Scrap Basket Sunday #9

Hi Everyone,

 

For my next Scrap Basket Sunday post, linking with Kim, I chose more red, white, and blue fabrics since I am only working in those colors during these 39 days from Memorial Day through July 4.

Last Sunday, I pulled out a baggie full of Minick and Simpson scraps.  These were left overs from a past project and I though mostly unusable as they were small and skinny.  However, they worked perfectly for the next scrappy, patriotic pattern that I wanted to play with.

It's another Schnibble pattern featuring patriotic pincushions. I made some pincushions a while back, so I still had plenty of stuffing (crushed walnut shells.)  The pattern gives 7 different versions and I made 6 of them.  For backing I was using a piece of red wool felt and I didn't have enough for the seventh "pinnie."

This is the red wool backing. 

I decided to have fun and use some of my collection of vintage, red, children's chairs to display them all.

 

I like the look of the very skinny logs on this one, but I really wish I had been paying attention and turned the center square so its diagonal was the same as the block's.

 

Of course, this is my favorite!

 

 

 

 

 

These pincushions are fun and fairly quick to piece, so it is nearly as easy to make a bunch as it is just one.  I think one or two will go to my guild this month for their door prizes. 

 

Have a great day!

JoAnne

Scrap "Caddy" Sunday

Hi Everyone!

I'm back again with another post for Scrap Basket Sunday, hosted by Kim.  This time my post doesn't really seem like it is going to be about scraps, but I promise--a few scraps will be involved.

Do any of you know my blogging friend, Freda at her blog, The Adventures of the Empress of the Universe?  Yesterday she had the best post about a brilliant idea!  Please click on her name to see it.  She had been in Target and found a great caddy which is perfect for quilting.  I had just been at Target before I read her blog, but I went right back out.  This is why.

Right now in their outdoor department, they have these picnic caddies.  Freda figured out immediately that they would be great for the cutting table.  The reason why is because they are fairly heavy and sturdy.  And they also have great openings.  She bought a white one, but they also have red, green, and blue.  I chose the red, of course.  (It was the last red one at my Target, too!)  It cost $9.99 in my store.

Here is the "downward" view.  See the larger opening at the top of the photo, the three triangles (for cutlery) and the smaller opening at the bottom.  Great space.  But, as Freda mentioned, there is no mesh bottom for the larger and smaller compartments.  She cut some white cardboard for the bottoms on her white caddy and it looked great.  I don't have any white cardboard--I would have to use pieces from a brown box, so I started thinking about how to make it pretty.  Freda also suggested using a glass for holding pens and pencils, etc. but she didn't have any so, being so clever, she used toilet paper rolls (empty.)  She covered them to make them pretty, so my mind was thinking "cover it to make it pretty."  I first considered scrapbook paper.  I have tons, and plenty of patriotic.  But I was worried a bit about durability.  Then I thought of fabric, and then I remembered!

I had some narrow strips of laminated fabric scraps left over from a bag project.  The vinyl on the fabric was just what I thought I wanted for the caddy.  I have kept these pieces not knowing what they would be good for, but they were just the thing. 

I cut my cardboard and fit it in several times until I was happy, and then I used spray adhesive on the back of the laminated fabric (cut to size.)  I cut out squares at the corners and wrapped the edges around to the back.

I did take the time to center the chevron down the length of the pieces.

Then I inserted them into the caddy.

 

Cool!  I love the patriotic feel!

 

Next it was time to fill.

 

I splurged and got one of the coordinating glasses at Target to hold pens and pencils.  I put it in the largest opening, right next to one side.

 

 

It leaves plenty of room next to it for rulers.  It is heavy enough that even having a 6x24 in it won't tip it over!  If you don't use a glass, you can get up to 9" wide rulers in that large compartment.

 

 

The center triangle compartments hold scissors and rotary cutters perfectly!

 

But what really "sold me" on getting this caddy was the smaller, front compartment.  When I saw Freda's, I knew it would be perfect for all my smaller, specialty rulers that I'm always losing in my ruler drawer!  It didn't disappoint me, either!  They work perfectly in it.

 

The tall handle was a perfect spot to hang my perfect circle templates that I'm always losing!  Now they have a designated place that is visible and easy to grab!

 

Look at all the stuff I've got loaded in it!  And no tipping!

 

 

And one more view on my cutting table.

 

 

Remember--this wasn't my idea, it was Freda's--and I can't thank her enough!  She has great vision.  You know if they marketed this directly to quilters, they would charge $45 for it!

