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What is Secondary Design?

Have you ever looked at a quilt and saw the not only the intended design, but a secondary design? This is actually a fun type of quilt to design and one I like to do. I love it when someone cannot tell what the individual blocks actually are in a quilt because of the secondary design….. unless they look really close!

The way to create a secondary design is to start with a block with interesting elements that, when joined with additional blocks into a quilt top, combine to make the secondary design. For example, these are blocks from my quilt, Crisscross Cabin Blooms:

Now, look what happens when you join 4 of the above blocks together:

Notice how there is a crisscross design that is formed by the black pieces. With several of these sections assembled into the quilt top, it creates a cool overall crisscross design. Here is another option with these blocks:

This lay out will have the black pieces create an overall diagonal secondary design.

Here’s the actual quilt when it was completed:

Another way to create a secondary design is with sashing joining blocks together. Here is an table runner I designed where I used this method. (table runner on the right)

Here’s a closeup of the sashing:

Notice how the sashing I added creates the secondary star design and also creates a cross-hatch design. Hey …. a tertiary design!

Here are some photos of some of my other patterns. See if you can pick out the block and also notice the secondary design or designs that appear in these quilts.

So, next time you go to a quilt show, once you are done with your “close up” viewing of a quilt, step back and take in the view. Look for the secondary design that creates a completely different “attitude” to the quilt and creates movement.

Leave a comment and win my pattern Crisscross Cabin Blooms! **Winner chosen: Congrats Marsha!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

How to Display Quilts Around the House – Be Creative!

Hi everyone!

I was thinking about what to talk about in my weekly blog post when I thought about how I display quilts around my house. I decided it would be fun to show you what I do with mine. Maybe it will give you some ideas. Some are folded over chairs, some displayed with antiques while others are folded across the end of a bed. However you choose to display quilts, they make a beautiful addition to your decor.

First, there’s the general across the bed display that we all do:

Pretty …. but everyone does this! So you can kick it up a notch by draping a quilt over a chair or banister like the two below.

If you are a regular reader of my blog posts, you know I love to combine my quilts and antiques. These old family quilts below are displayed on a ladder (wood sealed so they will not be damaged). I put brackets on the wall, hung the ladder from the brackets and then hung the quilts. Easy!

Next up are three other displays in my house.

I found and old box that legs were added to. I love to collect old boxes so this one jumped out at me when I went “junking”. I rolled the quilts and set them inside the box for a fun display.

To display a mini wall hanging, I took an old drawer, drilled holes in the sides to feed a dowel through and hung the small quilt on the dowel. It makes a really cute decoration.

Finally, I found an old drying rack and a wood towel bar when I was hunting through an antique shop. The drying rack leaning against a wall  makes a perfect place to drape a few quilts.

And the towel rack on the wall is another fun way to display a quilt!

I also like hanging the quilts on the wall. I use quilt hangers made for wall hangings. But if I do not have a hanger that fits a quilt, I also like to use curtain rods. All you need is a sleeve stitched to the back of the quilt and you’re all set!

Some tips to keep these quilts in good shape.

  • Display them out of direct sunlight to prevent fading
  • If the quilt is folded or rolled for the display, unfold or unroll them periodically and refold them another way. This will prevent creasing the quilts in one place.
  • Use a soft brush attachment on your vacuum to carefully brush off dust, etc from the surface of a quilt hung on a wall. Be sure to use the lowest suction setting to keep from damaging fibers and seams.
  • Rotate quilts you have displayed so quilts that are precious to you are not exposed to the everyday household elements all the time.

I’d love to hear how you display your quilts. Also, if you have any tips for the care of your quilts on display feel free to share that too! Comment below and be entered to win a copy of the latest Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine that has one of my patterns in it!

I will choose a winner and announce it in next week’s blog post! **Winner chosen! Congrats, Dawna!**

Happy Quilting
Deanne

2018 Block of the Month – Block 7!

Hi everyone! I did not have a blog post last week because I was away on vacation (yay!). Now it’s back to work so I will begin posting blog posts again regularly.

Here’s block 7 for the 2018 BOM!

The instructions for making the block can be found here: 2018 BOM Block 7.

I hope you’ve been having fun making all the 2018 BOM blocks. If this is your first time finding out about my 2018 BOM, you can get all the information and previous blocks here: Block of the Month.

New pattern release coming up this week! Keep an eye out for Twilight Desert. This is a fun, scrappy lap quilt that will really take advantage of your fabric stash!

