The Scrappy Improv Continues and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all.  This week, I've been methodically working through my scrap jars and have made really good progress.

Keep in mind that these scraps are the remainder after finishing my Fractured Logs quilt, which used up a LOT (on the front and back).  Even so, I'm a little surprised at how few scraps were really left, especially the yellows.  I'm still not exactly sure what I'll do with them yet, but that's a question for another day.

On another note, my Land Ahoy trip to San Diego with Stitichin' Heaven is coming up in just a few short weeks!  This is the trip where I'll be teaching my Starfire quilt, along with another teacher who will be teaching a beautiful quilt called Riptides.

If you're wondering, a Land Ahoy trip operates exactly like a cruise, but instead of boarding a cruise ship, the entire event happens at a fancy hotel in a destination city.  There is even an excursion day built into the itinerary.

There are just a few spots left for this amazing experience, so come spend the week with me!  You can find more information and register HERE.

Alrighty!  Let's get to a few highlights from last week's party.  You know, I say it every week, but y'all really amaze me.  These scrappy rose blocks are from Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting and Stitching-

This fun finish is from Viridian's Blog-

Rebecca Grace Quilting showed off these stunning finished blocks, and I can't wait to see them sewn up into a quilt!

This pretty one is from Maggie at Making a Lather-

And finally, just LOOK at this gorgeous finish from Sandra at mmmquilts-

Okay, friends.  Let's see that eye-candy!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Starfire Encore and NTT

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday!  This week, I finished my Starfire class sample and all of the step-outs, so it's a relief to check that off my to-do list.  We've been having lots of dreary weather lately, but boy does this quilt bring the warmth and sunshine!

Since it's for a class sample, I didn't want to compete with the piecing, so I quilted with an allover stipple, which still adds plenty of texture.

You may have noticed that this finished quilt looks a bit smaller than the blocks appeared on my design wall last week.  And you'd be right!  The quilt kit for this trip is for the twin size, and I definitely wanted to test the kit to make sure there were no issues, but twin quilts are cumbersome for air travel.  So, I made all of the blocks, but sized the quilt down to the lap size (also included in the pattern).

If you know me, then it's no surprise what happened to all of those extra blocks.  They went on the back, of course!  Waste not, want not!

Did you realize that a twin size quilt is almost double the size of a lap size quilt?  Of course this depends on the individual pattern, but in this case, the extra blocks make up almost the entire back!  I just needed a little extra purple fabric to widen it out, and this pretty Grunge fabric is just perfect.

The binding fabric was included in the quilt kit too, and the purple complements the star points so well.  This trip to San Diego, CA is coming up in just under six weeks, which may seem like a long way off, but my spring is jam-packed with travel.  I'll be traveling to South Carolina just before that, and family coming into town to visit in a couple of weeks.  So, all in all, I'm glad to get this off my plate.

Okay, y'all!  Let's take a look at some of my favorite projects linked up at last week's party.  Maggie at Making a Lather linked up this pretty top-

I love this sweet quilt from Linda at Kokaquilts.  Those blocks just sing against the pink background-

These TWO queen sized quilts are from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

And finally, this beauty is from Sandra at mmmquilts-

It's so tough to choose highlights every week!  Seriously, y'all share so much eye-candy week after week.  Are you ready to show off your latest projects?  Let's see them!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Interrupting the Scrapping and NTT

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  I've been sewing like crazy this week, but not sewing scraps, as I had intended.  Some important quilty mail arrived and I had to switch gears.  

You may remember that I'll be teaching my Starfire pattern on a Stitchin' Heaven Land Ahoy trip in San Diego this spring.  I actually made the original quilt way back in 2016, and it has long been at its new home.  So, I knew that in addition to making step-outs for class, I would need to make a whole new sample quilt!   

It's coming up soon, so I knew that once my kits arrived from Stitchin' Heaven, I would need to drop everything and crank it out.  We'll be making the twin size on the trip and I've gotten all of the blocks pieced and laid out on my design wall.  I really love this pattern.  It only has three basic block units, but the way they go together creates such a satisfying pattern, and the placement of lighter and darker fabrics keeps your eye moving around the quilt.

Needless to say, scrap sewing is on hold until I get this one finished, along with all of my step-out pieces.  So, let's get to some highlights from last week's party.  Quilting Gail linked up this pretty quilt-

This lovely pineapple quilt top is from Vicki's Crafts and Quilting-

This one is from Jocelyn at Happy Cottage Quilter-

Anorina at Samelia's Mum shared this super cute pillow-

And finally, Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl linked up this gorgeous quilt-

Okay y'all!  It's party time!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Still Scrapping and NTT

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  It's been a busy week at my house, but even still, I've had a little time to start sewing through my remaining scraps.  After the riot of color of my Fractured Logs quilt, I decided to sew the rest by color for a more controlled quilt.  I don't really have a plan for them yet, but I'm sure something will come to me.  So far, I've gotten through pinks and reds.

Sewing through each color is my plan for the foreseeable future, and by the time I get through everything, I am sure I'll be struck with a fun idea for them.

Okay friends!  It's almost time to link up, but before we do, let's take a look at some of my faves from last week-

Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting showed off SIX completed baby quilts!  Each one is quilted a little differently, and if you visit her post, you can see individual shots of each quilt.

