Just keep cutting

 Hi all! Well, just like that, it's August. You know what comes this month-- the end of summer and the beginning of school. Amazingly, this week has so far been one of the coolest parts of the summer weather-wise. How does that happen? I don't know, but I'm not sizzling, so I'm pretty happy about it.

Today's post is brought to you by two overflowing bins, but first, here's a picture of what is coming out of those bins, just to have something pretty at the top:

 

 

A Snail's Trail block in blue and beige! It doesn't sound like it would work, but it does. They are the colors of water and sand, after all. And I can't resist taking pictures with the flowers, plus they're a nice contrast, aren't they? They are turning out great, even though they got a late start this year.

As you may recall, I sorted scraps and emptied the last of the boxes of bits and pieces over the last few weeks. It turns out that I have a lot more blue than I thought, and a whole lot more beige. I seldom use these colors, so they mainly sit in the bins.Take a look:

The beige fabrics multiply in the dark, I'm certain of it. I haven't bought any in forever, and I even gave a box of beiges and tans away, but I still have a ton of bits and pieces. I think most of these got cut off backings, but there are all kinds of pieces in there.

I decided to use these together in a quilt, and I borrowed an Accuquilt die from a friend to do the cutting. Quite a while ago, I bought a used Accuquilt, and I've been making good use of it ever since. Even used it was pricey, but it was worth it. The dies are also pricey, which is why I've borrowed this one. I have some dies that very kind friends have given me, and a few that I bought (also used.) Borrowing and trading with friends is the way to go if you can.

 

So, over the course of a couple of hours over a couple of days, I was able to cut the pieces for 30 Snail's Trail blocks out of those bins, and there are plenty of hunks and chunks left. I'm surprised to get 30 blocks, but I may try for a few more because these blocks are only 8 inches finished. Anyone know the math for expanding the size? I would just have to add more triangles, but I'm not sure I have any pieces that are big enough for that (now that I think about it.) Most of the scraps are truly scraps and are pretty small.

For these blocks, I've been using the dark and medium blue values, so I'm going to have to think up another project to use up those lighter blues. I have a couple ideas, but I'll have to finish this up first. I have no deadline for this, but all of those pieces are so nicely cut and arranged, it's a real motivator to get them stitched up. And it's August, so there's not a lot of time!

Hope everyone is having a great week. While I was out on the deck, I also got a photo of some very petite peach roses that I planted in a pot so the deer couldn't get to them, so I'll leave you with that photo. Happy stitching!

Sharing at Midweek Makers and Oh, Scrap!

The best-laid plans

 Hi everyone! Here we are at the last weekend in July. How is that even possible? This was a very productive week for us here at the AQ household. Last weekend we decided to take down the enormous mirror that took up an entire wall in our bathroom. Seriously, it was about 8 feet by 6 feet. Huge! If you've ever wanted to watch yourself shower, this was the mirror for you! We managed to get it down, in many, many pieces, only to discover that there really wasn't a wall behind it. They had put the mirror over some plywood and the very old built-in medicine cabinets.

Those of you who have done home improvements know where I'm going with this. One thing lead to another, and now we have completely re-done the bathroom. Yeah, we had a "good" time with wallboard and new lights, and new mirrors and rugs, and a shower surround, and everything else. I wish I could say that it was fun, but at least it's now over. It took forever!

All of this is leading up to this week's small finish, which I had planned to quilt this week, but did not get a chance to, what with all the scraping and sanding and whatnot. Here is my project:

 

Ah, it's luminous, is it not? I love these colors individually, and together they look even better! I started this project quite a while ago, and intended to make a full quilt from it, so I had plenty of fabric for the small borders. After it's quilted, I'll use the green that's in those little squares for the binding. I think that will be just right and really make the whole piece.

 

 

I did intend for this to be a full-size quilt, but, alas, it was not to be. The project went into a box when we moved, and it's only now come out. I still had dreams of a nice lap-sized quilt, but it was either make a smaller project, or keep it in the box. I made the (really hard) decision to make it into this small table topper or wall hanging instead of shutting it up in the box again. I've done a lot of repurposing this year, and I don't regret any of it, even though giving up on the bigger quilt was really difficult in this case.

 

 

I love this whole thing-- the blocks, the sashing, the colors, the fabrics-- and now at least I'll get to look at it every day, even if it isn't a full-size quilt. If you want to make the block yourself, the instructions are HERE. (It doesn't look like the same block, but it is! Color placement is everything.) I wish there was a pattern for the sashing, but I just made that up myself. You could try a piece from a Storm at Sea block, though, to get the same effect.

