I have always had more than one project going at a time but I don’t know if it is because of Covid or just my excitement to MAKE. I thought I would do a status check to keep me accountable.
half-square hashtags
Working on an all red version of Sheryl Johnson’s Half Square Hashtag quilt. As soon as Sheryl sent this quilt in for Sisterhood of Scraps, I knew I had to make it.
On-the-Go-SIH-050-Let’s-Fly-61×72
I signed up to make a sample for work. I thought this would be a fun quilt for one of my grandsons for Christmas. I am so very close but I set this one aside and need some space and time to lay it out and get it finished up.
20720-11
I am planning on using the panel as part of the quilt back making the quilt a reversible playmate. Fabric is ON the Go by Stacy Iest Hsu. Fabric is in stores in January but hoping to cross this one off my list very soon.
I am obsessed with all the Quilt alongs happening now.
In the OLDEN DAYS, I would sign up for groups that would meet the first Monday of the month, the third Wednesday or the fourth Saturday. Seemed like an easy commitment of one day a month until I had signed up for so many 1 day a month events that if filled my calendar.
The virtual QAL’s are different. I don’t have to get a sitter or even leave the house and I get to meet many virtual friends.
Block 36
I am on the last round (each designer has 1 more block to post) of the Moda Blockheads series. Be sure and follow each post because the featured designer is doing a giveaway. Posts EVERY WEDNESDAY. You can get all the patterns on Moda’s blog.
I am tickled pink to be included as one of the SEWCIALITES on Fat Quarter Shops, weekly QAL. POSTS EVERY FRIDAY.
I am really challenging myself and using all Bella Solids. The patterns are fun, The instructions are great and just one more block a week to make. No Problem, right?
I am sure there are some other things but this is my
It is finally finished. I had made the goal to share this before the first pumpkins were out and I think I made it.
When I asked some of my friends to join me in the Sisterhood of Scraps project, I was very honored that Barbara Brackman said YES. She shared her Orange Zig Zag antique quilt that had been on my bucket list to make. There was no time like the present to reproduce her version.
I am in love and I can cross something off my bucket list.
I am ready for the pumpkins.
Aren’t all the shirtings so yummy?
Shirtings are generally a reproduction fabric but I am seeing more and more new styles of shirtings with the popularity of low volume styles growing in popularity.
This is what I can do all day every day!
Play with Fabric
These are just a few of my lights for this quilt. I really tried to get some bold stripes, tickings and other vintage inspired pieces. I added some dots since I think 100% of the quilts I make have dots in them.
Fig Tree and Co. has the yummiest collection of fabric, All Hallow’s Eve and I was hoarding the Orange, stock #20354-11 from this collection. This fabric was the perfect piece to use for this quilt.
These are available late 2020 and would be terrific Christmas gift to yourself!
Here is a page example from the book courtesy of Electric Quilt. I own her original book and can’t wait to get my hands on this one. This book is great for designing, as a resource and historical information.
If you have been following along on my Sisterhood of Scraps stories, then you probably know about my love of the color Orange.
One of the Orange quilts that have been on my “MUST MAKE Pinterest Board” is this antique quilt from Barbara Brackman’s quilt collection. I was so excited when she let me include it in the Sisterhood series of books. Then comes along All Hallow’s Eve by Fig Tree and Co, and I became obsessed with the orange’s in this collection, the color is officially named pumpkin. Not too bright or not too orange….just right.
I knew I had found the perfect fabric to remake Barbara’s quilt. Stock # 20354-11 just in case you want to rush to the store to get some.
Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing, Sisterhood of Scraps, Stock # B1501, Orange Zig Zag
Instead of using the entire collection of All Hallow’s Eve for my quilt, I decided to pull from my scraps.
This is just a sampling of some of the fabrics I pulled, and I added a few brand new ones that are coming soon.
Can you spy any fabrics you have not seen yet?
