"Orphange in Blue"

The blues are not done with me yet. Here is a photo of the leftovers at this point

All of this plus the quilt posted yesterday came from the little box in the middle of the table (except the backing on the right) and then I found a drawer of 'orphan' blocks, added the ones with blue in them and started making another one. So far this other one is nearly done and still have this table full of bits. They may not survive to go into a third quilt!

As for the second one, it is partly sewn, about 2/3 from the bottom, with two loose rows down there that need to be attached. They look like a step right now. The top part is just a mishmash. I'll be moving things around and may find another orphan or two to fit in rather than sewing stash bits to fill in between the blocks. It needs more lighter tones. I've three more piano key borders ready to go on the top and sides. 

Two quilts from a small box: one is a large twin and this one is going to be about 66" square.Yes, there is enough left for a baby quilt, but not sure I'll do it. Right now, I'm still having fun!

Gridlock

 

Wanda is making a Kaffe Fassett quilt called Gridlock and I decided to do the same. We are still using a large queen on our king bed so it is about time!

I picked a pile of fabric from my stash in soft blues, golds, purples etc. that blended well but with a good range of values. I wanted soft rather than contrast, muted rather than bright. Blocks finish at 12" so for a king, I need 90 or so, without borders. 

My hubby really likes this. 

So far, these are the ten that are on the wall. The photo shows more contrast than actual, but I took it at night with LED lighting. I'll try the next one in the daytime. These show the darkest fabrics I have and the lightest. Hopefully the range will be a pleasing array!

This 'squirrel' is not a squirrel at all!

Quilters have a name for a project that strikes our fancy and turns us away from everything we are working on. These "I must make this now" projects are "squirrels" - or various other names. I've been working on this one, which is not squirrels at all but five fine Dachshund dogs that used up a few of my scraps.

I did buy the background fabric after doing the design in EQ8, which told me I needed about a yard more then it really needed -- so it wasn't a scrap-buster because my stash became larger! Oh well, who is complaining. This light tan is just a joy to work with.

So are the pups! Fun to sew and put together. The head and tail sections are foundation paper-pieced and the middles are easy -- just had to find a bunch of scraps in each color range, cut the all the same size (2.5 x 5.5) and sew them together. A good test for my ability to do accurate 1/4" seams. Only the red and purple sets were a tad different, one slightly shorter and the other longer. An easy fix. I'll be putting a border all around to finish this top. Also found a pantograph of paw prints... no kidding. It will be used for the background. I'll stitch in the ditch around the dogs and haven't decided what to do with the rest. I do have eyes for these lovely mutts so will put them on before quilting it.

And I also found a backing fabric, brown and densely patterned with paw prints. How fun is that. At least if i botch up the quilting, it will not be noticed on the back. 😀

Just finish another top also, a panel for Basically Babies. I used the paw prints panto to quilt it, mainly to see if it was difficult. Not too much, so am more confident to put it in the Dachshund quilt on a plain background... still a bit scary though. No picture yet. Still have to put on the binding.

Hope everyone is well. Found out yesterday from the local newspaper that scientist have discovered that 30 minutes in the sun is 90% effective to destroy the Covid-19 virus. So less sewing and more gardening!

Stash busting

These pieces and the block are from my box of brown/orange scraps. The plan is to make the blocks until the scrap bin is empty, adding from stash if needed to make at least a twin-size. The block finishes at 8" so I will need at least 40 of them, likely more.

This will be a darkish quilt but some contrast and bright spots. I've only one block so not sure how the setting will go, but at least the scraps will go! Well, I might keep the largest of the leftovers, too small for 2.5" but large enough for a foundation paper-pieced project, etc.

Halo Medallion binding is nearly done. Need a name and a label. Since it is not the full pattern, it could be "Half a Halo" -- was thinking of subtitle: "the story of my life" but not sure I want to go public with that! 😀

Hope everyone is using February to finish those January projects...

Ocean Waves

This is a simple pattern to use up my over-stuffed stash of blues and greens. It is on the design wall in this photo, only has blocks stitched in the top row. Oh, there is not to be a hole in it... that block fell off and I didn't notice... :-) 

It will likely go to Quilts of Valour as it is about 80" square, a good size for a wounded soldier to curl up in. I've the top half-sewn and will post pictures after it is done.

We just returned from a lovely two weeks in South Carolina visiting our D and SIL. Didn't sew at all, or do much of anything. However, there is a great fabric store near Charlotte, NC. It is Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC. Vast collection of blending fabrics and novelties. I had to be disciplined and only buy what was on my list.  

Sunrise

Not getting much quilting in these days, but do have another finish. This one is off my usual path because of the colors and because I used a pattern. It is called "Antique'd" and is available at Prairie Quilt Mercantile. I shortened the name to simply "Sunrise." It is 66" x 77" and was simple to make.

I'm not a big fan of these colors, but it used them up from my stash and was fun to quilt (on HQ 16). I drew my own pantograph design and found a good way to print it using a software that does banners. 
 

Leftover Reds

Inspired by Wanda's strip-piecing, my red scraps are now a quilt top! There were several colors left over from the heart mats, and a few in my drawer of red scraps. I took them, plus a few smaller pieces stacked in my stash and made 5" nine-patches from the 2" strips and 5" blocks of just stripes from the bits and pieces, some of which had to be first pieced to make a strip.

This was so much fun, and as I watched the leftover pile get smaller, I kept thinking about Wanda and how much I've enjoyed and been motivated by her blog ~ Exuberant Color. I don't know what to call this quilt yet, maybe "Leftover Borscht" but suggestions are welcome.

I've plans now to sort a few more bags of bits and pieces into various color schemes and do the same with them. The blocks may look different and be a different size than 5", but there is huge satisfaction in using up what I might have otherwise been tempted to throw away. Thanks, Wanda!!