Scrap Busting Part 2

In my original Scrap Busting post, I shared a mystery scrap project I started working on after I finished my scrappy herringbone quilt top.  I use the word "mystery" very literally since it was even a mystery to me. 

I started out with lots of left over scrappy strips that I turned into scrappy blocks.  I then created scrappy HST.

I ended up with 76 scrappy HST that I trimmed to 8 inches.  At this point, I still didn't know what I was going to do with them.

I sat down on the floor in my living room with all the HST and just started laying them out.  I started trying to be completely random...didn't like it.  I then tried arranging them to create diamonds by color...wasn't feeling it.  Throughout this process, I started noticing a mirror effect when matched up with it's caddy-corner HST from the original 12.5" blocks paired together to create 4 HST.  (Have I lost anyone yet?)

Here's a diagram.  Start out with two 12.5" blocks of different colors.  Place right sides together with one block turned and sew a 1/4" seam around each outer edge.  Use a rotary cutter to cut each diagonal.  This gives you 4 HST that measure roughly 8.5".  Take the 2 HST that are caddy-corner to each other and sew together to get the mirrored effect.  Does that make more sense?  I hope so.

Here's what my scrappy flying geese look like.

I have to admit that I love the clean cut mirrored look the diagram gives for the example, but this scrappy mess is also lots of fun.  It takes a bit more effort to find the pattern when the strips are all different sizes and not necessarily all the same exact fabric.

I should have the quilt top pieced by this evening.  I can now officially say my scraps have been BUSTED!

Scrap Busting

I've been in a scrap-busting mode lately.  I finally finished the top of my scrappy herringbone last night.

My plan for the rest of this quilt is a black and white backing (still to be determined) and possibly a grey binding.  I'm not completely sold on that one yet, so the color is still up in the air.

I still have TONS of scraps left over.  I started sewing them together by color to form 12.5" squares and turning them into HST.

This was my trial run to determine if it was even worth it.  With one 12.5" aqua block and one 12.5" yellow block, I was able to create four 8.5" HST blocks.  I think this looks pretty cool and has lots of potential.  We shall see where this takes me.

iQuilt Mini

I had fun learning how to reverse applique to create this mini.  I've been working with scraps lately and decided to use the scraps from my scrap quilt that I'm putting together to create this fun little project.

I also enjoyed FMQ the wavy lines.  The effect it gives is perfect.  Plus, it's hard to make a mistake with this technique.

I found this teal binding fabric at the store that was a great accent to the colors of the scraps and the dark grey overlay.  I found the navy and teal fabric in my stash that worked perfectly as the backing.

Now that this little distraction of a project is done, I will return to my scrappy quilt.

Scrappy Mini with Reverse Applique

I tackled a new skill this weekend and learned how to reverse applique. I've always loved the way it looks and had a bunch of scraps laying around from a scrappy quilt I'm working on right now.

 I didn't have any freezer paper, so I used interfacing.  Although it works, the interfacing is very thick.

 I'm about half way through quilting this one.  With the backing fabric, batting, interfacing, and two layers of fabric on top, this is a very THICK quilting project.  I'm hoping to be done with the quilting tonight so I can put the binding on and be done with it. 

The binding material is the teal fabric on the top left corner of the picture.  It should pop against the dark grey. 

Quilt Show and Scraps!

Last weekend, the Memphis-Area Modern Quilt Guild participated in a local quilt show at the Davies Plantation.  Most of the quilt entries were a bit...ummm...traditional.  Three of our members entered quilts and we also had a booth showing off modern quilting.

We also challenged people to try some improvisational piecing.  There's Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation ready to help anyone with the piecing.

 
Here's Kelly's quilt...

...and mine (Don't get me started on the folding of my quilt for display...I was not a happy camper.)...

 ...and Jenny's (another member of our quilting guild).

It was a busy weekend, but well wort it.  I loved meeting local quilters from all backgrounds and recruiting new members.  It was time well spent. 

Thanks to a sick little boy, I had some time at home this week.  I finished up all my scrap strips and started piecing the strips together.  I'm making a large (80x80) herringbone quilt.  I finished up 2 columns last night and have 8 more to go.  This is going to be one very colorful quilt and I'm exceptionally giddy about it.

I can already tell that I have way more scraps than I need for this quilt, so I need some more projects  to use them all up.  Any suggestions?

My Garden Lattice Grew

After a bit of deliberation, I decided the Garden Lattice quilt top needed to be a bit larger.  The finished quilt top did look like this before this past weekend.

 

Now it looks like this

A friend said the 16-patch blocks look like they are floating now, which I can totally see.

I'm really happy with the addition to the quilt top and now I can move on to my other WIP quilt top without continuing to worry about whether this quilt is big enough or not.