Hi Quilting Friends,
Way back in January, 2021, we invited our followers to join us as we made blocks for the “Stash-Bustin’ Scrappy Sampler” quilt. The idea was to use materials that we had on hand, creating a collection of pieced blocks, and to share our progress as we stitched along together.
Susan and I each made the sampler during the summer of 2020, according to our individual tastes and fabric collections.
Susan opted for batik fabrics with a light background. She wanted a larger quilt, so she went above and beyond the original design with a series of beautifully pieced borders. This is Susan’s finished quilt top-
I chose to use solid fabrics and a black background, with very simple borders. Here’s my quilt top-
And then I set the project aside because I wasn’t able to quilt it in a way that would be satisfactory at that time. But I had a goal and a plan . . .
Starting in 2022, I cleared space in our home for a quilting studio, and applied a fresh coat of paint to the walls and ceiling. Mr. Fix It helped with this task.
I added shelves along one wall and purchased a nice sewing table in 2022, because I was tired of sewing at the kitchen table. Here’s a picture of my studio with the first quilt that I finished after setting up the area.
I also purchased a Bernina 770QE Plus sewing machine in late 2022, which came with a stitch regulator and has a larger throat space than my previous machine, to facilitate my desire to learn free motion machine quilting.
I retired from teaching in May, 2024, which freed up a lot of time for “playing”. I learned several basic free-motion quilting patterns in late 2024, and I continued to practice FMQ on other projects during 2025.
Now, in 2026, I have finally tackled the Scrappy Sampler, and finished it. This is the last of my large UFO quilt tops, and it feels pretty great to have “Scrappy” completed. 😊
I consider myself to be an advanced beginner when it comes to free-motion machine quilting. I decided to quilt each unique block in my sampler with a different combination of patterns. There are several FMQ designs that I can apply without much fuss, and there are others that are still a challenge for me. I may also have made up some designs as I went along. . .
The most challenging part of quilting this project was deciding what to quilt in each area. Most days I would quilt just one or two blocks and then stop because I had reached decision overload.
It took me about three weeks to complete the quilting, with a few breaks for “life” and other stitching. I think that I had more fun quilting it because I didn’t push myself too hard toward the finish line. What’s a few more days for a project that was started almost 6 years ago? 🙄
Here’s a slideshow with images of each quilted block. Please promise that you won’t look too closely; my quilting isn’t perfect, but it is done and that’s enough for me.
I used a 108″ wide burgundy blender on the back, black thread for most of the stitching, and a solid black binding to finish “Scrappy”.
A label on the back of the quilt documents the quilt’s name, the start and finish years, plus my name and location.
- Name: Stash-Bustin’ Scrappy Sampler
- Started in 2020, Finished in 2026
- Finished Size: 54″ x 72″
- Pieced and quilted by Sharon Andersen in Houston, Texas
It’s time to celebrate my “Scrappy” finish, and you’re invited! All of the block patterns in this collection are 15% off through May 31, 2026, when you purchase 2 or more patterns. Use the coupon code SCRAPPY15 when you check out.
Let’s have one more look at the finished quilt, because it deserves to be seen again-
I hope that you’ve enjoyed celebrating my “Stash-Bustin’ Scrappy Sampler” finish! Please leave a comment and let me know which block is your favorite. My favorite block changes frequently, LOL.
Happy quilting,
Sharon
Ms P Designs USA 