For those of you who are following along in the Schoolgirl Sampler sew along this year, the little quilt for September is the Whirlybird quilt on page 33. It's a simple block and one of my favorites. Marian Edwards, who made the quilt in the book, used the same block with matching fabrics throughout. You can make it the same way or scrappy if you like. It's fun to play around with different fabrics and see what happens.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Small Quilt for September
Thursday, August 26, 2021
A New Sew Along for September
My new Facebook group is starting a sew along on September 1 for the Window Box quilt in my book A Prairie Journey. We did this as a small quilt group challenge a few years ago when the book first came out. If you missed making this one, here's another chance to get it done. Marian Edwards made this adorable little quilt for the book a few years ago and I always regretted I didn't have one to call my own. So I'm making it too. It's pretty simple and with those colors I thought it would be a perfect fall project. You can make the applique in wool or cotton, whatever you're comfortable doing. This is going to be a lot of fun! If you have the book, grab some wool or fabric scraps and sew along with us.
From the Prairie Journey book: Gardening was an essential part of frontier life. The early homesteaders cooked meals that were prepared from food that was harvested from their own gardens. The "kitchen garden" was a necessity if an entire family was to be nourished. But flower and herb gardens that contained plants for medicinal purposes flourished as well. Perhaps a primitive window box filled with wildflowers found on the prairie would have given a warm touch to a rustic log cabin or sod house.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Posy Baskets Quilt
I love basket quilts! The new small quilt challenge for this month from the Schoolgirl Sampler book is - Posy Baskets on page 36. (The sampler sew along group is still open. You can jump in and start at any time if you have the book for the blocks and patterns. There are quite a few quilters who've joined after we started in January.)
Posy Baskets quilt made by Sue Bennett.
We're working our way through the small quilts in the Schoolgirl Sampler book. This colorful, scrappy quilt is one of my favorites and is perfect for a summertime project. And, of course, you have to make it with scraps, scraps and more scraps which only adds to the fun. This might be a good opportunity to go through your scraps and sort and clean them up a little. It's fun and relaxing and you never know what you'll find. If you've been feeling stuck, sometimes a little playing around with fabric is just the thing you need to get your creativity flowing again.
Even if you don't have a plan, playing around with scraps and making tiny things is a good way to get motivated to start something new. I get lazy and unmotivated at times but give me a basket of scraps and sometimes wonderful things happen.
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I recently started a new Facebook group for those who are most familiar with my books and quilts. The old group had become a free for all and was difficult to manage. This one is much smaller and will be focused on my quilts and my favorite style of quilting - using reproduction fabrics. We're taking a more relaxed approach (instead of doing frantic monthly challenges) and occasionally making simple little quilts with our reproduction scraps. You'll have to prove you're a fan and not a spammer if you request to join. Here's the first quilt -
Simple is good.
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Make a Little Pinwheels Quilt
For the second quilt in the little quilts sew along from the Schoolgirl Sampler book, the Facebook group is making the Pinwheels quilt on page 22 of the book.
This one was made by Marian Edwards for the book. It's a fun little quilt that uses two Schoolgirl Sampler blocks. I think it really shows off her scraps and makes the pinwheels look as if they're spinning.
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Small Quilt Sew Along - Patriotic Stars Quilt
Today we kicked off the Small Quilt Sew Along for the six small quilts in my book Schoolgirl Sampler. We'll be starting with this one, the Patriotic Stars quilt on page 26 of the book.
Patriotic Stars quilt made by Sue Bennett
Each month we'll have a theme. The theme for the first month is: Make a quilt with patriotic blocks or fabrics or make a row quilt using different blocks in red, white and blue fabrics. I thought this would be a great quilt to start with so it could be ready to display on or around the Fourth of July.
The Schoolgirl Sampler Sew Along Facebook group will be making all six of the small quilts from the book. One per month. I hope some of you will join us. The directions for the blocks to make the small quilts are in the book.
I know this is going to be a lot of fun. If you want to purchase a book, check your local quilt shop, Amazon, Martingale or other online shops for copies. Check my website or Etsy shop for signed copies.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Small Quilts Sew Along
I hope you've had fun following along and making the Schoolgirl Sampler quilt. I've seen some gorgeous finished quilts! And such a variety of colors and other small touches to make them all unique.
Beginning in June, the Schoolgirl Sampler Sew Along Facebook group will be making the small quilts from the book. You're welcome to join us as we choose one quilt to sew each month through December 2020.
Friday, April 30, 2021
Doll Quilts in the Spring Garden
I really wanted to thank so many of you for participating in the Schoolgirl Sampler Sew Along this year. It was a nice diversion for awhile, don't you think? Thanks also for purchasing the book. Your support means a lot. The FB group will stay open for the rest of the year and we may do sew alongs for some of the smaller quilts in the book beginning this summer.