Motivated by Mari

Mari made a quilt - Misfit Toys.

Misfit Toys is now going to AQS Quilt Show in Virginia Beach!!!  Mari shared this fantastic news with me on Friday. I jumped with joy for her.

With Mari

She gushed, I listened.

And in that moment, I knew I had to drop everything and make a quilt using up my leftovers - bee blocks (Honey Pot Bee) and orphan blocks and audition blocks.

Sandra and Elizabeth

I met Elizabeth in Buffalo. She mentioned a quilty term that I had not hear before - Coping Strips.

When the blocks are of varying sizes, she adds strips to the smaller blocks to bring them to the requisite size. These strips are aptly named coping strips.

Now, some folks call them sashing but I believe sashing is used with uniformly sized blocks.
See you can use sashing strips after you have used coping strips to make all blocks uniform :-D

I needed coping something but I chose to use coping blocks (also used coping strips in two places). Or you could call them filler blocks. The Charlie Brown+Snoopy block is a coping block. The improv slab next to it was leftover from Fire Pit, used also as a coping block.

Coping Blocks - Charlie Brown, Cool Leftover Slab from Fire Pit, Warm QSTs

I made coping blocks from leftover triangles discarded from Curry Favor (picture above) and from those leftover from making Doggone Cute blocks for KaHolly. 

Yellow Gray QST is a coping block using leftovers from Doggone Cute blocks

The leftover blocks from Charmed Encore worked perfectly as coping blocks.

Coping Blocks - Framed Charm Squares, 4 HSTs, and a house

I also used a coping strip to bring the red tree block to size. See picture above.
Simple 4-patch blocks made perfect coping blocks, sometimes used singly sometimes in a series.

4-patch blocks, used in a series - left corner

There were some composite HSTs leftover from Animal House. They became houses with mix and match roofs. I tried the same pattern in a larger size. Did not work.  Kinda loses its appeal in that size.

Here they are - three modest houses and one Mac-mansion.

Three modest houses and one Mac-Mansion - UGH

I loved the Blended Scraps Block so much that I made a whole quilt - Shadow of Light. The first block from that endeavor is near the top left.

Finished Flimsy

My experiments with paper-piecing are all here - the black/red/yellow star that was a moderate success, the very pointy 1.5 star, the Tall Tales book block which was a huge success, the two mushroom blocks where I used freezer paper and the As-You-Wish block (envelope+letter) which I declined to paper piece.

Paper Piecing Adventures - Star Blocks and Mushroom Blocks

The lattice block next to the tree block also came from the Honey Pot Bee. As did the Pantry Jar block and the Star Kisses block.

Star Kisses block from the Honey Pot Bee

The BHQ Economy Square Block had me whining because it has 81 pieces in just one block.

The 81 piece Economy Square Block

Before I wrote my most popular tutorial, I made an audition block in purple and red. It finally found a place in here.

Audition Block - Purple Red and Cream

I enjoyed making the strawberry block. Made in three colors. You can see the red one below. Saving the pink and orange ones for the Quilt Guild BOM later this year.
Did not enjoy the Echo block. This was a perfect place to get rid of it, but if you love it here is the link to the tutorial.

The Strawberry (love) and Echo (hate) blocks

This flimsy also has one of the discarded blocks from The Queen's Necklace (top row), next to the leaf block, which I loved so much that I have made several. Yes, they will make a quilt - just not yet.

Leaf, Kaleidoscope and Tall Tales Blocks. Pantry Jar, As You Wish and Tree Blocks

In the picture above, there is a coping strip (with a snail) next to the leaf block. I recently got that sliver of a fabric in the scrap bag that Sandra brought for me when we met in Buffalo!!!

This is one quilt with so many stories!!!

Some posts are laden with pictures. This one is definitely laden with links. I am trying to give credit where credit is due. It is possible that I missed some. If so, please ask and I will supply the link/inspiration in the comments.

Thank you Mari - I started because of you.

Thank you Sandra - I completed it because of you. So that I could make it to this Dreami party.

Lots of color = One Happy Quilt

Who has inspired you lately? I'd love to hear from you. 

I will be liking with all my favorite linky parties, see sidebar for full list.

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OOPS!!!

I almost forgot. Here are the winners from the giveaway.

1. Solids Kona FQ Bundle to Dottie Bishaw (#30) and Gran Chris (#52)

2. Four warm prints FQs to Kristin (#74) and four cool prints FQs to Frederique (#5)

3. Pink/red scraps to Lisa Marie (#10) and Blue/green scraps to Clare M(#80)

Emails will be sent to the winners later today, unless you are a no-reply blogger, in which case please send me an email. If I do not hear from you in a week, you will forfeit your prize and I will pick someone else.

