Yes, of course! So I probed a bit on what she was thinking - did she want specific colors - bright, muted, mixed, solids, prints? Did she want traditional quilt blocks? Modern shapes? Wonky?

It was landscapes she wanted, and while she was saying this, she pulled up pictures of her apartment on which color block landscape prints were hanging on the wall. She said, “I was thinking something like this…”

I knew right away that this was very do-able. If you break down the print, there are just six colors (translate - 6 different fabrics), and the shapes of each color (a.k.a. part of the landscape) are not overly complicated to cut or sew.

Sarah’s initial directions were fluid and open-ended - landscapes with a variety of fabrics she’d pulled from my stash. We both were excited at the possibilities. Sarah returned home, and then panic set in!!!

OMGosh! Landscapes! What kind of landscapes? One with water? And if water - what kind of water? Ocean? River? Lake? Or how about a mountain landscape? Oh geez! Should it have snow? No snow? A combo of both? And should that mountain have a stream running down it? Would she want a field landscape? Should it be filled with grasses? Or flowers? Or pathways?

And the real question ended up being - How in the world am I going to do EIGHT individual landscape placemats if I’m struggling with the first placemat?! I found myself mentally paralyzed. Several months passed, and Sarah returned for another visit. While sitting around the dining room table, I explained my conundrum to Sarah. I asked questions about content, colors and designs. As we talked, she scrolled through photos on her phone. There it was!!! A vintage black and white photo of the shoreline of Lake Michigan hanging on the wall of her apartment.

And in that moment, I knew what to do! That photo was the answer to what would make the project meaningful to Sarah and at the same time, provide me with a framework to create the placemats. I suggested we use landscapes that were from places she’d lived or visited. And as quickly as the words were coming out of my mouth, Sarah was showing me photo after photo of landscapes that could easily serve as the inspiration and direction for her project.

At the end of our brainstorming session, Sarah was charged, while on her flight back home, to come up with eight photos that she’d like made into placemats. When she landed, my phone buzzed, and I had a text from Sarah with the following photos (and descriptions).

There they were - Sarah’s placemats. I saw the colors and shapes, and knew these photos would fit the bill. I was ready to get to work.

To take these photos and make them into illustrations was my first challenge. I found and downloaded a program on my iPad called Procreate, and with help of Youtube tutorials, I figured out how to turn photos into color-block illustrations. Here’s an example of how a photo became an illustration.

Once the illustration of each photo was completed, and the fabric was chosen, I was ready to enlarge the illustration using a small projector. The illustration’s image was cast onto a piece of freezer paper measuring 13”x19” - rough placemat size.

As a note: Freezer paper is a good medium for creating applique templates, because one side of the paper is polycoated, and when placed coating side down onto fabric and warmed with an iron, it sticks to the fabric - basically creating a removable sticker in a desired shape. I traced the general shapes onto the freezer paper, cut the images out of the paper, ironed them to fabric, and cut the fabric shapes.

Then I started building a quilt sandwich. The bottom layer was the fabric that is on the back of the placemat, the next layer (the middle layer) was a piece of quilt batting. The top layer was the landscape made of the fabric pieces that I laid out and secured in place with small pieces of Stitch Witchery - basically gluing down each piece.

Once the top layer was done, I took the quilt sandwich to my sewing machine, and stitched over the entire piece with thread that coordinated with the various colors of fabric. This step not only creates more visual interest, but it also secures all the fabric pieces into place. Next, I squared up and trimmed the mat so it measured 12”x18.” And lastly I added a binding to the rough edges of the placemat and attached a label.

And while it may look like this was a solo effort, Sarah and I actually did a good amount of collaboration on this project via text. She approved illustrations making sure to indicate which details from the photos she hoped could be in the placemats. I sent her images of fabric options, she responded with preferences for colors and patterns of fabric. And she and I celebrated with exclamation marks and heart emojis as I texted her a photo of each placemat as they were completed. It was definitely a process we both enjoyed.

I completed the Sarah’s placemats right before a family get together, so I was able to deliver them to her in person. I love thinking that these will become part of dinner conversations as she describes these special places and the memories she has of them.

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I don’t remember a lot about how I worked my way through the project, much is a guess at this point. Most simply and logically, I must have drawn out the design on paper, used it as a template for laying out and cutting various fabrics and then stitched the pieces together. When I look closely at the shapes, angles and curves, it seems that there was no rhyme or reason.

Clearly I didn’t account for how seams would come together; I have points and corners tucked into curves and circles - it appears that I just “went for it.” I didn’t know any differently, so I marched forward most likely thinking that I’d just figure it out and make it work.

I do have a memory of visiting the local sewing store, like a Joann Fabrics where I (with Mom’s help and wallet) purchased several small pieces of fabric. I knew nothing about quilting cotton at the time, so I chose what I liked in both color and texture - blues, maroons, whites, corduroy, cotton, velvet, and flannel.

It’s entirely possible that Mrs. Bushmaker had a sewing machine in her classroom, so I may have stitched pieces of fabric during class. I also know that I spent time in Busia’s basement (my maternal grandmother’s who’s in the picture with me on my homepage) on her Singer sewing machine and on my mom’s exact same model Singer at our house with guidance from Busia and Mom along the way.

Eventually I finished piecing the top of the quilt. I wish I had taken pictures of the back of the quilt top - it’s impressive in a WOW-you’ve-got-a-lot-of-seams-going-every-which-way kind of way. But, it was stitched together, and it really didn’t matter in the end because no one would ever see that side.

I spent a lot of time with Busia for the next part because I embellished the top of the quilt with hand-stitched embroidery along all of the seams. I don’t know how, when or where Busia learned these stitches (probably from her mother who was a sewing teacher in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s).

After talking with my mom, we both agreed that Busia must have committed these embroidery stitches to memory. Neither of us remember her every consulting notes or a book to refresh her memory on how to do these stitches; she just started stitching, producing perfectly shaped and spaced fancy stitches. So so-side-by-side, she’d show me how to prep a needle with thread (how much length, how to knot), where to place the needle, how much tension to pull on the thread (not too tight/not too loose). At first my stitches were clunky and wonky, but using hers as a model, I worked to make mine look as close to Busia’s as I could.

After the decorative stitching was completed, I hand-basted a polyester batting (closest to the quilt top) and a layer of cheesecloth to the back of the quilt top.

I used muslin as my quilt backing fabric, and machine-stitched that to the top fabrics (like a pillow case - no binding). And finally, Mom showed me how to make and sew a quilt sleeve to the back of the piece so it could be hung on a wall.

This quilt, in its original form, had been with me since 1983. It’s lived with me in apartments and homes in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, The Netherlands and Houston. But almost 40 years after I made it, and by 2020 being a much more confident quilter, I decided to modernize the quilt. So with the same “just figure it out and make it work” energy I had when I was 17 years old, I started taking apart the quilt to see what I could do with it.

The quilt was easy to disassemble given how it was put together. Because the backing wasn’t quilted to the top and batting layers, a seam ripper was all I needed to remove the stitches along the four edges. And my hand-basting stitches connecting the batting/cheesecloth to the quilt top were so big, they came out in minutes. Once the quilt top was separated from the quilt sandwich, I hand-washed it and then it was ready to be re-imagined into a new wall hanging.

I decided my original quilt would become the center of the new piece. Quite simply (see pictures below), I cut the original rectangular quilt top into a square and machine-appliqued (using a blanket stitch) that square onto a piece of cream-colored quilting cotton (also a square). Next I made a quilt sandwich with the quilt top, cotton batting and the same cream-colored quilting cotton as the backing. I heavily quilted the cream section of the sandwich using my machine’s walking foot to make roughly 1/2” squares and stitched in the ditch on the original quilt piece to secure. To finish I added a binding to the edges and quilt sleeve to the back.

Et voila! The end result - it’s fresh yet honors the skills of generations before me.

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After seeing the quilt I’d made for my dad, Ethan requested a quilt for himself; one that could be used when having a picnic, hanging outside by a fire or listening to an outdoor concert. I think this quilt meets that request.

Here’s how it came together. I was charged with finding cozy fabric in colors found in nature. Woolies (cotton color wash flannel by Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studio) would be perfect for this!

I found this great pattern - Over & Down Under - from Folk Art Designs - also by Bonnie Sullivan.

I love that this quilt looks like it’s woven, but it’s really just a thoughtful layout of strips that wrap around the outside edge of the design and alternating squares placed in rows and columns to give the illusion of weaving.

Here I have 2 1/2" in WOF (width of fabric) strips cut into squares and small strips and then organized by color.

After the squares and strips were cut, I started “weaving” the pieces of fabric to get the desired effect and balance of color.

When I was satisfied with placement of fabric, I methodically sewed all the pieces together. And then I pressed flat a LOT of seams!!!

I finished the quilt - top, back, binding and put it on bed and came to conclusion that my 6’4” stepson might be able to sit on the quilt (it’s finished size was 56” square), but his head or legs or both would hang off the sides of the quilt. So - I took apart the quilt - removing just the binding, feeling sure I could extend all four sides so it was big enough for Ethan to enjoy!

In the first picture above, I attached a border around all four sides in the dark brown background fabric with one colored square at each corner (I think strips were about 4” wide and squares were 4”). Wasn’t satisfied. So I ripped that off and tried again. This time (second picture), I liked the effect of the corners having a 4-square block of multiple colors in each corner.

Once the border was attached, I still felt like the quilt was too small, so I added a thin multi-colored strip to the outside edge of the quilt, and then attached another wider dark brown border to that. Satisfied!!!

While the picture above is of the finished quilt, let’s pretend like it’s not done. I still needed to come up with a back for the quilt. I had a fair amount of yardage left, so I made a simple multi-colored big block backing.

With both top and back of quilt done, I made a quilt sandwich - top, batting, back and stitched all three layers together using a decorative leaf pattern found on my sewing machine. Finally, I attached a dark brown binding which included a little machine stitched quilt label. And that’s it - one cozy quilt enthusiastically given and received!

