Nearly there, need labels

Two improv quilts need labels. The big one is called "My Mind on Steroids" because my over-active brain looks like that in scraps. It is all from bits of this and that and was fun to make. I had it quilted by Kim Caskey who does her magic freehand. It is a lesson in quilting just to look at. She was given freedom to do whatever she wanted and I'm so happy with her work on this. It is about 68" square. This is not a great photo. Email me for a better one.

The other one is also scrappy and improv. Two colors. "Blue Squares in Squares" and also fun to make. I broke all the rules by quilting it in lines instead of curves, and like the result. I was going to donate it, but just might keep it for a while. Both need labels and once that is done - on to two more improvs. I'm thoroughly convinced that scraps are related to rabbits and multiply in the night.

Also cutting up flannel pj bottoms that I don't wear. All but one (of six) are plaids and each produce about 60 four-inch squares. They will make fun baby quilts, likely with a heart or animal or something appliqued on them.  

 

Busy, busy, busy

At my age, I should be retiring, slowing down. However, going downhill usually means speeding up. Oh dear, that is not funny. My hubby is 80 next year and still working. He loves it. I am so busy too that days never seem long enough.

Our calendar for October includes four birthdays, a wine/cheese party, several dinners including Canadian Thanksgiving, three quilt-related meetings, my hubby's last golf maybe, before winter, and a business trip where is is gone for a week. We already had a road trip to visit family on Saturday, and the usual church Sundays and Bible study group on Mondays. DH may have dentist/doctor/massages booked too. I keep telling myself we don't have to say yes to every invitation. Right now I'm thinking a few naps for me too???

Anyway, I am having fun. I started this quilt with a 14" block, then added some 5" blocks around it, all scraps, then went nuts and it is heading toward a 72" finish (or bigger?) and the thing is all scraps. I am likely going to call it "Oops, I spilled my Crayons" and, NO, I have not counted the number of pieces in it. Some people already think I am crazy!

I'm just adding at the top the blocks etc. to make that a corner, and will do the same with the part showing at the bottom of this picture. The side 'corners' are already on, actually very large triangles to make this baby a big square. And to make my scrap bins less stuffed. 

The Final "After"

 I posted the beginning of an improv where a boring block was chopped up and added to until it became interesting (see post here), but it was not done. So I added some 8" scrappy and wonky log cabin blocks and a few other things and wound up with this. It is 37.75" x 47.5" and the quilting is simple: mostly straight lines with a few odd lines thrown in to keep me from getting bored. This one is hanging in my sewing area and I really like it. Besides, it made a great dent in my scraps, at least those colors. Now to hit the rest of them. . . 

Before and After

I'm still working on the odds/ends from the guild, but now have all tops done, and was able to get one sandwiched and partly quilted. Since there are fifteen of them, it might be a while to do 'my' stuff, but I did take a break and made a few random blocks from scraps. One of them looked like this:

Boring. A library book on making modern improv quilts got into my head so I decided to slash up this boring block (about 16" square) and add some scraps leftover from various things but in colors that worked together. This is the "after" picture. It is 19.5 x 32 but not sure if the strip on the right side will be sewn in. Kind of like it though.

This sort of goofing around is my favorite way to quilt. Just make it up as I go. I even woke in the night and planned a quilt around it, so who knows what will happen. In any case, I've not yet run out of scraps!

Later...

 

 

So Much Fun

This week demanded a break from making big quilts that match up with photos people sent me, so decided to hit the blue scrap box. Picked blue because the quilt on the roster was mostly blue and had leftovers. Dug out some orphans, noted that the scrap bin had a few little blocks in it too, ranging from 1.5" up to about 12" plus lots of pieces and strings. After sorting and making a few more odd shapes, they went on my design wall, got moved around and shuffled and sewn together. So far, this is the result. Any white showing still needs something stuck in there and I can see a couple of needed moves that would add rather than be a distraction.

Doing this is like playing... so much fun. I am hooked and forget to eat some days. Improv takes many forms, but for a person with a mind that thinks like a jazz jam session, this works for me. I don't add from the stash, at least not yet, just use the bits and pieces. Also discovered that I can throw other colors into the mix, any other colors, as long as they are used in at least three places. What a joyful discovery. 

It also works with the blocks... put in a few that are the same block, different sizes and colors but it hold this mess together, at least in my mind. The title of this one was easy: I'm calling it Bye Bye Blues... but saying bye to all of them is not quite true. From the looks of things, I might just have enough unused scraps to make another one.

It's a Jungle Out There

 This blog title is the name of a finish. It came out of a pile of leftovers from another top that isn't quilted yet. We have a loft decorated with an African theme but needed a lap quilt (big TV, recliner, etc.) It was fun to make. Not happy with the photo, but here it is, with a close up. Double-click to see it better.

Now I'm working on a pile of leftover floral prints, oldies but enough to make a bunch of HST with contrasting values. Not sure what will come of it, maybe just an empty scrap bin!!

Busting the Blues

Since my scrap bin marked BLUE began to overflow last week, I decided to tackle it and make as many different blocks in multiples of five (plus seam allowances) and in as many variations that came to mind. 

So far, I've this: one block on the left that is 25" and needs a bit more so it has a seam allowance that will fit with the rest. The block on the right is made up of an assortment of little pieces that were a temptation to toss in the garbage. I kept adding until it became 15.5" square. 

 

A couple more are sitting on a table. One is 15.5  x 5.5 a ready to add somewhere. The other is a strip of skinny pieces sewn on the diagonal that is 15.5 long and so far only 3" wide. They didn't make it to the wall yet. 

Yes, this is crazy, mindless and total fun. The bin is still bulging, but loosely and not pressed down. Who will get it? Not the foggiest idea. Nor do I know how big it will be. If it falls short of a good size, I'll dig out some of my blue fat quarters that otherwise have no future! I also have turquoise in this mix so that heart on the left will eventually have some company so it isn't so obviously different.

This may not be a final layout, but with improv, you have to start somewhere! 

Scrap Improv

I've two more quilts for refugees finished and given to them. Story another time, but what a joy to bless people whose stories are mind-bending, even life-changing. They have been through so much, and for years. And I complain if someone cuts me off in traffic.

One quilt that I made a few weeks ago had some tiny pieced rectangles left over. (See that quilt here) As I played with them, this is what came out after adding a couple of fat quarters. It is about 24" wide, not large but fun to make after doing several queen-size monsters. As you can see, there may not be enough to do the borders that I'd like, but it will get finished this week and quilted.

I also put together some tree of life blocks that came to my local guild as a donation. There were ten of them and I was asked to make something of them. I didn't have any fabric that would work to make more trees, and didn't want to anyway. One of the ten had cut off corners, so I set it aside, grabbed some wild backing (also a donation) and this is the result. There is 1" sashing between the blocks and 2" border around the nine of them. I cut two large squares from the backing and then cut them in half diagonally. There is enough of that fabric left to do the backing. Also, the binding, which is cut, pressed and ready to use. This is 74" square, a nice size.

The question now is: How do I quilt this? Any suggestions are welcome. Right now, I have no clue. So I'll work on the little one until the answer arrives in the comment section or wherever!