What's In The Bins and Box?

This month the theme in my sewing space to move UFOs forward and use scraps is WITB? - What's in the bag, basket, bin, box? Hopefully I will be able to empty quite a few bags, baskets, bins, boxes too.

Bin #1 

Earlier in the year I received a couple of large bags of 2.5 inch unfinished HSTs and HST parts. Some were pressed but needed trimming. Some were sewn together on Thangles and other paper foundations. And some were just triangles that needed another half. 

I started with the completed HSTs and the ones that needed Thangles and other papers removed.  I then sorted by color, then pairs and decided on three different quilts to make from all these HSTs and parts. - Broken Dishes, Depression Blocks and Not Sure What You Call It.  

 

Tiny Bin (Empty Swiffer Pad Box)  #2 

HST parts for Broken Dishes

Then I sorted out all the HST halves. First I sorted by color and then paired up two pairs of like colors for Broken Dishes blocks.  I used my Easy Angle ruler to cut 2.5 inch light neutral triangles for the other half of the HSTs. 

My leader/ender has been making those HSTs for Broken Dishes Blocks. 

Bin #3

Chains of 4 HSTs for Broken Dishes Blocks.

They now need to be cut apart, ironed and trimmed. 

Then they go back again under the needle as a leader/ender to be made into a Broken Dishes block. 

These are the 4 inch finished Broken Dishes blocks I finished up this week. But bin #3 still is not empty so I have more ironing, trimming and Broken Dishes to put together. 

Now I have 105 Broken Dishes. 

Oh, and the shoe box in the first photo...what's in it? It has big bags holding blocks for my three quilts that will come out of Bin #1! 

And sew on...

***

Good News!

I had my mammogram and bone density tests yesterday (Tuesday).  I already saw the results on my chart today (Wednesday). I'm in good shape! Since I'm taking prednisone (for a year?) the rheumatologist ordered the bone density test as a baseline. Evidently prednisone suppresses "osteoblast activity and increases bone resorption, accelerating bone loss and raising fracture risk."

Bad News!

Evidently a raccoon or some other critter got into the garage and knocked a lot of stuff (crap) over. When said critter came down through roof it somehow must have disconnected a line between the two garage door opener units. I was leaving for my mammogram and bone density appts. and garage wouldn't open. I had to quickly remember how to open door manually. I hate to be late to appts. Gosh, that garage door is heavy. When I got home I checked outlet to make sure circuit breaker not tripped, etc. My son will help me look into it tomorrow or the next day or the next day...or I may have to call someone.  For now I'm parking outside because, gosh, that garage door is heavy. I'm also scared I might meet up with said critter in the garage. We've had raccoons (and their babies) and squirrels both up in there from time to time. I'm also going to have to look and see where they might be getting into garage.  I've put coyote urine around on deck and roof before to repel the said critters. Might be time for fresh batch.  

Also it rained and sump pump in basement quit working and basement filled with water. I pulled out pump and float must have been stuck. I'm glad that was an easy fix. I'm not glad basement is flooded. But I know that happens in this old house from time to time so there's nothing down there that can get ruined. I have an old wringer washer (two tubs with wringer in between) just because I have an old damp basement. And I have a clothesline and drying rack in the basement where I dry my clothes in the winter. So my washer and dryer can withstand the floods. 

And so it goes...

A Big Chip Top

It's a flimsy! 

A Giant Potato Chip Block

42 x 42

Made with 2 x 3.5 rectangles that came out of my 2 inch width scrap bin.  Sometimes I had to cut a rectangle off of a scrap in the 3.5 inch width scrap bin for enough rectangles to go around. 

This was one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects. Each round was made in the RSC color of the month - last round being purple.   

A few days ago I sorted through the scraps in my 2 inch width scrap bin to see what colors had the most scraps. 

I added a red, light neutral, green and black border to get to the 42 inch square size I wanted for a child's comfort quilt. 

More later on what I'm doing with the rest of the scraps in the 2 inch width scrap bin. 

And sew on...

 

What's in the Baggies in the Bag?

This month the theme in my sewing space to move UFOs forward and use scraps is WITB? - What's in the bag, basket, bin, box? Hopefully I will be able to empty quite a few bags, baskets, bins, boxes too.

One of the recent packages of scraps I received had several different baggies of HST parts. I decided to empty the bags. 

I made 24 Pinwheels that finish at 4.5 inches with the orange and black and orange and white HSTs.  I'm going to put these with the orphan blocks for row quilts/strippies for now. They might even make a nice center medallion for a child's comfort quilt. 

One empty baggie!

I made Broken Dishes Blocks that finish at 6.5 inches. 

I have a box of mostly black and white orphan blocks so these will go there. One of these days I'll dig into the orphanages and make some orphan block quilts. 

Two empty baggies!