But I do regret not getting to quilt this piece this week! I really should have known better-- a mirror that size had to be covering up something. I do plan to quilt this little topper really soon, and I already have a quilting plan all drawn out, which is really unlike me. It might not be a big quilt, but it certainly will be a pretty one!

Hope you all have a really good weekend as we move into August. (August!) I know for sure we're not doing any home improvements this weekend because my niece will be here, and we will be showing her and her hubby all of the wonders of Baltimore. It should be fun! 

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Brag About Your Beauties, and Finished or Not Friday.

A challenge in blue and purple

 Hello everyone, and welcome to another summer weekend. Aren't they great? This week I've seen people (okay, mainly fabric companies) busting out fall-themed projects, and I've wanted very much to tell them to stop it. Summer is short enough-- don't rush toward fall! I still have tons of ice cream to eat!

It's time for another check-in for my projects for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and I've done okay with the darker blue this month. Turns out I have a few that are actually kinda cute, which is a surprise to me. Here are my Saguaro blocks in darker blues:

 

 

Definitely not navy, but not too bad. I really like the floral. Also, are blueberries blue or purple? I couldn't decide, but I put them with the blues. Either way, they fit nicely into this quilt. You might notice that the "leaves" on the blueberry block are kind of brownish, but that's a batik that has a lot of green in it, and that's just the way those hsts turned out. Sometimes fabric is like that.

I also made the last of the purples, so here are those three blocks:

 

 

I like them! Where else could I have used that grape fabric? I have no idea where I got it, but it has been kicking around here for quite a while.

So now we're getting to the stage where I'm starting to think about putting some blocks together and what the final quilt is going to look like. I threw some of the blocks into the design wall, just to see:

 

 

I like them and think they'll make a great quilt, but does anyone else think there is a lot of white space there? In the pattern there are a lot of different backgrounds, so it's not as noticeable, but mine are all white and I think it might look a little bland. I thought about using stitch and flip corners on the the blocks to mitigate some of the white space:

 

 

What do you think? Is it too distracting? Does it look too much like a bullseye? I think I like it, but do I want all green, like the "leaves," or multicolors? Or maybe I want a sashing and cornerstones instead! That could make an alternate block on it's own if I do it correctly. Decisions, decisions. . .

Fun things to ponder! Hope you have a lovely summer weekend with lots of sunshine and ice cream. We are going to try to take down a massive (8 feet by 6 feet) mirror in the bathroom. I'm tired of watching myself shower. Wish us luck! 

Sharing at soscrappy for RSC 21.

A very pink week

 Hi all! How's it going? We are hot and humid, but, you know, it's July. Have to expect that, right?  Break out the popsicles and ice cream, because hot food is out of the question right now.

I've been working on a couple of things this week, and it turns out there's kind of a pink theme happening right now. First up are the latest of the "old and new" blocks:

 

 

I didn't set out to make three coral blocks, but that's how it worked out. Sometimes it's like that, right? I love these blocks, and now I understand why the modern blocks are so popular. They are so much faster to make than the traditional blocks. I think the traditional blocks are worth it, though, especially when they turn out so pretty.  The block on the left is actually a block from a Civil War sampler, if you can believe it. So much prettier in coral and green than gray and blue!

 

While I'm thinking of it, if you happen to know the fabric line or designer of the fabric above, could you please let me know?  I messed up and used that fabric for a different quilt, and now I only have a few scraps and I need some more of it. I know it's a long shot, but maybe one of you will recognize it. 

In other pink news. . .Lynne over at Patchery Menagerie has been making herself a luscious pink quilt, and that inspired me to pull out these leftover magenta pieces:

 

These are left over from a Bonnie Hunter quilt that I finished in a different way from the pattern. If I use four of these per block, I have enough already assembled for 16 blocks, and enough pieces cut for a total of 24 blocks. My real dilemma is how to put them together. As I see it, there are two options:

 

I like them both, which makes it difficult to choose. The four patches are also leftovers, so I thought I might go ahead and use them here, too. It feels like there are hundreds of them, and they have to get used somewhere! For the stars, I'm leaning to the ones on the right, if only because they'll fit better with some kind of alternate block. I haven't chosen that yet, but I feel like I have to figure the stars out first. One thing at a time! (Which doesn't seem to happen around here, actually. . .)

So, it's been a very pink week so far! I love pink, so that makes me plenty happy. Plus, here is a sneak peek of a non-pink project that I'm trying to finish up:

 

 

Yikes! There is embroidery involved with this one, and it's a bit too warm to hold on my lap, so it's going slowly. But it's thrilling to have it at this stage!

Hope you're all having a good week, with lots of air conditioning. Try not to melt, and pass those popsicles!

Sharing at Midweek Makers.