Why do you think it's so much fun to play with scraps?
I have a theory. At least in my case, I think it's a) fun to revisit all of my fabric. Like getting together with dozens of your good friends, and b) wowzer, I could make quite a few quilts without even cutting into my 'good' yardage.
So, I have been making lots of improv log cabin blocks for the quiltalong. I have other ideas about scraps (no groundbreaking discoveries, you all probably know this too), up close they may look dated or plain, but together they are awesome. Here are a couple of blocks up close.
I like the orange one above. I got the fun buggy print from a friend who was downsizing. Not until I made these blocks did I realize that I have the same print in blue (below). I am pretty sure I got both of them from my friend Kim but I never noticed before that I had that print in two colorways. So these two blocks are okay alone and up close. However, I look at them and think 'meh'.
Then I put a cluster of these blocks together and..................SHAZAM!!!!
Now we're talking.
Every couple of days I pulled down a couple mason jars of scraps and put together 4 blocks in each color.
Now, I don't like my green blocks, and I do regret the green choices that have a lot of light background. But, when I put them into a mix with other blocks, they do okay.
Below you can see I was up to 32 blocks in 8 colors. Isn't gray a soothing color? I'm so glad I have been snagging gray fabrics for the last year or two. And, boy oh boy, did I have to work hard to find purple scraps. It's possible that I have NEVER bought a purple fabric (except one Kaffe Fassett.). I think purple is a nice color but it really rarely catches my eye. I managed to get the four purple blocks together by rooting through a bin of 2 and a half inch strips from a swap, and digging out some repro prints.
And I threw together some black and white blocks too. Nice contrast.
I love the red, blue, and gray together. A lot! It is so darn tempting to just make a whole quilt in these colors.
Pretty.
I have 36 blocks done at this point and I decided that was enough. I have four each of 9 different colors. I can put them in seven rows of five and plop the last one on the back. So I have been wondering, how should I set them? Diagonal stripes of each color is purty, but doesn't work with only 4 blocks in each color. Rats.
Here they are all mixed up. Isn't it amazing how much we can obsess about the placement of each block? And, egads, that orange near the middle really bugs me with that one super wide strip at the bottom. I MUST fix it. It could be it is time to let these dudes marinate a bit. I find myself looking at my row of mason jars full of colorful scraps and wanting to play. I think I have a scrap addiction. I will contemplate whether or not I want to make more blocks or call it a day.
I took a few minutes (or more) yesterday to do a little applique on some baby onesies. One of the surgeons I work with is having a baby next month. She is such a sweetheart and it's her fourth child, a little surprise. She had given all of her baby things away a couple years ago. At work, we have started giving 'Sprinkles' instead of showers for co-workers who already have children. A Sprinkle is a scaled down Shower, hee hee. We are putting together a big basket of baby gifts for our friend.
I made four of these onesies with one of my Accuquilt Go dies. One of them was a little lion and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture because it was very cute. I rolled a couple of these up and popped them into a jar and put a ribbon around it. Looks great in the basket!
I didn't use fusible on these because I didn't want the applique shapes to be stiff. Of course when I washed them (I wanted to make sure these looked okay and not distorted), they got a little fuzzy around the edges. Next time I may go ahead and use a light fusible. Feel free to share if you have any input on this.
I have been having fun in the sewing room lately. How about you? Having any fun?
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