New Orleans House Project

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012: January

Soscrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge for 2012 grabbed my attention a few weeks ago.  What's not to like?  I love scrap quilts and I love color.  I just needed to decide on what type of blocks I wanted to make.  I wanted to be able to use some of my Scrap-Users pre-cut scrap strips and I wanted an easy block so I could resort to mindless sewing on weeknights when I was too tired for finicky cutting and piecing.

One quilt pattern that has been on my "to do" list for awhile is 16-patch blocks set with hourglass blocks.  This is a great scrap-using pattern and the hourglass blocks add interest by creating secondary square within square blocks around the 16-patches.
This quilt from several years ago illustrates the secondary design.  This time around I'll be using 16-patches and multiple colors.

I used my 2" scrap strip collection and pulled as many reds as I could find.  I needed to cut a few strips from my red stash in order to get at least a little light vs dark balance going.  It didn't take long to have 3 blocks completed.
I haven't cut the hourglass blocks yet.  I envision using all the rainbow colors for those as well, with white and off-white fabrics as the neutral.  The arrangement of the colors in the hourglass will coordinate with the colors of the adjacent blocks.  So the hourglass blocks will likely include two different colors plus the neutral.  Perhaps this week I will cut some quarter-square triangles and play with hourglass block set-ups.

The 16-patch blocks were so much fun I'm trying to decide just how many I should make in each colorway!

Saturdays are link sharing days for Soscrappy's Rainbow Challenge, so check out the link to all kinds of scrappy red creativity!