Crowns of Summer

 Back in 2012 I tried my hand at a traditional block that was new to me. It's called Four Crowns in my block guide. Probably there are other names for the pattern. There are more pictures and information about it in this blog post.

 I don't even remember when I decided to have another go at this pattern. I suspect at the time I was trying to use up some batik remnants. Just playing around, making blocks for the Parts Department.

This time that straight set didn't work as well, at least not in my eyes. So I tried out other arrangements and decided to do something along these lines:

There weren't enough blocks for a quilt of any size so I've been making more. Rummaged through the batik scraps to see what might be left over from the first session. I found a few but had to introduce new prints along the way. Now I have enough 6" units to make sixteen 12" blocks.

With some sashing - probably finishing at 2" - and a border all the way around I could have a nice lap quilt about 60" square. I haven't a clue what that border and sashing might be at this point. It's been fun to make the 6" blocks (most of the time; I have to be careful about how those half-square triangles get placed!). Who knows, maybe I'll just keep making more. 😉

That Was the Week That Wasn't

 Life has a way of getting in the way of your plans, doesn't it? I wanted to write this blog post on Monday and here it is Friday. I know this sort of thing happens to everyone at some time or other, I just wish it didn't occur so frequently in my own life! 

I completed the scrappy Ships quilt top over two weeks ago. (see post here) I was given yards of a lighthouse print for the back. The lighthouses are directional so, being who I am, I looked for a way to keep them right side up on the back of the quilt. There were a couple of prints in my stash I'd had a hard time implementing in previous projects. This provided a great opportunity to put them to good use.

This project has since been quilted and is simply waiting for the binding to be applied. I have not been idle since it left my hands however. I pulled out the collection of 12" (finished) Lego blocks I've been making with 2" scrap strips, just to see how many there were and whether I could do anything with them.

 I started out thinking about using them as a central medallion. Nope, not this time. I put those away and got out my 6" (finished) Sticks blocks. I use six 1.5" scrap strips to make the 6" blocks. Both the Lego and the Sticks blocks are made from the scrap strips I sew between seams like leaders and enders. Turned out I had enough to make fifteen 12" (finished) blocks out of them. Putting them in three columns gave me 60" in length and 36" in width to begin a new quilt.

If you know me at all you know I then turned to my scrappy Shoo-fly blocks to audition between the columns. A couple days later I'd made my selections and found some leftover 2.5" strips to use for sashes between the blocks.

 Unfortunately, my math was a bit off.

I lacked two inches in each of those alternate columns. Time to go through the 1.5" scrap strips...

One above the center Shoo-fly block in each column, and one below, and problem solved. 😁

I was delighted to discover that I had enough of the leftover 2.5" strips to piece together for side borders. I called it quits at that point, figuring a dark binding will do the job of giving the quilt a finished look.

 This will be about 52" x 60" when it's done. It looks awfully busy to me now but I enjoyed it while I was working on it. On to the next one! 

Scrap Happy in July

 It's been too hot to do any patchwork. The excessive heat has passed - for the time being - but it's still too warm for me in my studio space most of the time. I have determined a plan for making a back for the scrappy Ships quilt in the previous post at least. Until it cools off a bit further however, patchwork is on hold. Instead I have turned to working with needle and thread in hand. 

You may remember that I've shown some of the ATC's I've made in response to the #52tagshannemade project on IG. There are more I haven't shown here yet. And most of the participants are following Anne's lead, mounting their creations on kraft tags. I'm happy with my ATC format for that project so I'm sticking with it. But I've been watching paper crafters on YouTube a lot lately and they are having an influence. I finally decided to try some little textile collages that would fit onto manila shipping tags I happen to have in my stash. And by little I mean 2" wide by 4" long. So the scraps that I stitch onto my cotton batting to make up the foundation are pretty small! This is the first one I made:

And a couple of close-up shots:

I made that one with someone in mind and sent it away so I did my best to make another one along similar lines. It really isn't anything like the first one! I find it impossible to make the exact same thing twice.

Today I completed this tag:

 

 

I have a feeling there will be more of these. 😁

Scrap Happy Day is hosted by Kate and Gun on the 15th of each month. Anyone is welcome to participate, using any scrap material they choose. (Granted, my charms are not scraps but they have been in my stash quite a while and need to be put to some kind of use!) We're welcoming Debbierose to the circle this month. Not everyone in the list will necessarily have a scrappy post to share but their blogs are worth visiting at any time. 😊

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, Jill,
Claire, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Kerry, Claire, Jean, Jon, Hayley, Dawn,
Gwen, Bekki, Sue L, Sunny, Kjerstin,
Vera, Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Bear,
Carol, Preeti, Edith and Debbierose

Almost Out of Dry Dock

 Apologies to those of my readers who must now search me out because I couldn't bring myself to transfer you over to another feed relay. I suspect I will be the one who suffers the most actually, with a drop in readership. Not that it was all that large to begin with! 

Our temperatures have come down roughly twenty degrees from the excessive heat we had a week or so ago. They're still high enough to sap my energy in the late afternoons and evenings. Thank goodness for air conditioning! And we've been blessed to have a consistent supply of electricity, which is crucial for any level of my well being. Our neighbors put on a larger fireworks display this year than the last two years. The air con helps to filter out the particulates leftover from all those explosions as well as keeping us cooler. 

I've managed to make some progress on my fleet of scrappy ships in spite of everything. I didn't want to set the ships in a straightforward grid but it did take some mental gymnastics to figure my way around it. 

Of course I didn't think to take many pictures along the way. I cut some 2" wide strips and some 2.5" wide, and made more flying geese units and then messed around to see what would develop. Most of it went together smoothly but there are a couple of spots that are not up to my regular construction standards. Not that the recipient will notice (hopefully!).

I've just surrounded the whole thing with two additional inches of the blue paisley print. 

This will now finish at about 50" wide x 61" high. I'm hoping I have enough of the blue to make the binding as well. Not quite sure what I will do about a back at this point. As far as I know there's no particular hurry to get this done so I may try to piece up some older yardage for that purpose. I will be glad to return to brighter colors one way or another. It has been a struggle to keep working on this project. I find all those grayed tones a bit depressing.

One of these days I need to bring you up to date on my ATC's for the #52tagshannemade project. I've stayed current with the exception of the week needle tatting was the prompt. I have every intention of learning that technique, I just have to wait for the right time according to my body's needs. 😏