Friday, February 19, 2021

More Yellow Sewing

Can you tell it’s winter? If you live in the US, of course you can! According to the National Weather Service, there is currently more snow on the ground in the USA (73% of the country) than at any previous time in modern record-keeping. In reading a bit further, however, we learn that they’ve only been tracking that statistic since 2003. But still. I think we can all be grateful if we’re not living in Texas now, eh?

We got our fair share of snow in Salt Lake over a couple days this week - well over a foot here on the valley floor. And the mountains surrounding us got absolutely plastered. It’s wonderful! We’ve got fantastic winter sports conditions for those who participate and lots of water for our reservoirs come spring for those of us who drink water, LOL.

This week in the Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR), we were assigned Wonky (or other) Stars by this week’s hostess, Wendy. So, I did try the wonky stars. Really, I tried. But it seems I do wonky best when I’m not intending to, because when I really tried I kept wasting fabric and not covering the area I needed to. Geez, how hard can it be? It’s not rocket science, after all. (And speaking of rocket science, did you get to see NASA’s landing of Perseverance -“Percy” - on Mars?? It was amazing and so much more educational and watcher-friendly than I could have imagined!)

But I digress...

So, getting back to my SAHRR quilt top, I ended up piecing 6” (finished size) Friendship Star variation blocks for my next round. I’m a bit disappointed that the fabric I used (which is the same as in the Broken Wheel block at the very center) turned out looking mushy instead of crisp. I’m trying to use up several cuts of old Bonnie and Camille fabric. I love the print, but.... visual mush. In retrospect, I probably should’ve used the other green print that I used in the cornerstones of the flying geese round. Oh well.



So that brings the quilt measurements up to 42.5” across and 48.5” lengthwise with two rounds left to go. The next round, depending on what it is, may just be applied along the top and bottom to make it more rectangular. I’m thinking it’ll include some navy. I’m linking up to Wendy’s blog where everyone is sharing the progress on their quilts. It’s so interesting to see all the interpretations!

This week in the Yellow Month of February for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I decided it was high time to tackle my yellow strings before they tackled me. You think I’m kidding? When the dust settled, there were THIRTY THREE (yes, 33) yellow string blocks - and a much lighter yellow scrap bin!


If I add these string blocks to the 24 I already had on hand, I could easily make a totally yellow string quilt. But I’m not, at least for now. I’ll talk about that in a moment.  First, here is the little Dancing Zebras donation quilt. It finished at 39.5 x 46”. Quilting was just a simple loopy design. It is labeled and added to the new pile of donation quilts for Quilts for Kids (QFK).


Among all the boxes and bags of scraps that our QFK chapter gave me to make quilts with were lots of fugly scraps - blah colors, single strips, trimmings, etc.  As I sorted them, the wide strip of animal print fabric below declared that it would like some gold and brown and oddball scraps to join it for a party. (Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m just relaying the message).  So I obliged.  Here’s the top half:


And here’s the bottom half. It sure did eat up a lot of junk scraps. And I don’t think there are any two strips of the same width. I’ll get a single picture of the quilt top next week after it’s basted and quilted. 


Finally, I’ve started on what I hope will be the 4th and final donation quilt from the yellow/gold scraps. The photo below is NOT A LAYOUT. It’s just the first step in my design (and I do use that word loosely) process which allows me to see if/when I have enough strips, blocks, scraps and bits to cover an area sufficiently sized for a kid quilt. 

This is where some of those string blocks may come into play. I also made several yellow 9-patch blocks. I can still make crumb blocks or Happy blocks, or use the one-of-a-kind novelty strips or whatever to fill it out. This is just the beginning. The scraps themselves will tell me where to go. Wait. Oh heck, you know what I mean. 



Stay warm, stay safe and stay healthy. 




23 comments:

  1. Those yellow strings are so pretty..
    [I am taking a bit of a sewing break as my hands have flared up once again from rotary cutting those centers for my Wild Garden}...
    I will be mostly sorting through my tons of scraps .
    Your SAHRR is really looking so pretty.. I like the yellow stars...very calming...take care hugs, Julierose

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  2. I just LOVE that yellow string quilt. Yellow is not my color, but that quilt will be amazing.

