New year, new RSC project

I treated myself to a book for Christmas -

because I had fallen in love with this quilt.

(Well, actually I love all the quilts in the book and I expect I'll be making at least a few of them.)  (At least.)

But for now, I'm in love with Sand Castles.  It hits all the high points for me -
1. String piecing.  I've been wanting to do a string-pieced project for quite a while now, and this one looks like a good way to get my feet wet.
2.  Four-patches.  I've been making four-patches for leader/enders for years and have buckets of them on hand.  Always looking for a fun way to use four-patches!
3.  The individual blocks are a perfect venue for RSC colors.  The four-patches are random, but the squares and triangles to set them with are a perfect fit for the color of the month.
4.  Gabillions of itty bitty pieces to sew together.  That's gotta be my favorite thing ever!

Let's take this little beauty for a test drive.
I string pieced a couple of squares

and sliced them diagonally.

And, as usual, I was irked by how much waste there is in this method.  All those raggedy edges being sliced off and tossed because they're too small to be useful.  (I've whined about discussed this issue before.)  If only there was a better way, where all those square-ended strips could be efficiently utilized.

And then I had a thought.  What if?

and I lined up what I had so far and grabbed my trusty ruler.

And then I cut a long narrow strip of paper and started piecing.

I cut off a triangle and compared it to one of the half-squares that I'd made earlier.

Looks like a match to me!

So, off I go with my happy little strings.  I can still make the regular squares when I've got some too-short strings to use for this strip method, but this way pleases my mingy little heart.  If I end up with a seam in an awkward place, a little corrective surgery (cut here, add there) will soon set me on my way again.

And now since I had a few stringy triangles done and some four-patches near at hand, how could I help but make a test block?

Yes, of course it's orange.

I just checked Angela's blog and the color for January is red.  Thanks to Good Fortune, I've got a bunch of red strips right here handy on the cutting table.  I'm going to kit up some red blocks and see how many I can get put together by the end of the month.

Speaking of Good Fortune, Bonnie dropped another clue on New Year's Day.   I ran to the sewing machine and stitched a few up.

I tried laying out some of the bits we've made so far, but I couldn't get a sense of where we're going with this.

 (And I didn't even get any of those crazy clue#5 quarter-square units into the mix.)

I'm just baffled, I tell ya.  So many pieces in so many sizes.
Baffled.

Goose, goose, goose

I've been stitching away at flying geese blocks for this year's Bonnie Hunter mystery -

Since that picture was taken, I've buzzed past the halfway point for how many I need.   So, I'm at a quarter-zillion out of the half-zillion, and am only moderately hopeful that I'll have them done  by Friday when the next clue is released.  (Can't wait to see what's next, ready or not!)

And since I can't live by flying geese alone, this also happened.

And I liked it enough to make an other one.

No idea what I'll do with them, yet, but I suspect there will be others.

So many four-patches, so many possibilities...

Linking with the other Ringo Lakers at Bonnie's house.  Such fun to see all the variations!

A Paucity of Pink

I don't have a lot of pink on hand, so pickings are slim this week for the RSC.
I made a pinwheel block, but it's so pale and anemic that I'm afraid it'll be overwhelmed by the other blocks I've been making for this quilt.  I'll have to wait and see.

My Buckeye Beauty shines a little brighter.

Every time I make one of those little cuties, I have to stifle a sudden urge to drop everything and make a bucketful of them.  I'm already knee-deep in bucketfuls of four-patch blocks, so the last thing I need is a new obsession.

Speaking of four-patch blocks, this was an unexpected journey -

A trip to Palmateer Point  gave me this little quilt center.   It was a natural little squirrel chase, what with me already playing with four-patches.  I'm thinking a blue border or two will finish this right up.

And to all those who were tempting me to carry on making blocks for my double-four-patch project? 

Yeah, it worked...



Linking with SoScrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday, and Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come for the pink, stay for the scraps!

Four-patches and more four-patches and a big stack of squirrels

Still playing with my four patches.   The fabulous Sally T left a comment on my last four-patch post that I really took to heart.  She said she was disappointed to find that what looked like an orange double four-patch block was actually pink instead.

Orange...  Of course!

One orange block, coming right up!

And I set the two blocks on a handy hunk of purple, along with a few 1.5" squares.  You know, just for grins.

Maybe another block?  I could make a table runner...

So another pink block appeared.  And then, because one good orange deserves another -

Now I had four blocks made.

Let the games begin!

Easy is as easy does - I just set them down next to each other.

Maybe a narrow sashing?  That handy hunk of purple was still right there.

Cornerstones, anyone?

Maybe a 2" sashing instead of a 1" one?

Cornerstones?

Four-patches for cornerstones?

Or maybe a turquoise hunk?

Maybe more blocks?  These double four-patch blocks will finish at eleven inches, so I've got a possible table topper at this point, or a wall quilt.  Do I want to keep going?

The dithering is always the best part...  Maybe I should do one of each?

Oh, and that stack of squirrels I mentioned in the title?  Martingale had a book sale.  I'm always a sucker for a good sale.  Some are for me, and some might go for Christmas gifts, if I can manage to pry them out of my own hands.

At least one of those books is the kind where I want to make every single one of the quilts.

I may need to buy a day-stretcher.




Linking with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Cynthia's Oh Scrap! party.  Come see all the goodies!

In the pink and playing with blocks

This week's adventures in 4-patches led to a little double-four-patch play.

Yeah, the pink was a surprise to me, too.  Not my favorite color, but since I had it close to hand for October's RSC color, the blocks just seemed to land on it.

But the setting wasn't quite what I wanted.  I did a bit of rearranging and came up with this one -

That's better.  A border or two, and I'll have a cute little doll quilt or table topper.  And another setting scratched off my Infinite Number of Four-Patch Settings list.
Now to get all those itty bits sewn together!

Linking with Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!  Come join the fun!

Playing with four patches

As I mentioned the other day, I've started playing with some of the four-patches that I've been making for leader/enders for the last couple of years.

(And look!  If that worked, I've learned to make a collage!)  (Next step will be to learn to make a good collage!)

Four-patches are the ideal leader/ender for me - I just keep a box of 1.5" squares close to the machine and the little blocks pile up.  And up.  And up.
When I first started making them, I also started collecting ideas for what to do with them when I had 'enough' (whatever that means...)  The problem is, there are way too many gorgeous quilts made with four-patches.
What's a ditherer to do?

That's when I thought of "The Great Four-Patch Project."  I'm going to make ALL the four patch quilts.
In small versions, of course.  (Even I can see the pitfalls there)

So, I'm starting with this one:

Of course, there will be the traditional dithering over a border -

I like that one, so I'll try another purpley one.

Maybe a nice pinky-red?

Why not both?

I really like that one.
But I'll give brown a chance, just to see what happens if I tone it down a bit.

I'm not so good with the toning down, it seems.

That's better.  But I still like that red/purple combo from above.  Maybe with a blue binding?

Eventually I'm going to need some four-patches on point, so I've been framing some with triangles now and then.

Here's the latest one, posing with another of the  nine-patches that I'm making for the Burgoyne Surrounded sashing.

 Wait!  What's that?

Does anyone else hear the theme from Jaws?

I thought those monkeys had been entirely too quiet lately.  Apparently at least one followed me to my daughter's house.

Oh, dear.  We'll probably have to spray for them again...



Sharing with Linda and Julie at the Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE linkup.  Come see all the beautiful projects!