Some time ago I sewed scrappy Broken Dishes (and one Pinwheel) blocks into this 18" medallion.
At the time I couldn't figure out what to do next so it ended up in the UFO pile. More appropriately, it became inventory in the Parts Department. My pile of Un-Finished Objects consists primarily of failed attempts from long ago. Anyway, when I unearthed it and put it on the design wall I suddenly knew what the next step was.
I found a light lavender in the stash from which I cut 3.5" strips for a frame to bring the medallion up to 24" square. A lot can be done with 24 inches: 3" units, 4" units, 6" and even eight inches. As you can see, I used scrappy flying geese from the Parts Dept., 3" x6", to down the four sides. Then I made the four patch blocks out of more scrappy patches to fill in the corners. Now the flimsy was 36" square. I felt the need of another frame, also three inches finished.
That pretty well used up the purple remnant. That stripe I used in the four patch blocks has been reduced to a narrow strip now too.
But what to do with a 42" square flimsy? That took me a day or so to figure out. I decided to use more of my scrappy Shoo-fly blocks (6" finished) down the two sides to bring the top up to 54" wide. A final border of three inches will make it 60" wide, a size I think works well for children or adults.
It really helped to have Shoo-fly blocks with both light and dark backgrounds. The next question was what to do with the top and bottom edges. The star blocks I've been making recently came to the rescue.
These were made specifically for this project but they were all made out of more scrappy Shoo-fly blocks and smaller pieces of older prints from the stash. I even found fabric leftover from a previous quilt back to use for the final border all the way around the quilt.
It couldn't have been more suitable if I'd gone to a quilt shop and chosen it fresh off the shelves there! This top will now finish 60" wide and 72" long. There's been a significant reduction in my remnants and my Parts Dept. inventory over the course of the last couple of quilt tops. Feels pretty good!
Here's the link list for other folks who regularly share how they have used or repurposed scrap materials. If you'd like to join us in posting your scrappy creations on the 15th of the month just leave a comment to that effect on Kate or Gun's blogs. 😊
Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Tracy,
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, Edith
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv, Karrin,
Amo, Alissa, Lynn, Tierney and Hannah
That's an astonishing outcome from the Parts Department and some scraps! I love how the blocks change scale as they radiate outwards. It really sparkles!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing and reading about how this came together. It's a great scrappy contribution and inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI love how this came together and that it used parts that were languishing in the Department. Quiltdivajulie
ReplyDeletethe scraps department should be very proud of itself. Lovely outcome.
ReplyDeleteThat's so many scraps used up, impressive. I think my favourite part is that pop of purple frame around the centre square.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading a bunch of your latest posts this morning. This quilt is amazing! I love how the blocks get larger as you get to the outside, and how the same colors are used throughout -- that great balance of unity and variety!
ReplyDeleteI don't comment here often because Blogger just makes you jump through so many hoops, but I wanted to let you know I enjoy all your posts!