Scrap-Swap Block: "Afterlife"

This scrap swap was a true challenge, a mishmash of stuff very unlike what I usually work with. Best of the lot was a large piece of "day of the dead" dancing skeletons that I immediately knew would be the focus of ... something.

That little guy face down on the dancefloor cracks me up!

Something turned out to be a 24-spoke Dresden plate with ric-rac trim. I used a set of coordinating green/mustard/black prints from the swap for the spokes, cutting whole pieces from a large floral, and making slice-sew-slice fabric from the others. I added more solid spokes from a leafy green/black/white stash floral to reach the needed number of pieces. Alternating spokes were tipped from the swap with a basket print (would have used more of that one, but I'd already cut into it for an applique project, whoops!), and a pink 1930s-look faux gingham that I disliked so much I included it to make the challenge that much more interesting:

 

The red and yellow rings are strips of bias-cut near-solid batiks from my stash, folded in half and unserted under the seam. Also from the swap are the celestial prints and pink tulips in the corners. The tropical print on the sides is from my stash. It's quilted with blue and orange metallic thread in a spiral pattern.

Best surprise is how the dresden wedges, from a distance, look (to my eye) like a Mayan heiroglyph. Wish I could take credit for that, but it's a happy accident. I'm also thrilled with how well all these very un-related pieces come together as a whole.

The block is now 26"x26" (quite a bit larger than intended!). That second ric-rac and bias rim is quite ornery about lying flat, although the quilting has tamed it significantly. Rather than rush to add binding, I've zig-zag stitched all around the edge and have tossed it in with a load of laundry. None of the swap fabrics were pre-washed, and I've used cotton batting, so shrinkage might turn out to be my friend.

If it's still not laying flat after a ride in the dryer, I'll make a large 24" pillow sham from it and use it as my reading-in-bed pillow.

Thanks for organizing this challenge, Victoria! Although my first reaction to the swap fabrics was to wonder what I could possibly make from them, necessity has once again been the mother of invention, and I've had a fun couple of days creating something truly unique!

{Stephanie}

From these scraps...

I've made over 150 kite shapes, 15 minutes at a time...

For this quilt.  

February Scrap Bee Quilt

I had such fun sewing together these wonderful blocks from all of you Scrap Bee players. I just love seeing the sweetness and care you put into each and every one.



Then there were these red petal shaped scraps sitting around, and encouragement from some of you to go ahead and use them. What can I say? It's spring! THANK YOU, Scrap Bee players! Can't wait to get started on the April blocks.

Playin' around

Having fun with scraps today.



Then this flower jumped in.


Spring is coming!

Scrap Exchange

I am participating in the scrap exchange organized by Victoria. I am progressing quite well. The center blocks were done over paper. I used half square triangles and turned them so the base was the longest edge. I wish I could say I invented this but I saw a similiar design in a book called Scraps Can Be Beautiful by Jan Halgrimson which is no longer in print. I have done more than 15 minutes of play but can't play everyday, so I get to add up those 15 min. My goal is to use all the fabrics sent to me, but some may have to be on the back.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Look who appeared amongst my 15 minute blocks today! I think she'll make a good companion in my sewing room. The black wavy print is one I received from my scrap partner, Helen. Thank you! It's just what she needed.

leftovers.

I'm taking my leftovers from last years project

and

turning them into christmas trees!!!
fun.
Leftovers are my favorite kind of fabric!!

It's been fun

Well-so-, I was gonna wait till I had it all together before the show 'n tell.  But I'm not yet certain about the border.  Not the words, as they are an integral part of this quilt's final destination.  But the spaces between the borders.  Having done the blocks with a slightly haphazard approach, I thought that the spaces between my paper pieced words should be just as loose. 




Another thought going on:  this is  for a favorite niece who will be wed next June.  She loves bright, happy, fun things, but also love the cool blues and greens. I used mostly Kaffe/Westminster Rowan fabrics and Australian fabrics for the blocks.  The groom loves the Beatles music, thus - "All You Need Is Love". I tried to tied it all together with those "comfy pajama" blues/ green blues,/white for the sashings and borders for a bit of structure as  I am afraid that this may be a bit too unstructured for her taste. But then, I could always make another quilt with more subdued colors and perfectly (well almost) sized, matching blocks. Anyways - this is what I've got so far. And it has been so much fun. Oh, and, any suggestions are always welcome. 

Yellow Submarine

Playing with scraps from my yellow-orange drawer, thinking I'll make some one-color quilts. But I don't know, maybe it's too "blah." Got any thoughts on this?

Whole Lotta Scrap

Thanks to many of you telling me to "keep going," I finished piecing this queen size crazy.


Here's the pile of scraps I started with, accumulated over the last five years. So many memories, a story in each and every piece.


Thanks to Karen and her Selvage Blog, I decided to throw in some selvages.


I can't stop playing. I've sorted my scraps by color, and am thinking about making a series of "one color" quilts. Here are three blocks from the yellow/orange bin.



And look who popped in, Our Lady of Scrap Quilting!

Still growing!

It's growing!

Still blindly pulling scraps out of my bin--no editing, sorting or thinking. Still don't know if I like it, but having fun, nevertheless.

Play Houses

My 15 minutes of play ended up becoming a two-sided wall quilt. Half the houses wanted the light background. Half wanted the dark. What's a mother to do?



Some psychological theory says the house--in dreams--represents the inner psyche of the individual. These have many inner secrets.




I found this way of working so relaxing and fun, that I decided to sew bigger blocks and make a whole crazy quilt. Only 40 more to go.



But now I'm feeling a little bit crazy!