Behind the Seams February 2025

Here’s an update for what’s been going on in the sewing room in February. These winter months are usually my most productive, as the outside world is a frozen mass of ice and snow…

I’ve been keeping up on my temperature quilt. Didn’t get a photo of all the blocks, but here’s how I decided to make my month markers. I’m cutting out letters from selvedges and text prints and sewing them together into itty bitty little Jan, Feb, March, etc. I chose this pink to surround them because I wanted to use a color that wasn’t being used as any temperature marker so as not to confuse the look of the quilt. Not sure I like this pink as it possibly stands out too much? We’ll see once I’ve got a few more blocks made.

I finished my Bramble Blooms 3 Quilt top. I realize it doesn’t have any ‘blooms’ or ‘brambles’ for that matter. BUT, I feel like this challenge has helped me grow tremendously as a quilter. The thing is, there’s no requirement to push one’s self. This is a hobby after all! But when you’ve made hundreds of quilts, there are times when you just feel ready to push into new territory. I realize that making quilts that tell more of my story is where the future satisfaction and enjoyment lies for me. This quilt top is definitely my favorite of the three tops I made for the Bramble Blooms Quiltalong. It feels very ‘me’ although it still is rather brilliant colorwise. But that’s mostly based on the fact that I was using a preplanned stack of fabric.

I’m seriously considering starting this challenge all over again with different fabrics. I know I could use a lot of practice in this area of applique and coming up with different designs that are not completely grid based or all of one kind of block.

And then here are my latest quilt labels I purchased. I’m loving them! Thought I’d share as I had a really good experience with this shop. These designs were premade ones that I could purchase and just put my name in where I wanted it.

Little Quilt Studio on Etsy

The beginnings of this quilt were completely random. I found a small container of 2″ squares left over from my huge scrap blitz from my book Scrap Quilt Diary. I decided to sew them all together. And then my new way of thinking after taking Audrey’s Bramble Bloom QAL, starting me thinking of doing two big patches of little squares and then two solid background pieces with applique.

Then, I found a drawer with a bunch of 2″ strips. (did I say that my scrap project had used up all my scraps? Well I guess not. There were a few hiding on me.). Anyways, I started making log cabin blocks to put around the center piece. I had to cut a few more strips from yardage because I didn’t have enough scrap pieces.

At this point I was really liking it, but since I don’t generally want square quilts, I thought I’d add another row of log cabins just on the top and bottom.

So that’s what I did. Now I really disliked it though. Just wasn’t feeling the proportions of it. So I decided to add a row of log cabins on one of the sides. That would make the center piece off center, but when has that ever bothered me?

Aaahh! So much better! I really love this quilt top, maybe because the colors are quite much my style. The applique is not necessarily the best, I mean those purple flower petals ended up wonky and not in a cute way. And the top basket handle is also wonky in a not sweet and primitive way, but rather just a ‘not very good at applique’ way. But oh well, I quite like it anyway!

Then I was on a roll with cleaning up old projects that I had forgotten were even around. I had made 5 of these Isabella blocks out of scrap chunks. And then I had 4 more cut to make the total of 9 blocks for a queen size quilt! But alas I did not have more of the same background. And the whole reason I had never finished this quilt was because I was so unhappy with the colors. I can say that the pattern is great and I’d like to make it again in colors I love. But since I’d gone to enough work already on all these blocks, I decided to finish it up. Maybe it will end up in the donation to our church sewing group pile. But I made all 9 blocks, sewed them together with sashing, and now the top is hanging in the closet to marinate for awhile. I guess I didn’t get a photo of the whole thing.

Oh yes, this pattern is Isabella from Kitchen Table Quilting. A stunning pattern and well written, I highly recommend it. Next time I’ll make it with colors that I’ve spent more time planning.

Then on a roll, I pulled out these 9 blocks which I made a long time ago. I had planned to make a full quilt but ran out of steam and now they’ve been sitting for a long time. Another stunning block that I’ve tried to make work a few other times, but after trying different settings and combos, I had to admit defeat and put them back in the drawer. I WILL find a way to make them into a quilt that I like!

And finally two finishes! I hand quilted these two baby quilts. I’ve decided this year to stock pile some baby quilts and then donate them to our local layette program. This is where we make up baby supply bundles and give them to the hospital to distribute as they see fit. Last time we delivered bundles, the health worker mentioned the hand made blankets in the bundles, saying that this might be the only handmade blankets these children would receive.

In the past I have not made many quilts for charity because I feel like from what I’ve observed, most people prefer a soft cuddly plush throw from Walmart rather than a quilt. That’s why I sell my quilts to the people who really want a quilt, and rather buy plush blankets to donate. BUT, this comment reminded me of the value of a handmade item showing love, even if it’s not the receiver’s style. So I’m going to make these baby quilts this year, I’m curious how many I can accumulate by the end of 2025! I’m happy for this little change in perspective, and my goal will be to make them as cuddly and cute as possible. (It’s always my goal to make my quilts soft, but baby quilts especially need to be cozy and drapey)

Muted blue double gauze on the back, with red stitching… love this so much!

A close up of this quilt. This is such a great design, I don’t have a pattern sorry! Although I’m sure someone out there is selling one, you don’t really need a pattern. 5″ squares and 2.5″x5″ strips between. The red star centres are 2.5″ squares. and the star points are 2.5″ squares cut once on the diagonal and sewed on the corners of the rectangles.

Here’s the second baby quilt that I finished hand quilting. It’s a pattern from the book Sisterhood of Scraps. I had it cut out and partially sewed these blocks together awhile back and then stashed them up in the cupboard shelf where they languished till now. I think I had intended to make a larger quilt but I just sewed together what was there and decided to call it a day. This quilt is full of favorite and loved fabrics. Interestingly, I find it abit busy…I do like it, it’s cheery and fun. But I think it would have benefitted from a few more solid fabrics to let the individual prints shine. It seems that some quilt patterns are fine with lots of busy prints, but this one just would have looked better with some less busy fabrics.

I used a small piece of flannel for the back. It’s a piece I’ve been saving because it’s just so cute. I think I found it at the Thrift Store once upon a time. Finally though, it’s time to be used! It can be so freeing to use something up, even though I’ve loved it and saved it. It was meant to be used on this colourful little quilt, and hopefully some mom and baby will like it!

See that white background piece with the blue rosebud? That’s the very very last of a little piece of old fabric that I’ve had for a long time. I have one piece of it in a quilt that I’m keeping, so now the last piece is in this quilt… There are some fabrics that are a cut above, why can’t they all be so beautiful? I sometimes wonder if I like the pieces most that are tiny and irreplaceable just because of their scarcity? I don’t think so though, because I do have some favorite fabrics that I have in a large amount.

Well, that seems like a long enough post! Hopefully when I post again I’ll have some more finished quilts to show you… maybe some larger ones. I’m also working away on quilts for my next book, so these quilts I show here are besides that. But for some reason the last month I’ve just been in the mood to play with all these old half forgotten projects and finish them up.

I better get busy because April is right around the corner, at which time I’ll be out digging in the dirt!