Out of the Depths of the Orphan Block Box: Bow Diddley

 

 It's a flimsy! 

Bow Diddley

60 x 82

This month I pulled a pile of orphan blocks that have black backgrounds to see how many quilts I could make from the pile of buried treasure.   

This quilt started with twenty-two eight inch Bow Tie blocks from an online swap from long, long ago.  I finished one donation quilt made from thirty-five of the swapped blocks back in July 2016. After that quilt I had 22 blocks left for the orphanage. The ones I put in the orphanage kind of had  woodland theme going on. 

I decided I wanted a twin sized quilt so decided first to join sets of four blocks with 2.5 inch sashing and 2.5 inch cornerstones which made eighteen inch finished blocks.  To come out with an even number of blocks I had to make two more Bow Tie blocks so dug into the 4.5 inch scrap bin to look for some woodsy themed scraps. I made the lime green/pink dragonfly and green butterfly Bow Ties. 

After I made six blocks I found that I would have a 36  x 54 quilt which is a far cry from a twin sized quilt. What to do next? What to do next? 

I decided a four inch sashing to join the blocks would make a quilt 48 x 70.  I don't know what possessed me to dig into my 1.5 inch scraps to make some little bow ties for cornerstones but strange things happen sometimes when you diddle around in the sewing room. No design wall here but that's what I imagined in my mind that the quilt needed.  (Yes, I just made it all up in my mind as I went along - no rehearsals or try outs or endless fiddling and rearranging on a design wall - just imagine and then do).

So after all blocks were joined with a four inch sashing and little bow tie cornerstones all around I had a quilt top that was 48 x 70 which was still short of a twin sized quilt. What to do? What to do? 

A six inch border around would make for a quilt 60 x 82. Ok. That's close enough to twin sized for me....maybe a little small but it could also make a nice sized comfort or couch quilt. 

 I don't have a lot of large pieces of yardage to make borders with all one fabric so that was not an option otherwise I probably would have went that route. I looked into my 3.5 inch scrap bin and saw a lot of brightly colored scraps and at first thought I would make six inch Bow Tie blocks for the border but then felt a wave of laziness surge over me. I really didn't want to make that many Bow Tie blocks because I don't really like sewing and trimming those flippy corners. Instead I just made Four Patch blocks from 3.5 inch square scraps. 

The two sides didn't divide evenly by six so I ended up adding a 4 x 6 inch lozenge in the center of the border strip. 

This was orphan block top #2 from the orphans with black backgrounds pile and there are still orphan blocks in the pile.  (Coddiwomple was top #1). Stay tuned. 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

Hand Quilting Sunflowers

 I've almost finished hand quilting 17 out of 18 Sunflowers. 

 And I've almost finished hand quilting 1/4 inch inside all the triangles in the Flying Geese sashing. 

I've been using a stencil and pounce pad with chalk to mark the Sunflower centers and after I finish one more Sunflower then...

 ...I'm thinking I will use another stencil to mark this design in the four corners of the Sunflower blocks. (I guess after I mark them I'll have to also hand quilt the design). 

Then I'm thinking I'll stitch the top corner design in the side setting triangles. 

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

It's a Flimsy! Gallimaufry

 It's a flimsy! 

Gallimaufry

56 x 80

It was inspired by this c1890 quilt top I saw at Rocky Mountain Quilts described as follows: 

"This is a whimsical original rendition of an Irish Chain, which to follow the pattern needs to be viewed from a distance. How amazing would this be in a great room over a fireplace? this quilt was obviously pieced by someone who loved calicoes. No solid colors here. The fabrics date from 1860 to 1890, giving us the creation date of this piece. This is a quilt top for a fabric junkie. There are many patterns pieced on this top. Variation of diamond in a square, old maids puzzle, bow tie, broken dishes, four patch, all combined together creating the most unusual Irish Chain I have ever seen. All pieced by hand, and ready to quilt."

 I made my version completely from scraps found in the 1.5 and 2.5 scrap bins. In addition the little 1.5 inch HST pieces were cut with the Easy Angle ruler off the end of strips used to make QSTs  (cut with Companion Angle Ruler)) for my Vintage Thingamajigs quilt. 

Blocks finished at 4 inches. 

I love all those secondary patterns! 

I have a question. Does the word "flimsy" used to describe a quilt top bother you? I had a comment from someone who was highly offended that flimsy was used to describe a quilt top because to her flimsy meant it was not made well, not sturdy, not worth much.  

I'm not offended by much. What about you? Flimsy or quilt top? I'm curious. 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

It's a Finish! Cattywampus

 It's a finish! 

Cattywampus

42 x 56

 I started with a variety of cat themed 6.5 inch pieces with black backgrounds...

 Then I added bright strings all around until I reached roughly a fifteen inch block. 

 Blocks were trimmed to 14.5 inches. 

For the backing I pieced together several different green pieces that were trimmings from previously used quilt backings. 

I then quilted it with some spirals on my DSM and bound it with a lime green plaid. I was going to make a scrappy binding from leftover bindings in the leftover binding box but there weren't many leftover pieces in there. 

This was my goal #11

for

Q3 Finish--Along

and it will probably be donated to

Wrap-A-Smile

What Happened To Those Purple Scraps?

 From the 2.5 inch scrap bin...Garlic Knots aka Arrowhead Puzzles. 

