Willy-Nilly

Willy-Nilly, January 2026

To say that I have an abundance of scraps is certainly an understatement. The best thing about all these remnants is always having the makings for a quilt. I have hundreds of photo ideas clipped and stored, many more sketched in notebooks, plus dozens designed in EQ8.

This colorful 6” block is made up of triangles and chisels, turned to make secondary designs. I started with leftover cuts, then sorted through the scrap basket for more. It's such a pleasure to find and use fabric I haven't seen in a while.

All the blocks were randomly pieced and joined on Annie, my Singer 221 Featherweight. I quilted on the Janome MC 9450, using dark beige thread in a straight stitch on each side of the main seams.

Willy-Nilly seemed the perfect name for this crazy quilt, finishing at 49” square. It was a lovely way to spend a few days in my cozy sewing room during a cold snap in January.

Dies used:

Blue Wren 6274 Chisels 2” x 6”

Accuquilt -
55039 Chisels 3” x 6”
55031 HST 4”
55009 HST 3”
55017 Strips 2"

Olivia's Choice

Hot pink, orange, and teal scraps come together for an exciting quilt. Made with simple squares and rectangles, the colors capture all the attention here.  

The back is no different, with large sections of orange dots and hot pink gingham. Color choice was selected by the teenager who received this lap size quilt as a gift last December.

Piecing perfect little seams on Annie, my Singer Featherweight 221, is always a dream. For quilting I switched to the Janome, using serpentine & straight stitches in orange thread. Olivia's Choice finished at 48” square.

*****

I didn't have much time for quilting last week because yard work was on the schedule. I learned a new skill (running a trencher) and practiced manual labor tasks such as shoveling/spreading dirt, fitting pipes, scattering grass seed/straw and general labor. Running two drain lines isn't bad exercise for two 70+ year olds, although we followed up with Aleve and heating pads.

Now on to some landscaping and maybe time for a quilt session this week.

Dies used:

Accuquilt 55021 Lg. Value die: 4" square, 2" square

Blue Wren 6047 Rectangle 2" x 6"

Knockout

Knockout

All these colors and circles make me so happy! It was a pleasure to design and sew this bright 50” square lap quilt. It started with a slightly different layout, but sometimes I let the fabric tell me what it wants to be.

The large Amy Butler print gave me color guidance and I pulled scraps and pieces from my stash to coordinate the prints. Yellow, blue, pink, green, melon, aqua, and lime make a glorious splash, don't they?

Simple 12” blocks made with Blue Wren's Curve in a Square 6” die made quick work of this one. I quilted in randomly spaced rows with yellow thread and a rolling wave ruler on my Janome. The backing is a solid yellow sheet; binding is wider than normal to showcase the large print.

It is, I believe, a Knockout! I'll make it again with different colors.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6602 Curve in a Square 6” quarter square
Accuquilt 55032 Strips 3” finished (for binding)

Update on the week's weather: We did not get 24” of snow last Saturday, it was more like 2” with the unfortunate 1/4” ice topping that made everything slick and dangerous. No power outage for us, however our home town had to deal with slightly more snow and twice the ice, causing nearly a week without electricity and limited travel due to falling trees, power lines, and unsafe roads. Winter in Tennessee can be a challenge.

 

Right Side Up

I needed a quick project for last week, so I dived back into the remnant boxes.

Choosing a couple of busy prints first gave me the colors to coordinate. Pink, yellow, orange and aqua solids, low volumes, and brights were cut into half rectangle triangles. I arranged them in horizontal rows for symmetry.

For that little something extra, I pieced the back using a single column of the triangles bordered with a muted yellow/green shell print. I used yellow thread to quilt straight stitches 1/2” from each seam.

Right Side Up finished at 48” square. I love it when an impromptu quilt idea comes together! And I finished just in time to relax with my sweetheart on our 51st anniversary weekend. 💖

🎉 Another milestone: last week was my 700th blog post!  

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6038 Half Rectangle Triangles 4” x 8” finished

Bohemian Rhapsody

Here's the second scrap quilt that I pieced during our camping trip. Hot pink, navy, bright aqua, chrome yellow, and vivid orange prints blend together for a wild hippie 1970's vibe. I enjoyed sewing all these blocks on the Featherweight.

Once we got home, I arranged them on my design wall and looked in my inventory for sashing fabric. My final choice is unusual, but suggested by my husband, so I went for it. The small yellow flowers on a black background look very similar to a peasant dress that I wore in high school.

