Getting Over the Blues and SAHRR Round 2

This week I’m starting off with my Stay at Home Round Robin (SAHRR) Round 2 additions. Our hostess this week is Kathleen, whose prompt for this round is “Make it a Double”. We could choose any double block (double pinwheel, double churn dash and the like) or use something related to the number two - a “2” itself or two colors, two layers or some other creative variation of double/twin/two. 

My center blocks are very busy. The round I added last week focused on additions to the tops and bottoms only so I could work with a rectangle shape going forward. But I knew I had to build in a simple round for the eye to rest,  just as Mary Engelbreit does with some of her colors around the central picture, some of which got cut off to square up the block or got eaten in seam allowances. 

So I chose to work with two colors. My first plan, inspired by my friend Wendy’s adorable wonky double bar blocks, was to do something similar, making a 2-colored piano key border around. But I didn’t have enough of the right blues in either instance (either block) to pull it off. So, I just made blue cornerstones and added the remaining blue on the center sides, filling in with a two-toned yellow stripe. I’m sorry about the photo quality; the blue in the picture looks almost navy or black, but it’s also a two-toned blue stripe fabric in the same scale as the yellow. I played and played with the saturation and color temperature, but couldn’t get the photo to resemble real life. I think I’ll need to take future pictures at midday on sunny days! 

The photo did show me, though, that the blue ¼” border that got eaten up in the seam allowance is showing through on the yellow striped fabric. I’ll correct that by pressing the seam allowance to the center or open before moving on to the next round. The Princess block now measures 19x26”.

Moving on to the Queen block, I used the two colors in a different way. For the four corners I made half-square triangles with gold and blue. The blue is polka dots, like the red from last week’s hourglass blocks. I’ll give the dots a rest for the next couple rounds!! The Queen block now measures 19x24.5”.

I’m sharing my blocks at the weekly SAHRR linkup at Kathleen McMusing’s blog. Come and check out all the wonderful creations that are growing before our eyes! 

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My week wouldn’t be complete without some Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) sewing, and I had a lot to finish up with the color blue for January. At the top of the lineup was making these three Gameboard Blocks. I don’t know where these blocks originated, but I know that at least two ladies participating in the RSC last year were making them, and I was smitten. 

These will make a fun and colorful quilt, and the blocks will look good without sashing for a simple kid’s quilt. I’m really looking forward to sewing more of these 8” (finished size) blocks. 

I gathered my blue crumbs and made six more crumb blocks at 6.5”. I already had 3 blue crumbs blocks in the Orphanage, and these six will join them there, waiting for when their numbers increase in future years to 15. Then they’ll be passed on to our Quilts for Kids chapter to be included in a quilt kit. 

My final blue project for this month (meaning today, the last day of January!) is sewing up these 6.5” blocks and squares that I cut out at the very start of the month. I was still recovering from my knee surgery then, so cutting and then sewing for long periods of time was out of the question. I cleaned out much of my ugly blues for these blocks, and the rest of the ugly scraps were put in the donation pile for the upcoming Worldwide Quilting Day in March. One quilter’s yucky fabric is another one’s treasure, right?

But I have a backing already prepped, and webbing and sewing this top won’t take long. It can then join the Night Flying Geese flimsy (that I forgot to photograph) and I’ll hopefully be able to pin baste them both in preparation for quilting. 

I hope our friends in the East and Midwest are staying warm and safe. I hear that there are some bomb cyclones due this weekend in the Carolinas. Please take care, my friends. And to our friends in Minneapolis, we’re with you in solidarity. Stay safe and stay strong. The courts are finally speaking out and reining in the lawlessness of this administration. We’ll get through this. 

Have a great weekend.