September Blues Part IV

Zip Blocks

6 x 9 finished

Light blue is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for September.

I finished up the last of my blue Zip blocks. I now have 42 blocks that I will set 7 x 6 for a child sized donation quilt. 

And then I used up all the 2 inch scraps left over after I made the Zip blocks.  I cut the QST (Quarter Square Triangle) pieces with an Easy Angle Companion ruler. The beginning and end of the 2 inch pieces were cut into HSTs with the Easy Angle ruler.   I made Four Patch QSTs that I will use as an alternate block with Four Patches I made last year.  With the HSTs I made some Broken Dishes blocks that finish at 3 inches.  I also cut some HSTs with the Easy angle ruler to use as the corners on the Indian Hatchet blocks that finish at 4 inches. 

I also made a few 3 inch Bow Tie blocks. I think I have over 450 Bow Ties in my collection now. 

Then I cut 2 inch squares for the Parts Dept. --- a pile with 4 squares the same, a pile with 2 squares the same and single squares. 

Then anything less than a 2 inch square but greater than 1/2 inch was sewn into a Chinese Coins strip. 

And sew on...

fyi - I'm going to be away for a few days. 

 

Scrap Processing: 1.5 Inch Scraps

Soul Searching 

with 1.5 inch scraps

12 x 14 inch finished blocks

I mentioned previously that I recently received a LARGE box of small scraps and I blogged about processing the 2.5 inch width pieces I found in that box and on my cutting matt.  Today I will tell you what I did with some of the 1.5 inch width pieces in that box and in my 1.5 inch scrap bin I've been trying to empty out for a couple of years. My bin doesn't have many long pieces in it and most of those are browns.    This week I only worked on the blues, greens and purples. 

Soul Searching with 1.5 inch scraps is a new start. I started making Soul Searching blocks with 2.5 inch rose print scraps and Wanda (Exuberant Color blog) commented that she had made several Soul Searching quilts and even made one with 1.5 inch strips. Oh, I liked that idea! So I set to work and made a few blocks before I forgot I liked that idea.   

Switch Plates

3 x 5 finished

I've been making Switch Plate blocks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project for awhile. I make these when I have 1.5 or 3.5 inch scraps enough for four 1.5 x 3.5 inch pieces.  All have neutral centers. 

18 Patch

(I call them Small Change)

6 inch finished

I've also been making these blocks for awhile as an RSC project. They are made of dark and lights of the same color and 1.5 x 2.5 inch pieces. I cut pieces from 2.5 or 1.5 inch scraps. 

I started a couple more new RSC projects that use 1.5 x 2.5 inch pieces.

1. I've seen these called Potato Chip blocks. They finish at 6 inches.  

2. Windmill blocks that finish at 4 inches. 

Thirteen

13 inch blocks

Block instructions at Klein Meisje Quilts.

I've also been slowly making Thirteen (Lego inspired) blocks as I accumulate pieces. So after I made all of the above blocks any leftover 1.5 x 2.5 rectangles went into my Thirteen project box. 

Then I cut postage stamps (1.5 inch squares) for my latest Postage Stamp quilt. 

This one is inspired by a vintage quilt and will consist of several columns like the partial one above on the right.   Sometimes as a leader/ender I sew together stamps into rows to be added to my strip (on the left). My rows consist of 9 postage stamps. Then I add a solid on both ends. Then I add a muslin 1.5 inch HST (cut with Easy Angle ruler) to both ends. 

Then anything less than a 1.5 inch square but more than .5 inch gets sewn into strips for future Chinese Coin quilt. 

The plan is to empty my bin of 1.5 inch pieces as well as the recently acquired scrap pieces by year end. Then next year I will cut 1.5 inch strips off of any scrap chunks I have in the RSC color of the month to make blocks. 

And sew on...

 

Limes and Oranges

Anvil Blocks

in limes and oranges

8 inch finished

I now have 80 blocks - 40 with orange backgrounds and 40 with lime backgrounds. 

I started making these blocks in response to the AdHoc Improv Utility Quilt color palette challenge.  

I challenged myself to make a quilt I like with colors I don't particularly like. Why orange and lime?

