Finding Something Special

Saturday morning Husband and I visited a few yard sales. At the very first one, I spotted something nearly too good to be true.

Really?! ONE DOLLAR?!

“Yes,” said the woman running the sale. “My grandmother always said it was her mother’s. It is 100 years old.”

It isn’t 100 years old. But it might be 70 or 80 years old.

In remarkably good condition, except a few popped seams.

I fixed those up with tiny stitches and then faced a daunting decision: To wash or not to wash.

Wash!

And there was a good reason why.

Finished size: approximately 58″ x 70″.

What a special and unexpected find on a sunny Saturday morning.

Just Another Donation Quilt

Sometimes, anything goes.

This quilt is one of those.

After all, who can oppose,

A quilt that will make someone happy?!

ps–Finished size 60″ x 80″. Made out of all 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ rectangles.

Trash Quilt

I don’t mean that I don’t like the quilt, or that I am going to throw it in the trash, but that is where I found it.

Our family helps clean our congregation meeting house from time to time to prepare the building for sabbath worship services. Apparently, an activity had been held in the building and there was a pile of (more than just) scraps in a trash can.

After reviewing the fabric, I settled on rectangles 3″ x5-1/2″ as the best use of fabric. In all, 112 rectangles were needed.

These were sewn into pairs.

And assembled.

ps–The quilt isn’t wavy; the grass needs to be mowed.

And quilted.

And, ta-dah! A quilt. 35″ x 40″

It was such fun to find this small treasure in the trash.

Green Crumb Quilt COMPLETE

I am so pleased at the way this quilt turned out.

Crumb piecing was mostly new for me and I got braver and more creative as it went along, but the blocks seem to blend together pretty well.

THIS TUTORIAL helped with the tilted setting.

The quilt finishes at 55″ square.

A Lot Going On

Well, at least there is a lot going on everywhere except in the sewing room. The last month of school is always a busy. Good busy. But very busy.

So, not a lot of sewing. But a little binding. I want to finish the green crumb quilt by the end of the week.

With summer coming on it will be nice to spend hot afternoons in my cool basement room stitching up some fun.

Second Chance Quilt: Sneak Peek

I am so excited about my current Second Chances quilt.

Not ready for the complete reveal, but here’s a sneak peek…

Green Quilt Update–Finished Top

The 25 blocks are now a top.

I used THIS TUTORIAL as a guide while I considered setting options. A tilted look fit the vibe of the quilt.

I also added a border.

And the top is finished. Quilting soon, I hope.

Second Chances Quilt: Odd Blocks To Visual Treat

I was excited to have a package of blocks and some extra fabric come my way. The tulip blocks were intriguing. However, there weren’t very many of them and the seam allowance wasn’t quite standard, making them an odd size. But, much too nice to throw away.

First I tried a variety of possible layouts, just seeing what might happen.

It needed a few more blocks.

And sashing.

What next? Sometimes with something like this you just need to experiment. The centers of the tulips were created with 2-1/2″ squares, so I started playing around with ideas to keep the blocks on point and make the quilt larger at the same time.

The math took some thinking, and an inner border was needed, but I added large “setting triangles” made of 2-1/2″ squares.

Then a binding that matched the inner border (which, in its turn, matched the center of the tulips). It seems to bring unity and help the quilt feel truly finished: 40″ square. A visual treat as a wall hanging, a table topper or a lap or baby quilt.

I enjoyed the challenge and surprise of discovery as I worked on this project. I hope you enjoy it, too. Maybe take a look at an abandoned project of your own…Could it be finished by giving it a Second Chance?

NOTE: This post also featured in the Online Quilt Magazine.

Green Update

The green crumb quilt is moving along.

I have completed 25 blocks and am really pleased with how they look.

Given the inspiration, art murals created by our art teacher and kindergarten-grade 5 students at school, I decided on a low volume print for the setting and a “tilted” look.

Those are all coming together.

I hope to start assembly by this weekend.

Purple Petals

Quite a while ago I got the most amazing boxes of scraps (Thanks, Stephanie) and have had so much fun making them into quilts. A lot of it was 2-1/2″ strips, some from jelly rolls and some hand cut.

These scraps caught my eye.

Beach Cottage, a pattern from Scrap Basket Surprises seemed like it would work.

I did add a few solid fabrics to balance the purples and give a resting place at the same time.

I am so pleased with how it turned out. Purple is a fun color to play with.