A Yankee Puzzle, Hourglass or Big Dipper?

 

It's a top!

45 x 63

Not sure if it is a top made of Hourglass or Big Dipper or Yankee Puzzle blocks. It's a star so I will settle on Big Dipper.

I have been trying to use up a small box of 4 inch width scraps and squares. One of the blocks I have been making using those scraps is Yankee Puzzle using the tutorial at Suzy's Scraps. But note that I used 4 inch instead of 3.5 inch squares.

I also have larger version in the works with blocks of a color and a neutral. Maybe after that top is finished my 4 inch width scrap bin will be empty.

And sew on...

***

I finished a book- The Lost Story of Sofia Costello by Siobhan. It was classified as WWII historical fiction but I would consider it more of a love story. 

My husband John celebrated living three quarters of a century yesterday. I couldn't let him eat cake because they don't make liquid birthday cake for G-tubes for some strange reason. 

Cooler and drier weather has made it to my neck of the woods so I've been out trying to pull out all the weeds that took advantage of all that nasty weather and are now strangling some of my favorite flowers that the deer have not eaten or the raccoons have not dug up. Cooler weather also means I am able to get back to some hand quilting in the evening. 

And so it goes...

Quilts of September #15

Hourglass

60 x 80

I won a layer cake in a drawing a few years ago. Last year I decided to do something with it and I ended up making stack and whack Hourglasses.  The layer cake was kind of a weird one - it had some of what I would consider baby quilt type squares along with floral ones. I pulled out the baby squares for some other someday quilt and added in some of my own florals, polka dots and ginghams. 

I quilted it 1/2 inch from the seams vertically, horizontally and diagonally.  I thought I had some variegated pink, blue and white thread but couldn't find it when it came time for quilting so I ended up using white thread. Of course I found that variegated thread a couple of days later. 

For the binding I used different pastel scraps in pink and blue.

I finally found the perfect quilt for the pink and white striped cotton sheet I picked up from the thrift store ages ago. 

That's finish #15 for September!

My OMG (One Monthly Goal) is to see how many quilts I can finish in September.

And on to the next!

(How many will I finish in September????) 

 

Pea Soup Is Finished!

Pea Soup

64 x 80

It's a finish!

This is one of the tops I made last year from a box of 4.5 inch blocks accumulated over the years. 

I only used mostly green blocks to make the top. Most of the 4.5 inch blocks were Four Patches or HSTs. 

I combined the 4.5 inch blocks and some 4.5 inch squares and made a variety of 8 inch (finished) blocks. 

I then made 8 inch (finished) Hourglass blocks from a bag of green scrap chunks to use as an alternate block. 

I finished the top back in April 2020. 

I quilted it with diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines on my DSM in light green thread I had on hand. 

The binding is a dark green stripe. I was going to go with green scrappy but couldn't decide which greens to use and the green stripe was about the only green I had that would make it around the quilt so I went with that. 

The backing is a light green, very soft and silky and gently used sheet. 

Ready for giving or gifting!

 

Two Now Stacked, Whacked, Sliced and Topped

 Back on April 26 I posted about four quilts I was working on using stack and whack/slice and dice techniques.   I now have two tops completed. 

Large Hourglass Quilt

63 x 84

 A few years ago I was gifted a package of 11.5 inch squares.  I stacked them and cut on the diagonals and sewed them into Hourglass blocks. And then into a top. 

 And now I have a nice sweet donation quilt top. I think I may have a nice sweet sheet I can use for the back. 

 And now for a top that is not so sweet. 

Critters

42 inch square.

 This was made from a gifted package of 10 inch squares of bugs and other critters. 

Wonky Nine Patches

Stack two contrasting squares face up.

Make two vertical slices.

Swap center piece.

Sew together.

Iron toward darker pieces.

Stack two resulting pieces face up again.

Make two horizontal slices.

Swap center piece.

Sew together. 

This was quick, easy and fun to make.  I think I have the perfect piece of flannel for the backing.

Hey, I might even finish these sooner than later...UFO Prevention!!  

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

That Slowly Moving Clarissa

My OMG  (One Monthly Goal) for April was to complete 8 more Clarissa blocks.  I've completed 11 blocks this month and I now have 24 blocks toward my total goal of 36 blocks.  Inspired by a vintage quilt each block consists of 36 hourglasses (144 pieces cut from 1.5 inch strips).  I work on these for at least 20 minutes each day. Continuing with 20 minutes per day maybe by the end of next month I will have all the blocks I need to start assembly.  Hmmm...maybe I should decide on what I'm going to use for a sashing. Or maybe first I should decide how much yardage I will need for sashing. Let's see...2 inch finished sashing cut at 2.5 x 12.5...

