I have another recent pillow project to share! I thrifted this vintage tea towel so long ago that I can't even find a photo of it! Honestly, it could have been 15 years ago for all I remember. I know I've had it for a really long time. Last month I decided it was finally time to make it into something! This idea was fueled by thrifting a long rectangular pillow form. I realized that this tea towel was pretty much the perfect size for a cover.



I knew I wanted to use an invisible zipper for this cover so that it would be a double sided pillow. Lucky me, I had this geometric canvas print by Ellen Luckett Baker in my stash that coordinated nicely in color and design to the tea towel. I started this project by quilting both pieces. After cutting them both to size, I used my serger to finish all the edges.



Ta-da! The finished result! I love how it turned out. Such a simple project, but so satisfying. The tea towel is so funky, I am very glad that it is out of storage and living its life as a pillow cover!


And the other size is fun too. I started working on this pillow after our local JoAnn fabrics closed and honestly had a hard time sourcing an invisible zipper that matched and was long enough. My Mom brought me one from her stash, but while she was visiting we went to Ecoworks, our local craft thrift store and they had the perfect match! It's the same color blue as the back of the pillow and the length was just right. It's like it was meant to be. My application of it could have been better, but that's okay. I haven't installed that many invisible zippers in pillows, so I just need some more practice!

If we're keeping track, this project used a thrifted pillow insert, thrifted tea towel, and thrifted zipper! :)

Happy Sewing!

Vintage Striped Sheet Quilt

Happy Thursday! I have a finished quilt to share today. This quilt has been in progress most of the Summer, and I'm excited that it's finished!


Whenever I rip up a vintage sheet for fat quarter bundles, there are always leftovers. Either a long strip that wasn't wide enough or pieces that are just under fat quarter size. After I made striped sheet bundles this Spring, I decided to cut into all those leftovers instead of folding them into my stash.

There are still some striped sheet bundles available, find them here: Vintage Sheet Fat Quarter Bundles



My inspiration for this quilt was strip quilts. Quilts like Scrap Happy by Amy Smart, and this quilt by Steffi Troy. Obviously these kinds of quilts used strips pieces together, but I wanted to play with achieving a similar look with a striped fabric. I used the block from the free Tessellation Quilt Pattern I shared when Geometric Bliss came out. These blocks are smaller, I cut the stripe squares 4.5" and the background squares 2.5"! I cut all the stripes on the bias so that I would get the look I wanted.


I paired the stripe sheets with a plain white sheet that I also thrifted! I've picked up a few recently but this is the first one I actually cut into. I like that all the fabrics in this quilt are reclaimed!


All the stripes! I love how this turned out. I kept the palette strictly to the sheets I used when I made the bundles, but now I'm tempted to make another all stripes quilt with my whole collection. They're so fun all together.


Quilting is simple as usual, I followed all the vertical and horizontal lines with 1/4" quilting on each side.


For the back I used this incredible striped sheet! It feels very 80s to me, especially the colors.


I honestly struggled with choosing a binding for this quilt. I knew I wanted it to be a stripe of course, but finding something that went with the very specific color palette on the back as well as the front was tough. In the end I made a scrappy binding from sheets I used in the top.


Always a win when I remember to use one of my tags!



Dusty cat (and baby girl) really likes this quilt! She was trying to lounge when I was trying to take photos. Such a silly goose!


Vintage Striped Sheet Quilt
Pattern: Modified Tessellation Quilt Pattern (free)
Fabrics: Vintage Reclaimed Bedsheets

Happy Quilting!

What I'm Working on Right Now

Happy Tuesday! I wanted to share a little bit of what I'm working on right now. I'm mostly working on moving prep and taking care of our toddler, but there has been some sewing too. Not as much as I'd like, but I know that is temporary!


When going through my closet a few weeks ago, I pulled some handmade shirts that I haven't worn in a long time. One was a tunic made from this excellent dot from Habitat by Jay McCarroll. I decided to chop it up for the fabric instead of letting it continue to languish in my closet. Right away I turned it into a drawstring bag! This is the bottom accent from the expansion pattern. I used a scrap of leftover sparkly cotton by Robert Kaufman for the accent, a purple blender for the lining and some cotton twill that I dyed last year for the ties! (In case you missed it: Tie Dye Twill Tape Tutorial) This is an everything size bag. I used my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern and Expansion Pattern to make it.


