Pink Scraps

 

Scraps never fail to amaze me. I'm not that fond of pink and seldom use it. It may be the smallest pile in my stash. However, I saw an online picture that appealed, got out the pick bin, and just finished this lap quilt. I swear that scraps multiply in the dark.

Of course there are various tones, a few florals with pink in them, etc. I even used the wrong side of some that were just too bold the way they were. It finished at 59" x 61" and has a pink print backing with the same fabric on the binding. AND there is enough pink leftover to make another, likely a lap size or maybe a large baby quilt. 

However, next on the list is a panel for Basically Babies. So far, it is my favorite. It should be done in a few days. This pink one took longer because I decided to hand-stitch the binding. . . blame all those hockey games.

Btw, it hit -30C here this week, after being +7C all the week before. I keep saying, if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute! Good weather for long naps.

Busting the Blues, getting there!

The top is coming together. WARNING: On my PC the blues all look gray and the blue-green looks bright green. LED lighting? Believe me, this thing is very blue, even the pieces that look white. 

Improv is fun, but not necessarily does it make sense. However, that box of blue scraps (turn head sideways to see most of the box at the top of the third photo) is nearly empty -- only because the scraps are either on my longarm, or on a portable table STILL. I have plans to put a row on the top and one on the bottom. Right now it is 61 x 69" so maybe more on the sides too. 

Top photo shows the top so far, draped on my longarm so not all of it is visible. Beside it are strips from the box. The sideways table (sorry) shows bits and pieces. The other table is a few blocks that will be incorporated along the bottom. I've also sewn a bunch of short pieced pieces that will make a border, not shown. There are many to go, so not sure where they will wind up.

Yes, I'm having fun. I vacuumed up a fistful of threads and lint this afternoon but refuse to save them or the trimmings from all this sewing -- they hit the round file.

Projects on the go . . .

At this point, there is "Brown Scrappy" on the longarm (finally), a top finished and waiting while I find backing that works with it, a new nativity quilt that will be offered as a pattern on Etsy as soon as I finish the quilting, binding, and writing the instructions, a scavenger hunt that is crazy but fun and for a competition so I cannot show you yet, two bags of blocks from our guild that other quilters didn't want to put together, and a whole mess of yellow and accent prints/colored scraps on the design wall just begging for more. Here is a picture of 'so far' -- just tossed up there, about half of what is waiting to be sewn into chunks and in no particular order. Fun! It will make a twin and does anyone realize where all their scraps come from!!😮

I've also offered to make quilts for refugee families sponsored by four local churches. They will arrive about six months apart, and are usually a couple with 1-3 children in ages varying from little to adults. Their sponsors are finding out for me their color preferences and a bit of theme ideas (like one little boy does not like creepy crawlers, just the alphabet please). This is got my imagination in a whirl. So far, two queen-size -- one in solids, one red, and four smaller, a blue, a black, a yellow and an alphabet (I ordered a panel).

We are well. Semi-retired hubby is working some hours nearly every day. If I make cinnamon buns now and then, he is happy with "cook once, eat three times" or crock pot or take-out. I'm spoiled rotten. He even does the vacuuming now and then. 

Our family is okay. But we lost a friend and a second cousin to Covid. Two of our adult children had it, mild, recovered. It is cold here, like -20C in the morning. Kills the bugs but apparently not the virus. Hawaii sounds good but our government shut down flights to warm places. 😒

Hope to be back with more sooner, but life and that to-do list being what they are, no promises.

Charity Quilt

Wow, how can the weeks fly by? I am quilting. This is on my design wall. Not sure if it will be bigger as there is more fabric, but I'm thinking it should have a white border then a colored one with rectangles and squares. It is a guild quilt. Fabric was donated and I was supposed to finish it a long time ago, but was granted a pass!

I've not fiddle with block placement yet and can see from this photo that I need to move a few of them. It needs vertical sashing and a white border, then maybe more color, another white, and binding. Not decided yet. No name either, but that will come. It is about 64" x 74" so far.

We are having an up/down summer. It was 31C here last Tuesday and 11C the next morning. Rain, sun, wind, no wind -- it's keeping everyone guessing. However, no forest fires filling the air with smoke like last summer.

Gallery Two is up!

Finally, I am starting to feel good and have some energy. Working on a quilt for a friend, a baby quilt, and maybe have the strength to fix the places where Scott's quilt needs some TLC before he gets it (and you get a photo). Note the link to Gallery Two on the right. It shows quilts 51-100.

Here is a sample, made from a kit by Cynthia England, but that does not mean it was easy! Some of the pieces are smaller than my little fingernail, about 1/4" yet the quilt is a decent size. 

Purple Slabs

My scrap bins are about 10" x 15" and 9" deep. The purple one was nearly full. It still has 4-5" left at the bottom and the rest went into these 12.5" slab blocks. Sashing is 3" and I've made a bunch of 5.5" ones to use in the border. It will finish 73" x 88" so is a good size.

I am amazed at how far the scraps go, and how relaxing it is to sew them like this. Not a lot of planning, just sort to sizes and think log cabin but not too accurate. The sashing is a red-purple fabric that will go between all rows, around the outside, and likely be the binding too. So far so good.

Oh after taking this picture it is easier to see the values, so I moved a few of the blocks around. Purples do not like the camera either. I'm not much of a purple lover so am surprised at how many scraps were in that bin!

Halo and Hawaii

Since the last post, more of those flying geese in quarter circles are finished (but lots of them are not!) Here is what is done so far. They are just pinned on the design wall -- and will have a border between them and the star border. The main fabric is not as yellow as it looks here.

Also progress on Scott's king size. He wanted Hawaii, but I'm taking liberties for both the design and the colors. That aqua blue along with dark green foliage looks too much like a painting on velvet -- as in 'garish' -- even though it looks terrific on Maui. Anyway, these are the background 'islands' with aerial perspective. The white strip will be much narrower, just a contrasting highlight on the water way back there. I've pinned this to the full size pattern that is pinned to a big quilt hanging on my hallway wall. Even this bit was a bit unwieldy, but with practice, it should get easier to manipulate the pieces?

The photo is a bit dark, but you get the idea. Next is the water and sand, then the sky, then the foliage...