Scrap Buster FREE Pattern

So much for scraps. I mean, we all save them, right? Always looking for that perfect pattern to use them up. How about digging around in a trash can for batik scraps thrown away by fellow quilters during a sewing day? I am not kidding - I did it and here is the result!

Trash Basket Batiks was made around 2004. Here's the little story:

My Atlanta quilt guild was working on a group project - sewing several beautiful batik quilts in

order to be used to raise money for a youth missions trip. Everyone was slicing and dicing and -

horror of horrors! - throwing the little strings and scraps of batiks in the big trash cans. I was

stunned. So, I dashed over and scooped out the little piles of gorgeous fabric and announced that

I couldn’t let that happen. My guild understands my quirks and laughed and poked fun at me.

Well, I got the last laugh when the next month I came back and showed them what I created from

those trash basket discards.

And the project:

Trash Basket Batiks

Blocks are 9" x 12" and the little quilt is 22-1/2" x 28-1/2". This is very 3-D and includes those little prairie points. I'm not sure if I still own this (yes, with hundreds of quilts in my history, cut me a little slack, ok?)

The FREE 8-page pdf of Trash Basket Batiks is full of illustrations and ways to create four different flower pots, along with those yo-yo flowers and even the ones with "crazy hair" type blooms. While this was an improvisational quilt for me, in order to get this published I had to write it as a reproducible pattern. Lucky you!

Hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think and maybe your craziest story about rescuing scraps. Can you beat mine?

Triplet Quilts!

On my 3 mile walk today I was humming to my tunes and thinking hard about some fabric. I knew I had used a particular Kaffe Fassett print in a quilt as a center circle (or partial circle) but it eluded me as to which one. You may be thinking: "Does this woman not know what her quilts look like?" Yes. But I've made so many over the past 22 years that I don't always keep things straight.

Once inside my house again, I rushed upstairs and pulled a few quilts out of the closets. And I found the one I was looking for. I made it back in 2010 and it was rejected by my book publisher as being "too wild." I had it quilted by Connie Gallant and figured it could be a workshop. It does travel with me when I present trunk shows. Here she is:

My Geese Have the Blues: 12" blocks; 38" x 38"

This appears in my 2014 Wall Calendar of Quilts (out of print). Maybe you have the calendar?

My Geese Have the Blues

What's a little wild Targets fabric in those center circles going to hurt anyone? I think it continues the movement of the Flying Geese, don't you?

And I was having such fun with this pattern that I created two other samples using children's novelty prints.

Geese at the Zoo

 And one more . . .

Geese in My Neighborhood

I patterned these quilts (actually, only the first one, but the pictures of these two go along with the pattern on Craftsy). Making those Flying Geese in a ring is not hard with paper piecing. And I really had fun using those novelty prints. Now I have two baby quilts on hand for gifts. I quilted these last two on my HandiQuilter Sweet 16.

More Log Cabin Creations

My friend Jean Ann Wright (who used to be my editor at Quilt Magazine for 14 years) has developed two more Log Cabin Trim Tools. One is 4" and the other is 6". Yes, small blocks. But I had a wonderful time working with my scraps to make these two projects:

This is Diamond in the Logs and was made using the 4" ruler. Yes, there are 16 blocks!

Diamond in the Logs: 23" x 23"

These are quilt shop exclusive. I don't sell them myself. Check with your local shop.

Here is a Sewing & Needle Case I also made, only this time with two 6" blocks:

Sewing and Needle Book

I enjoy making log cabin blocks. It is a great way to use up scraps. My gray, white and red one used several different prints. And my little sewing book used quite a few.

Thanks for stopping by. I have a few more things up my sleeve and I'm going back to my sewing machine for now!

