Leftovers

As a kid I hated "leftovers".  The reason they were left over was no one wanted them.  That's not the case  with fabric.

Last year I had some scraps I felt were too good to throw out and with reference to the frugal patchworkers of previous generations I thought I'd try to use them.  I made lots of these

I had an idea and put them together but they didn't really appeal so if you look closely you may see some threads still at the edges.  There are quite a few more where these came from and it would be a shame to toss them out so I am trying to come up with an alternative design to use them.

Speaking of leftovers I seem to have accumulated lots of 1.5" strips so I thought I'd try a slightly different version of "Muffet's Way".  If you do look back, it is the quilt in the middle picture of that post.  Below, I have used reproduction fabrics in smaller blocks

I have been working on it this weekend and would like to have 25 blocks all sewn up by Tuesday.  Scrap quilts appeal to me above all other styles, even though I love album quilts.  It feels good to avoid throwing leftovers out.

Comings and Goings

Don't you just love receiving something in the mail?  Emails are fine and fun in their own way, but when I know that sender went to the trouble of putting something in an envelope and then travelled to the post box or post office to send that something my way just thrills me.

Imagine my excitement when  Sharon from Washington State in the US sent me a package containing this:

Above the cute little nail file is a double sided 4 page pamphlet about the recent Red & White quilt show in New York.  Sharon knew I'd love it because she has seen my blog's left sidebar, full of links to other blogs with  beautiful photos (including Sharon's) of the show.

In amongst the notes from Joanna S Rose was this little tidbit:
"It is my hope that the show will travel far and wide - inquiries have come from several continents."
I hope that includes Australia.  I would certainly travel as far as Perth or New Zealand if the exhibition were to be staged in Australasia.

So a huge thank you to Sharon from Grassroots Quilting who has some colourful liberated quilts on her blog right now as a result of a weekend retreat with Gwen Marston.  Lucky duck! Go on over and check out her fun quilts.

So much for incomings.  Now for outgoings.  Last week I heard that Linda was organising her annual Quilts in the Barn Show.  This year Linda has managed to snag Jo Morton (yes, THE Jo Morton) to come over and show her quilts in a fund raiser for breast cancer research.  On top of this, Linda has decided to make a raffle quilt from only Jo Morton fabrics.  She has asked for blocks from around the world to include in the quilt.

This is my humble offering.  Not yet trimmed to 5.5".

It's not too late to join in and it would be nice for Linda to know that all her efforts are supported by the blog community.  I don't think Linda would mind me telling you that the block is so simple and she gives clear instructions here.  So simple I am tempted to make my own quilt using this block.

Slowww Progresss

Quilterie has been very quiet recently.  I've been busy with lots of little fiddly things.  You may remember a quilt I showed before called Georgetown Square.

Well I needed some of the sashing fabric for some fussy cutting in another quilt, but you know how it is...you can't cut into a fabric if there is the tiniest possibility that there won't be enough for the initial project.

So, after some phaffing about I finally put some sashing onto the Georgetown Square:

 I didn't get very far before I realised that the directional fabric  may require mitres in the corners.  Too late.  Anyway  with such a complex fabric pattern, that seemed like a poor option.  Before cutting any more of my sashing I thought I'd better consider further border options.  At this point the quilt only measures 52" square, just too small to be useful.

So I am not much further along with the design.  In spite of my dislike of curved piecing the quilt seems to demand it

but now I know why this top keeps ending up in the cupboard.  Pity, really.  I would love to liberate the sashing fabric!

Pretty Arrangements

Many are cynical about the marketing drive behind Mothers Day and Fathers Day.  Some of my best friends are amongst that number.  But even they would have their hard hearts soften at the arrival of such a beautiful arrangement at the front door.

Let's face it.  Any opportunity that brings together family and friends to enjoy each others company should be grasped with both hands and savoured.  So whatever your circumstances, I hope you got to share today (Mothers Day in Australia) in good spirits.

Following the stimulus of the recent Antique Quilts Big Day Out and this picture

I pulled out a few of my reproduction fabrics and cut some 1" hexagons.

After a quick bit of stitching I ended up with a pile similar to this

A while later,  the paper pieced hexagons turned into this

There are enough cut hexagons for another 5 blocks.  Then who knows how these little patches of fabric will end up.  I am open to  suggestions.