I had to use some of the Lollies from Jen Kingwell’s collection. Lollies are an 8 in 1 fabric, and each fabric
measures approx. 5″ wide by the length of the goods. This print was from her Remix collection. When you see stuff like this, you just have to grab it.
Who knows when you are going to need it. I am glad I had it in my stash.
My version of Barbara’s quilt that is in the book was made with the majority of the fabrics
Today’s post is a guest post from the uber-talented Susan Ache. Susan is one of the contributing artists in my new book Sisterhood of Scraps. Susan shares with us all about hibernation and what she does in THE cold month in Florida. ( one little hiccup- that I am posting this in February but I think you will get the gist and enjoy Susan’s process.)
Susan’s quilt from Sisterhood of Scraps, Scrap Diving.
It’s not something I get to say often, but, I am a “guest blogger”. Thank you, Lissa, for inviting me to your space. Let’s get some introductions started. Happy New Year to everybody, I’m Susan Ache (pronounced like hockey without the H) and, I play just about every day on Instagram @yardgrl60. I live in Florida, sewing by day and stitching by night.
Now that you know all about me, let’s talk hibernation. I am not about to spend my fun blogging time talking about new year resolutions cleaning and organizing my sewing room with tips and hints. I am going to talk about how I turn my air down really low, throw food in the crockpot and hibernate in my sewing room for the month of January and sometimes February. Florida gets a few cold days in February while the rest of the country is bundled up and snowed in during January. Well, I like to be a part of that fun, so, let’s talk about what I like to spend my time doing.
Hibernating January is such a quiet month to plot and plan new quilt projects from my inspirations I have saved over the year. Let’s not even begin to think that I write it down or count the number of things I want to get done, I just like visuals to let me know that it’s all there for me when I want to start. You know those tabs you put in books to mark your favorites, or if you are like me, those patterns you put in a file, so you will never forget you want to make them. January is my time to sit and re-evaluate what I really want to get done and what I really have in my stash to accomplish that. I do love playing in my scraps, so most of the time, I am lucky enough not to have to cut into the “real” fabric, but, I do like to know that when there is something special I do want to make, I have the materials on hand. The best part about my process is that I don’t actually “kit” my projects. I get everything together, make little notes, and take a quick snapshot of it. I keep that little “kit” photo in an album in my camera phone and will always have exactly what I pulled that day right at my fingertips.
Here’s the thing, I love, and I can’t even begin to say how much I just love to sit down at the machine and make a quilt block. Hibernating January is my time to do this from all of my “kits” that I have pulled. There are three main reasons why I make a practice block. The first reason is that I like to see if I like the construction of the block and if there is possibly an easier way for me to construct it. The second reason, how many times have you started a quilt and realized halfway through that you don’t really even enjoy making the block. Well, by making just one or two blocks, I can pretty much tell if it is something I will enjoy making lots of. And, finally, my favorite reason of all, I have an extra block to throw in my “orphan” basket of quilt blocks, which always come in handy when I want to make a sampler quilt.
Having Hibernating January is also my time to play with all of the templates and rulers that I have randomly picked up at shops, shows, or online. Taking the time to see what those things can do certainly helps me have more fun during the year when I finally learn how to use them. Years ago, I found an entire little box in the back of my cutting table filled with all sizes of drunkards path templates. I spent Hibernating January figuring out how to make curved piecing more comfortable for me, and to this day, it is one of my very favorite features of a quilt or a quilt block, and I feel confident making them because I carved out some quiet non-stressful time to practice.
So, you may not have time in January to hibernate and plot your year, but take some time that isn’t for just cleaning and organizing to play with the things that make you happy.
I want to Welcome Barbara Brackman today as she does a guest post about her quilt in my new book, Sisterhood of Scraps.
“When Using Stripes and Plaids Buy Extra Fabric to Match.”
Someone ignored that good old HomeEc advice to make the Orange Zig-Zag. Lucky for us.
