Scrappy and proud

This week I have still been in overdrive, chain piecing madly and determined to use up some of my scraps. In the photo above you may recognise the colour palette of my Wedding Stars quilt from last summer.  

I loved making that quilt because I was really comfortable with the colours the bride chose from my stash.  What's not to like about country reds and blues? And lots of different fabrics, the more the merrier.

When tidying up recently I came across the box where I had packed away the leftover squares: there were quite a few so I chain pieced a whole lot more nine patches, some with red centres, some with blue, just as for Wedding Stars.

I wanted to make a different layout however (partly, I confess, because I wasn't in the mood to make hourglass blocks, which are more fiddly than nine-patches) so I looked in my stash for what I could use.

I turned out some remnants of brushed cotton plaids and chose to use the non-brushed side, and to go for a scrappy double nine-patch layout. I decided to sash the big blocks but did not want the sashing to overwhelm the pieced blocks: I found some ticking-type stripes in red/oatmeal in three different widths which had been in the cupboard for years. Not enough of any one fabric, so I decided to use a bit of all three in keeping with the scrappy, 'use what you've got' ethos of the project.

Please excuse the quilt top being slightly crumpled in the photos - it was ironed but then folded with creases in.... So annoying when that happens.

I included this photo to remind you about opening your seams when you make four-patches and nine-patches.  It is easy to do (provided you do not use an excessively short stitch length) and makes the seam intersections lie very flat which is a help when you come to quilt the top.  

Because I prefer to nest/butt seam allowances wherever I can, rather than press them open, this for me is a good solution to the problem of bulky seam intersections.

So, all things considered, a good result: I used only what I had to hand, and I cleared up the leftover squares lurking in the cupboard. This seems like a 'free' quilt top, though I think I may have to buy a backing.... it's a good size (63" x 78") and it was relatively quick to make, with plenty of straightforward sewing at speed, my favourite!

As it is a finished top, I am linking to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday.

Hope you get a chance to enjoy making and/or finishing something this weekend.