Scrap Happy in May

Scrap Happy Day occurs on the 15th of each month and is hosted by Kate at Tall Tales From Chiconia. The idea is to share a project or object that has been made entirely out of scrap materials or repurposed somehow. A couple of months ago I was gifted some vintage 8 pointed star quilt blocks that had been rescued from the trash! 

 I forget now how many of these blocks there were. Six or eight maybe. The star points were pieced on paper foundations from what I think was a catalog.

 I took off all the papers and hand washed the blocks. Then I separated the star points and eventually quite a few of the patches as well.

 I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with the patches. I had no interest in trying to put the star blocks into a quilt. But making slow stitched scrolls has been a source of real pleasure lately. In order to use the patches without cutting them down at all - because I always want to showcase the prints and colors - I figured a 4" strip of foundation fabric would accommodate the largest patches and I could use the smaller ones to fill in around them. So I ripped a strip off of a dress I can no longer wear (off the sleeve actually) and used it as the foundation for the scroll.

 A second strip from the other sleeve off the dress on the left and the scroll I made on the right. 

When I got to the end of my strip, which is about 17" long, I didn't know what to do with it. Then one day the lower quarter of the strip got folded up and the idea came to turn this into a hussif (needle roll or sewing kit). 

 That section will become a pocket to hold scissors, maybe a spool of thread, whatever might be needed. 

Above that I plan to put a pin cushion and somewhere along the length there will be felt pages for needles.

 Folding it up again and then the last bit becomes a flap and a place for a closure.

 That's as far as I've come. I'm thinking of using a piece of blue jean pant leg to line the patchwork. The pin cushion and needle pages will be secured to the denim. There will be a little bit of decorative stitching I think, and maybe an embellishment or two. Don't expect to see the end result next month though. I have two Textile Tales books I need to work on, not to mention a couple of other projects I have in process. In the meantime, you can visit the links below to get even more inspiration. 😊

Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie  

 

Scrap Happy in October

It's that time again, to bring out our scrap materials and see what we can do with them. 😊

Back before the real heat of summer settled in I decided to deal with the accumulation of 1.5" scrap strips here in the Magpie's Nest. I spent days sewing them into 6" blocks. They were built as liberated Courthouse Steps blocks. Which means I didn't keep to the traditional distribution of colors/values. Some blocks turned out to be framed squares, some more closely resemble traditional Courthouse Steps blocks. 

I cut my longest strips into 6.5" and 4.5" lengths. I already had plenty of 1.5" x 2.5" strips. In most cases I used a pair of the shortest strips to start a block. Occasionally I used a 2.5" square patch leftover from my efforts to use up that accumulation. I sorted the strips into this large tin (which you may remember from the previous patch busting sessions). It was chock full when I began. The photo below is when I was close to the end of my efforts. Full disclosure: there are still some strips in the tin (but not many!).

I made several blocks at a time. Each set went up on the design wall in no particular order. In the end I had 61 blocks.

 I haven't had the motivation to do anything with these blocks until now. Sixty blocks weren't really enough to make a quilt of any size so I thought I'd try alternating them with some of my other scrappy blocks. 

 If I follow through with this layout I'll have a flimsy that would finish at 54" square. With 3" borders all the way around I'll have a 60" quilt top. I find that a very versatile size. It works for children, it works for adults. I just have to get all the blocks sewn together!

Kate is the organizer of this blog hop. As you can see, this monthly deadline can be very helpful. Not everyone in the link list below works with fabric but everyone has wonderful things to share.

Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie

 

Coping in October

 Living in the United States of America has become exceedingly stressful. If you care about our Constitution and Bill of Rights anyway. And I do care. Deeply. Which has made it hard to make time to create but at the same time makes it more important that I do take the time to be creative. Factor in my advancing age and chronic disability on top of it all and the result is fewer and fewer blog posts!

Over the years I acquired a scrap of what I assume was a curtain fabric and a scarf that both feature images from the Revolutionary War period of the USA. They've been languishing in my stash since the beginning of time - or at least, the beginning of my quilt making career. This is the year they've been waiting for. Not the 250th anniversary of the founding of this nation but one year shy of it. 🫤

 

The curtain scrap has been virtually used up. (I can't find what was left of it.) This is what's left of the scarf. I cut one square from it for a page in the little book I've been making and two more squares for what will likely become the inside of the cover. I didn't know I would be making a separate cover when I began this project. I thought this would be the front cover:

That's the piece of curtain fabric that was most appropriate for my purposes. On top of a navy blue cotton printed with tiny stars. Turn that page to reveal...

