A Little Crumb Star Top

It's a top!

Crumb Stars

40 x 48

Someone gave me a big pile of 6 inch finished crumb blocks. I used a few of them as centers for these crumb stars. 

All of the neutral background pieces as well as the Star points came out of the 3.5 inch width strips and squares scrap box I am trying to empty.

From the scraps in that box so far...

1. Streak of Lightning top (blue/gray/neutrals)

2. Hollow Nine Patch top

3. This one - Crumb Stars (with addition of crumb blocks)

And sew on...

***

It's been hot, hot, hot and humid here this week. I didn't do too much but read near a fan. I finished two books: 

1. Into the Dust (The Dirty Thirties Series Saga Book 4) by Jean Hackensmith. This series follows a family who moves from the coal mines of Virginia to Oklahoma to homestead. Then the fields turn to dust when the dust storms hit. This book highlights measures taken to preserve the top soil and prevent erosion with the help of government projects. 

2. In The Ground (David Wolf Mystery Thriller Series Book 14) by Jeff Carson, Well, I've now read 14 books in this series so I must like these mystery thrillers. And now on to Book 15. 

***

There's some big ol' angry bees out by my herb garden. I think they might live in an old wood pile. I was weeding in my herb garden and getting ready to sow some cilantro seeds a few days ago and kept getting buzzed. Then one of those angry bees stung me right through the fabric of my shorts on my thigh. Wow. That hurt! I went in and took some diphenhydramine that knocked me out for hours. I have about a 6 x 2 inch swollen spot now.  Around the same time the mosquitoes were biting and bit up my arms. Strange thing...my arms appeared bruised a couple of days later. I looked up if mosquito bites could cause bruises and, yes, they can.  And if that wasn't bad enough I had two spider bites on my elbow that swelled and itched. And I ended up with some type of dermatitis (red rash) on my face the day after I was weeding in the native wildflower garden.   So, I guess the critters aren't just trying to devour the gardens they are now out to get me!! 😱

***

I'm glad I just have bug bites and am healthy overall! 

We finally have a surgery date for hubby John - August 5!! It's approx. five hour surgery to remove necrotic jaw bone and tissues, take cultures to determine exactly what bacteria is causing bone infection and then after that he will probably undergo infusion therapy with proper antibiotic. They are not going to replace the necrotic jaw bone like they did on the other side in 2017. So he will have "hang jaw". He doesn't need the bone since he can't swallow and gets his nutrition via G-tube. So, this surgery will be easier on him and quicker recovery time than the 14 hour surgery he had in 2017 to replace jaw with fibula.   Necrotic bone is due to radiation for oropharyngeal cancer he had back in 2004. 

On Monday John had an echocardiogram as part of his pre-surgery evaluation. It revealed he had moderate aortic valve stenosis. So now he has an appt. with cardiologist on July 6. 

John had Mohs surgery on squamous cell carcinoma on his nose and it is healing nicely. He has another video appt. in July for follow up.  

Crumb Stars Finish

It's a finish!

Crumb Stars

36 x 48

Someone gave me some neutral 6 inch crumb blocks.  I saw Stars! 

I made the top back in November 2025. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with swirls. 

The backing and binding. 

And sew on...

A little quilting marathon is going on here in March . Soon I will have boxes of comfort quilts to send off to two of my favorite charities that provide quilts for kids  - Wrap-A-Smile  (WAS)  and      Quilts Beyond Borders.  (QBB).

Wrap-A-Smile (WAS) partners with Rotaplast International.

 Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Quilts Beyond Border (QBB) quilts go to many different initiatives both foreign and domestic...foster care, refugees, Indian reservations, orphanages, women's recovery centers...you will just have to go read the QBB blog because I can't remember them all.

 

A Crumby Stars Top

 

It's a top!

Crumby Stars

36 x 48

Several folks have given me six inch finished crumb blocks. For this top I used some light neutral ones for the centers of some 12 inch finished Stars.

I used brown scraps for all of the Star points and I used cream scraps for the Star backgrounds.

And sew on...

Orphan Block Top Xavier

Orphan Block Top Xavier

40 x 60

The 6.5 inch Star centers are the orphan blocks. 

All of the blocks were given to me. Most of them are crumb blocks.  I think they came from several people. I looked through the 6.5 inch orphan blocks for any that had pink because I knew I was going  to use a piece of mauve? dusty pink? for the star points. 

I used some green and blue scraps for the backgrounds because most of the blocks had green and/or blue in addition to pink. 

And sew on...

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

Dec. 16 - I received a package in the mail. I cried when I opened it and found enough wildflower seeds to finish sowing the area I blogged about on Dec. 9.  It said Merry Christmas from Julie. Bless her generous and thoughtful heart! 

I also received a package with some fabric and a few scraps from Dawn. Bless her heart too!   

I am so very thankful to both ladies. 

 

Crumb Star Finish

Crumb Stars

42 x 60

It's a finish!

I didn't make the Crumb Star blocks. Last year someone with the Sunshine Online Quilt Guild (SOQG) offered up a box of 12 inch blocks and I was the lucky recipient. I was thinking I could use a box of blocks to piece some backings. And I have. But there sure were lots of what I thought were  "block sets" that would make for some nice donation tops. 

These Crumb Stars was one of the block sets I put together into a top. (Of course that didn't help me with my lack of backings and this one did not have a backing so it has lingered in the UFO pile for awhile now.)

I did finally find a backing and now it is all quilted with some straight vertical lines.

The backing.

And I saved back enough of the green leafy fabric I used for sashing for the binding. 

Now it is ready for donation.

And I can mark another UFO off of the list. (The top has been around since August 2021)

And sew on...

 

From The Crumby Constellation

From the Crumby Constellation...Two Crumb Star Tops. 

When I was working with my orphan blocks I found some 6.5 inch blue crumb blocks. I decided to turn those crumb blocks into 12 inch (finished) crumb stars. I had a lot of small scraps of reds and yellows so decided on that color for the backgrounds. I used a variety of blue scraps for the star points. 

My crumbs are usually the smallest of the small scraps and are mostly odd shapes. 

Sometimes crumbs are the skinniest and shortest of strings. 

I made a blouse a long long time ago from that blue with pink tulips. 

A few weeks ago I received a box of 12 inch blocks. I've been using a lot of the blocks to piece donation quilt backings but there were just enough Crumb Stars for a quilt top so I added some sashing and made a quilt top. 

Her crumbs are more elegant than mine. 

And her crumbs are bigger than mine.

And now I have two more donation quilt tops ready for a September quilting marathon.  More on that later. 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

 

It's a Finish! Crumby Stars

 Crumby Stars

from a constellation far, far away.

It's a finish! 

Ready for giving or gifting.

40 x 56

 Last year I worked on getting my crumbs (small weird sized scraps) under control. I made crumb fabric each month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month. Crumb fabric was then made into a variety of blocks.   Eight inch Crumb Star blocks was one of those blocks. I made enough Crumb Stars for two small quilts. 

 For the Crumb Star background I used scraps in a complementary color. 

I Spy!

Batting was pieced. I used a soft pale green cotton sheet for the backing and quilted it with loops and stars on my DSM.  Binding was made from scrappy bits and pieces of leftover binding. 

I just found out one of my nieces is pregnant with twins and will give birth in July.  After I finish the other Crumb Star I may send her the two quilts.

This was my goal #10
for
Q1 Finish-Along

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt 

Orange Crumbs and Other Tidbits

 Crumb Stars from a galaxy far far away.

 Orange Crumby Yummies from Cathy's Confectionery Company

 Itty Bitty Nitty Gritty Fish from the deepest dark regions of the sea. 

I ❤ Slabs

 Crumb Mendota (off center square) blocks. 

 Scrappy and flowery Mendota blocks

 From the box of  wonky and waste triangles...black and orange...

 ...white and orange...

...four inch (or close to it) blocks. 

All bits and pieces to be assembled into donation quilts at year end. 

It should be fun.

It's also fun to see what everyone else does from week to week with orange scraps. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday. 

BIG Crumb Stars

Crumb Stars

40 x 60

To be donated to Quilts Beyond Borders

(The crumby part of Sane, Crazy, Crumby)

Star blocks finish at 18 inches.

I made a pile of 6 inch crumb blocks a couple of years ago as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and haven't done anything with them since.  I decided to use my little used TriRec ruler and make some Crumb Stars. So...I pulled out the purple blocks because I had a big chuck of purple fabric left over from some fabric gift bags I made for the granddaughters. 

Earlier this year in April I made nine inch Crumb Stars for Block Lotto so I decided to try a larger version using those 6 inch ready made crumbs blocks and six inch  purple star points. 

I had a couple of similarly colored blue fabric to use for the background - one piece my daughter picked up from a yard sale and brought to me. I think the other was left over from a QOV.  My daughter doesn't sew but for some reason she's always hunting for someone else's scraps and then she brings them to me and acts like she's done me a big favor.   (She probably has but I don't let her know that). 

I had a night sky looking sheet (or someone spilled bleach all over it) from the thrift store to use for the back of this quilt and the next donation quilt I make.  I pieced batting by zigzagging scraps together.  The binding was the last of a piece of fabric I had on top of one of my many piles so I grabbed it and used it up. (I think a piece went into the string bin).   I quilted it in loops and stars on my plain Jane Janome. 

I'm not sure I actually like the over-sized stars so I probably won't make anymore. But it was fun to give them a try.  Somewhere in this world I'll bet there's a child who will think the over-sized stars are just right. 

I wanted to make 5 quilts this quarter from orphan blocks, crumb blocks, etc for donation. This is the fourth one and goal #11 from my Q3 goal list for 2015 Finish Along with Adrianne of On the Windy Side. 

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

WIPs Be Gone at A Quilting Reader's Garden. 

Oh, Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework.

Purple Haze or is it a Fog?

I made some 6.5 purple crumb blocks last year when it was RSC purple month. 

The block of the month at Block Lotto is Crumb (or Made Fabric) Stars. They have 3.5 inch centers and finish at 9 inches. I used the same idea and Tri-Rec rulers and my purple crumb blocks and ended up with some gigantic 18 inch (finished) blocks. 

I think next time I will also use some crumbs for the star points. 

They went together quickly and before you know it I had a 40 x 60 top ready to be quilted and donated after I sew together my mountain of batting scraps. 

(Those darned grandkids kept pestering me last night while I was trying to take pictures so I finally gave in and said I would play a board game after my picture taking session.)

In other purple news I used 2.5 inch scraps to make some 6 inch Twinkler blocks and two 8 inch Depression blocks...

...and 13 Pentland Cracker blocks...

...and some lozenges (bitter pills)...

...and some miscellaneous 4 inch things. 

Got Scraps?

Use them up. Show them off each ScrapHappy Saturday.