Scrap-A-Palooza! Quilt #7 Part Two

I realized this morning as I walked into my sewing room, I should probably start by apologizing to all those sewing along for the mess this project can create.  Every surface in my sewing room, including the floor is littered with piles of fabric strings.  Or maybe I am the only messy sewer!

 

Last week, the planning took place for this month's quilt.  I shared some previous projects I had made for some inspiration.    At this point, scraps colors have been selected and a rough design has been chosen.

This week, the fun starts and  we can begin sewing up our color blocks.

I have decided to graduate my blocks along the color wheel from green to blue to purple.  I have ALOT of strings in these colors so it will be great to use some of them up.

According to my sketch, I want each of my color blocks to measure 7.5" x 15.5" unfinished.  Because some of my strings are pretty wide and I am too lazy I like the bold look, I wanted a large scale block so I had lots of area to travel across colors.  If your strings are narrower or you want to make a smaller quilt, you might want to adjust the size.

You can build your color blocks two ways.  I like to rough cut my strips (to about 9") and trim the block to width later.  Or you can press and cut your strings to length.

I found that laying out strips across 19" usually yielded me a long enough color bar after seam allowances.

Having made a number of these gradation projects, I have found that working on one block at a time is easiest.  I try not to compare it to ones I have already made and try to use different fabric choices and even different hues for each block.  As I make my blocks, I have tried to make each a little different.

Once I get them laid out in a combination I like, I simply just sew the strips together and trim them up to 7.5" by 15.5" rectangle.













To make a large lap quilt, I need at least 21 color blocks.  For a small baby quilt, you could probably get by with about 8.


I still have a few more blocks to sew up but I am anxious to start seeing this on the wall.

But before I start laying them out, I need to add a background spacer (2.5" x 7.5") to one end of each color block.  This will give me the staggered look I want shown in my rough design.  I decided to sew them to the green side in every block.

Choosing a background color-  I struggled with what color to use for the background.  I did not want to have to order any fabric and my two best choices from my stash were Kona Ash and Kona Stone.  I decided to go with the Stone as it has a warmer feel.  We shall see if I made the right choice!

Here is what the quilt is looking like right now.  I am really enjoying playing with all these bits of color!

Now off we go to finish cutting up our scraps and sewing up our color blocks.

The next time we meet we will be cutting our sashing and sewing up the top.

Here's an overview of the important stuff to do before the next step!

• Sew up your color blocks
• Layout all your squares on your design wall
• Decide on a background material
• And most importantly, get creative and have fun!

I should mention I finally drank the kool-aid and am now on Instagram.  You can find me at cynthiabrunzdesigns. You can see my scrap quilt progress at #scrapapalooza.  Feel free to join in and follow along!

And if you have any questions about this month's quilt, don't hesitate to contact me.

Now let's attack those scraps!

I will be sharing this with the following linky parties. Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, and WIP Wednesday with Freshly Pieced.  Be sure and check out these blogs for even more quilty inspiration.