It's A Finish! HRT Ragout

HRT Ragout

60 x 80

It's a finish! 

600 Half Rectangle Triangles (HRTs)

1200 pieces

I don't pre-cut any scraps but way back when I first sorted boxes and boxes of scraps I ended up with a 4.5 inch width scrap bin that never seems to get used up even though I have finished several quilts made entirely of scraps from that bin. In September 2018 I started making HRTs as one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) projects hoping to empty out that bin. (That didn't happen but I'm still working toward that goal.)

Some months I barely made any HRTs in the color of the month because I didn't have any scraps in that color.  Other times I had lots of scraps in the monthly color. 

Most of the neutrals I did have to cut from scrap chunks. Anything goes into this type of quilt. I've found that this kind of quilt is a lot of fun for someone who is in a hospital, extended care facility or nursing home because it's a great conversation starter for visitors when they are at a loss for words. Even adults like a good I Spy game and everyone gets a good laugh over what they find in the quilt.  Sometimes memories are triggered too. 

 

A simple quilt calls for simple quilting. 

The scrappy neutral binding came entirely from the leftover binding bin. There was just enough. I think I had about two inches to spare. 

Getting this to the finish line was my August One Monthly Goal (OMG) so later in the month I will link up to Elm Street Quilts OMG. 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Four Patch Posies Flimsy

Four Patch Posies

It's a flimsy!

50 x 60

This UFO is so old I can't even see where I ever blogged about starting it. I forgot it even existed because I have had a blog tab with UFOs listed for several years and these Four Patch Posies is not listed.  In April I blogged about finding some blocks and fabric in a big manila envelope.  One of the selvages on one of the fabrics has the year 2005. 

Well, it's an old UFO that is now a top. 

I will move forward and find a backing and get it quilted and donated. 

 

Wednesday Wandering

I usually see blue dragonflies around here. But I saw this one which I think I have identified as a Twelve Spotted Skimmer.  Evidently this type of dragonfly is a "percher" and was perched on the end of an old Irish stem looking for prey for a long time. 

Last week I showed my poor Christmas Lima bean poles uprooted and on the ground as a result of the derecho. I'm happy to say I have put new poles around them and they seem to be doing fine now although there does look like there are a few vines intertwined that may be dying. I'm just going to leave them be for the time being.

I found a monarch enjoying a daylily. 

Most of my husband's tomato plants survived although a lot of green tomatoes were thrown about and some branches had to be cut off.  He has about 25 plants and all are heirloom varieties. He saves the seeds of the varieties he likes and tries a couple new varieties every year too. 

He made the tomato jam he loves this week. The recipe was his dad's. 

The Rose of Sharon is blooming. They are kind of invasive now. I let some grow as a hedge but last year had to dig out a lot that sprouted up in my flower bed.  Next time I'm going to dig them up and plant them elsewhere and give to others although I don't know many gardeners. 

I have a pink Rose of Sharon too. 

The derecho winds blew a lot of the apples off of the tree. 

The clean up from the wind damage continues. 

But we still have three big limbs dangling that need professional attention. 

I wonder where butterflies hide during a storm. 

Remember the Mini Love watermelon I was growing? It has now been eaten and it was delicious! Can't wait for another one to ripen. 

 

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenies

 

Purple is the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color of the month. 

This week I made most of my blocks with 1.5 inch scraps. 

My scraps are getting smaller and smaller and I don't mind. 

I just started these 9 inch (finished) Double Irish Chain blocks a few months ago. I wanted to use the 1.5 inch width scraps left over from making my Clarissa hourglass blocks; a lot of which were creams, tans, taupes, browns. So the backgrounds will all be light browns and the center chain will be dark browns. The other chains will be in the RSC color of the month. 

I started these Plus Postage blocks last year. They are 10 inch finished blocks. They are inspired by a Susan Ache pattern I cut out of an old magazine. 

I started these 8 inch (finished) Postage Stamp Pandemic 2020 (PSP20) blocks a couple of months ago. 

