Category: Quilts

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Crayon Box! New free quilt pattern for Janome


I’m crazy about quilting, but I’m also really crazy about modern quilting.  The colors, the patterns, the newness of it all just makes me love everything about it!  Luckily, I got to create something with the curated Michael Miller Cotton Couture bundle available at local Janome dealers.  It’s bright, cheerful, and has the awesomely saturated colors you can’t get anywhere but from Michael Miller Fabrics (and no, they aren’t paying me to say that).  Cotton couture is my favorite solid to work with right now, because it sews like BUTTER.  I’ve even used it in some garments and loved the result.  So if you’re dying to see it, here’s “Crayon Box”:

Crayon Box by Joanna Marsh

You can find the full tutorial on the Janome website HERE and download the pattern for free!  I had a blast creating this and playing with the colors!  Use the hashtag #thecrayonboxquilt to share your creation.  


There’s also a fun tutorial on how to do scrappy bindings in the free quilt pattern, just like in the picture below (and I just couldn’t resist this Loominous Anna Maria Horner print for my backing):
Scrappy binding tutorial
And for quilting ideas, I did a super fun swirly motif.
Swirly quilting
So run and grab your free pattern and get sewing today 🙂


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Dreamer’s Star Quilt Pattern Release


It’s been a little while since my last blog post, but I have been working on some really exciting things in my neck of the woods (and I haven’t even been snowed in by the monster snow storm!)

I am SO excited to be releasing my first independent quilt pattern!  I absolutely ADORE geometric quilt patterns that pack a lot of punch and created this pattern that is available on Craftsy and in my Etsy shop.  The pattern is an instant PDF download, so you can enjoy it immediately 🙂  

The pattern comes with instructions for 3 different sizes-a mini quilt, a 64″ x 64″, and a 80″ x 80″ quilt.  

One of my favorite things about this pattern is that if you aren’t great at combining lots of patterns or colors, all this pattern needs is really 2 contrasting or 2 coordinating fabrics to work well.  But if you’re a little more adventurous, go for a scrappy look and be blown away!  
Here are a few samples of the Dreamer’s Star Quilt Pattern:

Dreamer’s Star Quilt 64″ x 64″ made with Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Midnight and Lime

Dreamer’s Star Mini Quilt made in scrappy blacks and purples


Dreamer’s Star Mini Quilt made with Michael Miller Cotton Couture and Painter’s Canvas

I hope you’ll check out this pattern that really packs a punch and when you make it, please use the hashtag #dreamersstarquilt and tag me on Instagram @kustomkwilts 

I SO look forward to what you’ll make with this pattern :))

Happy Quilting!

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Scrappy Trip Quilt Project with the San Antonio MQG


Have you ever felt sort of isolated in this “hobby” (or lifestyle to be more accurate) that we call quilting?  I had recently discovered modern quilting and realized there was this whole other world of people that were just like me.  I’m sure we’ve all had a point in our lives where we thought Joann’s and Hobby Lobby were the only places you could buy fabric…I went through this phase for probably the first year and a half that I was discovering sewing (disastrous, I know!).  Once my eyes were opened (along with my pocket book), I needed to connect with other people that felt there was something more than just traditional quilting and subdued fabric.  

I found the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild really by accident when I was trying to register for QuiltCon 2015.   I immediately joined and have missed just a handful of meetings due to my “real job”, but the experience has been nothing short of life changing.  I have made friends and contacts that have enriched my life so much.

We followed the tutorial posted on Quiltville’s blog here: Quiltville’s blog 
You should check it out if you’re interested in making your own Scrappy Trip quilt–the instructions are very well written and easy to follow.

Some of the guild members have started the journey of the “scrappy trip along”.  It’s really a cool technique to learn, and since we all have a bit of a competitive nature, there are prizes involved and a schedule for block completion.   

Somewhere along the way…I got caught up and ended up with 100 completed blocks.  

This was my starting point when I began cutting 2.5″ wide strips to arrange into blocks.  I obviously like very bright, saturated colors 🙂

My only plan for arrangement was to alternate bright, lighter colors with dark, duller colors.  I wanted a very busy, random quilt when I was done with it.

I think the scrappy trip quilt is an awesome project when you are feeling less than inspired and maybe lost your sew-jo, but need to find it.  Especially if you are doing a random arrangement, where you allow the fabrics to just do their own thing and speak for themselves.  It can be a relaxing project to just piece without thinking and enjoy the results and the process involved.  (It is kind of a lengthy process!)

These are some of my finished blocks (before sewn into the quilt, they measure 12.5″ x 12.5″), and I just love the brightness of them.  

And this is the first layout I set prior to piecing my quilt top.  So many times, we face difficult decisions with all the “favorite” fabrics we buy and not having fabrics to coordinate with them. In the scrappy trip, anything goes, and you don’t have to concern yourself with that.  

