These quilts are all made from the edges that are cut off of other quilts as they are being squared up. Sometimes I make the backs larger than needed so I get some large-ish pieces back. Those pieces are hard to store, so making some donation quilts out of them is a good idea.
Ends (n.1) – see more information – this is the top that started it all!
You could also put scraps together into strips, add some background and make one of these. These are very improv-y and there isn’t a pattern. It is a good way to do something good with fabrics I wouldn’t otherwise use.
I don’t think this is my best work. there are a lot of disparate elements. Somehow it works. It kind of looks like buildings surrounding a park to me.
I struggled with this piece, because of the green and orange. I don’t sincerely dislike green, but I don’t make it a main color in any of my quilts except the Improv Color quilts. I also like orange, but somehow this was a struggle on which to work.
Tim’s Improv Donation Back
The back went relatively fast. I took both pieces to Sew Day and gave them to Peggy and the team for quilting.
I talked about one of the Triple Play Missouri Star videos in a recent Various & Sundry post. In this video, Jenny, Natalie and Misty take the same block pattern and make different quilts. I really liked what Natalie did with her version and I decided to try it out myself.
I thought it would be a quick test. Then I thought that I know how those quick “tests” go and started surfing around the Internet for fabric, thinking I would make an entire quilt. Fortunately, I got myself under control and decided to make one block with the True Kisses fabric I have and go from there. Cotton Cure still has packs of yardage.
I stopped and started the video as I followed along with the Missouri Star directions. Unlike other shows, Jenny and the gang tell viewers what sizes to cut, show you how to sew and press so you can follow along and make the block or quilt just from watching a free video. I like this about them.
Double Missouri Star center
The Missouri Star is a block they use for their logo. In this video they redid it. Jenny shrank the block and made a quilt from smaller versions. This version provided the directions for the center of Natalie’s block (above).
I didn’t choose good fabrics from the True Kisses line. There wasn’t enough contrast in the legs. Unfortunately I succumbed to the lure of those fabrics and the desire to just make something.
Trimming alternative
In the video, they show how to use the Clearly Perfect Trimmer**. I didn’t have that ruler so I tried their alternative method of using a regular ruler and it absolutely didn’t work. I should have saved myself the trouble and just squared up the various pieces the normal way.
My pieces were all the wrong size. Since I followed the Missouri Star method for making HSTs, all of my edges were on the bias. The small center block looked awful. I took the whole block apart, trimmed and put it back together again. I was reminded of how bias can work against me. I also think I didn’t completely understand the alternative method of trimming.
Using the Clearly Perfect Trimmer
I did end buying the Clearly Perfect Trimmer**. I had never heard of this ruler and I was curious to try it out. I can’t really tell if it was any better than trimming the regular way. The one difference was that you only make two cuts vs making two cuts, turning your piece and making two more cuts.
I haven’t read all of the directions for this set of rulers, but I am interested in learning how to use more of its capabilities.
Despite all of the ripping, I am pretty pleased with the way the block came out. I won’t be making a whole quilt, however.
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I have a new, year long work contract that is going to be taking a lot of my time. Between the time I found out and the day I started, I had about two weeks where I finished other projects, sewed like a demon and saw friends. Fortunately, the COVID cases were down enough and we were all vaccinated, so I felt comfortable going to people’s houses. One thing I did was have a mini Sew Day with Gerre. Mostly we talk and eat, but this time we sewed quite a bit as well. Our last Sew Day was too long ago.
Finished Gelato at Gerre’s
I took my batch of Gelato strips to Gerre’s house and worked on sewing them together. The numbered pins really helped. In a flash, I was able to finish it. I think chatting and sewing made the project go faster.
Gerre held it up for me so I could take a photo. I was pleased to see that in different light and against a dark background, the quilt still glowed.
Gerre worked on her Ring quilt and was able to finish the top.
We had Thai food, which I like and don’t get a chance to eat very often.
I made good progress at Craft Night on Gelato. I got all of the background sewn to the precut strips.
I wanted to prepare for my mini Sew Day with Gerre. This quilt was on the agenda. By sewing all the background to the strips, I could get it ready to transport. It was important to me to keep the strips in a certain order. I was able to use the numbered pins** I bought some time ago (and thought were useless) to good effect. I also used giant WonderClips** to keep the strips together.
I didn’t have a design wall at Gerre’s and with the numbered pins, I was able to keep the whole thing in order so I could sew it together.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
I made some good progress on Gelato the other day.
I think it is looking really good. It kind of glows in a way that I didn’t expect. I am working really hard on cutting the background fabric for the outside of the colored strips.
I don’t think this quilt will take me very long. Fingers crossed.