Bohemian Rhapsody finished at 48” square. I quilted with dark gray thread in a free motion meandering pattern, while listening to the music of the 70's...perfect!  

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55601 Mill & Stars 8” finished
55017 Strips 2½”
Blue Wren 6015 Strips 1½”

Walking On Sunshine

I love a bright quilt with lots of contrast. This one is just the ticket, plus the added benefit of being quick and easy to sew!

The bright yellow and orange batiks and dots look gorgeous with black & white prints. Walking On Sunshine is a simple, modern design, finishing out at 48” square.

I used dove gray thread to quilt just each side of the wedges with three lines of straight stitching. My walking foot kept everything straight and even.

This would look great anywhere in the house, but it may hang on my kitchen wall for a while. 

Do y'all remember that 1980's song?  Now that it's stuck in my head, I may have more pep in my step this week!

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6600 Sliced Square 6” finished
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding

 

Crossways

Crossways

More remnants? 
Oh yeah!

I'm still using my dies to cut scraps into the shapes and sizes I use most often. This 48” quilt features rectangles with half square triangles on one end, and flying geese.

Light peach solid combines nicely with lots of bright colored prints in a lattice or trellis pattern.  For the backing, I stacked a row of rectangles in peach colored prints on the edge of a length of gingham. I quilted with peach thread in a serpentine stitch.

Crossways went together quickly with the medium sized pieces sewed into 12” blocks. I finished it just after Christmas. 

It's very cold and snowing here in Tennessee and should continue until tomorrow. I love snow and we don't get it as often as when I was a kid. I can't wait to see if it gets deep enough to make snow cream! 

Accuquilt dies used:
55436 Flying Geese 3” x 6” finished
55411 Rectangles 3” x 6” finished
55017 Strips 2½” for binding

Snuggle up in a quilt

and watch it snow

Energetic

Here's a super easy baby quilt for you!

I came up with this nine block layout while playing with scraps cut with the Dynamic die. Hot pink and bright orange fabrics look brilliant with white accents, along with gray micro dot and multicolored paisley borders.

I quilted with white thread using a small serpentine stitch. Energetic finished out at 34” square, a great size for baby, table mat or wall hanging.

These shapes can be used to make many different blocks, depending on color placement. I tried out several before choosing one. It's the same die I used for Lavender Sensations in late August, and I have more already sketched out in Electric Quilt.

Headed back to the quilt factory, as my husband calls my sewing room.  See you next week.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6954 Dynamic block 8”

Accuquilt
55032 Strips 3½” border
55017 Strips 2½” binding & border

 

Citrus Twist

Citrus Twist

How's this for a bright summer quilt? Lime, lemon, orange and pink grapefruit dots and blenders zing against the light gray micro dot background.

It's my version of Electric Slide quilt by Corinne Sovey, that I saw in a recent issue of Make Modern magazine. I adapted it to use Accuquilt and Blue Wren dies for cutting.

A large wild zig-zag print in yellow, orange and green, bordered with green/white dots made the perfect backing. I quilted with yellow thread in a meandering free motion pattern all across the quilt.

I nearly needed sunglasses while working on this one. Citrus Twist is 51” square.

Thanks for your nice comments on Facebook last week about Bogie, our 1942 Singer 99 Wrinkle machine. We just finished with the 1954 Singer 99K and she's a beauty. You'll see her very soon.

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55039 Chisels 3½” x 6½”
55005 Rectangles 3½” x 6½”
55009 Half Square Triangles 3½”
Blue Wren
6015 Strips 1½” 

Mill Goods

Mill Goods, Useful Remnants 2023

Remnants and fat quarters combine to create a bright colorful bonus quilt with loads of movement.

The 8” Mill Wheel die by Blue Wren is fabulous for using up those larger leftover pieces. I cut and sewed random color combinations, then slapped them up on my design wall. After I laid out the blocks, I decided to add borders. But not just plain ones!

There was so much color already, I decided to go all out, cutting light and dark scraps with the 4” triangle in a square die. They aligned perfectly, and I added half triangles and a quarter circle on each corner. The result is even better than I had planned. All piecing was done on Elizabeth, my Singer 404.

Mill Goods is 56” square with rounded corners. I used some of my newly acquired bolt fabric for backing and another to cut bias binding. I quilted with light gray thread using a walking foot 1/2” from the seams on each row, then added a ruler quilted swirl in the center of each circle. Along the borders I used a circle ruler to make scallops.

