From Scraps : :

I've always stored my fabric scraps in one big basket. All of the collections I use and all of the colors mix together. It has never once occurred to me to store them any differently. When the basket looks full, I bundle up the scraps to offer in a destash. Waste not, want not, right?! Well, when you love making stuff, as I clearly do, it doesn't take long for a big basket of scraps to become a heaping mess. So in an effort to control the overflow, I've decided that with each newly finish quilt top, I'll make a matching pillow from scraps before moving onto the next collection and project. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I promise to give it a good try!

First up, an Observer pillow!



I still had several 8" HST units leftover from making two new quilt tops using this collection -- Diamond Trails and Chevron Angle, in case you missed them! Using those scraps, along with the Observer drawstring backpack scraps and a variation of one of my favorite pillow patterns, the the Hip Holiday Quilted Patchwork Pillow tutorial I designed for ThermoWeb, I made a large 18" quilted pillow cover.



I love the colors of this collection so much! The smoky blue and mustard yellow combo will forever be one of my favorites. Since the Observer HST scraps that I used for the pillow top had just one yellow print, I decided to quilt this pillow using the same yellow color Aurifil 50wt thread from my Bohemian Garden thread collection to match!



I finished the pillow with a very scrappy pieced together back, including the very last of those HSTs, hooray!



Art Gallery's Solid Smooth Denims pair so perfectly with this collection, I decided to finish this pillow off with quilt binding in my personal favorite denim, Cool Foliage!



This pillow is being added to the pile of finished pillows I've been collecting to offer in a sale a little closer to the holidays. I really love how it turned out and it makes me extra delighted knowing I made it all from scraps!

Happy sewing!  ♡ Maureen  

Revision : :

Just a few days after this past New Year, after two weeks of no sewing, I ignored the post-holiday clean-up to start that Christmas quilt I've dreamt of making ever since I made that very first quilt a few years ago. What began with a stack of Art Gallery fabrics in Christmas-y colors, ended with a stack of HST's and a start, two scrappy bear paw blocks that I LOVED!







And then they ended in work-in-progress basket until this morning!

So often, when that hopeful quilt just doesn't happen, I humble my plan to a pillow sized project. Something doable when things get hectic, that still feels rewarding. A new plan for these beautiful blocks!



I'm hoping to have these finished as pillows to share early next week, along with a very special project that these quilt blocks inspired!!

I'm also having my first Quilt SALE! on my Maureen Cracknell Handmade Facebook page, HERE! I decided it was time to offer these up to new homes where they can actually be used & loved. Thanks for looking!

♡ Maureen

A Scrappy Arrow Stitched Pillowcase : :

It's been a couple of years now since I've made a pillowcase. I've made them for a pillowcase drive and with a friend, but never have I made any for our very own beds. This morning I pulled this Arrow Sketch Stitch patchwork from my work in progress basket and decided to turn it into a first quilted pillowcase for US!



A quick glance at the Pretty Quick Pillowcase Tutorial with French seam instructions that I've always used for pillowcase-making and I felt confident turning my abandoned patchwork into something fun and useful!

I used some leftover Folk Plaid binding for the trim, easy & perfect!



I found just the right piece of a Honey Pure Element solid in my scrap bin to use for the cuff. The French seams really make a perfect pillowcase finish inside and out!



I love these colors & fabric prints so much together and my Aurifil thread arrow sketch, with all the Janome built-in stitch details, really makes it special!!



Haila approves, hooray!



♥ Maureen

Interlude : :

Unfortunately, I still don't have any pretty new quilt photos to share here today. When we had time on Monday it was sleeting outside and so we decided to wait. I'm just so completely excited about this quilt, I can't wait to share it. It might just be my most favorite quilt yet! It's the third that I've backed with an Art Gallery voile and if I have my way, I will only back quilts with this gorgeous substrate for the rest of my quilty life. I'm such a fan!



My Follow the Arrow Quilt, this newest Emmy Grace collection quilt, and my Scrappy Hourglass quilt were each backed in a different voile print. The feel of this soft, fluid, lightweight cotton fabric is unparalleled, especially went quilted! I recently received a roll of my Midnight Roof print in voile from Art Gallery Fabrics and I cannot wait to back my Scrappy Bear Paw quilt with it!



I've only completed just one more block since last week. Truthfully, I didn't enjoy piecing this one together as much as the first, most likely due to the fact that they are identical and I lack the diligence for repetition. I managed to push through, but now I'm considering a little tweak in design for my Scrappy Bear Paw plans!





I did, however, enjoy making a second quilted Folk Plaid pillow the other day! This time a little smaller than the first one and finished with a quilted Midnight Roof back with some left over Emmy Grace quilt binding in Ripples River. I adore this combination of denim blue and honey yellow!!





I've added it to the pile of pillows that I plan to sell soon!



And now I'm feeling the urge to start something new! Have a great day!!

♡ Maureen

Red : :

Yesterday we said goodbye to the last of our family visitors and another magical holiday season. It was so good & special, and I hope yours was too! After saying adieu I probably should have dove right into the decoration removal duties & New Year's cleaning, but instead I felt called to the sewing room. Finally, my chance to sew!

I had shared my hopeful post several weeks back to attempt, again this year, to make a holiday themed quilt for my family. I pulled my fabrics, sketched out my idea, began cutting, but just never found the time. Then I humbled my plan to a pillow sized project and still, all I had to show days before Christmas was a stack of red HST's.





