Scrappy Remixed Geese

 For Scrap Happy Day back in May I shared the progress I'd made on a scrappy version of the Remixed Geese pattern (free from Robert Kaufman Fabrics). This is what it looked like then:

 It would have finished at 54" x 72." I could have stopped there but I prefer the slightly larger size of 60" x 80" for unknown recipients. There would inevitably be more scraps to cut into geese and background patches so I put it away for a while. 

 I was able to get another ten or so flights of geese made recently. They've been added to the flimsy to make this quilt top:

 Now it will finish at 60" x 80." 😊 

 

Scrap Happy in July

The 15th of each month is Scrap Happy Day as declared by our hostess Kate. Once a month we show and share something we've made from scraps or leftovers. If you've been here recently you'll know I've been working to empty the tin of 2.5" patches that I've cut from scrap or leftover fabrics.

This is the tin when I began:

The stacks of patches reached up to the rim of the tin. Now the tin looks like this:

 All those patches were sewn into 16 patch blocks that finish at eight inches each. I ended up with something like 67. Obviously I could make a few more... and there will be new patches added as I work on new projects. 

Sixty-three of those blocks were put together to create this quilt top:

With all that variety in prints I used the dominant color that ran diagonally as the criteria for placing the blocks.  There were a few outliers but that helped a lot to organize the chaos. The print I used for the borders is black with tiny multi-color hashtags. Two inches down the long sides and 4" across the top and bottom brought the top up to my standard 60" x 80." 😊

You may remember that I was working on a scrappy version of the Remixed Geese pattern back in May. I  have added to that in the last week too but I'll talk about that in another post. In the meantime, here's the list of links to others who usually join us in scrappy goodness each month with out hostess at the top of the list. Enjoy!

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 Follow-up

 I've continued to sew my 2.5" scrap squares into sixteen patch blocks. My tin looked like this when I began:

And this is what it looks like today:

 The stacks at the top had four or more patches of a single print in them. The stacks in the middle were two or three of a print, and the bottom stacks were single squares. 

And now this is what my design wall currently looks like:

That's fifty blocks that will finish at eight inches each. They are on the wall in the order in which they were made, not arranged in any specific way yet. I want to see how many more blocks I can get out of the patches that are left in the tin. After that we'll make a decision about how to use them in a quilt top. 😊

Some of the blocks are very controlled while others have a wide variety of prints in them. Mostly I let color drive my placement decisions. The two blocks below have a variety of prints but read and red, white, and blue on top and black drives the lower block. 

This pair of blocks are more controlled: blue and yellow, then green and yellow. 

 

This may or may not make assigning block placement a challenge. That remains to be seen!

Coming Up for Air

 Jinxxxygirl (Deb) has pointed out to me that it's been a while since my last post. She's right! I hadn't realized so much time has passed. I've been head-down in the scrap pile all this time. Well, except for the times I've been down with a headache or what have you. 

I developed a menu of sorts for attacking the larger scraps in the stash. I begin by cutting a 7.25" square that I cut diagonally twice for flying geese. If that print is also appropriate for backgrounds in the flying geese units I'll cut 3.875" half-square triangles. (I still use the methods I learned at the beginning of my quilting career.) That takes up about 16" of length. Then I cut two 5.25" squares for the 4" (finished) Hourglass units that become 8" Hourglass/Big Dipper blocks. Next I cut pieces for the Janet Kime cat blocks. On occasion I've been able to cut background pieces for 8" variable Star blocks or a 4.5" patch for the center of a star. To polish off the fabric I'll cut 2.875" HSTs and 2.5" squares or rectangles for 6" Shoo-fly or Hole in the Barn Door blocks and 2" wide bits for Lego blocks. All of these patches get set aside until there are enough to begin pairing up backgrounds and foregrounds. 

I have quite the flock of flying geese now. More than enough for another version of the Remixed Geese quilt pattern. However, I don't have a recent photo of them.

I should now have 46 of the Hourglass/Big Dipper blocks. I'm shooting for 63 for the quilt plan I have in mind.

 More than that will allow for some to be eliminated from the final layout. And, of course, the plan may change at any moment! 

 I have no idea how many stars there are in various bags and boxes in the Parts Department. The postage stamp stars are separate from the whole cloth center stars, and I even have a separate bag that holds the stars on white-on-white backgrounds. Sometimes organizing can be carried a step too far. 😉 

The pile of patches for cats is a bit intimidating. I've cut background patches, but not nearly enough for all of the cats. There's probably a whole other quilt in that pile. 

Scrap Happy Day is just around the corner. What I will have to share on the day?

Scrap Happy in December

 I don't have a lot to show but, for what it's worth, here goes.

