Blue and black – Yellow Bird Stitches

Blue and black finish

A bit of binding . . .

and the quilt is done!

This was a Scrapitude mystery quilt, the second I’ve participated in. I’m so pleased with the colors and the stash-busting. And just as pleased to have one quilting project to check off the WIP list. The

I kept the binding scrappy to match the rest of the quilt, and sewed it down by machine. I’m not a purest when it comes to binding, and since the quilting isn’t done by hand, I always figure it doesn’t matter if the binding is either. And I think it is sturdier this way. Not as polished on the back, but around here, hard wearing is more important than perfect.

I modified the pattern slightly, leaving out the sashing because I didn’t want the quilt to turn out as big as it would have. I’m not sure of this one’s destination, but someone will come along who it will be perfect for.

It is in the dryer now, getting its crinkle. I love a quilt just out of the dryer!

Happy to be sewing again

It has been months since I did much sewing. I’m not sure why. Yes, we were busy with the kitchen for a big chunk of summer, but even after that work died down, I just couldn’t get back to my sewing machine. Maybe it was how messy the room was, or the huge pile of unfinished projects was too overwhelming.

But today there was actual quilting! My Scrappy Stars Around the Corner quilt has been sitting, pin basted, since last spring, and at long last it now is quilted.

I went plain with the quilting, using stitch-in-the-ditch (which for me is often stitch-near-the-ditch) on diagonal lines. I used pale gray thread on top and navy in the bobbins as the backing is pieced from blue and black fabrics.

Next up, binding.

Blue and black backing

I hope to go over to my sister’s school this week to pin quilts on her classroom floor, so I needed to get cracking on quilt backs. I gathered all the larger pieces of fabric I used in the blue and black Scrappy Stars Around the Corner quilt and started arranging them like puzzle pieces on the livingroom floor.

It came together well as I had just enough long strips left to work it all out. It isn’t a lot bigger than the top, but there are a couple of inches on each side, so it will be just big enough.

I don’t have much left of the blues and blacks in my stash – just small pieces. They’ll get cut up and added to my pile of squares for future scrappy projects.

Scrappy Stars Around the Corner

I’m very slowly making my way through my list of WIPs. Today I finished the Scrapitude mystery quilt called Scrappy Stars Around the Corner (a rather unwieldy name for a pretty pattern).

A lot of seam sewing with even more pins. I tend not to use pins in my piecing, but I really wanted to get my seams and points lined up, so I slowed down and stuck them in. It did improve the results.

When it was done we attempted the usual over the deck picture. The drizzle and grey day didn’t make for a good picture. (I seem to make excuses for my photos a lot – maybe not the lighting, but the operator?)

This quilt greatly reduced my blue and black fabric stash, especially the dark blues. It may take more shopping to get a back pieced together. I think I can bear a little time in a fabric store. 🛍

A mystery solved

The fourth and final clue in the Scrappy Stars Around the Corner mystery QAL came out quite some time ago (April 12) but I didn’t get to it until this week as I was caught up in the red and white X quilt top instead. That one out of the way, I got to work on sewing blue and black triangles and squares together again.

The centers of these 12 blocks, like the star blocks, are basic economy blocks, and then additional corner layers add a bit more complexity. My point matching skills got a work out and as always, I improved over time so it is best not to look too closely at the earliest parts.

I’m eliminating the sashing that the pattern calls for as the quilt will be plenty big without it. It takes up my whole design wall, floor to ceiling and side to side. I couldn’t get far enough away in my small craft room to fit the entire layout in the iPad camera.

Just nine more blocks to sew the last corners on and then I can sew it all together.

The blue and black make a restful change after all the red I’ve been working with.