upping the scrappy charm: progress pics

I'm making good progress on my latest WiP, 10" Churn Dash blocks - see here for a few earlier details. There are several variations on this block and other names, including "monkey wrench," "hens and chickens," "love knot," and "shoo fly". It's a simple 9-patch block made up of half square triangles and squares, lots of scope to add more visual interest. 

I'm using fresh contemporary colours and am playing with the colour placement of my lights/mediums/darks. Traditionally, the background of these churn dash blocks is usually lighter. By swopping out the values occasionally, things can look quite different = upping the scrappy charm✅

Sashing is proving a bit difficult to decide on. At the moment I am thinking about using the same simple sashing throughout, with a feature print for my top & bottom borders. Jury's still out on this mind you!  

I think this post has maybe given you more insight into how I like to work, yes? If I start with a vague idea - i.e. no pattern - I build on it with a little improv & a lot of colour exploration, and things progress and/or change as I go. Really enjoying the process here. 

 

 Do you make a plan before you start sewing?

Linda

p.s. my scrap baskets don't look any different :( 

building on an idea

Things have been a bit chaotic chez Linda's this past month. I did manage some sit & sew times, taking slow meditative stitches, adding binding to a few quilts. And now after a short interlude, normal service has been resumed and I'm back working on my WiPs.

Way back in 2020 I started making 10" churn dash/monkey wrench blocks. I had originally begun these blocks following Jen Kingwell's 'flea market dash' pattern. I dragged them out this weekend & decided I really should do something with them. My blocks so far were mainly in medium/dark prints mixed with an assortment of checks, not feeling the love for them really. And, I also didn't have 1.4 mtrs fabric sitting around either, for the inset & corner triangles.

I remembered a monkey wrench quilt in the *U & U book, a joyous collection of colour & pattern. The blocks were in groups of four and the sashings were a mix of scrappy fabrics in blues & yellow.
After some faffing around reworking (and unpicking) a few parts of my earlier blocks, I laid them out on the design floor to check how things were progressing. My blocks do look a bit different to the inspo quilt - but I'm happy with these fresh contemporary colours.

love the mix in this one, Kaffe, Liberty lawn & Anna Maria ...

 the pile is growing ...

Tilda, a little Liberty lawn & gingham ...

 For my sashing, I'm thinking maybe teal ...

*Inspirational quilt from Unconventional & Unexpected by Roderick Kiracofe 

I'm enjoying this, building on an idea with a little improv & a lot of colour exploration 

- such a good way to waste away spend a few hours!

Linda

bohemian TATW: the photo post

Pink to the rescue💕

- thanks to everyone who chipped in with binding advice.

Enjoy the photos ...

the "in use" vs flat photo 

I've discovered that taking photos has been a fun (unexpected) part to all this quilt making. And comparing a flat vs 'in use' photo is something I've recently wondered about, I love elements of both ideas. 

I try to take at least one photo that reveals the whole quilt, so a flat shot or even someone holding the quilt up - hands, legs, feet optional! - is a good way to showcase the overall design & colour palette. 

I also enjoy playing around with close-up photos, ones that show a quilt "in use" and being loved - like say on a bed or messed up on a couch. I have experimented a. lot with this, taking many photos, from every angle! These shots really capture my interest, as they highlight the little details, the fabric mix, the quilting texture and the cuddly cosy nature of a quilt. 

If you stop by often, you'll notice that I click off more quilt pics than really needed, and that's mostly because I seem to give many of my quilts away! Once they're gone, that's it. So, like many others, this is my way of documenting my makes. 

Love to hear about your go-to photo.

this little quilt will certainly brighten up someone's bed in a Hospice room that's 4 sure #donationquilt

until next time, Linda

bohemian TATW quilt

 

This Trip Around the World (TATW) quilt was started back in March 2025. It's a fun bohemian-style quilt, created by making two of the same block construction-wise but they vary in the colour mix. Block A is a playful scrappy 4 colour combo while Block B is a repeat of the same intense b&W stripe, pink & gold colours. And these two blocks flick back and forth across the design with a "pink" pathway in-between.

