gray palette give this quilt some depth, but I think my favorite part of this pattern is how the plusses don't extend all the way to the edges. That negative space makes it a little bit different.
With all of these squares, I knew that Positivity needed grid quilting to set it off. The half-inch grid echoes the plus shapes and gives a nice, clean look to the quilt.
I used this simple gray and white print on the back, and finished it off with a Kona Purple binding.
The Positivity stop for the blog hop is over at Sarah Goer Quilts. Be sure to check out her version of this fun little quilt!
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck. I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop! :)
Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares
Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework
Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room