Thank you so much for celebrating with me. Big hugs to you!!!

Pencil Me In

It is "Back to School" time, my friend at work mentioned.  She asked me if I'd make a pencil case for her daughter.

One Pencil

Two Pencils

All Pencils

Cool!

 The pencil points are on one side of the bag but the pencils continue to wrap around the bag.

Wrap Around Pencils

After I had pieced the pencils, I used the guidance from my Craftsy class by Joan Hawley to complete this pencil bag.

Did you see the grab tab?

Honestly, piecing the pesky pencils took way longer than actually putting together the bag - interfacing, lining, zipper and all.

Loving it!!!

I received many oohs and aahs from my co-workers. I have not received any more requests for making pencil cases.  That is just perfect because I need to furiously work towards completing my August OMG.

Unless there are other distractions.
That brings me to the Honey Pot Bee - Blended Scraps Block.

These are the fabrics I chose to make the block. Ideally, they should go from lightest tot he darkest. Ideally, the darkness should increase gradually from on to the other.

Yellows

If you are thinking - she is agonizing over this, you are absolutely correct.

Look at the lightest fabric on the right (picture above).  In my opinion it needs to be lighter. But anything lighter would look beige or cream and it still needs to read as yellow, just lighter.

So I chose to use the fabric from the wrong side. I am sure someone else has already done that before me, but I still feel triumphant. What do you think?

See picture below.

Yellows and Beige-Browns

I admit, I am copying Molli's block, but then I am a follower. That is what followers do!!!

Cut up

OMG!!! I am in love with this block. This Blended Scraps saga is not over.  Watch this space.

Completed

For now, I must get back to the August OMG. I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties.

What has been distracting you?  Please tell me I am not alone.


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Chaos and Order

Clay's quilt was well-received. He promptly put it on his bed, took a picture and sent it to me with a thank you note. I was so gratified!!!

Clay's Quilt

And then, the next day, I received a separate card from his wife plus a gorgeous silver necklace that she made for me.

Jewelry + Me = Happiness

My expression says it all.

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So, what else is going on, you may ask.

There were 31 snowball blocks in Clay's quilt. This means there are 31 times 4 = 124 HSTs, tempting me to make something with them.

Bonus HSTs

Working on Clay's quilt, I realized that I have very little purple in my stash. Had to correct that problem.

Purples

In doing so, a couple of other fabrics just jumped into my cart.

What is a girl to do? I lovingly adopted them all.

I was so focused on achieving the July OMG, that the Honey Pot bee blocks had fallen behind. Now, I jumped into it with gusto.

Cute Mushrooms

Magic Mushrooms

The mushroom block was super-fun and so cute. I made two of those.  I also made the tree blocks from a few months ago.

Christmas Trees

This lattice block was a little more complicated. But it still turned out fine.

Urban Woven

There are four more bee blocks to make and one is paper-pieced. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

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I do have a goal for August but I do not want to share pictures as yet.  It is a twin-bed size quilt for a boy. Here is the backing and the binding. The blocks are in the process.

Backing & Binding for August OMG

And speaking of wide backing, I bought another one, since Connecting Threads is having a sale on wide backings - 25% off.

Wide Backing from Connecting Threads

As you can see I have plenty of chaos to sort through, projects to organize, fabrics to choose, and a post (or two) to write.

If order comes from chaos, then I am half way there.

So what shall I focus on? The boy quilt, the leftover HSTs, the bee blocks or something else.  What represents chaos for you? Do let me know. I will be connecting with all my linky parties.

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Hello 2017!!!

Just got back from India.  OK, it was last week but the jet lag and the exhaustion distorts time perception.

Christmas tree in the background

In general, the weather was pleasant, Mom is mobile and road rage is unchanged.

Sunny Days

Specifically, we threw a Christmas Party - for Paul.

See the Santa?

Mom got a little tree with small decorations.

Lalit, (our dedicated driver) decorated a larger live tree with lights.  Paul made the star using aluminum foil, a pencil and some cardboard.

with Nishant

Meetu, my sister's friend, brought the food - vegetarian and non-vegetarian, plus ice-cream.

Kababs, Fish, Shahi Paneer, Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani

Anju and her husband brought cake - black forest cake, which is my favorite.

Paul was the guest of honor

I had brought homemade cookies.

Paul also received a gift card for Outback Steakhouse. Since he cannot get any beef in India, I wanted to give him - a promise of beef! It was a bittersweet moment. The man loves cow and he got a gift card for it - sweet.  That he could not get any beef for days together - bitter.