 I've discovered I really enjoy raw edge applique. Who knew? I've avoided applique like the plague up 'til now. Still not interested in turning edges under or cutting layers to create an image. But let me fussy cut words and phrases or images out of fabric and I'm on my way!

 The little wooden sign on the right hand page of this spread reads 'Home Sweet Home.' I've also found some freedom in working at not trying to make everything perfect. 

 

 

The more I worked on this little book the more the beads and sequins and buttons came into play. Behind the statue of Liberty I tried to indicate the various people that have contributed to the building of this nation.

 This is the first image I cut from the scarf. The pages of this book are roughly 3.5" square.

 This is what I have laid out for the back cover. Originally I thought it would be on the outside but now I'm thinking the inside. I have an idea for the exterior of the cover... we shall see what transpires. 

 

Scrap Happy Day in June

 It's the 15th of the month again which means it's also Scrap Happy Day, the day we share something we've made (or are making) out of scraps or repurposed somehow. 

Last month I shared the flying geese I'd been making and the quilt top that resulted. Since then I've decided to make about ten more flights of geese to make the quilt top a bit bigger. I haven't made those geese yet. I got distracted by the 2.5 inch scrap patches that have been accumulating. 

This tin measures about 9" x 11" and is 3" deep. The stacks of squares came right up to the top when I began. Generally I try to make 6" Shoo-fly or Barn Door blocks out of my patches that finish at two inches. After setting up as many of those blocks as I could this is what was left over. I'm still not sure what I'll do with the triangles. After the Double 4 Patch quilt I shared last month four patch units were on my mind. But instead of four patch blocks I chose to make 16 patch blocks.

This is what I have on the design wall at this point. You can see that they are the same size as the star blocks I also make out of scrap fabrics. 

 

This is only the beginning. I also have a stack of strips 2.5" wide from which I can cut more squares. In fact, I've been wondering what to do with those strips. Some version of Log Cabin blocks is an obvious choice but somehow I'd rather cut the strips into patches. So we'll see how much progress I make between now and Scrap Happy Day in July! 

Go have a look at what everyone else has been doing with their scrap materials by clicking on the links below. 😊

Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie

 

Scrap Happy in May: A Finish and a Flimsy

 Back at the beginning of this year I made the decision to use up some of the fabric that had been in The Magpie's Nest for decades. I settled on a simple four patch pattern using patches that finish at 3." I had a bunch of 6" (finished) fussy-cut squares that I could use between the four patch blocks too. I had to cut more of those to get the size I was after for the finished quilt. Overall it was a pleasant project. It is finally a finished quilt.

 

My original intention was to donate it for a child in foster care or to Wrap the World With Quilts. However, now I find it to be a comprehensive record of the quilts I've made over the years (and a few I haven't yet made but thought I would). So this quilt is going to stay with me for the time being. 😁

I have continued my quest to use up older prints and remnants. If you've been here before you will have seen some of the scrappy blocks I've been making.  The greatest number were flying geese.

 When I stopped to count them up I discovered I had more than enough for another version of the free Remixed Geese pattern from Kaufman Fabrics. In some flights of geese I used a print for the large triangle (the goose) and sometimes I was able to also use that same print for the background. So when it came time to audition the geese for this new quilt top I tried to avoid using a single print more than once. 

If you follow the pattern directions they have you making only two geese at a time. The quilt top can then be assembled in horizontal rows. I tend to make my geese four at a time and sew them all into a strip. That makes it a greater challenge to lay out the blocks. Sometimes I have to separate the flight into two halves. I don't consider that a huge drawback. 

 The bigger challenge for me is extending my design wall to accommodate all the geese and then keeping everything in place until I can get it sewn together. Pins and the camera in my phone are a great help. Then it becomes akin to assembling a jigsaw puzzle, another activity I enjoy. 

 This is the completed flimsy. It would finish at 54" x 72" at this point. (I added an extra row to the pattern.) I'm currently debating whether to add a 3" border all the way around just to bring it up to 60" x 78." I believe I will be able to send this one out into the world when it is finally a finished quilt. 😊

I'm probably one of the last to post for Scrap Happy Day as this blog hop begins with Kate in Australia and I'm on the west coast of the United States. We all post on the 15th of each month in our various time zones, spanning the globe. You can see how others are repurposing or using up scrap materials all over the world by clicking on the links below.

Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie

 

Scrap Happy in April

In the middle of making all those Hourglass/Big Dipper blocks and flights of geese (see previous posts) I received an email from the Welcome Blanket Project. I've contributed to them in the past but it's been a while. They request blankets that are 40" square. I want to use the geese and the Hourglass blocks for a larger quilt but I have a quantity of 6" Shoo-fly blocks in the Parts Department. (I have even more Hole in the Barn Door blocks that size but I'm not willing to part with them at this point apparently.) I can put 36 of the Shoo-fly blocks together with a two inch border all the way around to make a 40" square quilt top. 

So I pulled out the blocks and auditioned them on the design wall. 

They still need to be sewn together and a border fabric chosen but this is a good start. 😊

Scrap Happy Day is hosted by Kate with the intention of giving us the opportunity to share something we've made out of scrap materials or have repurposed in some way. We show our work on the 15th of each month in our various time zones (Kate is in Australia and we have players all over the world). Click on the links below to see what everyone else has been up to.

Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin,  Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie

 

Scrap Happy in November

 I wanted to be making a quilt but had no motivation to start a new project from scratch. Parts Department to the rescue! I pulled out eight and nine inch blocks, figuring that they would make rows just under 60" each. There are 8" variable stars, 9" wonky or liberated stars, 9" Shoo-fly blocks, and 9" Hole in the Barn Door blocks. (They don't show up in the photo below.)

 They really are a random lot. That's all the wonky/liberated stars I had, and I think the Shoo-fly and Hole in the Barn Door blocks are all gone in that size too. 

 As you can see, I used a tone-on-tone blue for sashing between the rows and as compensating strips at the ends of the rows to bring them all out to 60" wide.

 This is the completed top. The quilt will be about 60" x 80" when it's finished. Not my most original or creative use of random blocks but it got the job done. Someone will now have a warm, colorful quilt to snuggle in and perhaps be entertained by. 😊

You can see how others have used their scrap materials or repurposed something that might have been thrown in the trash by following the links below. Enjoy!

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Alissa,
Tierney, Hannah, Maggie

Black and White

 For a while now I've been thinking about another black and white quilt. No specific plan came to mind so I rummaged through the Parts Department to see what turned up. There are blocks in almost every size from 6" to 12." I put the 8", 10," and 12" blocks up on the design wall. In full disclosure, there were a few 4" units that I combined to turn into 8" stars.

 I have begun using 6" Shoo-fly blocks as the centers for 12" variable star blocks. At the moment I'm thinking I'll make a total of 25 blocks. The 10" Churn Dash and 8" stars will be framed up to 12."

 Setting 25 blocks 5 x 5 will give me a 60" quilt top. I've found that to be a useful size for a child or an adult. What you see here is only a tentative arrangement. No doubt there will be tweaks as new blocks are added to the mix. 😊

Scrap Happy in June

 June is half over already??!! How did that happen? Fortunately, I started a new quilt top toward the end of May that totally qualifies for Scrap Happy Day this month. 😁

You may remember that I've been making cat blocks out of my larger scraps. At last count I had 126 cats. And I had no idea what I would do with them. One day I realized I could make six rows of nine cats and end up with a flimsy 45" wide and 54" long. I thought that was a good place to start for a quilt for a child so I started putting them up on the design wall.

Not bad, but what if I made the quilt so that either end could be right side up?

Nope. Makes me seasick just to look at it.

I sewed this collection of 54 blocks together as they were originally laid out on the design wall. But then it called out for a border treatment of some sort. That took some time to sort out. First, they needed some breathing room. I put a white frame around them. Finding the right fabric to use for a final border - already in the stash - took several attempts. In the end I used a tone-on-tone batik in deep blue. This brought the flimsy up to about 53" x 62."

That made the quilt top look a lot more elegant in my eyes. Consequently, I have decided that when this quilt is finished it will go to our local humane society to use for fund raising. Quilting it has posed a challenge. We have discussed a pattern of mice in the blue border but so far an all-over pattern for the interior remains a mystery. While we mull our options you may want to see how others have utilized their scraps this month. 