 

I'll hopefully be back next week with projects using more scraps.  Have a great day!

JoAnne

Scrap Basket Sunday #7

Hi Everyone,

I am back again with another smallish scrap quilt.  I made this on Friday and Andrea kept me company while I did it.  Andrea was the first tropical storm of the season.  She brought us rain--lots and lots of rain with an occasional rumble of thunder. 

 

This is a pattern from a Jo Morton book.

 

 

 

 

The center 'panel' is cut from a Jo Morton fabric.  She first released it with her Fredericksburg line, and has re-released it with Banner Day, and now Jo's Favorites.  You may recognize it--I used it in the courthouse steps quilt that I showed the other day, fussy-cutting it for the center squares.  When I began this quilt, I looked at the photo to see how many stars are in the 'panel' and I cut it out.  When I measured it, it didn't match the measurements in the instructions at all! Hmm.  The instructions next said to frame it with 1.5" strips and then to make the border from 1.5" strips, but I decided to use 1.25" strips instead--thinking that it would be easier to adjust for my "off" panel measurements. 

 

I began putting all the strips around the panel and once they were done, I got out my scrap strip bins for the border.  I keep bins of 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, and 2.5 inch strips.  I began with the 1.25" strips and pulled out all the reds and creams.  Then I continued to the other bins.  As I found larger strips, I just trimmed them to the 1.25" that I needed.  Although my completed border strips needed to be 4.5" wide,  I sewed together strip sets at various lengths and then trimmed them down to 5" sections.  Once I felt I had enough 5" sections, I sewed them together to the correct length needed for each border and then did a final trim to 4.5."  As far as the "off measurements" went, everything worked out fine.

 



 

I think when this gets quilted it will look lovely over the back of a bench or sofa.  Or even on a table.

 

During the storm on Friday, it became very obvious that our gutters were full and blocked in areas.  We spent yesterday doing that "lovely" chore.  I only had to hold the ladder for my husband--he had to climb all the way to the top (we have a two story house) to clean them out.  The pine needles and leaves he scooped out were fermenting a bit and didn't smell so good.  Anyway, it was a not a fun job and it was hot and humid as well, but it is done now!  We treated ourselves to dinner out as a reward.

 

I hope today can be spent with better pursuits.  Have a great day everyone!

JoAnne

Scrap Basket Sunday #6

Hi Everyone,

I knew it had been a while since I joined in with Kim and her Scrap Basket Sunday, but I didn't realize it had been nearly a month!  I guess I have been busy with other projects.  I am also trying to spend these 39 days from Memorial Day until the Fourth of July (my favorite time of year!) making only patriotic projects.  I have such a pile of red, white, and blue items that I want to make, that I'm sure there will be plenty to keep me busy!

So today's project features a scrappy, patriotic quilt!  I have long been wanting to make a tumbler/thimble quilt, and so when Carrie came out with her Crumbler and Lil' Crumbler, I ordered them. 

Several versions of this are floating around so it didn't really require a pattern.

I decided to use the Lil' Crumbler ruler and 2.5" strips so I pulled out my strip bin and scraps and began cutting away at the reds and creams.  I wanted variety but still cut as many from a scrap or strip as I could, so I ended up with enough to make at least 3 more of these!  I also started cutting blues, but then I decided that I only wanted to use star fabric, so I only used them.  I must confess, I had to pull out a few fat quarters to get enough of the stars, but otherwise, this is all cut from scraps.

 

This is the Lil' Crumbler template.  It was fun to use! 

 

 

Since I had never made a tumbler quilt before, I wasn't sure how it was going to go together, but it did so like a dream!  I pressed the long, pieced strips in opposite directions and then everything nestled perfectly when they went together.

 

 

 

 

What surprised me a bit was that the Lil' Crumble is longer and skinnier than a typical tumbler shape, so my flag came out longer and skinnier.  I love that, though--perfect for a flag!  This version, cut from 2.5" strips is small--it measures 9.5" x 20.5." My big problem is that I don't want to trim the flag into a rectangle--I think the "wavy-ness" of the tumble shapes contributes to the look of a flag waving in the breeze, so binding this baby may be a challenge!  Do any of you have any hints?

 

Meanwhile, I would love to try using different sizes and the larger template, the Crumbler, to see how different it can look.  Maybe someday....

 

Have a great day!

