Thursday, January 5, 2023

One blue patch, one blue quilt

 Hi everyone, and a happy 2023! I can't believe we're that far into the 21st century, yet here we are, almost a quarter of the way through. Yikes! We had a very exciting holiday without power for three days, but it was festive nonetheless. I hope yours was restful and peaceful.

Before we get too far into today's story, here is a picture of a little blue table topper that I finished this week and am counting as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project for this year. (Bonus: it's a Project Quilting project, too!)
 
 
Isn't it cute? I am so thrilled with this, not least because it used ALL of my pre-cut blue squares from the 2-1/2 inch bin. Every one of them. I even had to cut a couple extra. There are 144 blue squares in this little topper, which is 24 inches square.
 
 
How did I come to make this cutie? I was looking around the sewing room and considering projects for the rainbow scrap challenge for this year when I took a break to look around at blogland and see if anyone had posted their ideas yet. This is when I happened upon Kim at Persimon Dreams and Project Quilting. I've never done Project Quilting because it goes too fast for me, especially at the beginning of a new semester. This week's prompt was "one," and the idea for this little quilt came to me immediately, all at once. It helps that the blue bin was right there, if you know what I mean.
 
 
 
One patch, one color! It works. Once I started putting the squares together this went really fast, and I found just enough time to quilt it and give it a quick machine binding. And did you notice that it's quilted in concentric squares? Fast and easy, my favorite kind of quilting.
 
 
As I said, all those blue squares got used up and I could not be happier. My goal for the RSC this year is to finally get some of those bins completely emptied. I know that won't happen in reality, but after seeing what I could pull out of the green scrap bin last year I think I have a good shot at cleaning some things out. Some of those scraps are very old and I am just tired of them, so they may make it to a different kind of bin if they don't get used up.


So, I plan to make a bunch of table toppers or small quilts this year, just to use those bits up. I need to throw out some of the smallest pieces. Why do I save the tiny things? I also have a couple of block projects for the RSC this year, but I haven't finished any of those blocks yet. I was cutting diamonds earlier and making a real mess of it, but I'm going to give it one more shot, I think.

Everyone have a wonderful first full weekend of 2023! I will be off to a conference this weekend, so here's to learning a lot to start the year. Happy stitching, everyone! 


Sharing at the Project Quilting linkup at Persimon Dreams, soscrappy for RSC23 (can you believe it?), Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About Your Beauties, Finished or not Friday, and the Quilting, Patchwork, Applique.

27 comments:

ButterZ said...

Nice little topper. Love blues.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I'm so glad that the timing for this first Project Quilting Challenge allowed you to be able to join in this time. It looks great and hooray for using up all the bits in your bin!

Sara said...

That’s a very cute table topper. Great job! Hope your conference is interesting and kicks off the new semester with lots of great ideas.

Astrid said...

Absolutely beautiful! Love blues.

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Nice work! Your little blue topper is done, and your blues are gone. What a nice feeling to be finished with such a cute project.

Susie H said...

You couldn't ask for a sweeter table mat. Amazing to me how you could get all that out of your scraps. What a wonderful feeling to use them up! Perfect for RSC and also Table Scrap Challenge!

Jeanna said...
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Jeanna said...

Blue is one of my favorite colors and I adore this little table topper. Congrats on using up your blue bin of squares. BTW, I found your blog when I visited Sarah's linky party :)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I hadn't heard your area was without power for so long that isn't good!

Bonnie said...

You have a wonderful finish with this one. I love how it sparkles. (Well, it does to me!). I hope you succeed at using up all your bits and pieces. (And if you run out of a color let me know & I'll send some your way. Bahaha!) Sorry to hear you were out of electricity for so long. What a bummer. Hope you enjoy your conference.

piecefulwendy said...

What a fun little quilt, and I'm so glad you've jumped in on the Project Quilting fun. Sorry to hear about the electricity outage, that isn't much fun. Enjoy the conference!

Bernie Kringel said...

You did it - used up the blue squares and made a fun project for ProjectQuilting. I am not usually a participant in PQ either. Two years ago I linked one project to it somewhat accidentally. I made something and in the comments several people said oh - you need to link this up, it fits and prompt. And that is my only time thus far. Maybe this year if a prompt works out. Did you see Wendy's project yet? It is also a good one.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Its perfect!!!
and I love blue - It looks so good in all your photos!!

Kathleen said...

That is a perfect table topper. I am on the shades of blue hop and that would work well for it. I pulled out my blue strips and gonna sew the heck out of them on retreat this week. Congrats on your first Project Quilting quilt. I usually do one or two, but am too frazzled this week with hop prep and getting ready for a sewing retreat next week.

Quiltdivajulie said...

I'm all for making smaller projects - some of the big ones just wear us out!

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

I love the simplicity of this, Mari!!! Great job!!! Fun photos!!!

doloresquilts said...
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doloresquilts said...

Lovely!

PersimonDreams said...

absolutely lovely! glad you're joining in the pQ fun ;)

Shelina said...

This is beautiful! I love the photo on the bench. I have a park that has a bench like that nearby. I will have to take a quilt someday to get a glamor shot.

Kate said...

A fun, fast and fabulous first finish for 2023! Hope emptying your other scrap bins is as fast and easy!

Vivian said...

Way to go emptying a scrap bin, meeting the Project Quilting challenge and starting the year off right!

The Joyful Quilter said...

ONE project for TWO challenges? Way to go, Mari!!

Maggie said...

Amazing feat to use all your blue squares, it looks beautiful.

Gwyned Trefethen said...

Love it when a single project fullfils two challenges simultaneously. Such a pretty table topper, too.

grammajudyb said...

Good entry for your first entry in Project quilting! I’m still just a “lurker” in that challenge! And a twofer is a win-win!

Cathy said...

Such a totally adorable finish! Great idea, Mari!