Scrap Quilt Antique Look

Another Ebay purchase, another unfinished top. I don't know why I got so involved buying unfinished pieces a year ago. But I did. 

This one caught my eye. It's entirely hand-pieced. I can't find the block name so I'm calling it Arrowhead Variation. 

 

The fabrics range from the 30s-60s, mostly cottons but also a rayon or two, even seersucker. Amazing how they all came together to look like an "antique" quilt. 

 

The sashing is 3", the blocks are 10" and the top is 74" x 90". 

 

 

To my eye, the red and lime green are really odd shades but they work. An awful lot of work went into piecing this top. There are 33 pieces in each block x 42 = 1386! That's not including the sashing and corner blocks. 

 

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I had also purchased 100 log cabin block centers on Etsy. 

 

They were small and didn't measure more than 3" x 4" at best. I trimmed them . . .  

 

. . . and started adding strips of darks and lights until the unfinished blocks measured 6-1/2". 

 

Then I made 6-1/2" asterisk blocks and eventually combined the two. I'll show you more pics next time.  

 

Still waiting for warmer weather and sunny days. It's currently raining with snow expected later!

 

 

Copyright 2026 Barbara Schaffer  

International Blocks

I bid on (and won) a group of square-in-a-square blocks at Dana's Auction more than a year ago. All of them were dated between 2003-2005, signed with name and location (mostly Belgium), embellished with inked drawings, embroidery, beads or even a button. Needless to say I was fascinated!

Some blocks had already been sewed together in colorways which I thought was an interesting way to assemble them. Rows were vertical, some horizontal while many blocks were loose. I spread them out on the table and continued with the colorway theme as best I could.

There were times when I had to take apart and restitch blocks so they would be the correct size but for the most part they fit together. 

 

Looks like I took this pic before adding the last 2 rows but you get the idea. The top finishes at 58.5" x 58.5". I've contemplated adding a border but nothing seems to look right, yet. 

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On another note, I finished sewing all those vintage string blocks together. The top is done and it is twin size 70" x 90".

Here are some of the rows laid out on the floor. Blocks are 10" and haphazardly put together.  

The best view is draped over the railing. Actually, it should be turned 1/4 to the left so the diagonals run upper right to lower left. Not sure what I am going to do with it at the moment.  

Just look at this beautiful doe! She so wanted to eat the bird seed I put out for the birds. 

That's all for now.

I am so ready for spring!

 

Copyright 2026 Barbara Schaffer 

  

All Over the Place!

During my quilting downtime, I slow-stitched this linen vintage towel using indigo scraps and buttons. At the time I thought it was a great idea and spent lots of time working on it.  

I even added a rubber stamped "B" in blue ink. I'm not really excited about the end result but it served its purpose and kept me focused.  

I couldn't resist buying a nicely pieced and embroidered friendship top with four ladies in the center. It was dated 2000. After pondering how to quilt it I ended up doing diagonal lines straight through the center. 

The ladies are tiny buttonhole-stitched all the way around, the hats and shoes are made of felt. The whole piece makes me smile. 

Yikes! Can you believe I bought these bright blocks that were made with fabrics from the 40s-60s?? Certainly not my style but wanted something different to peak my interest.  

I purchased a pieced quilt top on Ebay for $20 for the sole purpose of using it for the backing. I didn't have to make any adjustments. Of course neither the fabrics (above) nor the other colors--aqua and gray--had anything to do with the front of the quilt. But it worked! It was longarm quilted. 

 

With collage in mind, I was at another local thrift shop when a framed calendar picture of a cute little girl singing and playing the piano caught my eye. I ended up cutting out a portion and combining it with "The Old Piano Roll Blues" sheet music. Added lots of flowers, bride & groom punch outs and some stickers. I've since made a few collages incorporating sheet music. It's something new and different.    

A gorgeous sunrise where the top of the mountain range is literally glowing. 

I received a new Smart AI Happy Birdy feeder for Christmas. What fun it's been to watch the birds up close and take pictures. Isn't this the cutest little Chickadee with a sunflower seed in its beak?

Till next time . . . . 

 

Copyright 2026 Barbara Schaffer 

 

 

Another Catch-up and Collage

I must admit I hadn't done much quilting over the past year and a half but my interest never waned. I found myself immersed in scouring Ebay and Etsy for interesting quilt tops/blocks to satisfy my urge of not spending time making a quilt from the start.

