QOV Block Drive

These fifteen blocks are for Alycia's QOV block drive.

These are now winging their way west.  

Now I need to spend some focused / quality time

working on a collaborative project with DH,

so I'll be taking a few days away from the blog.

Be back next week.

Quiltdivajulie

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“The only color I don’t have is navy brown.”

Yogi Berra

Scrappy Saturday - USE That Stash

Alycia from QuiltyGirl 

announced a QOV Block Drive last week.

(link takes you to her all-the-details post

and the free block pattern)

I raided my resource boxes

and came up with enough patriotic fabrics

to cut pieces and parts for 16 blocks.

Here are the first four.

And then there were six blocks.

I'm glad these will be

mixed in with scrappy blocks

made by lots of others

so there won't be "blobs" of 

 any one fabric too close together

in the finished quilt tops.

I really like the block design

and layout possibilities . . .

These sixteen HSTs used up the very last

of my Kitchen Door Quilt's backing fabric.

(the red/white/blue chairs)

I almost wished I had more of it  

since it works so well . . .

* * *

Inspired by the first twelve blocks,

I dug in cut up the rest of my 

purchase-for-a-future-QOV-project fabrics.

The photo above shows the HST trimmings

for what will become SIXTY more blocks.

I also cut enough 7.5" squares

for another QOV volunteer

to stitch a HST quilt top.

I'll send along the red starry border strips,

blue binding strips,

and yardage for a scrappy back.

(the black on the bottom of the stack

is a 2 yard cut of 108" backing

that I'm sure can be used to back

another donated QOV top)

The last scraps of my stashed QOV yardage

Scrappy stash busting to create comfort quilts

makes for a win-win situation.

If you have wanted to support QOV

but haven't wanted to make a whole quilt top,

Alycia's block drive is a GREAT way to participate.

* * *

I'll be sharing this post with 

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

CLICK HERE for Angela's blog.

(I wonder what the color will be for September?)

I'll also be sharing with Oh Scrap!

CLICK HERE for Cynthia's blog.

Quiltdivajulie

TN Wind Farm - A Scrappy Quilt Top

The decision to create this top

was made in December 2015.

Inspired by the Wind Farm design from

Every Last Piece by Lynn Harris,

I happily cut my overflowing stash of strings

into even lengths and started stitching blocks.

I was able to piece 120 blocks

before running out of stashed strings.

That meant a layout slightly smaller 

than the book's pattern and 

on the smallish side of "okay"

for it to be a Quilt of Valor.

I used Lynn's alternate idea 

for the block corners,

using up scrap fabric 

left from two previous quilt backs.

The slightly undersized problem was solved

by adding bold black and white borders.

I really like the way the borders

make the block corners pop.

This is my favorite photo of the quilt top.

(thank you summer breeze)

TN Wind Farm measures 

64" wide x 84" long.

Thanks for a great design, Lynn!

* * *

Linking up with 

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge

on Saturday.

CLICK HERE 

AND

Linking up with Oh Scrap!

on Sunday.

CLICK HERE 

Quiltdivajulie

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p.s.  In case you don't already know,  Lynn Harris will be teaching a number of classes at AQS Chattanooga in September including Abstract Quilts in Solids, String Piecing, and more.

QOV No. 2 - Heartland

My second QOV quilt top has been sewn together.

I made thirty-five 12" blocks that used ALL of

my black-on-white and white-on-black strings.

(plus the red and scrappy blue center strings)

The flimsy measures 60" x 84" 

This is the reverse side of the quilt.

I pieced the blocks onto the reverse side of a variety of lightweight fabrics

that had been languishing in the stash.

(and if you look closely, you can see the strings through the foundation squares)

This side reminds me so much of the view from an airplane -

which is why I chose the name

Heartland.

On the right is the black and white spotted blue backing fabric.

Along the right hand edge of the top,

I've pinned the black and white binding.

Here is the rest of the nearly 10 WOF of binding,

stitched and pressed and ready for a QOV volunteer.

(and I do love the blue backing fabric -- 

 the spots and dots are a happy counterpoint to the linear strings)

I'm delighted with the way this turned out . . .

Heartland - 60" wide x 84" long - shown here with it's blue backing fabric

I wanted to take the flimsy and backing outside in the sunshine,

but my energy level said "oh, no you don't"

so this photo on the design wall was the best I could muster.

* * *

Quilts of Valor - quilting to honor and comfort

Quiltdivajulie

Update on the QOV String Blocks

A white-on-black center.

A black-on-white center.

Another black-on-white center.

And another white-on-black center.

At this point, there are fifteen

12.5" string blocks on the design wall.

The remaining 20 are partially pieced,

so it won't be long until all 35 are ready

to be laid out and sewn together into a top.

Quiltdivajulie

Six New Scrappy QOV Projects

This was the first 12.5" test block . . .

This was the second 12.5" test block . . .

Target goal is 35 scrappy 12.5" string blocks.

I haven't decided on the layout yet,

but when it is finished, this quilt top 

will go to Quilts of Valor.

This is another stash-based project 

that is waiting in the wings.

The scrappy brights-on-black squares will join

with the scrappy black-on-white squares 

to become 8.5" or 9" square HSTs.

Once they're all sewn together,

I will decide on a layout.

The dark/light squares are all cut out for this project.

You can see the pattern's photo from Sujata's book

(Cultural Fusion Quilts)

in the upper right hand corner.

(the blues in the lower left corner may become the backing)

I'll be using the Sunday Morning pattern 

from the book of the same name

to create this scrappy stash-based quilt.

Each square will feature the brights-on-black 

paisley strip along the left edge.

These light/dark strips will eventually

become my fourth freeform Rail Fence quilt.

(design from Sujata's book linked above)

And this scrappy string quilt is being stitched together

using the alternate version of Wind Farm

by Lynn Harris in her book Every Last Piece.

The stash of long strings has been cut into shorter lengths

and I've been stitching a block or two for this in between other projects.

 * * *

My goal is to have all six of these tops sewn together

and sent off to Alycia before year's end so

other QOV volunteers can add the long arm quilting, 

binding, labeling, and presentation cases.

One stitch at a time . . .

* * *

Linking this post with

Em's Scrapbag - Moving It Forward Monday

and

Love Laugh Quilt - Monday Making

Quiltdivajulie