The quilt top came from a Topeka, Kansas thrift store in the 1970s. I asked church ladies in Garnett, Kansas to hand quilt it in the ‘80s. I’d guess the quilt dates to about 1920 due to two fabric style characteristics. The oranges are all cut from the same solid and it looks like a 20th-century dye, not chrome orange, a 19th-century dye. It’s not really lightfast. I hung it too long one winter in Seattle where there’s not much sun; yet the orange faded a bit.
The light fabrics are shirting stripes and plaids, which were quite popular for everybody’s clothing in the teens. Even the giant black and white stripes were probably meant for a snappy men’s shirt, worn with a celluloid collar.
Ad from 1910
I’ve enjoyed hanging it over the years to the envy of my friends who decided to make their own. You might want to use Lissa’s pattern beyond the advice I gave them:
“Get a bunch of orange prints & solids and white stripes & plaids. Make a 60-degree diamond template. Piece rows. When you get bored piece some half diamonds along two sides.”
That’s how I do things, but my friends bought a 60-degree ruler and counted.
We had an orange-fest at our quilt show a few years ago. The quilt on the left is by Kathe Dougherty, a faithful copy. Karla Menaugh’s on the right was done in a Kaffe Fassett workshop.
Kathe was really able to match the look of a century ago.
Orange Zig-Zag by Carol Gilham Jones (Not Orange)
Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your quilt in the Sisterhood of Scraps.
Here is my version that primarily uses the Lollies fabrics by Jen Kingwell. I want to make a quilt exactly like Barbara’s and probably still will.
Please share your version by using the hashtags #sisterhoodofscraps.
Today is my mom’s birthday or as we all called her, Gammy, you know like the Grammy’s. We all won the biggest award by having her in our lives. She was so creative and taught us all to work with our hands. In honor of my mom’s birthday, January 6th is the best day to announce the debut of Sisterhood of Scraps.
Sisterhood of Scraps is a follow-up book to Oh Scrap, but this one is bigger and better because some of my friends have come along for the journey. Laurie Simpson, Susan Ache, Barbara Brackman, Sandy Klop, Kim Brackett and Sheryl Johnson all helped make this book happen. Each of these talented women said YES when I asked them if they wanted to take on the challenge.
They weren’t scared!!
I paired with each person to make a quilt incorporating a certain shape. I would do the same shape but neither of us knew anything else. No other rules or limitations and I hope these quilts inspire you to join the Sisterhood of Scraps.
First up is Laurie Simpson of Minick & SImpson. Laurie has a very classic and timeless style and this quilt did not disappoint. The challenge for Laurie was 4 patches and 9 patches. Remember that was the only rule. There are so many secondary patterns in this quilt that I can look at it over and over and see different patterns created by the lights and darks throughout. The stacked brick border sends your eye back into the quilt. The quilting pattern is what I call a baptist fan. The curved shape of the quilting compliments the linear piecing.
This is my version of 4 patches and 9 patches. I don’t know how most people go about making a scrap quilt but most of the time I just start sewing shapes. It is my therapy, mindless sewing at the end of the day while binge-watching my favorite show.
This quilt is bits and pieces from a couple of other quilts I have made. I call it Friendship Starter because it reminded me of the Amish Friendship bread recipe. Friendship bread you create the starter, keep adding to it and wait patiently until it is time to make bread all the while the starter is shared with others to cultivate their recipe.
SIDE NOTE: I did pass along all the little four patch starters.
Susan Ache of @yardgrl60 Has created just the perfect pop of color using a red background for her LeMoyne stars surrounded by Log Cabins. The quilt is brand new but has that wonderful soft vintage feel as if it had been around for decades. A red binding finished it off beautifully.
Log Cabin was our shape in common. I made a log cabin on point with different centers, half dark and half light to create a woven pattern. If you have followed me you know I love using a combination of different Moda fabric designers’ fabrics. It just makes me happy and I think of each of them as I touch each piece. I love the quilting on this quilt. A floral design was quilted on the light section and simple straight lines in the dark. This also helps create an optical illusion on how the blocks were even pieced. All I need now is an actual log cabin house to go with the quilt. This is a great scrap buster for sure!!
