Announcing: Sandhill Plums

KT's new fabric collection for spring is Sandhill Plums. The header at the top of the blog shows the Sandhill Plum bushes this fall changing color. In late summer, they produce a grape-size berry that varies from cream to yellow to pink to red. This year's extreme heat and drought left us plum-less - barely enough for the birds. My Gramma used to make Sand Plum Jelly every year for my Dad. After the first couple of pints magically disappeared slathered on homemade bread, it was hoarded thru the winter and only brought out for special occasions.

One of our projects for this group is called Plum Perfect, a 70" square lap quilt featuring a Jelly Roll and Charm Pack. A traditional star block is simplified with raw edge applique for the center, then surrounded by Jelly Roll strips. A charm pack cut diagonally to create triangles is stitched into the border seam for dimensional appeal. Leftover Jelly Roll strips are pieced and cut across the corners for a unique look. Remaining triangles were put to work on a charming pillow. Easy to do, great results!

Notice the scalloped edges? I hadn't received my precuts yet so we cut our own charm squares with a scalloped edge rotary blade. I love the effect!

One of my favorite projects is Just a Little Loopy. (Did I ever tell how hard it is to name quilts???) A Honey Bun and Charm Pack work together to make 3 different projects - a wall quilt, pillow & bag.

A rail fence block is made even easier by simply laying a 5" strip from a Honey Bun centered on a charm square and stitched about 1/8" from the raw edges. This results in 3 - 1 1/2" strips for a 4 1/2" finished block - very cool! With parts of Honey Bun strips left, I made long and short loops, tucked them in the border seam and buttoned them down for fun. With even more Honey Bun scraps, a textural pillow with loops sewn into the seams was next on the list. Then, when I realized I hadn't used any of the light strips, an easy bag from our KT pre-quilted Cattails & Clover fabric (3/4yd.) embellished with 3 rows of loops came to life. A Honey Bun and 2 charm packs makes a great sized lap quilt, too. How much fun can you have with a Honey Bun? Tons!

Both of these patterns will be available by Jan. 1st, just in time for precuts of Sandhill Plums. Yardage ships in February.

I enjoyed playing with the precut Honey Bun strips, creating texture and dimension with the pinked edges. Anyone out there having fun with them too?