It's a Finish! Carolina Chain

It's a finish! 

Carolina Chain

77 x 89.5

This is a free Bonnie Hunter pattern. 

I started this in 2018 and finished the flimsy in July 2019. 

As you can see...lots of scraps were used in this one. But my 2 inch scrap bin is still pretty full. I do have other quilts in the works that use 2 inch scraps so hopefully my goal to empty that bin by year end will be met. 

I used a variety of scraps of dark blue for the side setting triangles. 

There's a funny story about that black/white Seattle Seahawks fabric. A long time ago I received 1/2 yard of it instead of what I actually ordered online. I called the company and they said to keep it and they would send the fabric I actually ordered. Well, thanks, but I don't know anyone in Seattle and I don't like sports so what should I do with that gift?  I threw it in with other black and white fabrics.  Several years after that I found out at a family reunion camp out that my niece was pregnant and I also learned a little about her husband and how they met. They met at college in Iowa but he was from Seattle (or somewhere around there. I can't remember just now.) AND he proposed to her at a Seattle Seahawks game. Oh, goodness! That immediately reminded me about that fabric.  So, when her daughter Sundae was born I sent along an I Spy quilt and the letter S was represented by the Seattle Seahawks.  I sent along a few hotpads made from that fabric too.  Weird how things like that happen.  

Oh, there are so many memories in scraps!

I quilted it on my DSM with straight lines. You would think that would be easy, wouldn't you? Well, it wasn't. I rarely rip out anything but I had to rip out my first few vertical lines of quilting.  I think the problem was that I was sewing lines on the bias AND I pieced my batting and used a LOT of pieces. When I started the quilting I started at the right side with my vertical lines and those are the ones I ripped out. After that I started my lines in the middle of the quilt and worked out toward the sides. Then all went well, thank goodness. I wouldn't want to quilt in too many cuss words. (Cussing once in awhile when everyone is out of earshot is my only vice, don't you know!)

The binding was made of a variety of dark blue scraps too. 

The backing came from the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby last year when I bought most everything they had suitable for quilt backs at $3.99 per yard. I have lots of tops waiting to become quilts!

And on to the next!

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More. 

Oh Joy!

 Oh joy! 

Carolina Chains is a flimsy. 

77 x 89.5

 I started it last year to use 2 inch scraps left over from making Fractured Rainbows (aka Totally Demented aka Garden Mosaic). 

 I used dark fabrics with light chains and light fabric with bright chains and Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Chain pattern. 

 I really like how it turned out and my 2 inch scrap bin is a whole lot lighter. 

 And

Oh Joy! The Daylilies are in bloom in the flower gardens. 

You didn't think I just sewed all day long, did you? 

The Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Midweek Chain Report

 It's a flimsy!

Interlocking Chains

70 x 84

   The Interlocking Chain pattern can be found at Quilter's Cache. 

 I started making these blocks in 2016 as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. Yellow, brown, orange...

 ...red and blue.   

I made it my goal to try to get some UFOs with chains in them to flimsy stage in April. I had to make 12 more blocks this month to add to the previously made 18. And now it's a flimsy. Wooohooo! 

 In other chain news I did make a few more Carolina Chain blocks.  I have only about 1/3 of the dark and light chains necessary to start top assembly. Since I only started this last year to use 2 inch scraps left after making my Fractured Rainbow quilt I'm going to set it aside for this month until I get the older chain quilts to flimsy stage. 

 I've moved forward some on Jack's Chain. I have another "row" to add to this section and then I'll add it to the bigger section and take a measurement. I'm aiming for a large quilt but not sure how many more block and connector rows I need before I can call this a flimsy.  With all the Y seams this is very slow going and I want to get one other chain quilt to flimsy stage so I can totally devote time to getting Jack's Chain to flimsy stage. I'm hoping that happens this month. Time will tell. 