I ended up with 100 completed blocks…I kind of got wrapped up in the cutting strips, sewing together, cutting, seam ripping, sewing process and forgot that my intention was not to make a king sized quilt…My final layout was a 9 x 10 layout with the finished top measuring 120″ wide x 108″ long.  This was perfect for our bed since we have a little bit of a problem with cover thievery, and allowed for enough of a drop on both sides that neither my husband nor I end up without covers in the middle of the night.  I had 10 blocks leftover and pieced them all together in a 2 x 5 arrangement.  Then I cut them in half in the center of the middle block so they each measured 25″ x 31″.  I put batting behind each one and quilted these so we would have semi-matching pillow shams.  

I will say that I wanted to go nuts quilting this.  But with those super busy fabrics, I knew the quilting wouldn’t really be showcased, so any intricacy would be lost on anyone but me.  I went ahead and did some cool swirls that took me much longer than I should have spent, but I really had fun with it.  If you’re a beginner quilter, this would be a great project to really push your quilting skills, because any mistakes you make won’t show like a sore thumb.  


So, if you’re in the market for a pretty low stress project that you don’t have to think about, grab some scraps and get started on your own scrappy trip!  Enjoy the process and you’ll love the end product.  

I’m excited to show this at our November guild meeting when everyone will showcase their own scrappy trips and share their results.  

Until next time!
Joanna




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Something in the water…


There must be something in the water…or maybe I’m just at that season in my life where the wedding showers have ended and baby showers are now the reigning social event!  That being said, there’s nothing I love more than designing and putting together cute baby quilts.  Let’s face it…quilts are very time consuming.  BUT if you do small ones, they take significantly less time, and are loved the same!  It’s really fun to play around with layout and quilt design when you know the process will be quick and fun and you’ll learn something from the quilt you create.  I recently did a quilt for a baby boy with all gray fabric, and really loved the mother-to-be’s registry choices.  I could tell that she had very modern taste and would probably be okay with me throwing something together that was a little Libs Elliott inspired.


This was such a fun quilt to put together, and even more fun to quilt a little ruler work into the design.

And a quilt for a baby girl (with more more color), that I designed by changing up the typical chevron design slightly.  

Challenge yourself to play with color and design and sew up a quick baby quilt for a friend or family member.  It is a gift that they’ll love, and probably cherish for many years to come. It’s also a great gift if you use two layers of dense batting and the quilt can also be used as a playmat. 

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My Millefiori


You can probably tell that I like to dabble in all things quilty.  Last summer, I decided that I wanted to conquer English Paper Piecing.  What I didn’t realize at the time was that EPP is extremely addictive because you can take it anywhere…it’s easy to do on the couch while watching tv, great for road trips (when you aren’t driving), and can also be done at social gatherings.  

When people hear “EPP” or English paper piecing, many probably envision little hexagons, endearingly called “hexies” pieced together with traditional or reproduction fabrics that may end up looking a little dated.  I’m not crazy about that look, but I LOVE Willyne Hammerstein’s book Millefiori Quilts.  (And now there’s a second book to follow the first.)  In the first book, one quilt pattern in particular caught my eye–the “La Passacaglia”.  It combines pentagons, triangles, diamonds, and other shapes to create a myriad of rosettes that are breathtaking.  I will say there is a slight drawback if you are using the practice of fussy-cutting (positioning your templates on specific motifs on the fabric to create another design), and that is using fabric yardage inefficiently.  But you’ll be making scraps for other projects as you go, so really, it’s a win-win!  

Here are a couple of pictures of some of my completed rosettes.

These all show really great examples of using fussy-cutting with your epp. I really can’t wait 
to finally finish my quilt top.  I have all the pieces sewn together for the standard design by Hammerstein, but didn’t like the fact that I would be chopping several rosettes in half to square up the top.  So I opted to fill in the rest of the quilt to be even with the rosettes that stick out…the quilt top is really pretty small when you consider how much time and cutting goes into it.  

I laid out my quilt top on a piece of foam board and pinned it so it wouldn’t shift, then used the paper pieces to fill in around the edges.  I probably should really look into documenting the layout better than I did, but for now I just have some pictures on my phone.  I’ll share those with you once I have completed and know the layout works, so if you want to do the same thing you can!  

I started this project in December 2014 and finished Hammerstein’s layout in September 2015.  I’m not sure when I’ll finish the fill-in part, but hopefully it’s soon, because I am dying to quilt this thing!  

If you’re looking for other pictures of some really awesome La Passacaglia quilts, you should check out the following Instagram users: @kamiemurdock, @lilabellelane, @izy_sewbusy to name just a few.  You can also search the hashtag #lapassacaglia for some really inspiring pictures! 


