Doc's Folly

Doc's Folly

I love vintage quilt block designs, and Propeller is one of my favorites. Published as Air Ship Propeller in the Kansas City Star around 1938, you could buy the pattern by mail order. I ordered this die from Blue Wren a few years ago.

My latest version features black, cream, light red, and melon remnant prints. It has a kind of steam punk look with this coloring. I designed it in EQ8 and cut most of the pieces last November. I pieced the block in January on Annie, my Singer Featherweight 221, also using it to applique the center circles.

As I was arranging the blocks on my design board, my husband walked in and wondered if I could shift the rows, and I love the effect. He also helped choose the center circle fabric, and named the quilt Doc's Folly. He's a wonderful supporter of my quilting obsession and definitely a keeper!

I used a tan vine print sheet for backing, and free motion quilted in a large meandering stitch with tan thread on the Janelle, my Janome MC9450. Finished size is 50” square, and it's folded over the love seat in our living room right now.

See you next week!

Dies used:

Blue Wren 6924 Propeller 10” block
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding

New Beginnings

This was the first quilt designed and completed in my new sewing space during October 2025. It was wonderful to get back to sewing, especially in my freshly organized room.

A variety of navy, blue, rust and orange prints were pulled from current inventory and scrap boxes to make triangles in a square. Medium blue blender fabric was used for sashing; a vintage blue checked sheet provided plenty of yardage for borders and the backing.

Quilting was done in serpentine stitch rectangles with blue thread. Appropriately named New Beginnings, this one's 55” square, stitched completely on my Janome Horizon MC 9450.

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55820 and 55821 Triangle in Square 5” finished
55017 Strips 2½” sashing
55032 Strips 3½” borders

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.

 

Change In The Air

Finally, a quilt! This one is aptly named, since change was definitely in the air. I cut the pieces way back in November of 2024, just before packing up the sewing room for our move. It's one of several that I prepared in advance so I'd be ready to sew once we arrived.

Now forward to December 2025...Change In The Air is at long last finished! The fresh blue fabric, bright melon dots and coral print look gorgeous together. 

I wanted something large, so used six inch sections to make 18” finished blocks. Chisels, half-square triangles, rectangles, and squares made a fun design using EQ8 software to fine tune the layout.  Finished size is 56" square.

I set them on point, filling in with half blocks and hand cut corners. I added 2” blue sashing plus cornerstones and binding in a navy & light red strawberry print. All work was done on Janelle, my Janome 9450 machine. I quilted free motion in a large meandering stitch using blue thread.

It felt awesome to complete a quilt in my new space! I whipped out a few more in December, they're lined up to share with you soon. I haven't set a blog schedule just yet (too busy sewing!), so watch here or on Useful Remnants/KatieScarlett Designs Facebook page for updates.  

See you later!

Dies used:

Blue Wren

  6274 Chisels 2” x 6”
  6047 Rectangles 2” x 6”

Accuquilt

  55000 Square 6”
  55059 Squares 2”
  55021 Value die 2” HST
  55017 Strips 2”
  55399 QST 8”

Christmas Challenge

Another UFO turned into a practical item!  During my recent closet cleanout, I found an experimental block that I created several years ago using chisels and parallelograms. Stored in the ziplock bag with it I found scraps and more cut shapes. This, my friends, was like a challenge to me. I just had to make something out of it.

Back and front view of Christmas Challenge placemats

I decided to whip up a couple of holiday place mats for our kitchen bar. Adding 2" strip borders made the blocks the right size. A rose and holly print remnant was found in my stash for backing.  I used champagne colored thread with an eyelash serpentine stitch for quilting across the blocks diagonally.

Christmas Challenge place mats finished out at 15” square. I enjoyed playing with fabric, used another piece of material, and eliminated one of my unfinished objects. What could be better on a December day?

Mixed Nuts

I went on a cutting spree several weeks ago with my hexagon die set and a big pile of scraps. This colorful quilt is the final result.

The brighter the better, I say. I used a cream and beige swirl print for the hexagons and equilateral triangles making up the background. No real planning for color placement, other than trying not to get the same prints too close together as I slapped them up on the wall.

Quilting was done with medium beige thread in a straight stitch, criss-crossing the quilt along the design lines using a ruler to keep everything neat. Mixed Nuts finished out at 49” x 53” in size, good for snuggling.

Sewing is my stress relieving relaxation activity. We're still doing home improvements and I miss not being at the sewing machine every day. Although I've found that other power tools can be just as satisfying to use when all goes right. Drills, staple guns, hammers, mini chain saws, jig saws, and sanders have been in action here.