I watched an episode of Gardener's World. In one segment Arit Anderson was the presenter in a large topiary garden (large garden and large topiaries). She had on an orange and lime green outfit (do people still wear outfits?) and I found the combination of colors striking. Although I like most colors those are the two colors I would have to say I would list last as colors I use or would ever wear. But those colors together said "wow" to me. 

Now there's some assembly required.  Then I'll have to listen and see if I hear a "wow" from a lime and orange quilt. 

And sew on...

 

Scrap Processing: 2.5 Inch Scraps

Bear Paw

6 inch finished

I was sorting a box of scraps I recently received and pulled out the 2.5 inch width pieces to process.  If any were long enough to cut 8 HSTs with an Easy Angle ruler then I cut and made 8 HSTs to be used in two different blocks.  

I used 4 HSTs in Bear Paw blocks combined with a 4.5 inch square from my bin of different sizes of squares. 

I've been making Bear Paw blocks from scraps for quite some time. One of these days I'll count out how many I have and how many donation quilts I can make.

Monkey Wrench

5 inch finished

Then I used the other four HSTs to make Monkey Wrench blocks. These blocks also use some 1.5 inch squares from the Monkey Wrench Parts Department. 

From scraps this year and next I'll be making Monkey Wrench blocks in three different sizes and at the end of 2023 assemble them into different donation quilts. 

If I could make 2 HSTs then I made Broken Dishes blocks that finish at 4 inches. I'm thinking I will probably make 2 quilts with these - one with blocks with colors and neutrals and the other with two color blocks. 

This year and next I'll also be making Broken Dishes from scraps.

Monkey Wrench 

10 inch finished

Then if I was able to cut four 2.5 inch squares from the scraps then I used them in Monkey Wrench blocks. I also had to dig into scraps to make four 4.5 inch HSTs. I have some neutral squares already cut in my Monkey Wrench Parts Dept. 

I'm making one Monkey Wrench quilt with only brown scraps and...

...the other (or others depending upon how many blocks get made from scraps the rest of this year and most of next year) will be all colors. 

There were a few other 4.5 inch width scraps on the cutting mat so I went ahead and made them into HSTs and then Broken Dishes blocks that finish at 8 inches. 

The rest of the squares got cut into 2.5 inch squares for the Parts Department. If I could cut four identical squares then they will go into the Monkey Wrench Parts Dept. or they can be used to make Indian Hatchet blocks. If there are neutral squares they are kept separate for Monkey Wrench block centers.   If I could cut a 2.5 x 1.5 inch rectangle then I cut those for the Parts Dept. They can be used in a couple of different blocks I'm making and I'll show you those when I process some 1.5 inch scrap. 

Anything less than 1.5 inch but greater than an inch or so got made into Chinese Coin parts. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

September Blues -- Part III

Light blue is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. Last week I decided I might have enough bits and pieces of light blues to make a child sized zipper quilt.  The goal is 42 blocks and now I have 32 and I have the remaining 10 cut out. 

This week I also added a few blue Chips to my stock. Blocks finish at 3 inches. 

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

It's A Clue!

Clue #1

60 Flying Geese

Long May She Wave 

a patriotic mystery quilt

by Alycia at Alycia Quilts

I wasn't going to participate in the mystery this time because I have used almost all of my patriotic prints except for some small bits and pieces. BUT after some thought I decided I could use some civil war reproduction prints (or similar prints) in blues and reds and muslin. I just happened to have some blue  scraps in the desired width to make my flying geese. 

And sew on...

Definitely NOT FINISHED this week

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Soul Searching

Soul Searching

No, no deep thinking going on here. Soul Searching is the name of a quilt in the book Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty.   I was looking in that book for what I needed to do to finish up an old UFO (Pickle Dish Variation - make bias binding to go around pickle dish blocks and I have never made that much bias binding). While browsing in the book I saw Soul Searching and decided that is another one to make with my rose prints. 

I was actually going to make another Log Cabin like the one I just made with fruity '30s reproduction prints and solids but decided Soul Searching was the way to go instead. 

