One fabric panel yields 5 scrappy quilts

It’s like the story of “the loaves and the fishes”—where one fabric panel turns into five quilts!

Scrappy kitty quilts with a panel block.

I found this cat panel on the sale shelf at a quilt shop in Louisville, KY. Instead of using the panel in its entirety, I’m cutting out the individual vignettes and mixing them with various scraps to make a few improv kitty quilts.

Second quilt top from a panel image.

The first three quilt tops are complete.

Third quilt top from a block cut from the panel.

The two remaining vignettes from the panel will become quilt tops as well… for a total of five.

Cutting up the panel into smaller blocks.

This is one way to use a panel in your quiltmaking to make your fabric go further. This panel afforded a focal point for five projects. Using improvisational patchwork, the scrap basket becomes another resource and puts leftover fabric bits to good use.

Don’t you love these fast and fun, scrappy little quilts?? I do!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

With grace and gratitude to all the makers, teachers, business partners, associates, and mentors who inspire, encourage, collaborate, and support the arts, creatives, and their endeavors… a heart-filled Thank You!

Restoring a not-so-old quilt with appliqué… and perseverance

There’s a certain kind of beauty that only use over time can create. You see it in wooden floors softened by decades of footsteps, in favorite books with cracked spines and bent and rounded corners, and—if you’re a quiltmaker—in a quilt that has been used daily for over 15 years. 

Worn areas of a 2010 quilt that is in need of restoration.

This quilt, called Checks and Balances, and a gift to one of my brothers-in-law, turned fifteen this year. And like anything that’s lived life for over a decade and a half—and not been kept in a box or a chest—it is showing its age in the most endearing (and challenging) ways.

Holes and worn areas of a 15-year-old quilt.

The evidence of all that living is undeniable: 

• some fabrics have thinned to non-existance with the batting showing through, 
• a few holes went through to the backing, 
• there are several well-worn and slightly faded areas. 

I’m stepping into the role of caretaker to gently restore these areas to extend its life.

Appliqué to the rescue

I determined that appliquéing patches was a better solution to the quilt repair rather than unstitching and taking out older fabrics to totally replace the patchwork with new. If you’ve ever repaired a vintage or antique quilt, it’s not uncommon to find older quilts “inside” a vintage quilt. 

Going from “color memory,” I picked up yardage of several blue and red fabrics while I was traveling for work this past week. There was no way to identify nor find exact replacements for the thinning fabrics, so Checks and Balances is being introduced to new fabrics.

Auditioning new fabrics to replace (or cover) the worn patches.

The 4” patches from new fabrics will be hand appliquéd over the worn/frayed/faded patches. Even though the original alternate block was all from the same fabric, I decided that the restored quilt will be even more scrappy—with appliqués of new fabrics of different prints. The variety in color, print, and value will also help meld the old with the new.

New fabric patches laid over the worn areas.
There will be a lot of hand appliqué needed to restore this quilt.

A stitch in time …

There are quite a few areas in need of a refresh and the appliqué is being done by hand. These areas will also need quilting (likely free-motion by machine), so Checks and Balances will be in the repair shop for a while.  

When my husband brought the quilt to me for repair, he mentioned his brother’s comment, “… I’ve slept under it every night since I got it.” Oh, geeze… I’m sorry to break a 15-year record, but every race car has to go into the pit for a pit stop to keep it in the race. I promise that Checks and Balances will be back on the bed as quickly as possible.

Making progress on a new fabric stitch book

I’ve taken a page or two of my new fabric stitch book to work on while traveling. I am pleased with the good progress that has been made. 

New stitched iris composition using a stenciled print and painted fabric scraps.

Original stenciled image of the iris.

Back view of the iris composition.

Two stitched samples have been mounted onto fabric for book pages. The background fabrics for both are yarn dyed shot cottons.

Stitched landscape mounted on a background fabric.

A Dropcloth stitch sampler is mounted on a grass green shot cotton background fabric. 

A stitch sampler from Dropcloth Samplers mounted on a background fabric page

Back view of the mounted stitch sampler.

On this page (below), the painted cloth has been combined with hand embroidery and kantha running stitches. I haven’t decided if additional embroidery is needed to enhance more of the leaves.

Filling out the composition with embroidery and running stitches.

Still a work in progress… but coming along nicely.