My man and I make a great team. No matter what project we're working on, there's a nice sense of accomplishment when we get things done.

Blue Wren dies used:

6808 Hexagon Set 3” sides

6566 Equilateral Triangles 6” sides

Imperfectly Teal

Scrap quilts are the reason that I save small bits of fabric from every quilt I make. Seems crazy, I know. But there's such a high level of satisfaction in using leftover pieces to create an entire quilt.  Plus, you get several extra bonus quilts without spending any more money. I do love a bargain! 

My inspiration for this project was a group of quilts designed by Jo Anne Merrill-Duckworth. Her beautiful creations are scrappy, colorful, and amazing! Her method makes it easy since you don't have to worry about perfect cuts or uniform pieces. The wonkier the better--just choose a focus color and use what you have that fits.

I took a shoe box full of aqua and teal fabric strips to the campground in October to begin these crazy log cabin style blocks. I used leftover black gingham to begin each one, adding random width strips until it was roughly 7” square. Once I got home and finished all the blocks, I trimmed them with a 6½” die before stitching them together.

Imperfectly Teal finished at 48” square after I added 3” borders. I quilted with white thread, using a rolling wave ruler in diagonal rows about 3” apart.

Scrappy imperfect quilts aren't for everyone. Lots of people just can't stand so many prints, or crooked blocks that don't align perfectly. My brain had to reset a bit before I could resist the urge to straighten out those seams. I had fun, though, and gave myself permission to play. And I'll happily do it again.

So thanks, Jo Anne, for sharing your ideas, inspiring us to abandon perfection, and to save and use our scraps!

Accuquilt dies used:
55000 Square 6½”
55032 Strips 3½”
55017 Strips 2½”

Windy Day

Let's start November with an easy snuggle quilt. I pulled out a coral red peacock feather print from my stash, adding blue fabrics from the print to coordinate.

This simple windmill block is so quick to cut and sew, especially after laying it out in EQ8, then on my design wall. This quilt is alive with motion and color, don't you think?

For backing, I used the peacock feather print with leftover strips of the blues and a center section made up of one Curve in a Square block. Now it's not just a backing, but a reversible quilt.

For quilting, red variegated thread was used with serpentine stitch to make 4” grid along horizontal and vertical seam lines. Windy Day finished out at 49” square.

I'm thankful this one didn't take long, because we're still finishing up brush cutting and clearing around the home place. 

Dies used:

Blue Wren

6554 Windmill 8” block

6602 Curve in a Square 12” finished block

Tilt-A-Whirl

Tilt-A-Whirl

Last week I teased a story about the quilts I worked on during our rainy camping trip. This brightly colored scrappy quilt is the first one to be finished. I cut the pieces before we left so I could focus on sewing the 4” Washington's Puzzle blocks.

Once we got home, I laid them out on my design board, then added sashing using white on cream fabric.  I used two utility stitches for quilting: a multi-stitch zig-zag on the sashing and a small serpentine across the blocks.

Tilt-A-Whirl finished at 44” square, and may be used as a baby quilt, wall hanging, or table topper.

I'm convinced that I can never use all those remnants that I create from making quilts. But that's ok, because it provides plenty of little pieces for many more bonus quilts.  I love getting the most out of my fabric stash!

Dies used:
Accuquilt
55602 Washington's Puzzle 4” finished
55159 Rectangles 2½” x 4½”
Blue Wren
6047 Rectangles 2” x 6” finished

Honey Sweet

Here's an adorable quilt for a cute little sweetheart.

Baby quilts are always fun to make, but this one was particularly special since I included fabric given to me by the little one's grandmama.

Soft peachy pink, muted aqua and shiny gold arrows blend well with a light gold batik dot fabric. Hexagons and triangles are arranged in a honeycomb style design.

For quilting, I created a new allover pattern using a curved ruler with light tan thread. I really like the results and will use it again.

Honey Sweet finished at 40” square. It's been done for a while but finally found its way home this past weekend.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6808 Hexagon Set 3” sides

Accuquilt 55032 Strips 3" finished

Sail The Caribbean

Summer is nearly over; we've had a couple of mornings below 60° to enjoy. That's unusual for August in Tennessee! Still, today's lovely quilt brings thoughts of tropical island breezes.

Classic navy and white prints contrast nicely with Caribbean green. I adore these colors and have made several quilts with this combination. The chisel blocks were wonderfully quick to cut and sew.

