4.25.2015

on the move + a big sale


So here's some news for you: my little family is moving to New England! While our four years in North Carolina have been amazing (and filled with barbeque, biscuits, and great friends), we're ready for new adventures and are looking forward to relocating to the greater Boston area.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be making the thrilling/scary transition from a full-time Spoonflower employee, to a full-time Salty Oat employee.  I've been bursting with ideas for this little business, and I'm so excited to have the opportunity to make them a reality. I'll be adding new fabric designers to the shop's roster, working on a collaborative quilt series with some talented people, and accepting commissions. I've also got a number of one-of-a-kind quilts waiting in the wings, ready to be added to the shop's shelves.

The shop will remain open through next Wednesday, April 29, and will then go on a brief two-week vacation while I pack up the studio here, and then unpack it in our new house. Until then, help me lighten my load by taking advantage of my biggest sale yet! Simply use the code "MOVE30" at checkout to receive 30% off everything in the shop, including all quilts, fabrics, and scrap packs.

P.S. Want to be among the first to know when future sales are happening? Sign up for the Salty Oat newsletter and hear the news before anyone else!

4.13.2015

sewing with mini charms + a new quilt


Thanks to my job at Spoonflower, I've had the good fortune to attend a number of Quilt Markets over the years. As anyone who has attended this event knows, many fabric companies give away mini charm packs (2.5" squares) of fabric to attendees to promote upcoming collection releases. I managed to snag two mini charm packs of Vanessa Christenson's fabrics in the past few years, and recently took the time to turn them into a quilt.


Inspired by this Amish Hourglass quilt, I cut each of the squares into triangles, and sewed them to the corners of solid white squares. Unlike the original inspiration, I sewed the triangles to each of the squares' corners, so that once sewn together, they created scrappy squares on point.


For the backing, I used a long-saved gray-and-mustard print from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern line, which turned out to be the perfect complement to Vanessa's prints.


Continuing with the backing's color scheme, I quilted a large grid in gray thread, and made a gray, scrappy binding from some favorite prints.


I love how the quilt incorporates so many colors and prints, yet thanks to the block's minimal design, remains simple and modern. This is definitely a block pattern that I would like to experiment with more, especially by limiting the number of triangles I add. This quilt is now available in the shop, ready for gifting.


4.06.2015

ribbon blog tour


Welcome to my stop on the Ribbon Blog Tour, a celebration of Bonnie Christine's line of woven ribbons for Renaissance Ribbons

 
If this is your first time here, hello! I'm Caitlin, proprietress of Salty Oat, a quilt studio and online fabric shop.


Bonnie's ribbons, like her fabrics, are colorful and bright, and inspired by nature. As a quilter, I tend not to work with ribbons very often, so I was excited to try something new. Aneela Hoey's Hold it All Pouch had been on my to-make list ever since she announced its release earlier this year, and I immediately thought it would be the perfect complement to Bonnie's ribbon.


I sewed the pouch together in an afternoon and used this pretty aubergine ribbon on the handle, allowing it to be the focal point of the natural canvas exterior.


For the pouch's interior, I used my new favorite polka dot, which is from Bonnie's latest fabric collection, Hello, Bear. The pouch zips up with a pretty blue vintage metal zipper. I enjoyed keeping the pouch's palette clean, simple, and fun, and look forward to stashing some sewing notions in it.


The Ribbon Blog Tour continues through Wednesday, so be sure to check out some of the other bloggers participating, including Shannon Orr of Eva Blake's Makery who made a Reversible Studio Apron on Friday, and Kitty Wilkin of Night Quilter who will be posting her project tomorrow.


Inspired to sew with ribbon yourself? You can purchase Bonnie's ribbons from A Stitch in Time (a North Carolina fabric shop!). And if you'd like to keep up to date on Salty Oat, you can sign up for the newsletter right here.