These blocks are easy to pick up and sew when I have a few minutes here and there.  Each block measures 12 x 14 inches finished. 

I now have 16 blocks and need just 20 more. 

Soul Searching 

from Making Quilts

by Kathy Doughty. 

And sew on...

 

Vintage Inspired

I'm not sure of the name of this block. I've been calling it a Buckeye Beauty Variation. Instead of a four patch in the corner there is a nine patch.   I was inspired by a vintage quilt to make these blocks. I'm using '30s reproduction fabrics as well as plaids, shirtings and homespuns.  When all is said and done these blocks should finish off a lot of bits and pieces of all those fabrics. 

The blocks finish at six inches and I'm thinking I'll aim for a twin sized quilt/comfort quilt about 60 x 78. That's 130 blocks if my fabrics stretch that far. If they stretch farther then I will aim for an 84 x 84 quilt. 

Right now I think I have 44 blocks. 

This is the inspiration quilt (or maybe those are just blocks? Can't remember just now the source of that photo).  Reminds me of the quilts grandma used to make from old clothes and other scraps. 

And sew on...

 

Some Assembly Required: x and +

x and +

7.5 inch finished blocks

I now have made my goal of 99 scrappy blocks in all colors of the rainbow and chocolates and then some.  Layout will be 9 x 11 for  quilt 67.5 x 82.5.

I started these blocks back in 2021 (or 2020) as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project to use scraps. That year I chose to start a series of blocks that all used 3.5 and 2 inch pieces. I cut off a 3.5 and 2 inch width piece off of a scrap chunk if possible and then distributed those pieces into as many different blocks as I could.  

A couple of months ago I dug into my Parts Department and dug out sets of four 3.5 inch squares for the number of blocks remaining to be made. Then I just needed to find three different 2 inch scraps to use in each block - 8 squares for "flippy corners"; 2 x 5 and 2 squares for center and 4 squares for plus ends. 

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I received a large box of small scraps and found a lot of what I needed to complete most of these blocks in those scraps. 

Now that I have a complete block set the blocks will go into my SAR (Some Assembly Required) box to be assembled at a later date. 

I have 2 big SAR boxes now but I did empty a big UFO box so I am moving forward. 

And sew on...

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

 

Two Tops

Two New Donation Quilt Tops

Snowball and Nine Patch

45 x 54

Blocks are nine inches finished and I used up some big print novelty fabric with cats as well as lots of red bits and pieces. 

A long time ago when the grandkids were younger I used to collect cat prints and a few years ago I made several quilts trying to empty the cat box 😉    I never knew what to do with a few big prints so the cat box never did get cleaned out. Recently some folks with the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild started making some nine inch Snowball blocks to be sewn together next year at a retreat and one person was using cat fabric. Aha! Light bulb moment!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

49 x 61

This is a really really old UFO. I don't like how it turned out. 

I was cleaning out a big UFO box because it was under a couple of other boxes and has been for awhile. I was going to empty it and put things in another box but there was not really much in the box but this UFO and another as well as some bits and pieces of fabrics to finish both.   This UFO was pretty far along - red, orange, yellow, green columns were sewn together, blue column was mostly made but needed a rainbow strip on the bottom. Then it looked like I needed to make indigo and violet columns  and some rainbow strips for the finish. 

I dug into my postage stamps (1.5 inch squares) and found most of the squares that could pass for indigo and violet and made a few 49 patch blocks and some rainbow strips. Then made the columns. 

I meant to have the violet postage stamp blocks connect to the indigo but forgot to measure length before I made the violet column.  I was actually going to rip off the violet column and fix it but decided I did not like the quilt at all and wasn't worth that work so just thought I might as well keep moving forward with it. Then when I went to fold it up for the quilting pile I noticed the sides were uneven. I think it measured 65 inches on one side and 62 inches on the other. Sheesh! So I evened it up to 61 inches. 

Not sure if this will get quilted or morph into something else. I have a LOT of kiddo donation quilts to get quilted as it is so I'm not going to worry about it for awhile. (I am having cataract surgeries in October so hope to have quilting marathon in November when I will hopefully be able to see a lot better to quilt.)

And sew it goes...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework