Scrappy & Happy!

This is a scrappy, happy quilt top that was given away awhile back.  It's just rectangles in rows.  Easy, easy!  And fun.  A great way to use up leftover pieces.

The Girls Next Door

I've been working on a cute, cute, cute quilt called Girl Next Door.  It's a pattern by Louise Papas of Amitie Designs, which is Jen Kingwell's company.

It was a challenge to get it started since every piece is listed as a template.  That's right--no rotary cut sizes at all.  So I spent awhile measuring all the templates for the girl block and then spent awhile making a test block.  

In the end, it took me about 3 hours to make the first block because I kept cutting the wrong size patches.  But I finally got all the sizes right and whipped through the other 23 blocks, and actually make one extra because they were just so cute and I had already cut an extra dress fabric for previewing so I went ahead and put that one together too.  Since I keep an "orphan block" drawer of test blocks anyway, I figured that I would put it to good use somewhere.  Maybe in the backing?  We'll see.

I had fun picking the socks and hair fabrics.

This house goes in the middle of the quilt, with all the girls around the house, then a picket fence, and then houses. Fun!

Looking Out My Window (Quilt)

I call this quilt "Looking Out My Window".  

It just looks to me like windows in a big apartment building.

This quilt is another Sour Dough Quilt.  

Every time I have a new fabric on the cutting table I cut:

(1) 2-1/2" square for the center

(2) 2 x 2-1/2" rectangles and

(2) 2 x 5-1/2" rectangles

I throw the pieces in the "Windows Quilt" box and when I have a few cut then I pull out the box and whip up a few of the blocks.  Then I put it back on the shelf and continue adding more cut pieces over the next few months until I have enough to enjoy a few hours just sewing and catching up on Vikings!

The 2-1/2" squares get all mixed up across the quilt so even though you've used the same fabric in the center of one block you can use the rectangles of the same fabric with a different 2-1/2" square and place it somewhere across the quilt and it will not detract from how scrappy it looks.

I don't know if I have a single scrappy quilt that does not have duplicates of fabrics.  In fact, most of my quilts have fabrics duplicated numerous times.  

Still scrappy and happy!

A new name! A new blog! A new adventure!

Sourdough Quilts

my method for making many scrap quilts

1) Find a pattern or block you love

2) Make a note of the sizes of patches you need

3) Decide the "flavor" of the quilt; will it be totally scrappy or will it have a theme like 1930's reproductions or Civil War reproductions, etc.?

4) Cut some patches the sizes you need and put them into a project box

5) Make a few blocks from those patches

6) Add more patches from other fabrics as you are using them for other projects

7) Make a few blocks from those patches

8) Repeat 6 & 7 until size needed (or until you're tired of this one--then go on to the next!)

Thus you have the Sourdough method of making quilts.  

I usually have 6 to 7 scrappy Sourdough Quilts going at a time.  I cut 1-1/2" squares, 2" squares, 2-1/2" squares, etc.  as well as strips of varying widths like 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/2", 3-1/2".  

I also cut larger squares for making 9-patches and half-square triangles.  For those, I cut 4-1/2" squares, 5" squares, 5-1/2" squares and 6" squares.