Rediscovering my Kaffe Fassett Fabrics - and FREE Pattern

When I was a contributing editor for Quilt Magazine, we featured Kaffe Fassett and his Field Notes as an article in every issue. (Click that link to read all 16 of these awesome articles.) We invited him to talk about his work, his inspiration and his fabrics. I sewed with a LOT of those fabrics and had them published as quickly as I made them.

At least 11 of those quilts made it into my book, Supersize 'Em Quilts and I even gave a signed copy to Kaffe at Spring Market in 2009. I have recently discovered a Facebook page devoted to Kaffe and his fabrics (along with Brandon Mabley and Phillip Jacobs).

And I've begun cutting up my very large stash of his fabrics into 2-1/2" strips. Why buy a jelly roll bundle when you can create your own? So far, I've cut 27 strips with another 2 dozen to come (which includes the stripes and plaids). Note: I didn't buy this fabric or I would be in the poor house! It was part of working for a quilt magazine.

17 strips, cut one at a time from my stash

 The following strips were cut from the Lille Collection. These are "older" from almost 10 years ago. But they are still awesome, aren't they?

10 strips from the Lille Collection designed by Kaffe Fassett

Now, what can you do with 2-1/2" strips? Are you kidding? So many ideas, so little time!

Remember this Logs and Mortar pattern I shared a few months ago? Free!

Logs and Mortar uses 2-1/2" strips

Now for one of the quilts I designed for use with Kaffe Fasset strips. This was one of the two dozen quilts I created for the KF Club for a quilt shop in Atlanta. I call this Simply Strips. The only picture I have is the unquilted top. Not sure where the quilt went, but it's not in my closets!

Simply Strips Quilt. 10" blocks. 60" x 60" center

Would you like the pattern? Did I really need to ask that? It is a very simple two page pdf of my teaching notes with clear diagrams and steps on how to create the blocks. You don't have to get all "matchey-matchey." Just enjoy placing the fabrics in this variation on the Rail Fence block.

You can find Simply Strips - for free - at my Craftsy Store. Enjoy!

What's in My Pantry?

As a parent, it seems I was always urging my 3 daughters to "Eat your veggies!" It was a battle, let me tell you. Now, as adults, they don't shy away from their vegetables and even have found clever ways to get their own children to eat them. How come no one shared that secret with me years ago?

Today I am sharing about a new collection called "What's in My Pantry?" and again, it's all about vegetables. You may doubt it once I get going, but trust me, OK? The full tutorial is on the Benartex blog: Sew in Love with Fabric. Go check it out to see what I did.

What's in My Pantry? fabrics by Benartex

I combined some Fleur de Lis applique patches with these veggie prints and it got kind of crazy. Check it out and then come back to get the free template for the Fleur de Lis patch.

Full size Fleur de Lis

Here is the FREE template for a finished 10" block. It's a one page pdf. Fleur de Lis Pattern

Modern by the Yard - Updated with FREE download

This new eMagazine has been updated. You can now DOWNLOAD it - for free!
Here is the new link: Modern by the Yard
You do not have to give any personal information, nor should you be asked to pay for this.

Modern by the Yard eMagazine

Just launched by Benartex, Modern by the Yard 32 page e-magazine. Free. Beautiful. 4 projects and all sorts of inspiration. One of them is mine using some Fossil Fern hexies.

Fossil Fern hexies

What are you waiting for? Click the link above. Did I say, "WOW"?

You can see several of the pages at the Sew in Love with Fabric blog. So beautiful!

Free eMagazine by Benartex with Projects & Inspiration

This new eMagazine has been updated. You can now DOWNLOAD it - for free!
Here is the new link: Modern by the Yard

Modern by the Yard eMagazine

Just launched by Benartex, Modern by the Yard 32 page e-magazine. Free. Beautiful. 4 projects and all sorts of inspiration. One of them is mine using some Fossil Fern hexies.

Fossil Fern hexies

What are you waiting for? Click the link above. Did I say, "WOW"?

You can see several of the pages at the Sew in Love with Fabric blog. So beautiful!