Scrap Happy Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Kate in Australia and Gun in Sweden. Not everyone in the list participates every month but there's sure to be something wonderful to see in each blog. If you'd like to play along just leave a comment on Kate or Gun's blogs. 😊

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney, Hannah and Maggie

Scrap Happy in May

 I received a request for some new potholders recently. I wasn't sure what I would do for this Scrap Happy Day until I realized I could make those potholders out of scraps, nothing but scraps. 😁

They're not fancy but they should be functional. I began by using scrap 1.5" wide strips (which I routinely cut as I'm processing scrap fabrics) to work Courthouse Steps style around a 2.5" square.

The blue and yellow color scheme was suggested by the future recipients. I tend to take things pretty literally as you can see. 

I used batting scraps inside the potholders, two layers in each one. Even the backing for the four potholders came from a single remnant of fabric - an obvious remnant purchased somewhere along the way and never put to use until now. 

So that's my entry for Scrap Happy Day this month. Short and sweet!

Scrap Happy Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Kate in Australia and Gun in Sweden. Any type of scrap qualifies. It's a great way to repurpose things that might otherwise be tossed into overflowing landfills or to keep mounting scraps under control. If you'd like to play along you can leave a comment on either Kate or Gun's blogs. 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan, 
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
 Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Nóilin, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa,
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

 

Something a Little Different for Scrap Happy Day in April

Instead of patchwork blocks or even the beginning of a new quilt top out of the Parts Department I've repurposed a vintage handkerchief. I didn't think to take a picture before I embarked on this project but I can show you what I've done with it. 😁

I've been following the #roxysjournalofstitchery projects on YouTube ever since volume one. They are currently in volume five. This time around there's a different project for each month. The first prompt this year was to make a trifold pouch. I haven't been making with them but the idea has stayed with me. And then an actual use for such a thing cropped up in my life. 

I sifted through the vintage hankies I've been collecting to see what might work for a small pouch. I determined that I wanted something about 6" wide and 4" high when it was completed. I found one white hankie that had been embellished with a spray of embroidered blue flowers in one corner. Then I turned up a blue hankie that had raggedy edges and a couple of tiny holes. That was all I needed to get started.

 Here you can see how I used the corner of the white handkerchief and what's left of the blue one. I knew I wanted a pointed flap on my pouch so I arranged the floral spray to accent that triangle. You can also see that I used snippets of lace to fill in the plain blue areas. All of these components came to me second hand from various sources. 

 

 I used a number 12 perle cotton to seed stitch the blue areas that were left exposed after I'd applied the lace bits. There's no stitching in the printed areas of the hankie, except where I had to piece two halves together to get the length I wanted for my finished pouch. I used a variegated perle cotton to blanket stitch the floral spray in place. 

 

 And voila, my finished pouch! I used a button from my mother's button box and bit of braid I'd acquired somewhere along the way to wrap around the shank of the button to keep my pouch closed. 

I lined the pouch with a print I've had in my stash for heaven only knows how long. It felt like it could have been a design from the 1950's, which is my guess as to the age of the blue hankie. Plus, the colors worked. 😉

 This is what my pouch looks like on the back now. I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out. It even came out to the size I intended.

Scrap Happy Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Kate in Australia and Gun in Sweden, giving us an opportunity to share how we've used scrap materials (not just fabric) or repurposed something. You can see what everyone else has done by clicking on their names in the list below.

Kate, Gun, Eva, Lynda, Birthe, Turid, Tracy, 
Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera, 
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti, Viv, Karrin, Amo, Alissa, 
Lynn, Tierney and Hannah

Just the Beginning

Last month I shared the palette I'd pulled for a new project.

 I made up a handful of blocks right away. The first was this Four Corners block (all of these blocks will finish at 12").

Then I tried it out in blues.

Next I pieced four quarters that can be arranged in a variety of configurations. Each variant has its' own name of course. I don't have the brain power at the moment to recall which is which. 

I know one design is called Crowns.

Another might be Lost Ships.

There's probably another name but it escapes me at the moment. 

Care to take a guess which arrangement I decided to go with? 

Ta daa:

I may still make up another version, perhaps in blues again. Or even more than one! 

The last block I made is a variation of Aunt Sukey's Choice.

I'm planning to do at least one more of this one also. It's fun to play around with color and value placements to see how different the block looks from one to another. 

There are no specific plans at this point for how many blocks to make or how they will be set or anything like that. For now I'm just going to have fun trying out block designs and/or making some of my more favorite blocks. Well, I say for now but in reality it will probably be the new year before I return to this particular project. 😊