I chose light aqua thread and a zig-zag utility stitch to quilt vertical lines 1½” apart. Sail The Caribbean finished as a 48” x 54” rectangle.

Once this one was finished, I straightened up my sewing room, updated fabric inventory, and cleared the decks for the next project. 

By the way, thanks for all the nice comments on Facebook about last week's blog post, our refurbished Singer 404 (Midnight). I'll be using him to stitch something soon. 


Accuquilt dies used:
55039 Chisels 3” x 6” finished
55017 Strips 2½” binding

Skinny Churn Dash

Skinny Churn Dash

What a fun quilt to sew! The classic churn dash pattern got a makeover with a taller center section, creating a rectangular block.

I returned to the remnant boxes to find fabric in green, aqua, coral, gray and brown. Natural muslin makes a great neutral to focus on the prints. There are no repeat blocks and all were stitched on Laney (Singer 301).  

The 7” x 10” finished rectangles are set together, adding a 3” muslin border for a 49” x 57” final size. I'm calling it Skinny Churn Dash.

Quilting with a medium taupe thread lightly emphasizes the stitching. I used a braided border ruler to quilt vertical rows that look like an allover design.  

There's not much change in my overall scrap total using a bit of this and a bit of that, but I still love getting bonus quilts out of leftovers. On to the next one!

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6047 Rectangles 2” x 6” and 2” x 3” finished

Accuquilt
55005 Rectangle 3½” x 6½”
55032 Strips 3½”
55018 Value Die Half Square Triangle 2½”
55017 Strips 2½”

 

Americana

Red, white, and blue fabrics always look great together. I have quite a few quilts using those colors but I keep making more.

Remnants from other projects gave me enough material for the blocks, and I added tiny red gingham for sashing and borders. Backing is little red hearts on white. 

The North Carolina Star die has lots of small pieces, which are a little tricky to sew. It takes a perfect ¼” seam to get all those intersections to match up. Jack (the seam ripper) and I had a few tense moments until I worked it out.

Americana finished at 48” square. I quilted with white thread, using a circle ruler to create an allover design. I'll have this one displayed for Memorial Day.

Accuquilt dies used:
55605 North Carolina Star 12” finished
55017 Strips 2½”
55054 Strips 4½”

Calico Prairie

Calico Prairie

Soothing colors of peach, light coral, and dusty blue are perfect for showcasing this vintage quilt design.

I selected fabrics from my stash that could have been found in 1930-1950 era day dresses or 1970's prairie skirts. I believe I had a Gunne Sax calico peasant dress with these colors back in high school.

My dependable Singer 404, Elizabeth, sewed perfect seams...and there are a lot of them. Each 8” Full Blown Tulip block has 32 pieces! Once I assembled the blocks, I added 4” borders in the dusty blue to expand the size to 48” square.

A combination of free motion quilting and ruler work finished out this one with a creative touch. Calico Prairie gave me a chance to play with stitches and enjoy memories, a perfect way to spend my time.

Accuquilt dies used:
55616 Full Blown Tulip 8” BOB
55054 Strips 4½”
55017 Strips 2½”

Fabulous Triangle Stars

This quilt design! I just had to make this as soon as I saw it.

The original quilt pattern was created by Barbara H. Cline, who featured it in her book, Amazingly Simple Triangle Stars. Blue Wren Notions got her approval to make a die to cut the shapes. Information and links below.

I used a bold herringbone print in aqua/navy, with a tiny aqua/white floral plus crisp white. I pieced it on my little Featherweight, Annie. Exact die cuts made sewing easy and everything fit together perfectly.

I quilted on my Janome 9450 with aqua thread in diagonal rows of 4, using a straight stitch. Fabulous Stars is 49½” x 57” in size.

Barbara's book has many different versions with beautiful secondary designs. I started out simply, but I will definitely be sewing this again soon in other colorways. I love it when designers and manufacturers work together to share ideas and create partnerships.


Blue Wren dies used:
6909 Triangle Stars 7” finished triangle block
www.a1craftandquilting.com.au

Barbara H. Cline design
www.delightfulpiecing.com

 

Ready For A Reset

Happy New Year, everyone!

Taking a look back at 2023, it seems I was a busy lady with lots going on. After checking my lists and inventory, here's a summary of last year's work:

• Quilts & projects finished: 54
• Quilts donated or gifted: 21
• Fabric acquired: 647 yards (purchases + gifts)
• Fabric used: 253 yards
• Fabric left (not including scrap boxes): 2651 yards

So, I have plenty left to stitch. It's difficult to turn down free or low cost quilting material. I'm thankful for my friends who generously share fabric and sewing machines with me, and for my sweet husband, who actively encourages me to get whatever I want, from fabric to sewing machines and quilting supplies.

