Oh, The Joy of Swapped Blocks!

I love scrap quilts - they make my heart go pitter patter. I think that's why I'm enamored with swap blocks. So many glorious fabrics all in one place. Blocks made with fabrics I don't have. Combinations of colors, patterns, styles, expertise gloriously blended together. I also enjoy the surprise in every mailed package.

Several years ago I participated in a Courthouse Steps swap all made in repro Civil War fabrics. The instructions were pretty fabulous - take 3 fat quarters and, by following the techniques and cutting instructions, you make 8 swap blocks (7 to swap and 1 to keep). As this is the Sesquicentennial of the start of the Civil War, I decided I need to put these blocks together this summer.

When I made my blocks, I was very focused on making sure they were exactly 8.5" square, seams aligned, blocks totally flat, and the best-quality fabric perfectly coordinated. Now that I'm piecing my swap blocks together, I'm smiling at all the not-so-perfect blocks I've received through the years!

> The log cabin blocks 1/2" too small with a note to steam iron it.
> The nine patch with the corner blocks 1/4" to 3/8" larger than the center squares.
> Block squares sewn on backwards.
> Selvedges peaking out of seams.
> Gaping holes where the blocks weren't joined.
> Grape juice splattered on white backgrounds.
> The time my swap partner ran out of time and mailed me the cut squares... Missing a piece!

Don't get me wrong - I've received MANY stunning blocks, but you do have to go into swapping hoping to be pleasantly surprised. What about you? Have you ever received a not-so-fab block? Did you use it? Fix it? Do share!

Let's swap stories!

Elisa

Scrapper's Confession

Ok, I admit it. I almost did the most sacrilegious action a scrapper can do... I almost pitched two buckets of scraps. I'm bowing my head in shame, my friends. Last year I had the urge to purge (I'm very dangerous in these moods) and I donated 10 boxes of fabric to our local Doctors Without Borders group. Eying these two tubs of bits spanning decades.... Hmm... Why not? But something stayed my hand.

It was fate. Two months later I stumbled across this great book called Strips & Strings by Evelyn Sloppy. Now, I've never had an urge to make string quilts, but these were amazing! I even saw one made up at a local quilt shop.

Evelyn is brilliant. Most of the quilts I'm interested in require you to gather hundreds of strips ranging from 1" to 2.5" by 9" long. She has so many fascinating techniques involving straight sewing and creative cutting to make so many cool triangle variations!


So, I've spent the last few weeks picking out strips from my buckets and ruthlessly cutting through decades of fabrics (thinking to myself... what was I thinking?!?) Luckily Bonnie Hunter's advice kept scrolling through my head: if the fabric is still too ugly then you haven't cut it up small enough! Even my Millenium fabric "made the cut"!

I also found this to be a great way to finish off those remaining strips from my jelly rolls and honey buns. Even those leftover pieces of layer cakes cut down to a nice 9-inches. And, after trimming my strips, if the leftovers don't cut down to 2.5" square or 1 1/4" strips (for my Texas Log Cabin quilt), then out it went!

This is an awesome project to work on 15 minutes a day.... And we all know how much we can get done, don't we?

Elisa

Looky Here! Looky Here!

My Friendship Star quilt just arrived in the mail!  My good friend Judy Frank (of Frankly Quilts in West Bath, Maine) quilted some lovely loopy stars in my loopy star quilt!

Isn't it gorgeous???? I still need to bind it (wanted to photograph it while it's sunny - can't depend on too many sunny days in Michigan right now.  Isn't that an ugly shed and fence in the background?).

Even though this is a simple scrap quilt I've compiled over 9 years, it's my favorite.  So many scraps shared by so many friends!  Pieces shared in charm swaps and pulled out of scrap bins at the retreats and classes.  The only pieces I own of the red floral/stripe (arm of this star) and the pale yellow swatch (upper left) are in this quilt - both shared by friends from Cobblestone Quilters in Portland, Maine.  It's a memory quilt of my fabulous friends I had to leave behind but have never forgotten.

