Broken Wheel or Rolling Stone

 

Broken Wheel or Rolling Stone

9 inch finished

Aqua is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge ( RSC) color of the month. I have already used most of my aqua scraps so decided to work on a UFO with blocks of aqua, red, and purple. I set aside small chunks of fabric in those colors in a project box. I started making blocks in 2023 so maybe this month I will be able to finish up blocks I need. 

Only ten more blocks to go toward my goal of 48 blocks. I usually cut some and then sew some. I don't think I have ever cut all pieces for a quilt before I started on it. Well, now I have cut all the pieces for the remaining ten blocks. I am actually in quilting mode for the rest of August so not sure I will finish up blocks this week. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

Something Old. Something New.

December always seems to be a month where I flit around from one project to the next and it's also a month I always seem to start a lot of new quilts.  Flitting...that's a funny word, isn't it? 

Well, anyway, I worked on something old - Broken Wheels.  I started making these blocks in February of this year, made six blocks and never looked back. However, I have been adding purples, reds and aquas to the project box all year as I come across them. The little project box was getting too full of bits and pieces of fabric so I decided to flit on over to it, take out some fabrics that looked pretty good together and made six more blocks. Now hopefully I will make a few more, enough for a quilt, in the new year. These are nine inch blocks and I hope to have enough for a nice sized throw when all is said and done.

Something new - Hummingbird blocks - made with the Broken Wheel scraps.  These are also nine inch blocks. 

You may remember a few weeks ago I started making a different Hummingbird quilt. That will be my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. I am using a different method to make those blocks. While researching how to make a Hummingbird/Periwinkle/Arkansas Snowflake quilt I came across a method at Susie's Scraps that uses squares to make a block appliqued to a background square. I thought it would be fun to give that method a try too. I used 3.5 inch squares cut from those Broken Wheel scraps and will use a yellow background - squares cut at 9 inches. That size background square leaves a scant 1/4 inch seam all around so I'm hoping the Hummingbird points will match up when blocks are sewn together. And if they don't...well, that's another story for another day.

So that's 

Something old,

Something new.

I'm old and blue.

Ok. Well, I'm not really blue. It's more like I'm old and gray.

And woohoo... I have a few more days left to flit around this month so flit I will. Stay tuned...

And sew on...

 

What's In The Hoop?

What's in the hoop?

Shirts and Giggles

76 inches square

Top finished in March 2019.

Inspired by a vintage quilt.

Made with thrift store shirts (shirts) and fabrics I thought might look like dresses my grandmother wore back in the day (giggles) - 1930s reproduction fabrics. 

My grandmother who taught me to sew used old clothes to make her quilts and I used to love to look at all the fabrics. Sometimes she would tell me stories about the fabrics - "that used to be Uncle Leo's shirt and then later I cut it up to make a shirt for your Dad" (13 years younger than his brother Leo) or "your Aunt Betty made that dress to wear to a dance and many dances thereafter then she handed it down to your Aunt Elsie and later I made an apron out of it".  

Big stitch hand quilting with perle blanc #12.

Previous post with finished top as well as vintage inspiration on March 26, 2019. 

And sew on...

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

 

The Birthday Girl Quilt

The Birthday Girl

(commonly known as Broken Wheel)

53 x 66

I didn't make a single block.

Ladies from 3 different birthday clubs - two last year and one this year - made the blocks. 

A "birthday club" is a group of ladies who makes blocks for each other as requested and sends them off to the birthday girl in her birthday month.  For all three groups I chose the Broken Wheel block on neutral background and colors of choice.  It was fun to see what each lady chose for "colors of choice".  I received more than these 20 blocks but these played together the best and the rest are in the orphanage for now until I figure out what I want to do with them. 

I added a one inch sashing and cornerstones. 

I pieced some batting by zigzagging it together and then quilted it on my DSM with lines going in all different directions. 

I wish I would have had the ladies all sign the blocks they made on the front but I still have all of the envelopes they came in so I can put their names on the label (if I ever get around to making it). 

I had just enough of this fabric to piece together for the backing.   And now it will make a nice lap quilt for me this winter. 

This was my goal #8    for     Q3 Finish-A-Long     

Linking up to:

Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

OMG: Mission Accomplished !!!

Broken Wheels 

A flimsy (for now).

My One Monthly Goal (OMG) that I declared earlier in the month (make this quilt top) has been accomplished and has resulted in a Broken Wheel quilt top 53 x 66. 