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Stackin' and Whackin'; Slicin' and Dicin'

I recently dug out one of my oldest UFOs to work on - Four Patch Posies.  The UFO must be pre-2009 because I can't find any mention of it on my blog.  

In a large manila envelope I found 30 blocks made from a green, gray, purple floral. I also found 18 blocks in that floral with the pink background plus a stack of more of that floral all pinned together ready for cutting. Also in the envelope were pieces of several other fabrics I guess I was going to use to make some posies.    I managed to make 29 more blocks with that pink background. 

 I had enough of one of the fabrics for four repeats so made 42 more blocks. These are made of 3 inch pieces for a 5 inch finished block.  

 I ended up with a total of 119 posies from three different fabrics. I'm hoping I counted incorrectly and there is actually one more hidden in those piles for a total of 120 blocks. Then I can have a layout of 10 x 12 (50 x 60 inches) which is a respectable size. There were four repeats of a floral with a black background in that manila envelope but I'm not going to cut that up. Maybe I'll just use it on the back.   Now I have to decide how to put these together. I usually sew blocks together randomly but I'm thinking this one might take some planning. I'm even thinking a very thin dark green sashing might be nice.   Anyway...I moved this oldie forward and had some fun doing it. 

And then I was in Whacky mode and felt like slicing up more fabric. 

 These blocks finish at 14 inches.  The free tutorial for Twirla can be found at Butterfly Threads.  (I'll call mine Twirl and Whirl or something like that instead of Twirla because Twirla also happens to be the name of a contraceptive patch). 

I was first thinking I would make it with some scrap chunks of gray, purple and yellow but found I didn't really have many yellows so also added in some aqua. 

 In no time at all I had eight blocks.   And then I was bored with that but still felt like whacking away at more fabric so...

...I broke open a package of I Spy Bugs/ Critters that someone gifted me last year. I don't buy precuts myself but I think this is a layer cake? Package had several 10 inch pieces. 

And I have a few bugs myself. 

 I made some stack and shuffle nine patches that finish at about 8 inches or so. 

 I used the method similar to what I had bookmarked at Zippity Quilts only I used larger sized squares.   And then...

...I remembered another package of floral 11.5 inch squares I was gifted a couple of years ago.

And I found some stash I could add to the mix because I decided I would like to make a twin sized donation quilt. 

These I am stacking and slicing on the diagonals...

...and they are being made into Hourglass blocks that finish at around 10 inches or so. 

Well, I can't seem to work on one thing at a time but I'm not putting any of these away as a UFO until I get them to flimsy stage so I expect to have four flimsies to show soon if I work on them all a little each day. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Playing with Clarissa

 I've been working on my Clarissa blocks for at least 20 minutes each day.  My March OMG (One Monthly Goal) was to complete at least five blocks.  I've completed eight. 

And now I have a total of 13 blocks toward my goal of 36. 

Inspired by a vintage quilt each block consists of 36 hourglasses (144 pieces cut from 1.5 inch strips). 

This will be an ongoing 20 minute a day project until I reach my goal of 36 blocks.  The 20 minutes includes cutting, trimming, ironing, and sewing. And although not always perfect ( I decided to be brave and show a photo of the back of a block) it includes twisting of the seams. 

Playing and twisting with Clarissa daily! 

So this is my March OMG finish post

and

my April OMG will be to complete 8 more blocks. 

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

Blue-green Two Inch Scraps

This week I worked with blue-green scraps in the 2 inch bin. 

Little Houses Made of Ticky Tacky

They finish at 3 inches. I've been making these for a couple of years. 

Wedding Rings that finish at 7.5 inches.  This is my second year of making these. 

 Little Stars that finish at 4.5 inches. I've been making these off and on for a number of years. I use 2 inch scraps for the background and little waste triangle pieces for the star points. I'm really trying to concentrate on making more of these this year. At year end I'm hoping there will be enough for a couple of small donation quilts. 

 Sixteen Patches that finish at 6 inches. I've been making these for a couple of years too. Last year I was thinking I would combine them with an alternate block but then decided against it and will just be using Sixteen Patches in a quilt. At this point I should count how many blocks I have and decide how many more I need. 

This month I've decided to make Hourglass Four Patches from 2 inch scraps. A single Hourglass finishes at 3 inches. The foursome finishes at 6 inches.  And since I cut the Hourglass pieces with a Companion Angle ruler I use the Easy Angle ruler to cut the beginning and ending pieces which results in little HST pieces I made and also combined into little foursomes. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday