Scrappy Hovering Hawks Quilt - My 2026 Scrap Bash Project
We’ve just wrapped up our 2026 Summer Scrap Bash sew-along, and it’s been such a fun time! This was the first year we had a private community just for Scrap Bash members, and it was jam-packed with stunning projects and progress. I wish I could share every single one of those beautiful quilts with you (you can find some on Instagram with #summerscrapbash).
For today, though, I’m excited to share my own Scrap Bash project…my new Scrappy Hovering Hawks quilt!
Scrappy sewing so far
Today’s quilt is my third Scrap Bash quilt, and the latest in a long line of scrappy quilts over the years. I love scrappy sewing!
During the first Summer Scrap Bash (back in 2024), I made a super colorful Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt, which used up a lot of my tiny 1.5” strip scraps. Then the next year (2025), I sewed up a Scrappy 16-Patch Quilt for the Scrap Bash. That 16-patch block pattern used strip sets, which made it a super fast and easy sew.
In fact, I finished my 16-Patch quilt early enough in the Scrap Bash that I decided to start another scrappy quilt!
I got a bunch of pieces cut out and even assembled a few blocks…and then I got distracted by other, more time-sensitive projects. That unfinished scrappy quilt sat on my sewing table for almost a year before I decided to finish it for the 2026 Summer Scrap Bash. Meet my Scrappy Hovering Hawks quilt!
My Scrappy Hovering Hawks quilt
For the 2025 Scrap Bash, we released a new block option: the free Hovering Hawks quilt block pattern. Since I’d already made scrappy quilts with our other blocks (Sawtooth Star, Log Cabin, and 16-Patch), I knew I had to make a Hovering Hawks quilt next!
After two strip-heavy quilts, it was nice to make something with a completely different cutting and construction process…at least a first. 😉 Each Hovering Hawks Block takes 10 half square triangles (plus some plain squares). I ended up making 81 blocks in all, which means I made and trimmed over 800 half square triangles! (Luckily I have some tips for trimming half square triangles that make it easier.)
With 81 blocks, my quilt finished at 72” x 72” (the perfect quilt size for a cozy large throw).
FABRICS
All the fabrics for my quilt top came from my (sizable!) scrap pile. I aimed for mostly pinks, purples, greens, and off whites, including solids and prints, quilting cottons and yarn-dyed wovens.
As usual with my scrappy quilts, I can’t remember the name of every single fabric I used (I’ve had some of my scraps for quite a while), but I do spy quite a few I recognize off the top of my head…like Eclectic Threads (from AGF’s Heirloom collection), Laurel Sienna, Meadow in Matcha (from AGF’s Evolve line), Sketchbook Brushstrokes Kiss (from Ruby Star Society), and Starry Natural (another Ruby Star Society favorite).
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. With scrappy quilts, you always notice more the longer you look at it…and I usually find myself reminiscing about past projects the scraps came from!
I wanted a super scrappy look for this quilt, so I mixed solids and prints along with lots of different values. Each Hovering Hawks block uses two different fabrics, and I kept things pretty random as I mixed and matched, so I ended up with some very high contrast blocks and some much lower contrast blocks. (I did try to stick to one busy print per block, though.)
Once I had my blocks, I had to figure out how to place them. There are lots of interesting ways you can arrange Hovering Hawks blocks to create different designs in your quilt top, but I decided I wanted to really emphasize each individual block, so I kept all my blocks oriented the same way, and I went for a pretty random block placement (instead of grouping or alternating by color).
All those random elements give the finished quilt top a really vintage, lived-in look that I just love…which seems just right for this classic quilt block!
BACKING, QUILTING, AND BINDING
Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to quilting and binding my Scrap Bash quilts, but this time I couldn’t wait to get it all finished!
For my backing, I used Jingle Plaid (from Katarina Roccella’s Adventale collection for Art Gallery Fabrics). A Christmas fabric isn’t the most obvious choice for a scrappy summer quilt, but Jingle Plaid actually picks up a lot of the colors from the quilt top, so it feels like a perfect fit! Plus I like how the plaid echoes the block organization of the top. (Also I just love this fabric so much that I’m using it on another project that I’ll share about soon!)
I decided to go with 100% cotton for the batting (always a favorite), and then I machine quilted this with a quilting design from the Quilt Finishing Fellowship guidebook: orange peels! I made them about 4” big, which gives the quilt tons of texture. I love how the curves contrast so nicely with the sharp angles of the Hovering Hawks quilt blocks, and the diagonal lines really help keep up the movement of the quilt top.
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Finish your own quilts
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I always like to finish my scrappy quilts with a scrappy binding, so that’s just what I did here! It helped me use up a few more scraps (always a good thing!), and it feels just right for this quilt.
This quilt took a year longer than I expected, but I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out…and I’m already looking forward to another scrappy quilt next year!
Make your own scrappy quilt
Because this is a scrappy quilt, we don’t have any kits…but you can use our four free scrappy block patterns and pull from your own stash to make some scrappy magic of your own!
If you don’t have a big scrap pile, you can even use some of my scraps instead by shopping our destash fabrics…plus our fabric bundles can get your scrappy quilt off to a great start.
Happy scrappy quilting!
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