Pumpkin Patch Block Projects

 

A quilt idea from 2015 is finally a completed quilt top!

It's a wonderful fall scrap quilt with rich autumn colors and pumpkins. Bright orange and brown for the border and leftover black and tan nine patches. This quilt has the feel of the scrappy polyester quilts my great grandmother made for us. It has the darker colors like my brother's quilt - here's a post showing mine (I slept under this for many years and I think the colors inspired the quilter I am today!)

The pumpkin patch block featured in the middle of this quilt is available for free in my online shop - follow this link to get the pumpkin patch block.

 

And if that's not enough pumpkins for you - I have this pumpkin coaster out this time of year too. 

 

 I used part of the pumpkin patch block to make a pumpkin coaster! It's fun to put it together with different scraps - I love being able to use that last piece of a favorite orange fabric and mix it wih surprising and traditional color choices.

The pumpkin coaster tutorial is available to my newsletter subscribers - join my list to get access!

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With Joy,

Sarah V.

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New Quilt pattern with New Fabrics from Swan Amity Studios

 This month quilters are celebrating all things sewing. September is full of change and new beginnings - my favorite new beginning is a new quilt! And it's even better with new fabric :)

This post is part of my contribution to sharing the release of Swan Amity Sheridan 's newest line by Kathy Engle of Island Batik. It's called Buds and Blooms and is bursting with color!

You can see the whole line of fabrics on the Island Batik page here - Buds and Blooms.

New Pattern - Dropping In 2

I incorporated all these beautiful fabrics into a new version of my Dropping In pattern to showcase even more fabrics in one quilt. Here is Dropping In 2 featuring Buds and Blooms.

You can see how these batiks get to display their beauty in this easy to piece design. It was a challenge to pick which fabrics to use and I'm pleased to say there are 14 in this quilt! These fabrics remind me of looking into a blooming garden and being mesmerized by the intricate color shading and movement. I think wrapping up in this quilt is like laying down in a blooming patch of dahlias or zinnias. 

The patten includes 3 sizes so you can make your quilt the perfect size for you - or to make for someone special.

Designer Blog Posts

There are other designers showcasing these fabrics as part of the release. Please be sure to visit them too!

IG Giveaway

There is also an IG giveaway happening from  September 15 - 21, 2023

 

You can go to my Instagram account (@sewjoycreates) to see the details and find the other designers to visit to be included in the giveaway. Good luck!

The Dropping In 2 pattern is available in my online shop - you can purchase a downloadable copy today!

Visit the Dropping In 2 pattern page.

Thanks for visiting. I hope these beautiful batiks inspired you.

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Getting out from under my scraps - with eyes on a new project!

 It happens, you keep the scraps thinking that you will use them all again. Later. Sometime soon. Maybe! Then they just sit there taking up space making you feel like you have less space for new fabric and new projects. 

How do you move on and do you take your scraps with you?

This happened for me this summer as I got stuck behind my scrap piles and designing new patterns. How was I going to deal with wanting/needing new fabric and having all this other stuff still here?

Then I went to a sew day. 

Our guild hosts a sew day once a month during the year but usually takes the summer months off. A few emails circulated and enough quilters were eager to get together that we had a sew day in July. I didn't know what to take and grabbed an old project that had been sitting - apparently since last July according to my notes!

I still love this project - it was a mystery project for 2020 designed by Darlene D'Eon. I was at a spot in the project where I needed to cut more pieces from my scraps and just hadn't got around to it. Well, one Sew Day later, I am back into my piles of scraps with a mission!

I finished enough of the star blocks to sew together one of the border rows. I came home and cut out the rest of the pieces I need to make the remaining stars. I also scoured her facebook page to find the rest of the directions to finish the quilt :)

I will take this with me to the next sew day. I will put the center together before then - that means this month!

I also realized I was stalled on my Secret Lives of Color quilt.

I took this opportunity to also look for the fabrics I would need for the next row in this quilt. 

In the process I also purged my scrap bin. I kept mostly pieces bigger than 2 1/2" square and got rid of some pieces that seemed to have been around for decades. It was time! Now I have room for more scraps.

During this time I also found out about - you guessed it - a new scrap project! This adorable witch quilt by Lori Holt is on my to do list this fall. I am excited about the design in general but the witch's skirt reminded me that I have another project on the go that will have amazing fabrics for that skirt!

Also, as happens among quilters, one of my guild friends gifted me with some beautiful scraps in cinnamon tones. They will work perfectly for the Harrisonburg quilt that I bought the pattern for and didn't start because I liked the browns and didn't have any. Yay for friends and enablers LOL!

Now I have a scrap quilt project to work on at my guild's next sew day, more fabric selected for a colorful scrap quilt, a UFO to move forward so I can use the leftover fabric in my next quilt project. And the start of a collection of fabrics for another project.

Ah, scraps!

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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New Pattern: I Heart Curling

 It's here! The ultimate quilt for curling fans.

Easy pieced blocks repeat with clever sashing make this quilt rock. Use your favorite solids or add some team spirit by incorporating novelty prints.

I have made the wall hanging size and used tone on tone fabrics. I have a hard time using just solids but this quilt is a good candidate! I used two different reds and think the hearts could be done in a team color - or in quirky novelty print like some curling teams are known for. I used a white print that has black marks in it to look like ice - you could use a swirling tone on tone or a novelty print in this spot instead. There are options to personalize the fabrics for this quilt. I think it would be fun to put team members' names in the stone or rock handles. 

The pattern includes all three sizes you see here: wall hanging, lap and double. You can add borders to any sizes but I chose these sizes to keep the design symmetrical. 

I would say 'hurry hard' but there's no rush! You have lots of time to make one of these quilts for yourself or your favorite curling fan.

The pattern is available now to download in my online shop. 

Click here to go the pattern in my shop - I Heart Curling

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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Fun With Scraps Book project

I'm pleased to be helping a fellow quilt pattern designer release her new book. Katherine Curtsinger, of It's Only Fabric and Thread, has a new book full of projects to make with your scraps.The book is called Fun with Scraps.

From Katherine, " It is specifically written for use with scraps. Most of the quilts are block based and have sizing for baby up to bed size. The book also includes a sampler that uses blocks from each of the patterns and includes some other suggested quilt projects using blocks from the book. I really hope it inspires you to create using what you have!"

Sew Good Fabric Scraps

As luck would have it I was just finishing up an alternate version of my I Heart Churns quilt. I made it with the Sew Good fabric line from Fish Museum and love this line - I want to use every last bit! I reached out to Katherine and got busy scanning through all her pretty patterns to find one for the scraps I had left.

It wasn't easy! I wanted to make several of the quilts but I stayed focused on looking for one that I could use these scraps in. The pattern Drop Zone X fits the bill. It has large blocks with skinny pieces and I knew I would have enough scraps to make one block.

I like how the patterns give information for making only one block. So often when using scraps I need to change out fabrics from block to block so I like the option to make one block at a time.

The book also includes a sampler quilt using a block from each quilt in the book - another great way to try out the patterns and use up your scraps.

 

Drop X pattern block

The instructions and diagrams helped me quickly cut and layout my block pieces. I loved the finished look of one block and knew I needed to keep this fun sewing themed block in my sewing room. With no comfy chair to plump a pillow on I did the next best thing - I made it a cover for my chair pad!

X marks the spot indeed :)

It makes me so happy to see this happy block when I sit down to sew.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the possibility of just one of the projects to make with your scraps in the new book, Fun with Scraps. 

You can see more of the book at my Amazon link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Fun with Scraps book on Amazon link

With Joy,

Sarah V.

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