This quilt was inspired by an antique quilt, of course! Here is the quilt and block that was my inspiration:

One of the names of this block is Rolling Stone. I added a star to the middle of the Rolling Stone block to add more interest. 

I plan on a mid week release, so keep an eye out for the announcement on Facebook and Instagram.

So now on to the winner of my pattern, Summer Serendipity, from my July 1st blog post drawing. Congrats Sharon Aurora!!!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Applique Tips – How to make stems!

Have you ever admired a quilt with a beautiful appliqué motif and said: “I want to do this!”. Well, I hope you have. Needle-turn hand appliqué has been a passion of mine for almost as long as I have been quilting. Now, I know many of you do not like hand work and are afraid of the “A” word. But you don’t have to be! You can do your appliqué by machine. I just love the added something that appliqué gives to a quilt top, whether it is pieced or just a plain background.

I have done appliqué posts in the past talking about many of the different steps for doing hand appliqué but have never done a full post on making stems. So, here you have it …. a blog post on stems! If you are interested in appliqué instruction from start to finish, consider purchasing my video class Sew on the Go with Needle-turn Hand Appliqué. Once purchased it’s yours to keep forever!

Stems

I like to create my stems from bias cut strips since those are easier to manipulate into curves than straight cut strips. I usually use either a fat quarter or fat eighth depending on how many stems I need. Here is how to cut bias stems.

Press your fabric and lay it on the cutting table as shown:

Align the 45° line of your long (24″) ruler with the bottom of the fabric (the arrow in the photo is pointing to the 45° line):

Now, using the rotary cutter, make your first cut:

Then measure and cut out the amount of strips you need. If you need stems longer than the strips produced, you may have to stitch a few strips together before preparing them into stems.

Cut your strips 1/2″ wider than the width of your finished stem. For example, if you want 1/2″ stems you need to cut your bias strips 1″ wide.

Now it’s time to prepare the strips into stems. To do this, I use a bias tool.  They come in sizes from 1/4″ to 1″. The size of the tool in the finished size of the stem. So, for a 1/2″ stem, we will use a 1/2″ bias tool.

Feed the strip, right side of fabric down, into the larger end of the tool until it comes out the smaller end. When it comes out of the end, the sides of the strip will be folded over as shown. Use the iron press this fold all the way down the strip to make the stem.

When you are done making stems and are ready to put them onto your quilt background, you will affix the stems with the raw edges down. Here’s a project I have in progress to show you how I am shaping the stems:

Stems are usually stitched onto the project first because they are usually covered with flowers and leaves or other parts of the appliqué motif.

Here are a few of my favorite appliqué patterns:

So, that’s making stems! Not very hard to do and they add so much to an appliqué design.

Leave a comment below in this blog post on your favorite type of  appliqué project and win a free pattern for my newest design Summer Serendipity.

 

I will draw for the winner in 2 weeks! **Winner has been chosen** Congrats Sharon Aurora!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

New Pattern and Some Half-Square Triangle Square Tips!

Hi everyone! Just a short visit this week to introduce my new pattern called Summer Serendipity.

This is a 36 x 36″ wall hanging or table topper. It a fun, scrappy pieced background embellished with some beautiful floral appliqué. And this appliqué can be done by hand or machine! You can also substitute wool for the fabric and use this background for some colorful wool appliqué. You can go here for purchasing information.

The pieced background is easy piecing that uses a lot of half-square triangle squares. Do not be intimidated by these! Half-square triangle squares, or as I call them, HSTs, are really not that hard and come out accurately every time if you follow my tips.

Tip #1: For this project, I use the method of making HSTs that uses 2 squares, one color print and one tan print. I’m going to use the squares the size I need to make HSTs that measure 2 1/2″ when I’m done. So start with your squares either 2  7/8″ x 2  7/8″ OR, if you don’t mind wasting a tiny bit of fabric and want to make sure your finished squares are the correct size, you can start with squares that measure 3″ x 3″.

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the tan print square:

Then place the tan print and the color print squares right sides together with the tan print square on top so the drawn line is visible.

Tip #2: Now comes the time to stitch. I like to stitch with a scant 1/4″ on each side of the drawn line, especially if I am using squares cut 2 7/8″:

Using the scant 1/4″ distance guarantees your squares will not be too small when you press them open because you can always trim them.

Tip #3: Now we come to the trimming. Cut the above unit apart on the drawn line. You will have two units. Do not press them open yet. We will actually trim them before pressing. The great thing about that is you are only having to make two trimming cuts instead of have to trim all four sides individually!

