Using up some scraps

 Any time you work with novelties or any fabric where you fussy cut, you end up with lots of odd sizes left over.  I typically throw them in a bin and when it gets full I sew them all together in rows to make piano keys - usually used for pieced borders.  But I decided I was getting overwhelmed with piano keys and so cut them into sections for this quilt.  It ended up looking a lot like a string quilt but that's OK.  I've done something similar a LONG time ago with dark blue fabrics in the corners.  I don't like this one quite as well (I think it needed something different in the corners), but it did use up all those rolls of piano keys I had accumulate for the recent months. And almost all the bits an scraps of the blue chambray I've been using for t-shirt quilts over the last year. win win.

Starting out 2021 with color

 I've been having some fun with color and novelties.  I decided to cut a bunch of 2.5" strips and 4.5" strips from scatter print fabrics to have "on hand" for I spy quilts, thinking this would save some time refolding fabrics.  And then of course I had to find some quilt patterns to make. 

This pattern is called Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll by Shabby fabrics.  I modified to use 8.5" cut novelty strips and adjusted to minimize the background.  Each block is 3 strips wide and 14.5" long - kind of strange but it worked.

This is Balancing act by Jordan Fabrics, pattern modified to utilize 8.5" cut novelty strips.  The unevenness of the pattern makes me a little uncomfortable but it was was fast and easy!

I think this is my favorite - another pattern from Jordan fabrics.  This one is called Beads.  Again I modified the construction method to work well for novelties and also minimize the piecing of the background blocks.  The rows and blocks are on point, the only triangles are on the edges.  I'll definitely make this one again, I love how it sparkles.

This is a basic rail pattern.  I had a bunch of left over strips so I trimmed to 6.5" (to work with 3 strips).  I'm pretty sure I've done something similar before but maybe not exactly this layout.  The hardest part was deciding how to arrange the fabrics - not all the reds or blues read the same.  Looking at this small picture there are some I'm tempted to change but will probably leave them - as it isn't noticeable when you are looking at the quilt in person.

Almost all those 2.5" strips I precut are now gone - good job.  Though the baskets of folded fabric seem to be just as full.  Probably because they are breeding at night - yeah, we'll say that's it. 😀