A finished quilt to share today! This quilt has been in progress for a long time. It's been in my head for a couple of years and I finally started actually making it this winter when I was asked to teach a "Using Your Fabric Scraps" class at my local quilt shop. You can see it in progress here and here.
This quilt was made from lots of scraps of American Jane fabric that have accumulated over the years of working with those fabrics. And since I couldn't part with even the little scraps, I needed to find a pattern that showed them off, so this quilt was inspired by quilts from this book by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, as well as a quilt by Rita at Red Pepper Quilts (I can't find the link at the moment).
Since this quilt was all about using what I already had on hand only, I found some white linen/cotton blend that I'd bought on some sale online. When it arrived it wasn't what I'd been expecting, so I'd chucked it aside somewhere. It surfaced in the great clean-out of 2012 and so I decided to use it on this project. I love the way the linen really shrunk in the wash (I didn't pre-wash it before cutting it up) and it gives the quilt so much texture. I wish you could all come pet it, as it's hard to tell from the pictures.
The back: I struggled finding just the right thing at first. Again, determined only to use what was on hand, I even dug out my precious American Jane bigger chunks (the blues and red) but it wasn't quite enough for a complete back that looked cohesive. I'm running out of big hunks of fabric for backs (time to hit some clearance sales!) so I cheated and took the yellow from my mom's stash. (Still stash, so not totally cheating.) It worked perfectly with the other pieces.
A happy quilt, just in time for summer.
sarah says
Awesome quilt!
patsy says
Oh I really love this quilt!<br />I too am a big American Jane fan- <br />thanks for sharing such a great way to use scraps :)<br />love, love, love your blog
amy smart says
Thanks, Patsy! I love meeting other AJ fans!
Michele says
Nice, nice, nice. And wonderful that you just used what you already have. I'm trying really hard to do that myself.
Anna says
Perfect for summertime!
MaureenM says
Lovely! All the small pieces make it look very traditional and pioneer-ish 🙂 and I love the way the white highlights all the other fabrics. Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Books_Bound says
Beautiful quilt! I'm a beginning quilter, so I look at all these great scrappy quilts with some jealousy, as I don't have a huge scrap stash yet. Sooner rather than later, I'm sure. 🙂
Dora, the Quilter says
I love the way this turned out! I love American Jane fabrics, probably because the colors reflect the illustrations in readers from the 1940's and 50's. They don't really fit the rest of my house, but I'm thinking something like this would work great! And all that lovely, lovely white space for quilting designs!
What She Quilted says
I love this! I have been toying with doing something like this with my scraps! Thanks for the inspiration!
Wendy Wiesen says
Love it!!!
Teri says
Adorable!!! I love it!!!
randi--i have to say says
This is so pretty and I LOVE how the backing looks. Great quilt!
angela says
ooh! All those American Jane prints are so happy together. What a great scrap quilt!
tracy_a says
So lovely! What a great set of prints!
Chelsea says
Really cute and such a great way to use up those tiny scraps.
Claire Jain says
Beautiful quilt! It's scrap busting ways are just a bonus 😉
Melanie says
Beautiful quilt! I love the idea of a scrap busting class at your local shop.
Melissa Corry says
I looks awesome Amy!! I just love it 🙂
Jenny says
Beautiful!!
Gnomemade says
I love it! I have a ton of scraps floating around from other projects that I would love to make into a quilt, but could never really settle on a pattern! This is beautiful and very inspiring.
Jennifer says
So cute! I'm loving stash buster quilts myself right now...<br /><br />Jennifer 🙂
Linda says
That pattern has been on my "to do" list for awhile now. Yours looks great, gives me the inspiration to get started on my own!
Jane says
What a beautiful quilt! Love that you used what you had!
chris says
It is a pretty quilt. Hooray for on hand sewing!
Cindy says
This is gorgeous, Amy!! What a great summer quilt!! I too love American Jane!!:)
Nanette Merrill says
I love it. It turned out great. Hurray for little squares.
Rebecca says
That is one beautiful quilt! I really love it! Thanks for sharing!
Leslie says
this is amazing...these are my favorite fabrics!!! how big is it?
Natalia from Piece N Quilt says
Very cute Amy! I love the white with the scraps! That's my kind of scrappy quilt! 🙂
Becky says
I like that it has so much white in it! It really does make it the perfect summer quilt too, with all those little splashes of Mary Jane color going on. Love it!
Becky says
P.S. I mean "American Jane." Good grief 🙂
Sheila says
Such a pretty quilt, Amy. nice back, too. A lovely summer quilt.
Lara says
What a beauty 🙂 I am finishing up my AJ hexagon quilt at long last! Love AJ!
quilt happy says
beautiful quilt
Anita says
The quilt is just lovely.
lifeinredshoes says
Love love love this one!
gloriajanine says
I love love that quilt. I think the fact you used scraps made it even more special!! Congrats for sticking with it!!
materialgirlquilts says
Beautiful, absolutely love it and love that it is all from "stash" fabrics.<br />Amanda
vintage grey says
I love it Amy!! Such a fun pattern, and I just adore the fabric!! xo Heather
Sarah Craig says
It's gorgeous, Amy! Such a cheerful quilt - and how great that you only used stash! Woohoo!!
Terri Morse says
I love this! I have a few packs of American Jane charms that I've been dying to use!
CathyK says
What a beautiful and happy quilt! The colors are so bright and cheery! Love it!
g says
Beautiful.
Liv says
What an amazing quilt so fresh and really showcases the American Jane fabrics!
mascanlon says
I just love the AJ fabrics, both of my granddaughters have baby quilts from them along with many baby gifts! This is a wonderful use of all the scraps and I love anything with white these days.
Live a Colorful Life says
Being a fellow AJ fan, this is just fabulous! I used the same pattern in a block exchange bee a couple of years ago, where everyone chose a different color and made their blocks using scraps of a certain color, for a ROYBGV quilt (is that the correct order? I can never remember. Duh...). Anyway, I've never put it together. But I digress. THIS quilt is just beautiful. LOVE.IT.SO.MUCH!
Ann says
Beautiful quilt, I like all the different fabrics used, and far as the white part that shrunk, I can see the quilt has texture. Very nice.
Crickets Corner says
Love this quilt! It's so vibrant and summery makes me want to go out on the porch swing in the evening and use it to keep the breeze at bay.
Gmama Jane says
Thrifty, frugal, colorful, fun, vibrant, striking, clean lines, ...I could go on and on!! Great job!<br />blessings<br />Gmama Jane
Sherry says
Love it - it's wonderful!
QuiltNut Creations says
So very very pretty! Congrats on the finish.
Lettyb says
Ohhhh just yummmy yum yum!
Thimbleanna says
It's adorable Amy! I saw it on pinterest first but I so love your gorgeous bigger pictures here!
amandajean says
it's a beautiful quilt Amy, one to be treasured for sure. you do nice work!
therese says
You've done a wonderful job - this is truly beautiful. I too have a major American Jane obsession happening. Even though I have a bit (well maybe a bit more than a bit) I still hate cutting into it. It doesn't feel right. Having said that my A/Jane quilts are my sacred favourites!<br />This is a fantastic idea for using up your scraps. I love it when you post anything about American Jane
amy smart says
Thanks so much for all the quilt love! Also, it's SO nice to know there are so many other American Jane lovers out there. It looks like we need to start another Gang.
clairesoprano says
Amy, your quilts always look so crisp and neat, how do you get everything to line up? Tips are much appreciated (I'm even having trouble with simple squares and sashing)...love your blog and happy Monday!
Chris S says
I really love this. All your quilts are SO nice!