A Simple Four Patch Top

It's a top!

Four Patch

60 x 78

I have a box of 3.5 inch width strips and squares. Most have been given to me over time. One color Four Patches of light and dark 3.5 inch squares made in  the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month is one of the projects I started last year to use the smaller scraps in the 3.5 inch width box. 

Since I'm now working hard to empty that 3.5 inch width scrap box I decided to finish up the few blocks I needed to make a comfort quilt top. 

I usually sew scrap blocks together randomly; however, I decided on diagonal rows by color for this one. I don't have a design wall or floor space enough to layout blocks before I sew them together so I counted out the number of blocks of each color and made a very rough draft on paper that I followed. 

And sew on...

Finished Or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

***

Just popped in to say "hi". John has been fighting a bronchiectasis flare up all week - lots of coughing and thick mucus he has been trying to get rid of.  Last night about 5 pm he told me he couldn't breathe. The oximeter showed blood oxygen okay but pulse rate high. No fever. Very pale. Took him into ER. They immediately took him into a room. They gave him 15 liters of oxygen and took tests. They thought he might have blood clot. No, he didn't. Pneumonia? Maybe. After all the testing and at 4 am they finally admitted him for COPD - Bronchiectasis type.  (Bronchiectasis is reason he is on oxygen with activity). This afternoon he was doing much better and up and about; however, now he has developed a problem with high blood pressure like he sometimes does when hospitalized. Anxiety? Maybe I should take my own blood pressure!

More later... 

It's A Top!

It's a top!

Quirky

49 x 63

I'm trying to empty a box of 4 inch width scraps that I have accumulated over the years from others. I usually have a couple of Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects going for each width of scraps but sometimes I just have so many odd lengths of different colors so I decide to just see how many comfort quilts I can make to empty the box. 

For this quilt I used the blue, pink and purple pieces in the box. 

I made 7.5 inch unfinished Four Patch, Two Rail and Rail and Two Squares blocks...

...and I added in some saturated purple 7.5 inch unfinished squares.

Then I randomly sewed blocks together.

*** Edited to add...this morning when I went into the sewing room I found another row for this quilt under some other tops I had webbed together. So when I get that row added to this top it will be 49 x 70.  Sheesh!

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

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The box of 4 inch width scraps I've been working from is a large flat rate USPS box. 

So far I've made the following tops/block sets with scraps in that box:

1. Yankee Puzzle Top

2. Yankee Puzzle #2 block set of 48 blocks

3. Blue/Orange Four Patch Top (also added orange solid)

4. Basket Weave (also added orange solid)

5. Four Patch and Two Rails (brown, orange, yellow)

6. 29 Wonky Stars (for an ongoing Wonky Star project)

7. Squares on the Diagonal 

8. This top

I still have pieces in my box of 4 inch width scrap so guess I need to make some blocks and/or another top! 

 

Four Patch and Rails Top

It's a top!

Four Patch and Rails

56 x 70

I'm trying to empty a box of 4 inch width scraps that I have accumulated over the years from others. I usually have a couple of Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects going for each width of scraps but sometimes I just have so many odd lengths of different colors so I decide to just see how many quilts I can make to empty the box. 

For this quilt I picked out all the browns, oranges and yellows as well as a few lighter neutrals. Everything in this quilt came out of the box so there's a mix of fabrics. I think almost all of the scraps have been given to me by others. 

After I pulled out the pieces I had to work with I divided the scraps into the piles long enough for a rectangle 4 x 7.5 and piles of pieces enough for a 4 inch square. I then divided each of those piles into lights and darks.  That gave me an idea as to number of Four Patch and Rails I could make and size of comfort quilt.  With these colors and fabrics I thought a larger comfort quilt would be better than a child sized comfort quilt.  Any of the colors less than a 4 inch square went into a baggie and back into the box for a Coins quilt to be made later. 

I still have more pieces in the 4 inch width scrap box so stay tuned for another top soon. 