I think I've been making these 3.5 inch (finished) Wishing Ring blocks for a couple of years now. The center is a 2 inch square but the rest of the pieces are 1.5 inch width. I will alternate light and dark corners in the finished quilt. 

Double X and Alternate Snowball Block. 

Inspired by a vintage quilt. 

These blocks finish at four inches. I think I've been making these for a couple of years too.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge ScrapHappy Saturday 

Grandma's Apron Strings

Grandma's Apron Strings

It's a top!

75 x 87

How time flies!  I can't believe I started making these blocks back in May 2015. 

The block is called Wheel of Fortune and can be found in the book History Repeated.  Grandma's Apron Strings is my version of that Wheel of Fortune quilt you see on the cover but my quilt has more blocks. 

I used kitchen themed fabrics. I used to make sets of potholders, embroidered dish towels and crocheted dish cloth as Christmas gifts and liked to use kitchen themed fabrics for the potholders. I usually bought 1/2 yard of those fabrics and a potholder didn't take up much so I thought I might as well make a quilt of them. 

I had a pale yellow for the background fabrics in my stash because I had bought that color by mistake when I needed a little darker shade of yellow to finish off a different quilt. And the crazy thought went through my mind that I should use yellow with kitchen fabrics because most of the kitchens I could remember from my younger days were yellow. Sometimes even the appliances were yellow. 

And then we come to the sashing. Somewhere along the line when I was remembering kitchens I thought of grandma (who also taught me to quilt and embroider and all sorts of other useful things) and apron strings and then my mind wandered off to chicken scratch that was on a few of her aprons and I knew that I had to somehow incorporate chicken scratch into the quilt so into the sashing some chicken scratch went.  And you know I love gingham too so it was meant to be. I did have some turquoise cotton gingham with 1/4 inch squares in my stash that was intended for a backing that I ended up using even though I wasn't sure it was the right color for the quilt but in the back of my mind I heard grandma telling me to go ahead and use what I have. So I did. I chicken scratched off and on for a few years on that sashing and just when I thought I had done enough and was ready to assemble the quilt I found out I was only about 2/3 done and had to do more. And that's how time flies, I guess.  And another time while the mind was wandering I thought those X cornerstones looked kind of, maybe a little bit, like crossed apron strings in back. 

The silly thing is that I just ran off and made blocks out of whatever kitchen themed fabrics I had and did not give any thought of color or value. So when it came time to put it all together I thought I should have thought about that but now it's too late so move forward, you silly girl. So I decided on kind of alternating dark and light blocks and ended up making a few more blocks just to make a layout like that all work out. You know I usually sew blocks together randomly but this time I had to arrange them on my design floor. 

And you remove that quilt top from the clothesline and you can see that after several days of clean up after the derecho we still have some clean up to do. But some things we cannot do. Those are low hanging branches that almost reach the gound from...

...that branch on high. 

Hopefully there's blue skies and sunshine ahead! 

I'm off to have a great day. Hope you are too. 

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

 

Skimpy Scrimption Stars

It's a flimsy!

Skimpy Scrimption Stars

60 x 84

I started making the Stars from skimpy scrimptions (skinny scraps/selvages) back in December 2018 after I was inspired by a c. 1880 quilt in the Pat Nichols collection at the Mengei International Museum. 

I used Corey Yoder's (Coriander Quilts) string star tutorial which was nice because I didn't have any set in seams to deal with while making these 8 point stars. 

After making a few stars off and on since 2018 I got serious about finishing enough stars for a top a few months ago and made it my "20 minute challenge" project. That meant I sewed on the stars at least 20 minutes first thing each day I went into the sewing room. 

 Finally at the end of June I had enough blocks for my quilt. And now I have a flimsy. And I still have a lot of skimpy scrimptions...probably enough for 10 more quilts like this. But that's not going to happen. At least right now I don't think that's going to happen. 

Finished or Not Finished Friday at Alycia Quilts

Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was or Wednesday Wandering or What Non Quilty Stuff Has Been Going On Around Here Since Last Wednesday?  Take your pick of titles for this blog post. 