I've joined 5 of 15 rows of Trail Mix. Hopefully this will be a flimsy next week although I have been spending a lot of time in the garden and not so much time sewing lately. A few rainy days are in the forecast this week so we shall see what happens.  I think this trail/chain will look like a patch through the woods in autumn. 

Midweek Chain Report

 I picked the theme CHAINS for April to move some UFOs forward and am reporting on progress each Wednesday in order to keep myself accountable. 

I made four more INTERLOCKING CHAIN blocks.  Only four more to go and I will have 30 blocks and be ready for top assembly. 

 I finished 42 Nine Patches for TRAIL MIX.  This quilt requires five different sets of blocks and this is the final set so I can now start assembling a top.  

CAROLINA CHAINS

I made 18 more dark chain blocks for a total of 50 and 28 more light chain blocks for a total of 60.

No work was done this week on JACK'S CHAIN.  

Chains

 I think my April theme to move UFOs forward will be CHAINS. 

The idea came to me a couple of days ago when I was working on these blocks I call Gallimaufry which are inspired by a vintage quilt. There are fourteen pieces in each four inch block. I cut the little 1.5 inch HSTs and bagged them up as I was cutting QST pieces for another quilt.  I cut the other half of the HST from white or muslin scraps.  I wanted white so the chains that form can be seen more clearly.  The 1.5 inch squares and 2.5 inch squares come from the respective scrap bins.   I made some in green since green is the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.    If I remember correctly I need around 400 blocks and I have about a third of those made.   

I started this quilt early last year. 

 Working on those Gallimaufry blocks somehow motivated me to work on my Carolina Chain blocks with light chains...

...and with dark chains. 

I also started these blocks some time last year. After I made my Fractured Rainbow quilt that used 2 inch scraps I cut from scrap chunks I was left with a lot of 2 inch scraps so I started some Carolina Chain blocks as well as a couple of others that use 2 inch scraps.

While in chain mode I dug into my Trail Mix project box (started September 2014) to see what needed to be done to move it forward.  I have three of the five different sets of blocks made so I cut pieces for the rest of the blocks. I've been using Autumn fabrics and my trail (or chain) is in yellows.  I'm hoping it will remind me of a nice hike in the woods in Autumn. 

Then I thought about my Interlocking Chains which I started in 2016 - fourteen inch blocks I made from 2.5 inch scraps.  I need to dig it out to see how many more blocks I need to move it to flimsy stage.  I'm thinking I have around 20 blocks. 

And then there's my Jack's Chain #2.

Looks like I started it September 2014.   

I don't think I've worked on it since April 2017 so it's about time I move it forward. 

I'm looking forward to working on these old friends in April.  How many will be flimsies at the end of April?  Time will tell!! 

Green Two Inch Scrap Edition

 This week I dug into my green two inch scraps. 

First I made seven (one didn't fit on my batting covered cutting mat) Wedding Ring blocks.  These finish at 7.5 inches. 

 Next I made twelve Sixteen Patch blocks. These finish at six inches. I just combine 2 inch green scraps with any other scraps that suit my fancy from the 2 inch scrap bin. 

 Next I made 20 Kitties that finish at 3 inches. I will combine them with 3 inch Nine Patches from a bin full of little Nine Patches I've made or swapped over the years. 

 Then I made some little Wonky Stars. I use green waste triangles for the star points and 2 inch scraps for the rest. 

 Then while I was playing in the 2 inch scraps I decided to make more Carolina Chain blocks. I started on these blocks last year while I was making my Fractured Rainbow quilt with two inch scraps but haven't worked on them for a long time. Since I didn't use black, brown or gray in the Fractured Rainbow quilt I've been using them in Carolina Chain blocks that form the light chains. I've been using dark rainbow colors in blocks that make the dark chains.   

I was going to tell you to turn your head at an angle to get the the full effect of the chains since these blocks are set on point...

...but I turned the camera instead.  As you can now see the light chains will run across the quilt and the dark chains will run down the quilt. 

So maybe by year end I will have an empty 2 inch scrap bin.

Now I need to dig into the 4.5 inch green scraps. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday