Neutral string blocks

I'm linking with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 17 on the SoScrappy blog.
I follow the blog each week, enjoying the marvellous blocks people make from their abundant scraps.

I haven't been sewing along with each month's chosen colour but I did make some blue String blocks last month as that was the colour choice for July and I am building up a stack of 5" String blocks which eventually will be sewn into a quilt top.


This month's colour is Neutral and I never have many neutral scraps but I knew I had a few (not many variations though) but I managed to make 10 blocks this afternoon.  I already had 6 neutral blocks so with today's haul I will have enough to make 4 neutral coloured diamond blocks for the quilt.

Here they are:

 

I now have 96 finished blocks.  I need more yellow, orange and purple ones, all colours I don't have many scraps for.

Playing with Scraps

Over the Easter weekend I managed to find some time to sew, making up the Spool blocks I had put together in sets a few days ago. That made another 19 Spools to add to my previous ones.

 

Then I decided to look through my bags of strings and sorted out ones which were narrower than the 1.5" widths I needed for Spool blocks or strings which weren't a uniform width.

These I sorted into colours and made more single colour 5" String blocks.

This time I made some neutral ones too:

 

I really enjoyed making all of these scrap blocks and now I'm off to cut out more strips to make some 9 Patches using 1.5" strips.

Finding sewing is good therapy for the cold I woke up with this morning!

We have had such cold weather this last week after a very warm weekend the one before Easter so I think the huge change in temperature is the reason why I've got a cold.  I had intended to do some gardening today but I'm afraid that's not going to happen.

 

 

 

 

For want of a cutter the flow was lost!

Oh, I was going great guns yesterday, sewing up a storm with my Wonky Stars - Bonnie Hunter style.  A pile of 2.5" scrap squares and pre-cut neutral triangles by my side, feeding them through the machine at a rate of knots. Then off to the ironing board, press, trim and assemble into Wonky Star parts for the 4 required for each completed block.

I really had a great time, lots of sewing, but I had a good system going and managed to sew up 22 Wonky Star parts before I took a break to make a meal for my husband and me. 

I used Bonnie's 'webbing system" again which works brilliantly. 
First of all I laid out as many stars as I could on the floor of my sewing room, then transferred them two at a time onto a tray which I had beside me on my sewing desk. 

Then I got into a great routine:
* Sew up the first 2 squares in each row in a chain
* Do the same with the first 2 squares in the 2nd block laid out on the tray
* Cut off the 3 partly finished bits of the 1st Block (in one string, joined by the threads) & add
   the 3rd square to each row
* Repeat with 2nd block
* Start to sew up the rows of each block.
   Due to the webbing of threads being in place there is NO need to pin (and I ALWAYS pin),  
   the rows nest beautifully and come out well every time!
   Such a quick process.

Then I just continued this pattern, topping up my tray with the next 2 sets of parts from the floor.
It was so enjoyable! 

After dinner I decided I needed a greater variety of scraps, so I hunted out some difference scrap pieces and cut quite a lot of 2.5" squares and then..........................  my rotary cutter literally fell to bits in my hand........................  completely broken.  It obviously couldn't stand the strain of all this cutting and trimming.  It was so frustrating as I had plenty of time last night to cut loads of extra squares and then today I could have rattled through the last 14 Wonky Star parts I need for the Girl Baby Quilt I have planned in my head.

As I didn't want to waste any time tracking down a new Rotary Cutter I grabbed my iPad and ordered a new one from Amazon which should arrive tomorrow, with a bit of luck. This morning I did sew up  the star points for all

 the remaining stars I need, they are pressed but now sitting forlornly on my cutting mat waiting for the new rotary cutter to join the party.

So, just to keep me motivated by looking at the Wonky Stars I have made so far, here they are:

 

The pattern I followed is from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog.  At the top there are lots of tabs. Click on the one for Free patterns and scroll down to Wonky Stars.  All her free patterns are listed alphabetically so it's easy to find.

I've just checked my emails and found one from Amazon - my order has been despatched and it is on its way. Hurrah!

PS.  The instructions in Blue Type are for my benefit so that when I get back to finishing the blocks I can remember the system I had going yesterday!