I will give you a minute or two to catch your breath from this quilt.
Ok, got it?
Do you need to scroll up to see the picture again?
This quilt is even more spectacular in person.
Sandy Klop of American Jane is the creator of this quilt. Forever Friends is Sandy’s quilt. I look at this quilt and think about how each fabric tells a story and what was Sandy thinking about as she worked on this. The shape that Sandy and I both went with was a 1 patch square.
When I made my quilt and knew that my sister on the project was Sandy I knew I had to use reds and that my quilt had to be bright and vibrant just like Sandy’s personality and friendship is to me.
One main difference is her squares are uber small and mine and big and funky.
My quilt is named Ketchup and Mustard and is perfect for a picnic quilt.
( thank you Tammy Vonderschmitt for the quilt name.)
It is hard to have just one favorite quilt from the book,
just like it would be hard to have a favorite child but this quilt Half Square Hashtags from Sheryl Johnson will be the first one I reproduce.
I have always been a fan of Sheryl and her shop Temecula Quilts but had not met her in person until we started working on this book. The challenge I gave Sheryl was make something with half-square triangles, yes that was all I said and she created this beauty.
Part friendship quilt and part signatures from people that have influenced my life is the inspiration for my sister quilt to Sheryl’s, INFLUENCERS. I was able to get signatures some of my teachers, designers, friends, family even the president of Quilts, inc and Moda fabrics. I got signatures from new friends at quilting events and hope to travel some with this quilt, so if I see you I will most likely pull out a pen and ask you for your signature. Thanks for your influence.
Kim Brackett hit it out of the part with her DIVERGENCE quilt. So much pattern,
color and movement throughout the quilt without a single set in-seam.
My kind of quilt looks hard but it is easy.
The quilt just makes me happy!
Remember we did not see each other’s quilts until far along in the process. Trapezoid shapes. Geez, what did I do to myself?
You can never have to many holiday quilt so I went with classic Christmas colors, but wanted to create a spinning effect by making the backgrounds between the stars half darks and half lights. Then I thought it would be a super cool bed quilt with
the star set on point so filled it with background fabrics to float.
Barbara Brackman, the queen of quilting has graciously included one of her antique quilts in this book. Barbara and I did sisterhood quilts a little different. She sent me pictures of several antique quilts and I knew the Orange one was it. To tell you what a small world it is, I had saved a picture of this quilt and it was on my “to make in sometime life” list of quilts and had no idea
it was Barbara’s quilt.
Barbara reproduced her own quilt as a mini and yes the pattern is also in the book.
This quilt was probably the hardest to decide upon. Since I had seen Barbara’s quilt and it was on my must-make list, how could I think of anything else but the wonderfully faded orange and the black and white stripes and tickings? Seriously how can you mess with perfection? So I started with the graphic black and whites but went with dots instead of stripes, added tickings and vintage-inspired lights. Okay, half the fabric was decided upon. The other half of the quilt is Jen Kingwell’s Lollies fabrics. These fabrics are 8 fabrics in one so it was a breeze to get a scrappy look with a limited amount of fabrics. While not messing with the greatness of Barbara’s quilt, I think my Pot of Gold quilt gives lots of options when looking at color and fabric differently. I will still be making the Orange version. ( thanks to Sarah Huecthmann for piecing the top for me)
I am going to have some guest posts from some of the contributors over the next 2 weeks, and there will be prizes!! Books are in stores now. #sisterhoodofscraps
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAMMY
I get my laugh, my humor,
my snark, my patience
and so much more from my mom.
I know she would love all the quilts and brag to everyone she met.
Happy Birthday Mom and thanks for nurturing and encouraging all things creative in me.
photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing
Picture Compliments of Martingale Publishing, Sisterhood of Scraps, book #B1501, Pot of Gold