And I made some Broken Dishes Blocks that finish at 6 inches. These will go into the box of red, white and blue orphan blocks. 

Three empty baggies!

Normally when I make Broken Dishes blocks they go into the Broken Dishes box with other Broken Dish blocks of all sizes. 

Another baggie had little HST parts. I made them into QSTs (aka Hourglass) blocks. 

Four empty baggies! 

And the bigger baggie that held all those baggies in now empty too so...

Five empty baggies!

The little QSTs went into the box with all the other QSTs I've been making since 2021. 

There's a Lone Star in that box too. 

Someday that Lone Star will be the center of a quilt surrounded by all those QSTs and inspired by...

...this vintage quilt. 

Competition Quilt. about 1895. hand pieced cotton, silk, linen; hand quilted; machine stitched backing. Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of Guido Goldman. 2008.406.

(Picture from Denver Art Museum)

I just love love love to infinity this quilt and decided I would make something similar but use my wonky hourglass blocks instead of HSTs. I'm not squaring up my Hourglass blocks (because I don't like to square up) so I will just make "made fabric" out of them for the borders and not worry so much about points matching up. Mine is definitely NOT going to be a competition quilt like the original. 

And sew on...

***

The rain has gone for a while. The weather is beautiful again (sunny and 65 degrees here in Iowa at 2:40 pm on 11/9). I have started collecting seeds Zinnias, Tithonia, Sunflower, Datura and Four O'clocks. 

I've also been readying some areas for winter sowing some seeds probably in late November. 

And sow on...

 

In The Hoop and On The Hook

What's in the hoop?

Easy Sunday

I've been big stitch hand quilting it. 

I finished the Easy Sunday top back in August 2022.

Easy Sunday 

70 x 80

Easy Sunday is a Free Spirit free pattern.

I've been marking lines with a Hera Marker. 

I've been big stitch hand quilting with different colors of perle #8.

***

What's on the crochet hook? 

A Granny Square cardigan for me.  I've finished the Granny Squares for the left front piece and have mattress stitched the rows together but still need to mattress stitch the columns. 

Free crochet cardigan pattern at Yarninspirations. 

I'm more of an earth tones person when it comes to my clothes!

I like to have several different projects going that keep these old hands moving in different ways. 

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

What's In The Box?

20 - 12 inch finished Wonky Log Cabin blocks with black/multicolor centers.

For a 48 x 60 quilt for a wee one. 

This month the theme in my sewing space to move UFOs forward and use scraps is WITB? - What's in the bag, basket, bin, box? Hopefully I will be able to empty quite a few bags, baskets, bins, boxes too.

This is the second quilt to come out of a bin of novelty and bright strings. I think I might have strings for another quilt! Stay tuned! 

What's in the Box? Novelty and bright strings. 

What came out of the box?

1. Heartstrings - 24 - 10 inch blocks.

2. Wonky Log Cabin - 20 - 12 inch blocks

 

Snowball Nine Patch Finish

It's a finish!

Snowball Nine Patch

54 x 72

I started making blocks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project to use 3.5 inch width scraps back in 2023.  In July of this year I had enough blocks to assemble a top. 

I free motion quilted it on my sewing machine.  I quilted it in columns and alternated going down each side of a Snowball. I was not concerned about keeping perfectly within the lines of the Snowballs - just roughly outlining them. 

Backing and binding. I pieced several backings for tops I have around this size and I think I picked the one I had not originally intended for this quilt but I guess that's okay.  I used a black and white stripe for binding since the Snowball blocks alternate black and white corners. 

And here's how the quilting around the Snowballs looks on back. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

This is one of the quilts made from scraps in a box of 3.5 inch width strips and squares I've been trying to empty this year. 

From the scraps in that box so far...

1. Streak of Lightning top (blue/gray/neutrals)

2. Hollow Nine Patch top

3. Small Uneven Nine Patch top

4. Snowball Nine Patch

5. Gray Pathways

and actually I have a block set made for 

6.  Large Uneven Nine Patch

What's In The Box?

24 - ten inch finished Heartstring blocks.

For a 40 x 60 comfort quilt for a wee one. 

This month the theme in my sewing space to move UFOs forward and use scraps is WITB? - What's in the bag, basket, bin, box? Hopefully I will be able to empty quite a few bags, baskets, bins, boxes too.

 

Those Heartstring blocks came out of a bin of novelty and bright strings. The bin also holds a couple of baggies of weird sized small pieces of novelty and bright scraps that I use for Heartstring corners. 

And this is the same bin after I made the Heartstring blocks. It's not empty so I guess I'll have to make more string blocks.  I have a couple more boxes of strings and a couple of bags of light neutrals so we shall see what happens next. Hmmm... maybe a Wonky Log Cabin. Stay tuned!

And sew on...