Happy Tuesday! Today I have the next installment of adventures in thrifting where I share my recent thrift store finds. I've found some real goodies lately!

I love collecting interesting art and was immediately drawn to this piece. I believe it is an original drawing, not a print. It's already hanging in our library!


I don't always check out the basket sections too closely, but I thought this one was really sweet. The handle hardware was missing on one side, but a quick repair and it's good as new! I've been keeping one of my crochet projects in it.


After seeing a few videos on instagram of paper making, I really wanted to try it myself. So I bought this fun blender specifically to use for crafting. I've made two batches of paper so far and I'm learning a lot! Hoping to make time to use it for something soon.


Another successful trip to our local craft thrift store, Ecoworks. Found some cute fabrics and some test tubes to use for an upcoming project!



This sweet embroidered piece was a rescue from the Goodwill Outlet! I have plans to finish it. It was a kit, there is the outline of another kitten in the upper right corner. I already finished the partially completed butterfly and have started the kitten. Not sure how I'll finish the quilt in the end, but it seemed worth saving!


I'm very excited about this little lap loop I found! I think it was only $5? I want to use it to make some decorating weavings.


Lately I've been making an effort to visit our local Goodwill Outlet more often. It's of course very hit or miss. Sometimes I find nothing, other times a bunch of goodies! Here are a few recent hauls.

Snatched up a few unbroken ball jars on this trip. The vintage holiday table runner cleaned up really nicely, looking forward to using it next Christmas!


This was one of the best days I've had at the outlet! Found all these sheets and pillowcases in one trip! And two of them are King size, which is a rare find.


Last but not least, this is what I found at the outlet this past weekend! There was a bunch of sewing supplies and fabrics in one of the linen bins, and I found some really cute stuff! Plus a sheet and two different sets of vintage cloth napkins!!


Cute set of pillowcases!

I didn't realize how crafty my finds have been recently! :)

Happy Thrifting!

Scrap Pouf in Progress

Happy Thursday! Today I wanted to share a new long-term project that I started in January, a scrap pouf!


The idea of slowly filling a pillow or other object with small fabric scraps isn't new, but for some reason I never took to the idea. Fast forward to this past January, when I stumbled on this reel on instagram. The maker (Brynn!), shows a pouf that they made, that is intended to be filled with fabric scraps, old clothes, single socks, etc. Something about their description of it really sold me and I immediately decided to make a pouf of my own.

Note: Brynn is going to be releasing a pouf sewing pattern in May! I'll update this post with a link to their pattern when it's published. Looks like I'll be making another pouf then!


I thought about designing something myself, but honestly just didn't feel like it! I did a quick search on Pinterest and found this DIY Floor Pouf tutorial by Heather Handmade. I had one invisible zipper on hand and it just so happened to be the right size! Thankfully I have a good stash of larger canvas fabric cuts, and I went with this beautiful pear print that I've had for nearly 10 years.


I've been slowly stuffing my pouf over the last few months and it's been really satisfying. I genuinely get excited when my little pot of scraps is full and I get to add it to the pouf! So far it mostly has small fabric scraps and trimmings. There are also batting offcuts from quilts and a bunch of random scraps and elastic from processing vintage sheets.


I'm thrilled by how much this pouf has already decreased the amount of trash coming out of my sewing room. It will be interesting to see how long it takes me to fill it!

Happy Sewing!

Announcing the Plus Quilt Along (+ a sale)!

Hooray! We're going to make plus quilts together this Spring! I'll be hosting a plus quilt along starting Tuesday, April 23rd. I hope you'll join in, these quilts are so fun to make! Suitable for beginner and seasoned quilters alike! I've made so many of these quilts over the years, and I'm still not tired of them. I'll share a full schedule for the quilt along soon, but the first week will be all about picking out what size, fabrics, and colors to use for your quilt. These quilts make great stash busters!

When:
The Plus Quilt Along will officially kick off on Tuesday, April 23rd and will run for four weeks!