If you were here a couple of weeks ago you'll have seen this before:

 These two stacks of scrap strips were each at least six inches high. Maybe higher; I didn't think to actually measure them before I started cutting them up. It took me four days of effort - and one was a full day of nothing else! - to get them cut to 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", and 3.5" strips. I also cut 3.5" and 2.5" square patches, 3.875" and 2.875" half square triangles. These are the sizes and shapes I use most frequently. 

I haven't done anything with the longer strips yet. I hang them from bulldog clips in color families when I am motivated to do some organizing. Otherwise they just live on the end of my ironing board in piles according to width. The 3.5" squares and accompanying HST's went into the tin where they are accumulating until I figure out what I want to do with them. I am seriously considering simple 4 Patch blocks to begin with. They will get added to the Parts Department until I have enough for a quilt project. 

I did spend some time playing with the smaller squares and triangles. 

The taller stack are eleven Shoo-fly blocks waiting to be sewn up and the shorter stack will make six Barn Door blocks (6" each). If I don't just sew these up for something to do one day I will assemble them as leaders and enders as I work on another project. 

Let me leave you with this nod to the season. 

 The blocks in the middle of the quilt were made by friends in my local quilt guild. I added the blocks down either side. Apparently I finished this quilt in 2008! 

I hope all my readers can stay healthy and fully enjoy the holidays. And if you find yourself with some free time check out how the folks in the list below have used scrap materials or done some upcycling. 😊

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

 

Stitchin' Through Stress

I've had some new-to-me items come into my space recently. I try to only acquire second hand textiles that can be laundered and made safe for me. Sadly, there are laundry products out there that are designed to hold onto the chemicals that create fragrance. One such item seems to have come into my hands, a vintage hankie. Even after going through the wash cycle I could tell it still wasn't safe. I soaked it in warm water with a heavy dose of baking soda, then rinsed it in vinegar. I put it outside in the sun to dry. Frankly, I haven't had the courage to get close enough to it since then to see how safe it may or may not be. Hopefully I'll be able to use and enjoy it one day. Not as a hankie, but for a project I have in mind. 

In an effort to cope with the effects of the toxic materials I started another strip or scroll. Something to keep my hands busy while my brain was unable to function. I began with a 2.5" x 44" strip of a white-on-white print. On top of that I've been laying scrap pieces from assorted fabrics and securing them with simple embroidery stitches. 

This first section was some piecing that didn't work in the junk journal quilt I made a little while ago. The yellow next to it is a bit of damask. The purple strip is actually prefabricated bias tape.

After the damask I put down a piece of red and white ticking stripe, then a scrap from a man's silk tie. The ticking has since been covered with a couple of yo-yo's (aka Suffolk Puffs) and they are surrounded by chain stitches. My thread of choice is size 12 perle cotton usually. I've also been using a slightly lighter weight cotton thread and stranded floss on occasion. You can't tell, but I used a silk floss for the "petals" of the stylized flower on the silk tie. The blanket stitches were done with perle cotton.

This section was cut from a sample of fabric from India. I have no idea what the fiber content may be. It doesn't feel natural, that's for sure. 

These are the last two pieces I'm planning to put on this particular scroll. The plaid is a flannel and the floral might be a linen. I haven't decided yet how I'm going to embellish these two pieces. Probably more vine effect and leaves on the floral. 

This is only half of the width of the strip covered. My plan is to fold the remainder of the strip back on itself to cover the back of the work. So it will be shorter than other scrolls I've made. But it will also have a clean back on it where the others are still rather a mess. 😉 I have no idea what may become of it after that. 

Several Small Stitcheries

 It's been a minute since my last post. I have not been idle however. I've been working on these little pieces of slow stitch off and on.

3" wide x 4" tall

The flat pink rock is actually a bead meant for jewelry making. I did a series of two of these with stitches, sequins, and more beads. The one below has some wool yarn pulled apart for additional texture and interest.

4" wide x 3" tall

The birds and the tiny orange flowers are buttons.

4" wide x 3" tall

This one (above) was a way to use some scraps of the feed sack prints I used recently in a quilt top.

3" wide x 4" tall

Another one begun with mere scraps. The circular medallion is a Tim Holtz product. It says, "in every walk with nature one receives far more than they seek." The butterfly is a button, the feather is a charm.

3" wide x 4" tall

This one began as a study in purple scraps. It was a little harder to move forward and sat as a blank canvas for a while. Eventually one stitch led to another, I found the scrap of lace,  and the Trust charm finally found a home. The bird is another sequin.

3" wide x 4" tall

Here's another one that began with feed sack scraps. Red flower-shaped buttons from my collection, a couple of little crocheted flowers, and a faux postage stamp button.

