Scrap-Busting Block Bonanza

I've been digging through the blue chunks, strips and scraps this month to fulfill the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for July: dark blue.  

I have an abundance of blue fabrics of all types and sizes; revisiting them this month was enough to create a desire to do some serious scrap-busting.  I've played with several block patterns, looking for good candidates to use up lots of scrappy chunks and bits.  I haven't completely decided on a plan of action (I find it hard to stay focused on anything for long these days), but I've had fun playing!

One block I played with is called Wishing Ring in my resource book (501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins).  I started with the large size, trying to use up bigger scraps of fabric; it finishes at 10 inches.  Maybe it was the fabric choice, but I didn't love the 10 inch block, so I tried the smaller size (finishes at 7.5 inches).  I'm putting this idea on the back burner for now, but will probably return to it at some point.

I started making these blocks as a prototype for a much larger version of the block I was mentally visualizing.  I pulled some 2 inch strips to cut for the HSTs and 1.5 inch strips for the center parts.  After making a couple of these, it occurred to me they looked like a Bonnie Hunter pattern.  Turns out I was making Little Monkey blocks.  

I may keep making these as an RSC project, but I really want to try making a larger version, maybe something in the 10 - 12 inch finished size.

Speaking of Bonnie Hunter, I also made a few Carolina Chain blocks with dark blue scraps.  This block has been a leader-ender project for me for the past year or so.  I have more than enough blocks to make a quilt, but I don't have a complete set of rainbow colors yet, so I'll keep making these a little longer.

Now here I may have found something that will keep me occupied for a little while!  I found a big chunk of scrap fabric with blue and white seaside scenes.  They're the perfect size for the center of an Irish Chain alternate block.  There's enough fabric to fussy-cut 20 or more of the vignettes, and I have some other fabrics I can use to fake it if I need to.  The Irish Chain blocks go together quickly using strip piecing, and I have lots of light and dark fabric combinations to use up.  This could be the Project of the Week!

For more scrappy quilt inspiration, check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekly link-up.

An RSC Finish and Quilt Nostalgia Comfort

Yay for quilt finishes and sunny days and doggos!

This was a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project I started in January, 2018.  My goal was to use reproduction fabrics to make these quarter log cabin blocks, although they were inspired by a quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  My final version measures 84 inches x 84 inches.

It was fun picking out repro fabrics to meet the monthly RSC color challenge.

Diane Knott did the long-arm quilting for me.  I hand-stitched the binding in air-conditioned comfort while binge-watching an old, favorite TV show.  Thank goodness we have modern conveniences to make our quilting easier! 😃

I'm sending the quilt off to my former neighbor and all-round good friend, who has moved to Texas to be nearer her family.  We had a lot of adventures together, and I miss having a "partner in crime"!

And speaking of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge....

I haven't been doing much to bust my scraps lately.  I decided I wanted to tackle some of the print fabric scraps that don't seem to make it into my RSC quilts.

For some reason, I was inspired to look back at some of my early quilts, and consult several of my early quilt resource books.  After much consideration, I decided to go for this block (again). 

The block has many names, but the first time I used it in a quilt, I was following a design called 25 Patch Star from Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel.  Her books have always been a great resource for traditional quilt blocks, and even included full size templates for the block components - you know, back in the day before we cut our fabrics with rulers and rotary cutters and stitched them with sewing machines!

I decided I liked the comforting idea of revisiting this quilt block and promptly used my rulers (especially the Easy Angle ruler for the HST blocks) and rotary cutter to prep some scrappy strips.

The RSC color for July is dark blue.  No problem finding plenty of scraps to fill the bill.  I still have a couple more blocks cut, but not sewn.  I'm having so much fun, I may have to work backwards and fill in the previous month's RSC colors.  

Are you feeling the need to make nostalgic or comforting quilts during this crazy time?

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge weekly scrap party.

 

June Mini: A Puzzle Experiment

I've always wanted to try my hand at piecing a Rocky Mountain Puzzle block.  

Still thinking about Christmas gifts, I thought maybe I could make my Denver-residing son something (a pillow?) using the RMP block.

