Chunky Cut Quilt - stash busting bonanza!

I recently had a request to post the sizes of the blocks for my Chunky Cut Christmas Quilt.  (Marilyn, I'm sorry I have been unable to respond to you personally, but you are a no-reply blogger.)

This quilt is quick and fun and a great way to bust some stash if you are feeling you need to liberate fabric from your shelves.  It would be so good in many different fabrics, I think, so if you make one, be sure to share.

I'm sorry I don't have time to fancy up my quilt sketch before publishing here.  I did consider it, but it will be a long time before I find time to do that, so I hope the sketch is legible on your screen and that it all makes sense to you.  I constructed the block in sections A to I (indicated by the bolder lines on the larger diagram) and joined them into three rows to complete.  The sizes on the diagram are finished block sizes, so remember to add a half inch to each measurement to allow for your quarter inch seams.  The seam allowances are included on the cutting list below for you.  

Section A

Cut 1:  15 ½" x 6 ½"

Cut 1:  6 ½" x 12 ½"

Cut 1:  9 ½" x 12 ½"

Section B

Cut 2:  9 ½" squares

Cut 1:  9 ½" x 18 ½"

Section C

Cut 2:  15 ½" x 9 ½"

Cut 2:  9 ½" squares

Section D

Cut 2:  9 ½" squares

Cut 1:  12 ½" x 9 ½"

Cut 1:  12 ½" x 15 ½"

Cut 1:  9 ½" x 6 ½"

Section E

Cut 1:  9 ½" x 15 ½"

Cut 1:  9 ½" x 6 ½"

Cut 1:  6 ½" x 9 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" square
Cut 1:  12 ½" x 9 ½"

Section F
Cut 1:  12 ½" x 9 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" x 15 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" square
Cut 1:  6 ½" x 9 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" x 6 ½"

Section G
Cut 1:  6 ½" x 15 ½"
Cut 1:  12 ½" x 6 ½"
Cut 1:  12 ½" x 9 ½"
Cut 1:  18 ½" x 9 ½"

Section H
Cut 1:  15 ½" x 12 ½"
Cut 1:  6 ½" x 12 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" x 12 ½"
Cut 1:  9 ½" square
Cut 1:  9 ½" x 15 ½"

Section I
Cut 1:  9 ½" x 12 ½"
Cut 1:  6 ½" x 12 ½"
Cut 1:  15 ½" x 12 ½"

Binding 
You will need 15" FWOF for binding
246" of binding is required
Cut 6 strips 2.5" x FWOF

Backing
I used a brushed cotton sheet for my backing so I didn't calculate actual yardage but the quilt will measure 57 ½" x 66 ½" finished, so you will need backing to cover this size.  I think 3m/3yds should cover it but please check as I didn't calculate this for my own sewing purposes.

I hope this is helpful to you Marilyn, and maybe others will also enjoy breaking out some long held fabrics for a fun scrap buster!

Happy stitching!!

Scrap Vortex Finish

I have finally managed to bring all those scrap vortex bits (and their gazillion seams) together in a whole quilt top.  It was a bigger feat than I had anticipated and in spite of having enjoyed the 'leaders and enders' approach with which the quilt started, I have to admit I fell out of love with it a bit when it came to making all of those scrappy sections fit one another.  You wouldn't think it takes much, but when the scraps you're working with are quite wee, then any trimming can potentially render them unusable.  So, there's a bit more thinking and head scratching involved than perhaps I had energy for.

Nevertheless, I did get there and had a final flimsy measuring 54" x 61.5" , which isn't very big really but big enough for this one.  I even managed to reduce that B&C stash a bit more by adding a full B&C backing (IG destash 3m piece of Happy Go Lucky).

Don't panic over the falling out of love thing!  That was quickly rectified by some super quick wavy line quilting and a B&C red gingham binding (Vintage Picnic, I think) and now I'm all heart eyes for this scrapilicious little lap quilt.

Someone else likes it very much too - she's been using it as a mat to spin on!!

Scrappy Plans for Potluck Quilt

This is my box of 3.5" scrap squares.  The lid only just about goes on that tub now so it's time to put these pretties to use.  With another cousin expecting a baby this year and time at a premium around here I'm keeping it simple and small.  My plan is to stitch together a scrappy quilt something similar to this one I found on Pinterest a long time ago.  It's called a Potluck quilt but I think that's more to do with the random fabrics and their placement than an actual pattern name.

I have edited my fabric scraps a little since I don't know if the baby is a boy or girl and I want to avoid anything too girly.

I'm hoping this works, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the low volume pattern in the squares layout becomes a little more evident when the top is properly pieced.  In this picture it's not really as obvious as I had been hoping.  Anyway, let's carry on regardless ...

Siblings Together - Frame Box Quilt

There has been progress of the finishing kind in these here parts!  Yay!

Last Feb (2016) I started working with my scrap boxes to pull together some Frame Box Blocks - tutorial here - with a view to making a bright, cheery quilt for Siblings Together.  I hadn't expected it to take so long to reach its conclusion but still, it's a finish now and although it didn't make last summer's Siblings Together camps, it will be there on time for this year's camps.

While the mix of fabrics in these blocks wasn't always what I might have otherwise chosen to stitch together, sometimes I think with scrappy quilts I just have to let go of my tendency to order and remember that scrappy quilts are about the bigger picture, not the individual blocks.  So, yes, not all of the blocks are truly beautiful, but look at the overall effect of that riot of colour.  It's not really so bad, is it?  Can you see what I mean about the bigger picture?

