It's a Top!

It's a top!

42 x 60

SIS (Square in Square) #2 of 4

Happy SIS?

I Spy SIS?

For a couple of years one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects was Square in Square (SIS) blocks (aka Little Chips and Economy Blocks). I used 2.5 inch scraps for the centers and a black and white 2.5 inch squares cut on the diagonals for the sides and ended up with a 3 inch finished block. Well, after a couple of years of making those I ended up with a little over 300 SIS blocks.   So I divided the blocks up into a few piles and decided I could make 4 different quilts with them - four for kiddos and one for an adult. 

SIS #1 is finished and used SIS blocks alternating with squares. 

For this quilt I picked out mostly the I Spy type SIS blocks and then used them as the centers of Happy Blocks. 

I added the borders and made the Happy Blocks each month with scraps in the RSC color of the month. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

SIS #1 of 4 - Square in Square (SIS) and Square

It's a finish!

42 x 54

SIS #1 of 4

or

Square in Square (SIS) and Square

For a couple of years one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects was Square in Square (SIS) blocks (aka Little Chips and Economy Blocks). I used 2.5 inch scraps for the centers and a black and white 2.5 inch squares cut on the diagonals for the sides and ended up with a 3 inch finished block. Well, after a couple of years of making those I ended up with a little over 300 SIS blocks.   So I divided the blocks up into a few piles and decided I could make 4 different quilts with them - four for kiddos and one for an adult. 

For this quilt I alternated the 3.5 inch (unfinished) SIS blocks with 3.5 inch squares. I have a bin of different sized squares that are the result of scrap processing. The SIS blocks and squares I used in this one are mostly solids, geometrics, plaids, stripes and dots. I sewed blocks together randomly. 

I quilted it on the diagonals through the squares. 

The backing is a green stripe and the binding is a green dot. 

I finished this and another small quilt a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to getting them washed up for their glamour shots before hubby went into hospital.  Laundry is not a speedy process around here. You know me...this old fashioned girl's washer is two big tubs with a wringer in between. In good weather my dryer is a clothesline, the wind and/or sunshine and in bad weather it is sometimes a couple of drying racks and sometimes (not often) a very old dryer.  SIS finally got cleaned up and had glamour shots yesterday. 

And sew on...

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts And More

 

Economizing

Economy Block Top #1

Economy Blocks and Squares

42 x 54

In January 2021 I started making 3 inch finished Economy Blocks (aka Little Chips) from 2.5 inch scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month with b/w corners.  I think this was the last project that came out of a now emptied 2.5 inch scrap bin. 

Earlier this year I finally counted up the blocks and had well over 300 of them but they looked rather dreary all together in one quilt so I divided them up to be made into three different comfort quilts. 

This top alternates Economy Blocks with squares I pulled out of the 3.5 inch scrap squares bin. I tried to keep both the Econo Blocks and Squares to geometric shapes, plaids, dots, stripes and solids. 

I just randomly sewed Econos and Squares together. 

Economy Blocks for the other two quilt tops are being made into larger blocks as a RSC project. This month the RSC color is orange so I made a  few Stars with orange backgrounds that finish at 6 inches. 

So far I have Stars with pink, purple, orange and green backgrounds.  I forget how many Econo Blocks I counted out for this quilt.

The third quilt will use Econo Blocks as the centers of 6 inch Happy Blocks (3.5 inch economy block centers and 2 inch borders). Here are this month's with orange borders. 

For this one I tried to use mostly Econo Blocks that would be fun for an I Spy game. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Using Green Scraps

Green is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. 

This week I turned a lot of 3 inch  Square in Square (or Little Chips) blocks  I made in the last couple of RSC years into larger blocks.  I think I made well over 300 blocks in all colors of the rainbow with black corners. I was going to use them all together in one quilt but they seemed to make a very dark quilt. So I decided I could make 3 quilts instead. 

#1 - I set aside 130 Chips and will turn half of them into six inch Stars and half into six inch Happy Blocks and alternate those blocks for an adult sized donation quilt. 

So this is the bag of Chips left that  I'll turn into Stars and Happy blocks for quilt #1. I'm using Chips and scraps in the RSC color of the month to upgrade those blocks. 

#2. I pulled out 70 of the more the kid-friendly-I - Spy sort of Chips for a smaller kiddo donation quit that will end up 42 x 60. I'm turning those into Happy Blocks that finish at 6 inches.  I wish my green scraps were a little brighter but...