Even the back is fun!  I've decided that at holiday time I'm going to fold this quilt so the back is showing with these loopy stars!  Won't it make a wonderful holiday quilt in itself?!?

Hope you're able to enjoy some sunshine on this Saturday also!

Elisa

p.s. Here is the original tutorial to make these fun blocks!

My Heart For You!

Happy Valentine's Day!

While cleaning my quilt room the other day (remember those precious 15 minutes!) I came across one of my first paper-pieced projects.  Thought it was fitting to share today:

It measures about 12"x15" and contains over 400 pieces - all from my scrap basket!

Hope your day is as sweet as the richest chocolate but not as fattening!

Stash Therapy

Funny how I turn to my stash in times of chaos. My car broke down today, and the garage hasn't fixed it yet. Dag-nabbit.  So, off to my little island of sanity.

This past summer I donated 10 boxes of rather "dated" fabric to a group of local quilters that make quilts for Doctors Without Borders. You know the ones... paisleys, printed plaids, LOTS of calicos.  They were thrilled to death, and I can finally reach the fabrics I actually love.

I didn't touch my 2 big boxes of scraps... DUM-dum-DAH! Until tonight. I had thought about giving them away or "scrapping" them because there were some really old & ugly fabrics in there and I'll never use them up. However, a recent UFO changed my mind - if I had donated this box then I couldn't finish that quilt. So, to plan B (as in Bonnie).

I've been reading a wonderful quilt book by Bonnie Hunter called Adventures with Leaders & Enders. I don't want to give her best tips away (you need to buy her book!) but tonight I started changing this:

To this:

Finally! A little control in this crazy world! It's not overwhelming if you commit 15 minutes a day.

Happy Quilting!  (And wish me luck with my car!)

Elisa

Friendship Star - 15 minutes at a time!

Speaking of 15 minutes… here’s what you can do with 15 minutes… spanning years!  J

Right by my machine is a pile of scraps to make blocks a friend showed me years ago.  It’s a TRUE friendship star!

Sew a 2.5”x4.5” light rectangle to a 2.5”x4.5” dark rectangle.  Or, sew a 2.5”x40” light strip to a 2.5”x40” dark strip and cut down into 4.5” subsets.  Press to the dark.

Using the picture as a guide, sew a light 2.5” square to the bottom of the dark rectangle.  You will be sewing on the diagonal of the square.  You can either use a pencil line or the Easy Angle Acrylic Tool as a guide.

Then sew a dark 2.5” square to the top of the light rectangle.   You MUST consistently sew the light square to the dark rectangle and the dark square to the light rectangle as they appear in the picture. 

Trim the excess square fabric.

Flip the fabric, and press down.  Don’t be stressed if it doesn’t match perfectly along the edges.  This is a very “forgiving” block.

Continue piecing these whenever you have 15 minutes to spare, forming a nice scrappy pile.

When you’re ready to assemble, sew a pair of sections together (like the picture below).  Repeat over and over until all your sections are sewed into these new units.

After sewing your sections into new units, start sewing your units together (like the picture below). 

Voila!  A star!

This is what happens when, after making them over a span of 9 years, you finally put them together!   Can you believe I lost track and have enough for 2 quilts!

Thanks for listening!

15 Minutes

Best quilt advice EVER! A teacher once told me that, no matter how busy you are, spare at least 15 minutes a day in your quilt room. You'll have peace of mind and will be amazed how much you get accomplished!

You can:

*Iron scraps in your scrap tub
*Gather and file pattern pieces from a completed project
*Clean out your bobbin area
*Replace your rotary cutter blade
*Throw out old thread
*Add a few more strips to your log cabin blocks
*Re-roll your interfacing back on the cardboard roll
*Make some spare quilt labels
*Clean your hot iron with wax paper
*Change the cd's in your CD player or download some new podcasts (might I recommend NPR's: Wait.. Wait.. Don't Tell Me?)
*Re-wrap your extension cords
*Make the binding for your UFO(s)
*Change the burned-out lightbulbs

What do you do with those precious 15 minutes?