I like planning quilts, but it's fun to get crazy now and then, going on instinct and without a pattern. I'm nowhere near using up all the remnants, but I'll keep trying. Just go for it!

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6865 Mill Wheel 8” finished
Accuquilt 55409 Triangle in a Square 4” finished
Accuquilt 55017 Strip 2½”

Margarita Monday

Crisp white and fresh green swirl around on this cute little quilt, with a few pops of color in the prints and centers. The glorified nine patch blocks are placed on point.

Quilting makes a statement when you use a bright green thread with a decorative stitch. I followed the curved seams and continued them onto the white setting triangles to make an allover pattern. I added a straight stitch across the centers of the blocks.

It's cool, contemporary, and bright. Margarita Monday is 43” square. I love this old block and have made several quilts with it using both traditional and modern fabric.  This one's definitely scrappy and modern; even the binding is leftover strips. 

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6562 Glorious Nine Patch

Accuquilt
55553 Setting Triangles 10”
55017 Strip 2½”

 

Orange Pineapple Parfait

I couldn't resist these luscious batiks when I found them listed in an assortment bundle at Goodwill.com. Bright yellow and orange contrast beautifully with crisp white for today's cheerful quilt. 

Alternating Nine Patch and Flowering Snowball blocks create sharp lines and graceful curves with a nice secondary design. I stitched them all on my sweet Featherweight, Annie, and it didn't take long for these 12” blocks. I chose white on white vine print backing and binding.

Orange Pineapple Parfait

I switched to the Janome to quilt, using bright yellow thread on top and white underneath. I sewed a simple straight stitch, following the curves for emphasis. Binding was secured with a blanket stitch in yellow.

Orange Pineapple Parfait is 60” square and looks good enough to eat!

Accuquilt dies used:
55252 Flowering Snowball 12” BOB
55018 Small Value Die (large square 4")
55017 Strips 2½”

Tangerine Splash

I've done an about face from last week's traditional fabric. Bright crisp colors of tangerine and blue make this week's quilt sparkle. The block, though, is a another vintage design called Patience Corners.

Here's the clipping that gave me inspiration, found in Granny Rose's collection. I love her notes in the margins! She had it pinned to pattern templates cut out of a paper sack.

I didn't cut mine with scissors, thank goodness. Accuquilt's parallelogram and flying geese dies made quick work of cutting out and sewing the 12” blocks. It's interesting to experiment with different shapes to see how they go together. High school geometry came in handy after all.

Tangerine Splash - KatieScarlett Designs

Tangerine Splash is a great summer quilt, finishing out at 49” square. I quilted with medium blue thread in straight stitch, spacing the lines 1 1/2” apart.

Accuquilt dies used:
55004 Parallelogram
55456 Flying Geese 3 ½” x 6 ½”
55017 Strip 2½”

Spend more time watching sunsets

and less time on your phone

 

Tropical Breeze

Inspiration can come from just one small piece of fabric. This quilt wasn't planned, just a spur of the moment idea on a hot summer afternoon. 

I started with the large scale tropical print, cut into five 8” squares. Then I pulled fabrics of solid yellow and pink paisley to make four Windspinner blocks. Tiny coordinating stripes make a one inch border and binding, framing a 4” marbled aqua border. Tropical Breeze is 32” square.

Creativity continued with the quilting, done in bright yellow thread. I stitched in free motion on the windspinners, using curved lines to echo the fan blades. On the large tropical print, I stitched fairly densely around and inside the leaves and flowers, following the stems and blossoms. 

So much fun...like painting with thread. You can see the detail better on the light yellow back side.  The borders feature serpentine lines, quilted with Elvira ruler.  

I enjoyed this quickie project, especially playing with free motion techniques. I don't think I'll use the dense stitching on a large quilt, but you'll likely see it again on small ones. 

Never stop learning new things!

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6289 Windspinner 8”
6015 Strips 1½”

Accuquilt
55058 Square 8”
55017 Strip 2 ½”
55032 Strip 3 ½”

What inspires you in this life

is what is meant for you.

~Julie Temple

Feelin' Groovy

These colors remind me of 1967. Bright pink, orange, green, yellow, and aqua are balanced by navy. I started with a half-yard bundle called Art Gallery, from Pineapple Fabrics, then added a few of my own pieces (some from my new $1 stash).

I designed the layout in EQ8 before sewing them all together. I quilted with orange thread in diagonal lines, one straight stitch, one serpentine. I love this one! The solid orange backing has a strip of 6” squares running down the center.