A long time ago, in this galaxy, Friend Julie gave me a jelly roll. I don’t usually like jelly rolls, but I like this one.
One reason I like it is that the serrated edge isn’t deeply serrated, so the width is actually pretty close to 2.5 inches. Also, the strips seem to be pretty much cut on grain.
Molly’s Jelly Roll Top – June 2021
At Sew Day, Molly was working on a jelly roll quilt. She also didn’t want to cut up the jelly roll into squares so she was using the strips almost as is. She made a cut in the middle where the color really started to change and inserted a KFC fabric.
Molly’s quilt got stuck in my mind and I couldn’t get it or the jelly roll in my workroom off my mind. I tried to stay focused on Scrap Dash, but the jelly roll kept creeping in.
One good thing about Sew Day is that I get to be inspired by projects on which other people are working. It is also a good thing about the guild.
Gelato Start – June 2021
Almost as soon as Scrap Dash was ready to be quilted, I opened the Jelly Roll and started putting strips on the wall. I want to add the background to the outside of the strips.
I didn’t realize the fabrics were ombre! This makes the project much more interesting. Just putting them on the wall is exciting.
Gelato Jelly Roll Open
I am starting out keeping the strips in order. I may move them around later after I see what I have. I am also planning to use the Art Gallery fabric I used as a background for Scrap Dash as a background for this quilt.
I spent quite a bit of time on Scrap Dash over the weekend. I want to get it done and I need to get the left border on the wall where I can 1) see and 2) piece it.
I focused on sewing the vertical seams between sections on the top two rows. I needed to take up the seam allowances to make space for the last column. I also needed to be careful not to force myself into having to put the quilt together in rows. I think I have walked the line successfully, but we will see.
I spent most of Saturday working on Scrap Dash, though I also worked on the Yellow Strip Donation quilt as leaders and enders. I continue to be pleased with how the piece is progressing.
I cut a bunch of pieces for the borders during the previous week. I had sewed some of them together in snatches of time also during the week. On Saturday, I stitched many more together. I also started placing them in their spot on the wall. I now have sections of 3 sides of the borders sewn to some other piece.
I didn’t want to sew the entire border strip together then sew it to the quilt top as one piecing. I am chunking all the pieces and I am glad, because I have to fiddle with some of the border pieces to get them to fit. I am not sure why as my 1/4″ looks good and the pieces are cut accurately.
I have started, in a small way to sew the chunks together. I am not seeing much shrinkage yet as that depends on quite a bit of sewing the chunks together.
I spent a lot of time on Saturday working on Scrap Dash. I am pleased with my progress and feel like I can see a glimmer of the end of the project. I am still far away from it, but I see a glimmer.
I am getting more of the border on the wall and will soon start to sew it together. I need space so I can get the rest of the right hand column up, too.
I am on the fence about how this quilt is looking. I don’t have the exact colors that Tim used, so I am using what I have. I don’t know if it is working.
Improv Checkerboard
When I talked about this quilt before, I had finished sewing the parts Tim gave me to the piece and had just added a strip of my own.
I made this improv checkerboard to add to the sides as the first piece that was all my own. It was kind of fun to play around with different sized strips. The green, however is a little more chartreuse than Tim used. While I like the shape, I am concerned about the colors and how they fit in with what went before.
I plan to put part of the checkerboard on another side perpendicular to the checkerboard I already sewed to the top.
Tim’s Improv Quilt with checkerboard
I don’t think it looks terrible and that might be good enough for a donation quilt. I don’t mean that it is ugly so it is only good enough for a donation quilt, but that it is not too ugly to give as a donation quilt.
I really don’t nee to make it much bigger, but I want it to have a relatively cohesive design without me spending 50 hours on it.
Tim made part of a top in a Sherri Lynn Wood class. He didn’t want it hanging around anymore because he didn’t like the class and didn’t think he would finish it. I offered to finish it into a donation top for the guild and get it out of his life.
I sewed a strip Tim gave me to the right of the quilt (the strip with 4 patches). I looked for fabric that would match, but I couldn’t find anything really similar. I chose a more reddish orange and am adding various bits to the piece.
While I was making progress on the Rings quilt, I was also making progress on Scrap Dash. As I said before, I am using the Scrap Dash blocks as leaders and enders for the Rings quilt. I get more done, which is great.
I started in the middle, because I couldn’t really reach the top row without a stool. You can see that the middle has shrunk up quite a bit.
I plan to put another column of blocks along the right hand side. The quilt is supposed to have the Churn Dash blocks around the whole exterior of the quilt and I plan to follow that advice.
Scrap Dash Progress – mid-April 2021 (detail)
I think the section where I have sewn the blocks looks nice. I like how the 1.5×2.5 strips create a path through the quilt.
