sunday morning low-volume throw quilt

I've really loved every quilt I've made using patterns from Sunday Morning Quilts (see: my Up, Up and Away quilt and my improv slab quilt), and this latest one is no exception. Pairing the book's namesake Sunday Morning pattern with my low-volume scraps and strings, I constructed my new go-to summer nap quilt.

I included an eclectic number of fabrics in the quilt, ranging from vintage ditsy prints to hand-printed linen to vintage sheets to digitally printed Spoonflower fabrics. There are also bits of double gauze, lawn, and shirting in there.

I really love the more muted palette of these fabrics; I think this pattern would also pair especially well with Maze and Vale's lovely fabrics.

I used a floral vintage sheet for the backing, which I found while thrifting in Maryland a few years ago. I love using vintage sheets for backings, both because they're usually super soft and also large enough that there's no need to do any extra piecing.

I stuck to quilting it with a large grid, and machine bound the quilt with a yellow-and-white binding, my current favorite color combo. 

Quilt Stats
Finished dimensions: 50" x 60"
Fabrics used include: Squared Elements in Honeycomb by Art Gallery Fabrics; vintage sheet
Quilt pattern: Sunday Morning by Cheryl Arkison 

improv slab quilt

I was recently commissioned to make a quilt for a family member, with the only parameters being that it needed to fit on a twin bed and should feature light blue fabrics.

Using the slab technique from Sunday Morning Quilts, I constructed blocks from light blue and aqua fabrics, including vintage prints and men's dress shirts. To keep the quilt from becoming too busy, I alternated the improv blocks with solid white to create a simple layout.

I sent the top off to Lindsay, of Eileen Quilts, for quilting. I selected a hydrangea quilting pattern, which I thought nicely complemented the light-blue color scheme and the vintage floral sheet I used for the backing. Lindsay did a beautiful job, and I've already sent another quilt to her to be quilted.

Interested in commissioning your own quilt? Shoot me a message!

honeycombs wall quilt

For a dear friend's birthday this month, I stitched up a small wall quilt, using prints by Umbrella Prints from my fabric shop and some scraps of chambray.

Inspired by Betsy's honeycombs, I stitched up my own by hand, using an English paper-piecing technique.

I then machine-appliqued the honeycombs to my quilt top and did echo quilting around the edges.

I stuck with my now-favorite rounded corners, and used up the rest of the binding I had made for this quilt. I used a coordinating vintage blue print for the backing, and I added both a label and a hanging sleeve.

I loved having the chance to work with these prints (they're among my favorites) and I'm happy to report that the birthday girl loved her gift.

star blossoms mini quilt

When my husband and I went to London last year, I brought along an English paper-piecing project to work on during the plane ride and down time in the city (you can see the start of it here).

In the months that followed, I continued to work on it, and this past fall, I finally finished it.

I used Rachel's Star Blossoms tutorial as my starting point, and decided to make each star monochromatic, pulling scraps exclusively from my stash. For the diamonds in between each star, I used scraps of a gray tablecloth from our wedding (I've used it in other projects as well, including this one and this one).

I backed my mini quilt with two vintage floral prints, and hand quilted it with embroidery floss.

I bound it with an Anna Maria Horner print, which was leftover from this quilt.

I love, love, love this quilt. It was so much fun to work on, especially since it utilized so many little scraps and was perfect for traveling. As soon as it was finished though, I found myself missing having a go-to hand-sewing project---which I quickly remedied with a new English paper-piecing project. Pictures to come soon!

salty oat logo

Remember this sneak peek? Well here's the finished piece, all stitched up and ready to go on the wall of my new studio:

And here's a pic of the back:

P.S. I've been updating the shop and have added a few new buttons!

news and link love

 This goofy guy turned one yesterday. Happy birthday, Elton!

Big things have been happening behind the scenes here at Salty Oat. Between DBA and tax ID number applications and late-night stitching sessions, I've been getting ready for the launch of the first line of Salty Oat goodies. In the coming weeks, I'll be setting up shop to sell crafty items like monogrammed cross-stitch pinback buttons made from thrifted aida cloth in a rainbow of colors and handmade embroidered napkins.

I have some more fun projects to share with you (like a pillow made with a wedding invite printed on a handkerchief, pincushions from a swap I participated in, and more details from our library-themed wedding) in the coming weeks as well, but I haven't had a chance to photograph everything yet, so today, I thought I'd share some of my favorite recently posted projects and Etsy finds.

*This nesting doll pincushion by Maximum Rabbit Designs would be the perfect project for the matryoshka dolls I still have stashed at my parents' house (via Craft).

*Love this espresso maker print by Sandra Juto (via A CUP OF JO).

*Platter + cross-stitch = best housewarming gift ever.

*This brooch covered in vintage fabric from an obi is totally modern and adorable.

*I would love to make a quilt from these precut blocks of vintage fabric.

*The best kind of plant: one made from yarn that never needs to be watered.

*Prudent Baby's makeup bag looks like it could fit all of my toiletries and then some.

*This tiny little wall hanging would be the perfect way to commemorate an anniversary.

Have your own great crafty find? Please share in the comments!

embroidery project: doily

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of taking the Artistic Embroidery class with Kat McTee at The Stitch Lab in South Austin. After falling in love with this doily-themed embroidery project, I knew I wanted to try out something similar.

I started off using a simple circular design that I found in a book at the sewing studio. I transferred the design to my piece of linen and then started stitching, embellishing the pattern as I went along. I experimented with a variety of stitches, including a modified blanket fan, to create a sampler of sorts.

One of my favorite sections of the doily is its center, which features a cluster of French knots.

I finally framed the piece last week and finished the back off with a vintage sheet.

UPDATE: This piece won the white category in Feeling Stitchy's Rainbow of Stitches Contest!

before and after: side chair

Back in March, I had the pleasure of participating in a weekend upholstery class at Spruce, a local upholstery studio (something I've wanted to do for ages!). For the class, I brought in a super comfy side chair that had been given to me by my parents-in-law.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, I stripped the chair, painted its wood white, rebuilt its cushioning, and reupholstered it using a combination of vintage floral fabric from Thread-Bare and new solid olive green (a color which is ridiculously difficult to capture on film!) upholstery fabric.

Image from Spruce.

The welt cord outlining the chair's edges is made from the floral fabric, which contains shades of cream, teal, brown, and sage green.

   

The project was pretty physically demanding (I had sore shoulders and hands for a few days after), but totally worth it. I especially love how the back of the chair frames the vintage floral fabric.

sewing project: napkins

As a Christmas gift for a faraway friend, I made a set of four square napkins.

Each double-sided napkin is made from a thrifted vintage sheet (I fell in love with the flower pattern) and pink cotton I had in my studio.