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Mini Quilt Swaps


Mini quilt swaps are becoming all the rage!  You can find them everywhere, from private blogs, Facebook, Instagram, and even quilt guilds are becoming involved.  If you aren’t familiar with what a mini-quilt swap is–it’s usually created by one person, and then other people sign up to help moderate.  Partners are assigned, sometimes based on similar likes and interests.  You are given a deadline, and after you sign up, you are asked to create something awesome for your swap partner.  It’s on a small scale, normally the quilt sizes are limited to under 24″, so there is plenty of time for creativity and finishing.  

I “borrowed” this photo collage from The Houston Modern Quilt Guild Blog at houstonmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com and it shows some great examples of some minis:



Some of the more popular swaps are the #schnitzelandboo mini quilt swap (@schnitzelandboo), the #igminiswap and countless other swaps that include other items besides mini quilts.  Many of them have themes that you are supposed to stay within.  For example, The Strawberry swap has a strawberry theme, $itchesgetstiches (expletive) moderated by (@weenchaweena) has a swearing theme, and countless others are themed after seasons, holidays, etc.  

Typically, these swaps have rules and guidelines you are supposed to follow, and the intention is to make connections with other sewists across the globe.  

These swaps are so much fun to participate in, that I felt the need to do a blog post on them.  Many people don’t know where to start, but they are really simple to get involved in, and probably the most difficult part is meeting the deadline before the sign up closes!  Many swaps have limits for how many people can sign up, as they are usually free to participate in, and overseen by a Regular Jo with a real job.  

Here are some pointers I personally have for you if you plan on participating in a swap:  
1.  Plan ahead.  Have some ideas you can easily use and alter to fit your partner’s likes.
2.  “Stalk” your partner’s social media accounts to find out what they like.  This is really a lot of fun, and you can easily uncover favorite colors, patterns, and other fun things about your partner’s interests.
3.  DON’T BACK OUT!  Someone is looking forward to your handmade gift.  If you can’t commit to the swap, don’t sign up!  How disappointed would you be if you took the time to make an awesome mini for someone, and then received nothing in return?  
4.  Once you have your partner assignment, get your fabric and pattern early, and get to work!  Have your mini done way before the deadline so you don’t have to sweat not making the ship date.
5.  Put your personal touches into the gift.  Don’t forget a quilt label!  You want your partner to know where the quilt came from, who made it, and when.
6.  HAVE FUN!  These swaps are intended to be fun, so HAVE FUN!

I absolutely love making things for other people, and it makes it so much more fun when you don’t know them.  It’s awesome to have the challenge of making something for someone else by trying to find out what they’re interested in.  

The first swap I participated in was the Sewing Loft Blog Mini Quilt Swap.  Here’s what I made for my partner:


The pattern I chose was @Sewwhatsherlock ‘s Spiderwebs paper piecing pattern, which is available on her blog for FREE.  It’s an awesome pattern, and she really does a great job with all of her paper piecing patterns.  All of the fabric is Cotton + Steel.  I made this at one of our guild’s sewing retreats in Kerrville, Texas at Creations.  SO much fun!

The second swap I sign up for was the #IGMiniSwap moderated by @curly_boy1 and several other swap participants that signed up to help.  We haven’t reached the ship date for this one yet, but here’s what I made for my partner:

I’m not sure what the blueish smear is on the picture…it isn’t on the fabric!  All I can say is I’m definitely not a professional photographer 😉  The pattern I chose for this was “Swoon” by ThimbleBlossoms.

For my third swap, I wanted to offer a swap within our guild, The San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up “signing up” for this swap since I was doing partner assignments.  I didn’t want to know who would have me…so I opted to just oversee.  I can’t wait to see what all of the extremely talented guild members come up with.   You can see what they’re working on by checking the Instagram hashtag #samqgultimateswap .  

@weenchaweena has just offered a x-rated sort of swap, if you will.  It’s called $itchesgetstitches (expletive), and I also signed up for this.  I haven’t gotten my partner yet, but the  swear words/puns should be lots of fun.  This swap is probably not for everyone, but I have a fondness for “Debra” in the sitcom “Dexter”, and enjoy her needless use for random cursewords and how she strings them together.  I also have a different kind of humor, and enjoy seeing silly things like “poop” free-motion quilted into make up bags.  Like I said…not for everyone.

I’m currently waiting for @schnitzelandboo to offer a new swap sign up, and can’t wait to hopefully participate in it!

I’m not endorsing any of these swaps, just sharing my love of participating in them!

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A&M T-Shirt Quilt


It’s been a while since my last post!  I have been a busy bee trying to get lots of projects done in time for my first market days (like a trade show/craft fair).  I finished my sample t-shirt quilt that I’m planning on displaying.  I don’t have much time today, but just wanted to put some pictures up of the finished quilt…I’m reallly glad I get to keep this one 🙂

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Texas Tech Quilt


This is a quilt I recently made for my brother, who is a Tech Alumni.  Hopefully he doesn’t look at this blog ;).  It’s a little bit difficult to see in the photos, but I used red and silver thread to quilt the double T logo on alternating squares.  The other squares are filled in with the TT gun.  The border detail is random quilting in red.