My box of 4 inch width scraps is a large flat rate USPS size.  

So far I've made the following tops/block sets with scraps in that box:

1. Yankee Puzzle Top

2. Yankee Puzzle #2 block set of 48 blocks

3. Blue/Orange Four Patch Top (also used orange solid)

4. Basket Weave (also used orange solid)

5. This top - Four Patch and Rails

And sew on...

***

Oh joy! I received a box of beautiful fabric goodies from Barbara yesterday. Oh, I especially loved the rose themed fabrics! You know I love roses in any form!

***

Looks like another day without rain so I'll be out in the gardens most of the day. The soil temps are still not even up in the 60s yet so I've been waiting to plant my cucumbers and squashes and some flowers that germinate best in warmer soil.  Yesterday I spent most of the day planting my dahlia tubers. Dahlias are not hardy here so I have to dig up and store those for the winter. Since I'm getting older I might have to invest in some big pots for them so I don't have to do so much digging. But digging and planting Dahlia tubers is definitely a good work out. I feel it all over today!

 

Four Patch Flimsy

It's a top!

Four Patch 

42 x 56

In a previous blog post I mentioned that I met my goal for the only block I was making from scraps in my 4 inch width scrap box. Most of the scraps in there have been given to me over time. When I receive a box of scraps I take my little six inch ruler and measure the width of scraps and put them into the appropriate scrap box. Larger scraps I call chunks are sorted and stored by color. I try to use smaller scraps as I receive them in one of the many blocks I have going but with my husband John's health problems off and on I sometimes don't have enough time to sew all the scraps as I receive them. 

Well, now that you see my 4 inch width scrap box overfloweth I decided to see what could be made with the contents and hopefully soon just end up storing a baggie of 4 inch squares. 

So, first I pulled out the blue scraps in the box. I had some sets of blue two 4 inch squares and longer pieces that would yield two squares enough for Four Patches for a small comfort quilt. Then I had to decide on an alternate color for the blocks. I didn't have enough of anything in the scrap box. 

I was recently gifted a bolt of orange fabric and since orange is the complement of blue I decided to use orange to complete my Four Patches. 

And orange is such a happy color too!

Now on to the next project to come out of the 4 inch width scrap box! I am still really in gardening mode so not getting much sewing done except when it is a rainy day so it may take me awhile to empty out that box but that is my goal.

And sew on...

***

Thank you, everyone, for the positive thoughts, prayers and best wishes. I think they are working. John seems a little perkier each day but still fighting off that jaw bone infection and pain and hoping to get that surgery to repair his jaw some day soon. 

***

These Iris are beautiful but grow like weeds. I separated them one year and threw them on a compost pile and they grew out of the compost. I now have little patches of them everywhere. They look nice in a vase too. 

 

In The Pink

 

Snowball Nine Patch

9 inches

Made with 3.5 inch squares

Pink is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. So I dug into my pink scraps for this week's blocks. I have also made more blocks in past RSC colors of blue, green and red. I have acquired or processed scraps in those past colors and since my goal is to empty the bins of scraps I keep by width by year end I will make blocks in past RSC colors each month if I have them. 

Hollow Nine Patch

9 inches

Made with 3.5 inch squares

Uneven Nine Patch

7 inches

Made with 3.5 inch squares, 1.5 x 3.5 multicolor rectangles, and 1.5 inch square for center.

Four Patch

6 inches

Made with 3.5 inch squares - dark and light of same color.

Buckeye Beauty

6 inches

Made with 3.5 inch unfinished HSTs with black and color of month and 2 inch squares. 

Courthouse Steps

7.5 inches

Made with 2 inch width pieces

Giant Potato Chip

Made with 2 x 3.5 inch rectangles.

Each round is in the RSC color of the month so a pink round has been added. 

Currently it's a 15.5 inch square

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

Some flowers are starting to peek out of the very wet ground. We have had some much needed rain so I'm hoping to see more color in the gardens in the weeks ahead. Our last frost date is April 30 so the gardens really get into high gear after that. 

