scrapalicious

Are you in a quilting bee?  There are lots of reasons why it can be fun to join a circle of quilty friends, but one definite perk is the scrap-busting.  My bee mates at do. Good Stitches help me keep ahead of my scraps, since in our bee we sew from our own fabric stash.  Each month another batch of blocks comes along.  I only need to make a couple blocks, so 9 times out of 10 every peice can come from my scrap collection.

::case in point::



Today I'm making "framed" log cabin blocks.  The idea is to alternate low volume and saturated strings, a la Natalie's tutorial here.  First step - raid those scraps!  Since any colors work, I even dumped my gnarly multi-colored scraps on the table.  Those puppies are always hard to use.




Next I sewed together low volume and saturated strips of approximately the same length.  When I'm working with funky shaped fabrics, I like to sew strips together and then press and trim them up nice.   This way I can make my cuts based on the sewn seam.  It's very accurate!



Here's a peak at the basic block construction.  It builds like a log cabin block, except that Natalie asked for a 3-piece center (bottom right) and that each "log" is a 2-part low volume/saturated piece. 



I'm really glad I thought to pull out those multi-colored scraps.  They were fun and easy to use here!  Since our Love circle quilts go to children, all the houses, mice and rabbits are sure to be appreciated.



Our blocks could end at any size.  Today I made these two small blocks...



and this big ol' one. 

Thanks for another scrappy-fun project, Love circle!  With all the different-sized blocks and bright colors, this quilt is sure to be another success.