Winter QOV Quilt Along Part II

Alycia is hosting another QOV Quilt Along. 

I usually make a scrappy version of Alycia's Mystery Quilts and Quilt Alongs. 

I was thinking I would not participate this year because my patriotic prints are down to very small bits and pieces. However, I was looking around at some of my other options and now I think I have decided to actually make two quilts. 

I gathered together some red, white and blue civil war reproduction and similar fabric scrap chunks for quilt number 1 and...

...for quilt number 2 I gathered together some shirtings, plaids and homespuns. 

This week we made six 8 inch (finished) red Sawtooth Stars on white. 

Winter Sew Along Introduction

Week One of the Sew Along

Week Two of the Sew Along

If you want to join in on the conversation and photos of others working along - join us at :

https://groups.io/g/MysteryQuilts4Military

And sew on...

A Crumby Stars Top

 

It's a top!

Crumby Stars

36 x 48

Several folks have given me six inch finished crumb blocks. For this top I used some light neutral ones for the centers of some 12 inch finished Stars.

I used brown scraps for all of the Star points and I used cream scraps for the Star backgrounds.

And sew on...

Sawtooth Stars Finish

It's a finish!

Sawtooth Stars

40 x 56

8 inch blocks.

A few months ago someone sent me some Flying Geese bodies in many different colors. 

One of the things I decided to do with them was make Sawtooth Stars. I dug into my little box of 4.5 inch squares to look for a star center that kind of matched the Flying Geese bodies that would become the star points background. Then I dug into my 2.5 inch width scraps for a scrap that kind of matched the Flying Geese bodies and long enough to cut four 2.5 inch squares for the star corners. After I had my block background and center I again looked in my 2.5 inch width scraps for contrasting star points- a piece long enough to cut 8 star points with my easy angle ruler. 

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

The back

. It is difficult to see that it is an aqua with paisleys. The binding is striped. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! At Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Sawtooth Stars Finish

It's a finish! 

Sawtooth Stars (aka Orphan Curtis)

40 x 60

I started making blocks last year when I was working on emptying a box of 3 inch width scraps. I used scraps from that box for Star points.

This is also an orphan block quilt. I used 5.5 inch unfinished orphan blocks for the Star centers.  A couple of the orphan blocks were mine but most came from others. Since blocks came out of the orphanage for this quilt it got the name Orphan Curtis. 

I quilted it with swirls on my sewing machine. 

The backing has a garden theme.

And sew on...

 

A Sawtooth Star Top

It's a top!

Sawtooth Stars

40 x 56

I mentioned in June that someone sent me a box of Flying Geese bodies ( the fabric kind). I decided to make some strips of Flying Geese and to use them in Sawtooth Stars. 

I used scraps from the 2.5 inch width scrap box for Star Points ( Flying Geese wings) and for Star corner squares. 

I used 4.5 inch squares from my bin of squares for the Star centers. 

I made 35 eight inch finished Stars and assembled this child sized comfort quilt top. Now I will continue to make the rest of the Flying Geese bodies into strips after I give them some wings. 

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! At Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

Orange and Purple Scraps

Boo Boo Patches

3 x 6

So called because when I started making these a few years ago I meant to make 9 patches with pieces cut at 1.5 x 2.5 but accidentally made a Boo Boo and cut pieces at 1.5 x 1.5 inches. So instead of 9 Patches I made 18 (or Boo Boo) Patches.

Orange has been the RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) color for June. I saw a few days ago that the RSC color for July will be purple. 

My goal for the Boo Boo Patches is 240 blocks (I think). At the end of last year I counted up my blocks and went through my 1.5 inch width scraps looking for pieces long enough for the remaining blocks I need and made the strip sets. This year I've been pulling out the strip sets in RSC colors of the month.  I only have a few strips left to make into Boo Boo Patches so I think this year I will make my goal! (It mostly looks like aqua, dark neutrals and multicolor strips are left)

Boo Boo Patches in purple.