 I cut some gray and black squares to make the rest of the blocks next month that I'll need for a twin sized quilt. 

 I've been making HRTs from 4.5 inch scraps for a couple of years. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but maybe it is about time I make a decision. In addition to the purples I sewed together some pinks I had cut out but had not gotten sewn together in the pink month.  Hmmmm...before I put them away I may see how these blocks might look assembled into diamonds. 

 These 12 inch blocks came out of the 3.5 inch scrap bin.  Again I think my target is a twin sized quilt. Not sure how many blocks I have right now. This may be a Rainbow Scrap Challenge I continue into next year or next month I may assess what colors are in the 3.5 inch scrap bin and make up the rest of the blocks I need. 

And finally I made ten little 3 inch finished Kitties that I'm thinking I'll match up with some of the little Nine Patches from the big bin of little Nine Patches in the Parts Department.  I'm thinking a baby quilt of these will be the goal. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday. 

It's a Flimsy! Coddiwomple

 It's a flimsy! 

Coddiwomple

64 x 82

 This is made from Orphan Blocks and some HSTs from the Parts Department.   A while ago I saw Claire (Cspoonquilt) and Cynthia (Quilting is More Fun Than Housework)  playing with orphan blocks and having some fun and that inspired me to dig into my Orphanage. I pulled out a bunch of blocks with black backgrounds and started playing with eight Stripey??  orphans leftover from a quilt finished...

...October 2010 and made from swapped blocks. 

Aiming for a twin sized quilt I first made four more 7 inch (finished) Stripey?? blocks so I could play with twelve blocks and make a rectangular quilt. Then I started to Coddiwomple (or “to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination”).  I have to thank a couple of blog readers, Sandy (Sew High) and Nann (With Strings Attached) for some of the fun words they send me for possible quilt names. Sandy sent me the word Coddiwomple and I think it was perfect for this quilt. 

 The next thing I did was add borders around the Stripey?? blocks. I dug into my 1.5 inch scrap bin and pulled the longest pieces I found and added borders all around log cabin style. When I ran out of 1.5 inch scraps  I cut more from scrap chunks. I wanted to keep the bordered blocks an even size so I could add 2 inch (finished) HSTs as sashing so ended up bordering each orphan with four 1.5 inch strips and one 1 inch strip for a 16 inch (finished) block. 

I had some HSTs in the Parts Department but not nearly enough for all the sashing so I made lots more with scraps from my 2.5 inch scrap bin.  I didn't bother with orienting the HSTs any particular way but just sewed them together willy nilly and then sewed all the columns and rows together.  The quilt was then 56 x 74 and a wee bit smaller than what I wanted so I added a border of batiks and black.  I almost used up all the solid black in my stash. 

 And then I arrived at my vague destination...

Coddiwomple

This was the pile of orphans with black background I pulled so I think I have more Coddiwompling to do maybe after I replenish my black solids and BOBs (blacks on blacks).  Wonder how many more quilts will come out of that pile of orphans.  I think maybe two or three. Stay tuned! 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia's Quilts

It's a Finish! Cats in Neutral Territory

 It's a finish! 

Cats in Neutral Territory

(Puss in the Corner)

60 x 80

 It has passed close inspection and has been approved for giving to one of my fav charities or for gifting to family or friends who need a quilty hug. 

 It consists of ten inch Puss in the Corner (or uneven Nine Patch) blocks. I had a bout of Cat Scrap Fever last year and ended up with lots of cat themed quilts to quilt this year.  I used up a lot of cat themed scraps and small pieces of neutral scrap chunks in this one.  That left me with some neutral scraps that went into the 2.5 inch scrap bin.  I've probably already used those in blocks I've made from the 2.5 inch scrap bin. 

 September has been a really busy month for me with both planned and unplanned activities so I've kept a quilt under the needle for quilting during the small snippets of time I've been able to make it into the sewing room.  This one was quilted simply with unevenly spaced vertical lines. 

A quilty friend sent me a gently used sheet I used on the back. It was the perfect size after I picked out the stitching on the sides to leave me a little tiny bit of extra width. 

This was my goal #15

for

Q3 Finish-Along

It's a Finish! Streak of Lightning

It's a finish! 

Streak of Lightning

60 x 84

Ready for giving or gifting. 

And no matter how you look at it...

...it appears there is a section that sticks out like a sore thumb.  That's because it originally...

...looked like this back in April when I finished the flimsy but I decided it should be a little longer in order to be used on a twin sized bed.  So I looked into my 4.5 inch scrap bin and pulled out the blue-green and pink scraps that were in there and made more blocks and added them on to one end. Now I can see this is a lesson in the value of value and maybe I should have cut from yardage rather than use those lighter scraps. 

This is made entirely from my 4.5 inch scrap bin. I started making HSTs and then Streak of Lightning blocks from blue-green and pink 4.5 inch scraps back in 2017 because that is what was mostly left in there after I used a lot of the rainbow colors to make my Wandering Geese quilt. 

 I just did simple quilting on either side of the lightning using pink thread in the pink lightning and teal thread in the blue-green lightning. 

 The backing is aqua and pink. Maybe the back should be the front in this case.  Whoever receives it can decide.  This will probably be donated locally to Humility Homes and Services. 

This was my goal #3

for 

Q3 Finish-Along