'30s Reproductions Miscellanea

 The last couple of days I've been working with some '30s reproduction fabrics. I've added more Wagon Wheel blocks to my collection and now have 39 blocks out of the 63 I need for this quilt. I see that I started making these blocks way back in 2013 so this is a very old UFO. My OMG (One Monthly Goal) for January is to complete 24 more blocks to really move this UFO forward. 

One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts

I wanted to make a Hummingbird quilt but found I didn't have enough of the fabric I want to use for the background. I have a lot of different pieces of yellow so thought I would make a test block to see what I think of piecing the block. I think I'm not so sure I now really want to make a Hummingbird quilt. I'm going to put this aside for now and complete all the blocks for the Wagon Wheel with all those curves and then decide if I really want to proceed with the Hummingbird quilt.  If I do proceed I guess I'll use a variety of different solid yellows and '30s reproduction fabrics. 

 These large 13 inch Churn Dash blocks are a new start using '30s reproduction fabrics. They work up fast so I'll have a large quilt in no time. I'm using blues, reds, yellows and browns.  

 I just finished this 36 inch square baby quilt top made of orphans I received from a quilty friend and my '30s scraps. 

 Two sets of four blocks were already set like you see here.  Yes, one block is not oriented the same way as the others but so be it. I was not going to rip. 

 I also received eight single blocks that were a little different from the other sets in that two corners were not white but matched the center fabric. I set those four blocks the same as the others  - sashed with yellow 1.5 inch strips. 

Then I joined all four blocks of four with some 2.5 inch sashing cut from scraps.  And then I added a 1.5 inch green polka dot border and then added a 3 inch border of ducklings. I was just going to add a white outer border but thought that would be too much white for a baby quilt and besides...the baby ducks made it seem more baby quilt-ish. 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

The Cats, The Orphans and The Strings

Three smaller quilt tops are finished and in the quilting queue. All are at least 40 x 56.  

Clowder Puff

I started these blocks in December 2018 and used a free pattern I see is no longer available. 

I made a few cats each month from scrap chunks as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year. I used gray scraps for the backgrounds.

This will either be a donation quilt or a quilt for one of my grand nieces or grand nephews who will arrive next year. 

Second Fiddle

I don't usually name donation quilts but that name popped into my head for this quilt just now because it is in secondary colors and used string scraps.   Or you could say I was fiddling around in the strings in secondary colors. 

A quilty friend sent me that light green floral print I used for the 2 inch center strings and 5 inch squares. I didn't have quite enough of it so made do with some other light green squares I cut from the scrap chunks. 

The purple and orange used in the HSTs were all scrap chunks and the strings came right out of the big box of strings.  I probably have enough strings in the secondary colors for another just plain string quilt.  This will be a donation quilt. 

Blue and White Orphans II

This came from the box of orphan blocks and is the second one I made from blue and white scraps. There were still a few blocks leftover so they will be used in an orphan block quilt in a different color way. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Three Tops and Then Some

 I decided to finish up a few UFOs that use patriotic themed  fabrics. It was a blustery day when I ventured out to take some pictures so some are rather blurry, darn it. (sigh)

Foothills

72 x 72

This was inspired by a vintage quilt and was a quilt along last year with Mary Elizabeth Kinch. I see she has removed the block instructions now but... 

 ...I think the traditional block name is Chain and Bar and a free version of it can be found at Quilter's Cache.   

 I made all of the blocks last year but then stalled when it came to the sashing. I really, really, really, really don't like to add sashings or borders to quilts for some reason. I think I would rather make a thousand more blocks than add sashings or borders. It's just not my thing to do although I do admit that some quilts just need one or the other or both to look complete. Anyway, so the blocks have been laying at the end of my ironing board all this time with a piece of red yardage to use for the sashing. 

Now that I've completed this quilt top I have to admit that the end of the ironing board still has a pile of stuff on it but that's a different story for a different day.  

 Next up I was sorting through the very fat and overflowing orphan box (aka orphanage) and pulled out some red/white/blue and patriotic themed orphans. 

Quilt Top #2

From orphan blocks

60 x 78

 Hey, perfect...nine stars. Four of the stars were left over from a Quilt of Valor I made in 2013. And those blocks were actually from a swap earlier than that so those stars are almost vintage.  The other stars called The Dandy Quilt  I made for a red and white swap but then realized I used sateen for the white and wasn't sure that would be acceptable so made different blocks for the swap.  Ok so add the dreaded sashing and I had a forty inch center.  Next I found I had ten inch Happy Blocks almost enough to go all the way around the center.  These were also orphans left over from a different Quilt of Valor I made in 2013.  I had to make about five more blocks and used a couple of six inch HSTs from the orphanage as the centers for a couple.  By then I had obtained my desired sixty inch width but needed to add some length. 

 I didn't get a good picture of the bottom  "border" of the quilt but it was constructed similar to the top border.  First  I added a pieced 3.5 inch strip of pieces and parts and then a 6.5 inch row of pieces and parts. 

 I even deconstructed a couple of 12 inch Disappearing Nine Patch blocks to use in the six inch bottom border (not shown here). 

So with this top I only had to make a few blocks and I had a whole quilt top and the orphanage was a little lighter. 

 Happy Patriots

58.5 x 78

This one came out of a Happy Place (aka box of partial sets of Happy Blocks) - a partial set of really old swapped blocks with a patriotic theme and in a weird size.  Way back when postage was a whole lot cheaper I participated in a lot of online swaps. One of the groups swapped Happy Blocks in a different theme three times a year. The centers are four inch and the sides are two inches which makes for a 6.5 inch finished block. 

 I had forty-three blocks...

 ....so I made sixty-five more and then made them into a top. 

And now the Happy Place is just a little bit lighter too. (I found a partial set of nice Autumn themed blocks in there too so those may end up in a top soon...MAYBE). 

And now for the "and then some"...

The Foothills quilt left me with a lot of five inch scraps I've kept in a bin along with other patriotic themed scraps. I'd been wondering what to do with them for quite awhile and then I came across...

 ... the Plaid-ish quilt (free tutorial at Kitchen Table Quilting) that calls for a lot of five inch pieces. So I have cut and chain pieced all of the block rows and now just have to sew the block rows together and then assemble the top.  The patriotic themed scrap box is almost empty. The few pieces left in there will be sorted into the other scrap bins I have based on scrap size. 

And that leaves me with this UFO that uses patriotic themed fabrics. I was playing around with pieces cut with a kaleidoscope ruler last year or the year before or the year before that.  Now I need to get busy and play some more because I sure like these blocks and I still have some patriotic themed fabric. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia's Quilts 

where, as you can see from her blog post back then,  I sent those QOV quilts I made back in 2013. 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Time for a Quickie

It's a flimsy!

It will be a donation quilt when finished. 

42 x 60

 Every once in awhile when I feel like I'm accomplishing little or nothing I feel a need for some instant gratification. 

So I dug through the orphans and parts to see if I could put together a quilt top. 

In the orphanage I found thirty-six 6 inch rail blocks cut from left over strips from a kaleidoscope quilt I finished in 2015. 

And in the Parts Department I found those six inch Broken Dishes blocks I made last month in order to empty a 3.5 HST bin. 

I added a few 1.5 inch strips all around...

...and a little bit of LOVE. 

And voila!