new maze and vale fabric panels!

Happy Monday, all! I hope you all had a nice, relaxing weekend. I'm so excited to let you know that I've added six brand-new Maze and Vale designs to the shop! Leslie Keating, the talented woman behind Maze and Vale, is a prolific and popular independent fabric designer based in Australia. I first began stocking her fabrics this past winter, and they've proven to be quite popular!

Each batch of Maze and Vale fabric I carry is exclusive to Salty Oat; you won't be able to find these color combinations anywhere else. For this latest batch, I selected two different color base cloths and six different ink colors. While each panel works well on its own, I also decided to create two bundles within the group, which coordinate together well and could easily be used in the same project.

For the first bundle, I selected a spectrum of grays---pale gray, dove gray, and charcoal---printed on a white organic cotton base cloth. I personally love using low-volume prints in place of solid white in many of my quilts, and I had that in mind when I selected these prints and colors. Wouldn't they look beautiful in this Pow-Wow Quilt?

For the second bundle, I selected rich jewel tones---deep peacock, camellia, and eggplant---which were printed on an organic pale mushroom gray base cloth. These bold prints were inspired by fabrics I saw while visiting Japan more than a year ago, and I'd love to pair them with bits of rich leather to create zipper pouches. I think the large pink polka dots in particular would create an especially beautiful foldover clutch.

I hope you love these prints as much as I do! And please be sure to tag any projects you make with fabrics from the shop with the hashtag #saltyoat, so that I can see them and share them!

embroidered heart mini quilt

This mini quilt started out as a simple embroidered heart, which I stitched for a class that I taught a few years ago. While I often frame my finished embroidered pieces in either hoops or on stretcher bars, I wanted to take a different approach for this piece.

I pulled a number of solid pink and red fabric strips to coordinate with the monochromatic satin stitching I'd done to fill the heart.  Keeping the heart as the center, I built a small log cabin quilt top. As I approached the outer rings, I incorporated strips of Umbrella Prints' Hearts in Cherry Blossom fabric, which seemed rather fitting.

When it came time to quilt it, I opted for dense, straight-line quilting in pink thread, something I typically reserve for smaller pieces due to its time-consuming nature.

I used the same Hearts in Cherry Blossom fabric on the back, which shows off the quilting and the fun texture it creates.

The heart was stitched from this digitally printed pattern I designed, which can be purchased from Spoonflower, if you're interested in stitching your own. One heart fits on a swatch and can easily be framed in a 6" embroidery hoop---or with any other method you can dream up!

And if you're interested in the mini quilt itself, it's now available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

hope valley mini flying geese quilt

While packing up my studio and preparing for our recent move, I came across the leftover squares of Hope Valley fabric that I had cut for this baby quilt a few years ago. Rather than tossing them into the scrap bin, I decided to take advantage of the fact that they were already precut and create a small quilt from them. I cut an equal number of squares of a natural Essex linen-cotton fabric, which complemented Denyse Schmidt's pretty prints, and paired the fabrics to create small 2" half-square triangles.

For the layout,  I settled on three columns of flying geese, pointing both north and south. I love the bit of unexpected movement that the layout creates.

I used a puffier-than-normal batting that gives the mini quilt a nice loft, which was especially apparent after I stitched in the ditch; the geese really appear to pop! I used a whimsical, long-hoarded Japanese cat print for the back, which happened to coordinate with the quilt's color palette.

I did a scrappy, hand-stitched binding to finish everything off. It was fun to make use of leftover fabric and work once more with a fabric collection I've long loved; it's something I hope to do more often! This mini quilt is now available in the shop.

now in stock: maze and vale

Though I posted about it on Instagram, I realized that I never shared the news here on the blog: I am now stocking a selection of five unique prints by Maze and Vale in the shop!

Leslie is the powerhouse behind Maze and Vale, designing and printing all of the fabrics that are sold by this Australia-based company. She is also the organizer of the yearly Handprinted: a fabric swap, which I've had the pleasure of participating in twice (blogged here and here).

I worked with Leslie to select the designs and colorways you see in the shop, each of which are printed on an organic quilting-weight basecloth. These design-and-color combinations are completely unique to Salty Oat; you can't purchase them anywhere else! Additionally, Leslie recently announced that she'll be retiring two of the designs I stock---Gathering and Love Hearts---so now is definitely the time to grab them if you love them as much as I do.

Happy sewing!

playing with color

Happy New Year, dear readers! I hope 2015 is off to a great start for all of you!

Over a year ago, I discovered Sarah Waterhouse's screen-printed fabrics and fell in love. I quickly decided that I wanted to stock her designs in my shop, and selected a number of prints from her Geometrics collection to carry. Though her organic fabrics are a heavier weight---perfect for upholstery, tote bags, pillows, and zipper pouches---they actually work quite beautifully in quilts, as I discovered while working on this improv wall quilt.

I started simply with small swatches of each of the fabrics in the line. I outlined each print with a white border, and then built up blocks using solids which coordinated with each of the prints. Each block was pieced improvisationally, so no two are alike in size or layout. I used various shades of white for the surrounding background, and anchored the blocks to a center horizontal line.

For the backing, I chose a quirky Japanese print I've had in my stash for years, which had most of the colors featured in the top. I quilted it with a grid of diamonds in white thread and bound the quilt with an orange-red crosshatch print.

This piece came together organically, and I really fell in love with the results. I hope to do more piecing of this type; it's fun to go into a project with no set plan! This quilt is now listed for sale in my Etsy shop, and you can find Sarah's prints there as well, to use in your own crafty projects.

Photos by Caroline Okun.

giveaway day!

