Friday, August 4, 2017

Leftovers in the oven

Hi all!  Can you believe it's August already?  Where is the summer going?  I even bought some school supplies this week.  Something must be wrong with me.  Maybe it's the heat.  Do you think some ice cream would help?

This week I have a small finish to show off.  I took these pictures just as it started to rain, so they don't really do the quilt justice in terms of colors.  They're much more saturated than they seem. Any spots you see are raindrops, not dirt:


This is an unexpected little quilt.  I call it "the leftovers quilt" because it is made entirely of fabrics and pieces from other projects. The starting point was obviously the blue triangles, which are leftover from the Ocean Waves quilt.  I made these in 2014, and I knew that if I put them back in a zipper bag they would never see the light of day again.  


To use them up, I thought I would use the blue and white triangles to make giant quarter square triangles.  I tried it and it was boring.  Then I tried a smaller version:


I didn't like that at all either.  Yellow to the rescue!  I love yellow and I always have a bunch of yellow pieces laying around.  I used up scraps of about 5 different yellows in this quilt top.  Along with all the blues, that makes for a lot of scrappy goodness.


All I did was use the blue triangles as they were and stitch them into quarter triangle squares with the yellows.  Once they were all trimmed to the same size, all it took was turning every other block to get the pattern shown.  I also used up the fabrics for the borders, which were also leftover pieces from other projects.  I used up every inch of the inner border fabric, and I have about 10 inches left of the outer border.   I call that a win, don't you?

This little quilt measures about 42 by 52, which is a bit on the small side.  But I actually really like it, and it turns out to be the perfect size for my office.  As with most offices, it gets pretty chilly, both in the air conditioning and in the winter.  I have a thermostat, but I suspect that it's mostly a decoration.  This will be a great quilt for my lap or for students to wrap up in.  I have some dark blue Cuddle fabric, but I don't know if I want that on the back or not.


With that little finish, we are off!  We have some vacationing to get to, including a trip to see our tiny grandson, so I will be gone for a little while, though I will be posting some things on Instagram (@academicquilter).   See you there, and I'll see you back here in about 10 days!  Enjoy August while I'm gone!

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and Oh Scrap!

18 comments:

Jo said...

Enjoy your break & family. I love blue and yellows together

Lynn said...

Blue and yellow, always a winner, this is lovely.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Love leftover quilts - I really like the color combo!

Preeti said...

I stopped reading (and started drooling) after ice-cream. Did we eat ice-cream in June, when we went to the quilt show? Boy, that day could have used some ice-cream. Since I have ice-cream on my brain, I have decided to name your quilt - Blueberry Custard. Have a fabulous weekend!
P.S. Love love love the border print

Julierose said...

I love blue and yellow together and your saturated colors work so well together; what a great use of leftovers!! It's just too true that if you put leftovers into a zip bag, they never seem to find their way out again!!;000 hugs Julierose

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Blue and yellow make such vibrant quilts, lovely!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari,
What a pretty quilt! I love this color combination together. Enjoy your new grandson - that time to enjoy him will be priceless. ~smile~ Roseanne

piecefulwendy said...

Blue and yellow are always lovely together. What a pretty quilt! Enjoy your trip!

Kate said...

Blue and yellow is such a pretty combination. Great job in using up the scraps. Enjoy your vacation.

Wendy F said...

Your yellows are so pretty, and I love how you put the leftovers to such good use!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

The yellow was a perfect choice! I really like how this turned out. Great use of those leftover bits. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats! on your newly completed leftovers quilt. It's lovely! Blue and yellow? Always a classic in my book (made all the better in sweet florals.)

Marly said...

Congratulations on a lovely little scrap quilt. It was a bright idea to cut up those blue blocks. The yellow is a great improvement on the white.

Louise said...

Great use of leftovers! Such sunny, happy colors :)

Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts said...

Neat design for those beautiful blue and yellow fabrics!

newsurfiegirl said...

Love the finish it is stunning!

KaHolly said...

What an excellent quilt for the office! I should take a page out of your book! My daughter is always commenting on how cold she is in her office, summer and winter!

Bernie Kringel said...

I have missed you so I checked in with your blog (I've been so busy I haven't been on the computer much.) Anyway, I love this blue and yellow quilt top. Such great colors. I hope you enjoy having it in your office. That line about the decorative thermostat cracked me up.