Naked Ladies. 

Maybe you know them as Surprise, Magic, or Resurrection Lilies. Or maybe you like the official name of Lycoris Squamigera. They popped up last week and most are still standing after the last storm. The foliage appears in July then dies back and disappears before August when the lilies magically pop up. Surprise! Naked Ladies. 

Monarch and Zinnia. 

Monarch and Butterfly Weed I started three years ago from seed. The Butterfly Weed has topped over from the storm but I think it will right itself because none of the stems are broken off.   Build it and they will come! I see more and more butterflies each year. 

I harvested what beets I had. Early in the year right after the beets had sprouted deer trampled through an entire row of beets. I usually get two canners full of  pickled beets (14 quarts) but this year I only had enough beets...

...for three jars. I didn't even bother to get the boiling water bath going to can them. I'll just keep them in the refrigerator. 

I've always used an old Farm Journal cookbook recipe and have marked it up with my changes and notes. 

The latest in our fight against deer, raccoons and ground hogs- solar powered motion detector lights. My husband installed one in the veggie garden and one in the flower garden. Maybe it won't scare any rascally varmints away and will just light up and show them what there is to eat. 

I cleaned up an area of brambles near the end of the flower garden for some Orienpet/O.T./Tree Lilies which are a cross between an  Oriental Lily and a Trumpet Lily. Fragrant and statuesque, they also make nice cut flowers.  I've had my eye on them for years and found two companies that were running specials on them so I have several different variety of bulbs coming in September. 

We had more trees down than we originally thought from Monday's straight line wind storm. This one was a derecho and it swept across Iowa leaving thousands without power and destruction in its wake. 

  My husband was feeling very overwhelmed. Where do we start? Just an FYI - I think we have had at least one if not two straight line windstorms per year with downed trees for the last fifteen years.  We are lucky because some are still without power. I know my brother--in--law who lives about 20 miles north of us still does not have power and my daughter and family who live 20 miles south still do not have power. 

Why don't we start with your pepper plants, dear husband. Let's assess the damage and get the ones that are not completely broken off staked back up. 

Now let's work on the tomatoes. See, things aren't as bad ad it first appeared. Most plants can be saved. As as far as all the green tomatoes that we picked up...well, we can let some ripen inside and when life gives you green tomatoes make green tomato relish! (My husband and grandkids love relishes of all types). 

This was my bean patch before the storm. 

The yellowish plants are black beans we dry and the back of that row are painted pony beans, another one that we dry. The next row is wax and green beans. The two rows after that are dried flowers. The vines climbing up the pole are Christmas Lima Beans. And along the fence where you see the big yellow blossom is Butternut Squash. 

These were my beans after the storm. The poles of Christmas Limas fell on the other beans. And the statice and straw flowers (dried flowers) are all over the place.  I still haven't gotten around to cleaning up that mess. 

Four giant limbs now in the ditch in front of our house were the cause of part of the power outage in our area. 

We (my oldest son, husband and I) spent six hours yesterday and six today doing clean up, cutting wood, getting the tree limbs off the roof and dragging everything to a pile. Big pieces we kept for firewood, little for kindling. Big branches we will let dry and probably burn after we cut off smaller branches with leaves for the compost pile.  That's work that can be done even next year and seems to be an ongoing project around here.  As we've gotten older and the kids have left home we are barely able to keep all the scrub tree growth under control. 

We now have three big branches barely hanging in there on trees near the house and propane tank that are too high for us to reach. I guess it's time to call the professionals. 

Books I've read so far this month:

It was  a nice fairy tale. Now I feel like I should pick up everything I find and catalog it. Wouldn't that be a fun collection?

They don't write psychological thrillers like they used to. But I did read all the way to the end. 

WWI historical fiction that was an easy read during a power outage. 

***

And that's all the news that is fit to print.

Quilty news coming soon! I need to get my clothesline hooked back up first so I can show some completed flimsies.