Purple Comfort Quilt

I finished up my comfort quilt for March today.  I'm really pleased with it.

As I mentioned in my last post, this quilt is made up entirely of stash fabric that needed to be used up.

I used a variegated thread that I have had sitting around forever.  I honestly don't even remember why I ever bought it, it is not my style at all.  But it was perfect for this quilt.  I quilted with simple lines 1/4 inch from each seam.
 

The backing is my favorite part.  It is a Lizzy House print that I found on clearance for $1.48 a yard!!  I bought it knowing that it would be the backing to a purple comfort quilt one day.  I just love it!!

I used a matching purple in my bobbin instead of the variegated thread because I didn't want to distract from those adorable castles.

But, I did use the variegated thread on the binding - so cute!

It is amazing what a difference lighting makes.  The pictures above where taken outside under the shade of a tree.  Below is the same quilt in the house.

The inside pictures are closer to the actual colors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

March Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Purple

March's color for the rainbow scrap challenge is purple. 

I love purple, but purple can be hard with all of its different shades from reddish to bluish. 

Luckily, all of the rainbow quilts I am working on this year lend themselves to separating all of those different shades.

First up, my "birch tree" blocks.

My Medallion Log Cabin blocks.

My "made-fabric" wonky stars.

And finally, my flying geese blocks.

 

And since I had all of that purple out, I decided to whip up a quick comfort quilt top with it.  I pulled some fabric pieces that have been lingering in my stash forever.  One piece was leftover from a sundress I made for myself in 1992.  Seriously.  It was time to go.  I pulled some "ugly" fabric I couldn't see myself using anytime soon(dark purple tie dye)  and mixed in some pretty fabrics I adore (large purple flowers) and they just kinda work.  I also had some random white triangular cutoffs from another project that would work perfectly as wonky star points.  So I went with a quick and simple go to pattern.  I used up some stash, saved some fabric from the trash and make a purplicious quilt!  I hope to get it quilted up in the next couple of weeks.

And finally, my stash bee queen this month picked this Wanta Fanta block in purple for her block this month.  Lucky me!  I hopw she loves it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tracy

The three little bears - quilt style

If you know me, you know that I am a scrap quilter at heart.  This means that I save every little piece and I hate waste.  I will dig fabric out of the trashcan what others have thrown away.  And I will go out of my way to avoid waste if possible. 

So, when it comes to the sew and flip method, I have a love/hate relationship.  I LOVE how easy it is and all of the possibilities for precise piecing.  But, I hate those odd leftover pieces.  I save almost all of them to be used SOMEWHERE.

When the new block for the Crossroads quilt along came out a couple of days ago and I saw all of those sew and flip corners, I cringed just a little.  I am using a layer cake for most of my fabric, so every little piece is precious.  I decided to do a little experimenting and try to figure out how to make those square in a square blocks without the waste.  And here is where the story of The Three Little Bears comes into play.

Using a little quilty math guesstimation, I decided to try cutting that center square at 2 1/8 inches.  From the background fabric,  I cut 2 squares 2 1/2 inches and then cut them diagonally to make 4 triangles.

Well those center squares came out just a little bit too small.  They didn't quite touch.

I decided to try the center square at 2 3/8 for the next one.  A little too big, I really had to work to make these fit and they are a little wonky.

So for the final block I went in the middle with a 2 1/4 inch square.  Ahhh, just right.

Am I going to redo the first 2 you ask?  No, I am going to be ok with those blocks.  First of all, the point of this experiment was to SAVE fabric, so it would seem wasteful to toss them aside.  Secondly, these blocks are not going to be next to each other in the quilt, they will be separated by other blocks and sashing blocks so I am pretty sure no one will notice but me.  And finally, this quilt is for me, and I am ok with imperfection.  Every quilt is a learning experience.  :)

Here are the diamond blocks all together.

And here are my house blocks together.

Are you quilting along too?

If not, it is not too late to join in.  The pattern is free over at The Fat Quarter Shop.  They are asking everyone to donate to the March of Dimes this year in return for a fun year of quilting along.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Tracy