Friday, October 6, 2017

Pink Scraps Under the Needle and a Quilt Top Finish

Hi all, and welcome to the first pink Scrappy Saturday in October. I’m going to link this post up to Angela’s So Scrappy blog for our weekly Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Join us for some great quilting ideas and eye candy! I have so much to share that this is likely to be a long post, but at least there are a lot of pictures. Some things, though, I’ll save for a mid-week post. Let’s get started!

In my September scrappy summary, I mentioned a quilt I’m working on (off and on) that will take about 450 -  2.5”x5” lozenges. These will be cornered with 1.5” white and black pieces (it is a Bonnie Hunter pattern taken from a vintage quilt). The link will take you to her Free Patterns tab, where you can find a couple of posts regarding the cutting and construction of the quilt. Anyway, after finishing most of the cutting (I think I saved about 50 lozenges to cut from next year’s scraps to avoid too many duplicates), I cornered 40 lozenges. Obviously, I haven’t started applying any of the black corners yet....

So let’s talk PINK, shall we?  I had one 8.5” strings block from last year, and it takes 4 of them to make one big 16” (finished) square. And I am going to need 20 squares altogether. So, I sewed up 11 more string blocks to finish up the three large blocks. That gives me 15 of the 18 required.


And then it was time to focus on selvages. My Rainbow Selvages quilt calls for two pink columns; one light pink and one bright, hot pink. Done and done.


And sewn to the other finished columns it looks like this:


All that’s left is one column to the very right of the purples. Originally I planned a black/gray column. But now I think I will add two columns next month when we do dark neutrals. One will be the black/gray and the other will be browns. It will add another 4” of width, which I think this 72” long quilt will need, making it 60x72”. Stay tuned.

And the last of my pink scrappy sewing this week was my favorite - the bookcase quilt AKA Reading Rainbow. I needed two 12” pink blocks to finish up the red/pink row (you can click on all pictures to enlarge).


And since the only thing left for the bookshelf was one dark block for the bottom corner. So, I went ahead and made a black/gray block of books. I LOVE how this one finished, especially that Egyptian fabric (a scrap left over from making boxers for one of my sons when he was a teenager). And it has the perfect title - Timeless Treasure. Is that serendipity  or what?


And then I assembled all the books, rows, shelves, borders, etc. Oh my, what fun!  Here it is hanging on the design wall.


I know it’s not a very good picture, but we just didn’t get outside for a photo shoot.  This one is planned for pin basting on my new tables in the coming week. It will be the first quilted that way, so I am rather looking forward to it. And then the quilting will begin. I’m planning to do just some basic stippling or loops - a basic allover design that won’t detract from the action on the shelves. This quilt is about my favorite ever!  Hopefully I’ll have more to share on this next week.

And I am still making progress on my Autumn Farm Girl quilt. This week I finished up the Indian Corn block.


I’m almost done with the owl block, too, but I will save that for my mid-week post.

Finally, I wanted to share a recent make for my friend Diann of Little Penguin Quilts. Diann and DH Mike were going to join us on our recent Colorado trip for a couple days, but due to a death in Mike’s family, their plans changed at the last minute. So, I mailed this off to Diann when we got home from our respective trips. Now that she’s received it, I can share.


It’s just a little quilted, lined zip pouch stuffed with some little goodies. It’s quilted with a lefty vine motif.

A couple Christmases ago I made dozens of these for gifts, but this was the first one this year. And it seems that I was a bit rusty and could've used a refresher course! The first pouch I made (below) used my first fabric picks and colors.


But, I forgot the lining! OOPS! See the batting showing on the inside in the picture below. Sheesh.


If I had a dollar for every sewing missssssnake I’ve ever made, I’d be wealthy.


16 comments:

  1. I must admit that pink isn't my favourite colour, but in your hands it does look pretty nice. I can see why you would say your book quilt would be a favourite because I definitely agree. I know it's one I would love. As for making mistakes - hmmmm....must be something in the air because I spent most of the afternoon reverse stitching pretty much everything I did. That's what I get for trying to create my own pattern and forgetting to think five steps ahead of myself.

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  2. I love your bookshelf quilt so very much, Cathy! And Reading Rainbow is the perfect name for it! Thank you again for the lovely pouch, packed with goodies! The green fabric is so much fun, and I will definitely put it to good use. Glad to know I'm not the only one who messes up! (Wink, wink!)

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  3. Just lovely projects--I like that Egyptian book too...I had a few lozenges on the go but they all came out weird sized (who moi??) -- so they are hidden in the back of my"spare parts" drawer...great stuff hugs, Julierose

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  4. The corn cobs are wonderful. And I'm so impressed that you not only have your pink blocks made, but attached too!

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  5. oh my the bookcase leaves me speechless. The other projects are inspiring and fun

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  6. yay PINK!! Maybe it's just yay OCTOBER!! I love your bookcase quilt. This final block is so cool. I run out of adjectives when I comment on your quilts, lol.
    xx, Carol

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  7. SEW much PINK and a completed quilt top, too? AWESOME!!!

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  8. Your Reading Rainbow is a tour de force, so imaginative with all those little surprises on the shelves. You're Rainbow Selvage just blows me away. How on earth did you ever,collect so many selvages in all the colors. I love it. All winners this week.

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  9. Good gracious, what a lot you have accomplished. I agree, the dark bookcase blue collar is super. No wonder this quilt is your favourite! Some great pink strippy blcks too.

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  10. I saw the Rainbow Selvages blocks and thought "How cool is that?" But then Reading Rainbow just blew me away. I'm a retired librarian so your book shelves are special to me. What a great use of selvage names for the titles.
    Pat

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  11. Sew excited to see the last books make their way onto your shelf. What a really special quilt. Looking forward to seeing it all quilted up.

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  12. I can understand why you couldn't wait until next month to make your last bookshelf block. Your quilt top is amazing, and Reading Rainbow is the perfect name for it!
    I love your selvage blocks too!

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  13. LOVE how the bookshelves turned out - I'm excited for you! Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt!

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  14. I just love reading all the titles on the bookshelves. Oh, what fun is right! I'd be anxious to finish it up too. What will happen to it then?

    I made a lozenge quilt with the same size pieces several years ago with no duplicates. It ended up being one of my favorite quilts. I keep it on the bed in our camper and everyone remarks on how they love it. Have fun with yours.



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  15. Well, that bookcase is gorgeous! I love the little applique details like the fan and globe, too. Congratulations, this is a big milestone!

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  16. Soooooo much fun, eye candy in this post. First of all, I LOVE the book case! Has to be one of my favorite ideas. Will be a keeper for sure. Loved all your projects. Your go girl!

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