This soft, sweet quilt top was shared by DonnaleeQ-

Finally, I love this scrappy blue quilt top from Deb at A Scrappy Quilter-

Okay, friends!  Let's do this!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Fractured Logs and NTT

Hey there, y'all!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  Today, I have a brand new quilt finish to share, and it's so fun and happy!

If you missed my last post, these log cabin blocks were made entirely from scraps of varying width.  I just kept adding strings until they were 13" square, and then pressed them, quartered them, and shuffled them.  The result is wonderfully busy and loud, and lots of fun.

With all of the busy pattern in the piecing, I wanted to add allover texture with the quilting that wouldn't add to the mayhem.  A nice, easy stipple fit the bill nicely.  

I mentioned in my last post that I was running out of the longest strings to make more 13" blocks, so I wasn't really sure what I was going to do on the back.  It occurred to me that rather than sew a full 13" log cabin block and quarter it, I could just make 6.5" log cabin block quarters with the shorter strings I had left.  The block centers are a little chunkier this way, but I still like the look.

For the main backing fabric, I chose a medium gray polka dot fabric.  I just love the way that black and gray look with scrappy quilts, and the small polka dots keep the quilt fun, without looking overly busy.

Every time I bind a quilt, I end up with extra binding pieces.  Sometimes they're short, and sometimes I end up with a piece that is almost a full strip.  As it turns out, I had plenty of leftover binding pieces to completely bind this quilt, and it perfectly disappears into all that scrappiness.

I'm calling this one Fractured Logs, which is perhaps not my most creative name, but it's definitely descriptive of the pattern.  The finished quilt measures 60" x 72".

Okay then, friends!  Let's take a look at a few of the amazing projects linked up at last week's party!  Sew Preeti Quilts shared this pretty finish-

These sweet little quilts are from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

And finally, this ombre' finish by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl is just so soothing to look at-

Alrighty, y'all, let's get this party started!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Scrappy Strings Galore and NTT

Hey friends!  Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday.  This week, I broke one of the very few rules I have for scrap sewing, and have deeply regretted it.  

When I teach scrappy improv classes, I always ask students to bring one full gallon-sized bag of scraps, and NO MORE.  I know, I know.  It's so tempting to lay them all out at once.  And more choices means easier sewing, right?.  Wrong!  In this case, more is not more.  More scraps on the table just means more digging for the next piece to sew.  It also means that all of that digging gets the scraps completely mixed up into one jumbled pile where you can't find anything, and lots get buried on the bottom.  Even though this isn't really scrappy improv, all of this holds true even for the most experienced scrap sewist.  

Alas, this week has been one of digging, and digging...and more digging.  That being said, though I feel like I had to arm-wrestle these scraps into something I like, I do actually think the finished quilt top is pretty fun.  

To make these blocks, I sewed log cabin blocks with various width strings, as well as varying center pieces (most centers actually rectangles and not squares).  I trimmed them to 13" square, cut them into quarters, and then shuffled them.  The result is wonderfully loud and scrappy with just enough order.  The finished top measures 60" x 72".

After all that sewing, you'd think I put a massive dent in my scraps, and that would also be wrong.  Sure, there are noticeably fewer scraps than when I started, but here's how it looks now (after I spent awhile resorting)-

I'm just about out of the longest strings needed to make more of these scrappy log cabins, or I would have made this quilt larger.  I'm planning to sew up some of these to add to the back, and then I'll figure out the rest.  One thing's for certain- these aren't going back into my scrap jars!  They're getting used up somehow- but in smaller, more manageable chunks.

Okay, y'all.  Before we party, let's check out some of last week's highlights.  This beauty is from Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl-

Quilting Gail shared this cute little mini.  Look at all of those different quilting motifs in each triangle!

And finally, I'm loving all of the scrappy goodness in this quilt from Gretchen's Little Corner-

Okay, it's time to get our party on!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

NTT- Back in the Groove

Hey there, friends!  I'm sure you all remember that last fall before the holidays, I sewed through my entire stash.  It's a good thing I love scraps, because even though I always use up as much as I can on the back of each quilt, sewing through so much stash creates a LOT of scraps.  For the past week, I've been pressing and sorting them, and I'm all ready to turn these scraps into something fun!

This may not look like a lot of scraps, but what you can't tell from the photo is that this stack of bits and strings is probably 3-4 inches deep.  After finishing TWO Twelve Days of Christmas quilts, my brain needs a mindless sewing activity while I continue to work on that pattern, and something easy and scrappy is just the thing.

If you've been around here awhile, you know I like to completely empty my scrap jars every so often.  The last time I cleaned them out was in September 2022 with my Rainbow Galaxy quilt.  It surely doesn't seem like 2.5 years ago!  The plan for this quilt is totally different, and I can't wait to see it come together.

Without further ado, let's kick of the first Needle and Thread Thursday of 2025 by checking out a few highlights from the last party in 2024-

Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic linked up this gorgeous finish-

Look at these two lovelies from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

Maggie at Making a Lather linked up this sweet quilt-

And finally, I love this one from Melva Loves Scraps-

Alright, y'all!  Let's start off 2025 with lots of amazing, inspirational eye-candy.  I know we haven't partied in awhile, so remember, you can link up as many projects as you want.  Just be sure to link each individual post so we can see ALL of it!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)