Sawtooth Stars

8 inch

I mentioned a few weeks ago that someone sent me a box that contained a bunch of baggies of Flying Geese parts in all colors of the rainbow. There were only body parts of the Flying Geese (FG) that, with wings added, measure 2.5 x 4.5 unfinished. I decided to use the parts in a couple of ways. For the Sawtooth Stars I pulled out groups of  four purple FG bodies that were the same. I looked through my purple 4.5 inch squares for block centers and looked through my purple 2.5 inch width scraps for FG wings and block corner squares. 

More Sawtooth Stars

Then I used 40 FG to make strips for a Wild Goose Chase quilt inspired by a vintage one as seen in my previous post. 

Going where the scraps take me and enjoying the journey!

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

I get a monthly Iowa Lottery ticket for free. In June I won $5 on my ticket. Usually if I win it is $1. It's all good. When I cash in my ticket they always ask me if I want to spend it on another. No, I'm perfectly happy with my prize. It all adds up. No sense in wasting a free dollar or five dollars. 

I think the heat wave might be past and today will see relatively cooler temps (I hope). And I think the daily rains are gone so I think after I finish my coffee and oatmeal this a.m. I might be able to work out in the gardens. 

The Daylilies are starting to bloom. They add pops of color in the cottage garden but each flower only lasts a day. I bought my Daylilies over 30 years ago.  I ordered by mail from a catalog put out by a Daylily breeder in Missouri - Gilbert Wild & Son. That was the olden days before anything was sold on the internet.  With the recent heat wave and daily rain my poor Daylilies looked rather beat up when I went to take pics. Well, at least so far they haven't been eaten by deer. 

 

A Flock Of Flying Geese Landed At My House

Sawtooth Stars

8 inch

I received some baggies of what I thought at first were HST parts. Then I figured out they were wingless Flying Geese (2.5 x 4.5 inch unfinished). They are lots of them in several different colors. To start with I pulled out the baggie of orange parts and decided to give them wings so they could fly. 

For the Sawtooth Stars I dug into the 4.5 inch squares for Star centers. I looked in the 2.5 inch scraps for Flying Geese wings in a contrasting color and cut those with my Easy Angle ruler. I didn't have any orange 2.5 inch squares to use for the block corners so I cut a 2.5 inch strip from a couple of different orange scrap chunks to use. 

Geese Strips

If sewn together they would make a column 80.5 inches (unfinished) long. 

One of the little baggies of Flying Geese bodies held some pieces pinned together in groups. I cut some low volume wings and made strips with any pinned groups that had orange in them.  Then I made a few more groups with just orange Geese bodies.  I wanted strips of 40 total Flying Geese that if sewn together would equal a column of 80 inches (finished). 

I will be using the Flying Geese columns in a Wild Goose Chase quilt that I'm thinking will end up around 60 x 80 finished. 

I was inspired by the May Quilt of the Month at the International Quilt Museum:

Wild Goose Chase 

Mary Maxtion 

Made in Boligee, Alabama, United States; circa 1980-1995

Cotton blend

IQM 2000.004.0079

Going where the scraps take me...making comfort quilts one scrap at a time.

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

***

My siblings will all be in town today for a couple of days. My brother and wife left Tennessee a week ago in their camper and have been camping at many different places along a planned route. In their plan they included camping at a place near here. The last few days they have been camping and visiting attractions near Galena, IL. My sister flew in from CA and my brother flew in from FL to join them. My sister that lives near me also went to meet them and they have been staying the last few days at the unique Car Wash Inn which is a short drive from Galena.  Unfortunately my husband is unable to travel far so we could not join them.  However, today they will be camping a few miles from here in RV and cabin and we will be able to join them for a few hours each day.  It has been a long time since all of us have been together so I'm looking forward to the visit. 

 

A Sawtooth Star Finish

It's a finish!

Sawtooth Stars

40 x 60

I started making the 10 inch finished blocks back in June 2024. 

I cut 5.5 inch centers from a little pile of novelty scraps that were red, blue or yellow. I had a little box of 3 inch width scraps and used what I could from those scraps for backgrounds and star points. The rest of the backgrounds were cut from scrap chunks. 

I quilted it on my sewing machine with swirls. 

I had just enough pieces to make the backing.  The binding is a blue tone on tone Y2K fabric. Has it already been 25 years since Y2K? 

And sew on...

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Finished a book! - The Stolen Sisters by Ann Bennett.  The second book in the series of 2 books, it is WWII historical fiction based on the Lebensborn Nazi eugenics program.  This book focuses on a later part of the program - the "Germanization" of kidnapped foreign children who met "Aryan" criteria. 

Another Sawtooth Star Flimsy

It's a flimsy!

Sawtooth Stars

(aka Orphan Curtis)

40 x 60

This one is similar to the one I blogged about yesterday - 10 inch Sawtooth Stars. 

The block centers are all 5.5 inch (unfinished) orphan blocks.  Most of those blocks I have received from others over the years. Last year I emptied out a box of 3 inch width scraps and made numerous tops. I had just a few scraps leftover long enough for Sawtooth Star points so kitted those up in a large baggie with the orphan blocks to be made later using the consistent background fabric. 

This year I've been making the Stars and finished the last of them this week and went ahead and assembled this top. 

And sew on...

 WITB (What's in the Box, Bin, Bag) is the theme in my sewing space for the month of March. I've been trying to see how many bags, bins and boxes I can empty to move a few UFOs forward.
 

I've also been working with yellow scraps this month because that is the March Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color. 

And I don't always follow the challenges issued by the Scrapbuster group but this month the challenge is 1.5 inch scraps. I have been trying to empty a couple of boxes of those this month.

And now that the Sawtooth Stars are in a top I'm left holding the (empty) bag! 

I'm keeping score of what bags and boxes emptied this month:

Boxes:

1- Coins

2 - Legos

3 - 1.5 inch width scraps

Bags:

1 - Kaleidoscope

2  - solid 1.5 inch strips for 51 Waffles

3 - 1.5 inch strips for 9 Legos

4 - Windmill blocks

5 - Happy Block parts

6 - Posies

7 - 1.5 inch strips for 78 Rail Fence blocks

8 - Four Patch parts

9 - 1.5 inch strips for 92 strip sets for Boo Boo Patches

10 - 1.5 inch width strips cut into rectangles and squares

11 - Tumblers

12 - Four Patch parts

13 - Sawtooth Stars 

14 - Sawtooth Stars

***

REMEMBER, TREASURE, GROW, READ (my words of the year)

Looking inside a milk jug that was winter sown with seeds. 

All sorts of things are starting to sprout! 

Looking inside a wintersown pot covered with shower cap with holes poked in it. 

A lot of my new starts will go into a new Perky Goth/Moonlight Garden - in memory of my granddaughter Kayla who unexpectedly passed away a few years ago. She was a perky goth - usually wore pink and black. So a lot of the plants in this garden will be black and pink. It is also a moonlight garden so there will be (I hope) lots of white flowers that bloom in the evening. 

My son, Kayla's father, helped me clear the area last year that was overgrown with honeysuckle, wild grapes, wild raspberries and green briar.   This mound is dirt that was shoved over into a pile when we put in an above ground pool many many years ago. It is no longer in use now that kids and grandkids have left home and hubby can no longer maintain. 

Looking up toward the mound from the bottom of the area.  I wove a trellis of fabric selvage between two small trees and planted some Beaujolis Sweet Peas that are dark purple - almost black. So far I've also planted some black and some white poppies, black pansies and violas, pink and white cornflowers and almost black alyssum. 

And it appears the faeries are starting to move in.