This lovely yo-yo quilt caught my eye. The soft hues reminded me of an early patchwork quilt. It needed some repairs which I was willing to spend time doing. And I'm still finding a few areas that I missed. This quilt is huge. 

I always wanted to make a totally haphazard random-strippy quilt and took my chances when I purchased this on Ebay. It was a quilt top all right but it had been foundation pieced on newspaper. Most of the paper had been removed except for what was left in the seams. Ugh! Would you believe I spent hours removing all those little bits with a tweezer but ultimately ended up taking the entire top apart. I had sixty-eight 10-1/2" blocks to sew back together but so far I've only used 5. 

I squared up all the blocks and used 4 to make this little quilt. The fabrics are mixed--shirtings, seersuckers, flocked flowers, some poly-cottons, etc. 

Then I made this one for a friend. Poor photo on my part! 

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Lately, I've been into collage using lots of different papers. I also joined Margarete Miller's The Vintage & Collage Club where members share their work. 

This was my first attempt. The assignment had to include something that represented: Fire or smoke (Smokey the Bear), Something with a spine (person), Anything that starts with a B (bird), Something royal (postage stamps), A famous city (Cape May NJ), Bonus: A chevron or zig zag pattern (recycled packaging paper).  

Here's another: Bells (wedding bells), Something imaginary (walking jingle bell), Dictionary page, A leaf or leaves (puppies playing in the leaves), Something that turns or spins (wheels), Bonus: A date (1956 car)

It's been a fun journey!

Till next time . . . 

 

Copyright Barbara Schaffer 2026 

 

 

 

Only One Photo

 I decided to fill a wall with lots of small quilts and this was the result.

Happy Holidays! I will be back with another post in the New Year. 

 

 

Copyright Barbara Schaffer 2025 

 

 

 

Christmas Journal and Ebay Quilt Top

 Last month I left off showing you a little Christmas journal that I made with index card dividers. For quite some time I'd been following Margarete Miller's YouTube videos trying to learn how to collage. So when I found the index dividers at the thrift shop I figured it was time to jump in.

Margarete shows you how to make a journal with these dividers using masking tape to connect the pages and add a fabric spine for that finished look. The elastic gold cord was recycled from a box of handmade candies purchased at a local store. 

I'd been keeping Christmas cards for a couple of years so I had all I needed at my fingertips. 

I had so much fun cutting out bits and pieces and arranging them on these small 3" x 5" pages". The Letters on the dividers have nothing to do with the pictures.

I used post-it notes, wrapping paper, stickers, Christmas cards, and patterned papers. 

Even included parts of hand-written notes from family and friends. When it was finished it wouldn't close. I really got carried away!

I have since moved on to making journals out of Junk mail, decorating index cards focused on Books I've Read, and another with pages of flowers. I'll show you more another time.

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Last year I started purchasing quilts/tops on Ebay or Etsy. For some reason I thought it would be faster to work on a few unfinished pieces than to start from scratch.

So I purchased this red and white St. Louis Cardinals top with "historic" World Series patches stitched in a diamond layout. I removed two rows on each side, added the fabric border and machine quilted it diagonally. 
 

Love the 1944 patch! So what am I going to do with this quilt?? I had intended to sell it but opportunities slipped by more than once. Now I think I'll put pics in the local community news hoping there will be a Cardinals fan who would love to have it for Christmas. 

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Copyright 2025 Barbara Schaffer  

 

Quilt Show and Sale

In August I entered a few quilts in a show/sale in a neighboring town. I was told people come to the show specifically to buy quilts. There were both contemporary and antique quilts on the walls and draped over the pews in a quaint little church. I'll start with the antiques which were not priced.  

Well, I just about melted when I saw this 1840 Oak Leaf and Reel with a Prussian blue border! 

There was some damage in the border with batting poking through in more than a few places.
 

How about this Album Block signature quilt with poison green sashing and turkey red fabrics?

Ohio Stars and 9-Patch blocks in an interesting layout. 

My Call Me Crazy quilt was displayed on the altar--and it sold!

A wonderful quilt made from shirtings--all recycled.

A ladder display of smaller quilts three of which were mine--2nd and 3rd from top and the one on the bottom. 

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On another note . . . 

I started making some small journals. Here is the cover of my Christmas journal made with index card dividers. 

Will show you more next time . . .  

 

 

Copyright Barbara Schaffer 2025