fernweh quilt

A few months ago, I began teaching quilting and embroidery classes at Pintuck & Purl, an adorable fabric and yarn shop in Exeter, NH. For most of the classes, I've created class samples for potential students to see what we will be making. This month, I taught students how to piece the Fernweh Quilt top, from the gorgeous quilt pattern by Domestic Strata, and I recently finished my sample.

I used fabrics from the shop for my quilt---including Cloud9 Fabrics' Cirrus Solids---basing the color palette off of a beautiful black, peach, and apricot floral print by Carina Gardner, which I used for the backing.

I did simple straight-line quilting in light pink, and chose Cotton + Steel's Sprinkle print in black for the binding, since it complemented the front and back so nicely.

I love the graphic nature of this pattern, and would love to one day make a queen-size version for a bed.

I will next be teaching the two-part class on April 9 and 16, and you can call or email the shop to sign up.

rainbow rolling stone throw quilt

In addition to the oversized log cabin and Amish hourglass quilts I made for The Maker's Waypost (which opened this past Saturday!), I also completed a small throw, featuring a colorful assortment of Rolling Stone blocks.

I first made two blue versions of this block for a quilt for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches. I had so much fun putting those together, that I decided to make more, using lots of colorful scraps from my stash and relatively low-volume prints for the background.

Since the quilt's top is quite busy (and colorful!), I opted for a black-and-white cross-hatch print by Alexander Henry for the back.

I loved putting this quilt together, and the resulting blocks, and would still love to make more. You can find this quilt, and others, at The Maker's Waypost in Whitinsville, MA.

amish hourglass baby quilt

After making this mini Amish hourglass quilt, I was itching to make another, larger, one---so I did!

This version features a combination of an American Made Brand navy solid and scraps of solid white, and slightly larger hourglasses. I really love the simple and graphic look of this particular design, and I enjoyed revisiting it (and I foresee more in my future!).

The back is a Dear Stella ikat print from my stash, and the quilt is bound with a navy-and-light blue Cotton and Steel plus-sign print, which I picked up on a recent visit to Quilted Threads, a local quilt shop.

This quilt will be available for sale at The Maker's Waypost, a curated shop in Whitinsville, MA, which opens next Saturday!

oversized log cabin baby quilt

Lately, I've been playing around with the log cabin block, experimenting with scale, color placement, and improvisational piecing. This quilt is the first result of my efforts: an oversized log cabin baby quilt. I selected a simple color palette of navy, cream, and peach for the quilt, using American-made solids for the top.

Wanting to maintain the quilt's simplicity, I quilted it with a grid, using cream thread.

The back, a super soft Nani Iro double gauze, is my favorite part. It's so soft and squishy! For the binding, I used Bonnie Christine fabric left over from my circles and triangles wall quilt.

This quilt will be available at The Maker's Waypost, a new shop in Whitinsville, MA, which opens Saturday, November 28. The shop will be carrying a number of my one-of-a-kind quilts and patchwork pillows, so be sure to stop by if you're in the neighborhood!

three pineapple rind scrap quilts

Have you seen Vanessa Christenson's Simply Color books for Lucky Spool?  Each one is dedicated to a color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple) and contains a bit of color theory about that color, as well as a handful of sewing projects made from the featured hue.

Being a fan of yellow quilts (as seen here, here, and here) I grabbed a copy of the yellow volume a few months ago, and loved all of the projects in it. I was immediately drawn to the Pineapple Rind quilt (pictured above), since it appeared to be such a great candidate for using up scraps---something I'm always attempting to do.

I wound up making three versions of the quilt, and, rather ironically, didn't use any yellow fabric! Instead I made blue, green, and red iterations of the pattern.

It was such a fun and satisfying pattern to make (I highly recommend the book!), and a great way to make a dent in my stash. All three quilts are now available in the shop (blue, green, and red).

P.S. Tomorrow is the link-up day for Block B of the Modern Sampler Quilt Along! You can find more details about the quilt along here. 

do. good stitches: birds in the air quilt

Right around the time of our move to NH, it was my turn to act as the quilter for the Wish Circle of do. Good Stitches.

I requested all of my circle members to create two Birds in the Air quilt blocks, albeit with a slightly different color placement than the tutorial. I asked for a mix of solid whites and grays, with an orange print in only one of the two blocks.

Once I received all of the blocks, I played around with the layout, winding up with something quite different than I had originally envisioned---which I love! I also love the variations in the shades of solid gray, and the random pops of orange scattered throughout the quilt top.

