Monday, May 16, 2011

Feelin' Scrappy!

We had a wonderful weekend!  It was sunny and in the 70s...my sweetheart worked in the yard and the garden and it looks beautiful.  We have 14 acres but the property is divided by a creek so we really live on and keep up the front 5-6 acres...the other side of the creek is woods and a meadow with a big pecan tree in the middle.  Sweetheart keeps the meadow mowed but otherwise the woods are a haven for deer, turkeys and other "wildlife."  I was able to work around in the house a little which made me very tired but very happy.

I did a little sewing on scrappy string blocks last week and plan to do a lot more this week.  I'd like to use up as many of my scraps as possible.  Most of the patterns I'm using are from this site.  Here are my string blocks
Then I started another set of spiderweb blocks..I love the way it makes the star in the center.  I've seen  colors used the make the stars and I love the look but I wanted to start with a white star.  These are fun to do and easy to piece using a paper foundation. 


It's been 4 1/2 months since I have been anywhere other than the hospital or the doctor's office...no restaurants, no fabric stores, NO SHOPPING AT ALL!   Shopping is not my favorite thing to do but I miss getting out and feeling of fabric and looking around.  So I did a little online shopping to keep my sanity :)  I really like Connecting Threads...their fabric is very nice and reasonably priced.  Among other things I found some charm squares on sale.  They are from a fabric line called Canning Day...1930s reproductions. 


On Ebay I purchased some reproduction fat eighths. 



Can you see a theme?  I'll cut 2 1/2" squares from all of these to use in making hexagons for a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  These are ones I'd started previously...I'm using the English paper piecing method...it's so easy and I can sit and make these. 


The quilt in my header was made by my grandmother.  She used feedsacks and flour sacks for the most part.  She always told me the green between each flower was the grass path through the garden.  And she always put a yellow center in her hexagons because "real flowers" had yellow centers :)  So, I will border each block in white and then green so my flowers will have a white fence and a green grass path through the garden! 

I have seen some beautiful, less traditional hexagon blocks being made on some blogs with planned colors and fussy cutting.  They are so very pretty!   I can't wait to try that as well.

I enjoy so much reading blogs and I cherish the friends I've made.  We may never meet but you bless my life.

Karen

OOPS!!  Thank goodness I posted that picture of the spiderweb block with the white star.  What I noticed as I looked at the picture (but didn't notice looking at the block itself...brain fog again?)  was the lack of a seam allowance on two of the star points!  SOOOOO...the block has been taken apart and that will be corrected...I want pointed stars :) 

4 comments:

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

Your quilt is so pretty! I just love it. :)

My Grandmama use to use the flour sacks, too. She never made a grandmother's quilt, but she did make a tulip one and a flower one...and sun bonnet sue's. I think she really loved doing applique. She never used a pattern, she would look at something and the next thing you knew, she had made a perfect copy of that item.

Your place sounds so pretty with the pecan tree and meadow...and a creek, too....I just might have to come on over there and sit with you and stitch for a while. :)

I hope you feel better. I love that you "went shopping" on the net. You got some really great deals. Can't wait to see what you make next, I just know it will be pretty, as always. :)

Blessings to you and yours

rosie said...

Hi Karen,
Glad that you are feeling well enough to sew. I love your grandmothers quilt, and the fact that you are repicating it. Flower hexagons are so great to do, so portable, not heavy.
I agree, blogging brings us into contact with such lovely people..
Take care

The Other Barb said...

Love the Grandmother's quilt project that you are doing. Going to look up "English Paper piecing" . Never heard of it? I didn't notice the star points until you mentioned it. Went back & checked :)
I too did some scrappy string quilt blocks. Just accumlating them until "someday" when I'll put them all together.
Your place sounds like a peaceful haven.

Barbara said...

So good to see all these pretty projects, and I always love the scrappy look. I love your grandmother's color interpretations!