Here’s the unit cut apart:

Now I will introduce you to this awesome tool I like to use for the trimming. It’s called the Quilt in a Day® Triangle Square Up Ruler!

Here it is and how it works:

The numbers on the measurement lines are the size of the HST you want after it’s pressed open. Ours are going to be 2 1/2″ after trimming so we use the 2 1/2″ line on this ruler. First place the ruler on one of the units from above with the 2 1/2″ line on the stitch line:

Now you trim off the excess fabric on the two sides. Once you do this, you can press open the unit and here you are:

It’s that simple! Since each set of squares makes 2 HSTs, if you need 40 HSTs you need 20 squares of tan print and 20 squares of color print.

Now you can make HSTs with ease and make many of my patterns that use HSTs!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Wool Applique is Fun! BOM Block 6 and Some Tips for You.

Hi everyone! Well, this week, summer officially arrives even though it’s been in the 90s here all weekend. I wanted to share a photo I took today. It is of one of my colorful gardens that inspires my quilting every day. Gardening is what I like to do when I’m not quilting. I think it recharges my batteries and it doesn’t hurt to enjoy a little fresh air! What inspires you?

When it’s this hot, I bet the last thing you want to think about is wool! But, wool applique is fun and also portable. So you can take it outside under that shady tree in your yard and stitch to your heart’s content!

First, my BOM block 6 was released last Friday. I posted the announcement to Facebook and Instagram but in case you are not on either of those platforms and don’t get my monthly newsletter, here’s the block:

Go to the BOM page to be directed to the pattern. If you’d like to receive the pattern early every month, sign up to receive my monthly newsletter. You’ll find the sign-up on the side bar to the right on this page.

Now on to something new. Here’s a sneak peak of two of my current wool applique projects. They are wall hangings for each season of the year! I can’t wait until they are all done and I can share the complete photo with you. For know, I just wanted to whet your appetite.

Are you excited?

So now on to some of my favorite wool applique tips.

Tip #1: As you can see, my wool applique is done on cotton. Either a plain or pieced background. When choosing your wool for a project, be sure that it has good contrast with the background. You want to be able to see the motif. See the yellow flowers on the banner on the right? Those were going to be white. But when I held the white wool up to the background, it disappeared! So, I chose the yellow wool for the flowers and used the white for the center.

Tip #2: Use fusible web such as Heat ‘n Bond Feather Lite.

Using this and fusing it to the wool helps the appliqué piece its shape and stabilizes the wool more for stitching. Trace your applique motif on the paper side of the fusible, cut the shape out slightly outside of your drawn line and fuse onto your wool. Then use the drawn line to cut out your applique motif. Be sure to reverse non-symmetrical applique templates when tracing onto the fusible so they are facing in the correct direction once the motif is fused and cut out of the wool.

Tip #3: You can either affix the pieces to the background using fabric glue, like Roxanne’s Glue Baste-it, small appliqué pins or fuse the pieces to the background by ironing.

If you choose the latter, lay a towel on the ironing board, then lay your background down and then place the wool pieces in place on the background. Then carefully, so you don’t move any of the appliqués, place a white towel over the project and spray water over the towel using a spray bottle. With a medium/high iron, press the towel to fuse the pieces on the project underneath. Periodically lift the upper towel and check pieces to see if they are fusing. The towel below the project will keep your wool from “flattening” out.

Tip #4: I like to use a chenille needle size 22 or 24 for stitching. This is the brand of needle I like the best, John James Chenille Needles:

Size 22 is a little longer than the size 24 needles. Try the ones that work best for you. I use Valdani Perle Cotton size 8 threads for stitching. These needles work great with perle cotton threads. Depending on the project, I will use a contrasting thread if I want a primitive look and want my stitching to show. If I want my stitches less visible, I will match the color of the perle cotton to the wool applique.

Tip #5: Good lighting! It’s best to have good lighting when you are stitching. You need to see to make your stitches the best you can! I have a great table top light I like to use: Naturalight by the Daylight Company. It’s bright and also has a flip up top to reveal a magnifier.

So now you’re ready to do some wool applique! You can start with my free BOM and work your way up to larger projects as you get more comfortable with stitching.

Happy Stitching & Quilting!
Deanne

On Point Settings … Easier Than You Think and Only a Little Math!

