Scrap Play

Back in 2024, I played along and made blocks as part of the Seattle MQG's free BOM all from large scraps. Once the quilt top was assembled, it sat around for awhile until I pieced the backing. I found a mini quilt top and used that as the base and surrounded it with colorful batik fabric.

I did an all over FMQ meander. It took me awhile to get the right rhythm - I hadn't done any large scale FMQ in quite awhile. That mini on the back certainly adds interest but it did make my FMQ experience a bit of a bumpy ride! The quilt measures about 56" x 56".

I make a quilt every year to donate to my guild's (Triangle MQG) community giving - our quilts support kids in the foster care system. Scrap Play will my donation for 2026. 

My quilt for 2025 was called Squared Up and is a free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop.

My quilt for 2024 was a scrappy HST, no pattern, just my own scraps and lots of HSTs.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Singularity Round Two

And it continues to grow!

I am a member of Triangle MQG and we are doing our very first guild QAL using the Singularity quilt from the MQG. I am a bit ahead of schedule and now have a block which is 24 1/2 " square.

Here is what it looked like after the first round -

The pattern is called Singularity and is free to all MQG members. 

Sewing HST is a good thing to tackle when you just need something mindless to sew. I am fairly certain there are a few errors in the first round but I am calling them design choices!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Let's Pretend It is Square

This is a quick photo - clearly! - of my work in progress of a large granny square. It will block into a square - it is not that wonky! 

I am making a blanket comprised of 4 large squares. My intent is to use three 100-gram balls on each square and this photo captures where things stand after two 100-gram balls. It is about 20" square.

This will be my 3rd crochet project. I really enjoy how portable the project is as well as how easy it is to pull back a few stitches to fix an error without destroying the whole project!

I am not in a rush to finish and am looking forward to seeing how this comes together.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Dream

Meet Dream. A UFO from 2022! 

I started this quilt in response to a guild challenge to work in a monochromatic color palette with the option of adding one other accent color. Using just scraps, I made the quilt top, did much of the quilting and then it sat, and sat, and sat for 3 1/2 years!

But now it is done! I adding some big stitch quilting which I think adds a lot to the piece although it is hard to photograph.

The quilt is faced and finishes 18.5" wide by 14.5" tall.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Bee Blocks - April and May

The 2026 season of the @unscriptedquiltsbee began in March and has gotten off to a great start!

For April, @feltlikesweets sent each of us a unique section of a black and white photo and asked that we recreate using a color palette derived by 5 columns in the Kona color chart. 

I can't share the photo with you or any bee members yet but it will be fun to see this come together. I am curious on what you think that photo (at the top of this post) represents!

For May, @ellyn asked for large arrows in a basic primary color. This was a lot of fun to create and is 18.5" square.

My month is June and I've just mailed out a FQ to each bee member so it is ready to go once I share the prompt.

You can see my previous blocks here and the quilt I made last year.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Singularity Center Block

I am a member of Triangle MQG and we are doing our very first guild QAL using the Singularity quilt from the MQG. The quilt is made up of HST and the center part - shown above - uses HSTs that finish at an inch!

I didn't actually read the pattern (which is available free to MQG members) to assemble the center but instead used my friends finished center to lay out the pieces. It is very possible I've messed something up but if you see something, don't tell me! 

There are 4 rounds of sewing in the quilt but I will likely make a smaller quilt and do only 3 rounds.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

The Farm!

Aren't these just adorable?

This is Elizabeth Hartman's Farm Fab pattern and these animals are just fabulous!

I assembled the quilt top - still need to add borders - at a quilt retreat with 8 friends. I made the chicken ahead of time and the rest of the animals took me a day and a half. The ears gave me trouble on each animal simply because I was too busy enjoying fellow retreaters company and not paying attention to make the ears symmetrical!

There were giant design walls so the animals were posted as they were completed which made me smile.

The quilt is for a new baby due in July so I've got time to add the borders and maybe piece another chicken onto the backing!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Friend Retreat

I just returned from a long weekend quilt retreat. We were in this beautiful retreat center that had a nice sewing area with large design walls, a gourmet kitchen, and plenty of room for everyone! We ate great meals - these ladies can cook! I contributed a loaf of homemade bread and then lots of snacks.

Once that quilt top was assembled, it was time for a glass of wine and tackling little HST. Several of us started working on our guild QAL and it was fun to encourage each other along through the trimming of about 100 1.5" HSTs.

This was my third year of retreating with this group and we've already booked the retreat center for April 2027!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

The Chicken!

My nephew and his wife are having their second child in early summer so I've gotten started on a quilt. The pattern I'm using is Farm Fab by Elizabeth Hartman.

Isn't this chicken so cute?!!!

I'm off to a mini-retreat with friends and I've got all the other animals kitted up and ready to go. I can't wait to see this quilt come together.

