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.
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.
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.
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.
I finally scraped together enough blocks to make a brown (ugh!) donation top. This will be the third quilt I finished from my brown-grey-black scrap bin.I might even have enough blocks for one more grey quilt.
Fortunately, they do not scream brown at me. The lighter-beige strips help.
I am pleased that I finally achieved my goal of one block per day for the month. I have had this goal for awhile and it has taken time to achieve it.
I am still working on the Black, Grey and Brown strip blocks from my black-grey-brown scrap bin. It is pretty easy to make these in quantity using leaders and enders.
A couple of the 16 patches are straight from the box available at Sew Day. I needed some leaders and enders as I worked to finish the Grey Strip donation top at Sew Day, so I grabbed them to use. I am glad the Community Quilts team has them available.
As you have seen when I have made other Color Strip donation tops, they have been followed by an improv version. I have been putting a few pieces together from the black/grey/brown (mostly black and grey) scrap bin, but it isn’t going well.
Well, I have made chunks of improvisationally pieced fabric, but mostly they are unsatisfactory. Also, I am not sure if I have enough small scraps to make three quilts. I also am not sure I want to combine the three colors into one quilt.
The grey piece looks really good and I don’t really want to ruin it. The others are meh.
I am tempted to bring them to the guild and see who wants to work on them.
I am using this project for leaders and enders, so it isn’t progressing as quickly as it might otherwise. Still, progress is good.
These are the additional blocks I made, some of which were rejected from Black Strip [#1].
It has that weird shape again and I don’t have enough additional blocks to make it wider. Not having additional blocks is a good thing in terms of scraps as it means I am working through my scraps (making room for more!). On the other hand, it is a not ideal situation for actually using the quilt. I might have to go with wider sides and narrower top/bottom when I do the borders.
I was able to finish the grey strip top at Sew Day, then work on the back at home. I am pleased that this top is finished and am already working on the next black version.
With the back, it is another 3 yards used for a good cause.
I have now made 14 of these quilts, with the help of my guild colleagues.
This is quite a few donation blocks (188 at last count)! I am pretty pleased with how many blocks I made this year. I know you saw many of these yesterday. Scroll down to revisit the ones I made earlier this year.
I realize that most of these are black or light grey. This is a result of working through my black, grey and brown scrap bin.
Unfortunately, I was being odd when I first started naming these blocks and so they are all called Dark Grey…. I will probably end up making, at least, two quilts out of the blocks you see. I think I will make a light grey and a black quilt, but it depends on how much light grey I have. The drawer was full when I started and I still have quite a few scraps, though most of the straight strips have been used.
I was able to make so many because I used a strip piecing method and just zoomed them through the machine. I also didn’t have to worry about matching any seams since I trimmed them to the right size once I had a large enough piece.
I spent some time yesterday, before I started cooking and wrapping, cutting sashing strips and cornerstones. I thought about putting colors in the cornerstones, but ultimately decided that I would stick with black. My goal, after all, is to clear out that scrap bin.
I wanted to get all the pieces cut so I would be able to sew if I had a few minutes in between the crazy. I tried all day yesterday to press a gift and that hasn’t gotten done, so I doubt I’ll find the time. Still, I am making progress.
Even though I finished enough blocks to make the Black Color Strip donation top, I continued to make blocks. After all, I had more strips. I don’t have quite enough for two donation tops, but I am getting there.
I am nearing the end of my stash of black strips, but I still have a few blocks coming together. As I finish these new blocks, I have replaced a few of the original blocks you saw in the previous post. I thought I would show you a comparison and see what you thought.
I have added the dates so you can see the difference. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.