4" x 4"

This one also sat for some time before I could see what to do with it. In the end I just feather stitched between the hearts that were in the print on the top, seed stitched around the flowers in the strip of binding tape below, and then just added the clothing label and the charm to the bottom.

2.5" wide x 4" tall

This little tag shape was fun to create. Nothing but embroidery and a strip of lace for embellishment. 

These will all be going to the Disabled Artist's Foundation Inc. for an upcoming fund raising auction. It feels so good to be able to make things to contribute to a worthy cause!

Shoo-fly Stars

I've been pairing up the background patches and star point triangles I cut from remnants with the most scrappy shoo-fly blocks from the Parts Department. A few other blocks have been assembled along the way as well.

The shoo-fly stars will finish at 12", the smaller stars 8", and the Hole in the Barn Door blocks will be 6" finished.

 

I've continued cutting patches for backgrounds, star points, cats, and the smaller shoo-fly and barn door blocks.

I have over just over 35 shoo-fly stars made so far. It's not out of the realm of possibility that there will be well over 50 stars before I run out of patches to use.

At this point I have no idea what size or how many quilts I may make with these blocks. Since the backgrounds are all so different it will be a great temptation to just set the blocks side by side. It might be a challenge (for me) to find something to separate the stars. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile to see what I can come up with - when the time comes. Possibly one quilt will get sashing and another will not. I tend to prefer busy quilt tops personally but the stars may benefit from a bit of breathing room. Thoughts?

Prep Work

 I've been coming across more short pieces of yardage in my stash lately. Not quite scraps, but not enough to go very far in any one project. Remnants, in fact. So I've tried to be ruthless in culling them from the collection. I didn't think to count or measure them in any way before I began cutting them up. I'm quite proud of myself for turning so many of them into patches for future scrap blocks.

This photo doesn't give you a very accurate concept of how many scrap patches I've cut. Trust me, it's a lot! Those two stacks on the left are about four inches tall each. They are quarter-square triangles and square patches for 12" variable/sawtooth star blocks. In the middle, from top to bottom, are patches for star points for those 12" blocks, then a stack of patches for 6" Shoo-fly blocks, then 6" Hole in the Barn Door blocks. A quick count reveals that there will be eleven Barn Door blocks made out of that stack of patches. On the upper right I have more quarter-square triangles for flying geese (backgrounds to be cut later). The rectangular pile are bodies for cat blocks. 

These blocks were made from scrap patches I already had on hand.

It was the stars I made for the Halloween quilt in my Scrap Happy Day post that gave me the idea to cut patches for more 12" stars. They do eat up the fabric quickly. My plan is to go through the 6" blocks in the Parts Dept. to use as the centers of the stars. After pressing each piece of fabric I cut the largest patches first, the quarter-square triangles and 3.5" squares first, then pieces for a cat, and from there whatever else I could fit. Some prints were more appropriate for backgrounds than star points and vice versa. The trick now will be to pair up blocks from the Parts Dept. with these patches to get those stars made. 😁

Batty for Halloween

 I have not been having the best of times lately. However, I have been able to put more of my Halloween print scraps to good use. I had a 12" x 12" storage box full to the brim with bits and remnants, mostly of the more juvenile and/or whimsical type of prints. I'm pleased to report that I've reduced that quantity by as much as 80%! Of course, more scrap patches and strips were created in the process. That seems to be the way of scraps. 

I began with an odd assortment of blocks from the Parts Department.

There were a handful of 6" blocks, a couple that would finish at 12," but most of them were 9" blocks. There were some smaller parts too, which I was able to build up to nine or twelve inch blocks. Not to mention the scraps and remnants to make additional blocks.

I figured I'd frame up the 9" blocks to 12 inches. That was accomplished with strips and squares that finished at three inches. Because of the nature of the prints I knew this would be a child's quilt so I only planned for twenty blocks. A horizontal format seemed to work the best for arranging the blocks. 

It was really fun to fussy cut some of the images I found in my prints. I worried a bit over whether I would have enough of something appropriate to use as a final, outer border to frame up this busy top. 

A Moda Marble Swirls in jet black was perfect, and I had just enough for the narrow border and the binding. This quilt will finish at about 64" wide by 52" high. I even used up some old yardage to make the back. 😁 Now it's time to see what I can do with the smaller patches that remain...

Happy 9 Patches

 In my ongoing effort to reduce inventory here in The Magpie's Nest I pulled out all the blocks that would finish at nine inches. 

As you can see (top to bottom), there were Hole in the Barn Door blocks, Shoo-fly blocks, a few 9Patch blocks, and liberated or wonky stars. But not enough that I felt I could do anything useful with what I had. The obvious solution was to make more blocks of one sort or another. My tin of 3.5" scrap squares has been in danger of overflowing onto the floor for some time so I decided to make more 9Patch blocks. I was able to make so many that I had enough for a scrappy 9P quilt!