I like this chicken so much that another may make an appearance on the quilt back.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Pantone Challenge Cloud Dancer - Bauhaus Style

Cloud Dancer - aka white! - was the surprise Pantone color of the year. Not yet sure where I was headed, I started sewing together scraps of white or light cream fabric. Each could pass for white on their own but when you put them together, you really see the differences!

I quilted the piece with diagonal walking foot stitches and then the fun began. My plan was to play with fusible bias tape. I adhered it to a bunch of shapes in a Bauhaus color palette of primary colors. And then I played. I would lay things out, attach one piece and then lay things out slightly different. I took a series of photos along the way to give me a general idea of where things were headed but made tweaks every iteration. 

I am thrilled with the final quilt top which finished at 18" x 28". The iterative nature of the process was fun as was working with the bias tape. (One tip with working with the tape was to use my zipper foot when sewing it down because it provided better visibility.)

This is the 4th year that I've entered the challenge and the first time I had an actual quilt complete and not just the quilt top! These were the other three:

• Orange Overload  -Mocha Mousse 2025
• Peachy Kean2024 entry for Peach Fuzz was (Was in Mack Modern Magazine
• Echo - Viva Magenta 2023 hung in QuiltCon and was in QuiltCon magazine. 

Read more about the challenge - linkup opens on April 20.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

My Crochet Sweater!

I made a sweater for summer!

My youngest has made a few of these sweaters so I followed their instructions and started with a hexagon - which they actually started for me! - and kept going until it was the right size. Once the sleeves and shoulder area was sized right, I did some extra rows to get it wide and long enough.

There were a couple of resets and frogging along the way as I was learning as I went and kept rethinking things - like how long the sleeves needed to be.

To join, I used a slip stitch on the right side of the sweater. Then, once assembled, I did 4 rows of slip stitch to finish the edging. The photo on the left shows the raised back seam and the edging; the photo on the right is closeup of the edging.

I used about 4 1/2 100g balls in cream from Purl Soho. This was the same yarn I used for my granny square blanket.

Snapped a quick photo to show the size. I've got an upcoming event with an outfit it will go well with - better than my NPR tee!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Bee Blocks - January, February, March

February marked the end of my first bee year for the @unscriptedquiltsbee. I have really enjoyed the monthly challenges from fellow bee mates. Rounding out the season, @elizabethkray asked for Plus blocks using a palette of bright colors. It was fun to interpret this prompt in different ways for my blocks. @bysarahruiz asked for classic snake blocks with a pieced background. (My photo doesn't really capture the fabric colors correctly but the curve snake is a teal color.)

Here are all the blocks for my first year in the bee:

March kicked off the beginning of the new bee year. It was very fun to make these spring colored blocks. @emilylangquilts asked for stripes in spring orange, yellow, pink with small bits of blue and/or green. 

My goal has been to get the blocks done in the month they are assigned. I've managed to do this so far, although I finished the February blocks on the last day of the month!

I've got June again this year. I've not yet decided on my prompt but still have time to do so. (For 2025, my prompt was balance - here are the blocks I collected and my quilt!)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Citrus

Introducing Citrus - my latest pattern! Citrus is a modern twist on a Drunkards' Path quilt. It is fun and quick to assemble and a great way to showcase color or fun fabrics.

Citrus debuted at QuiltCon and was exclusive to Cary Quilting at that time. You can purchase either the paper pattern or a digital download. They have even put together a fabric bundle which include the fabrics I used in the quilt - Kona Cyan, Marmalade and Citrus. They had a number of new patterns in their booth from NC designers. (See their IG reel.)

Citrus comes in a wall hanging (45" x 31") which hung in the booth at QuiltCon and a throw quilt (52" x 52".)

I had fun with the quilting - straight lines for the background and then walking foot quilting that echoed the curved shapes. There are also some areas of hand quilting thrown in!

The pattern is FQ friendly and fabric requirements are shown as FQs or yardage. A curve template is included but you can substitute an acrylic template if you have one!

Interested in making your own version? You can purchase the pattern from the links above or via my pattern store. Use code CITRUS for 25% off a digital pattern at my shop through March 31, 2026.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

The Quilt Sweater

QuiltCon fashion is a bit part of the experience and I made myself 2 new articles of clothing for the big event. The first I'm sharing is my 'quilt sweater'.

Why a sweater?

First, it's not quilt a traditional quilted coat - there is no batting and no lining fabric. 

Instead, the fabric is sewn directly onto a disassembled sweatshirt.! The technique of using a sweatshirt is not a new one - I seem to remember seeing these back in the late 70s/early 80s.

Here are the basic steps:

• I prewashed my sweat shirt and then cut it apart using scissors cutting as close to the seam as possible. Once cut, I neatened up the sleeves and front panels and made sure the pairs matched.
• Using a basting stitch, I sewed back the seam just to make sure that it was going to fit and then pulled those stitches out!
• I sewed a whole bunch of HST and made panels which were just slightly larger that my sweatshirt pieces.
• Everything was carefully ironed flat and then I basted the HST panels to the sweatshirt as close to the edge that I could. I choose to keep the fuzzy part of the sweat shirt as the inside.
• Using 12 wt thread, a few lines of hand quilting were added on each panel just to keep things from sliding around. Once complete, the excess of the HST panel was trimmed away

• Pockets were basted to each of the front panels
• Reassembled the garment with a 3/8" seam allowance and curved the top of the front panels slightly for a more flattering edge.
• 
  Bias binding was machine sewn and then hand sewn to the back.

The sleeves gave me the most trouble. When they were disassembled, I didn't cut very close to the seam so they were smaller then I liked. I ended up putting an open pleat on each one so it wasn't too tight.

I love a good pocket and really felt the hoodie sweatshirt style pocket would work well. I assembled HST for the front and the lining for the pocket. 

Because I could, I lined up the HSTs on the pockets with those on the front panel. The very top of the pocket was stitched down while the sides and bottom were caught up in the side seam and the binding.

The very top of the pocket was stitched down while the sides and bottom were caught up in the side seam and the binding.

This quilt sweater was the perfect weight for the convention floor. I got many a complement and even ended up in Quiltfolk's fashion reel. In fact, I am the thumbnail - my claim to fame - see the reel here.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

My Emerson Crossbody Bag

I make a lot of bags! I find the process of construction to be quite enjoyable and it is fun to go out into the world with a bag you constructed. My latest make - The Emerson Crossbody Bag - is a great bag for everyday use. It fits my phone, my sunglass case and my wallet - just a perfect size!

I used 2 FQs I scored from the Ruby Star booth at QuiltCon. I shopped late Saturday when I found a surprisingly short line. At that point, supply was low and there weren't a FQs to choose from, but I really liked what I purchased and decided to make good use of them right away. 

I did supplement the lining fabric with an off white solid for the binding.

Overall, a great pattern with well written instructions. I saw a version made by a friend while at QuiltCon and she advised that the pattern is addictive. She is right - I am already trying to figure out who I can made another one for!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

QuiltCon Recap Part 3 - The Best Bits

This is the third in my series of posts about QuiltCon 2026. The first recap post was about my quilts - Play Time! and Lavender Marmalade - and the second was about some favorite quilts in the show. This post is about some of the best bits!

I made myself a quilt 'sweater' for the show. I need to share more details about the construction in a future post. Basically it was a lightweight quilt coat and provided just the right level of warmth for the show floor. Fabrics used were all Alison Glass!

The QuiltCon Crew

Raleigh was the 4th year that the four of us have shared a AirBnB and spent time together during the show - me, Jenn, Frances, and Kristin.

Our house this year was a cute one and located about 10 minutes from the convention center. 

Quilts Unscripted Bee-mates

I joined this bee last year and what fun it was to spend time with them and celebrate 3 bee member quilts in the show. 

Not everyone was able to attend the dinner or every photo op, but I am thrilled to be part of this group. They are all talented, kind, and so very welcoming!

Sarah, me, Chris, Jenn, Charles, Elizabeth, Jan (friend of a bee member), E.A.and Ellyn. Not pictured is Sarah who was ill, Emily who was teaching and Isabell who was working!

Ellyn's quilt Memphis Madness: Who Threw the Christmas Tree Down the Stairs and my quilt Play Time! were hanging back to back on the curtain so we did a fun photo!

Triangle MQG  - My Guild!

Since QuiltCon is in my backyard, I very much enjoyed the change to see Guild Members every day. 

We did a group photo on Saturday with about 40 of our members able to show up. They are quite the inspirational and friendly bunch of people.

Chromatic Alchemy - My Class

I enjoy taking a 1/2 day class during the show and this year's was one of the best yet - playing with color with Carolina Oneto! My friend Chris was in the class and we had fun comparing our paper creations as we worked through different color exercises. Carolina is a wonderful teacher!

Volunteering!

Ever since my very first QuiltCon in Savanah in 2017, I've enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer at the show. I managed to volunteer for 16+ hours, motivated to achieve Super Volunteer status. (As a Super Volunteer you get a swag bag plus the chance to register early for classes at a future QuiltCon.) All my shifts were outside of show days. I hung quilts on Tuesday, worked registration on Wednesday and then assisted in the shipping of all the show quilts. I really enjoyed every shift but I am not sure I will do this again. It meant 7 days of QuiltCon and I was quite tired by the end!

I'm planning one final post on overall reflections sometime later this month.

Have a wonderful day! Patty