Dancing in September

I was dancing yesterday in my studio (luckily my kids weren’t around to make fun of me. But back in the day, I really could dance!). The sun was shining in the windows and I had just finished piecing the Bowties quilt top. Earth, Wind and Fire was providing the music, and the song of the hour was September.

So, here’s what the dancing was about.  Bow Ties is a completed top (!!) of 288 single blocks set 16x18. Oddly, instead of measuring 64x72, it measures 65x73. I guess that’s what scant quarter inch seams do. Isn’t it cheerful?

Bowties will get basted and quilted in October. In fact, that is my OMG - One Monthly Goal - for October. I've linked up to Patty’s October goal-setting post.

And there was a lot of Rainbow Scrap Challenge sewing this week in order to finish up my darker blue scraps. First, there were the crumb blocks; 14 of them at 6.5”.

I was able to sew 19 of the Irish Chain blocks that I’ll need as the alternate blocks in my Birds in the Lattice Quilt. I already had 4, so that brings my total to 23 completed of the 32 needed. I will be able to finish up the last 9 this weekend. I put them up on the design board to get a feel for how it’s coming together. (Edited Sept 30th to add: 9 final blocks done!)

The sample layout above shows a 5x5 setting of the 10” blocks. When complete, it will actually be 7x9 for a total of 63 blocks (32 lattice, 31 birds). There will also be a border around it of the featured dark blue floral print fabric. I love the rich, saturated colors!

I’ve decided that it won’t be made into a queen-sized bed quilt as I’d have to piece more blocks than the current plan calls for. I have enough fabric, but I’m not crazy about the idea of a mostly-white bed quilt or the fact that another expansion would prolong the construction by a couple months (at least) given the upcoming holiday season. So, it will finish somewhere in the neighborhood of 78x98” with the border.

And here’s my scrappy tally for Blue September:

Top, L-R:
18  Selvage blocks, 6.5”
  3  Selvage blocks, 4.5”
  7  Birds, 10.5”
  2  Squared Away blocks, 10.5”
Bottom, L-R:
14  Crumb blocks, 6.5”
  3  Lollipop blocks, 6.5”
  1  Friendship Star, 6.5”
20  Quarter Log Cabin blocks, 6.5”
Not Shown:
28  Irish Chain/Lattice blocks, 10.5”

Total:  96 blocks

I also completed three quilts in September:

Top Left:  Safari Baby Quilt, 46.5x55"
Bottom Left:  Orange Lozenges, 62x72"
Right: Linked Squares, 64x80"

All in all, it was a good month.  I’m linking up to Angela’s blog for Rainbow Scrap Saturday, and Cynthia’s blog for Oh Scrap!