More Bow Ties

Two Bow Tie Tops

40 x 40

Recently Jenny B. sent me a box of small blocks. I blogged previously about the first Bow Tie top in a different layout made with Jenny's blocks. 

Blues and greens with alternate squares went into this top.

This one has red and orange Bow Ties with alternate yellow squares.

There's no need to tell me I have a rogue block. I already know that!

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

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Finished a book! - The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber. It's not my usual type of reading. It was kind of like a Hallmark movie in print - perfect for when you need some easy reading, a little magic and a happy ending.  I learned a new word I guess is used by bibliophiles but does not yet appear in most dictionaries: bibliosomia - the enchanting smell of old books. I read on my Kindle and when the word popped up I highlighted it to look up the meaning (although I knew from the context). The dictionaries the Kindle uses (Oxford English Dictionary, I think) did not find the word so I later googled it. Interesting reading about the science behind bibliosomia,  Hmmm, now I want to go sniff all the books on my bookshelf! 😊📔

 

A Little Bow Tie Top

It's a top!

Bow Ties

40 x 40

A few weeks ago Jenny sent me a box of small 3 and 4 inch finished blocks in all colors of the rainbow. Instead of putting them away for later I decided to use them. This is the first of several tops. I happened to finish this top on July 9 before I took my husband to the ER but didn't take photos until this morning. 

When finished it will make a nice comfort quilt for a wee one. 

And sew it goes...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

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Good News! He's home. He was discharged yesterday around 4pm.  Diagnoses from that visit: Acute hypoxic respiratory failure, Bronchiectasis, Left lower lobe pneumonia, Medical problem-major (whatever that means) and Sepsis, unspecified organism. I can't believe he is out of the hospital after only two days. Oh, thank goodness! Now he just has to stay well enough to pass a stress test on July 24 and if he does then he gets the mandibulectomy, etc. on August 5. 

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Oh joy! Recently Sandi sent me a box of HSTs and Barbara sent me a box of all sorts of different goodies. I am blessed with so many bits and pieces as fodder for comfort quilts. Sewing (and gardening and reading) keeps my mind healthy and able to deal with all the health issues with hubby. 

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I finished two books! Dead Canyon by Jeff Carson. It is book #16 in the David Wolf Mystery Thriller Series.    

I Know an Old Lady by Margaret Standafer. It is a coming of age novel. I think it was longer than it needed to be; however, it was a nice story. 

Reading (and sewing and gardening) keeps my mind healthy and able to deal with all the health issues with hubby. 

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While I was out taking pics of the quilt this morning a songbird I've never heard before decided to serenade me. After I got inside hubby asked if I saw what bird that was that was singing. No, I didn't. 

Also while I was out taking pics I walked over to the fragrant garden I made by an old swing set for hubby. It is not far from the house so it is good exercise for him to get out for a bit. I added a couple of Adirondak chairs so he could sit for a bit. Well, anyway, as I said...I walked over to the fragrant garden and saw Orienpet (Tree) Lilies in bloom so snapped a couple of photos. Orienpet Lilies grow taller with each year. 

Gardening (and sewing and reading) keeps my mind healthy and able to deal with all the health issues with hubby. 

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And sow on... 

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

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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.

 

Piecing Potpourri

I do a lot of piecing but sometimes don't get around to ironing things for quite awhile. I keep a box at the end of my ironing board and throw things into it that need to be ironed or trimmed. Usually it is  leaders/enders or Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) blocks or other block pieces I've kitted up to sew when I just want to do a whole lot of chain piecing at one time on a whole lot of different things. I don't really like to iron. Well, the box was getting full so I was forced into it. So...here's what I ironed...

9 inch Snowball blocks made with 9 Snowballs. Blocks with light and dark corners will alternate in the quilt.  These are a RSC project.  I made a quilt like it a long time ago and after my daughter saw it she asked if she could have it. Oh, yes, indeed!

3 inch Bow Tie blocks

I've been making these from scraps for a long, long time. My goal is 900 blocks and I think now I ony need about 40 more so will probably make my goal in July. 

10 inch Cheerio blocks

This is another RSC project. I started it a couple of months ago. I've made blocks from scraps in the color of the month plus I went through my 4.5 inch squares and pulled out any sets of 4 identical squares to make blocks. I cut block parts and sew pieces together when I'm on a piecing binge.

4 Patch HSTs

made from 3 inch width scraps left over from making last month's Sawtooth Star top. I use an Easy Angle Companion ruler to cut the Flying Geese bodies and I use the Easy Angle ruler to cut HSTs from the two ends so they don't go to waste.   I have a bunch of other 3 inch scraps that I will use to make more blocks for a child's quilt. The blocks finish at 5 inches. Maybe I will alternate them wth squares. Who knows?

Four Patches

made with 2 inch scraps.

My theme is "black, white, and one other color" in each four patch.

