Thursday, June 30, 2022

Hiding in the scrap bin

Hi everyone! I don't know about where you are, but we are back to hot and sticky, with thunderstorms every couple of days. It is summer, after all! And hot sticky weather is great for tomatoes and other good things that grow in the garden, so I am looking forward to a good harvest before too long.

Today's theme is: green! If you recall, I cleaned out the green scrap bin and started making a quilt top to use up every bit of the dark greens. Those things have been hanging around for far too long! But not any more, because look:


Yep, they turned into a finished top, just like that! Every bit of this quilt top except the white/gray background is a scrap. The background is a weird text print from Zen Chic by Moda, and I don't know where I got it from. There's quite a bit left, too, so it may turn up as a background in something else. 


Look at those geraniums! This top is all half-square triangles, and I made mine to finish at 4 inches. Every dark green scrap that was big enough got cut up for this quilt. I also threw in some medium greens and a few blues, too, just to fill things out. Really, there's everything in there but the kitchen sink. If it was mostly green and the right size, it went into the quilt.


I saw this block in a magazine I was leafing through at the library. I'm pretty sure it was Quiltmaker, but I didn't take a picture of the magazine itself. Not sure how many blocks were in the magazine quilt, but you can see that I only had enough scraps to make 9 blocks, plus I added the borders. I'm completely okay with this because this quilt still finished at about 60 inches square. This is a great size for something made entirely from one scrap bin!


I was so determined to use up all of the triangle pieces that I had cut that I put the leftovers together and added them to the borders. It works well enough, and it's fabric I didn't have to put back in the scrap bin. Or throw out, you know, because I certainly got a little tired of the dark greens after a bit.

So, there is the quilt that was hiding in that scrap bin! Who knew, right? But there is one more green thing to show off today. Check it out:

 
Yep, we had the house painted! It looks so, so much better and much more modern. The color is actually called Deep Emerald, though it has a lot of blue in it, not just green. We love it and are so happy with how it turned out. There are a lot of painted brick houses around here, but most of them are white, tan, or gray. The dark green looks pretty sharp, I think. Now we move on to some landscaping for the front and a new color for the front door. The hubs wants red, but I'm thinking a bright aqua. I guess we'll see who gets to the paintbrushes first!
 
 
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! It's the Fourth of July weekend here in the US, so I hope your picnics and get togethers don't get rained out, and you get to see a lot of fireworks. It's a frustrating time and an imperfect country, but it's still a great country full of great people. That is worthy of celebration, even if a lot of what's happening now isn't. So Happy Fourth, everyone!
 
Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique, and Oh Scrap!
 

22 comments:

Susie H said...

What a beautiful quilt! Love how you used even more HSTs in the border. Your house looks great too. Nothing like a fresh makeover to bring a smile to your face upon returning home.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

You know Mari there are some wonderful people in our Country and we are grateful for that this 4th, but we are in a very dangerous time.

You have inspired me to remember how you made this quilt with your scraps and just HSTs. After I get the project I am starting now, I may just take some time and use some scraps. I think I can handle things if I just use one color.

Hugs

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Oh I LOVE this one!!! and how it used all of your greens - that little surprise in the border!! GREAT way to make sure nothing got put back!!! Great job!
and your house - oh my gosh - I am with you - the new colors are amazing!!!
Happy 4th to you too!!!

Pat at Bell Creek Quilts said...

who knew? it's a great quilt and I'm impressed at your determination to use all the triangles that you cut! Awesome!

Sara said...

Your quilt and the geraniums are beautiful. I absolutely love the variety of greens you used in the quilt. Your house color looks great and I would have a hard time deciding on a door color. My best friend just painted her doors yellow and it looks great with the charcoal colored siding. It was a brave choice but looks wonderful. I'm guessing either red or aqua will be pretty.

Quilting Babcia said...

If this isn't inspiration to dig into the scrappy bins I don't know what is! A beauty!

Elizabeth V Kelbaugh said...

Love all the green and pops of blue.

piecefulwendy said...

Happy 4th, Mari! Sometimes I think we focus so much on the bad that we forget about all the good. Your newly painted house looks great, and I'll wait to see who wins the door paint challenge :-) That is a great quilt; such a simple, yet pretty design!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari! Your house looks beautiful. I love the new colors. Do a wee bit of investigation on a red door. You might find yourself swayed to DH's side if you do. A red door usually means welcome and alternatively, debt-free. I hope you let us know who wins the great paint debate. Love your "free" quilt top as well. It looks fab next to those healthy carnations. Enjoy the 4th. Now is the time for hot and humid, that's for sure. Happy Friday, my friend. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

Laura said...

Great use of your green scraps! Simple block, but so, so versatile!
Love the color on your house!
Happy 4th! :)

Quiltdivajulie said...

A most excellent quilt! Hooray for emptying the dark greens and actually USING them in the process. Beautiful new look to your house. With that Deep Emerald I would lean to the bluer tones rather than red.

KaHolly said...

What a wonderful quilt! It’s plenty large enough. Very inspirational! Your house looks incredible. They are painting a lot of the brick houses in our neighborhood, too, but none as pretty as yours!

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Wooow! You were able to use up all your green scraps in one quilt?! That's great! And your home is so beautiful, too! Our daughter & SIL painted their brick on their home recently, too--I didn't know it was a thing, but it looks great!

Vicki in MN said...

Gotta love a good scrap quilt and this is definitely one of those!

The Cozy Quilter said...

Great way to use up some greens. We could probably all make one or more of these quilts with each one a different colour…. Your house looks refreshed!

Ivani said...

Great use of scraps and a new layout for the HTS. Love it Mari.
Great work with the painting, your house looks great. Have a nice weekend and happy celebration.

LA Paylor said...

the house looks great and love that quilt... rain, I remember rain. In your area it comes down vertically. We get 20 drops. Happy fourth to you, we'll just celebrate the memory of democracy at least... and celebrate all the good people who died to make our country democratic...

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Mari, that's a beautiful design! And so amazing, all made from your scrap bins. Your house looks great! Doesn't a fresh coat of paint make such a difference?!

Linda Swanekamp said...

Love the design of the quilt as it is all HSTs. The colors are wonderful. The house looks so contemporary now.

Chantal said...

Double congratulations to you. First, for this wonderful quilt; second, for using up all those scraps. I should also add congrats on painting the house too. Wow! What a difference! Love it. ;^)

ButterZ said...

You have used up some lovely scraps and beautiful greens too. Nice finish.

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

Such a lovely scrap quilt! Way to go to use up so much dark green!