Improv log cabins

After watching a Craftsy show called mini mojo’s I knew I had to try these wonky log cabins. Just take a bunch of scraps and haphazardly sew them together in a log cabin fashion. So much fun! No worries about straight cuts, seam allowances - just color. In the class she added stitching like you see on the left cabin and it does add that extra handmade - ness factor that I like. She called it quilting and I suppose technically it is but my mother taught me how to hand quilt and this is not it. Ok Carol, get with the modern program, go with the flow and accept change. It took me awhile to embrace modern quilting and now I really like it so give me some time to call a running stitch with 3 strands of embroidery floss quilting. (Sorry Mom) 😳

 Of course I made it into a journal cover and quilt cabana quilts is having a monthly challenge with this month being improv so posted it on her group.


Here is the back.

Have you embraced modern quilts? Would you call this quilting or stitching?

Pollinators quilt bee

All we are saying ........ is give bees a chance  ✌️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

Pollinators hummingbird quilt

Well apparently blogger is not letting my iPad app show photos

Please go to https://fabric.art.blog/2019/03/15/pollinators-hummingbird-quilt/ to see. Sorry for the hassle

I love how this came out. I searched thru my stash for hours looking for the background and finally ended up with this mottled purple. So glad I did.

I had big problems with the bud but after much trying this and that finally fixed it.

The humming bird is from a pattern I have for sale on Etsy. Just enlarged it a bit and put it with this hot pink flower.

We still have snow on the ground so I need to look at hot pink flowers and green borders. 

Sea foam quilting design

I love this quilting design that I saw on Christina Cameli’s Craftsy class. I think she called it sea foam.

 It has great texture and goes fast. You normally wouldn’t have all these color changes. This is my test sandwich for whenever I change thread or bobbin to make sure things are going right this the many colored threads.


Basically you start with a wiggled line going up and down. Make sure not to make your wiggles the same as the line next to it. You don’t want to echo here. Randomly wiggle and randomly make a little pocket as shown in the blue. Fill with pebbles and continue. Try it - it really is easy once you get going.

My hummingbird quilt is almost ready for the binding. I had one roadblock but I fixed it.

I probably should have left this alone but got it in my head I didn't like the color.

So I painted it with inktense blocks but liked it even less.


But adding these snippets left over made it Oooh la la! 

I’ll have it ready to unveil next week.

I came across this beautiful barred owl yesterday and it had broken its wing and couldn’t fly. Luckily someone came along and arranged for someone to come and rescue it and brought it to the rehabilitation center. Unfortunately they said the wing is broken really bad and he might have to be euthanized. He’s going to a vet today to find out for sure. If he does at least he won’t suffer out in the below zero weather and starve to death since he can’t hunt not being able to fly and we gave him a fighting chance. I stood there and we locked eyes for a few minutes. Owls are magical birds. 

Pollinator quilts

I’m working on a quilt to be in an exhibit about pollinators. If it weren’t for the bees, butterflies, insects and others we wouldn’t have anything to eat. Then we die. I’d say that was important. With all the land being torn up, trees and vegetation chopped down for the never ending buildings that seem to have to be build for some reason unknown to me we should all value and grow plants around our homes. Less grass, more plants, flowers and yes weeds. Think twice before you pull up that milkweed next time. Monarch butterflies need them to live on. 

Ok, off my soapbox and on to the quilt.

I spent a lot of time experimenting with butterfly making. I learned to draw them

And tried a few making a few for a quilt

This guy came out kinda creepy and no way can I get him on a quilt but he’s kinda cool anyway. Maybe I’ll hang him up somewhere

In the end I ended up with this one for my quilt

His wings are done using heavyweight fusible on both the orange parts and the whole wing. I made another wing the same but in reverse and fused them together so it has both sides you can see. The orange fabric didn’t thrill me on its own so I dabbed on some yellow paint. That thrilled me 🥰

The white dots are also paint dabbed in with the wrong end of a paintbrush. The body was fused on the quilt first and then using black thread the legs and “hairy ness “ is free motion quilted while also sewing the wings on. Because the wings are reversible they are only sewn to the quilt near the body.

And here is the quilt! I used a half layer of wool batting and a layer of thin cotton and the quilting really shows up nicely. The idea of the quilting came from a quilt I saw on the quilt shows newsletter. It didn’t have the fillers but the idea of a sun like circle in the corner and then rays filtering down. Filing this idea for future quilts.

Signing off for now from ice covered frozen Vermont ! I can’t wait for spring