I used an orange Marimekko circle print for the background, quilted it with intersecting lines in orange thread, and bound it with a scrappy orange binding.

This quilt will be donated to my local chapter of Project Linus.

P.S. I'm super close to 2,000 followers on Instagram, and once I hit that magic number, I'll be doing a sale! Be sure to follow me there to be among the first to hear about it.

a custom flying geese wall quilt

 

One of the benefits of making Salty Oat my full-time gig, is that I now have the time to take on commissioned quilts for customers. I was recently asked to make a wall quilt which would be hung above a bed, and needed to work with the room's color palette, which included orange, teal, beige, and gray.

After learning more about the customer's style---including their preference for triangles and diamonds, and a love of animals---I sketched an idea and pulled fabrics from my stash. The design was quickly approved, and I got to work on this 30" x 30" wall hanging, which features two sizes of flying geese, flying both clockwise and counterclockwise.

I loved working with a new-to-me palette, as well as some of my favorite fabrics (like those Japanese elephants!). I also really enjoyed working on something while being able to visualize the space in which it would eventually hang.

I used my go-to Marimekko dots for the backing (I stocked up on so many colors of this print the last time I was at the Crate and Barrel outlet!), and included a hand-stitched hanging sleeve so that it can go right up on the wall in its new home.

I'm currently accepting custom orders for the holidays, so if you've been thinking about commissioning a quilt for holiday gifting, now is the perfect time to get started! Simple send me an email at saltyoat at gmail dot com and we can discuss details, pricing, and turnaround times. Happy Wednesday!

echo baby quilt

When Lotta Jansdotter released her first fabric collection with Windham Fabrics back in 2011, I was super excited. Her collection, Echo, was so different than anything else out on the market at the time, and it was so fun to see Scandinavian-inspired designs, with the look of a block print, on quilting cotton.

I received a layer cake of the collection's prints for Christmas that year and held on to it, not sure what I wanted to make with the 10" precut squares.

Fast forward to a few months ago, when I pulled the layer cake out and was inspired to cut into it and create a small quilt.

Each square was divided into four triangles, which were rearranged and sewn back into squares, with a balanced mix of light and dark values among the prints in each block. With the layout that I chose, a checkerboard, set on point, emerged from the quilt top's design.

Having no real negative/white space in the quilt's top means it's quite busy, but I love the look of having so many saturated prints nestled together.

This quilt is now available in the shop.

Quilt Stats
Finished dimensions: 34" x 42.5"
Fabrics used include: Prints from the Echo collection by Lotta Jansdotter for the top and binding; large beige circles by Marimekko for Crate and Barrel for the back.
Quilt pattern: An original Salty Oat design

donut quilt

This quilt has been in progress for what feels like forever, so I'm so excited to finally have a finish to share with you today!

The Donuts quilt pattern has been on my mind ever since I saw Amanda's Donut Quilt back in 2013. I loved the whimsical nature of the design---donuts!---and the staggered layout, so I bought a copy of the quilt pattern from The Workroom.

Knowing that this would be a quilt I would keep for myself, I chose to use a number of Maze & Vale panels that I'd been stockpiling for the donuts. Leslie's fabrics are gorgeous, and I was excited to sew with them and finally include them in a quilt. I used a blue Essex linen for the background, which paired beautifully with the screen-printed fabrics. According to Instagram, I made the blocks for this quilt a year ago.

I recently had a quilt to send off to Crinklelove for quilting, so I figured this was a great time to take the top out of the WIP pile, and finish it before the New Hampshire winter starts.

Sarah did a beautiful job quilting Denyse Schmidt-style loops across the top; I'm in love with the texture they created! I inadvertently made a Scandinavian backing for the quilt, pairing a large-scale Marrimekko dot print with a text print from Ikea.

I'm so excited to have finished this quilt---and the final result!---and am looking forward to adding it to the quilt rotation in our house. Do you have any quilt patterns that you love and are hoping to make yourself? I'd love to hear!

Quilt Stats
Finished dimensions: 50" x 61"
Fabrics used include: Various screen-printed panels by Maze & Vale; Essex linen-cotton blend by Robert Kaufman; large-circle print by Marimekko; Britten Nummer fabric by Ikea; and Herringbone in Pond by Joel Dewberry.
Quilt pattern: Donuts Quilt by Johanna Masko