Four Inch Broken Dishes

Made with HST parts that resulted from making Flying Geese. See explanation above of rulers I use when making Flying Geese. I think the Geese that went with these fabrics were made into Twilight Flight blocks a few months ago. 

HST parts were the result of making QSTs last month for my Bramble Blooms II medallion center piece. Not sure what these will be used for. Just sewing up scraps.

More HSTs that came to me in a bag of scraps.  I haven't sewn them all yet. Not sure what they will be used for. 

And finally...some strip sets for a Coins quilt made with 2 inch scraps. I think I should see how many strips I have now in my little box of Coins. 

And sew on...

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

July 25 -- Finished a book!  - Levi's Eyes by Aphrodite Jones.  It is a true crime story. Karl Karlsen murdered his wife and 17 years later murdered his son for insurance money. It took more than 20 years to bring him to justice for both crimes.  I don't understand how a person could be so evil. It gives me nightmares. 

July 26 - I love grapefruit juice and drink a glass almost every day. 

 

The Blues - Chapter IV

Wonky Windmills

8 inch blocks

Made with 4.5 inch width or 5 inch scraps long enough to cut two 4.5 x 5 rectangles of a color plus two 4.5 x 5 rectangles of gray fabric.  I chose gray for the background because I had a lot of small gray chunks I wanted to use up. 

Windmills

8 inches

I had a few small chunks of yellow to use for the backgrounds but maybe now I'm thinking that's a lot of yellow...BUT it sure will make a nice sunny, cheery quilt for a little one...BUT that's sure a lot of yellow! 

16 Patch

6 inch

I'm making these with 2 inch width scraps that are long enough in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month paired with a green fabric. I have a lot of small chunks of green fabrics I want to get used up. 

Indian Hatchet

4 inch

I used blue corners in all of the blocks cut with an EZ Angle ruler from 2 inch width scraps long enough to yield 8 triangles.   Then in my project box I have sets of four 2.5 inch squares I pair them up with.  I've been making these for a couple of years. I was inspired by a vintage quilt. 

Bow Ties

3 inch

Made from 2 inch width scraps.  I've been making these for a long time and was also inspired by a vintage quilt. My goal is 900 blocks and I am now only 62 blocks from that goal. 

After I made my blue blocks I made more from scraps I threw into the project box while sorting scraps. 

Posies

8 inch

I made two more Posies. I had cut parts for these but didn't get them all sewn together last week. 

Floral Happy Blocks

8.5 inch

I made several of these from blue scraps last week but while sorting scraps I am across a few more bits and pieces to make a few more blocks. 

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Quite honestly I have not really celebrated anything the last few days. A number of life happenings ganged up on me and kept me not only sewing blues but feeling blue.   But then...

June 21 - I received a package of fabric from Julie. Well, that left me smiling!...and dreaming! 

WITB - Scrap Processing

Cheerios 

10 inch finished

I have to say that I love scraps.  Not only do I make my own but I get them from other folks from time to time.  I usually have a block in the works for almost every size scrap I come across. When I receive scraps I like to process them right away and make the blocks that fit those scraps. Sometimes I don't process my own scraps right away like I always think I'm going to and they end up piling up at the end of the ironing board or side of the cutting mat. When the piles get too high I sweep them off into boxes.  Since hubby has been ill for over a year I kind of got behind on scrap processing. 

So this month the theme in my sewing space has been WITB - What's in the box, bag, bucket, basket, bin. I've put bigger scrap chunks away with like colors and put away any squares and orphan blocks in the appropriate boxes and I've made a few blocks this month from some scrap I've encountered while trying to empty out bins, bags, boxes, buckets and baskets.   Most of the blocks I make each month with scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month and they end up in comfort/donation quilts. 

When I started writing this post I was thinking about that memory game we used to play as kids traveling in the car..."I went on vacation and packed an apple."  "I went on vacation and packed and apple and a bag". "I went on vacation and packed an apple, a bag and a cat." ....

So...I won't repeat myself but..."I did some scrap processing and I made..."

Cheerios

10 inch finished

16 Patch

6 inch finished

All colors of scraps alternating with green scrap. 

I have a lot of small green scrap chunks of fabric. 

Wonky Windmills

Gray backgrounds

8 inch finished

Coins

2 x 3 rectangles in strips

Four Patch

3.5 inch finished.

2 inch squares

The squares are black and white and one other color. The Four Patches will be alternated with 3.5 solid or TOT (tone on tone) squares in a quilt. 

Bow Ties

3 inch finished

My goal is 900 and I think I only need 123 or so more. I've been making these from scraps for years. 

Then I have baggies of rectangles and squares in different sizes. I will put these away now in the appropriate bin with others of the same size.  

And now these are the bags and boxes that held scraps and are now empty!

So, the RSC color of the month has been pink but I used most of my pink scraps up earlier in the month and worked on all colors of scraps to make RSC blocks instead.   My piles of blocks are growing!

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

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CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

May 24 - After a day of rain and wind the sun came out just before sunset and then there was a beautiful sunset -- the sky all pinks and yellows.