Since the July 4th holiday was fast approaching, I decided to dig into the red, white, and blue fabric stash for inspiration.  Using the tutorial linked above, I tried the eight inch size puzzle blocks.

It turns out, the "puzzle" is using partial seams to create the border around the center block.  It wasn't difficult to do, but design-wise, it didn't really make sense to me.  Unless one uses different fabrics for that border, the fancy piecing doesn't show up.  For future reference, I'd just construct the block using regular border-style piecing.

I made two additional blocks, then added sashing and cornerstones so the blocks wouldn't run together.  I used invisible thread to quilt around the squares and triangles in the blocks, and a decorative machine stitch in blue thread to quilt the sashing.  

The finished mini measures about 18 inches square - a good size to fit an 18 inch pillow form.  😀

The backing fabric was also from my red, white, and blue fabric stash.

Since this was an experiment, it will stay with me and I'll do another version for Dear Son.  I have a fun stack of indigo-style blues and browns that might make some great Rocky Mountain Puzzle blocks.

I did a little July 4th decorating on the bureau in my front entry hall!

Linking up with Wendy's (Constant Quilter) Monthly Mini Link-up.

Cassandra's Circle BOM Block Five

The sixth Cassandra's Circle block was posted this morning at Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts blog.  Thank goodness I finished the June block just in time!

Russian Sunflowers - Cassandra's Circle block five.

My plan for this BOM was to only use fabrics from my chosen fabric collection and not add additional fabrics if at all possible.  It has been an interesting challenge!

Meandering Through June

Just like the Mississippi River, I feel like I'm meandering through the month of June.  

I've worked on this and that, but no big sparks of creativity (or energy) seem to be flowing.  I guess I'll just keep meandering and see what turns up - something always does!

One recent project was mastering the art of the Lone Star block.  After inserting the background pieces - which required using Words of Power - I decided maybe I don't want to make Lone Star themed gifts for Christmas this year.  I'd still like to make a large Lone Star quilt for myself, but the thought of lots of Little Lone Stars now gives me a headache!

I'm still planning to turn this star into a pillow.  I did some basic straight-line quilting, but I want to make the pillow with a zipper, which requires a trip to the fabric store.

This small quilt (30" x 30") was just a bag of four patches a few weeks ago.  The fabrics were left over from Barbara Brackman's Grandmother's Choice BOM from 2012.  Once I had the double four-patches pieced up, I found a nice hunk of Brannock & Patek (circa 1997) fabric in my stash to use for the outer border.

For quilting, I used straight lines through the four patches, and pumpkin seeds in the border.  Since I suck at free-motion quilting, I did the pumpkin seeds using the walking foot feature on my sewing machine - feed dogs engaged.  It was fun figuring out the best way to make the design without having to start and stop the line(s) of stitching.

The backing also came from my stash - an antique map print.  You can see the quilting a little better from the back.

And every quilt deserves a label - even the leftovers!

BTW, I got brave and used my laser printer to print the label.  First, I ironed the label fabric to an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of freezer paper.  I wrote out the label using my word processing program, then played with different fonts until I found one I liked.  The font is called "She Persisted" - which I thought was perfect.  After printing the label in the printer, I also heat-set the design using my iron.  This has been through the wash; it may have faded a tiny bit, but not enough to matter.

Meanwhile, at our camp, I have a new pressing/storage table!  Dear Hubby built the shelf unit, then added a removable, expanded top.  I covered the top with padding and cotton canvas.  I love it!

I put the new pressing table to good use last weekend making more "Lego" blocks.  I only need a few more blocks and I can start assembling the quilt.

In between quilting projects, I've been pickling goodies from our garden.  The garden is small, but prolific this year!  I can't keep up with fixing cukes in fresh dishes, so I made a batch of refrigerator pickles this week.  This is two 4-cup pyrex storage containers full of pickles (graced with a few pieces of red jalapeño).  I've also pickled more banana and jalapeño peppers than I can count.  

I'm going to meander on to this project next.  I think some creative energy might be starting to flow!

