Friday, October 28, 2016

Patchwork for the Win!


 I have been in need of some mindless sewing lately - and what perfectly fits the bill is some simple patchwork sewing!



Remember this big basket of goodies?  It contains little baggies of scraps sorted by color, designer or collection.  Many are leftovers from projects that I know can be easily turned into a quilt.  This week I decided to pull one of these bags and make something cute!




Way down in the bottom I found a bag containing some yellow and gray chunks of fabric.  I decided to cut them up into 4.5" squares and see if I could come up with enough for a baby quilt.  I thought a few more squares were needed so I pulled a couple scraps that were a bit more on the taupe/gray scale and really liked the interest it added to the quilt.


Almost every fabric in this quilt is directional.  This can sometimes cause a bit of chaos but I find if I make sure I always keep a certain fabric going in the same direction throughout the entire quilt, it seems to make things seem a bit more cohesive.



There was even a large chunk in the bag that I was able to use for most of the backing.  I just needed to add a piece of gray - which I also used for the binding.




I used up most of the scraps from the bag in the baby quilt but I did have a few leftover strings.  I decided to turn those into 4 string blocks.  When I went to toss them into my tub for string blocks, I instantly became a bit distracted.



Laying right on top were the yellow string blocks I just finished. 
Of course I instantly had to start playing....

I haven't decided if this will become another baby quilt.  Right now it is just up on my design wall brightening up my sewing room!

Happy Friday!






Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

26 comments:

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

Those both look great. Love the quick mindless sewing at times. It is very soothing.

Ariane said...

Your patchwork quilt is beautiful. It always feels so great to use up scraps from other projects! I also love your combination of string blocks. They look great together.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Your mindless sewing is amazing! What a cute quilt!!

Val's Quilting Studio said...

So inspired by your scrappy, mindless sewing!!! I like your idea of prebagging "leftovers" for some mindless sewing...and look...a baby quilt! LOVE IT!

Judy said...

Had to laugh about you getting distracted by the bin of string blocks. That happens to me every time I walk into my stash closet.

cityquilter grace said...

what fun! playtime with beautiful results!

Oddbjørg said...

Great results!

tisha @ quiltytherapy said...

Great fast finish. I would have thrown the directional prints in all willy nilly. Keep it up!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

What a cute finish and I love the way the string blocks are harmonizing together on your design wall, too!

Jasmine said...

What a darling mindless sewing project. I love what you have up on your design wall. It would brighten any room. :)

Barb Neiwert said...

Oooohhhh, you are so easily distracted! In a good way, of course. I'm thinking I need to start some string blocks and see what transpires. Hmmm, but which color?

Libby in TN said...

We all need mindless sewing from time to time. Inevitably it leads us down the rabbit hole, too.

Gemini Jen NZ said...

Awesome work! I too did a simple patchwork last weekend using charm squares, then spent a few hours turning my scrap bin/boxes/piles into ready-to-go 5", 3.5", 2.5" squares or strips or strings (depending on the size of each scrap). Now I have some nice boxes of 'pre-cuts' that I can grab when inspiration strikes.

Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts said...

Yellow and gray play so well together, and simple patchwork is always perfect. Great use of all the scraps! Thanks for linking to Finished or Not Friday!

cspoonquilt said...

I love 'mindless' sewing Too! And I think your choice of colors is great! I a-massing a small pile of yellow, black and grey too. I do love that color comb!

Louise said...

Great colors! So much fun to see what comes out of an afternoon of just "playing around."

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love yellow and gray together! They look great in the string blocks, too!

SherryB said...

I love mindless sewing too, but you seem to be better at productive results than me! You gave me a great idea to use up some big zigzag fabrics I have that had me stumped; now I'll cut them into squares and add coordinating fabrics like you did. Thanks for the inspiration!

Vicki in MN said...

I can hardly wait for craft show season to be done so I can play and allow myself to get distracted!!!!!! It's a 2 way street the craft show $ let me buy fabric, LOL But I have tons of scraps I want to let my hands roam over!

Kate said...

Very fun scrappy yellow quilts. Yellow is such a happy color to sew with.

Jayne said...

Mindless sewing...you make me want to lock myself in my room and spend the day doing nothing but cut & sew! We sometimes forget that simple is not a bad thing and it can be therapeutic, effective and FUN!

MissPat said...

My string box is overflowing. Do you have a standard size string block that you make when playing? It would be a good idea to make a few blocks at a time so the strings don't pile up, but if there isn't a project in mind, how do you decide on the size?

Pat

LA Paylor said...

big WOW to both of them. First off, I love the idea of little baggies all holding a collection ready for play. That's brill. The taupes added a lot and all the pattern would be great for a baby.
The bottom quilt is so dynamic. So good, leave it as is and enter it in a competition. Then tell us about judges comments. Bet they're good.
LeeAnna

Mari said...

Love those string blocks! They look great just as they are--quilt them up just like that!

PaulaB quilts said...

You sure made the most of that scrappy find. Both just right for a baby and it looks like you could keep going indefinitely with your Baggie method. Have a fun week!

Robby said...

I'm behind on my reading, but intrigued by your tip to keep directional fabrics going the same direction. Look forward to trying this out. Thanks.

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