Feelin' Groovy is 44” x 53” size, nice for a picnic or a nap, if the dazzling colors don't keep you awake. 

Accuquilt dies used:
55147 Half square triangle 2 ¼” finished
55731 Signature 4 ½” finished
55017 2½” strip
55000 6½” square 

Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy

--Paul Simon

Full Sun

It's a perfect sunny day for a bright and cheerful quilt like Full Sun. Evidently I'm still on a beach theme.

Bright orange, melon, and yellow prints cut into isosceles triangles sew into octagon shaped beach umbrellas. Corner triangles of white on white swirls complete the squares, making a kaleidoscope block. Narrow sashing between them gives just enough space for the umbrellas to float on a bed of white sand. 

Just right for the beach, which is where I'd love to be. Curved free motion quilting in white thread on the blocks accents the triangles. A small serpentine stitch along the center of the sashing frames each one. Finished size is 46” square.

Dies used:

Blue Wren
6015 1 ½” strip
6396 Isosceles Triangle 5” x 6”

Accuquilt
55017 2 ½” strip
55009 3 ½” HST

I found me

under an umbrella

by the sea

Amazed

Amazed

This week's quilt is perfect to cheer drizzly winter days. I used black and gray half hexagons paired with brightly colored triangles to create a larger triangle. 

I arranged everything on my design wall as I cut, lining up the colors before sewing them into strips.

The final arrangement makes a beautiful modern maze that looks more complicated than it is. After sewing all the sections together, I trimmed off the top and bottom edges. I quilted with gray thread along the top edges of the hex pieces and in the ditch down the strips. 

Black and white chevron print fabric was used on the back and binding is a light gray. Amazed is 36” x 42” size, a cute baby quilt or wall hanging.

This one was quick and easy once I had it laid out. I like these medium sized projects because I can complete them in a few days. Finishing something always gives me a satisfying feeling of accomplishment.

Accuquilt dies used:

4 ½” Half Hexagon 55437

4 ½” Equilateral Triangle 55429

You will be amazed

at how things magically

fall into place

when you let go

of the illusion

of control.

~Maryam Hasnaa

Celtic Chains

I recently saw a photo of this quilt online and I just had to recreate it. I don't know the name of the designer or the quilt block but I'm calling it Celtic Chains.

I drew it out in my design notebook, then finalized it in Electric Quilt (EQ8) for a small version. Later I'll sew a larger one.

I used precut remnants for the 2 ½" squares and half square triangles. My box of those was nearly full so that worked out perfectly. Cutting up remnants with Accuquilt dies takes some time, but sure makes it easier to create new scrappy projects. The only parts I had to cut were the 5" squares of white on white dotted fabric, using the value die (55018). I chose teal, aqua, navy, sage and light gold colors for the chains.

Simple squares and HSTs go together easily so it didn't take long to finish the 24 ½" square table mat. I used a teal and navy paisley print on the back and navy paisley for binding. 

For quilting, I made use of the Janome circular attachment to sew intersecting circles all over the quilt with white thread. This lovely mat now decorates the end of my kitchen bar.

Last week I bought the 6 ½" bow tie on closeout from Accuquilt. I wanted to make a test block, so I got teal and navy prints and whipped up a hot pad to coordinate with the mat. I added flying geese triangles to frame the square. Another pad was created with a block made of leftover chisels and 3 ½" HST.

All this is a perfect match for new non-stick bakeware that I found in a beautiful speckled teal color. Who said pans have to be dull and neutral? Not me! Now my kitchen has a bright look that makes me joyful!

I prefer living in color

~Daniel Hockney

Double Time

Double Time

Bright crayon colors outlined with white give this quilt a happy feeling. I created double hourglass blocks using two Accuquilt dies: 6 ½” and 3 ½” half square triangles. I had this design idea while working on the small hourglass quilt a few weeks ago.

The border is made up of 2 ½” squares with 2 ½” x 4 ½” rectangles, also cut with AQ dies. I quilted in white thread, using a decorative stitch on the sashing and outlining each square with a straight stitch.  Backing is a blue and white tablecloth check print. Binding is blue and white dots. Double Time finished out at 41” x 51” size, lovely for a wall hanging or child's quilt.

I put a tiny dent in my remnant stash with this one. It gave me an opportunity to sort and cut a few more scraps before I put everything away. I've been making an effort to clean up my space between projects. It's so nice to have clear tables and everything in its place!

You never know

what you have

until you clean out

your closets