No Rest for the ‘Wicked’

Green scrap drawer: full
Green scrap drawer: full

I am not really wicked nor am I green, but some of my post titles have been super boring lately, so I thought I would shake things up.

The green scrap drawer is too full, which is good, because I can move on to a new leaders and enders project. It is bad, though as I have plenty of other things I want to do as leaders and enders. Still, I was enjoying making strip blocks, so here we go.

One burning question is WHY do I have so many green scraps. I can remember making things out of a few of them, but not most. How are all of these green scraps multiplying?

On a side note: that large green Pointillist Palette piece is going to get cut up into smaller pieces to be part of a Niece-phew quilt.

Do you get the Wicked reference? 😉

Black Improv Donation Top Continues

Black Improv donation top in progress
Black Improv donation top in progress

It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. The black pieces are getting larger and my scrap bin is getting emptier.

This is a lot more active than the grey, which you will see in a few days. Those stripes really make this piece dynamic. I think it needs some space for the eye to rest, though. I’ll have to work on that.

QST 16 Patch #4 Blue: Finished

QST 16 Patch #4 - finished
QST 16 Patch #4 – finished

This is not a difficult pattern, so it went together quickly. It was especially fast since I already had the striped triangles cut.

As mentioned, I used some mostly blue 16 Patch blocks for the alternate blocks.

QST 16 Patch #4 back - finished
QST 16 Patch #4 back – finished

I pulled out some older batiks for the back and this quilt top (and back) is ready to go to the Community quilt project.

QST 16 Patch #4 Blue

QST 16 Patch #4: Blue laid out
QST 16 Patch #4: Blue laid out

After finishing Grey Strip #2, I put the 16 patches that have been waiting in the wings on the large design wall. This is the start to laying out another Quarter Square Triangle block quilt.

I used different stripes this time. I had some squares that were the leftovers from something that worked well for the size blocks I needed. This provides a different look from the others with the dark black triangles.

I am short of the same white, but will cut a different white. It will be fine and I get to use up more fabric. I think I can finish this before Sew Day. It would be nice to hand in two quilts.

 

Black and Grey Improv Donation Tops Start

Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts
Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts

Because it can’t really be helped, I have started the Improv color quilts for the black-grey-brown scrap drawer. These miscellaneous pieces will end up being two donation quilts at some point in the Color Improv series.

Ignore the pink and grey 16 patch at the top. Design wall space is at a premium these days.

As you can see I have a lot of black pieces from working on the black strip donation blocks. There is also a slowly growing grey piece that I think has promise. One thing I notice about it is that most of it is made up of squares and rectangles.

I am not sure if I’ll have enough to make two whole quilts, but we will see.

March 2024 Donation Blocks

I am back to less than my normal number of donation blocks, but I have been working on two donation quilts, at least. I want to make 30 blocks a month, but I’ll have to keep working towards that goal.

I have started making green strip donation blocks, so my hopes for next month’s tally are better.

Finished: Grey Strip #2 Donation Top

Grey strip #2 donation top
Grey strip #2 donation top

I am really pleased that I was able to finish the Grey Strip #2 donation top the other day.

I got all the blocks together and, again, the quilt was a weird shape – long and thin vertically. I didn’t like it, but I also don’t have enough grey scraps to make 4 more blocks. I know that is good news, but it didn’t help me here.  I also really didn’t want to spend the time.

I decided that I would make the side borders larger than the top and bottom. The blocks are 4.5 inches unfinished. I cut the borders 5 inches unfinished and I think the top looks like it will be a useful size.

I found a large piece of grey last time I was rummaging in the fabric closet, so I used that for the back. I didn’t have to do any piecing! Yay. Next up is another QST 16 Patch.

Grey Strip #2 Progress

Grey Strip #2 donation blocks
Grey Strip #2 donation blocks

The grey strip #2 donation top is finally in process. I finished the last two blocks and started working on it in earnest last week.

I used some leftover top sashing from the Black Strip #2 Donation top. Since I didn’t have enough I found some other random pieces from which I could cut a 1.5″ square. I think the variety looks very cheerful. I am not sure why I didn’t do that before.

I am now in the process of sashing all the blocks.

QST #4 To Be

Donation blocks for QST #4
Donation blocks for QST #4

I gathered enough donation blocks – almost – to make another QST donation top. Of course, the grey strip blocks are still on the wall in progress.

I have one block in progress that will be done quickly, if I can every sit down to sew again.

I made all of these blocks, but I scavenged two back from Peggy at Sew Day, so I didn’t have to sew quite so many. I wanted to get to making the quilt.

Now I am wondering how many quilts I need to make before I know I am making a series?

Grey Strip Blocks

Grey Strip Donation blocks
Grey Strip Donation blocks

I put some of the last grey strip blocks up on the wall to make into a quilt. They have been there for about a week and I have made no progress.

I need at least two more blocks to make this square or rectangular and I have made a desultory effort to make them.

I really just haven’t had a lot of time to sew. The items I have finished recently have been done in small snatches of time. I’ll get there!

Finished: Pink & Black QST #3

Pink & Black QST donation top #3
Pink & Black QST donation top #3

This quilt is off to be quilted and, thereafter, to a new home.

The variety of blocks does not appeal to my desire for symmetry, but I feel like I need to be able to use the 16 patch blocks I make. I am thinking that I might change the color choices I make for donation blocks going forward. Still, I know someone will like it.

February 2024 Donation Blocks

I don’t know if I started off strong or not. I am diligently using 2.5 inch squares as leaders and enders, so I am slowly working up a nice stack of blocks.

Starting Pink and Black QST #4

Pink & Black QST #3
Pink & Black QST #3

I started the fourth QST donation quilt. I wanted to use the pink 16 patches I had been making and this pattern is still interesting enough for me to want to make another top.

I am quite enamored of pink lately, for some reason. I am going with the flow and not trying to fight off the urge to use some pink.

Pink & Black QST #3 - testing more pink
Pink & Black QST #3 – testing more pink

I thought about using something other than white for the background, so I did a little testing. It didn’t really work out, so I ended up going with white.

I am glad I used my mantra “make visual decisions visually”. Even a solid (lower left hand corner) was a little too much pink for me. I could have tried other pinks, but decided just to get it done, so I cut up some white.

Brown Strip Donation Quilt Ready for Quilting

Brown strip donation top
Brown strip donation top

I wouldn’t exactly say I finished this in record time, but I did work hard to get it done and off my design wall.These quilts aren’t difficult to make. The blocks can take some time, but go together quickly if the strips are available and I use the leaders and enders technique.

This is the third quilt finished from my black-grey-brown scrap drawer. It never ceases to amaze me how little fabric it takes to make a quilt. This one, including borders and sashing took about 3 yards.

I showed it to Marty, who loves the nuanced subtlety of brown, at Sew Day the other day and she loved it. She wanted to know if I was a brown convert. No, no I am not, but I am glad I made this quilt and got rid of the brown scraps I had.

While we were looking at the quilt, I pointed out some of the fabrics I used in really old quilts, like She Had to Have her Latte. That is the fun of scrap quilts – seeing old fabrics and remembering a previous project.

Brown strip donation quilt back
Brown strip donation quilt back

I had a large piece of ‘tea dye’ colored fabric that was almost perfect for the back. I had to add on a bit more, but it was nice to get that large piece out of the fabric closet.

The fabric has postcards on it. I tried to read the messages, but I finally decided they must be fakes as some were impossible to read. That, or they were intentionally blurred.

Another project and more fabric out of the house.

I remembered that I used up quite a bit of brown for the Henry Softies.