String diamonds! (thanks to Max, who unearthed a pile of rectangular pieces of paper while pulling all the fabric off my shelves!)

I’ve had this design on my mind since this season of Project Runway started. I can’t find an image of it now for you, but there’s a wall behind the couches they sit on while waiting to see who’s in/out that has a fun pattern. After that initial show, I quickly drew up this little sketch to remind myself of that wall -

(Clearly drawing is not my strong suit – it’s a good thing the drawing is only meant to serve as a reminder for me!)

I originally sewed together lots of my scrap strips for this very project, but then got distracted by my scrappy zig zag quilt. Luckily there were lots of extra scrap strips left over, so I started putting together these scrappy triangles.

The photo above shows the layout I like the best (though there are lots of fun layout options). I still have to figure out how large to make this… in order to go bigger, I’ll have to pull out the scraps again. It’s fun to be able to use up your scraps, don’t you think?

I fell in love with this wonky zig zag quilt after first seeing it at ting tong and things, and thought that it might be a fun project to use up some of my scraps (which are currently a bit out of hand!!)

They’re overflowing out of their enamel bowls and pots, so it was time to do something. I started by sewing them together in strip sections and then finally decided that this quilt design might be a perfect project for them. Now I’m just waiting for some more Kona white to finish up the top…

(so, while this seemed like it used up lots of scraps, it doesn’t look like it’s made a difference… any other good suggestions for scrappy quilts?)

It didn’t happen.

The thing about string quilts is that I love looking at them (and I’ve made quite a few!), but if I’m going to be honest, they can be a bit tedious to make. Back in July, I asked you if I was crazy to attempt it, and I think that most all of you said I was not. Though I’m thinking now that someone should have! My original plan was to make 10 blocks a day, which would have given me enough blocks in about a month and a half. Well, by the end of August, I was only at 85… clearly this wasn’t going so well. I set them aside until just recently, when I finally was forced to realize that there was no way I was ever going to have enough for a queen sized quilt.

So I sewed together what I had. And you know what? I think this size is perfect. Just what I wanted. (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself!)

__

The tutorial for string blocks can be found here, in case you’re interested!

This one is named as such because Morgan thinks it looks like flying pieces of bowtie pasta. I think that makes it sound a bit circus-like, but so be it. I like the circus, and I really like this quilt, so I guess all’s well.

The small colored fabric triangles are the scraps from my Anna Maria Horner voile string quilt. I couldn’t bear to throw them out, and you all had great suggestions about what I could do with them. Many of you voted for Amanda Jean’s ticker tape quilt, which is definitely on my list, but not for these scraps. Instead, I went with this design, which I spotted in Gwen Marston’s Liberated Quiltmaking II book. The book simply shows a photo of a finished quilt, though I’m led to believe that there’s more information about the block (called the Exquisite block) in her first book, Liberated Quiltmaking (which unfortunately no longer seems to be available for a decent price…).

I love this design for its simplicity, for the way it uses up scraps I can’t bear to throw away, and also for the speed in which it all comes together!

The solid white fabric in this one is an Ikea twin sheet. Amanda Jean posted about this idea here, and one very lovely reader offered to pick me up a sheet when she last visited Ikea (no Ikeas in VT… ) (Lisa, you’re the best!) I really loved using the sheet as the white solid. As Amanda Jean says, you get about 4.5 yards of fabric for under $5, which makes it the cheapest white I’ve used yet. It’s a nice creamy white color and after washing, it has a bit of texture, which I kind of like. I’ve read lots of places that you shouldn’t use sheets for quilting, but I thought it worked out quite well. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference! So if you’re looking for white fabric, you just might want to try this out and see what you think!

___

A huge thank you to everyone who commented with great suggestions on things to do and see around San Diego! I’ve never been, so I really appreciate all the suggestions – thank you, thank you!!

Actually, this is just a quick post to let you know that I have a new tutorial for patchwork napkins available. It’s posted today on Sew Mama Sew, so if you haven’t already been over there, head on over and take a look! Be sure to check out all the other wonderful scrap projects as well!

And now, back to my break!

(a huge thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday’s post – I really appreciate the support!)

I just couldn’t stop myself from starting another string quilt.

It was all these tiny scraps that made me do it.

I finally made all 70 9 patches! I think I’m a bit behind (amandajean‘s beautiful quilt is already quilted and gifted!) but that’s ok…

I’d never made 9 patches before, and I found them kind of fun. I don’t think I’d ever want to do 70 all at once, but a few every couple of days was manageable!

I have most of the top put together, and I’m hoping to get the rest finished over the weekend.

Almost all the fabrics were from my scrap bin, though still it doesn’t seem to have made a dent. And consequently I’ll be working on putting together some more scrap bags for the shop!

So this is perhaps a sad story (well, sad for me, anyway), but with a happy ending, so all is well…

I started this quilt to use up some scraps. The inspiration was the back strip of scraps on the abstract quilt. I decided I’d like an entire quilt with strips of scraps alternating with white. I cut a ton of scraps and got it all sewn together…

And here’s where the sorta sad part came in… everything looked good until I went to square the top up. No matter how I tried, it never appeared to be straight and square. I kept trimming the sides, and it still looked crooked (and not in a good, wonky kind of way!). Even when it measured correctly, it was definitely still off. Perhaps it was just an optical illusion, but whatever it was, I just couldn’t go ahead with it. And I don’t even generally have a problem with things being perfectly straight! (imagine what my brother (or anyone else with OCD tendencies) would think!)

So instead I chopped it into four pieces. And while I’m sad that it won’t be a quilt I’ll be able to use, it does make for four very cute baby quilts. Perhaps the perfect stroller quilt? (or maybe even a nice wall hanging!)

Cute, cute, cute (and cute!)

Each quilt measures about 25″ x 35″ and each one has a variety of all of my very favorite fabrics (lots of flea market fancy in there!). They’re each backed with a different fun printed fabric with a coordinating binding.

I stippled two of them, and I quilted the other two with random straight and curved lines.

For sale here! Sold – thanks everyone!

I’ve been working on a scrappy quilt, again inspired by another quilt back. My scraps are once again out of control and I had hoped this would help, but so far I haven’t noticed it really making a dent. (is it possible that they multiply at night?)

And then, since I kept seeing such lovely half hexagon quilts, I had to get in on the fun. This one will be a baby quilt, with hexagons made out of Far Far Away fabrics.

I also have the second abstract quilt ready to be quilted, but before I can do so I have to figure out how to use my new machine…

The name alone intimidates me. The GrandQuilter. I don’t think I really need anything so grand. Maybe they could have just called it the Quilter.

In any case, I have a manual to read. And then I should probably start practicing. Apparently it’s capable of 1600 stitches a minute, which just makes me fear for my fingers. I’m nothing if not clumsy… case in point? Just this morning I managed to dump my morning coffee right down the front of my shirt… not the outside mind you, but right down under my shirt – between my shirt and skin. Lovely! (luckily I like it with A LOT of milk, so it was only warm, not scalding!)

Anyway, hope the weather’s great where you are, and I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!