It's A Finish! Baskets in the Hollows

Baskets in the Hollows

58 x 72

Hand Quilted

I finished the top last December when I was trying to use up my '30s reproduction scraps. I first made a bunch of little Wonky Baskets from 2 inch squares and waste triangles. I used a lot of muslin scraps for the background. The blocks finished at 4.5 inches.  Then I decided to make Hollow Nine Patches for an alternate block and set the blocks on point. 

I did big stitch hand quilting with perle cotton #8 in a variety of colors. That process used up a lot of odds and ends of perle cotton.

I used more muslin scraps for the binding. And I noticed when I took these photos that there sure is a wide variety of different shades of both bleached and unbleached muslin! 

The big stitching forms a neat pattern on the backing. As you can see...I was a little short on backing fabric...

...but I made do! There's always scraps to fill in the blanks. 

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

Motley Mix

Back on March 24 I received several bags of scraps. I thought it would be fun to see how many donation quilts I could make from those scraps, I first sorted them into various piles. One of those piles was a 14 quart bin of warm colored scraps. I made a Streak of Lightning top and an Uneven Nine Patch top and then I still had some bits and pieces of scraps in that 14 quart bin of warm. So I made a lot of different blocks from the leftover warm scraps and now I only have warm scraps left for some slabs and crumb blocks.  

First I made some Bear Paws that finish at 6 inches. I will make these as I go along when I have 4. 5and 2.5 inch scraps.  They are going into the Parts Department and when I have a lot of them I will make some quilts. 

More Bear Paws. For some of these I added in some 4.5 inch squares from the Parts Department.

Sixteen Patch Stars

I had some 4 inch squares left in the 14 quarts of warm. I also have a little drawer of 4 inch novelty squares from previous I Spy type swaps. So the warm squares got together with the novelty squares and a few Sixteen Patch Stars were born. I previously made four blocks from green scraps so if I make a purple and a blue block I should have enough for another nice donation quilt top. 

With 2.5 and 2 inch scraps I was able to add a few Indian Hatchet blocks that finish at 4 inches to my collection. A vintage quilt was the inspiration for these blocks. 

Also with 2.5 inch squares I was able to make some small Chips (Economy Blocks) to add to my collection. And whenever any project leaves me with 2.5 inch scraps I make Nine Patches for the Parts Department. At year end those will be made into quilts.

Whenever I have 3.5 inch scraps leftover I combine them with low volume scraps to make Four Patches or Uneven Nine Patches. More for the Parts Department!

I started making 3 inch project leftovers into Hollow Nine Patches. The Parts Department is growing!

I love blocks made from 1.5 inch scraps. I have a whole 14 quart bin of little 3 inch Nine Patches so I added in some more. And I started making some Rail Fence and Bit Coin blocks that will be new Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects. I like to have projects going for all sizes of scraps so I can make blocks with project leftovers instead of throwing leftovers in boxes and bags to sort later. 

Two inch scraps get made into Four Patches. 

And I added a couple more blocks to the RSC line up. 

Some of the rest of the scraps in that 14 quart bin of warm got cut into squares for the Parts Department and if there was less than a square I made a little strip for a future Chinese Coins quilt. My box of these little strips is overflowing so I should probably make a quilt now...or maybe later. 

Since the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color this month is red and I definitely used some red scraps I will link up with RSC ScrapHappy Saturday where all kinds of scrappy things are happening. 

 

BIG Prints #2 - Garden By Moonlight

Garden By Moonlight

60 x 75

It's a flimsy!

I've been trying to use some of the BIG prints that have been lingering in the stash for awhile.  This is the second in the series using the Double Sawtooth block at Quilter's Cache- perfect for BIG prints with the 9.5 inch center square. For this one I picked out all the BIG print florals with a dark background. 

I was thinking of a moonlight stroll through a lovely cottage garden while I was making this.

I used more dark BIG prints to piece a backing.

 Now on to the next BIG print...chickens, ballerinas, light florals or patriotic text???? Hmmmm...

Wednesday Wandering Through The Aquilegia

I have many different varieties of Aquilegia in bloom in my flower gardens. I started all of them from seeds over the years. They are also commonly known as Columbine or Granny's Bonnets. 

 

Tales From The Scrap Yard: Warming Up

Uneven Nine Patches

in warm colors

42 x 60

It's a flimsy!

Back on March 24 I received several bags of scraps and I decided to document 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 second one to come from a 14 quart bin of what I considered warm colors.  I only had to add in a few scraps of my own.

This is quilt top #7 made from those March 24 scraps. When finished it will probably be donated to Quilts Beyond Borders.   

Last year 3372 quilts were donated through Quilts Beyond Borders to a variety of initiatives that serve needy people and children. A summary of those initiatives and the number of quilts received may be found on the Quilts Beyond Borders April 30, 2021 blog post. 

Neutral Territory

Three Baby Quilts

in neutrals from stash

are all now finished and are 42 inches square. 

All three backs came from stash too. 

When my sister requested a neutral baby quilt for my niece I wasn't sure what I could make from stash that would be cute for a baby.  I really am trying to make quilts from stash and not buy any fabric unless it is for backgrounds or backings.  

Quilt number one consists of six inch Sawtooth Stars

I quilted it on my DSM with vertical lines.

The backing is pieced and the binding is a gingham printed on the bias. 

I've been going through my fabric and pulling out big prints so I can find a use for them. I thought this was kind of cute for a baby quilt...the good old days...

...and the good old toys and the good old words of wisdom. 

Six Inch Broken Dishes

That's what quilt number 2 is made of. 

I quilted it with spirals on my DSM. The binding is dark gray with white triangles. 

The backing features little owls on a tan background. 

Quilt number 3 is Four Patch Pooches. 

I quilted it on the diagonals on my DSM. 

And I had just enough of this crowd of pooches for the back. 

Lately most of my days have been spent outside in the gardens but in between rains I have managed to get a little sewing done. I figured I should first work on finishing up these little quilts since finishing them was my May OMG (One Monthly Goal). 

OMG at Elm Street Quilts