JoAnne





Scrap Basket Sunday #3

Hi Everyone,

I'm still celebrating Scrap Basket Sunday with Kim over at her blog.  Several of us are participating and it isn't too late for you to join in!  I'm having fun and making new blog friends!  Despite the fact that it was a really busy week, I did manage to get another scrap project done--or at least pieced.  I don't machine quilt something this small all by itself.  If I'm going to set up the machine, I would like to have more than just this to quilt.

This quilt is called "Grannie's Scrap Bag" in the book.  It finishes at 18 x 21.  It was incredibly easy--just cut squares, arrange, and sew.  I think my favorite part is going to be auditioning binding.  In the book a dark tan/light brown was used, but really, with the light squares on the outside, you could use anything.  Red comes to my mind quickly, of course, but also double pink, or poison green, or some fun plaid, check or stripe.  I love binding with plaids, checks, and stripes!

Just a reminder:  I'm making projects from this book.

At the very least, I'm proud of myself for getting this done in a week when I was gone day-tripping all one day, away another for meetings, appointments, and errands, attended two guild meetings, etc.  I'm sincerely hoping next week is less crazy!

Have a great day!
JoAnne

Scrap Basket Sunday 2

Hi Everyone,

I have been keeping up with Kim and her Scrap Basket Sundays.  If you remember from my post last week, I am working from this book:

 

I just love all the projects!  This week I worked on "Hopscotch" and was able to finish piecing it and quilted both it and last week's quilt. 

 

Hopscotch:  It finishes at 18" x 24"

I love the red and brown with the cream.  It really matches last week's project.

 

 

Nellie's Ninepatch:  15" x 18"

 

 

The hardest thing about these projects is trying to decide which one to make next! 

 

Have a great rest of the weekend!

JoAnne

Scrap Basket Sunday

Happy Easter everyone!  He is risen!  I hope you are having a lovely day with family, friends, and/or tasty food.  My husband and I will be going out for brunch since it is just the two of us.

Today and hopefully every Sunday for a while, I'm joining in with Kim as she is launching a Scrap Basket Sunday sew-along.  She blogged that her scrap basket was getting a bit out of hand and so she wanted to make some scrappy quilts and has invited anyone else to join in.  It is never too late, either!  Just blog about your scrappy projects on Sunday and visit her and link up.  Easy.

She is planning to work on a project from this book:
(Edited:  Whoops, I can't seem to remember book titles too well.  Kim is using Simple Grace by Kim Diehl, not Simple Charm)

 

I have this book too, and while I think I got it last fall, I still have yet to make a project out of it, even though it is full of fun things.  Out in Blogland, I kept seeing quilts from this book that I didn't remember.  Finally, I had an "ah ha" moment and realized it wasn't the book Simple Charm by Kim Diehl that they were mentioning, it was this book, Simply Charming, by Tara Lynn Darr.  Once I had that figured out, I got it, too.

 

 

Have you seen it?  Oh my.  As much as I love Kim Diehl's book, this one is even better.  It is full of at least 16 small quilts, all made from scraps and charms and I want to make every one of them!  Usually there is at least one or two or maybe even a few more projects in a book that I don't want to make, but not this one!

As for scraps, I do have some, but not really that many.  This is my scrap drawer.

Every time I have a bit of something, it goes in here.  This is my huge confession:  when I move, I don't take my scraps with me!  I decided long ago that I had enough stuff to move and didn't want to have to deal with scraps, so I give them away prior to a move.  That means that right now, I only have about 6 months of scraps. 

I also have this drawer above the scrap one:

It is full of left-over pieces that I cut for other projects.  These are mostly from the big, Patriotic, King-sized quilt that I just finished.  It is nice to have stacks of the same-sized pieces in there. 

I will also confess that I have plastic bins full of strips.  These I do move with me, and I guess that they are also "scraps."  I have 1 1/4, 1 1/2, 1 3/4, 2, and 2 1/2 inch strips.  So all in all, I do have a good amount of pieces to get going with, if I don't have the huge supply that others do.

I thumbed through the book and decided on my first pattern.  It is shown in blue and cream, but I wanted to do it in red and cream, and it was easily made in an afternoon.

Here it is, all layered and pinned, waiting for some quilting!  I will bind it in red, too.  All I had to do was make some easy 9 patches and set them with cream squares.  I think it finishes around 15x18."  I love these small quilts--they are like potato chips, you can't just make one! 

I think I'm going to love these Scrap Basket Sundays!  I get to "find" cute quilts "hiding" in my scraps!  What can you make with yours?

Have a great day,
JoAnne