Still Not a Mini

 Every month, Wendy at The Constant Quilter encourages quilters to make mini quilts.  I always have good intentions to make small quilts, especially using my reproduction fabric stash.  But, good intentions don't always equal finished projects - no surprise to anyone who makes quilts!

I did however, dig out an unfinished table runner and finish it up this month.

The appliquéd sunflower blocks started as a practice project.  I made two blocks and set them aside to be used as pillows or something.  Last fall I rediscovered the blocks and decided to make a table runner using some ancient sunflower fabric I also rediscovered in the stash. 

I found enough matching fabric to make a third sunflower block, then added some orange Grunge and yellow batik sashing and cornerstones before finishing with a border of the sunflower print.

That sunflower print has been marinating in my stash a good long time.  There's no date on the selvedge, but the fabric was made by Cranston VIP Print Works.  I believe the company stopped using that name when they ceased printing fabric in the US in 2009.  I think this fabric is even older, probably from the mid to late 1990s. 

I had prepped the top for quilting last fall, but stalled out because I didn't have the right color threads for quilting it.  I pulled out the project last week, added some simple quilting and bound the whole thing with the sunflower fabric.  

Here's the finished runner, actually on a table.  I gave it a quick trip through the washer and dryer, so now it has that lovely crinkly look.

It's nice to have a UFO crossed off the list!

 

Life in the Scrap Pile

 Time spent with scraps is never wasted!

I added four more Easy Breezy blocks to my stack, bringing the total to 90.  I've been making these since last year, so I think it's probably time to start assembling them.

 

Framed squares are a new block project.  My 3.5 inch strip bin is over-flowing, so it was easy to pull some scraps and start making these.

 

These two fabrics had been tossed back in a drawer and were adjacent to each other - they looked like a good possibility for an Antique Tile block.  I'm not sure I love it now that it's made, but scraps are all about playing with new ideas!

On the other hand, I'm very happy with how this lime green Sugar Loaf block turned out!   The center seam is not sewn up, but I'll finish that in a minute.  

 

I still need five more blocks to complete the Flashes of Brilliance pattern as written.  I'm dreading the final quilt assembly on this one, as the directions call for cutting five of the blocks in half!  And not in half along the final seam line, but through the half-way point of the hexagon shape.  Yikes!

 

Remember earlier I mentioned my 3.5 inch strip bin was overflowing?  When I read about the Two and Four Quilt-Along on Wendy's blog, (The Constant Quilter) I thought it would be a great way to thin out more scraps.  I got off to a late start, so didn't really participate with the QAL as it was happening, but it hasn't taken long to work through the steps of the project.
 

The Two and Four quilt uses 3.5 inch squares and 3.5 x 6.5 inch strips to create columns of Rail Fence and Four Patch blocks.  The instructions are provided by Katy Quilts - the QAL starts here, but you can get a list of all the related posts by looking down the Archives of her blog for Two and Four QAL.

 

My next step is to assemble the Four Patches into columns, then sew all the columns together.  I can't say that I made all that big a dent in the strip bin, but I'm happy to have a fun and easy way to use up scraps!

Flying Mimosas?

 About a month ago, I shared a picture of some blocks for an HST Flying Geese quilt I was working on.

The quilt was inspired by a Triple Play video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Jenny Doan called her quilt "Every Which Way But Goose" - which I guess was a reference to a Clint Eastwood movie from 1978.  I'm old enough to remember the movie, but I had to look up the date!

As I worked on the quilt, I tried to come up with a different name.  The quilt will eventually be gifted, and I thought it should have a more original name.  

Since the fabric line is called Mimosa and the quilt is made of Flying Geese blocks, the name "Flying Mimosas" popped in my head.  That's been my working name for the quilt, but I don't think it will be the final choice. 

As I was listening to WWOZ, our local community access radio station, I did hear what might be the perfect name for just about any quilt.  It's an old chestnut of a song (first recorded in 1931), but it has fun lyrics and a great sentiment:  "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (and Dream Your Troubles Away).

Since this is a Crescent City blog, I'll leave you with a link to a version of the song by native son, Louis Armstrong!

The Never-Ending Scraps

 The Rainbow Scrap Challenge trick or treats into October with a call to use lime green scraps.

I have already been digging through some lime green scraps for my flamingo fabric string piecing project, so it didn't take long to make some scrappy lime green blocks.

The top Antique Tile block contains some Tula Pink scraps I'm trying to use up.  The lime green is a bit different, but I went with it anyway.

The second block was inspired by some Kaffe Fassett Roman Glass fabric.  

I think I have some more Antique Tile blocks up my sleeve - the month isn't over yet!

When you have leftover flamingo fabrics, of course you try to incorporate them into as many scrap quilts as possible!

In fact, all of these fabrics are leftover from the Flamboyant Flamingos quilt. 

 

I've cut and prepped the strips for another Sugar Loaf block.  The strip sections are sub-cut at a 60 degree angle into 2-inch wide strips.  The strips all get background (white) triangles added to the outside edge, then all the pieces are assembled into the familiar star shape.  This process is best done when one is rested and energized for careful piecing!
 

Strings of Flamingos

 

I got to spend some time with my Singer Model 15 (treadle) sewing machine and a box of flamingo strings this weekend.

After making a hexie quilt featuring flamingo fabrics, I had lots of scraps.  I decided a string quilt was in order, and sliced lots of leftover fabric into 1.5 inch strips.  

 

I have made lots of string quilts, but never one using the diamond shape.  I cut the templates from a roll of newsprint-weight paper I had hanging around.

 

Once the strings were stitched onto the paper, I used an acrylic ruler and rotary cutter to trim the edges to fit the diamond template.

Before long, I had six diamonds pieced, enough for a string star!

I originally thought I would set the diamond shapes in herringbone-style strips, but after looking at the star setting I had some other inspirational thoughts.  I'm still working out my ideas, so we'll have to wait and see where inspiration leads!

A Little September Scrappiness

 Yes indeed - it's already October, but I haven't shared my September scrappy stitching.

I'm still playing along with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, using Angela's color cues to stitch up scraps into blocks and ultimately into quilts.  September's scrappy color was orange.

I started making Sugar Loaf blocks in January of 2021, with the goal of having enough blocks for the Flashes of Brilliance quilt by the end of the year.  I used the orange bandana print as my starting point for the fabrics in this block.

This one was inspired by the red and orange leaf print.  We don't have much in the way of autumn leaves here in south Louisiana, so this is as close as I'll get to leaf "peeping"! 

I still need seven more blocks, so I may not finish up by the end of the year.  

 

I added the Antique Tiles block to my RSC plans a couple of months ago.  This block is a great scrap buster!

 

I had no orange Easy Breezy blocks in the pile, so I added some of those as well.  I need to play with these blocks and see if I have enough for a quilt.  Maybe this will be a finish by year's end!