I quilted in vertical lines through the blocks in 7 places and twice across the horizontal just to give it a bit better hold.  Where my lines are a wee bit less than straight, a tumble in the wash and dryer have softened them up a bit (and hidden the multitude of wobbly sins).

Finished with hot pink polka dot binding this quilt really does look bright.  I hope that the child who receives it at this summer's camp will be cheered by it and the memories that will be associated with their Sibling through the camp too.  That's what it's all about!

This is a finish for my FAL 2017 Quarter 1 list too.

Quilt for a New Little Star

I've been snatching little bits of time late on weekend nights to progress the scrappy wonky stars quilt for my cousin's new arrival and thought I was on target to make a finish before his mid-March due date, but he beat me to it by putting in an appearance last weekend!  Thankfully, by then, I had the top together and quilted with my go-to and much loved wavy lines.

So, some scrappy binding and a label was all it took to finish it off.

I'm looking forward to meeting this new little bundle of energy and gifting him his quilt soon. Of course, I'm also happy to be able to call this a second finish for my FAL Quarter 1 list.


Just to show you how hard it is to get quilt pics around here these days, here are the outtakes from my attempt to lay a quilt flat and snap a picture -

Um, yeah, this is the trade off for daylight pictures!! Lol!

Frame Box Scrap Quilt

A while back I played with layouts for all the scrappy Frame Box blocks I stitched up as leaders and enders over the winter and spring months.  I spied a double yellow at the top right hand corner just after this pic was taken and did a wee bit of switching and re-arranging before sewing them all together.

It is straight, just my photography angle isn't!

In spite of this rubbish photograph, I love the scrappy brightness of this quilt top.  All that yellow makes me smile!! Not too bad for a load of blocks from a scrap box, is it?

Slowly, very slowly, this is becoming a quilt for 2017's Siblings Together collection.  I've got almost a year to get it basted, quilted and bound.  Surely, I can manage that. Please let me manage that!

Sarah x

Modern Stitching Bee - a finish

Last year I was part of the Modern Stitching Bee with some truly lovely Bees and some fun blocks being set every month.  In July, my Queen Bee request was to have the other Bees make "That block" blocks for me a la Mary's tutorial (but re-sized a bit to finish at 12.5" square).  The blocks are a fantastic way to use up your scrappy leftover strips of fabric, and those of your Bee mates too!

A little like a spider's web block, "that block" uses lots of scrappy strips added around a centre (usually a solid).  In my experience of both blocks, however, the "that block" is the one I most prefer to make.  It definitely did not feel as difficult to construct as a spider's web block, and I also have a personal preference for the secondary pattern being a diamond, rather than the web effect.  Everybody will feel differently, but I at least hope that my Bee mates didn't hate me for setting this block.

They did me proud sending in all their blocks in the colour scheme I had requested (pretty much scrappy, bright and summery).  In fact, I loved it so much after I had it all laid out on my living room floor that in spite of having resolved only to piece it into a top until after the baby arrives, I just couldn't wait to finish it.




Now, as you can see it is a fully fledged quilt!  I chose to quilt in wavy lines mainly because I was impatient to get on and because the straight line design options I was mulling over would take me through those seams where many layers of fabric had come together and I feared that might get a bit bumpy instead of staying straight.

Have to say, I really love the waves and am pleased that I just went for them.  Finished off with a scrappy binding I already know this quilt will be much used in my home.  I love that it is such a happy quilt.  I love that my Bee friends contributed to it.  I love that it has such a greater scrappy variety in the fabrics than I could have achieved by myself.  I love that it looks just like I hoped it would way back when I was choosing my block to set in MSB.  And, I love that it is finished and snuggle worthy!

I am linking up this scrappy strippy quilt with Leanne and Nicky today for Scraptastic Tuesday even if the scraps used were not all my own.  BTW two of the pretty blocks in my quilt were contributed by Leanne herself!

Lastly, I want to reiterate my thanks to the lovely Modern Stitching Bees for making me such a beautiful set of blocks and for including many precious fabrics in there.  Thank you all so much!!

Rainbow Crumbs Quilt Finish

My rainbow crumb quilt top measures approx 36.5" x 45.5" so it's not huge but when I went looking for an appropriate backing in my stash I couldn't find a single piece of fabric large enough to work nicely. 

So, in keeping with the theme of the front I chose eight prints/blenders in a rainbow of colours and stitched a simple stripey backing piece.  I think I like it almost as much as the front.

When it came to the quilting I decided to stitch my wavy lines.  Do you know, of all the quilts I have quilted with wavy lines I don't actually have one that I've kept in our home?  Since the rainbow quilt is likely to stay with us I thought it was about time I had some waves for myself.

The jury is still out over my choice of quilting thread.  It is a beautiful variegated thread but it seems to be quite blue on the paler shades of the rainbow and I'm not so sure it was the right choice in the end.  But I'm not so bothered by it as to want to rip it all out.  I suspect it will grow on me.

The next decision was what colour to bind in.  I imagine if I had asked for advice that black or black/white stripe would have been a popular suggestion as that seems to have been a trend with rainbow quilts for a while now.  But, black just didn't do it for me.   I wanted something brighter and chose a tiny yellow polka dot which certainly keeps things cheery!

So, after all my waffle, here is the finished rainbow quilt -

front

I promise it's straight even though this pic makes it look as if the top is wider than the bottom!

and rainbow stripe backing.

I love this little quilt made from scraps that might otherwise have ended up in the bin.  I don't regret anything about it, except perhaps that it isn't bigger but there's always another time, right?