Brown Itty Bits

18 Patch in Browns

6 inch finished

Blocks 43-61

Goal 108 for a quilt layout 9 x 12

This month the theme in my sewing room has been "itty bits, fiddly bits".  I've been accumulating brown 1.5 inch width scraps for awhile to make these blocks.  I think I started making them in 2023.  I used up all the scraps long enough in the bag to make these 18 patch blocks and then...

...I decided to use the leftover pieces in a new start. I found enough neutral pieces to go with the browns in the 1.5 inch width scrap box. 

Greek Keys

9 inch

I was thinking I would use all colors of scraps in my 1.5 inch width scrap box to make blocks to add to the browns in a quilt; however, I think I may just make one in browns because they look like cinnamon rolls to me. I will probably make a separate quilt with all colors of the rainbow and add the block to my list of Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. 

Then with any brown scraps left over that I could cut into 1.5 x 2.5 rectangles I made 

Potato Chip Blocks

6 inch

Blocks 21-23

Goal 70 for a layout 7 x 10

Looks like I started making these blocks in all colors back in 2022 to use 1.5 inch width scraps. 

And then I cut any remaining brown scraps into 1.5 inch squares. 

 

WITB?

 WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward.

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

Rail Fence

5 inch blocks

Rail Fence

5 inch blocks

On a post at the beginning of the month I showed a couple of boxes of 1.5 inch width scraps I had sorted into bags.  One bag held strips greater than 2.5 inches.   I pulled out that bag and cut pieces into 5.5 inch lengths, sorted by color and sewed 5 strips of the same color together to make 78 Rail Fence blocks. 

BAG empty!

Four Patch

6 inch blocks

I emptied a little baggie of Four Patch parts in red, white and blue. I think these were left over from making Americana.

The resulting Four Patches are now in the red, white and blue orphanage. That box is overflowing so I might have to make a red, white and blue orphan block quilt soon. 

Another one of the bags in my 1.5 inch width scrap boxes held pieces longer than 5.5 inch and at least 14 inches long. I matched a colored with a neutral and cut 14 inch lengths. I didn't have enough neutrals so had to cut a few of those from scrap chunks.  I emptied my bag and made 92 strip sets. 

Those 92 strip sets are now going into the Boo Boo Patch project bag. Moving forward I will pull out the ones in the RSC color of the month, subcut and make into my Boo Boo (or 18) Patches. 

I currently have 168 Patches and when I use those strip sets to make 92 more blocks I will reach my goal of 260 -- 3x6 inch blocks. That will be enough for a 60 x 78 quilt (20 blocks by 13 blocks).

I emptied another baggie of 1.5 inch width strips that were less than 5.5 inches. 

I cut those into rectangles 1.5 x 2.5 and 1.5 inch squares. 

The 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles went into the Potato Chip baggie. 

The 1.5 inch squares (postage stamps) went into a bigger bag of 1.5 inch squares. 

I've been using those to make my Gum Wrapper Chain strips. This one has been stalled for a bit because I ran out of 1.5 inch squares. However, I recently received that big bag of 1.5 inch squares so I can work on this Postage Stamp quilt once again. 

And remember I had two boxes of bags of 1.5 inch width scraps at the beginning of the month? 

Well, now I only have one box because I emptied the men's size 13 shoe box. 

The box of what I have left for 1.5 inch width scraps - a baggie with some longer pastel strips I will put with my pastel scraps, a baggie of multiple width of fabric (WOF) strips of the same fabric, a baggie of neutral pieces all lengths to be sorted and cut, a baggie of black and whites I will put with my black/white UFO, a baggie of pieces left over after making Waffles, Rails and Boo Boo Strips that need to be sorted and cut for WIPs/UFOs.  

Oh, and I did put some 1.5 inch width pieces long enough for 4 HSTs into my Little Baskets (4 inch) project box.  I have 35 Basket Blocks and my goal is 110. 

I emptied another baggie that someone had given me with Tumbler pieces.  I sewed those together into 9 strips 3.5 x 40 inches long. I figured I could use that length of strips in a row/strippie quilt. 

Someone also gave me a baggie of 4 Patch parts so I made those 15 - 6 inch blocks and emptied that bag. 

I have a little bag of old calico bits and pieces so I put the Tumbler strips and Four Patches in with those- Fodder for a future quilt. 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

And sew on...

It's A Finish!

It's a finish!

18 Patch

42 x 60

I started making these blocks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project back in 2021. The six inch blocks are made of 18 - 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles. They were not strip pieced. 

I finished the top in 2023.

I quilted it with vertical and horizontal lines. I added a scrappy binding. 

The back - polka dots on pink. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 ***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Treasure - I get a free Iowa Lottery ticket every month. This month I won $1. I could have bought another ticket for a progressive pot for $1 but I decided not to. I was happy enough to have won $1. 

Read - Finished a book! Water From My Heart by Charles Martin. Wealthy loner seeks redemption after disastrous choices, encountering a woman and child whose lives he impacted in Central America. Popular highlight: "Indifference is the curse of this age. We need to hear that. Indifference is evil, and it could not be further from the heart of God." Based on some real events. I've read a lot of Martin's books and have loved them all. 

