While sewing the Frolic! top together I used the New Blue Spiky 16 patch blocks as leaders and enders. I felt like I had quite a bit of Frolic! to sew together, but I only ended up with two Spiky 16 Patch blocks. I guess the Frolic! top work seemed like more than it actually was because I feel like I have been working on it forever.
I haven’t, of course, but it feels like it.
New Blue Spiky 16 Patch #2
In any case, these Spiky 16 patch blocks are coming along well. They are the same, or similar to Spiky 16 Patch #1 and #2. I’ll probably do the same kind of setting as Flame just to get this top finished. I’d like to try something else with the HRTs.
I am thinking about making a donation quilt with just the HRTs, but don’t think I will do that yet. I think I want to just make another Spiky 16 Patch quilt. I think I want to make the HRT version (no 16 patch) with a variety of different colors – not monochrome or warm/cool.
I decided to call this donation quilt ‘Flame’ to make things more interesting. I guess we all need a little ‘nice’ interesting right now rather than alarming interesting. Enough of that going around.
I am feeling kind of bad that I am still working on donation tops rather than making masks. I think I will need to make some soon, at least for my son. I wonder how many are being made at the moment?
Flame Donation back – April 2020
I used a pretty large piece of Jay McCarroll fabric for the back. I had to add a strip to it to make it large enough, but it will be fine. I still worry about labels. I think I might use stitch lettering to put my name and the year on the back and note that it is from BAMQG. I sort of want people to know I existed down the line. Of course, who knows if the quilt will exist for very long?
Flame Donation top – April 2020 (annotated)
There is one thing that is interesting that is going on with this top. If I pay careful attention to the placement of colors, the piece looks woven.
I didn’t plan this, but it has design potential. The overall design might work better with more variety in the colors, so a viewer could tell where the colors were weaving. I suspect that too many colors wouldn’t work.
While I was sewing Frolic! over the weekend, I made a bunch of donation blocks as leaders and enders. I am getting quite a collection to turn in when I finally get to back to guild.
I counted all the donation blocks I have made in 2020 and the total came out to about 76. Not bad. Not 30 per month, but not bad.
As I said the other day, I am working with HRTs again. After getting re-oriented to the Split Recs ruler (By Deb Tucker). I followed my own advice (for once) and watched the video, which told me what I needed to know to get going.
I am using these as leaders and enders, though I also seem to be sticking in some regular 16 patches as well, while I work on the Frolic!
I am really loving these warm colors, which is an antidote to staying home most of the time and the rain (no complaints; we need it). They look so happy. I have used 5 blocks to make a quilt in the past, but might try 4 this time. It will be easier to make the corners.
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The other day I talked about making some HRTs with the intention of making a new donation top. I got inspired by some 16 patches that I made while my subconscious worked on Frolic! I also have the Warm Windmill on my mind.
Warm Spiky 16 Patch on the design wall
For the past few days, I have been cutting and sewing HRTs and trying to relax. I am coming up with a quilt top that I really like.
I finished Traffic Jam. This was an easy pattern and the quilt really went quickly, much more quickly than the Color Strip quilts.
This doesn’t mean I am giving up on those Scrap quilts. They are clearing out my scrap bins for something good. I just needed a break and wanted to play along with Vicki Holloway.
I made a back as well, so I get more fabric usage on my spreadsheet.
Last Friday, I think, I finished the top and back of the Blue Strip Donation quilt. the piece is going in my bag to take to guild if the meetings ever start up again. I am feeling a bit lonely today. I know the social distancing is important for the health of the country, but I need a little more interaction than I am getting.
Anyway.
I am really pleased with the way the top came out. I had a half yard of two different yellows. The one I used on the border is Califon by Mark Lipinski. I like it, but it was languishing, so I thought I might as well use it.
Blue Strip Donation Back
The back was super easy! I had one large piece of blue and just needed to add a little bit to make it bigger. WHEW! No back drama this time.
No pinching the blog! There is green in these blocks. 🙂
Traffic Pattern block #1
Traffic Pattern block #2
Traffic Pattern block #3
Traffic Pattern block #4
Traffic Pattern block #5
Traffic Pattern block #6
Traffic Pattern block #7
Traffic Pattern block #8
Traffic Pattern block #9
In between piecing Frolic! over the weekend, I used the Traffic Jam pattern as leaders and enders. I used up my stash of Marmalade Dreams mini-charms as well as two other packs of mini-charms. I had to scrounge for additional mini-charms, because I was a little short of the Marmalade Dreams I needed to make a small donation quilt. I think it will be fine once it is finished.
Traffic Jam is a free pattern by Pat Sloan. I didn’t need a pattern to make this quilt. I just started sewing my mini-charms together and cut the background fabrics to fit the standard 9 patch layout.
I did seek out the pattern after Vicki mentioned the secondary pattern that appears when the pattern is made with sashing. In the first photo, I didn’t see the secondary pattern, but in checking out the Linky photos, I did see it. Not sure I will add sashing and cornerstones, but we will see.
I am using that beige-ish fabric as the background as I probably won’t use it for one of my own quilts. I have no idea why I bought it, but it works pretty well for this piece. I have a yard and will make as many blocks as I can with that much fabric.
I am using mini-charm packs of Marmalade Dreams by Valori Wells. I collected a bunch of them at some point – at some quilt event. I probably won’t use them for another project, though I do like them.
I made some progress over the past several days on my newest donation quilt. I want to get the top done so that I can gain back the design wall. I just have the outer borders to sew on. I also have the back to make and, perhaps, the binding, but I think I will leave the binding to someone else.
I am pleased with how it looks, but dismayed at how few of my blue scraps were used. The blocks required one to a few yards, but my blue scrap drawer is still full and hard to close. More quilts!
I also made progress on the Blue Strip donation top Saturday. It is larger, so not moving along as quickly as I would like, but it is also not causing me any problems. I made progress on this piece as I worked on Frolic on Saturday.
Last month I only made two donation blocks, but I did better this month. I went over my 2019 monthly goal of 30 this month. Since I only made two last month, however, I probably should have made 60 this month.
Red/white donation block 4
Red/white donation block 3
Red/white donation block 2
Red/white donation block
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 10
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 9
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 8
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 7
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 6
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 5
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 4
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 3
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 2
Scrappy Community Quilt Day block 1
Blue strip donation block 1
Blue strip donation block 2
Blue strip donation block 3
Blue strip donation block 4
Blue strip donation block 5
Blue Strip donation block #11
Blue Strip donation block #6
Blue Strip donation block #7
Blue Strip donation block #10
Blue Strip donation block #9
Blue Strip donation block #8
Blue Strip donation block #12
Blue Strip donation block #16
Blue Strip donation block #15
Blue Strip donation block #13
Blue Strip donation block #17
Blue Strip donation block #18
Blue Strip donation block #19
Blue Strip donation block #20
Blue Strip donation block #21
I know you have seen most of the scrappy community quilt blocks, but I also made some of the regular 16 patch blocks and have started on a new color for a Color Strip quilt top in blue. I am not where I want to be but I am making progress and that is all that anyone can hope for.
I spent more time on Frolic! over the weekend. In addition to making slow progress on that piece, I also made a lot of progress on my blue strip donation quilt.
I now have all of the blocks finished and the sashing cut. As I mentioned before, I am going to make this piece slightly larger than some of the others.
It seems like it is an odd shape – more rectangular than square, but it may be the lack of finished seam allowances.
Blue Donation Blocks- with sashing
I am pleased with the yellow I chose. This was a half yard of fabric I have had around for awhile. I thought the color worked well with the blue even though light yellow is complementary to darker blues.