...I have last month's pink ones to brighten things up and I think there will be some brighter blocks in the future too.  So, that's quilt #2 in the works. 

#3. I pulled out 95 blocks that were solid colors, strips, dots or other geometric shapes. I then looked through my 3.5 inch squares box for squares that were similar patterns to alternate with the Chips.  I thought this would make a nice smaller child or wheelchair quilt at 42 x 42.  

My squares aren't all that cheerful so I thought I would look through my scrap bags to see if there are any polka dot, stripe or plaid scraps I can cut for alternate squares to brighten things up a bit if this is going to be a child's quilt. 

Then I'm left with this little pile of Chips. I'm thinking I might use them as centers for Wonky Log Cabin blocks. Some bright strings around them might make them shine. 

Then some 3 inch Broken Dishes blocks got turned into a few 7.5 inch Squared Away blocks. 

Any odds and ends of 2 inch pieces left over after all that got turned into little 3 inch Bow Ties, a Chinese Coin strip...

...or squares - single, sets of 2 and sets of 4.   The sets of four go into the Monkey Wrench work box and the other two piles go into storage for use at some later date. 

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

October Green Scraps Part III

Little Chips

3 inch finished. 

I'm working with green scraps this month. There's always a lot of green scraps. 

The Little Chips are made with 2.5 inch centers and two white on black 2.5 inch squares cut on the diagonal. Then they are trimmed to 3.5 inches. I have quite a stack of them but have not counted them yet. I'm sure I will continue making these next year. I'm aiming for a big quilt.

Monkey Wrench

10.5 inch finished

Still working with 2.5 inch green scraps...I cut any pieces long enough into four squares.   Then I dug into the green 4.5 inch width scraps and made a few HSTs to go with the green squares.  I'm also going to be making these next year and at year end 2023 will see how many donation quilts I can make with the blocks. 

I made a few Windmill blocks with 4.5 inch scraps. These finish at 8 inches and if I make a couple more blocks I will have enough of them now for a kiddo donation quilt.   I also made a couple of Broken Dishes blocks that finish at 8 inches just because...

And sew on...

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

 

September Blues -- Part III

Light blue is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. Last week I decided I might have enough bits and pieces of light blues to make a child sized zipper quilt.  The goal is 42 blocks and now I have 32 and I have the remaining 10 cut out. 

This week I also added a few blue Chips to my stock. Blocks finish at 3 inches. 

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Blue Scraps Part I

Blue, bright and dark, is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for June. I'm going to use all blues. I have a lot of blue scraps. The first thing I did was sort them by size.  This week I used pieces that were 5 to 5.5 inches or so in width. 

If they were long enough for a 5 x 9.5 inch piece then that's what I cut to make these Horizon Blocks. 

Sometimes other colors sneak into the mix. I will make these blocks from scraps until year end and then see how many donation quilts I can make with them. 

I'm making two different sizes of Square in Square blocks (Chips) and this is the bigger size made with 5 inch squares and 2.75 squares in the corners.  I am using white on black with the RSC color of the month in jewel tones and have been making them for a couple of years now.  I trim the corners and make QSTs.  Not sure what will become of those but I have quite a collection of them and there might be enough for a small quilt when all is said and done. Or they might make a fun sashing for something. Time will tell. 

Any 5 inch pieces that aren't long enough for Horizon blocks but longer than a square will be cut in half lengthwise and added to the 2.5 inch width scraps and will be made into other blocks when it comes time for me to use 2.5 inch width scraps. 

The pieces that were shorter but at least a square's worth got cut into squares. I have a bin with all different sizes of squares where they are stored until I decide to make something with them. 

Any 5 inch piece less than a square was sewn into strips for a Chinese Coin quilt. That box of coins is overflowing because I've been adding to it for years so maybe I should make that Chinese Coins sooner rather than later. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Bits and Pieces

Green is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for the month of May - specifically darker greens like sage and forest. I have so many different RSC blocks in the works so I just made some of the blocks but used all shades of green. When the RSC color is light/bright green then I'll finish making the rest of my RSC green blocks. 

This week I made some small Chips (3 inch finished) also known as Square in Square. 

I had some pieces cut and in the project box with some other colors so I went ahead and made those blocks too since I guess I was in the mood.  This is my second year of making them so I guess I should take count. 