Wood Hyacinth (or Spanish Blue Bells) are starting to pop up in spots all over in the gardens.

Dwarf Iris are also popping up here and there. When I go walking through my gardens this time of year it is like going on a treasure hunt to see what I will find. There's 

Daffodils popping up in the cutting garden. I used to have fancy tulips here and after one year I kept having problems with rabbits and deer eating them as they sprouted up so I've been slowly changing this bed to Daffodils since critters don't really bother those. Earlier this year I broadcast some perennial dianthus seeds in this bed so when the Daffs die down I hope to have some dianthus for cutting in this bed too.   

There are different varieties of dwarf and fancy Daffodil varieties in this bed. 

Bloodroot in the cottage garden.

Planting potatoes on Good Friday is a long standing tradition said to ensure a bountiful harvest. I usually try to get mine planted then but I'm a little behind. Maybe I will get to that in the next couple of days if the weather permits. I have my potatoes chitted and ready to plant. I love potatoes! 

In The Pink! Economy Block Finish

It's a finish!

Economy Blocks

42 x 48

I started it in 2023 to use up some  four inch finished Four Patches I had in the Parts Department as well as some scrap chunks of mostly pink and blue florals.  I used two four inch squares of the florals cut on the diagonals for the Four Patch corners to make a six inch finished block. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with horizontal and vertical lines. 

Here's the back. The binding is a pink floral.

And sew on...

***

A little quilting marathon will be 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...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. 

***

One day when we had some very nice weather I put together a couple of Adirondak Rockers for one of my newest gardens close to the house. Of course the directions were all pictures and some directions/pictures were a little difficult to decipher so a few choice cuss words were uttered. 

There are two old rusty swing sets without swings in this area. I used the swing sets as trellises for some roses and have planted a lot of fragrant perennials and bulbs around here. I call it "John's Garden" because I made the area for my husband to go sit and enjoy the birds and bees and flowers and stop and smell the roses.  The rockers are sitting on cardboard that I put down to keep the weeds out. I'm going to pull that out and plant a ground cover like sweet alyssum. My husband is frail and on oxygen so can't walk far.

I also put together another bench for the "Perky Goth/Moonlight Garden" I started a couple of years ago. I cleared the area overgrown with mostly elderberry, wild grape and honeysuckle so I could plant pink, black and white flowers in memory of my perky goth granddaughter Kayla who died unexpectedly four years ago. This garden is quite a walk from the house and a greater part of it is shady so it has been quite an ongoing journey figuring out what pink, white and black plants I can put in the garden. 

I put up a fence at the bottom end of the garden to hopefully make the deer that come up through the wooded area take a detour around this garden.  I put the bench in a sunny area and soon I hope to sow some poppy and bachelor button seeds and maybe a few others around the bench. Our last frost date is around May 15 but some things can be sown before that date. The ground is very dry but rain is predicted Thursday-Saturday so maybe I will sow seeds after that. 

***

I am thankful for friends who keep me sewing. In the last week or so I received a bolt of yellow fabric from Liz, some backings and bindings from Ann and a lot of fat quarters from Teresa. Oh the makes I can make!

Green Scraps

Uneven Nine Patch

7.5 inches

Made from 3.5 inch squares

Four Patch

6 inches

Made from 3.5 inch squares

Hollow Nine Patch

9 inches

Made from 3.5 inch squares

Waffles

5 inch

Made from 1.5 inch x 5.5 inch solid rectangles and 1.5 inch squares

Puss in the Corner Variation

6 inch

Made from 2 x 3.5 inch neutral rectangles and 2 inch squares

After I made blocks with green...

...I noticed I only needed 10 more blocks toward my goal of 108 blocks for a 9 x 12 (54 x 72 inch) layout. So I made more blocks with squares I had cut. 

Now I have met my goal of 108 Puss In the Corner Variation blocks! 

And sew on...

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday where the color of the month is green!