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  3. Great use for some of those YELLOW String blocks, Cathy!! It looks like you are having fun with the QFK scraps. Looking forward to seeing how these turn out.

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  4. Wow, you've been busy as usual. I've made nothing with yellow scraps except my Table Scraps challenge and that was pretty small. OH, wait, I did make one yellow 9 patch. But I have been working on other things, just not limited to yellow. Now I need to frankenbat a backing for the latest kids quilt.
    Pat

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  5. I like your border for your SAHRR! That design with the friendship stars and ribbons is such a neat one. And you're having fun with yellow, too! I always enjoy seeing what you put together for QFK.

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  6. 33 Yellow string blocks this month in addition to 24 already made! You must have an enormous collection of yellow fabric. Love the layout of your two strippy quilt tops. The all yellow one is working well with having those rows of string blocks at regular intervals. You must enjoy delving through the variety of fabrics gifted to you. Great fun! Wish I could give you a hand!

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  7. Way to go, using up those fugly scraps! The quilts are cute and will be loved. And don't tell anybody, but scraps talk to me too!

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  8. So much good yellow. Oh my that is a lot of string blocks all in yellow.

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  9. I always get such a kick out of seeing your kid quilts!
    And holy strings, that's a lotta yellow!

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  10. Hi Cathy! Gosh, I don't think your Round in the SAHRR is mushy at all. I think it adds some continuity to your piece. Knowing what the next two rounds are I can say that navy will be pretty - but I sill look forward to seeing what you decide! Also, I have to add that I am amazed with the diversity shown from the same prompt. Your yellow!! So inspiring and happy looking string blocks. And yippee for being happy with the snowfall. We are ahead of our average amount of snow for the season with more due tomorrow, but it's almost March so Spring will arrive either way in just 28 days. I hope you are both doing well! Take care. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  11. Wow! That's an abundanza of yellow strings! And it's always so interesting to me how even the fugliest scraps have just the right quilt waiting for them somewhere. I don't really like olive greens or dusty pinks or baby poop brown, but somehow I find I need just those colors sometimes :)

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  12. I'm loving all the yellow fun you are having! Kudos to you for the projects going to a good cause. Love that Zebra Strippy quilt --- Simple yet a lot of fun and punch! Also love the "design process", how it comes together and what comes from it. Truly an inspiring approach to mining all of those scrap cuts and scrap stash blocks.

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  13. All those yellow scraps are giving me a much-needed dose of sunshine!

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  14. I'm glad you gave the wonky stars a try, even if they didn't work out. I do like your star border, very much! Your yellow strings make me think Spring! Thanks for linking up!

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  15. Wow you have a lot of yellow string blocks and they're gorgeous! Very sunshiney and happy.

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  16. You DID have a LOT of yellow strings! WOW! I'm sure that is more than I have. Loving your quilt progress!

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  17. You are really cooking along with the yellow scraps. Great job! Those bins have just got to be getting lighter ... oops! I'll bet they've multiplied again! Keep on sewing, Cathy!

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  18. I think your SAHRR looks just perfect with those fabrics. And you always look like you are having fun dreaming up and sewing up QFK quilts. You always have some creative ideas!

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  19. I love the mix of red and green for the SAHRR quilt. Of course you can do wonky. But the friendship stars work just as fine. It is your quilt after all. Of course the lemony, butter, sunny and honey colored string blocks are absolutely yummy. And speaking of water - let's drink water. Let them have wine :-D

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  20. I love the friendship stars that you added to your SAHRR! I'm with you, I can do wonky when I'm not trying to!! :)

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  21. I like the yellow strings in the not-really-a-layout. Good use of all those miscellaneous donations! I agree about the SAHRR stars, but at least you're moving that print along (=out of the stash and into a quilt).

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  22. Wow - that's a lot of yellow! You must have been seeing it in your sleep after you got finished sewing all those. Nice to know that I'm not the only one that holds discussions with fabric!

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