In my last post I showed you a photo of a quilt I started working on a year ago. I don't remember where or when I discovered the book Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison but it looked like a good one with with simple patterns using loads of scraps. I chose to make their quilt called Up, Up, and Away.
Through the years, I had saved the triangle cuttings when piecing binding strips along with white/off-white scraps and that was all I needed to dig in and make these 2-1/2" blocks.
Starting in the upper right corner I began sewing diagonal rows until I reached the center point. Look what's still up on my wall--the Ella Maria Deacon quilt. Some day I'll get that top assembled.
Binding Bits is 42.5" x 45.5". Dawn D. longarm quilted it and I am so pleased with the result!
I really like the swirls on top of the triangles :)
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Onto something different . . .
One of my favorite things to do is go to the thrift shop. There are two in the area and I found myself being a frequent visitor to either one or both.
On one trip, I was looking through a drawer of fabrics and came across a beautifully-worked crewel bell-pull that was unfinished. I knew I wasn't going to complete the embroidery, so used a portion of it for the center of a small quilt.
Here's a detail. A small unfinished portion is at the top where the embroidery lines are still visible. I slow-stitched the center and machine quilted the borders.
The label :)
Another unfinished piece I found was done in cross stitch with a poem in the center which was never completed. I cut out a floral circle from a damaged vintage hand towel and appliqued it on top to cover the words.
I did minimal hand and machine quilting to finish it off. Voila!
The last of the series, if you want to call it that, is this small hand-stenciled piece that my DIL gave me along with a bagful of vintage pillow cases, curtains, and Swedish fabrics.
I cut out a circle from an embroidered linen napkin and appliqued it in the center. Then went crazy with quilted circles throughout.
The back with another piece of vintage embroidery for the label.
Well, that's it for now.
It's a beautiful warm sunny day here in the Adirondacks. I'm preparing a strip along the driveway to plant wildflower seeds. Always wanted to do that :)
Copyright Barbara Schaffer 2025