Itty Bits

Bow Ties

3 inch

I have been making these for a few years as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC). My goal was 900 Bow Ties for a 30 x 30 layout. I have now (finally!) reached that goal.

Note that last Saturday Angela called dark neutrals as the RSC color for the month for August. So I started right away making blocks with my dark neutral scraps. Then she evidently changed her mind on Sunday to orange for August and dark neutrals for September  but I did not see that change until this morning so I'm going to maybe have a mix of dark neutrals and orange scraps throughout August and September. In addition I did not have many aqua scraps for July so was saving the few I did have to mix with August's color.   So anyway...for me the next two months of working on RSC blocks will have a mix of orange, aqua and dark neutrals. 

18 Patch

6 inch

I have been making these blocks only in browns and creams.  I'm aiming for 120 blocks for a 10 x 12 layout.

Most of my blocks this week were made with 1.5 inch width scraps. I have been fortunate lately to have a lot of folks send me scraps. I usually sort anything less than a 6 inch square into sizes by strip width and then I usually have a block in process that covers each width of strip. Anything more than a 6 inch square gets sorted by color.  

Boo Boo Patch

3 x 6

So called because I made a mistake when cutting my pieces. I meant for the strip sets to be cut into 2.5 inch pieces so I could make the 18 patch blocks in the previous photo.  That happened last year and I've been making Boo Boo Patches in all colors. Maybe I should count blocks now and see if I have enough for a quilt of any size. 

More Boo Boo Patches

3 x 6

Aqua scraps plus in recent scraps I received there were a few strip sets already made with a color and neutral so I cut them up to make blocks plus I had a 1.5 inch purple scrap sitting there after I made the recent Purple Poindexter orphan block top so it got made into a Boo Boo Patch right away. 

Switch Plates

3 x 5

I think I've been making these for a few years too. Maybe I should count them and decide upon quilt size. 

Windmills

4 inch

Maybe I should count these too! 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

August 2 - I'm starting to see a lot of butterflies flitting from flower to flower in my gardens. They especially love the Zinnias.

 

I Haven't Managed To Make A Molehill Out Of A Mountain

8 inch

  Patchwork Stars

made with 2.5 inch scraps. 

Goal: 63 blocks

Current count: 6

Brown Stuff

has been the theme in my sewing room this month. I moved along a few brown UFOs and scraps but I have not managed to make a molehill yet out of that mountain of brown scraps. But I am ending the month with three brown comfort quilts in process so I am headed in the right direction.  This month I used mostly bits and pieces of brown scraps already cut to a certain width to mke blocks and have not cut into many scrap chunks yet. 

6 inch

18 Patch

made with 1.5 inch scraps

Goal: 108

Current count: 34

8.5 inch 

Pavement Pattern

made with 3 and 3.5 inch scraps.

I'm thinking this quilt will have a 2 inch sashing with cornerstones.

Goal: 35 blocks

Current count: 17

And sew on...

This week was definitely a NOT FINISHED week.

Finished or NOT FINISHED Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Eighteen Patch Top

18 Patch

42 x 60

This was an old Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project.  The six inch finished blocks were made with 1.5 x 2.5 inch scraps in alternating light and dark fabrics in the color of the month. 

And sew on...

 

More Scrap Processing - Mostly 2.5 Inch Width Scraps

Monkey Wrench Blocks 

5 inch finished

Most of these HSTs (half square triangles) were left over from cutting Flying Geese for Long May She Wave Sawtooth Stars and from cutting QSTs (quarter square triangles) for Ohio Stars.  I use the Companion Angle ruler to cut the Flying Geese and QSTs but I cut the beginning and end of the strip with the Easy Angle ruler so that fabric is not wasted but used to make HSTs. 

Most of the 1.5 inch pieces came from my Monkey Wrench workbox and were previously cut when processing scraps. 

This is what I'm talking about when I say I cut a HST from the beginning of a strip when cutting for QSTs or Flying Geese with the Companion Angle ruler. 

Four Patch

4 inch finished

for red,white, blue quilt called Melting Pot. 

These are adding up fast and I'll have enough for a quilt in no time. 

4 inch finished Broken Dishes blocks, a Chinese Coin strip (scraps 2.5 x anything between 1 and 1.5 inches) and two 18 patches made from 1.5 x 2.5 pieces. I have quite a few of these now and am aiming for a twin sized donation quilt. 

Windmills

4 inch finished

made from 1.5 x 2.5 rectangles.

I use 1.5 or 2.5 inch scraps to make these as long as I have enough for four identical pieces 1.5 x 2.5.

And finally piles of 2.5 inch squares - singles, pairs and sets of four. The sets of four go into the Monkey Wrench Workbox to use with 4.5 inch HSTs to make Monkey Wrench blocks.   I put some floral squares into my plaid Indian Hatchet workbox.  The 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles went into the Lego workbox. 

And sew on...