Another drawstring bag! I had the fabrics pulled for this one for years! I was cleaning out my WIP storage and found this combination. It was perfect for an afternoon where I didn't have much time, but wanted to sew. I don't work a lot with black fabrics, but I really like how this bag turned out! I love how the black ruler twill tape looks with these prints.



I can't stop making towel bags!! I need to write a dedicated post about working with towels, they're just so much fun. I found this incredible mustard/gold plaid towel at the outlet and knew it would make some great bags. I was able to squeeze two boxy bags, made using my Triplizip Pattern, plus a plain flat pouch. I was so glad that I had some matching zippers on hand.



I've been working on a new quilt for the last month using all striped vintage sheets. Actually, I used scraps leftover from putting together these stripe bundles. I'm hoping to share more when I share the finished quilt soon!


Another project made from a vintage quilt, a giant bow! I didn't have a seasonal wreath to hang on the door for Summer, so I made this bow! It has a bit of random interfacing to give it a bit of structure. I serged the cut ends and hung it up with a zip-tie. Easy peasy! And I love it.



Saved some little half-square triangles leftover from making my Starflower zipper pouches, turned into a few random blocks!


I have started slowly adding things to my online shop as a part of a moving sale! I'll continue to do so through the Fall. These will be a dedicated post about it hopefully in the next month or so!


I'll leave you with a photo of Dusty cat helping in the sewing room. So nice!

Happy Sewing!

Reclaimed Vintage Quilt Pillows

Happy Friday! Today I want to share a pair of quilted pillow covers I made recently from thrifted quilts!

This was one of the first quilts that I thrifted from the Goodwill Outlet. It unfortunately has a lot of damage, so I knew right away it was going to end up being cut up. So far I've made this pillow and a giant bow out of it!


For this pillow I decided to cut the front at a 45 degree angle, so it looks like the blocks are on point! This allowed me to take advantage of some of the blocks that were in better shape. It's hard to tell from the photos, but this pillow is huge! The form is around 26" square.


I used more of the quilt for the back, centering two blocks.


I did a zippered closure with end tabs for a nice clean look. This is my favorite way to finish pillow covers. I am really proud to say this entire pillow is made from reclaimed materials! I thrifted the pillow form, quilt, scrap fabric and the zipper. I ripped the zipper out of a duvet cover that I found.


This quilt is another Goodwill Outlet find, and most of it became my first quilted coat! I still need to share more about that.


I made this pillow cover for my Mom, for Mother's day! I thought it would look nice in her craft room.


I finished the back of this cover with more scraps of the quilt!


And another zippered closure. Since I was working with already quilted material, these pillow covers came together really fast! I sergered around the edges of all the pieces before I started sewing, to make sure they'll hold up to a gentle wash.

Happy Sewing!

Life Update + What I'm Working on Right Now

I want to share some personal news today! At the end of 2025, we're moving! Michael (my husband) is starting a new job and we'll be moving to Pennsylvania. The plan was for our time in Connecticut to be temporary, so this move has been on the horizon for a while. It's a good thing, but also comes with a lot of mixed emotions! We grew to love CT and our home more than we expected to. It will be really hard to leave our community, home, and favorite spots. We're ready to be closer to family though, and I know it will be for the best in the long run. The emotional pain and stress of packing up our life and leaving is so real though!

I'm sharing this now because this will definitely affect how I am able to show up here in the next year-ish. I already struggle to find a work-life balance while being at home with a toddler, so I know all the work that comes along with a big move will make that even more difficult. I will continue to craft and share through this process because my work and this space are important to me. I would love to take you along for the journey, especially in terms of downsizing/moving a craft space. We'll see what I can manage!


You can expect a destash of fabric, other craft supplies and a sample sale later this year. I'll also be putting together more vintage sheet bundles over the coming months. For now I'm starting small. I am ready to discontinue my printed mini patterns. I'm including a full set of five mini patterns ($15 value) with every order in my online shop of physical products (paper patterns, twill, paracord, beads, vintage sheet bundles, books, etc.) while supplies last.

Now that my news is out of the way, let's dive into what I've been working on lately!


It's been a mix of small new projects and working away on older works-in-progress. I think it's the moving mentality, I just want to get some of these lingering projects done! Funny how much of a motivator that can be.


First up, I tackled a pile of offcuts from my original Keep Turning Quilt. I had a good amount of offcuts from making this quilt, and I've been saving them in a little pile for the last five years. I also happened to have a lot of scraps of the same fabrics I used too, so I got to work! I went super scrappy and improv with these blocks, which I haven't done in a long time. My main goals were to end up with a baby-ish sized quilt and to hide the offcuts a little. I feel like I did okay! Now I just need to quilt it and get it finished.


