Twelve hundred and more

Hi everyone!  Here we are at the end of another week, and that means we're another week closer to spring.  Can you tell I am counting down? 

Today I have a finish to share, but this has been a very dramatic week for our family and there is some public service information at the bottom of this post, so if you are just looking at the fun pictures, please at least read the last paragraph.  We'll get to the drama in a minute, but first, here is this week's finish:

This is another finished UFO from the closet.  Whoo-hoo! And it's all scrap pieces, too, which is a double whoo-hoo! More scraps actually used, not just sitting in the bins.  The white sashing is plain old Kona white, though there are some pieces of Kona Snow in there as well.  Not by design, really, just that they got stuck in with the white pieces.  It all worked!

The blocks in this quilt are 100-patches made from scrap 1-1/2 inch squares.  I started this way back in 2016 when we had just moved to the east coast and were living in a tiny condo.  (I still think of this as "the dark times.")  We bought our house and moved and this got moved into a closet  and was left unfinished.  It happens all the time, doesn't it? 

I made the 100-patches using a very light fusible interfacing to get all the squares aligned and make the rows easier to stitch.  You can see how I did that HERE.  It worked pretty well, and I would make blocks that way again.  I have lots and lots of 1-1/2 inch squares, so I'm thinking of making some up into 25 patches.  Not soon, but I'm thinking about it!

If I had to pick a favorite block, it would be the black one.  Surprise! I was really surprised at how much color there actually is in this block.  I didn't know I had that many black pieces in the bin, but they look great together.  The white block is similar and was another surprise.  Of course, all of the blocks have a lot of color variation, but most of them don't have quite as many prints.

This quilt is destined to become a charity quilt for Sarah's Hands to Help challenge, which is why I only used 12 blocks.  The quilt is a nice lap size, about 48 by 65.  I have four more finished 100-patch blocks that will become a baby quilt a little later this spring, though I can already say that I won't be using the same sashing and cornerstones for that quilt.  All of these little squares made for a *lot* of seams and the top is already a bit heavy, plus they were a bit maddening to keep track of.  There are currently little squares all over the floor in the sewing room, which you know is making me crazy. I will definitely be cleaning up this weekend.

So, there is my finish for the week!  One more out of the closet and soon to become a comfort quilt, which makes me feel super happy that I finally finished it.  I am making serious progress on my piecing UFOs, which also makes me really happy.

And now for something completely non-quilt related:

On Tuesday morning, my brother (who works nights, so it was about 9:30 am) heard a weird noise, so he got up to investigate.  Turned out that the house was on fire and it was moving rapidly.  He and his partner managed to get out with the dogs and were unharmed, and my nephew was already at school, so he was unharmed as well.  The house, however, was a total loss.  They lost literally everything except what they were wearing.  The roof ended up in the dining room. Not to worry--they will be okay. There is insurance and they will be able to rebuild their possessions, so it will turn out.  And no one was hurt, which is the best possible news! So here's the public service announcement-- grab your phone and make a video right now, walking around every room of your house, opening every drawer and closet, and showing everything you own.  Narrate this as you go, as in "here's the antique dresser we got from Aunt Phyllis" and "those shelves hold about 300 yards of fabric" and "this is the Viking sewing machine that I bought in 2018."  Email the video to yourself or otherwise store it somewhere online. Your house doesn't have to be clean! It just has to show what you own.  If the worst ever happens, you won't remember or be able to make a list of everything you've lost, from the number of forks you own to how many towels you have, and sometimes insurance companies want proof that you actually had a new refrigerator instead of a 20-year-old Kenmore.  So do yourself a favor and make the video.  If you're worried about how the house looks, you can always make another video after you clean up!

Okay, end of lecture. Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Next week is spring break and I plan to spend it doing some outdoor work if the weather cooperates, and sewing if it doesn't.  I'm really looking forward to both!

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