Anju and Dr. S loved the quilt.

Everybody fawns over Paul.  The friends, relatives and neighbors - all trying to please him.  Tarun (the teenage boy next door) invited Paul to his house for dinner.

with Tarun

Paul still only speaks five phrases in Hindi, can hardly eat any Indian food (with the exception of alu paratha - potato stuffed flatbread) and struggles with the culture that has no concept of privacy.

Alu Paratha (with butter) at Tarun's house

Kids took pictures with Paul, which were quickly posted on FB and shared on Whatsapp and they were thrilled when there were tons of likes and comments.

Of course, I brought back some fabric.  I paid about $3 per meter.

100% Cotton Fabrics from India

Someday inspiration will strike and I will cut up these beauties. Petting only for now.

I am sure Paul lost over 10 lbs. in two weeks. We went to Outback Steakhouse at the first opportunity to set things right.

The urge to begin something new is so much stronger than the need to finish an incomplete project.
Do you ever have that problem?
I have zero desire to quilt. But I want to cut and sew :-D

Fortunately, there is plenty of temptation in the blogland. Thank you Molli for the Honey Pot Bee.

Light, Dark and Medium too

It was fun (and a bit messy) to dive into my scrap basket.

Totally Scrappy

Pink Strawberry Squares

If one is good, two must be better.

Red Strawberry - in process

The tutorial tells you to press seams. Whether you should press them open or press to alternate sides, it does not say. I chose to press seams open when stitching the little 2" suckers squares together.

stem and leaf

I followed the tutorial - mostly. But, instead of using two 2" squares for the stem, I used one 2" by 3.5" rectangle.

completed rows

When I said aloud - I am making these strawberry blocks and I cannot stop, Paul gave me a raspberry!!!

My Strawberries - Dignified Red and Outta Control Fat Juicy Pink

Here is my warning to all the impatient quilters in the world - these blocks are pretty but they are not quick. If you are in the habit of scant quarter inch seams, you must trim after each seam. If not, you end up with a juicy fat strawberry, like the pink one on the right.

I made the pink one first.  Then I made the red one - so much more dignified.

There is an orange one in the making.

Orange Strawberry in process

Where are my purple scraps?

Purple Strawberry Squares

Also, I decided to make the Jelly Roll Twist quilt (tops only for now) from the Fat Quarter Shop tutorial.  Here are my fabric choices.

Color Theory by Moda

I have had this jelly roll (Color Theory by Vanessa Christenson by Moda) for over two years now. The Jelly Roll Twist seemed to be the perfect pattern for it. But (there is always a but), the white charm pack did not seem to work with most of these fabrics.  Too dull, in my opinion.

So, I picked out a few solids from my stash to add a dash of color and pizzaz.

A dash of matching solids

Also, in my opinion, the FQ shop's patterns are a bit wasteful. The tutorial suggests using 34 strips to make 42 blocks. Actually, you can make 42 blocks from just 28 strips.

Blocks in Motion

I went a step further. I divided the jelly roll in half and made two smaller quilt tops. I used 20 strips to make 30 blocks and arranged them into 5 by 6 layout.

Finished Flimsy

The finished flimsy measures about 43" by 51.5".  That is a crib size and I am darn pleased with it.

Now, a sane person would have proceeded to find suitable backing and then layer, baste and quilt.

Since this is my year of doing whatever pleases me, I picked up the rest of the 20 jelly roll strips and proceeded to make the second flimsy.

I chose my solids for the 5" squares.

Matching Solids

I cut up my jelly roll pairs judiciously, so that each strip set would give me three blocks.

5" and 9" sections

 I am loving these colors.

Color Theory by Moda

I matched the jelly roll pairs with the solid squares, allowing for some variety.

Playing matchmaker

And here are my first few blocks.

Second Flimsy, First Blocks

And here is the finished flimsy.

Finished Flimsy

I don't think using all white charms would have created this brightness.  What do you think?

Blue Green Teal and Navy Party

Blue, Green, Teal and Navy went to a party.  Guess what, even gray and white decided to come out of their shells and enjoy the merry-making.

Oh so bright and happy!

Since I am linking with Elm Street Quilt's One Monthly Goal, you must be wondering - Do I even have a monthly goal for January?
Well, staying warm is really high on my priority list.

And if I can turn any of the above two flimsies into a finished quilt, that will do very nicely too!!!

When many quilter/bloggers are setting goals and priorities for 2017, I am throwing all caution to the winds. No resolutions, no goals and absolutely no to-do lists. This is my year of living dangerously.  Let's see what happens.  Are you with me?