This quilt has been in progress for SO long. I tried to look back in the archives to see when I started it, but I somehow never talked about it! This is a quilt using the Night Sky Quilt Pattern by Jaybird Quilts and various fabrics by Leah Duncan. I cut it out at least 10 years ago, and I've pulled it out a few times over the years and worked on it a bit. About a month ago I decided I was pulling it out for the last time. Time to get it finished!! I decided to deviate from the pattern and put my blocks together differently. I skipped the sashing between blocks and cut equilateral triangles to fill the gaps instead. It doesn't have quite the same look as the true-to-pattern version as a result. In hindsight, I probably should have just followed the pattern verbatim! On the other hand, this change allowed me to get this quilt top over the finish line, so I think for me it was the right call. It's still going to be a beautiful quilt!


Not the right season for it, but I'm working on the scrap Christmas quilt that I started in December! It's basted and ready for quilting.


It's not all old works-in-progress over here, I started a new handwork project! A cross stitch mushroom sampler. I haven't picked up cross stitch in many, many years. When I saw Katie working on this sampler though, I knew I had a make it! It's a free pattern from Lecien, which you can find here if you're interested: Mushroom Family Sampler. I didn't have any pieces of Aida cloth large enough, so I ended up picking some up from my local creative reuse store. It was off-white, so I dyed it! Honestly, it was easier to dye than I thought it would be. I think I got the color pretty close to their sample!


One thing I've finished recently are these pouches! I wanted to get my daughter's coloring supplies out of the cardboard boxes so I made these pouches with my towel scraps. These are all unlined, super simple, but they do the job! I figured they're going to get covered in crayon and marker anyways, might as well make them from something absorbent and washable! I love how they turned out. I really love working with towels, more than I thought I would!


Yesterday I pulled out a stack of half-square triangle blocks made from Dreamin' Vintage and started sewing them together! Thankfully past Jeni already trimmed them. I'm making broken dish blocks, but that's my only plan. I have no idea how many blocks I'll end up with, or how big the project will be. I just started sewing!

Have a Great Weekend!

Vintage Sheet Schoolhouse Quilt

Happy Tuesday! Today I have a finished quilt to share! This one is my take on a traditional schoolhouse quilt, made using reclaimed vintage bedsheets.


This past winter, a vintage schoolhouse quilt caught my eye and got my gears turning. I couldn't get it out of my head, so I decided to make one schoolhouse block (with no intentions of making a whole quilt to be honest). The problem was, I couldn't find a block pattern that I liked. So I drew this one up! I made it just how I wanted. It's a big block, using 2.5" strips for most of the construction. For the roof, I chose to do a paper pieced strip instead of messing with templates or funky seams.

I had so much fun putting this block together that I decided to make a whole quilts worth! Each block features a different colorful focal fabric with a different white sheet as the background. On some blocks I made the focal and background fabrics coordinate, on others I didn't.


I normally like to cut out an entire quilt before I start sewing, but for this quilt I cut and sewed each block as I went. It was actually pretty satisfying to work this way. Since I don't have large chunks of time to sew anymore, being able to start and finish a block in a sitting was really nice.


Despite my very limited sewing time, this quilt came together fast! I felt so motivated and inspired to get it done. It was a joy to sew.
Since these blocks are so big (18" finished), I could get away with making just 12 and end up with a decent sized throw quilt.


I used all different white fabrics for the background of each block and for the sashing pieces. I did choose a single fabric for the cornerstones, to keep it from getting too wild! I auditioned quite a few options but eventually landed on this colorful tropical fabric.


I sent this quilt to Katie at Autumn Moon Quilting for longarm quilting. I still can't get over the fact that I can send out an all sheet quilt for professional quilting, I'm giddy over it!! For this quilt I chose the "Lollipop Garden" quilting design. I think it's so fun! Katie did a great job, as always.


Speaking of, the backing is this incredible blue and green floral. I've been holding on to this one specifically to use for a quilt back!



I had to use a striped binding, right? There are just too many good stripe prints to ignore! I chose a blue stripe for this quilt to match the backing.


I loved making this quilt. From choosing the fabrics to designing and making the blocks. It was one of those quilts that I just head to get out of my head! I think I would like to try making some more quilts in these sweet bright fabrics, using more traditional block designs.

Vintage Sheet Schoolhouse Quilt
Pattern: Self-drafted personal pattern
Fabrics: Vintage Reclaimed Bedsheets

Happy Quilting!