Scrap X+plosion Quilt Finished

Hi Friends, and Happy Scrappy Saturday and Easter weekend!

This week was a busy one for Bruce and I, full of doctor visits (Bruce’s arm is doing well; stitches removed next week), family birthday parties, our kids, grandkids and friends visiting, dining out, yard work, errands, and all the stuff of life that makes it fun and interesting. Even the weather has kept us on our toes - cloudy and rainy one day, sunny and warm the next. Typical spring. It’s been a great week overall. And I got lots of fun sewing and quilting in too!

First, as a break from the Scrap X+plosion quilt, I sewed up 13 multi-colored 4” bowtie blocks. Although I’m not crazy about the weak contrast with some of them, I’ll keep them until the time that I begin assembly (likely a year or two before I have enough). They may have a place in the overall design scheme.

And then I whipped up four cactus blocks for Block Lotto.  Each block we sew is an entry into the monthly drawing, winner take all. I have yet to win, but then this is only my fourth month, so it’s all good. I have fun and learn a new block in the process.

And then it was time to finish up the X+ quilt. Alfie, who says that anything Molly or Buddy can do, he can do too, decided to prove it by redesigning the blocks that wouldn’t fit on the design wall.

So here is the finished 42-block Scrap X+plosion quilt. This is my April multi-colored Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt and the first finish for my Quarter 2 Finish Along goals (#6 on the list). And Angela is hosting our regular Saturday Rainbow Scrap linky party over at her blog.  As you can see, I decided to leave out the sashing, and I’m so happy I did. The ombre orange is on the back, and the mustard-colored fabric (after being cut into 1.5” strips) will await another project.

This was such a fun quilt, and a breeze from start to finish. Bruce went wild over it, voicing my feelings exactly that you can never tell how happy and fun a bunch of random scraps can be! It’ll never win any design awards, but it sure has won our hearts. There are so many fabric memories sewn into it. And as soon as I laid it down, guess who claimed it?

HRH Alfalfa on his new throne

Sooner or later he`ll get up and I can throw it in the washer for its first launder. In the meantime, let’s take a quick look at the back.  I used a full (not franken-pieced) batting, but did use a couple near-empty spools of thread for quilting. And then cut up some random pieces and FQs for the back. There is also the one extra X+ block and the last of my orange ombre fabric from a bolt of it I found at the thrift store a year or two ago.

As usual, my quilting is a bit ADHD, and I added random flowers, hearts and other things here and there among the loops.

This block was so bright that it stuck out like a sore thumb with all the others. So, it go placed on the back instead. Works for me!

Have a great week!