Mixing and matching

After shipping off a bunch of orphan blocks and making progress cutting up and stitching up my scraps, I feel like I'm on a roll!  I'm loving the way the Modified Rail Fence is looking (I need a name, maybe Barbed Wire Fence?)

And the making the little 4-patches in a square is eating through the 2" squares that I am cutting from my scraps.

And while clearing out some orphan blocks, I came across the extra border blocks I had from when I did Sew Many Strips.  I loved that border, and I've been cutting 1.5" strips, so I thought, "hey, maybe I can use this as a border for one of my current projects..."  I auditioned it with my 4-patches in a square, and I like it!

I mailed off the completed X-Pop quilt to the baby who was born just about a month ago.  Simple, straight-line quilting and a batik backing.  I'm sorry to see this one go...but I think I say that about all the baby quilts I make.  I hope the recipient family likes it and uses it.  

There are two more babies on the way this summer - what to make next???  Maybe something like these bright, fun, bear paw blocks I made for my April Bee Blocks?

Sew the Scrap out of March!

 Um, what happened to February?  How did I not post even once during that long, dreary month??  I certainly did some sewing - look what I finished last night?

I think I'm going to call it X-Pop

I love it!  It still needs quilting and binding, but at 36" square, that won't take long.  The baby recipient is due to make his/her/their entrance into the world any day now.

Anyway, I'm joining up with Tea & Brie for her National Quilt Month Scrap Challenge, Sew the Scrap out of March!

I dumped out my bag of scraps...

Size 7.5 foot for scale (and handknit socks!)

My goal this month is to make this pile disappear!  More than sew the scrap out of March, I want to CUT it!  The plan is to cut the scraps to the appropriate size for some of my current projects:

Scrappy Trips for the long strips

                                           

My Barbed Rail Fence is growing - uses shorter & skinnier strips and all those corner cut-offs

No name yet for my 2020 Scrap Buster Challenge Quilt, but these blocks can be cut from chunky scraps

I just added this project to my current scrappy projects in an attempt to use some of the tan/beige/tea colored scraps I have.  I LOVE the look so far.

For the 2" squares

In addition to cutting scraps for particular projects, I will also cut my precut scrap sizes to add to those bins.  My scraps are so much tidier when they are cut to size than when they are crammed in that bag!  And I love just pulling out some precut scraps and sewing - immediate gratification!

I'm linking up with Oh, Scrap and Monday Making.

Other people's scraps

 No sooner did I finish cutting up scraps from one friend,

than another box of scraps arrived from someone else!

I've been in SCRAP HEAVEN, cutting for my modified rail fence, 

my 2020 Scrap Buster Challenge quilt,

and my scrappy bear paw quilt, and cutting all leftover scraps down to my precut sizes.  I've also been knitting some mittens as part of a #mmmittalong on Instagram.

Irish Hiking Mittens on Ravelry from mystery yarn

Man, making makes me happy!  I don't so much mind being confined to the house when I have fabric and fiber to play with!

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.

Minor change, but it makes me happy :)

Wow, the resumption of school REALLY cuts into one's sewing time!  I feel like I'm going through withdrawals!  But I did find a couple moments to sew this week, and used that time to make an alternate block for my modified rail fence quilt that I'm making.  Do you notice a difference?

Before - all blocks the same

After - half the blocks w/ HST flipped

I didn't like the way the neutrals switched sides as you followed the HST zig zag trail, so I am making half of the blocks with the HSTs reversed so that the neutrals stay on the same side (bottom and right) throughout one zig zag.  It probably isn't even that noticeable, but I like it better so I'm going with it.

Other than that I did cull some more yardage out of my stash this week to add to my ETSY shop:

because I knew I had a box of scraps coming my way!  

Yippee!!  I'm so much more inspired to sew with scraps than I am with yardage.

Here's hoping I can find some moments this week to sort these scraps and get to sewing!

I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.

Lots of stitching going on!

I had hoped to get lots of creating in during my winter break from school...and I did!  It started with a mad dash to make a memory quilt for a friend who lost her beloved dog.  I had six pages of printer fabric sheets, so I found some photos of her pup online and made a quick quilt for her.  She is TALL and I wanted her to be able to cuddle in it, so it is pretty large, about 65"x 98".  I can't make a quick quilt that big using my usual little pieces, so the blocks are huge, each finishing at 31.5" square.  What a departure for me!  Probably not something I'll do again, but she really appreciated it so mission accomplished.

Preparing to baste for quilting...

After that, my desire to sew was gone, so I spent a lot of time knitting:

RBG Ornaments

Christmas crowns for my nieces

Socks for my sister-in-law

A Shoulder Cozy for my mom

More progress on my Excavation Blanket

Using up more sock yarn scraps in my Coziest Memory Blanket

And then, just like that, I wanted to sew again!  I joined a Block Exchange and have already completed and mailed January's blocks:

Mother Hen Block

I made two blue Bear Paw blocks  - this is the year I am determined to finish this quilt and give it to my stepfather.

I've been working on this since October 2019 - what's taking me so long???

I've been chipping away at my scraps.  With this bag of scraps and this tin of HSTs,

I am making this modified Rail Fence.

Hmmm...might reverse the HSTs on half of the blocks to see if that makes them all seem continuous...

And making blocks based on the 2020 Scrap Buster Challenge from Border Creek Station.

Haven't decided on a layout yet, just playing around as I add blocks

I'm sad that vacation is over but I'm glad I had so much time to create, create, create!  Now it is back to work, work, work.

Happy New Year, everyone!  I'm linking up with Oh Scrap and Monday Making.