More Scrap (Happy) Quilts!

We've been collecting scrap quilt inspiration for years.  Our favorite scrap quilts are those with a cohesive design and color scheme; in other words, quilts that don't look TOO scrappy.  Have you ever made a scrap quilt?  Let us know which of these are your favorites!
NOTE: Please check out all the quilt books and fabric at our eBay store !

Ditzy for Dots by Judith Salb, quilted by Jessica Gamez

Ditzy for Dots won Third Place in the Scrap Quilt category at the 2017 Quilt Arizona! There are so many fun dotty fabrics in this quilt.  Judith Salb says, "Dots and spots and circles oh my! I included a few other shapes to create a hunting game for my granddaughters."   It was beautifully quilted by Jessica Gamez.

I Love HSTs by Valerie Helgren-Lempesis, quilted by Kerry Reed

Valerie says, "Using Edyta Sitar’s Medallion Center quilt [the cover quilt for Edyta's Friendship Triangles book], I decided to triple it in size and then use more HSTs for the borders. I then used a quilt done by Francis Scott Key’s wife as inspiration for the final product.

Not Even Close by Carolyn Edwards, quilted by Arlene Tribble

An Ocean Waves design makes a wonderful scrap quilt! Carolyn Edwards says, "My quilt is “Not Even Close” to the magnificent pieced vine borders made by Indiana farm wife, Susan McCord, in 1800 [collection of the Henry Ford Museum] but I tried." For more on Carolyn Edwards, see the Arizona Quilters Hall of Fame. 

Third Generation by Pamela Snow

Pamela Snow created this charming wall hanging from recycled vintage quilt pieces.  She says, "I used my longarm to attach vintage quilt pieces to a white background. Pieces were hand sewn by my aunt in the 40’s from my grandma’s scrap basket."  It was longarm quilted by Pamela herself using red thread.

Up The Down Staircase by Brenda Archambault, quilted by Carolyn Helvie

Quiltmaker Brenda Archambault says, "Mary Etherington, owner of Country Threads, posted a picture on her blog of a similar quilt last winter. I studied the picture and figured out the blocks."

No Title by Susan Sacco, quilted by Ruby Worrell

Susan Sacco says that she made these quilt blocks from Batik scraps: "I loved doing the petals by hand." The quilt was inspired by a class with Bobye Jones.

Scraps to the Max by Mary McElvain, quilted by Andrea Stanfield

Scraps to the Max was inspired by the Charming Addition pattern by Kathie Holland at APQ. Mary McElvain says, "When this quilt appeared on the cover of American Patchwork and Quilting (Dec 2012) I knew I had to go to my boxes of scraps and make it."  Mary McElvain and her daughter, Andi Stanfield (True Blue Quilts) are coauthors of the book Monochromatic Quilts: Amazing Variety.

Firewall by Carol Caplan, quilted by Cathy McLees

The ultra-modern-looking Firewall was made with "an array of scraps and strips from a lifetime of quilting, some more than 30 years old. Waste not, want not!" Carol says the pattern is from Devoted to Scraps by Karen Griska at Quiltmaker.  

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Quilt Arizona show (Ditzy for Dots, Not Even Close, No Title); 2014 Arizona Quilter's Guild show (Scraps to the Max); 2015 Arizona Quilter's Guild show (Firewall); and 2015 Diablo Valley Quilter's Guild (I Love HSTs,

Scrap (Happy) quilts from Dad's Shirts and Ties!

For Father's Day, how about a show of quilts made from shirts and ties? We love the idea of making something new, useful and beautiful from clothing.  Here are some quilts we admire, made from plaid shirts, beautiful silk ties and denim jeans.  Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!
NOTE: Please check out the quilt books and fabric at our eBay store ! For free patterns, follow us @quiltinspire on Twitter!

Tie One On, 67 x 54”, by Dianne Sheppard (California); longarm quilted by Jody Gosnell

This wonderful Dresden Plate quilt, made from silk ties, is machine pieced and hand appliqued. Dianne Sheppard says, "This quilt caused me major anxiety as I had never worked with men’s ties before and had no idea where to begin. My daughter’s mother-in-law asked me to make a quilt from her father’s tie collection. After much research and a book loaned to me from a friend, we decided on this design."

Dianne continues, "It took over two years to make, but I’m very happy with the results. What a learning experience!"  We photographed the quilt at the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival.

Dad’s Shirts by Becky Ripley at Ripley Quilting (Arizona)

Becky Ripley says, "I remember my dad every time I see this quilt, made from his plaid and striped cowboy shirts and quilted with pictures of some of his favorite things."  She included shirt pockets with pearl snaps, and quilted some Arizona themes, including saguaro cactus shown below.

Winding Plaid by Layne Rahbar (California)

This Winding Ways quilt is so clever! It is a frayed edge quilt made from plaid shirts, one of a series by Layne Rahbar. Winding Ways creates a secondary pattern of overlapping circles. Layne created high-contrast blocks by alternating dark and light plaids in green, blue red and neutrals. She says, "[I am] having fun with this method and still have a bin full of plaids."

Double Plaid Rings by Layne Rahbar

This fantastic double wedding ring quilt was made with upcycled plaid shirts. Instead of piecing, this was constructed by gluing and basting the arcs and corner pieces onto dark plaid squares. The squares were then pieced together, sandwiched and quilted on a domestic machine.

You can see the frayed raw edges in the closeup photo below.

Moonshadows, 90 x 82”, by Anne Joule (New Zealand)

Moonshadows is a huge (90 x 82") was made entirely from silk ties which were hand pieced, hand appliqued (borders) and hand quilted. It won Best Use of Color in the International Division at the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival.  Anne Joule says, "I enjoy paper piecing and hand applique. I like to use [silk ties] as the colors last."

Effervescence #2 by Margit Kagerer (Arizona)

This art quilt was shown in the 2015 Invitational Exhibit by the Mavericks Art Quilters at Quilt Arizona.  A native of Germany, fiber artist Margit Kagerer was introduced to the world of quilting and fiber art when she relocated to the United States.

You can find a book of Margit Kagerer's original quilts at CreateSpace.

Cosmo Quilt by Maria A. Michel-Zavala and Esteban Michel

Denim was used to make this quilt, with the aim to recycle discarded jeans (90% recycled, 10% new fabric.) Cosmo Quilt was based on a spiral galaxy, and was designed by Esteban Michel: “The Universe is the Quilt Of Our World.”

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2016 Pacific International Quilt Festival (Moonshadows); the 2015 Pacific International Quilt Festival (Tie One On);  the 2017 Quilt Arizona show (Dad's Shirts); the 2015 Quilt Arizona show (Effervescence #2); the 2015 Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild show (Winding Plaid, Double Plaid Rings); and the 2014 Tucson (Arizona) Quilters' Guild show.