Civil War Appliqué BOM Update

I've been participating in Barbara Brackman's Civil War appliqué BOM projects for the past two years.  

In 2019, the theme was Hospital Sketches, featuring stories about hospital care during the Civil War.  This year's theme is Cassandra's Circle, focusing on the lives of Confederate women in the social circle of diarist Mary Boykin Chestnut.

I used stash fabrics (except for backgrounds) for the Hospital Sketches blocks, but found my stash lacking in appropriate sashing and border fabrics. 

Happily, I found some suitable fabrics this spring and completed the flimsy.  I had to tweak the exposure on the photo quite a bit to even get the outer border fabric to show up - it's a dark blue paisley.  

This project was a great experience in choosing fabrics for appliqué.  I still have much to learn, but I'm enjoying the process!

This month's block for Cassandra's Circle is called Texas Star.

Several options were suggested for the center star image.  I liked the crossed five-pointed stars.  I especially enjoyed cutting the wreath using a folded paper (freezer paper in this case) technique.

Non-appliqué department

We're having a really prolific year of jalapeños.  So far I've made pico de gallo and pickled jalapeños.  I chopped up another batch and froze them.  And more were split, seeded, and roasted, then frozen.  And still the peppers keep growing!

Lone Stars in my Eyes

One of my goals for this year is to rev up my Lone Star quilt making skills.  Ultimately, I'd like to have a stash of Lone Star pillows to give as Christmas gifts.  Most of the intended recipients are residents of the Lone Star State (Texas), hence that specific quilt block choice. 

I made one large Lone Star quilt many years ago.

It was a gift for my mom, completed sometime in the mid-1990s.  She decided it was "too pretty" to use, so it remained packed away for years until I convinced her to hang it on the wall of her new house.  Now I get to pet it every time I visit her!  

My guiding star for making that Lone Star quilt was The New Lone Star Quilt Handbook by Blanche Young and Helen Young Frost (1989).

The "new" in their technique was the use of strip piecing, followed by rotary cutting diamonds from the assembled strips.  After making that first Lone Star, I knew I wanted to make more.  I had no idea it would take so many years for me to return to this quilt pattern.

I have been thinking about Lone Star quilts since January.  Searching the internet, saving pictures to Pinterest, returning to my library of quilt history books - all looking for inspiration and motivation.

I already had a fat quarter bundle whispering to me about becoming a practice Lone Star block (Chesterfield by Studio RK for Robert Kaufman Fabrics).  And when yesterday turned into Waiting for the AC Repairman Day, I knew it was time to start practicing!

Since I knew I wanted a small-ish, pillow-sized star, I followed an online tutorial from the Hopeful Homemaker which used 1.5 inch strips.  The current star measures about 16 inches.  I imagine I'll add some type of border, but the general idea is for the finished quilt block to fit an 18 inch pillow form.

I hadn't given a lot of thought to the background fabric for the star, assuming I'd find something appropriate in my stash.  This is an off-white Moda Grunge fabric.  I'm not crazy about it, especially since there's not much contrast with the light-colored paisley fabric in the star tips.

Then I remembered I had this Color Weave fabric (P & B Textiles - alas, I don't think they're still making this line), which I think will be perfect.  Fortunately, I have at least a yard of the fabric, so I should be able to finish an entire pillow.  

On a completely unrelated note:

We have a bluebird family in residence at our camp!  We haven't had any bluebirds for several years, so we enjoyed watching them build their nest.  I'm going up tomorrow to check on the garden, and I'm looking forward to seeing them!

Full Circle: An Appliqué Challenge

I was finally able to take some pictures of my finished Quilty 365 quilt - aka Full Circle.  The quilt was the result of a challenge from Audrey of Quilty Folk to appliqué a circle every day for a year.  My circles wound up being sort of a fabric journal of the year, hence the calendar-like layout.  

Since the majority of the quilt was appliquéd in 2016, there are 366 circles, as that was a leap year.  As I did the stitching, I also kept a written journal of the rationale behind each fabric choice.  