This flimsy at this stage would finish at 54" square. I chose to add a 3" border all the way around, bringing the top up to 60" square.

I was happy to find a use for this print that I love but that hadn't yet found a home. I think it ties everything together well. I was also a bit surprised to see how many other purples there were in the scrap blocks!

There were quite a number of juvenile/novelty prints in my scrap tin. They quickly became the focus of my efforts when choosing the patches for each block.

There are still plenty of 3.5" squares to use in another project or other blocks but at least I've made room for some new additions. And saved myself the task of tidying up the floor after a scrapalanche. 😉

I tried to build a back for this quilt out of yardage on hand. That didn't go so well. Why do I find it so easy to make blocks and build quilt tops but have such a struggle with creating the back for a quilt out of assorted pieces of yardage?! In the end I purchased a wide back in more purple. I figure this will go to a child somewhere, so I wanted to avoid lighter colors that would show dirt and wear more quickly. I expect there will be enough of the backing fabric to also bind the quilt. No doubt there will also be plenty of leftovers to cut into more scrap patches!

New Guests in the Nest

 In my Scrap Happy Day post I made reference to a new-to-me block I've started using for scrap sewing. Actually, it's been around since the late 1980's or early 1990's. I've had the book the pattern is found in about that same amount of time.

The idea behind the book is to encourage quilt groups as well as individuals to make simple blocks that can then be made into donation quilts. I believe I've made the house block you see on the cover, and possibly other patterns found inside. I've only ever made single cats to fulfill friendship quilt requests. Until now.

It all started with one cat, as a trial run. Pretty soon I had three. Then six.

Now I have something like 25 cats! I found myself cutting every scrap that was large enough into the strips for cats and backgrounds. Which is a good thing, because I needed a way to use up some larger remnants and older prints.

The blocks finish at an odd size, 5" wide by 9" high. That will make them both a challenge and interesting to incorporate in any Parts Dept. quilt tops I may undertake to build. The quilts featured in Janet Kime's book used only the cat block, no sashing (and no borders!), so quite a number of them were required to make a 70" x 90" quilt. When you've got a  big guild all making one or two blocks you can achieve those numbers in a relative hurry. I expect I will be incorporating a row of cats or a couple here and there in the tops I make. I'm always happy to have some scrap patches cut and laid out ahead of time for mindless sewing and these are easy to set up. Best of all, there's no litter box to keep clean!

Scrap Happy Follow-up

 After Scrap Happy Day last week (see previous post) I ordered a panel print from Thousandofbolts.com in hopes that the individual panels would fit between the 8" color blocks. In spite of the distance between us I am always amazed at how quickly orders from Thousandsofbolts (and one nut!) arrive. 

These darling dinosaurs looked the most promising on the web site. I lost the color framing around the dinosaurs but otherwise they fit nicely. 

I also dropped a couple of my color blocks in the more pastel shades and made more 16 patch blocks in colors found in the dinosaur print.

What you see here will finish at 40" wide by 48" long. Seems a good size for a new baby. 😊 I'll just let the binding act as a frame. I found sufficient yardage in my stash (after an extensive search) to make a back. It's a simple lavender tone-on-tone scroll print. Now it's on to James for quilting!

A Slight Diversion

I didn't feel like pursuing the medallion top I began for Scrap Happy Day (in the previous post). I needed some mindless sewing to do. The Butterfly blocks and some remnants in my stash came to mind.

 Four patch blocks are nice and simple but will make for a more interesting background than a single print might. 

 I just about have enough parts for nine 12" blocks at this point. That would make a 36" square start for another potential medallion style top. I am beginning to run out of the prints I began with so a decision of some sort will need to be made. I suppose a baby quilt is not out of the question. I do like the challenge of figuring out how to make a little go a long way though. 😉

New Month, New Blocks

Scraps are a good place to dip one's toe back in the water of patchwork. Familiar blocks don't require a lot of mental energy either. While we've had rain to clear the air, folks have begun to use their fireplaces and wood stoves again thus polluting the air once more. Makes it hard for me to go out at all and maintain any ability to be creative. I have been cutting some scraps into strips and patches and piecing more of the simple blocks that make up such a large part of my Parts Department.

Most of these are 6" or 8" finished. There's one 9" Shoo-fly block in the set. I began with these two other 9" Shoo-fly blocks:

 Then I pieced up little 4" postage stamp blocks from patches already on hand.

Some of them have become stars.

I don't have any plans for a specific project in which to use these (or any other!) blocks. There are a lot more scraps to be dealt with, to say nothing of the other fabric in my stash. Guess I'll just keep on making blocks until health and inspiration can work in tandem once again. 😊