Friday, February 9, 2018

Just the Scraps, Ma'am

Do you ever feel yourself getting sidetracked?  Last week I started making these blocks, two nine patches paired with two plain squares.  This was supposed to be a leaders and enders project while I finished assembling a different quilt top.  Instead, it completely took over.
I can't regret it, I had so much fun making these blocks!  The small 9 patch blocks are made from 2 in. squares.  All of it came from scraps.  The small squares came from the 2 in. strip drawer.  The larger squares are 5 in., and are from a box of charm squares I cut from reproduction fabric scraps.
Mostly, when I make scrap quilts, about 80% of the pieces come from actual scraps.  I usually cut the rest from yardage or big scraps so I can add in colors or types of prints.  This time, I went with 100% scraps in the blocks.  Scarcity makes for some interesting (weird?) pairings.
Check out the blue block above, with the flag squares.  I only had 4 squares of the original blue print, so I had to substitute a different indigo blue with larger white circles.  (Bet you saw that before I mentioned it!)
Sometimes I just had 1 square of a print, like the blue spools print here.  In that case, I cut 4 similarly colored prints from a strip, and put the odd square in the center.
I ran low on light fabrics right away.  In this blue block, all the lights are different prints.  (I love the rooster!)
This one is my favorite.  The center row in the black block above has two squares of light fabric printed with horses and riders.  This is just how the squares turned out when I cut them.  I sewed them like this as a little joke.  Is this an extremely long horse, or is the poor thing cut in half?  (Note: No horses or riders were harmed in the making of this block.)
Now I'm working on a piano keys border, and trying to decide what color squares to put in the corners.  I don't know why I'm even considering red and yellow, I usually end up with blue anyway.
These are the original piles of 2 in. scraps/strips, separated into light and dark.
And here's what's left after a week of happy piecing.  BTW, this is a small basket, usually known as a peck, which is one fourth of a bushel.
I'm not going to put any of this back in the drawer!  I've got my eye on another scrap quilt, and I'm going to cut up these strips for it.
It might end up being a large quilt.
In other news,
purple!  It's the color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
I made 4 of each of the blocks for my quilts.  These are also reproduction fabric quilts, and I really don't have a lot of purple on hand.
In between piecing like mad, I'm quilting the second Pixel Heart quilt for Project Linus.  Check out the scraps under the table.  I think the operative word here is "overflowing".
Even though it's snowy outside, my sewing room is overflowing with scrappy quilty happiness.
And that's what I'm wishing for you this week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Link ups as usual with Busy Hands Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts.













17 comments:

  1. Love the line formed by color placement of the plain squares. Very cuddley! Liz in Houston

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Liz! It's kind of a busy quilt, but I am definitely aiming for cuddly.

      Delete
  2. I love the scrappiness of the four-patch quilt and all the interest the mismatched blocks add. Though I have trouble being that scrappy in my sewing (a little OCD here, but that makes me good at my real job!), I absolutely love looking at them! The other projects are also great and you don't have too many scraps, you have plenty of variety!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Katie! I love scraps so much I buy other people's. Ridiculous, but there you are.

      Delete
  3. Your sewing room is definitely overflowing with scrappy happiness! Thanks for the fun, close-up look at the 9 patch quilt. It is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a lot of progress!! Nice job on your PURPLE scrap sewing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joyful! It is so much fun seeing everybody's purple blocks.

      Delete
  5. Oo, your scrappy nine patches are so fun! This is very encouraging and inspiring to me, since I'm making a similar piece with four patches and solid squares. That's my leader/ender project and I'm glad to see that a heavy dose of scrappy is the right direction to go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Louise! This quilt is a little more scrappy than I usually make, and it made me a little nervous at first, but I'm just going for it.

      Delete
    2. BTW, I forgot to tell you, I love your blog! How amazing to live and quilt on a boat!

      Delete
  6. What a fun hodge podge. So many interesting combinations to keep you eyes busy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, scraphappy! It's a tad busy, but I'm hoping to tone it down a little with an outside border. It's really using up a lot of scraps!

      Delete
  7. I, too, enjoyed your fun 9-patches. You made it work, every time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, grammajudyb! I think that's what's so addictive about scrap quilts.

      Delete

Thanks for reading! Post a comment--I want to know what you think!