I have always loved the look of a quilt with blocks set on point. Early in my quilting days, I was a bit afraid to tackle one of my own. Now, I do them often. Here’s a few of mine that I have designed:

Aren’t they unique? Setting a block on point can make a quilt look completely different! I have a few tips to help your on point quilt go together smoothly.

Calculating Setting Triangles

Unlike quilts made from blocks that are set normally, on point block quilts need what are called setting triangles. Setting triangles are cut from squares. There are side triangles and end triangles.

If you purchase a pattern for an on point quilt, the designer has already done the calculations and has provided you with the size pieces you need to cut. If you are creating your own on point quilt, you will need to figure out what size squares you need to have to make your setting triangles. You calculate the size of the square needed using the finished size of your block. The following are the formulas:

Side Triangles – Finished size of your block x 1.414, then add 1 1/4″ to that number. For example, if your finished block is 6″, here is how the formula works:

6″ x 1.414 = 8.48″ (round this up to the nearest 1/8″ to 8.5″)
8.5″ + 1 1/4″ = 9 3/4″ square needed.

This square is then cut diagonally twice for 4 triangles. For the above quilt, there are 12 side triangles, so you will need three 9 3/4″ squares.

End Triangles –  Finished size of your block/(divided by) 1.414, then add 7/8″ to that number. Example:

6/1.414 = 4.243 (round this up to the nearest 1/8″ to 4.25
4.25 + 7/8 = 5 1/8″ square needed.

This square is then cut diagonally once for 2 triangles. You need 4 end triangles, so you will need two 5 1/8″ squares.Laying Out and Stitching Blocks

Unlike a quilt with straight set blocks, an on point quilt is assembled in diagonal rows. First, assemble the ends, then assemble the diagonal rows and then join the rows. The following diagrams and photos will demonstrate these steps.

Here is a diagram and a photo of how rows are laid out:

I always start from top left and work my way down until all the rows are assembled. The top left and bottom right will have a unique piecing method that I will show in the following photos. I call these the “end caps” since the block is on the end and is surrounded by two side triangles and one end triangle.

Step 1: Line up the 90° angle of the left setting triangle with the corner of the block and pin in place. there will be a small “tail” of the triangle overlapping the block.

Step 2: Stitch with a 1/4″ seam. Then repeat on the opposite side of the block with the other setting triangle. Press these sides open:

Step 3: Line up the end triangle with the center of the unit assembled above. When you flip it on top to pin in place, you can use a ruler to make sure the point of the end triangle is right in the center of the block.

Pin in place, stitch and press open. Once again, there will be overlapping “tails” from the end triangle:

Here’s what the end cap looks like all stitched and pressed. You can now trim off the “tails” if you want.

Step 4: Now that the end cap is finished, it’s time to join all the blocks and triangles into the diagonal rows. Notice all the “tails”.

Step 5: Now it’s time to join those rows into the quilt top!  Once again, there will be overlapping “tails” from all the triangle points. Be sure to line up the seams of the blocks when joining your rows.

Here is the finished top. All ready for borders and quilting!

See? That wasn’t too hard! Now you can take any blocks and turn them into an on point quilt. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to answer them if I can.

Happy stitching!
Deanne

Do You Label Your Quilts?

Do you Label? I hope so! So many quilts I look at in books say “quilt maker unknown”. I wonder who made the quilt? Who was it for? What was the occasion? I have a few family antique quilts. but there was very little information about them when I acquired them. I have written down what little I know and have safely affixed that information to those quilts.

I don’t want this to happen to any of my quilts I design and make. At the very least, I make a label that includes my name, the name I’ve chosen for the quilt and the date made. I try to add more information when I can. This will help my kids when they own these quilts someday. If I am making a quilt as a gift, the label adds a beautiful touch and also serves to document the occasion.

There are many ways to label. You can use a permanent pen made for marking fabric and write directly on the back of the quilt if you have a light background. That is what I did here:

Be sure the fabric pen you are using is permanent and specifically made to mark fabric. That will insure that the ink is safe for fabric.The only drawback to this method is the possibility of the ink fading over time.

I have also used a scrap of fabric and written on that with a permanent pen. When sewing this label onto the back of my quilt, I have affixed it prior to attaching the binding so two edges of the label are secured by the binding stitches. This quilt was labeled that way:

Another way I have labeled quilts is by using fabric sheets for the printer that I have purchased at the quilt store.

I did this on the back of my daughter’s high school graduation quilt. I included the class info and also the activities my daughter participated in. A drawback of this method is this paper is expensive (about $18 for 6 sheets). If you do not want to spend that amount you can purchase a fat quarter and make up to three labels by using freezer paper and Bubble Jet products.

