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!

Pantone Project – More Blocks

Pantone Project blocks from Julie - end Feb 2024
Pantone Project blocks from Julie – end Feb 2024

I received a few more blocks in the mail from Friend Julie the other day. I need to get back to making some more. I have four cards from which to make blocks.

I think now that I have some small bags out of my system, I’ll be able to get back to this project.

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.

Selecting Sauterne

Selecting fabric for Sauterne
Selecting fabric for Sauterne

I received Sauterne with a heavy heart. Not for the message, which I always anticipate, but for the color. Another color I almost never use and never buy. Amazingly, I found a Philip Jacobs print with that color used for some flowers. It was almost perfect.

This print was the third one I found. The speckle gold is a good type to use for this project, but definitely the wrong color.

In the middle is a Heather Bailey print. Again, those tiny leaves right under the postcard are the perfect color, but so small. I didn’t think it was right.

Pantone: Sauterne in Half Night & Noon
Pantone: Sauterne in Half Night & Noon

Finally, I found a 10×10 square (I wonder where that came from?) of an Alison Glass print that actually was the perfect color and also the perfect type of print – a tone-on-tone.

I received another postcard today, so back to the fabric closet for more hunting and gathering.

 

January 2024 Donation Blocks

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.

More New Pantone Blocks

I spent most of the Sunday of MLK weekend working on the latest batch of  Pantone blocks. I dug into some old fabric to find good matches.

Pantone has a lot of browns and I am digging deep to find anything that looks close to the colors on the postcards. I found some brown fabrics I had forgotten I had. The exercise is making me think about shades and tones that are missing from my fabric palette.

Pantone Last Year

Apple Green House block
Apple Green House block

I talked awhile ago about selecting some fabrics. These fabrics sat on my worktable until last week when I decided enough was enough and I started making blocks.

I forgot to take photos of all the blocks before I handed them over to Friend Julie, but trust me, I did make about 9 blocks. 😉

Pantone blocks - NYE
Pantone blocks – NYE

She proves it, because she sent me a photo of the blocks.

This effort set me on the path I described earlier this week where I made more blocks. I thought I might see Julie on Sew Day and I wanted to have another batch for her, as I mentioned.

Black Strip #2 Start

Black Strip #2 donation top in process
Black Strip #2 donation top in process

Even though I need and want to make Pantone blocks, I started on the next Black Strip donation quilt.

Yes, I went with the pink cornerstones. I just can’t help myself sometimes.

This will be a small one, though there is a small possibility I’ll make it larger. Stay tuned.

2023 All the Donation Blocks

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.

December 2023 Donation Blocks

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.

Comparing Black Strip Blocks

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.

All of the Black Strip Donation Blocks

All of the Black Strip donation blocks
All of the Black Strip donation blocks

I have been busy making these blocks. I should have been doing other things, but I wasn’t. I just sewed after work, then sat with my DH.

As you can see, I have enough to make a quilt. I am going to start sewing the sashing on soon.

I am thinking of using pink cornerstones and a thin pink border. I like the black and pink color combination. The problem is that this would be a great boy quilt and pink would ruin that. Red might be a good alternative. I’ll have to see.

I still have more strips and am still working on making the grey blocks. My black/grey/brown scrap draw isn’t empty, but it is much emptier. That is a huge bonus as I can actually close it now.