Marita from quilters anonymous used hot pink thread to quilt a large loopey figure 8 panto, and it looks lovely. For the backing, I used Kaffe's 'stone flower' in yellow with the pink floral motif - a random purchase years ago - just perfect. 

My TATW quilt is neither shy nor retiring … but it's pieced & quilted ... and now all it needs is the binding. 

I tend to take my time when choosing the binding.  And it's certainly taken me a few days to audition quite a few different fabrics for this quilt. I tried repeating the B&W stripe, then a deeper gold, a light matching pink, but nothing felt just right.

There are no rules about my binding choices ... sometimes I'll use a stripe to add some fun & playfulness, or maybe go scrappy using leftover fabrics from the quilt, sometimes I may want to match my binding to the quilt's outer border for a more seamless look, other times I'll pick a high-contrast colour to create a sharp dramatic frame.

And then sometimes ... just adding an unexpected binding choice to a vibrant, jewel-toned quilt top can create a stunning effect.

Time to get this binding sewn down

✄🧵✄🪡✄

it's a log cabin💖affair

Having a backlog of quilt tops waiting to be quilted was making me just a bit restless. So, a few weeks ago I sorted out a few backings & sent four quilts off to the quilters. They've all come back now and I have two completely finished, bindings & pics done✅. 

And this week I decided I'd tackle another one. 

My Housetop quilt top was made back in February 2024, definitely time to turn it into a quilt. I went a bit loosey goosey here, making my own version of a 'house top' quilt. It's a variation of the log cabin block obviously inspired by the Gees Bend quilters and their amazing quilts & the recent 'house top no.6' quilt from Windham Fabrics. 

Love a quilt that's made from bits & pieces from past quilts, it was a real trip down memory lane. I recently read ... "This quilt is proof that scraps aren’t leftovers, they’re future quilts waiting to happen" ... and I guess it's sew true around here too!

Yes, it's a log cabin 💖love affair on both the back & front - my gentle soft 'green' log cabin quilt top was virtually the same size, so I used it as a backing. I had this one quilted in a 'simply sunflowers' panto by Marita from quilters anonymous. It took me some time to settle on a binding, I usually tend to opt for something a little darker, a little more defining like a narrow but bold border. However, in the end I went with a light minty green solid, I love how it calms things down and ties the front and back together.

until next time

Linda

iced vovo

My recently pieced iced vovo was another quilt I was keen to get finished. I included a healthy dose of pink florals, as a little nod to the original, along with the occasional darker print for contrast and added interest.

For my backing, I chose a quilt top I already had here in the wardrobe, my soft 'floating log cabins' in lots of lights with accents in plum. I did have to add wide borders to the backing, to facilitate loading onto Marita's (from quilters anonymous) long arm quilting machine. I chose a simple panto that looks like the natural randomness of ripple-type stitches. 

And my binding was a two-tone muted pink print, Field Cloth "briar' by Sew Kind of Wonderful. It works nicely for both back & front. 

and the back -

until next time, Linda

back from the quilters

And now on to the final part of the quilt journey… the long goodbye of hand stitching the binding.

My cabin nights quilt is about as pastel as I can get! I think if it was a low volume or a light it ended up in this quilt. Love love loved making this one - with lots of teeny tiny 2" HSTs - and wanted to get it finished as soon as. Super happy with the contrast of the occasional bright florals with the muted greens, soft pinks & light backgrounds.

I'm not really a fan of square quilts, so I added an extra strip of the background fabrics to the top and bottom and ended up with a rectangular quilt.
 
For a backing, I used what I had here - a scrappy light/dark HSTs diamond quilt top. I simply added a few improv borders to get it a little bigger than my quilt top, #partyinthequiltback.

I dropped my quilt off with Marita at quilters anonymous for a spot of quilting magic. 

My finished quilts constantly surprise me, the pink binding chose itself! It's a small pink & white retro daisy print by RRS Sugar Maple. The perfect "framing" for this one.

My 1st completed quilt for 2026!