Arrowhead Puzzle (aka Garlic Knot) Finish

Arrowhead Puzzle

A lot of folks might know it by what Bonnie Hunter calls Garlic Knots.

It's also known here as Orphan Gertrude.

42 x 54

It's a finish!

Someone gave me 45 blocks and I made 18 more from 2 inch scraps. I finished the top October 2023 when I was making tops from orphan blocks and I called this one Orphan Gertrude. 

Quilted with spirals on my sewing machine. 

The morning glory backing and holly binding.

The theme this month in my sewing space is March Madness (Quilting) Marathon.  I'm going to concentrate on finishing up a lot of the small tops I have in the TBQ (to be quilted) pile.  They will then be donated to:

Fostering Crossroads

Wrap - A -Smile 

Quilts Beyond Borders

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

******

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

March 9 - Received a small box of scraps. Oh joy! Of course I had to sort through them right away. 

 

It's A Top! Orphan Gertrude

It's a top! 

Orphan Gertrude

42 x 54

Continuing on from September the theme in my sewing space this month will also be "Orphans".  I may also throw in a few WITBs (What's In The Box) if I get tired of "Orphans". Of course I can always stray from the theme and do other things if I feel like it. 

The traditional name for this block is Arrowhead Puzzle. Bonnie Hunter (Quiltville) made the block more well known as Garlic Knots.   Someone gave me 45 of these 6 inch blocks and for this orphan block quilt I made 18 more blocks from some 2 inch scraps. 

And sew on...

 

It's a Finish!

 It's a finish! 

A donation quilt. 

64 x 88

 The traditional block name is Arrowhead Puzzle.  Bonnie Hunter made an eight inch version of the block popular and called it Garlic Knot. 

 Last year I used 2.5 inch scraps and made eight inch blocks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. 

 When I sat down to quilt I had no idea how I was going to quilt it.  I first quilted in some lines on the diagonal between blocks and then just quilted some wonky lemon peels on the diagonal through the centers of the blocks but then decided that was not enough quilting so quilted in some of those wonky lemon peels on each side of the center lemon peels. 

You know it's not easy to wrangle a quilt this size through the 7.5 inch throat on my sewing machine but it is not impossible. 

 One of Murphy's Laws of quilting states that if you are going to accidentally zig or zag while wrangling large quilts it will be a zig with light thread in a dark space or a zag with dark thread in a light space. 

But if anyone is eyeballing a quilt for things like that and they aren't the quilt police then I say they have too much time on their hands.  After a good wash those things almost disappear and a recipient will never notice. 

 As I quilt I always have to put a pin where I need to bury knots. If I don't then I miss some places later on when I have a knot burying ritual. 

  

I take a long break after every bobbin is emptied in order to move around these old bones.

Oh...one last tip...if you have long hair be sure to wear it in a bun when quilt wrangling otherwise it might accidentally fall in front of the needle and get sewn into the quilt. 

 The backing came from a friend. 

Three cheers for finishes!

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More 

More Rainbow Scrap Challenge Projects - Two Flimsies and a Finish

Strings  - A flimsy

40 x 60

These are 10 inch finished blocks. I started them a long time ago as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge Project - strings in the color of the month plus a 2 inch strip of a black polka dot.  I haven't worked on them for awhile because I ran out of strings that were long enough. Well, long strings have magically appeared again so I dug through them to make more blocks. I think I had to just make six of them and now I have a small donation quilt top. 

 And the good thing is that I have enough of that black polka dot print for backing and binding. 

 Arrowhead Puzzle (or as Bonnie Hunter calls them - Garlic Knots)

It's a flimsy!

64 x 88

 This will be another donation quilt. 

 I sure like how this top turned out. 

 Cats in the Cradle

Baby Quilt

It's a finish!

44 x 44

Its a finish! And a pretty busy one at that. I tried to tone down the busy-ness with some gray sashing but it is still pretty darned busy. 

Getting this to the finish line was my October One Monthly Goal (OMG)    at   Elm Street Quilts. 

It was also my goal #7   for   Q4 Finish-Along

 These blocks started with a bunch of 3 inch nine patches I wanted to use somehow. Sally (Objects of Design) had made some micro kittens I thought were cute so I asked her if she would share the instructions.  She did. By the way, she has a tutorial for a larger kitty on her tutorial page as well as many other cute critters. 

 Anyway, while the kitties alone were cute I think they didn't combine all that well with those nine patches and I probably should have alternated them with plain squares instead (which I may do in the future).   

 Maybe baby and parents can get a game of I Spy out of it.   I spy a kitty, basil and lettuce...

