Friday, July 26, 2024

It's A Top! Back Stories II




It's a top!
Back Stories II
60 x 80

I made the top for Back Stories I in 2020 using a pattern I bought called Interweave.  Unfortunately when I started making the top I realized that the top was not going to finish at the dimensions the author listed and was going to turn out almost square. I had to improvise to make a longer quilt and wrote about the problem to the pattern author as you can see in my 2020 post. (Note: She still has the same finished dimensions listed as she did in 2020 when I bought the pattern. I thought I would mention this in case you are inclined to purchase the pattern.)

So, anyway, I finished the Back Stories I quilt two years later in 2022.  As you can see in that post I mentioned that I had made revisions to the pattern and in 2022 started collecting strips for Back Stories II in a little shoe box.   Here it is 2024 and I noticed the other day when I added a couple of strips to the shoe box that I had enough strips for the top. So here we are.



I call the quilt Back Stories because most of the strips are cut from quilt back trimmings. 

Not all of the strips in this one, though, are from trimmings. Some strips came from friends in boxes of scraps. 

Back Stories II is a scrap community of plaids, florals, geometrics, novelties in a rainbow of colors. I tried to make them all get along together. 

And sew on...


**
CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

July 25 -- Garden Veggies. The rascally critters actually let me harvest some! 
 None of my big tomatoes are ripe yet but I have been eating some of the cherry type tomatoes -- yellow pear, black strawberry. I also tried a new one this year called spoon tomatoes (those tiny red ones in the glass bowl). I grow all my tomatoes from seed and those were free seeds so gave them a try and put a plant in a pot on the deck.  I also grow my peppers from seeds. I don't eat hot peppers but used to grow a few types for hubby but now that he doesn't eat I only grow sweeter types of peppers. I harvested Lesya which is supposed to be the sweetest pepper (not sure about that) and I eat strips of peppers almost every day for lunch. I harvested a few Jimmy Nordello (an old Italian heirloom - the long ones) that I use for cooking (had them in my omelet for dinner last night). There's also a couple of Paprika peppers in the bowl. They seem a little small this year but I will probably dry and grind them for paprika.  I also have Baby Bell, Chocolate and Anaheim peppers growing but have not harvested any of those yet.   There's a few "volunteer" new potatoes in the bowl. Volunteers are potatoes that sprout up from a few potatoes that did not get harvested last year.  I harvested a red, yellow and white onion that was in my green onion row but grew larger than a green onion. I buy plants from Dixondale Farms for my onions. I love onions. I grew two different types of pickling cucumbers but can't remember which they were. If I get a lot of them and can't keep up with eating them I'll make bread and butter pickles. And I harvested some Dragon Tongue bush beans. Some critter and insects ate most of my bean plants early on so I wasn't sure if I was going to get any beans. Some of the Dragon Tongue plants survived but only one of the Red Swan - both heirloom beans. 


10 comments:

Nann said...

It took a while for me to figure out the sequence of the blocks. That's a good thing -- keep the viewer's attention. I have a box of backing and border leftovers. Hmmm....

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Very nice quilt and a good way to use your scraps. I'm look at the sequence too.

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I like the colors in this one. It is a neat pattern that could be made any size.
I'm glad you got some fruits of your labor in the veggie garden. It is like planting twice as much as you need so you will get at least half as much as you want.

Chantal said...

I'm with Nann on this one. It took me waaayyy too long to figure out the pattern. Haha. I love a sneaky quilt. You have wonderful prints in there, as always. Enjoy your first harvest. Those tomatoes are just buttons. So cute. ;^)

Mystic Quilter said...

Oh this is a beauty! I love the look of the intricate pattern and I seem to remember having seen a pattern somewhere for Interweave, you have a great fabric/colour selection here.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

oh wow - what a lot of color!!!
Congrats on your garden harvest!

RyLynn said...

I see a wonderful salad in your future. And ... what a great way to use smaller scraps! You must have the patience of Job. Well, I guess you've already proven that, many times over. Sometime when you have time, take a look at the "Mary & Patch" blog.

Quiltdivajulie said...

I do love these Backstories quilt tops -- so scrappy and so wonderful!

Anonymous said...

The back story of the back story is that the size was off. . .how frustrating and how frustrating the pattern designer didn't update the directions! I love your finish. . .so much to see which is why I enjoy scrap quilts!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects

mangozz said...

I love the colors in this one! You come up with the best color combinations for scrap quilts. Those tiny tomatoes are adorable! It's unbelievable that you started them all from seed! You sure do keep busy don't you?