A New Old Project

When I was working on Kacie's quilt in 2021 (you can read about it here) I pieced a backing for it using leftover fabrics from the front along with a few pieces from my stash.  I liked it so much when it was finished that I decided to turn it into a quilt top at a future date instead of using it as a back.

I added an orange strip .....

 

..... and knew it needed more, so I set it aside.  A few weeks ago I was in the mood to get something off my UFO list, so I pulled it out and put it up on the design wall and waited for inspiration to strike.

I found these squares I had appliqued in January of 2020 when I started my temperature quilt.  That plan was a bust.  I didn't even make it through the first month!  Hmmm, could I work some of these into my design?

Yes.  I could.

Some of of them I added by ripping out sections and inserting in a new strip -

Some of them I added using raw edge applique -

Wow!  The color in this photo is really bad.  You can see in the photos up there ^ that it's two really cool shades of green.  Of course every shade of green is really cool, but let's move on.

Next, I auditioned some strips of orange and grey in the lower half .....

I said that once those strips were sewn in I was going to call it "done" no matter what.  Well, you know how that goes.   I made a few more changes in the top half, and now it really is done!

My LQS came through when I set out to find a backing fabric with grey and teal and orange in it.  Isn't this fabric the best?  It's from the Love Always AM collection by Anna Maria for Free Spirit Fabrics.   You should see this in the other color ways.  You really should.  So fun.

And speaking of fun..... The person I'm going to gift it to is going to absolutely LOVE this quilt.  Seeing that is one of my favorite kinds of fun.

Linking up with Scrap Happy Saturday

Improv Quilts for Steve and Ginger

I've been blogging recently about the quilts I managed to finish during the last nearly two years while isolating because of the Covid pandemic.  I was in a funk for about the first six months of isolation and not sewing at all, but then I started making up for lost time.  Now I'm playing catch-up on my blog.  

After I made the quilt for Shirley A using orphan blocks (read about that here) I had a few teal crumb blocks left and set them aside to do something else with. 

I shopped my stash and found these 2.5" strips left from Kacie's quilt (read about that here).

Then I raided my stash again and dug through my scraps and pulled more teals.

Then - you guessed it - play time!  Scrappy quilts need scrappy borders .....

..... and scrappy cornerstones .....

..... and a happy finish.

  

Once I decided that this would be the perfect quilt for my sister-in-law, Ginger, I wanted to make a similar quilt for my brother-in-law, Steve.  Oh, boy!  More play time!  I'm starting to like this whole improv thing!  

Steve's quilt started out with orphan blocks, too.  I used mostly batiks to make more crumb blocks .....

..... added bits and pieces of a fun shade of yellow .....

..... started playing .....

..... and, you guessed it!  Another happy finish!  

My favorite part of making these quilts was gifting them to two very special people.  I wish I could have done that in person, but the photo they sent me is the next best thing.

Love those smiles!

Linking up with "Oh Scrap!"

A Hexie Update

I started making hexies a while back.  Not because I love hexies.  Just because I wanted to always have some handwork available when I needed something to do.  I even took them along to the beach in June and never touched them.  Maybe I liked having them along just in case.  Or maybe I didn't want to mess up that beautiful box, it was so pretty, and organized!

I don't really have any kind of plan for putting them together, I just know I want to do something different. (Surprised?) I've decided to go Improv, just playing with a layout, sewing them together, and seeing where it goes.  It started like this .....

..... and then I played a little.

And now it looks like this.

I asked Hubby what he thought, and he said, "I don't know. It's hard to tell where it's going."  My answer?  "That's the point!"