My dad wondered if I could make a quilt for him that was super cozy - especially because he loves throwing open the bedroom windows during chilly Wisconsin winter nights. This was a fun project to do from beginning to end. And now that it’s done and delivered, I understand it’s just what Dad had hoped! So pleased!!!

Here is how this quilt came together. The project started by doing some research on available fabrics. I’d never sewn a quilt with anything but quilting cotton, so I was happy to find Woolies - a cotton flannel fabric (this by Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studios). It is a soft, sturdy fabric that’s quite easy to sew and quilt. It was perfect for this quilt!

Instead of cutting LOTS of 4” squares by hand, I decided to pull out my Sizzix - a die-cutting machine. Using this machine to cut fabric assured that all of the oodles of 4” squares that were incorporated into this quilt were perfectly square - making all the difference when joining pieces - straight lines and exact measurements make all the difference in the success of how the quilt comes together. For the larger squares used in the quilt, I cut those using my rotary cutter.

I don’t have any pictures of the process of laying out the colors, but I moved around the 4” and 8” squares (usually on my sewing room floor) until I was satisfied with the layout. The only rule I had for the design was to alternate an 8” square with a 4-4” square block. Once I had the blocks in the spots where I liked them best, I simply sewed the blocks into rows, and then sewed rows to each other to complete the quilt top.

For the back of the quilt, I used two larger pieces of one of the fabrics I had used in the blocks on the front and then stitched a strip of scraps to place between those to larger pieces.

I used a wool batting between the quilt top and back. I decided to simply quilt the quilt using a diagonal straight stitch (corner to corner) through the blocks.

Finally, I used the same fabric as the back fabric for the binding and attached it using a wiggling top stitch.

Because I had a fair amount of fabric remaining, I decided to whip of a couple of pillow cases to complement the quilt.

And last bit is a quilt label done by hand and stitched to back corner of the quilt.

When I started quilting back in 2011, I didn’t have a fabric stash. So I began collecting fabric at in-person quilt shops, online shops, at classes and retreats. But instead of using my fabric right away to sew patterns into quilts, I just kept buying fat quarters, half yards, precuts and yardage. When it came time to pack up my sewing room to move from Houston to Chicago in June of 2021, I was confronted with reality - I had amassed a fairly impressive stash of quilting fabric!!

In our new place in Chicago, my sewing room is quite different from my sewing room in Houston - a lot more open shelving and less cupboards and drawers. This means that I see ALL my fabric any time I’m in my sewing room or walking by it. And while I love the array of colors and patterns of my collection, I have a lot of fabric - so there’s really no need to continue adding to my stash (unless I cannot simply resist!).

That’s when I decided to challenge myself - use up, sew up, quilt up the fabric I have instead of buying more fabric. But I wanted to make quilts that were easy, fun and fast. So I turned to YouTube, specifically one of my favorite quilters/YouTubers, Karen Brown from Just Get It Done Quilts. She has so many useful tips for quilting, organizing, approaching projects and she’s so reasonable and friendly. And sure enough, when I went to her YouTube channel and searched her videos, she had some quick and easy Stash Buster videos.

Here are pictures from my first Stash Buster quilt that I made following one of Karen’s videos (The link for this tutorial is here: Quilt-In-A-Day Stash Buster). I used up eight-ish fat quarters and some yardage in the span of about three days (I took breaks rather than trying to complete the entire project in one day like Karen Brown does in her video).

Layout of quilt blocks before stitching them together.

Closeup of binding

Completed quilt front view. I pulled yardage from my stash for two coordinating borders. I machine quilted the quilt sandwich with simple wavy lines on my domestic sewing machine.

Back of quilt using up remaining quilt blocks, extra fabric from fat quarters that weren’t used for quilt blocks, extra border fabric and coordinating backing fabric - also from my stash. I’m very pleased with the final result and am feeling great about making a dent in my stash! Onto the next Stash Buster!!!

When I go home to my mom and dad's in Wisconsin, I try to make time to run up to a sweet quilt shop about 20 miles from them in Plover, called Antoinette's Quilt Shop.  Walking into the shop, on the wall behind the cutting table, I noticed the cutest Halloween quilt displayed.  Hanging there was a quilt designed by Nora Stransky using fabric from "Costume Maker's Ball" by J. Wecker Frisch for Riley Blake Designs.  A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!!  I instantly knew I'd be leaving with the pattern and fabric with the recipient already in mind.  Aside from her birthday, the second most favorite holiday of my sister, Kelly's, is Halloween.  I was SURE she'd be excited to have this for trick-or-treat season!!!  

Once I had collected the fabric for the top of the quilt, I wanted to grab fabric for the back, too.  While admiring the Costume Maker's Ball quilt, I'd struck up a conversation with a store clerk.  She brought out a different Halloween-themed quilt top she had just completed using "Gone Batty" by Lorilynn Simms for Wilmington Prints in a quilt pattern called "Social Climber" by Villa Rosa Designs.