More Roses in December

 

This is another quilt of roses I started this month. I don't have a name for my quilt yet. The pattern, called Sunburst, can be found in the booking Making Quilts With Kathy Doughty.   I made a quilt I called Boho Roosters back in 2018 using this pattern and kept my templates. It has 16 blocks. This one with roses will have 12 blocks in mostly red, white and black fabrics.  The block is easier to make than it looks.  It took me longer to decide on fabrics for the block and cut pieces than it did to piece the block. 

" God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. "- J.M. Barrie

And sew on...

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Finished a book! Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford. It took me awhile to finish because I do most of my reading in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. Lately I have been sleeping through most nights. 

"The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a spellbinding journey through the heart of the South, where magic whispers in the rustling leaves and redemption hangs heavy in the air. The story’s richly drawn characters linger long after the last page is turned. A haunting, vivid tale of resilience and self-discovery that proves home is not just a place but a state of being we carry within us.”

—Amanda Skenandore,author of The Medicine Woman of Galveston

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I received a surprise package of scraps from Elle. It contained a lot of 1.5 inch width scraps perfect for some of my projects that need smaller scraps. Of course I enjoyed looking at every little piece.

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John tells me he read that we had more snow in the last week than we had all of last year. And, baby, it's cold outside! We had to venture out yesterday to have blood drawn for labs. Our annual wellness exam is next week. 

Indian Hatchets

Indian Hatches

4 inch blocks

I was looking at some of my UFOs that are quilts for me. I started making these blocks from scraps back in Feb. 2021. I was inspired by a vintage quilt made of these blocks.  I have worked on them off and on since then but have never counted how many blocks I have. I did have a goal written down of 234 blocks for a layout of 13 x 18 that would measure 52 x 72 inches.

I decided to take count. Imagine my surprise when I counted 204 blocks. Only 30 more to go! Well, actually now only 20 more to go since I made those 10 in the first photo. 

And sew on...

 

New Start: Fairlawn Roses

 

This is the first of twelve twenty-four inch blocks...

...of a quilt I am calling Fairlawn Roses. The pattern comes from the book Making Quilts by Kathy Doughty. She calls it Fairlawn and I added Roses to the name of mine because I am using all rose prints to make my quilt. 

I have made 576 - 2.5 inch HSTs.

I was kind of limited as to what to use for sashings. I was thinking I would just make all of my blocks and figure that out later; however, when I started making my blocks I could see that I needed to decide sooner rather than later. 

And sew on...

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December...J.M. Barrie

November Orphan Block Wrap Up

 

Orphan Milton

48 x 60

This top has 12 inch orphan blocks in darker colors. I framed a couple of blocks to get them to finish at 12 inches.

Orphan blocks was the theme in my sewing space in November. Throughout the last year or so I have received orphan blocks from several folks. I have to be in the mood to try and get all the orphans to play nicely together. When I am in the mood I have a lot of fun making comfort quilts. I think I made 18 tops this month. I have three I have not blogged about in this post. 

Orphan Natalie

36 x 48

Peachy colored 12 inch blocks. Some framed to make 12 inch block.

Patches and Pinwheels 

40 x 50

I received the Patches and made some 10 inch Pinwheels to go with them.

I also receive lots of little baggies of different bits and pieces I work on as leaders and enders. A lot of the time I put the finished bits and pieces in the little Parts Department. This month I put a lot of the bits with a pile of orphan blocks. 

Someone gave me yellow six inch parts for HSTs. They were in sets of four so I used blue scraps to make some 12 inch Pinwheels. 

More pinwheels. A few are six inch.

Someone gave me a baggie of sets of what looked like waste triangles. They were all in the sane two fabrics. Again, I made a bunch of pinwheels. 

I added all of those parts to a pile of blue and yellow orphan blocks.

I made some alternate QST blocks and cut them with Companion Angle Ruler. At the beginning and end of the strips I cut HSTs with the Easy Angle ruler do I did not waste any fabric. I made some green Broken Dishes blocks. 

I added those to a pile of green orphan blocks.

Black, white and gray baggies of pieces got made into...

...different blocks...

...that I added to a pile of black, white and gray blocks. 

All piles have been put away until next time I feel like playing with orphan blocks for a month. But wait! There are more piles I am putting away that you have not seen yet. 

Browns.

Black and brights.

Blues.

Multicolors.

And four bags of blocks that might look okay together like low volume, pinks, yellows and oranges and similar fabrics in different colors.

And sew on...

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We received 10.5 inches of snow and a couple more inches are predicted for today. 

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Oh joy! I received a box of fabulous fabrics from Barbara. I think they will make some nice backings. 

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On Thanksgiving I started a Positivity Journal. There are a lot of positivity journal prompts online. I thought some positivity might get me through the winter months when I tend to feel a little depressed. 

New Start: Pie Birds

 

I started a new quilt for me. It is called Pie Birds. I first saw it on Viridian's Blog. I loved the name because I love pie birds. You can see I have a few I have used in the past when I used to bake pies. They are fun and cute little things. I loved the blocks because they are scrappy too. 

Evidently it Is a Kim Diehl pattern from the book Simple Charm. I didn't use a pattern. I just figured out how to make the 10 inch blocks on my own. I made 5 blocks to see if my own figuring was right. Then I decided I want a quilt with 35 blocks so I only need to make 30 more blocks.

Next step? I have a bunch of little 1.5 HSTs cut with my 

Easy Angle ruler. They are leftovers from making other quilts. I will use them as the wings on 60 little 1.5 x 2.5 Flying Geese. These will be my first addition to two sides of 2.5 inch squares. In my test blocks I made two HSTs but decided Flying Geese would be easier. I am going to work on all 30 blocks at one time because I find it easier to process scraps for the rounds on all of them at one time. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! At Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I was going to do a wrap up post on the remaining orphan block tops I made this month but it snowed all day yesterday and I didn't want to go out to take a photo. I guess we got 10 inches and two more inches are forecast for tomorrow. I might have to find a place inside for a photo. I have three tops and two have photos. 

Cheerios

 

It's a top!

Cheerios

40 x 40

I have been making Cheerios blocks from scraps since 2024 as one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects. Earlier this year I went through the pile of blocks and divided them into groups for 3 comfort quilts - two small and one  twin size. I need a few more blocks for the twin that will contain blue, purple and pink blocks. I made the small green Cheerio top in September. 

As you can see...this one has red and yellow blocks and a lot of dogs. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

It's A Wonky Stars Top!

 

It's a top! 

Wonky Stars

42 x 42

Someone gave me a little baggie full of large dark blue waste triangles. I immediately saw Stars! They worked perfectly as Star points on 4 inch squares. I used dark blue squares from my 4 inch squares bin. I found a few 4 inch width scraps long enough to use for some blocks. For other blocks I cut 4 inch widths from some multicolor chunks. 

This little comfort quilt won't get finished and donated until next year. 

And sew on...