First, treat your piece of fabric with the Bubble Jet Set 2000 following the directions on the bottle. Place the fabric wrong side down on the shiny side of a piece of freezer paper. Then cut the fabric into pieces that will fit in your printer. You should be able to get three 8 1/2 x 11″ pieces out of one fat quarter. The freezer paper stabilizes the fabric so it can run through your printer. You must use an ink jet printer for this. A laser printer cannot be used because of the way it works and the heat generated with those types of printers.

Next, type up whatever you want your label to say and print it onto the fabric side of you homemade labels. Be sure when you are designing your label, you leave enough space along the edges for a seam allowance.

Finally, follow the instructions on the Bubble Jet Rinse to set the ink. Now your label is ready to use!

If you do not want to use the Bubble Jet products (or can’t find them), you can set the ink with a hot iron. I have placed a sheet of paper on top of the label to protect my iron and the printed label. I use the “cotton” setting on my iron.

Another idea that I used on a quilt for one of my kids is a signature label. I stabilized a piece of fabric by ironing freezer paper to the wrong side. Then I set it on a table for people to sign and add messages. It’s a fun way to personalize the quilt. You can add regular label information to this label or put this on the quilt in addition to the traditional information label.

I like the idea of using labels to tell a story, whether it’s for a member of your family or just for yourself. You can talk about what inspired you to make the quilt, what fabrics you used, the date it was made, etc. The possibilities are endless! I have even written a poem for the back of the quilt when I made one for one of my nieces.

How do you label your quilts? I’d like to hear what you do and what you like to put on your labels.

The most important thing is to label the quilt so there is a record later in time so your quilt is not labeled as “quilt maker unknown!”

Happy quilting!
Deanne

Spring Cleaning for Quilters!

Well, it is still spring, even though it’s 90 degrees here. You spring clean your house, your closets, the garage and the attic. How about your sewing room and your quilts? They are also in need of freshening up.

If you’re in the north like me, you probably spent a lot of time indoors working in your sewing area while it snowed. For me … it snowed well into April.

Tip#1

Go through your fabric stash. I know, I know ….. we all love our fabric stashes. But, if you really look closely, there are probably pieces of “what was I thinking” fabric. You know you’ll never use them! Gather your sewing friends together and do an exchange. Someone in your group will love what you don’t anymore. Another option is to donate fabric to your guild or church for making community comfort quilts. This way, you will know the fabric goes to a good use.

Tip#2 Notions and threads. Organize your notions and threads so they are easier to get to and you know where everything is. Seems like a simple thing to do, but many times I have ended up with a drawer or two that was a jumble of threads, needle packs and extra scissors and rotary cutters. One thing I like to do is use everyday items for organization. Like this $1.00 mug holder found at a garage sale. Perfect for my scissors and cutters!

Once you have those organized, then it’s on to the rulers.

Tip#3 Use a pegboard to hang rulers next to your cutting table! I found this at my local home improvement store.

Now onto caring for your quilts. If you are like me, you like to display some quilts around the house. But they will get dirty. Here are some tips I have found and have used with good results. The methods you use to clean your quilts will be a personal choice based on how important the quilt it to you. These tips are NOT for antique or family heirloom quilts. It’s best to consult a textile preservation expert for those quilts that are very old with weaker seams and fibers.

The main thing is to be careful with any type of cleaning.

Tip#1 Cleaning and Airing:

For wall quilts that can collect dust or cobwebs, use the soft brush attachment for your vacuum cleaner and, on the low suction setting, brush across the surface of the quilt.

Do not use any kind of attachment that has moving parts like a pet hair attachment. Those moving parts can possibly catch on the fabric or the seams and cause damage. If the wall quilt has picked up a musty smell or another smell from the room it is in, it can be aired out by placing it outside (in a shady area) on a clean sheet.  For cleaning large quilts, lay it out on a flat surface and vacuum with the soft brush attachment. They can also be aired out using the same method as a wall quilt.

Do not shake quilts like you do for rugs since that can weaken seams.

For cat or dog hair, I use the lint rollers made for clothes. Gently rolling these across the surface of the quilt will pick up the stray hairs without damaging seams.

Tip#2 Washing a Quilt:

If you pre-washed your fabric before making your quilt, washing it should be a less stressful experience. Hand-washing is best, but if you wish to machine wash, pick the gentlest cycle (usually “delicate”) and use a gentle detergent such as Orvus Quilt Soap.


A quilt should be air dried so no more stress is put on the seams or stitching. I have put quilts in the dryer for about 10 minutes on “air” dry (no heat) to get some of the dampness out. Once that is done, I lay it out on a flat surface to air dry. Never hang a quilt from a clothes line. That will cause additional stress to seams and stitching. Also, do not ring it out! Be very careful moving the quilt from the washer to the dryer (or the area where it will be air dried).  If I am unsure of a quilt’s colorfastness, like if I did not pre-wash fabrics, I throw in a couple of Shout Color Catchers. I have washed several quilts with these and have had no color bleeding. This is just from my experience though … if you are worried about your quilt, you may want to do a color-fast test. A quilt that is just displayed and not used very often only should need washing once a year. It’s best not to wash quilts too often, even though they are not antiques.

Tip#3 Storing:

If you want to store quilts that you are not using or displaying, the best way to do this is to fold them with acid-free paper between the folds to help prevent creasing and wrapped in a clean white sheet.

Try to find a storage area that is not in the basement or the attic where there could be extreme dampness or temperatures. Placing wrapped quilts under a bed will work well. If you want to store a quilt flat, a bed in an unused bedroom is the best. Lay the quilt flat on the bed and cover with a sheet. You can store several quilts this way.

So, I hope these tips have helped! Let’s get started on that spring cleaning!

Happy cleaning!
Deanne

Scrap Quilting Tips!

As you have noticed, I’m a scrap quilting nut. I love to have a “riot” of color in my designs. Some of them are true scrappy. By this, I mean that I sit next to a tub of scraps and pull out a different piece of fabric for each piece of a block. This is a lot of fun and has made creations like this pattern of mine called Crisscross Cabin Blooms:

And this pattern called Twinkling Log Cabin:

Then there is the kind of scrap quilt that is a little more “planned” like my pattern Scrappy North Stars:

This pattern takes 54 fat quarters. Before you cut out pieces for this quilt, you pair up dark color prints, medium color prints and background fabrics into what I call “color sets”. Each color set will make a certain number of blocks. The dark color will be on the outside in some blocks and on the inside in others. This is a one block quilt, but due to the variety of fabrics, it’s still really interesting and fun to look at!

So now, it’s on to some of my tips for a successful scrap quilt. When you are making a scrap quilt, you are usually using at least 5 or 6 different colors of fabric for variety. But, when you are piecing your quilt top, it never fails, you get the same colors right next to each other or clumped together on one side of a block or quilt. How to remedy this problem?

Tip #1: I number the fabrics. For example, if I have a blue, purple, green, pink and gold fabric, I will number them 1 through 5. If you have 20 different fabrics, you can group them by color family and then number them. Once they are numbered, I then take a diagram of the quilt block or quilt top (you can make a copy of the block or quilt from the pattern and enlarge it if you need to) and write numbers on the quilt top pieces. As I am numbering, I make sure the distribution of the colors is even!

This example above is for a small wall hanging. I call this “color mapping”.

Tip #2: Are you worried that you are going to sew rows or block pieces together wrong after carefully planning the color placement above?

As you can see by the photo above, I have the sections numbered starting with #1. Section 1 is to be sewn to section 2 and then section 3 is sewn to the bottom of section 2 and so on ….. I started doing this when I flubbed on color placement a few times when transferring pieces from my design wall to my sewing machine. I would end up sewing the wrong pieces together and not notice it until a whole border was done and I saw the same colors clumped together. Then …. it was time to “unsew”. An we all know how much fun that is!

I use the sheets of the little square Avery stickers (#5418 Multi-Use Labels) to number my pieces. Here is the complete row laid out and ready to be joined:

Tip #3: Another thing I use these stickers for are “directional” arrows. As you can see by the units above and looking over my pattern diagram above, the triangles face different directions based on which side of the quilt they are on. In order to keep me straight, I draw a little arrow on one of the small stickers and place it at the top of a row so I know which way is up.

As you can see, organization while piecing a scrap quilt is essential if you have blocks or pieces with similar colors. Of course, we always seem to miss something, nobody’s perfect! But this will help you to have the scrappiest quilt you can.

I hope you liked this brief “tutorial” on scrap quilting. Now hit that stash and start stitching!

Leave me a comment below on your favorite scrap quilting tip. You will be entered into a drawing to receive one of the above patterns from my collection! Good luck!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne