Easy Scrap Quilt with Floral Fabrics From Your Stash That Didn't Really Go Together at First Glance

   Sometimes you have fabrics that you really like, but you don't have anything special to do with them. So, they sit, and you know they will most likely never leave your stash, especially if you only have small amounts of them. That's why it's important to go through your stash occasionally, enjoying and touching your fabrics.

   For this quilt, I had several pretty floral prints, and just wanted to get them used up. The blocks in a sweet little Leisure Arts book, Wonderblocks by Terry Martin helped me on my way! Used copies are available online from Amazon I chose the big 12" blocks because I figured the quilt would be finished faster! To make this quilt simple, I cut a bunch of 4 1/2" strips, and further cut those into 12 1/2", 8 1/2", 6 1/2" and 4 1/2" pieces. If I had enough fabric, I cut a few 8 1/2" squares, but nothing bigger. I kept returning to my scraps for bits and pieces that would go with the quilt.

Easy, Pretty, Vintage-Look Doll Quilt

This little quilt was a lot of fun. I'd been given some small pieces of 30's inspired fabric at about the same time my daughter fell in love with American Girl dolls. Once she "adopted" Samantha, of course we needed a doll quilt for her!

   The quilt is based on 2 blocks, each miniaturized to 3" finished. The first block is a scrappy 9-patch. Small scraps of fabric were cut into 1 1/2" strips and sewn together in sets of 3. Sometimes there was very little fabric for the third strip, but that was OK with me...it just added to the "scrappiness!"
   The sewn-together strips were rotary cut into 1 1/2" strips. Then, these 3-piece strips were arranged in groups of 3, and sewn together. Because they were so small, I finger pressed the seams to make them all nestle together when being sewn together.

Berries, Bunnies and Bricks in a Cute Little Quilt!

   Some of my favorite fabrics to collect are prints with berries on them. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries....they all shout "buy me" when I pass by! This little quilt is handpieced...something to do while waiting for my daughter at ballet class. The pieces were cut by template...in the traditional old way.

   The concept always made me smile...there would be bunnies looking to get into the berries, but they would always be separated from the objects of their desire by bricks, straw, baskets and fences. This project started my appreciation for "architectural" prints....those that would be a good choice for buildings and cottages in a quilt. It also has some complimentary foliage in a dark green color, an alligator print that I prefer to think of as paving stones, and some flowers that probably are not an accurate portrayal of blueberry flowers, but, so what?

A Summer Quilt with Butterflies in Popsicle Colors

   The first time I saw this fabric, the solids were placed next to each other, and my first thought was "Popsicles!" I really wished there were a blue fabric, too...to mix with some flip flop fabric for a beach quilt. I didn't have any luck finding the blue, but I did find the matching butterfly print, and I changed the idea to "Butterflies and Pinwheels.

   It was a bit difficult to cut the print without slicing the butterflies in two....and I was lucky enough to find a dark fabric to mix with the popsicle bright fabrics. While I like the overall affect, and the quilt is cute, I think the butterflies got lost, and it does sort of end abruptly at the border. I still love the colors, though! Bright pink, lime and orange continue to make me think of those cold, drippy treats on hot summer days!

What to Do with That Novelty Fabric You Couldn't Resist!

     You know you're guilty! You bought a half a yard of a fall novelty fabric, and it sits there and sits there because you have no idea what to do with it! All I can say is, let it speak to you and tell you what to make with it!

   

     In the small quilt above, a fall novelty print forms the basis of a sweet wallhanging. It was cut to 18 1/2" by 12 1/2". Those measurements were chosen because of the wide availability of free 6 1/2" block patterns.

Sorting Fabrics Into Light and Dark Values

   The three fabrics shown here may or may not have a lot in common...all have yellow or orange, as well as some bits of red and light green or turquoise. But one has stripes, one has a single design repeating in diagonal rows, and the third is truly random.
   They can all be classified as more contemporary fabrics as opposed to vintage prints, and none of them seem like they'd go very well with each other in a single block.
   For this project, it may be a little confusing to determine which ones are light and which are dark.
   What do you think? Please comment below. I'll post the completed block soon...so you can see how this block came together!