April Monthly Mini

You'd think with all this time off work, I'd be getting more things done. What I mean by that is, more things than what I'd usually be getting done. Maybe I am, but it doesn't seem like it. I did manage to make a tiny little mini earlier this month, but I couldn't seem to find the time to sit down and do a blog post. Well the time is at hand, so here goes.

My quilt, above, was inspired by this adorabe little quilt, below, which I first saw on Pinterest.

Come to find out, it was made by Katy (katyquilts.net) who's quilts I adore. She's made several mini quilts using vintage fabric, which you know I love, right? I just so happened to have the right bits and pieces to make mine.

All the fabrics except the binding are from my "vintage" bin. 

Getting those tiny snowballs to line up was a little challenging, but being sort of casual about perfection as I am, I just did my best. It was totally fun to make, and I'm really happy with the result.

l'll go ahead now and link up with Wendy, The Constant Quilter, who hosts the Monthly Mini challenge. She'll be posting our links any day now, so check it out!

Moving along.. I confess I didn't jump on the mask bandwagon as everyone I know was making them. Lots of them. I made one. I offered to make a second one for my husband but he prefers to wear a bandana. And with his hair down to his shoulders now, he looks like he's going out to rob a bank. (sorry, no picture) I hope he doesn't get arrested, or shot for wearing the "wrong" color.

Then my quilt guild got involved with another project, making isolation gowns. I was feeling guilty about the masks, so signed on to the gown project. I made three. It took me three days. A seamstress I am not. I had to channel my inner home-ec student to do this, but I think I managed a solid "C" grade, and I'm confident they won't fall apart in the wash.

Meanwhile, I got roped into was encouraged to join a virtual round robin with a group I otherwise would have been retreating with last week. What we're doing is taking turns "advising" each other on their next round. I'm really having to think out of the box, as we all have completely different styles.

Here are some pictures of our incomplete quilts:

Can you guess which one's mine?


love,
Sandy

ps  what happened to our emoji's? I thought we had emoji's. Looks like all we have now are symbols and arrows. (insert growl-y face) (ha ha)

One Small Step...

... can lead to unexpectedly cool things.

 Recently I saw something that inspired me.

Take a close look at the detail picture. Those little squares finish at 1/2". Look at the construction. Its so simple, and you never have to match up any seams. And so well organized, you end up with really cool looking blocks. I became completely enthralled with the idea, and so I bought the book.

What makes this really thrilling to me, besides the fact that I love working with teeny tiny scraps, is that I have a zillion of them and until now have not had a plan for anything more than a mug rug or a small mini. Which are fun and delightful, but don't make a dent in my little scraps.

The book arrived a few days ago and I immediatly went to work. One by one I went through every box, bag, tray, basket and other container of tiny scraps - and believe me, I had lots of containers full of these things - and methodically started cutting and organizing them for this project. I was surprised it only took me a few hours, and with a good playlist of music going, it flew by. 

Then the fun began!

I stopped here, thinking I'd like to make the four-patches as leader-enders. As of now, I'm not sure I want to make the exact quilt as shown above. But who knows. At this point I'm more attracted to the blocks themselves, and will work with these in my own way.  Whatever that may end up being ... ;-) !

Next up - I've been wanting to make Lynn Wilder's " 'Lil Orphan Scrappy" ever since she designed it (?) years ago. She recently posted a tutorial for the Ohio Stars on her blog (Sew'n Wild Oaks) for a sew-along. I was spurred on, and thrilled to be finally starting this quilt!

It helped that I actually had a head start on it, as I had several Ohio Star blocks kitted up and a few already made, leftovers from another project. So really, it can be considered a UFO rather than a brand new project, right?

My stars are slightly different from Lynn's, and my quilt will be similar but not an exact replica of Lil' Orphan Scrappy. Like maybe Orphan Scrappy's Illegitimate Daughter, or something like that.

My intent was to dig into my scrap basket for at least some of these blocks. But first I have to spend some time filtering through this mess to glean acceptable pieces. And that's going to take some time. My feeling is, there won't be as many as I hoped. Not to worry... I believe I have some regular fabric (as opposed to scraps) stashed away somewhere. I will meditate on this, but do want to attend to those scraps.

So I moved on, again, to another project, which is to make another one of these ...

... which, like this one, will go to the VA.

I already have a box of 2 1/2" squares, and another one of triangle squares, ready to go. Plus a giant bin of 2 1/2" strips, that I'd dearly like to empty, as it takes up far too much real estate in my closet.

Boxes of parts, complete with notes to myself, lol! Methinks I have enough of all of the above for several lap quilts. And its high time to get working on emptying some of these boxes and bins that have been hanging around far too long, taking up space.

Well, it looks like I won't be getting bored anytime soon!

Stay well, dear ladies (and men), stay in and be safe, and be grateful we have quilting to keep us sane!

love,
Sandy