Purple Plain and Simple

This year I have been working on scrap chunk reduction. I define scrap chunks as anything bigger than a six inch square and less than a fat quarter.  Most of my RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) blocks this year use 3.5 inch and/or 2 inch pieces so if possible I cut a 3.5 inch width of fabric and a 2 inch width of fabric off of my scrap chunks in the color of the month. Then I make my RSC blocks. After that I do a clean up of what didn't get used in blocks.  The results of the clean up go into the Parts Department and will be used in the future in a variety of different ways. 

If there are at least two 3.5 inch squares of a scrap then I make Four Patches (above) that finish at 6 inches.  

One 3.5 inch square and four 2 inch squares and a few neutral scraps get made into Uneven Nine Patches.  They also finish at six inches. 

I also cut some 3.5 inch squares and 2.5 x 3.5 inch rectangles. I do have a project in mind for the future that will use those rectangles. Anything less than a 3.5 inch square gets sewn into a strip for a future Chinese Coins quilt. I have a whole box of strips in a variety of widths and in all colors of the rainbow so it should be fun to make a quilt out of those one of these days. 

I also make Four Patches for the Parts Department out of 2 inch width leftovers as part of my clean up process.  These finish at 3.5 inches. 

And I cut 2 inch squares and anything less than a square gets sewn into a strip or strips. 

After I finished that cleanup process I made some Indian Hatchet blocks that finish at 4 inches. 

That's about the end of my purple scraps except for what I will use to make slab and crumb blocks at a later date. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Tales From The Scrap Yard: #9 - Double Wrench

Double Wrench

It's a flimsy!

40 x 60

This is a ten inch block. I used the Double Wrench pattern at Quilter's Cache.

Back on March 24 I received several bags of scraps and I decided to document  with "Tales From The Scrap Yard" how many donation quilts I could make from those scraps. I've been trying to make the quilts all different.  I sorted the scraps into different bins and boxes and this is the first quilt to come out of the brown scraps. I will probably be able to make one more small brown quilt from the remaining scraps. 

This is quilt top #9 and when finished will probably be donated to Quilts Beyond Borders. 

I've been blogging about all that I make from the March 24 gifted scraps (aka Candra scraps) in Tales of the Scrap Yard.

As seen previously on Tales from the Scrap Yard: 

• Backstory and Quilt Tops #1-#3 (Greens)
• Quilt Top #4 (Green)
• Quilt Top #5 and Farewell to Green (Green and Pink Frogs)
• Quilt Top #6 (Warm Colors)
• Quilt Top #7  (Warm Colors)
• Quilt Top #8  (Cool Colors)

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

 

Wednesday Wandering

I always try to go with the flow.

Several years ago limbs of a mulberry tree fell across the barbed wire fence that separates out our field from my flower garden. For one reason or another we could not cut some limbs all of the way back to the tree. A few limbs fell into my fairy garden next to the unruly Seven Sisters Roses I had managed to confine to a heart shaped trellis. Now the Seven Sisters can go back to their unruly nature and climb trees. 

The Fairy Garden is a small circle in the middle of the photo surrounded by a cement path. Many years ago I made the pathway with cement poured into one of those molds that look like little cobblestones. Now the pathway is more of a semicircle since part of the path is blocked by limbs. 

 I have mostly miniature species of a variety of plants in the Fairy Garden as well as little fairies, frogs and gnomes I used to use to mark where I planted seeds and bulbs so I would remember from year to year where things were and not mistake anything for weeds. I used to put trinkets in a little wheelbarrow and coins in a little wishing well for the grandkids when they were younger. Ah, the thrill of  discovering a gift from the fairies!

The  Seven Sisters rose came from a cutting my husband's aunt Essie gave to me long ago.

 

From Purple Scraps

This week's purple scraps turned into: 

X and + blocks that finish at 7.5 inches. 

Double Irish Chains that finish at 9 inches.

Rail Fence blocks that finish at 5 inches and Bit Coin blocks that finish at 6 inches. 

Big Chips and the waste triangles turned into Hourglass blocks. 

I was going to make some Postage Stamp Pandemic blocks but I discovered that I need to go through some scraps and replenish my stash of postage stamp squares. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

 

In The Jungle The Mighty Jungle

Back at the beginning of the month I made it my OMG (one monthly goal) to turn a panel with tigers into a more child friendly quilt top. 

