Crumb Cards by Christie

Don’t you love it when you go to the mailbox and find an unexpected item waiting for you?

That happened to me this past week!!

I received a sweet note from my friend, Christie.

What made it so special…..

It was a GORGEOUS handmade card!!

She even had her “logo” on the back….

This is such a wonderful idea and a great way to use up those little bits of fabric we call crumbs (too small to use but too big to throw away).

These would be wonderful sellers in our quilt show boutique!!

Thank you, Christie, for your friendship and for this wonderful surprise!!

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STOP SAVING YOUR SCRAPS FOR “SOMEDAY”

With Crumbs for the Geese, you’ll confidently turn even the smallest pieces into a vibrant, finished quilt—no second guessing, no overwhelm.

🎥 You’ll also get a 30-minute step-by-step video on crumb blocks and precise flying geese
Just sew, build, and enjoy the process

Check out the pattern HERE

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STOP SAVING YOUR SCRAPS FOR “SOMEDAY”

With Crumbs for the Geese, you’ll confidently turn even the smallest pieces into a vibrant, finished quilt—no second guessing, no overwhelm.

🎥 You’ll also get a 30-minute step-by-step video on crumb blocks and precise flying geese
Just sew, build, and enjoy the process

Check out the pattern HERE

Almost a disaster…..

Last week I posted about making final decisions about how to finish the quilt that I was making for Claire.

I decided to go with the quilted flowers and had fun quickly adding them to the quilt….

As I was taking these photos, I noticed a fabric bleed (top right of the right-hand block above).

I looked more closely at other blocks and found several more areas where the colors had bled…

All of them seemed to be associated with one of the hand-dyed black fabrics.

I could only think……. “HERE WE GO AGAIN”!!

Fortunately (or unfortunately), this has happened to me SO many times that I no longer panic, but head for the bathtub!!

I grabbed my bottle of “Dawn Clear“……

….squirted a bunch into a bathtub of warm water, and added the quilt….

I let it soak for about 3 hours.

When I checked on it, I was appaled by how dark the water was, so I IMMEDIATELY pulled it out and took it to the washing machine. This time I added a bit of Synthrapol and several “Color Catchers“.

Imagine my relief when the color catchers came out CLEAN!!!

WHEW……

So, the MORAL of this story…..

Don’t Panic…..maybe you just need a quiet soak in a tub of warm, soapy water!!

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A Quilt for Claire

This past week, I gifted the quilt to Claire, so I wanted to show you the final product…..

There are still a couple of stories to tell about this one, and those will come in the next two weeks!

I had so much fun working on this quilt and remembering the 9-year-old who I would pick up from school one day a week, and we would spend a couple of hours quilting together.

She would always be starving and loved a warmed tortilla with spicy pimento cheese. I think of her EVERYTIME I pop a tortilla into the microwave to warm!!

I loved watching her pick fabrics…..

and make quilts….mostly to be given to her family and friends!

She was a quick learner….

…and had a great creative spirit.

This was the last quilt that we made together in 2019…..

….a Christmas gift for her Mom.

And here she is today…..

A beautiful young woman with a sweet, Godly spirit and a BOATLOAD of possibilities ahead of her!!

On one of our sewing days, she was working on something over in the corner, and I found this the next day….

It brought a smile to my face at the time, just as my memory of our time together does now!!

Go Claire…..GO!!!!!

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Where do I go from here?

In my quickie update about the retreat, I showed you the work that I had done on the scrap quilt I am making for Claire…

Once I had these blocks sewn together, I was paralyzed about what to do next.

My original plan was to applique big flowers in each of the white spaces, but it just didn’t seem appropriate now!

I was also struggling with what type of border to add. I played with a couple of ideas along these lines….

…but nothing seemed to be working.

Deb H. suggested that a black border would be too heavy, but that using black for the binding might be perfect. SUCH a good idea!!

When I got home, I put it on the design wall and started playing more with borders. I liked the idea of two borders, and loved the yellow….

But as I looked more, I realized that I wanted to continue the checkerboard pattern into the border, so now I am thinking along these lines….

I liked this idea, but knew that piecing would be difficult….but where is the fun if everything is EASY!!

I started by sewing long strips of yellow and blue together, then added the first border with the B-W-B three-patch…

I decided that I needed to miter the corners, and they were MOSTLY successful. As usual, there was one that just wouldn’t work right, but we aren’t going to worry about that!!

I added the outer border with the additional black squares next.

I like how this looks, especially with a black binding in the future….

But I am stuck again!!

NOW….it looks TOO plain, so maybe I need to add my flowers???

I decided to let it “rest” for a few days and see if inspiration strikes.

Come back for more!!

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Do you have a stack of scraps that you want to use in a fun design?

Check out this pattern for a quick and easy scrap quilt that will help empty your bins and bring a smile to your face!!

Full Color pattern includes step by step instructions for blocks and border.

Click HERE for more information.

Can’t believe she is graduating!!

Back in 2017, I started quilting with my Pastor’s young daughter, Claire….

I would pick her up from school one day each week. We would arrive at the house, have a tortilla or two with spicy pimento cheese, and head upstairs to pick fabrics and sew!! We continued this tradition until life fell apart in 2020….you remember that don’t you?

Well, amazingly, that young woman is graduating from high school next month…..

and….she NEEDS A QUILT!!

I wanted to make something with bright colors and big daisy flowers and was originally thinking about only using scraps. Maybe an Irish chain with flowers in the alternating blocks. This was what I came up with in Electric Quilt…

But the more I thought about it, the more I decided I didn’t want to use only scraps… at least not colored ones.

THEN I started wondering about making the chain in Black and White with the flowers being bright colors….

Since she is a soccer player with a college scholarship, the black and white will be reminiscent of the balls!!

So, I leave for my guild retreat next week, and this is the first project on my list.

As I looked at my 2.5-inch scrap squares, I realized that there were TONS of black and white ones, along with a number of these 3-patches already pieced….