Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Sailing away

Hi everyone, and thanks for all the good wishes when I was feeling not-so-great! I'm happy to tell you that I slept much of the weekend, and read some while I supervised the hubs from the sofa.  I'm feeling much better at last.  I'm not sure if it was the sleep or the sofa that had the amazing restorative properties, but whatever it was, I'll take it!

A little while ago, while I was under the weather, I pulled out all of my leftover half square triangles.  I made up a couple of small pieces from them, but then I didn't know what to do with the rest of the leftovers.  I hate to see them just sitting there, but what to do? Thanks to a post on Instagram, I had a major insight and have been working on some of these from all of those hsts:


Sailboats!  When I saw the post on IG of a really cute little sailboat, I literally slapped my forehead. Of course! Sailboats from leftover hsts.  What an idea!  And you know, I have a little grandson who is just a few months old, and sometime soon he may need his very own quilt.  Wouldn't a sailboat quilt be cute for a little boy?  As a bonus, his "other" grandfather actually owns a boat! A sailboat quilt seems like fate.

The picture above is of a very tall sailboat, but I am making others that don't have quite as many sails.  So far I've only added the "boats" to a few of them, but I have a lot more sails:


I love these! I'm keeping the hsts made from the same fabrics, or at least all the same colors, all together, and they're making boats of all different sizes because the hsts are all different sizes.  That makes sense, doesn't it? It might be dull to have all the boats look just alike, and I'll bet it would require making more hsts, which owuld lead to more leftovers.  Here are some of the current sails:


I just love that red and yellow boat, don't you?  Obviously many of those boats are incomplete, but you can see the size variations.  I think it will make the quilt interesting.  Maybe the smaller boats can be "towed" behind the others?  Since I'm using the leftovers, some of these hsts in the boats are very small, too small for boats of their own.  Some of the smallest ones make really nice "flags" for the tops of the masts, though.  See the smallest aqua hst here?


That little one finished at just about half an inch square. I'm glad that I didn't throw all of those in the trash! I suspect some of them may end up there because they are *very* small, but a few of these make nice flags.


I have no real plan for this quilt, other than to use up the hsts, so I'll work on it here and there until it's done.  I know for sure that it won't get all put together until this summer at the earliest because I am behind on everything in my life including the quilts.  I'm sure my little grandson will be willing to wait since he's currently chewing on his brother's quilts and blankets, and enjoying that very much.  But at least this will be fun to work on in little bits and I can think about my grandson while I do.

Don't worry, I have plenty of hsts!

Hope everyone is having a good week! I really am behind on everything, and very very behind on some things, so I will be very busy.  Pretty sure I'm going to need a gluten-free fudgy brownie --or two!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social and Oh Scrap!

21 comments:

Janice Holton said...

GREAT use your hst's! Those sailboats are perfect! And really cute. I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. :)

Jo said...

What a great idea. Reminds me of the Sydney to Hobart yearly yacht race...

Libby in TN said...

What a great use for HSTs! I might be inspired to get out my bucket of bonus triangles ... when I find where it's buried.

Millie said...

These are sixteen kinds of grand! Love them!

Lisa J. said...

It's very cute and a great way to use up the triangles.

piecefulwendy said...

Oh my goodness, these blocks are so cute! Glad you are feeling better!

JanineMarie said...

What a super fun idea, Mari! You have really embraced improv. I love how all the different sizes together make it look like a fleet of boats. The smaller ones look like they are farther in the distance. I’m glad you are feeling better, but I wonder: does being under the weather fuel your creativity?

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

It's a quilty regatta! What a great idea for all those HSTs! Glad you are feeling better, too.

Quilter Kathy said...

Oh my... how much fun is this?!?! Fantastic use of HST blocks!

MissPat said...

Great use of leftover HSTs. Reminds me that I saved a bunch of little ones with the idea of making pinwheels. Wonder where I put them.
Glad you are feeling better.
Pat

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

That is going to be a fun, sailing quilt when it's finally done.

PaulaB quilts said...

Sailboats are so easy to make. I have a fleet, but not with so many sails. Yours is definitely a regatta. I sailed on my uncle's schooner in RI, like the purple and lime one. Love the tiny flags. I wish you smoother sailing this week.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari,
Well, aren't these just the cutest?! Love this and how perfect that his grandfather owns a boat. I can't wait to see these all together in your finished quilt . . . sometime in the future!
~smile~ Roseanne

Robin said...

Do not throw out the tiniest. Remember all sailing vessels must have their countries' flag at the back of the boat. So those tiny ones could go towards the bow(?) or the very top. Some have a drape of flags if they are all congregated in on harbor for a festival. I was thinking of the Tall Ships festival we had all along at least the Atlantic coast or Gaspirella pirate festival held every Feb. in Tampa. Or Christmas festivals. When you live near the water Santa arrived during the evening parade of boats as they are ALL decorated with lights, etc. Santa is on their last boat. He leaves the ship then goes to light the big tree at the marina park and so on. Another + final thought is that ships at at distance will look much smaller if you wanted him to learn the concept of perception :) Never throw an hat away, we can always think of something---shark teeth? I will turn it off now. Glad you feel better.

Louise said...

What a super cute improv project!! I love that all the boats are different, just like in real life :)

Preeti said...

They say that a rising tide lifts all boats. Looks like an improvement in your spirits resulted in lifting a lot of sailboats - big and small - from your fabric stash onto the design wall :-D
I love the fact that all sailboats are different. So refreshing!!!

Ivani said...

I'm happy to know you are feeling better.
Great block for all those HST. They will make a happy quilt.

Kate said...

So glad you are feeling much better. Hopefully, just in time to enjoy some spring weather that seems to finally have arrived. Your sailboats are very fun. It's going to be great quilt for a little boy.

gayle said...

Oh, I adore all your ships! What fun!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

What a brilliant way to use up all your HSTs. It will be fun to see how many block designs you come up with. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

helenjean@midgetgemquilts said...

the sailboats make lovely summery blocks, a quilt in these will be lovely. And a good way for all those hst