At first I considered creating a quick & simple zigzag pillow, thinking ahead to Valentine's Day, but after a little shuffling and rearranging I decided on a classic but scrappy Bear Paw block!



Made with my very first cuts from my own rolls of Wild & Free, combined with shades of reds & pinks paired with creamy low volume fabrics, and a little pop of my Folk Plaid blue. I do love this first block!



It finishes at a large 25" square and is made up of 4" squares and half square triangle units, in case you're interested in making your own. My plan is to make a large quilt, I'm thinking three rows of three blocks with sashing!



Photographing my finished red block this morning to share here felt a little symbolic. It's not a color I ever wear or often use, but it's such a happy color, so joyful. A perfect first project for the New Year!

xo Maureen      

Making Plans : :

With the completion of those eight simple & sweet pillows for my sister last week, and being just one binding session away from finishing the last of my neglected quilt makings, I feel safe to do a little quilt project planning. I'm thinking of maybe making a Christmas tree quilt, but something nontraditional since I recently destashed all of my holiday novelty fabrics and now my stash is majorly lacking in both reds & Christmas green.

The fabrics are mostly a mix of Art Gallery Fabric collections - light citron, fern, emerald, jade, and several other variations of green, coral, cerise, fuchsia, crimson, and a little brown. Not a single print even slightly holiday-ish but still, I think these will work for what I have in mind.

I plan to combine the "reds" with low volume prints to make HST's!





For the "greens" I'll cut a variety of  wide strips, in various lengths, to build a stacked scrappy fabric tree!

For me, beginning a new quilt is one of my most favorite things! The only thing better is seeing them in action, giving them to the ones I love, knowing they'll keep warm under a quilt made just for them. Today, I'm helping my best friend make her very first quilt for her family. I have a feeling that she's going to be hooked and that this opportunity to help her make her first quilt will join the top of my favorite things list!

I'll be sure to share more soon!  ♡  Maureen

A Scrappy Hourglass Quilt Top : :

In the early afternoon yesterday we decided to ignore the cloudy skies and took my finished scrappy hourglass quilt top using Alison's new Field Day collection to our favorite fields nearby for picture taking. Which in the end we all agreed made much more sense for this particular quilt than those beach photos I tried to get. It turned out to be the most perfect lighting for my pictures and was such a fun time for all of us!



We took our time walking along the stream that separates the two fields picking bouquets of wildflowers, turning over rocks, catching crayfish, all while snapping the occasional photo!











The light in this photo is my absolute favorite and really captures both the warmth and brightness of this collection!



My quilt top is made up of sixty-four hourglass blocks. I wanted to be sure that the overall look would be super scrappy, while still keeping symmetry & balance with my placement of a few prints, particularly the lightest & brightest white as well as the deepest purple X & + print!





Deciding on this place for these quilt top pictures truly was the most perfect way to showcase just how beautiful these fabrics are and for me to share all the reasons I love living right here in Pennsylvania!



♥ Maureen 

Back to Busy : :

Along with my Friendship Diamond quilt I had also planned to have Field Day quilt top photos to share with you all last week, but the strong winds that blow across the ocean and up the beach made it impossible for me to catch the lovely photos of my newly finished, delicate scrappy hourglass quilt top that I had envisioned. That glowing light illuminating each piece of patchwork that I had so hoped to catch again, this time at the shore, was nearly all blocked out by my sweet quilt holder husband's silhouette. Returning home to Pennsylvania, although wonderful, the gloomy overcast is still putting my plans on hold. So, it back to work for me today as I wait to take my pictures. I have lots of felt and fabric to order, etsy business to handle, a few mid-progress projects I'm eager to get back to, and lots of new ideas!

Wising you all a wonderful beginning to this new week!

♥ Maureen

Summer Sewing : :

Last night, just after finishing my Field Day scrappy hourglass quilt top, I draped it over the empty curtain rod in my sewing room. The bottom was caught by the fan wind and it danced around. As I watched, the sunlight lowered just enough to beam through the very center of my quilt. The illumination transformed my scrappy patchwork into a stained glass illusion for just a few minutes. It was glorious to see! I snapped only a couple of photos, trying to avoid the mess below on my computer desk. I've decided this quilt top must come with us to our beach vacation, with hopes of getting a better shot of this quilt top all aglow in the sunlight!



Along with it I'm bringing my Friendship Diamond Quilt to photograph and to share with you next week. As well as my sketchbook! I've been wanting to draw so much since my father passed away. I just haven't had the time. I plan to do lots of doodling, quilt sketching, and to finalize plans for my Indelible quilt, which I'm having problems deciding on. Should this piece you see below be the center of a medallion style quilt or a repeat block design. Hmn?



If you have a vote please chime in, I always appreciate your input!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for an Indelible Giveaway and to visit me next week here, where I'll be blogging from the Outer Banks!

♥ Maureen

Oh, Geese : :

When my FQS Blogger's Choice bundle arrived, a collection of twelve hand-selected newly released prints with three solids all in fat quarter cuts, I knew just what I would be making with them! I had designed this Soaring High quilt pattern for Cloud9 Fabrics back in November and enjoyed making these flying geese blocks so much, I've been craving another go at them ever since. Following the same fabric cut measurements listed in my pattern, yesterday morning I began making geese. And, lots of them!













I couldn't resist going super scrappy with these colors and prints. As it's all coming together the original arrangement I had in mind is vanishing more and more, but I'm having so much fun improvising as I go!

How about you, have you given flying geese a go? I honestly LOVE making them!

♥ Maureen