It's time for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day once again, and I'm so excited to be participating. If it's your first time here, welcome! Just to get you up to speed, I'm Caitlin, and in addition to posting recent projects here on the blog, I make quilts, sell hand-printed fabrics by amazing designers in my online shop, and work at the digital fabric-printing company Spoonflower.

This year, I'm giving away your choice of one fat quarter or fabric panel from my Etsy fabric shop. To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me your favorite design in the shop. I stock a rainbow of modern fabrics by Maze and Vale, Umbrella Prints, and Sarah Waterhouse. For an additional entry, follow Salty Oat on Instagram and leave a comment saying you're an Instagram follower.

The giveaway will remain open until 11:59 pm EST on Friday, December 12, and a winner will be announced by Sunday, December 14. Please be sure to enter your email address in the space above the comment form, so that I have a way to contact you if you win. 

And! As a bonus, now through December 12, use the code SEWMAMASEW at checkout and receive 10% off anything in the shop!

>>> This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Commenter #70, Sandi Timmons, for winning the fat quarter of her choice. Thanks to all for entering! <<<

annual holiday sale!

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had the most wonderful holiday yesterday with family and friends! 

I'm so thankful for all of you---friends, blog readers, and customers---and in celebration of you, I'm offering a special discount! Now through the end of the day on Monday, simply enter the code "THANKS" at checkout in the Salty Oat Etsy shop and receive 20% off your purchase. This is my biggest sale of the year, and it's the perfect time to snag a handmade quilt or stock up on fabrics for your own holiday gift-making. I just added some new swatch packs (grab one while you can!) and a custom, embroidered quilt label option to the shop, so I hope you'll stop by!

my go-to quilt pattern

Do you have a quilt pattern that you return to over and over again? I do. For the past year and a half, one of the patterns that I keep coming back to is for the Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt by Bonnie of Quiltville. Each quilt I've made from the pattern is different, and each time I've been able to experiment with fabric placement, color palettes, and block layouts.  I've used bright, colorful prints for one, and white and cream solids with pops of saturated colors for another.

For this most recent iteration, I pulled white, cream, and light blue strips from my scrap bins. I incorporated some unexpected fabrics, including a vintage eyelet, a hand-printed fabric I received in a swap, and a lightweight linen-cotton canvas.

I pieced the back using largish scraps from my stash, and quilted it in light blue thread with a cross-hatch pattern. It's now for sale in the Etsy shop, if you'd like to take a look.

And this is not my last pass at this pattern---I already have blocks made from bright solids ready to be turned into a quilt top!

All quilt photos by Caroline Okun.

weekend sale!

It's sale time! Now through Monday, enjoy free shipping---domestic and international---on everything in the shop, including quilts, fabrics, and scrap packs. Just use the code "YAYFREESHIP" at checkout to receive the discount. Enjoy!

keeping it simple

Though I finished this quilt last year (and am only getting around to blogging about it now!), I actually started it back in 2010, not long after we moved to Maryland. I made the blocks as part of the Stitch DC Mystery Quilt Along, and stashed them away until last year.

I stuck with a lime green and periwinkle color palette, using prints from Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, and Cloud9 Fabrics. Though I played around with numerous layouts and considered incorporating borders and sashing, I wound up laying out the blocks in a simple grid pattern, which I think suits it perfectly!

I selected a fun, bright Amy Butler print from my stash for the back and love how it coordinates with the front. For the binding, I used a light blue and white seersucker stripe for a pop of texture. After quilting and washing, the quilt came out so soft and squishy---perfect for snuggling.

It's so nice to finally have this quilt done! It's now for sale in the Salty Oat Etsy shop.

UPDATE 11/21/14: This quilt is now available for purchase at Cary Quilting Company, in downtown Cary, North Carolina.

All photos by Caroline Okun. 

roadside quilt inspiration

When I first started working at Spoonflower over three years ago, my husband still lived in our Maryland apartment, so I spent many weekends driving up and down I-95 to visit him. Along the way, I kept an eye out for quilt inspiration, snapping pictures of rest stop bathroom floor tiles and highway signs.

The black-and-white chevron signs posted below the highway exit signs stuck with me, and I decided to translate them into a baby quilt.

Using half-square triangles, I constructed the chevrons from Kona solids. I loved the simplicity of the quilt top and the graphic pop the black and white lines created.

I backed the quilt with a blue Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet print, straight line quilted it with black and white thread, and bound it with a bit of the backing and a coordinating blue solid. The quilt is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

I've started a Pinterest board where I'm gathering other images of inspiring patterns for future quilts, if you'd like to see. Where do you find quilt inspiration? Please share your favorite images!

All quilt photos by Caroline Okun. 

houndstooth baby quilt

Happy New Year! Just before the end of the year, I was able to finish up a quilt I'd been working on throughout the fall. While at Quilt Market last spring, I had the pleasure of meeting Vanessa Christenson and snagging her Houndstooth Quilt pattern, which I'd been eyeing for some time.

I made the crib-size version of the pattern, using scrappy low-volume prints and solid black. The piecing took quite some time---which made me thankful that I was making the smallest version!---but I loved seeing the blocks come together to form the houndstooth pattern.

I backed it with an orange crosshatch and a light gray Heather Ross print from her Crafty Chloe line for Hancock Fabrics, and bound it with a dark gray polka dot by Lotta Jansdotter. I'm definitely leaning toward polka dot bindings for all of my future quilts!

I quilted it with my favorite straight lines in light gray thread, and tossed it in the wash to make it crinkly and ready for snuggling.

If you'd like to see a few more photos, I've added this quilt to my Etsy shop.