A Sawtooth Star Flimsy

It's a flimsy!

Sawtooth Stars

50 x 70

I made the 35 ten inch blocks last year when I was working on emptying a box of 3 inch width scraps. I used orange, purple and green scraps from that box for the star points and background. Thinking outside that box (😉) I used some 5.5 inch squares for the star centers.  After I completed making all of the blocks I put all blocks in a big bag and put big bag in SAR (Some Assembly Required) bin. 

It's not easy to take pics in wind and when the sun is shining on only half the top. 

And sew on...

 WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward.

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

And now that the Sawtooth Stars are in a top I'm left holding the (empty) bag! 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

13 - Sawtooth Stars 

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Sundial (or wild) Lupine Seed Packet

You may or may not remember that a couple of months ago I started winter sowing seeds in milk jugs and pots with shower caps. Mostly I sowed native wildflowers that need some cold stratification. 

I'm starting to see some sprouts in some of the pots and jugs. 

Sundial Lupine is the sole host plant for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly. 

According to The Nature Conservancy:

"The Karner blue butterfly experienced drastic declines in the 1970s and 1980s. It is now believed to be extirpated in Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Maine and New Hampshire, and in the Canadian province Ontario. It is listed as endangered by the U.S. government. 
"The main threat to the species has been habitat loss and degradation. Because the larvae feed only on wild lupine, habitats are also lost to succession, the lupine being eventually shaded out by pines, oak and shrubby vegetation."

Maybe if I build their field of dreams they will come.

WITB?

 WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward.

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

Rail Fence

5 inch blocks

Rail Fence

5 inch blocks

On a post at the beginning of the month I showed a couple of boxes of 1.5 inch width scraps I had sorted into bags.  One bag held strips greater than 2.5 inches.   I pulled out that bag and cut pieces into 5.5 inch lengths, sorted by color and sewed 5 strips of the same color together to make 78 Rail Fence blocks. 

BAG empty!

Four Patch

6 inch blocks

I emptied a little baggie of Four Patch parts in red, white and blue. I think these were left over from making Americana.

The resulting Four Patches are now in the red, white and blue orphanage. That box is overflowing so I might have to make a red, white and blue orphan block quilt soon. 

Another one of the bags in my 1.5 inch width scrap boxes held pieces longer than 5.5 inch and at least 14 inches long. I matched a colored with a neutral and cut 14 inch lengths. I didn't have enough neutrals so had to cut a few of those from scrap chunks.  I emptied my bag and made 92 strip sets. 

Those 92 strip sets are now going into the Boo Boo Patch project bag. Moving forward I will pull out the ones in the RSC color of the month, subcut and make into my Boo Boo (or 18) Patches. 

I currently have 168 Patches and when I use those strip sets to make 92 more blocks I will reach my goal of 260 -- 3x6 inch blocks. That will be enough for a 60 x 78 quilt (20 blocks by 13 blocks).

I emptied another baggie of 1.5 inch width strips that were less than 5.5 inches. 

I cut those into rectangles 1.5 x 2.5 and 1.5 inch squares. 

The 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles went into the Potato Chip baggie. 

The 1.5 inch squares (postage stamps) went into a bigger bag of 1.5 inch squares. 

I've been using those to make my Gum Wrapper Chain strips. This one has been stalled for a bit because I ran out of 1.5 inch squares. However, I recently received that big bag of 1.5 inch squares so I can work on this Postage Stamp quilt once again. 

And remember I had two boxes of bags of 1.5 inch width scraps at the beginning of the month? 

Well, now I only have one box because I emptied the men's size 13 shoe box. 

The box of what I have left for 1.5 inch width scraps - a baggie with some longer pastel strips I will put with my pastel scraps, a baggie of multiple width of fabric (WOF) strips of the same fabric, a baggie of neutral pieces all lengths to be sorted and cut, a baggie of black and whites I will put with my black/white UFO, a baggie of pieces left over after making Waffles, Rails and Boo Boo Strips that need to be sorted and cut for WIPs/UFOs.  

Oh, and I did put some 1.5 inch width pieces long enough for 4 HSTs into my Little Baskets (4 inch) project box.  I have 35 Basket Blocks and my goal is 110. 

I emptied another baggie that someone had given me with Tumbler pieces.  I sewed those together into 9 strips 3.5 x 40 inches long. I figured I could use that length of strips in a row/strippie quilt. 

Someone also gave me a baggie of 4 Patch parts so I made those 15 - 6 inch blocks and emptied that bag. 

I have a little bag of old calico bits and pieces so I put the Tumbler strips and Four Patches in with those- Fodder for a future quilt. 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

And sew on...

Slow Stitching; Big Stitching

Grandma's Apron Strings

is still in the hoop.

I do a little big stitch hand quilting every evening.

The block is a traditional Wheel of Fortune. I used kitchen themed fabrics in all of the blocks. For the sashing I got the crazy idea to do some chicken scratch embroidery on gingham. I remember aprons with all kinds of fancy chicken scratch embroidery. I even have a few - at one time I used those aprons as kitchen curtains. 

I'm more than half way finished with the hand quilting. 

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

 

Where Did Those Yellow Scraps Go?

Shoo Fly

10.5 inch blocks

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color this month is yellow. At the beginning of the month I didn't think I had very many yellow scraps; however, here it is another week and I'm still using yellow scraps. 

Shoo Fly

10.5 inch blocks

I now have 29 toward my goal of 35. 

I have a box of 4 inch width scraps I want to empty and this is one of the blocks I'm making with the longer scraps. 

Broken Dishes

7 inch blocks

I now have 48 blocks toward a goal of 88.

These are also made with 4 inch width scraps.

16 Patch

10 inch blocks

I set aside a few red, blue and yellow novelties to use in this quilt. I also try to match up the novelty with a scrap from the 3 inch width scrap box if I can. If not I cut from a scrap chunk. 

I only need four more blocks toward my goall of 24. Maybe (or maybe not) I will make up the other four this week and get that top assembled. 

A couple more 16 Patch in red, blue, yellow. 

After I cut a 3 inch width piece off of that chunk of yellow fabric with colorful lizards I had a 2 inch width strip left so I made a couple of six inch 16 Patches alternating with green for my collection that now numbers 111 blocks. My goal is 120 or 130. Gosh, maybe (or maybe not) this week I will make 9 more 16 Patch blocks and make a top. I'll have to look at what I have in 2 inch width strips. 

Sawtooth Stars

10 inch blocks

(aka Orphan Curtis because I've used orphan blocks as the centers)

Last year when I was working on emptying out a box of 3 inch width scraps I made a lot of tops. I didn't get around to finishing this one up but kitted up 5.5 inch (unfinished) orphan blocks with 3 inch width scraps to be used for the star points. These were the ones that had yellow scraps for the points. I only have 5 more blocks to make. Maybe (or maybe not) this week??? 

Bits of Bricks

From a Youtube video. I rarely watch them because my computer takes forever to load them and then they are sometimes broken up; however, someone sent me the link so thought I would check it out. 

These units finish at 2.5 x 8.5 and consist of two 3 x 6 inch rectangles. 

The units get staggered a little so there are no seams to match.   I will be adding a 3.5 inch unfinished scrappy border. 

I now have 64 toward my goal of 88 (I think). 

Floral Wonky Windmills

8 inch blocks

34 of 63 blocks

Made from 4.5 inch width scraps.

These scraps were left over from making Posies so that's why a couple of other colors sneaked in. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

A Basket Weave Finish

It's a finish!

Basket Weave

42 x 60

I made the top last September when I was cleaning out a box of 3 inch width scraps. In amongst those scraps were some 3 x 6.5 inch rectangles someone had given me that were mostly yellows and a few reds.  I cut more warm colored rectangles and pieced a few from some of the other scraps in the box. And then I added rust colored sides 2.25 x 6.5 to each rectangle and then wove them into a top. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizontal and vertical lines. 

The back is a mottled brown with apples. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts. 

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." - Anonymous (sometimes attributed to Mark Twain).

I'm 73 years old today. No regrets.

 

The Posy Patch

Posy Patch

64 x 64

It's a flimsy!

Well, I actually intended for it to be 56 x 72 but I guess it was not meant to be. 

My goal was 63 blocks for a 7 x 9 block layout.  At the beginning of this month I had 52 blocks. This month's Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color is yellow so I made 6 yellow Posies. 

Since I was so close to my goal of 63 blocks I made 5 more blocks and met my goal. 

I've been making these out of florals- floral blocks made out of florals with floral backgrounds. 

I've been making 8 inch finished blocks using an old Block Lotto pattern called Violet Block.

I decided since I had enough blocks I might as well go ahead and assemble the top. 

I don't put blocks on a design wall (bed,floor, etc.) and usually just randomly sew blocks together -webbing them as I go. So, I thought I had nine rows down when I started webbing but only had 8 rows.  After webbing I had one block left over but thought I must have originally miscounted blocks.

So after I web blocks I start at the top and cut one row at a time from the web, iron seams between blocks, sew it to next row, iron row seam and so on. 

It wasn't until I got to the last row to sew to the previous ones that I realized I only had 8 rows. How could that be? Then I counted columns and had 8 instead of 7. Oh, dear! 

Well, I could take off the last column and add it to the bottom but I guess it was not meant to be because I did not feel like doing that. 