Local long-arm quilter Cindy Braiwick really outdid herself with the quilting.  She came up with lots of special patterns for the circles, which really added a whole 'nother dimension to the quilt!

Not every circle has fancy quilting, leaving some circles to speak for themselves.

My son David suggested the name Full Circle.  

The finished quilt measures 76 inches by 90 inches.

Lots of memories in all those circles!

Cassandra's Circle BOM Block Three

During April, I got distracted with face mask sewing and other projects, and didn't get around to stitching my Cassandra's Circle block until late in the month.  I managed to finish block three well before the end of the month, but I forgot about posting my results.

Here without further ado, is my Cassandra's Circle, Block Three:  Palmetto Wreath.

I added a Fleur de Lis to my block to represent my city - New Orleans.  I learned a lot about all the variations in fleur de lis designs as I was figuring out my block addition.  

The next block in the series - Texas Star - has already been posted, so I guess I better get busy choosing fabrics and stitching!

Au Revoir April!

Greetings from New Orleans/South Louisiana, where new cases of Covid-19 have slowed and hospitals are less overwhelmed.  Still, our governor has continued shelter at home orders for an additional two weeks.  I'm thankful for that, however painful for our economy, because I don't want to see a spike in new Covid-19 cases and subsequent deaths.  Our local hospital (where my husband works) was hit hard by the virus and is still struggling to keep up with the patient demand.

This time of year New Orleans would be in the middle of festival season, specifically our beloved Jazz and Heritage Festival - fifty years young this year.  Of course this year's Fest was cancelled, but in the spirit of resilience, local community radio station WWOZ has been broadcasting previously recorded Jazz Fest performances, so we can have a bit of escape from day-to-day reality.  Jazz Festing in Place follows the timetable of the real fest, broadcasting from 11 am to 7 pm from now through Sunday.  Tune in via WWOZ.org if you need a little musical escape!

As for quilting therapy, I seem to be taking comfort in wrapping up UFOs.

This Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch quilt has been kicking around the studio for several years.  At this point, the quilt was just shy of being queen-sized, and I kept looking for fabric to add as a final, un-pieced border.  Earlier this month it occurred to me I just needed to add some additional Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch blocks, and the quilt would be the size I wanted.

I cut twenty-four additional blocks and stitched them up.  Then I removed two of the borders and added an additional row and column to the body of the quilt.  I made a few additional Flying Geese blocks for the outer border, stitched everything back up and soon had a finished flimsy.  

I also finished hand-stitching all 350-something inches of binding on my Full Circle quilt...and made a label.  Full pictures of the quilt coming soon!

I need to stop digging around in the UFO bins.  I pulled out this stalled project and decided it would be a quick finish, if I would just focus on it!  Lots of the small four patches were already stitched, so it was a matter of cutting more of the larger squares to make double four-patch blocks.  These are all leftover fabrics from my Grandmother's Choice quilt - so should I call this Grandmother's Choice Leftovers?

I've also been trying to do some hand-quilting on this Schoolhouse quilt every day.  I enjoy hand quilting, but I really struggle with trying to improve my stitches.   Practice makes perfect!

Gardening and yard work have taken up lots of my shelter at home time, too.  These shots are from the containers at our camp (note: we shelter in place at our camp, just like at home and the camp is only an hour from New Orleans).  We already have lots of tomatoes that are close to being ripe.  I picked quite a few of the jalapeños in the picture above, and made pickled jalapeños with them last week.  Mint seems to almost grow wild at the camp, and we use it for Mint Juleps as well as Thai and Vietnamese dishes.

At home, we demolished our 30-something year-old in-ground swimming pool earlier this year.  Now we have an amazing patch of lovely green grass (lower left pic).  Dear Husband built the rolling planters in the top picture, and I filled them with Knock-Out Roses, Agapanthus, and Bird of Paradise.  The round terracotta pot is full of basil - we've already made our first batch of pesto! The hibiscus bloom is from plants along the back fence, and the remaining pictures are the newly re-done front yard landscaping - lots of daylilies!

And now to wrap up the month with good wishes for everyone.  I hope you all continue to stay safe and healthy and take comfort in your stitching!