If You're Happy and You Know It Make a Block (or Swap)

Happy Blocks are quick and easy and a great for using up scraps.  

They can be made any size or with any shape. 

I keep a box of them around in various themes so I have the ingredients for a quick quilt should the need arise. 

Over the last couple of years I've made pillowcases with comic book themed fabric. I have quite a few leftover pieces of fabric now so decided to make some Happy Blocks. These are 6.5 inch centers framed by 2.5 inch sides for a 10 inch finished block.  I'm just going to frame these in red, blue and yellow solids. 

I'm participating in a swap of six inch (finished) Happy Blocks. 

The centers are four inch I Spy novelties and the sides are 1 3/4 inch bright Tone on Tones. We are swapping 8 each of 7 different blocks.   I used insects, birds and animals for all of my blocks - the six on the bottom and the green background mouse on top.   The other three will stay with me as well as a set I'm swapping.   I had those four inch center pieces already cut in a novelty pile of fabric so went ahead and added frames while I was at it. 

Swaps are a great way to get a variety of different fabrics if you are a fabric -holic. 

(And if you want to swap any wild kingdom Happy Blocks like these with me let me know. I want to make a big Wild Kingdom quilt).  

And speaking of swaps...

Val of Val's Quilting Studio is having an I Spy swap of four inch squares. 

There's still some spots left.   

Above are the fabrics I'll cut into squares for the swap.

Monkeys, Frog Legs and Zebra Butts

I've finished a 40x60 quilt top with my green scraps. I've challenged myself to see how many donation quilts I can make from my scraps. I've also been participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2013 at ScrapHappy's blog.  I didn't realize I had so many green scraps. I probably have enough left over for another whole quilt.

 The block is a 12 inch Bear Track I found at Quilter's Cache. I made 4 1/2 inch crumb blocks for the centers and then sewed all my 2 1/2 inch pieces into strips and combined with heavy muslin to make HSTs.

 My 4 year old grandson laughed at this block.  I laughed when I made it.  I used to love looking at all the different fabrics, usually old clothes, grandma used in her quilts.  So in that respect my grandson is a lot like me. He will study the fabrics in my quilts for quite some time and sometimes he will giggle when he discovers eyeballs, smiley faces or zebra butts.

When this one is finished it will go to Quilts Beyond Borders where I hope it will give another child a case of the giggles. 

I've also finished a 50x60 quilt top with my purple scraps. There are many variations on the Puss in the Corner quilt block. I made 10 inch blocks similar to a pattern at Quilt Index.   I made 6.5 inch crumb blocks with my purple scraps and used purple scraps for the corner 2.5 inch HSTs. The border strips were 2.5 inches in solid colors I had in my stash.

This quilt is for the Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  It will be a Quilty Hug for Happy Chemo.

This top used up most of my purple quilt scraps when purple was the color of the month at RSC 2013 where we link up and show off our use of scraps every Saturday.   If you've got a lot of scraps don't hesitate to join in.  Like I said, I love looking at all the different fabrics. The ideas are inspirational also. 

ABC x 2 +2= 4

I've finished two ABC I Spy happy block quilts.  One is for my grandson and another is for my niece's son.  They have been UFOs for quite some time.

Both quilts are reversible - one has a match game and the other has school themed happy blocks. The school themed blocks was also a UFO.

1. Quilted with a kind of concentric square pattern on my DSM. Binding is stripes. Happy blocks consist of swapped 6.5 inch squares bordered in 2.5 inch strips. Letters were ironed on...

 ...Back consists of school themed happy blocks. Some of the blocks were bordered by others in a happy block swap where you send centers to others to be bordered and you do the same for them.

 It's so cold and windy outside today so it was difficult to get good pictures. Here's a closeup of the ABCs. I had to show the E for Eyeballs since my grandson loves that fabric.

 And here's the reverse side. I haven't washed it yet to get the crinkly goodness. Out here in the country we only do our laundry on the weekends when the electricity is cheaper so I'll be washing them up tomorrow.

 2. Quilted with a kind of concentric circle pattern on my DSM. Binding is solid blue. Happy blocks consist of swapped 6.5 inch squares bordered in 2.5 inch strips. Letters were ironed on...

 ...reverse is a match game...what goes with an elephant? (Peanuts)...what matches with a pincushion? (Pins!)  These 6.5 inch blocks were also swapped.

Two quilts or four quilts 50 x 60? 

To check out other Friday finishes please visit the following links: 

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? 

Finish it Up Friday

Link a Finish Friday



To finish one alphabet quilt was my goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes. Now that I've completed it I'm linking up at the Lovely Year of Finishes Linky Party. 

Scrap Value

The Cobweb & Spiderwebs quilt is finished except for a label and a spin in the washer. 

The spiderwebs were all made from bright scraps. The quilt was more work than I should have gone through for a bunch of small scraps. It remained a UFO for some time and now...it's a quilt.  And, I'm happy with it. 

And how can you have spider webs without Spiderman?  With this quilt some stash has been removed from my hoarde and from my scrap bins.  

And yet, the scrap bins overflow.

I'm always working on postage stamp blocks with the 2.5 inch square scraps. 

Today I sorted the long children's novelty strings into piles of girl strings and boy strings and started on some Heartstring blocks for a girl quilt I will either donate to Wrap a Smile or Wrap Them in Love.  when finished. I've finished 12 out of 24 blocks.

And, when the scraps get too small to mess with into the mulch box they go. I use the smallest scraps for a colorful mulch in the garden.  Waste not, want not.

Stocking Up!

I'm participating in a pantry jar swap. So far I have fourteen different jars of food.

The ones I kept for myself I left off the top and bottom borders. I think I'm going to make my "Stocking Up" quilt  with stacked jars (ala chinese coins) with maybe a faux wood border in between.   I'm going to make several different sizes of jars.   I can tomatoes (tomato juice, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, chili sauce, etc) and jams so will add numerous jars of tomatoes. To simulate the jam I will probably add some "jar labels" to some.   And, as a semi-survivalist I will have to find some sparkly white fabric (I think I have some in my hoard) to simulate sugar and some kind of white and/or whole wheaty looking fabric for some very large 12 inch jars and then I'll need fabric with dried beans, rice and pasta. Maybe I'll have to take a picture of my own staples and print them to fabric.  

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

This is a quilt for my 3 yo grandson - Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails. 

Someone posted a link to a video for a 10 minute quilt block  that I thought I would try with some 6.5 charms  I've swapped with members of various groups. 

I used some of the smaller prints for the centers. 

The blocks actually took me a little longer than 10 min. only because I sewed down the "cathedral windows" by hand since my eyes don't see well enough to do by machine and sometimes my hands don't guide the machine too well either. (Numb, stiff hands this a.m. are also why pics are a bit blurry looking- or maybe they are fine and my eyes aren't working right. Ah, old age!)

We've got some snakes...

...and some snails and some puppy dog tails. 

I'll probably use some black Kona for the borders and who knows what for the back.

Linking up to Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday.