New Orleans House Project

Saturday, December 19, 2015

RSC 15: Contemplating Finishes...or Not

I thought two of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects for 2015 would be ready for finishing by the end of the year.  However, after counting up finished blocks and contemplating quilt layouts, I'm not sure I'm happy with the number of blocks I have ready.

There are 64 of these 9 patch blocks, which finish at 6 inches.  I was planning to color block the 9 patches in groups of 4 and add white sashing between the resulting blocks.  When I did the math for the finished quilt size, I decided I would be happier with a larger quilt.  My plan is to make additional blocks in a reverse pattern - white surrounding one colored piece in the center.  I already have plenty of miscellaneous 2 1/2" squares cut thanks to Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System.  I can cut the appropriate sized white scraps and have everything ready to use as a leader-ender project for 2016.

These scrappy Maverick Stars are ready to be turned into a quilt top, although I'd like to do a little playing before I make a final decision on the setting.  My plan is to use a straight set (I don't care for how these look when set on point) with blank squares between each block.  Rather than just using plain fabric squares, I wanted to experiment with string-pieced squares using white and off-white fabrics.  I haven't made the playtime to do that yet, so the stars will have to wait a bit longer for their final assembly.

I never considered these string blocks (or spiderweb blocks) to be an "official" RSC project, but they are definitely scrappy and on their way to being finished!  I have 9 more blocks to stitch together and then I can start laying them all out for final assembly.  I think they'll probably need a little trimming, too, as some of them have slightly concave sides, despite careful pressing.  

So with the prospect of all that fun, scrappy sewing ahead of me - would you believe I am procrastinating?   That's because this t-shirt quilt has to be finished before I can focus on any scrappy quilting.  Chris, the quilt's recipient, finally agreed on this Kaffe Fassett print for the sashing and borders.  I had to order the fabric, but now everything is ready for me to finish cutting and sewing.  My reward will be free fabric playtime, but it's hard to just go get started!

Other Rainbow Scrap quilters are also finishing up their projects and you can see the results at Angela's Soscrappy blog.