Last year I joined two different birthday clubs and this year I joined one. Everyone in the group asks for a particular block in particular colors to be sent to them in their birthday month.   I received 24 or 25 different blocks and used 20 of them in this quilt that I thought played well together.  I'll use the others in a couple of other quilts so they aren't going to go to waste. That's for sure!

The block I asked for was the Broken Wheel block from Quilter's Cache.  Most of the other ladies ask for their blocks to be made in specific colors but  I said, " make the block in the colors of your choice on a neutral background of your choice."    I really didn't know what to expect so every block was a surprise.  I kind of thought it was a psychology test of sorts. Do the colors the ladies chose for my block say something about them? 

At any rate... I didn't have to make a single block - I just added a thin sashing and I have a quilt top that I now need to decide how to quilt. Suggestions?  Hand quilting or FMQ?  First, though, I guess I need to decide on a backing (and a goal for next month). 

One Monthly Goal with Heidi of Red Letter Quilts

Yellow - Version 4.5

All of the blocks I made this week are made from 4.5 inch scraps.   I had a pile of fabrics that were probably less than a fat quarter or fat eighth and cut them into 4.5 inch strips, 2.5 inch strips and 1.5 inch strips since those are the size of scraps I most often use. 

Here are my four Dresdens.  Every month my goal is to make four of them appliqued to a gray background. I will make one in all the color of the month, one in month's color plus complement, one in month's color and black/white and one in month's color plus white/black.   In addition I am using polka dot centers surrounded by gray rick rack. 

I keep forgetting to take photos of the process and some tips on how I make Dresdens...maybe next month. 

Lest you be squeamish that I include spiders in my quilts...look up the symbolism of spiders in quilts and you will see that they are a symbol of good luck. 

2 - 12 inch Broken Wheel Blocks. 

Two sixteen inch Chevron blocks.  I'll probably use these at the end of the year in donation quilts. 

Two 12 inch HST blocks.  I'll probably also use these at the end of the year in donation quilts. 

Got scraps?

Use them up and show us what you've accomplished each ScrapHappy Saturday (an RSC linky party). 

Pink

Broken Wheels in pink. 

I'm in two different Birthday Clubs and Broken Wheels is my block of choice - maker's colors of choice on a neutral background.  If I also make 2 blocks each month in RSC colors I should have enough blocks for a large quilt by year end. 

36 Little Lozenges (Bitter Pills)

These finish at 2 x 4.5

I've been making them since last year and finally decided to take count.  I have 4 piles of 100 (50 with black corners and 50 with white corners)  and one pile of 80 and a few extras to boot.  I think that should be enough for a 50 x 70 quilt (if I calculated correctly  for a layout 25 x 18). 

In case you haven't seen it...I finished my Wild Little Monkey quilt - one of last year's RSC projects. 

Got Scraps?

Make something.  Then show us what you've done with them each ScrapHappy Saturday. 

Rhapsody in Blue Scraps

I'm still working with those 2.5 inch medium blue (and then some) scraps. 

I made four Little Twinklers.   I started making these last year so have 62 of them now.   I'm going to make a twin sized quilt for my 5 year old grandson with these.   He loves to play in the 2.5 inch scraps and a lot of the longer pieces become Ninja headbands and sashes for a day.  Last week he had a sash with pumpkins and a colored pencil headband and looked quite stylish.   (And I think he was trying to secretly figure out how to tie me to the chair with scraps).  I cut a piece of that colored pencil fabric off for these blocks.  Hopefully he will always remember playing in the scraps and chatting with Gram when he looks at his quilt. 

I finished 3 more 8 inch Depression blocks.   I made some of these last year when I had left over HSTs from making my Little Monkey Wrench blocks but don't have enough for even a baby quilt at this point.  The Depression Block is one of my favorites and I've made all different sized blocks (8,12, 16) into quilts.  It's a great scrap buster. 

I also had HSTs left so made a 4 inch Broken Dish block.  I have a big pile of miscellaneous 4.5 inch blocks that may become a Kitchen Sink quilt some day or a bunch of donation quilts. 

Then I worked myself out of the 2.5 inch scraps and into the 4.5.    I started several projects late last year to carry into this year that will use 4.5 inch scraps - chevrons, HSTs, Depression, Dresden and now..Broken Wheels. 

Got Scraps?

Join the RSC Challenge and show us what you've done with them each ScrapHappy Saturday.