And the reason I had one block left over after I did my webbing when I should have been one short if goal was 63 blocks and quilt has 64????   Well, I actually must have made 65 blocks not 63. 

And so it goes...

WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I'm wondering how many boxes, bins and bags I can empty.  

With this quilt top I was able to empty a grocery bag of Posies that was in my RSC Project bin. 

I'm keeping score:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

And sew on...

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Bunches of purple species crocus (and a few yellows and whites) have made an appearance in the lawn near the clothesline. You can catch a glimpse of them in the first photo in this post.  Yesterday we had strong winds as well as heavy rain and hail. The hail was about an inch thick in places on the deck. It reminded me of those little styrofoam packing pellets. I took some pictures of the crocus the other day. There was a little bee and several flies (someday I will learn the proper names for all the little pollinators) visiting the flowers. I'm not sure how the crocus will look today; however, they are usually a symbol of growth despite adversity and are pretty resilient little flowers. I have some yellow ones starting to bloom in a different area. I'm hoping this year to get around to making a scrapbook of flowers as they start to bloom so I guess I should get started. 

The Crocuses

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

1825 –1911

 

They heard the South wind sighing

    A murmur of the rain;

And they knew that Earth was longing

    To see them all again.

 

While the snow-drops still were sleeping

    Beneath the silent sod;

They felt their new life pulsing

    Within the dark, cold clod.

 

Not a daffodil nor daisy

    Had dared to raise its head;

Not a fairhaired dandelion

    Peeped timid from its bed;

 

Though a tremor of the winter

    Did shivering through them run;

Yet they lifted up their foreheads

    To greet the vernal sun.

 

And the sunbeams gave them welcome,

    As did the morning air—

And scattered o’er their simple robes

    Rich tints of beauty rare.

 

Soon a host of lovely flowers

    From vales and woodland burst;

But in all that fair procession

    The crocuses were first.

 

First to weave for Earth a chaplet

    To crown her dear old head;

And to beauty the pathway

    Where winter still did tread.

 

And their loved and white haired mother

    Smiled sweetly ’neath the touch,

When she knew her faithful children

    Were loving her so much.

 

It's A Happy Flimsy!

Happy Scribbles

42.5 x 60

It's a flimsy!

A year ago or so someone gave me some sets of 2.5 inch width pieces cut at 5 and 9 inches - perfect for Happy Blocks. Some had what looked like crayon scribbles to me and others had paint splotches. At the time I put them in a plastic grocery bag with a few different pieces of novelty fabrics I had with crayons and colored pencils. That bag then went into the Happy Place - a big box filled with a few bags with fodder for different Happy Blocks quilts. 

I didn't have frame pieces enough for a child sized comfort quilt so I added in a striped fabric in similar colors as well as that scribble fabric with crayons (next to the stripe) to add to the 2.5 inch width frames.  There were some 2.5 x 5 inch frame pieces that didn't have matching 9 inch pieces so that's where I decided to use the crayon with scribbles fabric. 

I cut my novelty with crayons fabrics into 5 inch squares and didn't have enough for the quilt so looked through a little bin of 5 inch squares for something to use and decided to use some mottled fabrics that looked kind of like watercolors to kind of go with those frames that had paint splotches...

...but I didn't have enough of those "watercolor" squares so added in four squares with circles. I guess they kind of reminded me of those old Spirographs and kind of went with the circles in some of the scribble frames. 

It was something easy to work on off and on between gardening when the weather is nice and other stuff I've been doing around here lately. 

WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I'm wondering how many boxes, bins and bags I can empty.  

With this quilt top I was able to empty a grocery bag of Happy Block parts that was in the Happy Place.

I'm keeping score:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been using some of those! 

And sew on...

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

One of these days I will catch up and blog about all my recent gardening exploits. 

Today I will mention a couple of recent books I've read. 

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin. - It seems every time I read a book written by Charles Martin I shed a few tears. From the summary at Charles Martin Books website: " At the story’s center lies the question: What does it mean – and what level of sacrifice does it take – to truly love someone?"

Last Patient of the Night by Gary Gerlacher. This was one that popped up on my Kindle as one I might like. After I read " Last Patient of the Night is M*A*S*H* meets Detective Harry Bosch. It's a thriller that won't disappoint." -Gregory D. Lee, author of An International Thriller.  Since I liked M*A*S*H*  and read most of Michael Connelly's mysteries featuring detective Bosch (and later watched the Harry Bosch series on Prime TV) I decided to read Last Patient of the Night.  I guess this is book one of four in the A.J. Docker Medical Thriller series so I guess I'll read the next one in the series.  Most of my reading takes place in the middle of the night when I can't seem to sleep.