Quilting is my passion! I design and sew for pleasure and to keep my brain active. I don't take custom orders, publish or sell quilt patterns. I know I could earn money selling, but that would take the fun out of it and cut into my sewing time. I just want to enjoy my hobby, not run a business. Been there, done that.

Thanks for reading and sharing my blog. Although people have asked for videos and more content, it will remain the same weekly post for now. That takes up quite a bit of time already and I don't want to expand.  

So, I've reset the counters, made a few resolutions, cleaned my studio, and started off the year sewing.

Hope you all have a fabulous 2024. Take time for yourself, and do what makes you happy!

 

Remembering Naomi

Remembering Naomi

I made this special quilt for a friend, from fabric that his sweet mom gave to me when she moved to assisted living. Sadly, she passed this year, and I thought he would like a remembrance quilt.

The design of squares and rectangles is simple but the colors of navy, hunter green, and dark red coordinate well. I added a few squares of my own fabric as a personal touch.

Quilting was done with green thread, using both straight and serpentine stitches. Remembering Naomi is 56” square. I used my restored Singer 127 (Mary Margaret, a machine gifted to me by another friend) to piece the blocks.

One of the best parts of Christmas is giving. Over the past few years I've been given lots of fabric. I believe in paying it forward, so I've used yards of that material to sew quilts which I've donated to local assisted living and senior living homes.

I got a lovely thank you note from one little lady who said, “It was like the heavens opened up and rained down pretty quilts for us.”

So, to everyone who has provided the materials that made this possible: You are appreciated!

Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope that you can experience the magic and joy of giving all year long.

Blue Quarters

Blue Quarters

Simple and classic, this blue, tan, and cream quilt is made up of remnants from other projects.

I've been working on it for a while, piecing hourglass blocks when I had a few minutes to spare. Some of the fabrics have been in my collection for years; others are recent acquisitions. I mixed plaid, stripes, floral, and geometric prints with some solids.

The backing is a blue sheet that I picked up at a thrift store. I quilted diagonal rows with blue thread in the bobbin and tan on top, alternating straight and serpentine stitches.

Blue Quarters finished at 48” square, and will make a lovely donation quilt.

Accuquilt dies used:
55047 Quarter Square Triangles 4” finished
55017 Strips 2½”

Born To Be Wild

Born To Be Wild

It's been said that scraps multiply when you're not looking. That might actually be true. I sew many quilts every year, so the leftover bits add up quickly.

Managing these can be a challenge. I try to cut remnants as I go, sort into my most used sizes and store in stackable plastic boxes. This doesn't always happen, so I just toss the fabric into larger tubs for later. I have a major cutting session to empty the tubs when I'm in between projects or when I run out of space.

Today's quilt is made up of scraps in my favorite sizes: 2½” squares, 2½” half square triangles, and 2½” strips. I started out sewing quarter log cabin blocks, then added the HST for a bear claw look.

Born To Be Wild is 49” square. The backing is a colorful quilt block print, binding is a light navy check. I finished it off with simple channel quilting 2” apart using light gray thread.

Sewing these is so much fun! No plan, no rules, just choose what looks pretty together and stitch. Pop them on the design wall, move them around to get the most pleasing layout, and another quilt is done. I considered using a solid color sashing between blocks, but decided on this wild version.

Going through leftover fabric is like seeing old friends. It reminds me of where I got it and what I made with it. That's why I adore scrap quilts!

Just one shelf of remnants...that's definitely not all

Accuquilt dies used:

55017 Strips 2½”
55018 Small Value die: 2½” square, 2½” HST

Fresh Air

Fresh Air

Pastel stripes paired with crisp white give this hexagon quilt a fresh look. The project went together quickly since there are only two fabrics.

I enjoyed piecing with Violet, my sweet painted and restored Singer 99K. Jerold reinstalled her motor so that I didn't have to hand crank all those pieces. I love sewing with my vintage machines and this purple one looks right at home in my sewing room!

Straight stitch quilting along the seam lines was done on the Janome 9450 with a light blue thread. Fresh Air finished at 50” x 53” in size. I used white and blue polka dot backing and a solid blue binding.

Dies used:
Blue Wren 6808 Hexagon Set 3” sides
Accuquilt 55017 Strips 2½” binding
Rotary cut: 6½” equilateral triangles