I decided the tigers came from a lush tropical jungle in bloom. 

I made lots of six inch finished blooms and combined them with tigers  and a little greenery cut from the panel as well as some squares and rectangles of leafy green fabrics. 

Finished quilt top measures 42 x 54. 

OMG accomplished! 

OMG at Elm Street Quilts

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Wednesday Wandering

Gardens are a lot of work. 

But sometimes I get to stop and smell the roses. 

Despite some early deer and rabbit damage I have to say the roses this year do not disappoint.  

I am so thankful the Japanese Beetles have not been around to eat them either. They have been a terrible pest the last couple of years. 

Each variety of rose in the garden has a different scent. 

I haven't seen this Winchester Cathedral rose in bloom for a long time. Several years ago it was severely damaged when a tree fell on it. Then I babied it and when it started to make a comeback the deer and rabbits ravaged it several years in a row. Then the last couple of years the Japanese beetles have visited in droves and devoured most of my rose buds. I'm an organic gardener so the cure for Japanese beetles is to pick them off by hand and throw them in a bucket of soapy water. 

Winchester Cathedral is supposed to be a shrub rose and this is about the shrubbiest it has been in years. I am so very thankful I have roses to enjoy this year. 

Martagon or Turk's Cap Lilies

I've planted mine in a shady area.

They have a slight fragrance. 

There are several clumps of a miniature Asiatic lily in bloom in the fairy garden. This one is in front of a miniature rose in bloom and next to Edelweiss.

This clump is blooming near the dianthus in bloom. 

How do I know this is a fairy garden? Well, do you see the fairy door and the little pathway leading up to it? 

The Foxglove are really quite nice this year. I started these from seed. The bees dart in and out of the gloves. This Foxglove variety is a biennial and this is their second year so I finally have some blooms to enjoy. I find these very difficult to start from seed that is like dust and have had several failures in the past. I am hoping the Foxglove like where they are and will reseed themselves. 

I love Delphiniums. I used to have a big patch of them mixed with poppies and daisies but they all disappeared after a tree fell on them one winter. Now I'm trying to get a new patch started. The pale yellow flowers are a perennial foxglove.

Blue Tradescantia or Spiderwort and ...

...white Tradescantia.  I recently found a red variety and planted that last week but it does not have blooms yet. 

Dutchman's Pipe in bloom. It is supposed to be a primary food source for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.  Dutchman's Pipe vines are rather invasive so I have to work hard to control it as well as the Trumpet Vine on the same trellis. 

On a different trellis Jackmanii Clematis is blooming.

And underneath the Clematis the Yarrow is starting to bloom.

I've been harvesting a bowl of strawberries every day. And every day hubby and I eat a bowl of strawberries. I think now I will freeze the daily pickings. 

We've been eating a lot of radishes and green onions from the garden for lunch every day and in salads. But now that it is getting hot I pulled up the last of the radishes. Some smaller ones I left to go to seed and I will plant those seeds later this year for a fall crop of radishes. 

I have Buttercrunch lettuce I let grow into heads but the darned rabbits (or is it a groundhog) have been eating the leaves and I haven't. I put a little fence around them and now the heads are starting to grow again. Buttercrunch is slower to bold in warm weather, thank goodness. 

Meanwhile we've been eating leaf lettuce from this patch of greens as well as some mustard greens from a different patch. The salad is oh so yummy with a little oil and vinegar dressing mixed with herbs from the herb garden. 

And something has been eating my pea vines down to the ground over and over again so they are pretty short. However, I think I will have some Sugar Snap Peas ready for harvest soon.  I have some Snow Peas on a different fence that are in bloom. 

I am so thankful we finally had a good heavy rain yesterday. The garden is thankful too. 

 

Sixteen Patch Stars Top

Sixteen Patch Stars

It's a top!

42  x 56

It's made with scraps and 4 inch novelty squares. In the past I participated in several I Spy type swaps and even though I have made lots of I Spy type quilts I still have a small drawer of 4 inch squares. 

I moved the stars around in each block and for the center of each star I found a square with the block color on a white background.  For the star points I used 3.5 inch white squares cut on the diagonal. Then I just sewed them on wonky style. 

When completed it will be donated. 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt