Sticks & Stones

And now something calm and cool…

I’ve been working with bright and lively scraps and thought it might be time for a change. These traditional arrowhead blocks are perfect for relaxing blue, tan, and cream fabrics.

Designed in EQ8 using dies I have on hand, the blocks are 11” finished. There are so many variations when you take time to experiment. I pieced on Bogart, my wrinkle finish Singer 99.

I used the Janome MC9450 to add serpentine quilting diagonally in both directions, following the design lines. Ecru thread on top and light blue in the bobbin to match the blue swirl backing.

Sticks & Stones is 57” square, such a pretty, peaceful quilt in neutral colors that I finished in July.

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55059 Squares 2½”
55031 Half Square Triangle 4½”

Blue Wren
6274 Chisels 45° 2½” x 6½”

Crazy On You

Crazy On You, July 2026

There’s never a shortage of scraps around here. In fact, I generate many more than I will ever use because I make so many quilts. That’s ok, because I always have a variety of colors and prints on hand for my next bonus quilt.

When I got this Crazy Block die from Blue Wren, I immediately went on a cutting spree. I pulled out a big pile of pastels and medium color remnants, along with white muslin and a few 10” squares and fat quarters. In no time, I had cut enough blocks for a small project.

I decided to randomly combine the pieces without trying to coordinate the colors. It was fun and mindless play, accompanied by vintage rock music from Heart. Working on the Janome, I pieced, pressed and tossed the blocks onto my design board.

I will confess, I did swap a few blocks around before the final stitching. (Can’t let two like fabrics touch each other, you know!) Rotating the blocks created the secondary white pinwheel design. I used a light green thread to quilt curvy designs using the Which Way ruler.

Crazy On You is 45” square, great for a baby quilt. I love the semi-organized chaos of color, fabric, and designs that appear when sewing scrappy quilts. Even when I plan a color scheme, it’s satisfying to pull out those remnants for variety.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6510 Crazy Block 7½” finished
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2” binding

Celestial

Batik fabric always catches my eye and this one is no exception. Stars and planets swirl around on a navy, magenta, and orange background. I almost hated to cut it but it seemed perfect for this Hunter Star quilt and I had enough to use for backing.

For contrast I added a white fabric with medium blue, hot pink, and tan scribbles. These two are a great match even though they came from different decades. Using Midnight (Singer 404) for piecing didn’t take long at all.

I decided on a simple 3” grid layout for quilting, using light gray thread on top and a medium blue in the bobbin. A ruler to guide my stitching kept my lines even.

Celestial finished at 49” square and looks smart folded over the back of my living room love seat. I finished this in July, but now that the temps are falling it is ready for snuggling. October is one of my favorite months.

Accuquilt dies used:
55166 Hunter Star 6” block
55017 Strips 2” binding