Where:
Each Tuesday of the sew along I'll publish a blog post with tasks for the week along with some helpful tips and tricks! I'll set up a dedicated quilt along page so that you can easily reference posts if you're working at a different pace.

How to Participate:
Similar to our annual Lined Drawstring Bag Sewing Along, this is going to be casual and no-stress. Participating is easy, we'll be using the #arithmeticquilt hashtag on Instagram to share our progress. Please tag me too @jenib320, I love seeing your projects. Not on Instagram? That's okay! Feel free to quilt along and share your quilts with me via email!

Pattern & Tutorial:
Sew from the tutorial or pattern! The free tutorial is for a throw size quilt using 4.5" squares, you can find it here: Modern Plus Quilt Tutorial. The pattern has six quilt size options including baby, throw, twin, double, queen, and king. There are also three square sizes: 2.5", 4.5" or 8". So 18 different options to choose from! Find the pattern here: Arithmetic Quilt Pattern.


Shop the Pattern:
The Arithmetic Quilt Pattern is 20% off today through 4/26/24. Price is already marked down, no code needed.

Happy Quilting!

Sherbet Plus Throw and Baby Quilts

Happy Wednesday! I have two special quilt finishes to share today!! I actually finished these quilts last year, right before baby girl arrived. I made us matching quilts! A throw quilt for me and a baby quilt for her.


For these quilts I went with a sherbet rainbow color palette. It was built around a collection I've had in my stash for around ten years, Sweet as Honey by Bonnie Christine*. By now I didn't have all the prints anymore, so I supplemented with other prints from my stash. I love where the pull ended up!


Knowing I was going to make two quilts, I cut a ton of squares! As it turned out, I cut so many squares, I had enough to make a tote bag too, which I shared last year here: Patchwork Workshop Tote. I used my Workshop Tote Pattern and made the patchwork version.


First up, the throw quilt! This is the throw size from my Arithmetic Quilt Pattern using 4.5" squares.


Here it is in all its glory! In these photos the red-orange fabrics really stand out, but in person the contrast is more subtle.



I am so in love with the quilting on this one. It was quilted by Katie of Autumn Moon Quilting and I chose the "Posy Patch" design. It's so fun and retro!! I actually am having another quilt quilted in this design right now.


I dug into my hoard of Erin McMorris backings and decided on this print from her Weekends* collection. I worked on this quilt in my final months of pregnancy, otherwise I would have taken the time to pattern match the backing. It was a miracle I got it completed considering!


Went for a monochrome look for the binding, using the same print as the backing. I used one of my custom woven labels to finish it off.


And now the baby quilt! This is the baby quilt size from my Arithmetic Quilt Pattern using 4.5" squares.


This is the only quilt I made from start to finish specifically for baby girl. Of course there are tons of other quilts that we use with her, but this one is truly hers. I take her monthly photos on this quilt!


Confession time, the quilting on this quilt is rough. I really should have sent it along with the throw to be longarmed! When I basted this I was less than a month from giving birth. For some reason I thought I could do it on the floor. It was so difficult, I did not do a good job! Of course as soon as I was done I remembered I could have basted it on our dining room table. Because my basting job was so bad, the quilting is not great. But, it's okay. It's still a beautiful quilt and I've let it go.


I didn't have enough of the same backing I used for the throw quilt, so I chose another print from Weekends by Erin McMorris*.


Again, another nod to the throw quilt was binding the quilt in the same fabric as the backing. This is actually highly convenient and I'll be doing it again for sure. For both quilts I cut the binding strips from the excess backing that I cut off!


I used one of my custom woven labels to finish it off.


Despite a few imperfections, I love how these quilts turned out. It was fun to make matching quilts, I think it's something I'll do more of in future!

I'm thinking about hosting a little plus quilt sew along later this Spring, stay tuned for more info on that!!

Sherbet Plus Quilt
Pattern: Arithmetic Quilt Pattern
Fabric: Sweet as Honey by Bonnie Christine*, Weekends by Erin McMorris* and other stash.

Happy Quilting!