Four Patches made with some green 2.5 inch scraps. They are nothing fancy but it's always good to stock up on parts.  And it's always nice to have an easy block to make when scraps happen.

I've been trying to completely empty out my 2 inch width scrap bin for a couple of years. One of the blocks I'm making to help empty it is Bow Tie.  I was going to cut green scraps to make Bow Ties but thought I should go ahead and make some of the Bow Ties that I had ready to sew.  These blocks also finish at 3 inches. 

And sew it goes...

 RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

..."In Every Wood In Every Spring There Is A Different Green"...J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Green, specifically forest and sage green, is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for May. I'm going to use all greens because I have a lot of RSC projects in the works so I'll make some of my blocks this month and when the RSC color is lighter and brighter greens I'll make the rest of my blocks. 

I have a giant tote of green scraps. I took out the solid scraps and any scrap chunks (larger than a six inch square and smaller than a Fat Quarter).  Then I sorted the rest of the scraps by width. If they did not fit nicely into any width category or pieces were small they went into crumbs or strings or a pile to be cut into squares.

5 inch width pieces were cut 5 x 9.5 and made into Horizon blocks for donation quilts I'll make near the end of the year.  That light one on top right might be too light and may end up in the orphan pile but for now it's going into the block collection. 

5 inch squares in jewel tones got made into Chips (Economy Blocks). The corners are trimmed and made into Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs).  As I come across five inch squares in jewel tones I put them into the project box and make them into Chips at the same time I make the RSC colored ones. 

The rest of the five inch pieces I cut into a square if possible. Some of the longer pieces I cut in half to use when I make my blocks from 2.5 inch scraps. From the bright green 2.5 inch width lengths I cut four squares if possible for Indian Hatchet blocks when I'm ready to make those.  If there was a 1.5 x 5 piece I cut it into pieces 1.5 x 3.5 pieces for a new project and then I had postage stamp sized pieces left for my postage stamp collection. Any 2.5 inch width pieces that were left that weren't long I cut into squares and/or 1.5 x 2.5 inch pieces for Legos. 

That does it for the 5 inch width green scraps. Next I'll be working with the green 3.5 and 2 inch scraps. 

Yellow Scraps Part I

I store most of my scraps by color now. At the beginning of each month I dig into the bag with scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color and sort them by size of scrap. Then I work from largest down to smallest scraps and make a variety of blocks. 

This month I'm working with my bag of yellow scraps. 

First I start with Dandy Quilt block. I usually take a small scrap chunk and cut off a 4.5 inch strip. Then I find a scrap in the color complement for the corners and star points. 

Next I work with any 5 inch scraps that can be cut 5 x 9.5.  Sometimes I cut a layer cake square that has been given to me in half and use that too.  I then make Horizon quilt blocks. At the end of the year I'll make these into donation quilts. 

If there is a 5 inch square in a jewel tone then I make Big Chips (Economy Blocks). These are made with the flippy corner method so I use the corners after trimming to make QSTs. 

If there are any 5 inch pieces left over I cut them in half and use them in blocks that call for 2.5 inch pieces. 

If I can cut four identical pieces 2.5 x 3.5 I make Eight Patch blocks. I have a project box with 2.5 x 3.5 pieces I can also use in these blocks. Again I will make donation quilts at year end. 

I also use 2.5 inch scraps to make HSTs for Bear Paws. If I have 4.5 inch scraps in my scrap bag I cut squares for these otherwise I have a bin of squares I use.  This is another block that will be made into donation quilts at year end. 

For these four inch Indian Hatchet blocks I use four identical 2.5 inch squares for the base and 2 inch HST pieces for the corners.  I love these blocks and this will be a quilt for me someday. It was inspired by a vintage quilt. 

Some bright 2.5 inch squares get made into Little Chips (Economy Blocks). The corners are made with two 2.5 inch squares cut in half then the blocks are trimmed to size. 

Any other 2.5 scraps get cut into squares if possible or if there is a 2.5 x 1.5 piece I cut that and those pieces go into the Lego project box. 

My strings are kept separately and not sorted by color but I dug through those and pulled out yellows and saw I had enough for one 12 inch Wonky Log Cabin block.  I'm using 4 inch novelty centers with a black background in each block. I make this block as a leader/ender while I chain piece some of the other blocks. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday