Orange Scraps

Yankee Puzzle

9 inch

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. Note that I am using 4 inch squares and not 3.5 inch squares used in the tutorial.

I started making these last year and made one small comfort quilt top consisting of blocks with two colors. This set consists of color plus neutral. I will make a larger comfort quilt with this set consisting of 48 blocks. 

After I made the two orange blocks I noticed I only needed 5 more blocks to reach my goal of 48 blocks so I dug into my 4 inch width scrap bin and found pieces for the 5 blocks. 

Goal of 48 blocks met!!!

I still have a box of 4 inch width scraps. I think this month I will try to make a plan to use these and maybe empty the box. More on that later. 

Uneven Nine Patch'

7 inch

Made with 3.5 inch width scraps and multicolor 1.5 inch sashing. 

Buckeye Beauty

6 inch

Made with scraps found in the 3.5 and 2 inch width scrap bins plus black.

NOT Disappearing Four Patch (ND4P)

9 inch

I like the look of the Disappearing Four Patch block; however, I don't like the method of making a Four Patch and then cutting it up to make another block. I just cut for the end result. 

I made these with orange scraps in the 3.5 inch width scrap bin and some solid scraps. After I made them I realized I have been making these with plaid scraps and solids in order to use up plaid scraps. So now I guess this is a new start. Instead of just solids I will use blenders and tone on tones (TOTs) with the scraps in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. 

And here's the ones made with plaid scraps. 

I added an orange round to my Giant Potato Chip quilt. It is now a 12.5 inch square. 

Orange Hollow Nine Patch

9 inch

Made with 3.5 inch squares

Pink Potato Chip

6 inch

Made with 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

My husband has a fractured jaw - the result of osteoradionecrosis (bone necrosis due to radiation for cancer at base of tongue). Fractured jaw is infected (osteomyelitis). They put him on an antibiotic best for bone infection as well as a chlorhexidine mouth rinse hoping to help fight the infection. He was scheduled for a presurgical evaluation and consult with ENT on May 8 at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics hoping to get surgery scheduled to fix the jaw. BUT on May 6 they called and cancelled the May 8 appts. and moved them out to June 12. They said they hoped to clear up the osteomyelitis a little more before surgery. Evidently antibiotics work more slowly on bone infections and so they said the May 8 appt. was "too soon". The June 12 appt. will be about six weeks out from when they started him on the antibiotic.  And so we are again playing a waiting game. 

***

Oh, the weather was beautiful yesterday. Finally a day I haven't needed to wear a coat. We are past the last frost date of April 30 but the night time temps have been dipping into the 30s and daytime temps in the 40s-50s. Today it is supposed to reach temps in the 70s. Yesterday I worked outside most of the day and I think I will again today. 

A Few Pink Scraps

Cheerios

10 inch finished

Made with 4.5 and 2.5 inch width scraps

Now I have 48 blocks for a 6 x 8 block layout and a 60 x 80 quilt of pink, blue and purple blocks.

I have been making blocks from scraps as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) project since 2024. After I had a big pile of them I divided blocks into piles for several different quilts. I already finished a couple of smaller ones:

Green Cheerios

Red and Yellow Cheerios

Yankee Puzzle

(aka Big Dipper or Hourglass)

9 inch

This also has been an RSC project since 2024. 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 need 7 more blocks for a 48 inch block set.  This set has light backgrounds.  I previously made a smaller top with 2 color blocks. 

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Some Green Scraps

 

Yankee Puzzle

9 inch

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. Note that I am using 4 inch squares and not 3.5 inch squares used in the tutorial.

I started making these last year and made one small comfort quilt top consisting of blocks with two colors. This set consists of color plus neutral. I will make a larger comfort quilt with this set consisting of 48 blocks. I now have 36 of my 48 blocks. 

Buckeye Beauty

8 inch

I made a few green blocks from some 2.5 inch squares in the Parts Dept. and from green scraps in the 4.5 inch width scrap box. 

I started making these blocks last year. 

After I made the blocks with green scraps I noticed I only needed 7 more blocks to meet my goal of 80 blocks. 

So I dug into my Parts Dept. and my 4.5 inch width scrap box, made 7 more blocks and met my goal. I now have a complete block set of Buckeye Beauties for a comfort quilt 64 x 80 inches (8 x 10 blocks). 

Going where the scraps take me and enjoying the journey!

And sew on...

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

More Blue Scraps

 

Rick Rack Blocks

10 inch

One 2.5 inch strip makes 2 blocks

Yankee Puzzle

9 inch

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. Note that I am using 4 inch squares and not 3.5 inch squares used in the tutorial.

I started making these last year and made one small comfort quilt top consisting of blocks with two colors. This set consists of color plus neutral. I will make a larger comfort quilt with this set. 

Greek Keys

9 inch

Made with 1.5 inch scraps

And sew on...

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday

I see the RSC color for Feb. is green. I better get moving. I have a lot of green scraps and Feb. is a shorter month!

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...

Orange Scraps Part I

Four Patches

Orange is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for June. This week I worked with the orange 4 inch width scraps. 

Four Patches

Made with 4 inch squares

Bricks and Stones

Made with 2.5 x 4 inch rectangles and black 2.5 inch squares.

Coins Strip

Leftover pieces after making this week's blocks from 4 inch width scraps. 

Will be future Coins quilt.

Yankee Puzzle blocks

Made with 4 inch orange and neutral squares following tutorial at Susie's Scraps.     (She uses 3.5 inch squares but I'm using 4 inch squares)

More Yankee Puzzle blocks made with 4 inch squares. This will be a separate quilt from the one above with neutrals. I'm trying to use up all the scraps in the 4 inch width scrap box so am using two contrasting scraps in that box to make these blocks. 

Other names for this block are Big Dipper, Hourglass, The Whirling Blade and Pork and Beans.

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

In the last couple of posts I've shown the roses and peonies in bloom around here. This time I thought I would show pics of what's blooming in the veg garden. I forgot to take a pic of the strawberries in bloom. I've been harvesting and eating a lot of salad crops - butterhead lettuces, spinach, mustard greens. I did pick a few snow peas to make a stir fry along with some onions and sliced up pork chop. I made a little sweet/sour sauce to add to the mix. 

Potatoes are blooming. Can't wait to harvest! 

It seems a little early for the tomatoes to be in bloom but we have had some beautiful weather (except for the haze from Canadian wildfires). 

I start all of my tomatoes from seed and like the heirloom varieties - Brandywine, Big Rainbow, Black Krim to name a few. For making sauces I like Jersey Devil which a big meaty tomato. 

I like Green Beauty Snow Peas. Aren't the blossoms pretty? 

The Peppers are also starting to bloom. Again, this seems early in the season. I also start these from seed. I can't tolerate hot peppers and since John now gets all his nutrition via G-tube, I don't grow many hot peppers anymore. I do grow Anaheim which is mildly hot but I give a lot of those away.  I like an old variety called Jimmy Nardello for cooking and I like Baby Bell for eating fresh. One Baby Bell pepper makes a nice snack. 

 

Green Scraps Chapter V

Yankee Puzzle

9 inch blocks

This week I started a couple of new quilts made with 4 inch width scraps.  I grabbed out all the green pieces in the box and decided on a plan to empty out the remaining pieces in the box. 

Yankee Puzzle is made with any 4 inch width scraps long enough for four 4 inch squares of two different fabrics. 

If you search "Yankee Puzzle Block" you will find that a lot of different blocks go by that name.  I used a super easy tutorial at Susie's Quilts to make the block; however, I used 4 inch squares to make the block instead of the 3.5 Susie used. 

I think I may make blocks for two different quilts - one with dark and neutral and one with two color blocks. 

Four Patch

7 inch

Made with any 4 inch width scraps long enough to cut two 4 inch squares. 

4 inch squares

Next I cut any remaining pieces of 4 inch green squares into squares. I'll figure out how to use those later.

Bricks and Stones

I already had these in progress as one of my blocks to clear out the 2.5 inch width scrap bin. They are made of 2.5 x 4 inch rectangles and black 2.5 inch squares.  So any green pieces I could cut into a 4 x 2.5 rectangle got made into Bricks and Stones.

And finally, any green pieces left that was wide enough for two 1/4 inch seams got made into a strip for a future Coins quilt. 

You may wonder where all the 4 inch width scraps came from. Well, I am the lucky and thankful recipient of scraps from friends!  Any time I receive fabric or scraps I sort the pieces larger than six inch width by color.  Then anything more than 1/4 yard goes on a shelf sorted by color. Anything less goes into "scrap chunks bag" on same shelf sorted by color. That leaves me with the pieces less than a six inch width. I get out my little six inch ruler and measure the width of each scrap and then they go into boxes based on scrap width.  Then I usually have several different blocks in the works for each box of scraps sorted by width. 

Last year for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) I started making several blocks with four inch width scraps and this year I finished up those block sets which have not yet been assembled into tops. 

Hollow Nines

Made with 4 inch squares.

Complete Block Set.

Shoofly

Made with 4 inch width scraps

Complete block set.

Broken Dishes

Made with 4 inch width scraps

Complete Block Set. 

So here is the box of 4 inch width scraps I'm trying to empty out. I recently sorted it into several different piles - the grocery bag contains pieces for Yankee Puzzle; to the left of that are pieces paired up to be cut into squares for Four Patches; below that is the bag of 4 inch squares and to the right of that is a pile of pieces to be cut into squares. 

I have found the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) a good way to sew up scraps and empty out boxes. Each month when the RSC color is called it is so much fun to go through each box to pull out scraps in that color to see what I will be working with. 

I'm wondering what the color will be for June!

And sew on...

RSC ScrapHappy Saturday

***

Finished a book - What The Silent Say by Emerson Ford. It is inspired by a true story of two brothers in the author's family who fought the Japanese in WWII. Knowing it was based on a true story I did shed a few tears in a very sad part of the story. 

“Sometimes courage looks like dying on a battlefield, and sometimes it looks like pressing forward when you have no control of the out-come.”