Not So Ugly After All!

In 2025 I pieced several scrappy quilts trying to use up orphan blocks. I also had a 2.5" box full of 'ugly' squares. I always use blue squares first whenever I am making a scrappy quilt that needs 2.5" squares, I am a blue girl you know 😉. Next I used squares that were pretty. What was left in that box were browns, greens, other various fabrics, some of them pretty and background squares that usually have a tint of yellow, just not my preference.

I decided it was time to use those 'uglies' and and all the other squares in that box. Two compassion quilt flimsies were pieced. All the squares in that box were thrown into this quilt, uglies as well as the pretties. Surprise, these quilts are not so ugly after all!

Their turn has come in the quilting process and are finished. Like the other compassion quilts, I used diagonal stitching in the light fabrics and into the border. 

Quilt A (left side) finishes at 57" by 71". Quilt B (right side) finishes at 55" by 70".

Quilt A's outside border comes from my mother's stash. She died 20 years ago but her fabrics are still being used. I stitched in the ditch along the sides of the narrow brown border which came from my stash. Quilt B's border is also from my stash, I stitched in the ditch along the edge.

The binding is a variety of strips that worked well with the variety of fabrics used in the center.

Some people keep track of 'fabric in, fabric out'. I don't do that, I have no idea how to figure how much fabric was used in these quilts but the 2.5" square box was definitely diminished.

The backing fabric is a pale yellow fabric that was gifted to me years ago with the understanding it would be used for charity quilts. I didn't take pictures of the back, they're solid light yellow. 

Nothing was purchased to make these quilts, even the batting was pieced together from leftovers.

I use basic simple designs when I quilt with my sewing machine but I am pleased to see my progress. I eyed those lines in the light squares in the quilt, they are fairly straight. I can free motion quilt somewhat straight lines!

I was gifted this spool of thread years ago but I have no idea from who. I'm trying to use fabrics and tools I already have on hand. This thread was perfect for these quilts, the spool quilted all of quilt A and part of quilt B. After the small spool of thread was used, quilt B was finished with a brown variegated thread.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, I Quilted This!, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Rhapsody in Blue

I didn't post last Sunday, it seems like pictures of Rhapsody just look the same. This week you actually see something slightly different. Just to change things up, I've arranged the pictures from the right border going toward the left border.

Right side outside border . . .

which moves into a patchwork border. The pin in the one square is to remind me to finish quilting that square.

which then turns into an applique border . . .

Then another patchwork section. See the blue sashing on the left side, that's the outside border of the center applique.

The blue sashing is too far for me to reach. After I roll, I'll stitch in the ditch on both sides.

Still more of the patchwork . . .

This patchwork section goes all the way around the center applique.

Another applique border in between the patchwork.

More patchwork . . .

And finally, the outside left border. The applique is completed on that side, the rest of the border will be feather quilting.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday,  Sew & Tell, Craftastic Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday

Pink Picture Frame Pattern

Last winter I pieced several quilts to be used as gifts or compassion quilts. You have seen the Fabric  Vortex and the Turquoise Patchwork quilt. After those quilts were quilted, I went ahead and spray basted 6 more quilts using Odif 505 washable adhesive spray.

The quilts were marked for quilting after the layers were sprayed and dried over night. I did pin the quilts to help with stability but not very closely.

At the November 2025 Jane Stickle retreat  I purchased two panels for $1 each to use in compassion quilts. I wasn't sure how to set them but I knew I'd figure something out.

When I was googling free 3-yard quilt patterns, the Pink Picture Frame pattern designed by Wood Valley Designs pulled up. I printed it off and used it as the general design for these quilts. My measurements aren't the same as the pattern because my panels were different sizes from what the pattern specified but the pattern gave me a place to start.

I forgot to take pictures of the flimsies in January when they were pieced but now they're quilted and ready for photos.

Quilt A - The background gray fabric is quilt backing fabric left from another quilt. It's a very light gray with darker gray sunflowers. The green fabric and pink fabric also came from my stash.

Both quilts are quilted the same, diagonal lines across the whole quilt including the borders. I did stitch in the ditch along the border edges.

Quilt B is the same design but with a few fabric changes. There wasn't enough of the gray sunflower fabric so the outside border is a different gray fabric, again from my stash.

These are the two pink fabrics in this quilt, a batik and fossil fern fabric.

A light gray thread was used for quilting, I think it was called cool gray. Both quilts finish at 45" by 58".

I'm not a big fan of scrappy quilt backings but that is what was used with these quilts. I used a lot of greens for these backings.

Many of these greens were fossil fern fabrics. I ordered a box containing fat quarters of fossil fern fabrics when the old Craftsy store was going out of business. I didn't realize how many fat quarters there would be! The back of this quilt was a good place to use them. I know I'm making Carolina Lilies which uses green fabrics but I didn't want bright yellow/green in that quilt. The solid green Kona fabric is left from the diamonds used in my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

Most of the green backing on this quilt was a Robert Kauffman fabric. I don't know why I bought so much of it but apparently I had a plan when I purchased it, it's used now.

Another quilt used the peach/salmon fabrics for backing, I put leftover pieces from that backing in this backing.

Both of these quilts will be donated to the cancer center at Goshen Hospital.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, I Quilted This!, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

Turquoise Patchwork Quilt

I pieced turquoise strips at the Essenhaus Retreat in January which were then sewn into a flimsy. Once the flimsy was finished, it was hung in the to be quilted closet along with several other flimsies I plan to quilt this spring.

I used my Elna 720 machine for quilting, it can be challenging maneuvering everything through the throat but I got 'er done.

