Cut'em Up!

 Remember the block race I was in a little while ago?

Well it produced a big stack of 10" blocks.

 

The pile was added to one late night 

when I just needed something to stitch, so it got larger.

Some of the blocks were trimmed down to 9 1/2" for a

devilish bingo game at retreat, but the pile was still substantial.

I've been collecting string quilt instructions 

for this year's string quilt push

and I came across a top made with 

perpendicular block halves.

The pattern is from Fons and Porter 2014.

Some were larger than required but

 I didn't want to cut them down

and waste all that good sewing and fabric.

So of course I modified the pattern.

Channeling the spirit of upcycling, sustainability and reusing,

I used a lime green poly cotton as the sashing.

Yes, it brought back all the reasons not to use poly cotton.

It isn't as forgiving when joining diagonals,

it has a peculiar smell when ironed, and it is rather slippery

and required use of  *gasp* pins. 

Actually, I do use pins quite a bit so that's nothing unusual.

Here we go!

First, I sorted my blocks, to keep green strips away from the center

so they wouldn't interfere with the sashing.

Then I bravely slashed half of them 

in the direction of the strips,

and the other half perpendicular to the run of the strips.

Next, I added the lime green 1 1/2" strip to the middle,

squared them all up again to 9 1/2",

pieced them all back together, and voila!

My top is already at the ideal size for a twin, 

It will end up with a small border of

squares set in a plane or reads a solid background.

Here is a mock-up of  mine next to the original pattern.

A piano key border would make the top larger than I like

so I will use my smaller border.

There's always the capacity for modification!

There is still a pile of blocks to use, 

so another something is definitely in the works.

Stay Safe and Sew on!

Linking up with

Sew & Tell

Monday Musings

Design Wall Monday

Handmade Monday

Sr SPS

My Cozy Collection

 Each month I try to feature a 

different Queen sized quilt on my bed. 

The goal is to have a collection of 12 that 

I can rotate throughout the year.  The halfway point was 

reached but like a good recipe,

 my quilts get shared

 so my cozy collection is very variable!

Here is my collection so far:

 I am a holiday lover and this quilt

was in the making for quite a few years.

It started out in a magic tiles class. Then it sat. The magic tiles

 technique calls for a set of nine colors 

 used to a make the blocks.

 I ran out of a few colors and 

it was not the season to get shiny holiday fabrics

 

so it had to wait even  longer. Life got in the way and

 

it fell into the UFO singularity.

Then I stumbled onto a tutorial by Missouri Star 

for a tile like block and voila!  I finished this off with 

a braided border. I used the long braid created

 

by Missouri Star instructions for each big border and

only cut off a few tile blocks to finish off the corners.

This quilt actually sneaks onto my bed in mid November. 

We really enjoy the winter holiday season!  

Winter Strings was a Pando (covid) project.

It has a double batting in it to keep us

nice and comfy during the winter months.

I had made a lightweight one to 

use during the summer because I liked

 the look of it and it really cut down on my string piles. 

Alas, there was an auntie in a neighboring province 

who was quiltless, and off it went.

This alien quilt, reminiscent of the sliding doors 

on the Starship Enterprise,

was one of my favorites.

This favorite is now appropriately

residing in California's silicon valley with two big brains!

This one was picked for a wedding quilt

as soon as the binding was on.

It will definitely be remade because it's a beautiful finish

and I have strings of plenty.

I've managed to hold on to this one. 

It had some construction issues so it's a bit delicate.

It won't ever be offered up for gifts or rehoming.

This lives in a new home in Leduc.

The First Born scooped this one up for 

a house warming gift for a lifelong friend's new home. 

 They are delighted with it so 

it is being well used and well loved.

Big Red , Pineapple and Scrap Stars 

are safely guarded in the closet behind 

the good china while the floors are being redone. 

Along with one of my first quilts,

they are safe at home for now. 

Keep working on more cozy quilts.

Stay safe and Sew on!