The Blues Chapter II

Twilight Flight

Flying Geese

6 inch

I'm still working out in the gardens a lot and helping hubby through his recovery so have not found a lot of time to sew. But I did work on the 2.5 inch width scraps this week and did end up making a few blocks and processing scraps. 

I only had a few dark blues for Geese for these blocks but I did have a few other colors of 2.5 inch scraps I had thrown into that project bag while processing scraps so sewed them up too. 

Windmills

4 inch

Last week I made the little windmills from 1.5 inch width scraps that were long enough and this week I made them from the 2.5 inch width scraps that were long enough. I have a big bag of them so one of these days I should count them and decide what I'm going to do with them. 

I cut up the remaining 2.5 inch blue scraps into:

1. Sets of four 2.5 inch squares - I have two projects that use them.

2. 2.5 x 4.5 rectangles  -- into the Parts Dept. 

3. 2.5 x 3.5 rectangles - coin quilt layout by value

4. 2.5 inch squares - into the Parts Dept. 

5. 1.5 x 2.5 rectangles -- I have two projects that use them

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

WITB - Scrap Processing

Cheerios 

10 inch finished

I have to say that I love scraps.  Not only do I make my own but I get them from other folks from time to time.  I usually have a block in the works for almost every size scrap I come across. When I receive scraps I like to process them right away and make the blocks that fit those scraps. Sometimes I don't process my own scraps right away like I always think I'm going to and they end up piling up at the end of the ironing board or side of the cutting mat. When the piles get too high I sweep them off into boxes.  Since hubby has been ill for over a year I kind of got behind on scrap processing. 

So this month the theme in my sewing space has been WITB - What's in the box, bag, bucket, basket, bin. I've put bigger scrap chunks away with like colors and put away any squares and orphan blocks in the appropriate boxes and I've made a few blocks this month from some scrap I've encountered while trying to empty out bins, bags, boxes, buckets and baskets.   Most of the blocks I make each month with scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month and they end up in comfort/donation quilts. 

When I started writing this post I was thinking about that memory game we used to play as kids traveling in the car..."I went on vacation and packed an apple."  "I went on vacation and packed and apple and a bag". "I went on vacation and packed an apple, a bag and a cat." ....

So...I won't repeat myself but..."I did some scrap processing and I made..."

Cheerios

10 inch finished

16 Patch

6 inch finished

All colors of scraps alternating with green scrap. 

I have a lot of small green scrap chunks of fabric. 

Wonky Windmills

Gray backgrounds

8 inch finished

Coins

2 x 3 rectangles in strips

Four Patch

3.5 inch finished.

2 inch squares

The squares are black and white and one other color. The Four Patches will be alternated with 3.5 solid or TOT (tone on tone) squares in a quilt. 

Bow Ties

3 inch finished

My goal is 900 and I think I only need 123 or so more. I've been making these from scraps for years. 

Then I have baggies of rectangles and squares in different sizes. I will put these away now in the appropriate bin with others of the same size.  

And now these are the bags and boxes that held scraps and are now empty!

So, the RSC color of the month has been pink but I used most of my pink scraps up earlier in the month and worked on all colors of scraps to make RSC blocks instead.   My piles of blocks are growing!

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

CELEBRATE! (my word of the year)

May 24 - After a day of rain and wind the sun came out just before sunset and then there was a beautiful sunset -- the sky all pinks and yellows. 

What Was In The Box?

At the beginning of May I decided to process an overflowing box of scraps. 

You know that I'm trying to use scraps as they are made; however, I did not do that in the past years so I have several boxes and bags of unprocessed scraps. Some scraps are sent to me and don't get all sorted right away, some I get out of a scrapbag (sorted by color) and then don't all get used and don't get put back, some are made by me and pile up on my cutting mat (18 x 24) so when the cutting mat gets full and I can no longer cut anything I sweep the scraps off into a box. 

My box is now empty. 

(No, it didn't all go in the trash! Hardly anything but tiny bits went into the trash. And those tiny bits  along with the broken down box will go on some of my flower garden paths to keep weeds down)

So what was in the box? 

Nine 10 inch Monkey Wrench blocks. 

Fifteen 7.5 inch Monkey Wrench blocks.

Thirteen 5 inch Monkey Wrench blocks

Five 8 inch black/solid HST Four Patch

Five 5 inch Four Patches (complementary colors) and nine 4 inch Windmills

Nine 3 x 5 Switch Plates

Seventeen 4 inch red, white, blue Four Patches

Forty-three 3 inch Bowties 

Chunks to be put in the appropriate scrap bag by color

Strips of certain widths to go into several different project workboxes

Orphan blocks or units (like tumbler pieces) to go into the orphanage

Eight 6.5 inch squares, fourteen 6 inch squares, eleven 5.5 inch squares 

Thirty-two 5 inch squares, sixty-one 4.5 inch squares, sixty-six 4 inch squares,fifty-nine 3.5 inch squares, sixty-eight 3 inch squares 

Then I quit counting but...

2.5 inch squares x 4

2.5 inch squares x 2

floral 2.5 inch squares 

2.5 inch squares

2.5 x 3.5 inch rectangles

2 inch squares x 2

2 inch squares x 4

2 inch squares

1.5 inch squares x2

1.5 inch squares x 4

1.5 inch squares

1.5 x 2.5 rectangles

Long strings, short strings, HST parts

Crumbs

Now I've added to my block collections and project boxes and am ready to move on to the next bag or box. It's fun to keep track of the magical things found inside a box of scraps  treasures.

And sew on...

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

 

What Was In All Of Those Bags?

This month the theme in my little sewing space to move UFOs forward has been 1930s. I've finished several quilts and moved old blocks forward into flimsies. I've also been processing 1930s reproduction scraps but haven't blogged much about that yet.  

I've emptied a bunch of bags of bags of bags of scraps this month that have been accumulating for quite some time. There was a receipt in one of the bags dated March 2015.  (My how time flies!) These bags of bags of bags I emptied mostly contained HST pieces.  

I already blogged about a few 10 inch and 7.5 inch Monkey Wrench blocks I made from '30s scraps  and  some 

5 inch Monkey Wrench blocks I made from '30s scraps

now for the rest of the story...

I feel like I played that old memory game...I packed my bag and I put in an Apron...I packed my bag and put in an Apron and a Bib...I paced my bag and put in an Apron, Bib and Crown...

Only I emptied my bags and in it was... (not in alphabetical order)...

Monkey Wrenches 

7.5 inch finished

Broken Dishes

6 inch finished

Broken Dishes

7 inch finished 

Broken Dishes

4 inch finished

A few HSTs in different sizes as well as some wonky QSTs I'll use in one of my other UFOs. 

A couple of the bags held some partial strip sets and a few blocks made from them. I finished up all the blocks. The 3 inch Nine Patches with light corners will go into my box of Nine Patches that will alternate with 3 inch Snowballs. The ones with dark corners will be split between my bin of Nine Patches in all fabrics and that bag of 3 inch Nine Patches/dark corners/30s fabrics.   The little 2 inch pink Four Patches and the little 3 inch purple and yellow Four Patches will go into the 1930s scrap orphanage and maybe be used next month when my theme is Orphans, Strings and Crumbs.

I also organized by width size some scraps that weren't HSTs. Previously they were all thrown together in the bin.  I haven't yet processed those scraps but now they will be easier to make into blocks when I'm ready. I'm actually thinking I will make my usual Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) blocks with them. I usually have an RSC block in process for every size scrap.

And sew on...