2018 Hands 2 Help Status Update

I have been thinking lately that maybe I should be more careful for what I wish for.

Last Christmas, I wished for scraps - and wow, did I get scraps.  I got so many scraps, that I started working on my 2018 Hands 2 Help (H2H) quilts using my favorite pattern Happy, Scrappy Houses.  I lost count of how many times I have made quilts using this pattern.

With the challenge coming to a close, this year I believe that I will have completed 8 (yes, 8!) small house quilts and 2 quilt tops.

It was very hot and sunny outside today, but I did get a quick photo of a few of the quilts.  

I hope everyone is meeting their goals for this challenge and I can't wait to see the final quilts.  

More H2H status posts at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Also posting my scrap status today at Oh Scrap!

Scrappy, But Fancy Foxes

MUST NOT GIVE IN.........MUST STAY STRONG.........MUST NOT START NEW PROJECTS!!

I just did a quick count of the projects on my work surface and it is 6.  Yes, 6 projects right here on my table.  I keep wanting to start something new, but I think it's time to tackle the growing stack of WIPs (Works In Progress).

During the Christmas season, I asked for scraps and wow, did I get a bunch of scraps.  There was almost no need to sort them by color because they were overwhelmingly blue.  

I thought that all of these varied blue scraps would look fun as foxes.  I have almost enough finished to make my first charity quilt top for 2017.  It doesn't have a home just yet, but I am sure that it will find one soon.  I have a feeling that it will be ready for an upcoming quilt drive for children with cancer.

Maybe if I can get focused and stop thinking about new projects, this will be my first finish of 2017.  

Linking today to the new linky party on Wednesdays at Kat & Cat Quilts for charity related projects.  

Scrap Quilts Part 2 - Squares

There are times when I want to be in the creative process, but nothing happens.  I will take out my fabrics and just stare at them thinking of new projects, but end up without ideas.  When I am void of inspiration but feel like making something, I will work with my scrap squares.  Depending on my mood, I may spend my time cutting the scraps into squares.  I keep this container by my sewing machine and drop squares into it as needed when I am working.

Other times, I just sit down and start sewing the squares into 9-patches.  I once tried to use this as a leader/ender project, but got so caught up in making 9-patches that I realized I can only sew on one project at a time.  I keep these 9-patches in a large shoe box.  When the box is full, it is time for a new quilt. 

The quilt pattern that I use with these scrappy squares is the Trip Around The World.  I have made one full sized quilt using this pattern, but mostly I make lap quilts because I run out of scrappy squares.  So I guess that a shoe box holds enough scrappy squares to make 1 lap quilt.  I have given many of these as gifts to my family.

I also use scrap squares to make Irish Chains and Double Irish Chains lap quilts.  This small quilt top was started and completed over a weekend.  I am hand quilting it when I watch TV and its about 50% completed. 

Scrap Quilts Part 1 - Strips

It is quite interesting to read through blogs about how people manage their scraps.  A scrap is defined so differently.  For me, a scrap is any small piece of fabric and anything less than 1” is waste.  I have a friend that throws out anything less than a 4” square.  Oh No! I can do so much with that.  To me, that 4” square is 4 1 ½” squares and a 1” strip. 

I have recently depleted my stash of scrap strips on 2 projects.  The String Tulips based on the Georgia Quilts book cover really used a lot of strips.  As can be seen by the bright colors, I had many strips left over from charity baby quilts.  This quilt is currently in the process of being quilted and if I can get out of the habit of starting new projects, then maybe I can finish it before Christmas.

The other project is my String Trees.  This is based on a project seen at  Crazy Mom Quilts.  Because these strips are smaller than my tulip pieces, I was really able to use many scraps and now my scrap bags are almost empty.  This quilt is in the piecing stage.  I sat down to complete the top and realized that I am 2 blocks short.  Of course with such a small amount of scraps available, I need to find some time to go through my stash to find more scraps.  This quilt is already being coveted by my mom which is kinda weird to me because it is a modern quilt and mom is Mrs Traditional Quilter.  Hopefully I can get this top completed and quilted in the near future. 

Tomorrow – Scrap Quilts Part2 – Squares