The border fabric and the backing are the same fabric. I bought the bolt from Lori when she decided she no longer had a use for it but it was perfect for me.

I had blocks left from piecing the front of the quilt and added them to the backing. 

I used a light variegated blue thread to quilt diagonally through the white block. I didn't want to use plain white thread, I thought the white blocks needed something to brighten them. I left the turquoise blocks unquilted.

The white border was stitched in the ditch on both sides and then 1/2" from the edges. It looked baggy without the extra stitching.

For the border I used the Baptist Fan design. The first item I ever quilted with the Baptist Fan was a little doll quilt. I did a terrible job but that's how we learn. My curves are much smoother now without zigs or zags. I really am improving with my machine stitching but I'm careful to not use too complicated of designs.

A different thread was used for the border, a darker variegated turquoise thread. I thought the thread used on the white would be too light for the borders.

The finished quilt measures 53" by 69", a nice snuggling size.

All of these fabrics are leftover from the quilts I made for Joanna last year. I didn't have the backing/border fabric last year or it would have appeared in her quilts.

This is going to be a summer birthday gift for a friend, I think she'll be quite surprised.

This was the 2nd quilt I've quilted in my spring quilting journey, two completed, several more to quilt! 

Linking to Oh Scrap, To Do Tuesday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, I Quilted This!, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday,  Patchwork & Quilts

Rhapsody in Blue

I'm back with another post about Rhapsody in Blue. When I'm hand quilting, I am able to reach at the most 6". Sometimes I can reach farther, straight stitching or diagonal straight stitching is easier to quilt than curves. This week's pictures don't look that much different from last week's pictures unless you look at the applique, progress is easier to see.

Here is what was quilted last week, from the left side of the quilt to the right side. I've finished quilting the applique on the left border. From now on it will be just the feather design on this side of the border.

There should be a picture of the checkboard blocks in-between the outside border and the inside applique border. It must be floating around somewhere in cyberspace.

The blue flower in the left bottom corner is the center of this row.

You can see some of the checkerboard border on the right side in this picture. Again I don't know what happened to the checkerboard border picture.

And the right outside border of the quilt with the lovely feathers.

Last week I was in Wakarusa and checked the quilt gardens. Nothing has been done to the space, the ground hasn't even been tilled. We've been experiencing cold wet weather, you can't work ground when it's wet and you can't plant flowers when there is a chance of frost!

Tradition says it's safe to plant annual flowers after Mother's Day but not this year, the weather forecast predicts several early mornings temps this week in the 30's Fahrenheit. I do have potted annuals on display in my flowerbeds, we've been moving them into the garage then back outside as the temperature allows. Perennials are blooming in the flowerbeds. Here are irises bringing us joy this spring, the creeping phlox is peeking into the photo.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Craftastic Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday

Totally Tulips

A quilt I have wanted to make for several years is Totally Tulips which was designed by MSQC. The pattern is in Block magazine, Volume 5, Issue 3 (2018). 

For my quilt I pulled squares from 2 layer cakes I purchased years ago at the Scarlett Thread called Garden Girl designed by Zoe Pearn. I choose to not use the floral on white squares but they probably would have looked okay. 

The tulip blocks are large blocks, the sewing went fast. 

I bought matching fabric for the border when I purchased the layer cakes. The border fabric was also on sale, don't we all love sale fabric?

The quilt finishes at 86" square. Again I took this quilt to Dana Stalter, the name of her business is Cottage Custom Quilting. I'm pleased with her work and the turnaround time is excellent!

The quilting design is called Daisy Daze. You can see the flowers in the above picture.

I was at Meijer shortly after I finished piecing this quilt. I always check to see what's on clearance and there was a set of king sized sheets for half price! I thought the butterflies and flowers would be perfect for backing this quilt so I bought the set. 

I consider this a cutsey quilt. Most of the quilts I make are more traditional patterns, a cutsey quilt is more whimsical. Lori Holt patterns are a good example of what I'm talking about. 

I didn't want the leftover squares hanging around so I decided to make large QST's. After piecing the QST's, I trimmed them to 9" which finish at 8.5". 

I will try to quilt this flimsy myself but probably not this year unless I need a large throw to gift to someone. This flimsy is 59" by 76" which is as large as I can quilt with my sewing machine.

Linking to To Do Tuesday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Put Your Foot Down, I Quilted This!, TGIFF!, Finished or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts, May Favorite Finish

Rhapsody in Blue

Another row across Rhapsody in Blue has been quilted. Rhapsody in Blue has been pieced and appliqued with my friend Elaine and will be sold in the Michiana Mennonite Relief sale September 25, 2027 (yes, the 2027 date is correct). I know that is more than a year away but once the quilting is finished, the quilt will need binding and a label. This amount of time also allows time to have the quilt displayed to hopefully attract more interest in bidding on it.

Here are pictures from left to right.

I'm still not sure about this applique. Elaine and I will decide after the rest of the quilt is finished if I need to add quilting to the background in this sashing.

This flower is in the center of the quilt.

This pictures shows the quilting the best of all the pictures. I think quilts with feather quilting look so elegant.

Here is a link to a post from August 31, 2025. Scroll down and you will see pictures of the Rhapsody in Blue flimsy on my bed. You will see the applique border I just finished quilting on the bottom of the quilt. I'll start crosshatching the patchwork border next but, of course, I'm quilting all the way across the quilt so there will quilting of all the various sections. It makes the quilting more interesting. The cross hatching goes fast. I should be starting the center section in two weeks. Also, I'm also almost finished with the applique section of the border on the left side. That quilting will go faster since I'm not stitching in the stitch around all the applique.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Craftastic Monday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings, To Do Tuesday