Hello quilting friends! Recently I was blessed to sew with quilting friends at an informal retreat. It was a much-needed boon to my soul, spending a couple of days with sweet ladies and finishing up two projects. I thought I’d share those finishes with you today. First up, the Folk Fables quilt!
Earlier this fall, I shared the tale of meeting my pal Ibby at Sweetwater Cotton Shoppe in Paynesville, where we zipped around the store grabbing this bolt and that until we came up with an autumn bundle we could use to make sister quilts. We finished our quilt tops during our sewing retreat (which is near Sweetwater), so naturally we had to haul them to the quilt shop to show off our finishes to store owner April. Her sister Tina took this photo of us.
The pattern we used for our sister quilts was Folk Fables by Tamara of Remi Vail Studio. It forced us to sew a little more “improv” than we normally care to be. But we were both very pleased with our completed tops. The arrangement of fabrics looks scrappy and gathered but also cozy and cohesive, which I think is the genius of Tamara’s pattern!
I’ve already dropped off my Folk Fables top to be quilted, but while I was taking photos, I tossed my Scrappy Leaf pillow on top of it. Won’t these two look lovely together next autumn?
The second top I finished at retreat was another sister quilt I made with Ibby: our Alabama Quilts. These came about as we both ordered similar fat quarter bundles in pretty blues and greens from Morgan Kelly Quilts (on Instagram / Etsy). We then chose a pattern called the Alabama Quilt by Joz Makes Quilts to commemorate a trip to Gulf Shores Alabama we made in 2025 with our husbands.
Our retreat days were mostly gray, cloudy and misty . . . which is just fine when you plan to stay indoors and sew. We were able to lay our Alabama tops on dry grass for two quick photos before heavier rains began. This quilt top is also at the quilters, and I asked for a finish date of anytime before next spring. This will be such a welcome quilt to bind next year as winter ends! I’ll be sure to circle back and share finished photos then.
I have one more project earmarked for spring 2027 . . . an EPP project featuring the honeycomb shape. I saw a lovely photo on The Maker’s Stash Instagram feed, where honeycomb “flowers” are separated by green squares. Miss Leela’s photo grabbed my heart, so I am attempting to create something similar. I broke into a treasured jelly roll of Simplicity by 3 Sisters and pulled out the pink strips. My first block (the bottom one) featured the dainty striped floral from that collection. The rest of my fabric selections are from my stash, mostly 3 Sisters but also tidbits from Fig Tree, Bunny Hill Designs, Amy Sinibaldi, Laundry Basket quilts and My Sew Quilty Life. I love this soft palette of colors, and I think it will be the perfect slow stitching project for next February and March.
It seems that I am hopping all over the place with my talk of autumn, winter and spring 2027. Truth be told, even while I am happily sewing in season, I also enjoy planning ahead for my future, seasonal projects. There are some days, even in the rich depth of autumn, that a girl needs to play with the light and airy fabrics. Another a boon to the soul!
Wishing you all a blessed autumn season and ample opportunity to get carried away quilting!
~Taunja
