Progress Potpourri {Borders, Blocks, and Batting}

I didn't have a ton of motivation (or time) to sew this weekend, but I did manage to get a few productive things done, even if it wasn't just finishing a quilt.

First, I made bias binding from a fat quarter and added it to a baby quilt that I quilted *last* week. I am hand stitching the binding by hand, so expect that finish later this week or early next week.

Next, I used the backing cut-offs from the aforementioned baby quilt as the (first) border of my Ribbons quilt.

I maximized the width of border I could add using this fabric (2.25" was what my scraps would allow) and now I will decide if I will add another border or not. I have one brown and green fabric that might work, but I think I want something blue for the border so I will need to go shopping.

Next, I pulled out the scraps from my Baseball Baby Quilts. I had strip pieced these quilts, so I actually had rather large strip pieced chunks left over! I found that I could undo a few seams and end up with four 16" blocks. 

I pieced these together and used the last bit of the remaining white print as a border. I still have some of these fabrics left, probably enough of to make a small table runner or topper. I will probably donate this quilt once finished. This is a small quilt -- only about 37" square.

Finally, I layered and basted my Radiant Jewel quilt. I ordered the backing fabric for this quilt about a month ago. The fabric is actually from a holiday line from Robert Kaufman but is just a black and metallic gold marble print, which looks great with the other fabrics of the quilt, which are also RK prints (just very, very old!). I have enough to also use it for the binding.

In this picture, you can also see something else -- the black batting! I got a black queen-sized batting from Hobbs in one of my Island Batik Ambassador boxes this year and I used a sizable chunk of the batting for my Plus Sign quilt in May.  I pieced the batting scraps together (I had two large pieces of the batting to work with) and was able to layer and pin this quilt on Saturday. 

That was slightly for naught because I do not have a thread color in my stash that I am thrilled to use with this quilt. I am thinking either a goldish cream like the fabric in the center of the stars -or- a lavender-pink like the background fabric, but leaning towards a goldish-cream. I think I would get more mileage out of cream thread. What do you think? Pink or cream?

Have a happy Monday!

Sharing at What I Made Monday! 

Stretching Scraps {Christmas Ribbons}

When I posted my Not Quite Christmas Ribbons quilt last week, I was trying to decide what else to do with the quilt.

I did some quilty math and figured out that I could squeeze out enough units to add half blocks on each side of the quilt, but not enough to make full blocks to make it a square quilt. Adding blocks on both sides instead of one side allowed for the secondary designs in the quilt to be symmetrical throughout the quilt.

Here are my half units:

Except that sewing these all into units was the wrong move! I actually found that I needed to take half of the units apart and turn the units 90 degrees. Oops.

A little bit of seam ripping, resewing, and chain stitching later, I had a slightly larger quilt top!

Now instead of a oddly skinny 32" x 48" quilt, I have a 40" x 48" quilt top -- which is perfect for a baby quilt. If I decide to add borders, it would end up closer to 50" x 60" -- which would be perfect for a cuddly couch quilt.

Happy Monday!

Sharing at Oh Scrap and What I Made Monday! And Wait Loss Wednesday and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Ribbon Candy {Units to Blocks}

I've had a lot of fun working on my "not quite" Christmas Ribbons scrap quilt and the project has gone from units to small blocks to large blocks in a rather quick fashion!

The blocks are built from the units I showed previously:

There are two of each unit in each smaller block. I paired the units and paired the pairs to make "four patches" made up of my scrappy units.

And in turn, the smaller blocks were paired and then paired again to make the larger blocks that show off the pinwheel secondary design.

While it might have been nice to have another three blocks to make this square, I definitely don't have enough background fabric to make that happen. I'm not sure what kind of borders -- if any -- I should add to the blocks.

What do you think I should do? Borders or no borders? Add other piecing with a different background fabric? The quilt would measure 32" x 48" without borders.

Also make sure that you check out Autumn Jubilee hosted by Carole of From My Carolina Home! There are going to be great prizes, tutorials, and fun throughout the month of October!

Sharing at Wednesday Wait Loss and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Weaving Ribbons {Scrappy Sewing}

I have been a busy scrappy-sewing bee over the last few weeks!

I shared about the beginning of this project last week -- and have lots of progress to show today!

I am making a smaller version of the Christmas Ribbons pattern from Kim Brackett's Scrap Basket Surprises book. I've estimated that I can make half as many blocks as the original pattern with the background fabric that I have. I know that I cut more blue, brown, and green rectangles than I probably need, but I would rather not have to cut more later.

The blocks are made up of two different units; I used the cut triangles in lieu of the stitch and flip squares.

Some of these fabrics are long-time hangers-on! See the brown and white print on the top of both piles? That fabric was originally bought all the way back in 2011 and used in my Secret Window mystery quilt! (I should get this quilt out for the fall!)

Over the weekend, I'm hoping to get these units turned into larger blocks -- each block has two of each unit.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Join us for the Faceted QAL on Facebook!

Sharing at Oh Scrap!

Cutting Down Scraps {New Scrap Projects}

The bad news is that I have been feeling really overwhelmed by my scrap bins (and baskets and bags) lately.

The good news is that I am starting to feel like at least some of them to good use, after doing a lot of cutting with my Accuquilt Go! cutter.

The sort of bad news is that I have started a bunch of new projects in the last few weeks as a result.

The first of these projects is my Faceted Churn Dash. The grey print in the upper left corner will be my background (this was the backing of my Stash Bee quilt), the print in the lower right hand corner is my inspiration fabric (this was the back of one of my Little Fireworks quilts). I pulled yellows, teals, blacks, and a few grays as my scrappy focal fabrics. All of these fabrics came from my scrap bins, making a tiny dent.

This is also my project for the Faceted QAL I am hosting in our Honey, Bunny, and Doll Facebook group; join if you are able!

The second of these projects is intended to become a table runner, inspired by pieces of a large Asian-inspired floral in my scrap bin. I pulled a teal tonal dot (actually backing fabric scraps!) and a neutral Island Batik basic to use with this fabric. I cut enough pieces and parts to make 12 star blocks, the first four of which are complete:

The final project is the Christmas Ribbons pattern from the book Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett. Right now I just have the rectangles cut; I have yet to start on cutting the background fabrics but I have the fabric chosen. This will be made as large as I can make it from the yard of background fabric that I have.

What kind of scrap projects are you working on this week?

Sharing at Oh Scrap!