 ...a chicken...

 ...a flower, snowflakes, elephant...

 ...a fish.  

 If baby thinks the front too loud the back could always become the front. 

The back also has a rainbow clowder of cats. 

Batting was pieced (with wide zig zag stitch) and I quilted it with some spirals. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

Some Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) Projects

 This is the month to use dark neutral scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects. 

I dug into the 2.5 inch scraps and made some Garlic Knots (traditional block name Arrowhead Puzzle). 

 Now I have 90 blocks if I counted correctly and can begin quilt top assembly. I am thinking I will make a quilt 8 x11 blocks that will measure 64 x 88.   That means this is one RSC project that will not have to continue into next year. 

 But I still have a couple of other RSC projects that use 2.5 inch scraps that I haven't worked on at all this year. I am going to count my six inch Plus blocks and then decide what I want to do with them in order to move this project forward.  I may or may not continue on with these as a project using 2.5 inch scraps. 

 Another project using 2.5 inch scraps that I have neglected this year is Sprouts.  I need to count these up and decide if  I have enough for the layout I envisioned and if not I will try to make enough additional blocks and get a top made by year end. 

 These little 3 inch Churn Dashes are a new RSC project I will be making from 2.5 inch scraps.  When I tried a few blocks last month with purple scraps I used scraps about 6.5-7 inches long and cut one inch off the width to be used for the side pieces and with the remaining 1.5 inch piece I used the Easy Angle ruler to cut HSTs. 

 I'm thinking that eventually I will combine them with some little 3 inch nine patches because I have a whole bin of those already made. 

After I finished assessing projects that use 2.5 inch scraps I turned my attention to the 1.5 inch scrap bin.  I've been making little 3 inch finished rail blocks from 1.5 inch scraps for a couple of years. After I made these dark neutrals I found I finally have 900 or so of them...

...and will begin assembling a quilt top. 

But I still have some 1.5 inch scraps so I tried a new block called Rocky Glen.  The block takes four different fabrics so I was thinking I will make blocks in secondary colors and primary colors. So if the RSC color is a secondary color like purple I will use two purple scraps, an orange scrap and a  green scrap.  If it is a primary color like red I will use two red scraps, a yellow scrap and a blue scrap.  These blocks finish at 7.5 inches.   The 1.5 inch scrap bin is running a little low so if I don't have 1.5 inch scraps to make these blocks I will cut from scrap chunks.   

In the meantime I want to clean out the 1.5 inch scrap bin this year so will cut any scrap in the RSC color left in the scrap bin after I make blocks into 1.5 inch squares to be used at a later date.   So that means at the end of 2020 I hope to have an empty 1.5 inch scrap bin. 

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

What Happened To Those Purple Scraps?

 From the 2.5 inch scrap bin...Garlic Knots aka Arrowhead Puzzles. 

 I cut some gray and black squares to make the rest of the blocks next month that I'll need for a twin sized quilt. 

 I've been making HRTs from 4.5 inch scraps for a couple of years. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but maybe it is about time I make a decision. In addition to the purples I sewed together some pinks I had cut out but had not gotten sewn together in the pink month.  Hmmmm...before I put them away I may see how these blocks might look assembled into diamonds. 

 These 12 inch blocks came out of the 3.5 inch scrap bin.  Again I think my target is a twin sized quilt. Not sure how many blocks I have right now. This may be a Rainbow Scrap Challenge I continue into next year or next month I may assess what colors are in the 3.5 inch scrap bin and make up the rest of the blocks I need. 

And finally I made ten little 3 inch finished Kitties that I'm thinking I'll match up with some of the little Nine Patches from the big bin of little Nine Patches in the Parts Department.  I'm thinking a baby quilt of these will be the goal. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday. 

In the Pink!

Wishing Rings that finish at 3.5 inches. 

(Blocks are also called Church Window Hexagon Variation, Buttons, Doughnuts) 

Cut and weed. Sew and weed. Cut and weed. Sew and weed. And repeat. 

 This week in between garden weeding I dug into my pink scraps and managed to complete most but not all of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. 

 Four inch Double X Variation and Snowballs inspired by a vintage quilt. 

 Wedding Rings that finish at 7.5 inches. 

(Also called Single Wedding Ring, Odd Scraps Patchwork and Crown of Thorns). 

 Six inch Sixteen Patches. 

 HRTs (2 x 4)

 3 inch Rails. 

 A couple of six inch Broken Dishes and a 12 inch 16-Patch Star. 

And a bunch of eight inch Garlic Knots (aka Arrowhead Puzzle). 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday