Couldn’t resist those Bear Paws!

 I have never made a Bear Paw block before. No idea why because I always thought they looked great. I think it might be because over the years I’ve probably looked up patterns on Google and found they need odd sized pieces, cut at 2.875”, for example. so I was put off trying.

I follow Cathy’s blog Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting and this year she finished a gorgeous turquoise, purple and white Bear Paw Quilt and  since then has been making more Bear Paw blocks in all sorts of colours and fabrics. Well, of course they caught my eye and then my eyes positively gleamed when I read that she used 4.5” and 2.5” scraps. In my head I translated that as “squares” so I sorted out some yellow scraps ( still March yellow ) and kitted up 7 blocks. Sewed the first making the HSTs as I always do but when I came to join those to the square they were too short, so I had to swap out the 4.5” squares for smaller 3.5” ones. That worked, ending up with 5” Bear Paws.  I’ve since kitted up a few more in the original size and I’ll make the HSTs by sewing 1/4” away from the diagonal and snipping of the bonus triangle corners.

Of course I’ve since learned that Cathy used 2.5” strips, using her Easy Angle ruler for quickness. 

I do have one of those rulers so perhaps next week I’ll try that method for some Pink blocks.

Here are my original 7 Bear Paws and the one Ticky Tacky House I made.

And that was all the sewing I managed to do. On Monday I started a cold, Tuesday felt a bit better and went out to my Volunteering work but on Wednesday I felt dreadful and ended up in bed - still there. I was having these unbelievable bouts of coughing and yesterday morning I literally couldn’t breathe and we called the ambulance as I have several heart conditions and was afraid this wouldn’t be good for my heart. The two paramedics were fantastic, checked me over thoroughly with their battery of machines and decided I had a viral cough. So, no antibiotics, just time, before I start to feel better. Really frightening, but the things the guys suggested are helping and my husband has been great calming me down and helping to get my breathing under control when I’m having a bad coughing spell. 

So, an odd week. A shame because our weather has been beautiful and that is due to change to cold again. 

Linking up with Angela’s So Scrappy blog.

RSC roundup of the Yellows

 Had a busy week with yellow scraps, adding 2 more Sawtooth Blocks to the ones I finished last week.

4 Twinkler blocks

L

12 String blocks 

18 Little Wonky Stars

And 2 little Ticky Tacky houses

 Now ready for the new colour for April.

Linking up with Angela’s SoScrappy blog.

Thinking of Ukraine

 Like everyone in the world I am worried about the horrific situation in Ukraine and feel helpless as to how to help other than donate money to relief charities.

However I discovered that one of our daughter’s school Mums acquaintances is Ukrainian, her elderly parents, brother, sister in law and family live in Ukraine. We think the parents and brother’s wife and family were hoping to escape but know nothing further. Then I watched Pat Sloan’s YouTube about making a small quilt in the Ukrainian flag colours ( her’s was a hanging for her door), downloading the pattern in exchange for a donation. I decided to make one for Tanya whom I’ve never met and that’s what I’ve been working on. Now finished, ready for a label and then I can deliver it to Tanya in the hope she knows her family is in my thoughts and prayers.

I used a binding made from 2.25” strips which was great. I normally make bindings from 2.5” strips but remember a while ago using the narrower one and loving it and intending to continue using it. But I forgot and didn’t! I like it, must use this in the future for all my quilts!!!

So I haven’t done much RSC sewing but I have made 6 Sawtooth blocks with yellow crumb centres. Two more kitted out but no time to finish today.

The backing for my Ukrainian quilt (measuring 24” square) is a yellow tiny check so the trimmings have given me more yellow scraps so I think more RSC blocks will be happening next week, the last week for Yellow.

So, my thoughts are with Ukraine. Whatever you can donate please do. Money, prayers, everything. Linking with Angela’s So Scrappy RSC blog.

Last of the Aqua scraps!

 All shades of aqua/turquoise/teal are my favourite colours - to use and to wear! In fact I’ve just realised I’m wearing a teal coloured sweater today.

In between progressing with my Linus Project Round Robin flimsy I have been making a few RSC blocks, using up the last few aqua/teal scraps. Here they are:

6 Wonky Stars, a Fish block and 4 String blocks. Colours are too dark in this photo as it was getting dusk and I had to put the lights on in order to take the picture.

My Round Robin is now finished, measuring 40” square, a nice size for Linus Project quilts and an easier size for me to baste and quilt. Lots for a little person to look at.

In making the Wonky Stars I used some of the RSC blocks I had already made and used lots of the Pinwheels I had in my stash of completed blocks. And it all started with that 10.5” aqua- based piece from my stash.

And a couple of close ups:

So this is next week’s project - to baste and do some machine quilting around the turquoise and outer borders and then a lot of hand quilting around the stars and across the centre piece. Hopefully I will be able to complete the basting and machine quilting so I have my hand quilting ready for Thursday’s Patchwork Group meeting.

Linking up to Angela’s SoScrappy RSC blog.

Patchwork and Quilting has been my therapy and distraction for the past 25 years and in today’s troubled world never have I been so grateful for taking up this hobby. God bless Ukraine and all those innocent people fighting for their country and the elderly, women and children fleeing to other welcoming ones. 

Aqua based quilt is progressing

 At the beginning of the month I found all my aqua/teal fabrics and scraps and put them together in a basket, ready for making into RSC blocks.

One of the pieces I discovered buried in my stash was this 10.5” square of fabric.

Obviously too interesting to cut up so I decided to make it the centre of a Round Robin style quilt. Can’t even remember how I acquired this fabric and it’s definitely time to use it.

I have been making some aqua Wonky Stars so picked out some of those and added a few with different colours to the mix and cut some 1.75” strips of a turquoise fabric with tiny white dots.

 

I framed the centre piece of fabric with the strips and started to add the stars for the next round.

I chose Wonky Stars that had a cream/fawn background but didn’t have quite enough so made another 6 blocks.

Then I added another round using a 3” frame of the turquoise and white dots fabric.

The quilt top now measures 27” square. I had intended to make this into a baby quilt for the hospital but now I’ve decided to keep on adding rounds and turn it into a Linus Project quilt instead. 

Wondering what to use for the next round and I remembered I had a packet of 3” pinwheels stashed away so, as the idea is to use up things (either scraps or blocks) that I have in my stash, I’ve decided to use these.

Here’s some of them:

I’m now laying out 1.75” HSTs from my stash to increase the variety of Pinwheels for the next row.

I’m having such fun creating this quilt, making use of scraps and blocks which have been squirrelled away for far too long. I’ve also enjoyed photographing and recording the process of creating this quilt.

Linking up with Angela’s So scrappy RSC blog.

Aqua RSC blocks and a quilt finish

 I’ve had a busy week making various Aqua RSC blocks.

Firstly I made 3 small Wonky Star blocks using scrap bonus triangles for the points and 2” centres from my biscuit tin containing 2” squares. I had enough aqua scraps and strips to make 2 Strippy blocks ( sewn onto phone book paper squares). Then I used aqua 2.5” squares ( from another biscuit tin) to make 3 Twinkler Stars.

I also sewed up a Fish block that was already kitted up.

Last week I made 7 x 4.5” Crumb blocks ( yes, another tin containing scraps for crumbs) and this week I turned them into RSC Sawtooth Stars.

Horrid dark wet February day here so I’m afraid these photos are dull and murky too. They are much brighter in real life.

And of course I’ve created another new pile of aqua bonus triangles in the process so I see more Wonky Stars in my future. Of dear, the usual Quilters’s Problem of scraps creating more scraps!

And I quilted  and bound the little Aqua Crib Quilt I showed as a flimsy on my blog last weekend. I’ve decided to call it Teddies love elephants!

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day- always celebrated by my husband and me because this is also the anniversary of our engagement in 1971 when he went down on one knee and proposed to me in a restaurant!

We’re going out to lunch tomorrow. 

One of my quilter friends is also a prolific crochet lady and “yarn bombs” various sites in our town. This is her latest creation on top of the post box outside our town’s Sorting Office. 

And the card explaining her work:

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Linking up with Angela’s so scrappy RSC

T

RSC Aqua strippy flimsy

 Working through my box of fabrics in the Happy Blocks box I found a strip of cute teddies. I love teddy bears so these asked to be turned into a crib quilt for the hospital. This month’s colour aqua teamed nicely with the teddy pictures so this little flimsy came together very quickly.

I have used embroidery floss to blanket stitch around the hearts.

I also found some little chicks, sheep and a tractor to make another strippy in shades of green and fawn. Same design as the aqua one and when I have finished blanket stitching those hearts I’ll machine quilt them both. I think I’ll add a bit of Perle thread hand quilting too. 

Linking up with Angela’s So Scrappy RSC blog.