Any other scrap quilt lovers here? If you are looking for great patterns and ideas, go to www.quiltville.com All free! I love Bonnie's patterns... she has lots of great short cuts and ideas! Barb C.

Barb, I was going to reply with another link to the best scrap quilt site that I use. Imagine my surprize when I discovered we use the same site. LOL Thank you for sharing this addy with the rest of the board.

Thanks for the great site!!! Here's another one www.freequiltpatterns.inf/ gail

I love scrap quilts. Thanks for the great new web sites.

Scrap quilts are my all time favorite quilt! Laney :mrgreen:

I am starting to enjoy doing scrap quilts. They really please the eye.

I only make scrappy quilts but in a different way than the usual. For my stash I only buy ½ yd. pieces of tone on tone, Bali fabrics, hand dye or the ones that “read” almost or as solid. When I have a pattern that asks, for example, for 3 yds. of red, I use 6 or more ½ yd. of the same or close value red. The quilts are more interesting and I never run out of material. If I do … I just go out and buy some other fabric of the same value! I even do that with the backgrounds, specially the printed muslins. Isn’t that smart? Talking about modesty…
Lucia

Hi.

I too am making scrappy. I also do I spy quilts so get a lot of remnants. I love it. I can buy a small amount of fabric get a deal and still make the quilts I want. I love your idea of the almost or reading solids, I may have to do that as its hard to find enough colors and things to go with scraps. Its hard for me to match stuff anyway so if I had as you say hand dyed, batiks, or in that line it might be easier. Thank you for the advice. I am going to try it, yahooy, but boy its going to be hard to buy only a 1/2 yard, I tend to go overboard when I find a fabric I really like. I buy most of my fabric in 3 yrd increments. So now am going to have to rethink this out.


Rita

Hi Rita
Another thing I do is to check the wrong side of the fabrics. Not all of them work, but for me, fabric always has two sides and I use the one that best fits my needs. Most of the time, you are the only one that knows witch side you use. And that is “one more” fabric you have!
Sorry if I am messing up your head... Hope it is worth!
Lucia

Lucia

That is a great tip. My DH is has watched me quilt for several years now and has been my trusty assitant at times, so he decided to venture forth and make a quilt himself this fall. It is a great quilt. He had 2 black fabrics he was using, but he needed them to contrast, so he used the back of one... it looks like a whitish gray with black dots. It is great!

Here is a picture:

Barb
That’s a great quilt! You both should be very proud. Just hope he doesn’t get too much in your stash!!! Make sure he starts his own and there will be peace in or place!!!
Lucia

Most of those were purchased for that specific quilt.. but he did get into my scraps for some of the centers... and he was nice to ask. Now my daughter is another story... she has a secret project (A.K.A. something for me!) and she definitely raided my stash. I know it has a bright pink Moda Marble in it, 'cause it is missing! LOL! Barb

Thank you for that advice, I tend to forget about the back side. Your hubby did a great job, you must be so proud, I have been quilting for a few yrs, not a lot but a few and haven't tackled anything that complicated and thats his first... WOW.. Be thankful too that he is willing to try it and you can only hope he will love it. Men tend to not understand about fabric and buying. So you are a lucky lady.

Rita

What a great scrappy quilt. I love scrappy. I think I may try your husband's with some of my leftover fabrics. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Holidays, keep sewing!
Randy

Rita,
At the risk of sounding stupid, what is a spy quilt???? :?:

I'm not Rita, but I can tell you what an I Spy Quilt is. You use fun novelty type fabrics... the more the merrier... and you use the quilt to play the I Spy game. I Spy with my little eye something red.... I Spy something that swims in the water... things like that. I made one this past spring for my 3 year old great-nephew who dubbed it his I FLY quilt.. LOL! Here is a picture. Barb C.

Norah
In “I spy” quilts you use scraps of “things” :shock: . The most known one is made of hexagons separated by triangles (that are all the same fabric.) You cut the hexagons out of different fabrics and try not to repeat the motives. They are great for kids because they have fun looking for al the “things” in the quilt (like in the game) and for the quiltmaker trying to find fabrics with “things” that they do not have yet. :mrgreen: To see an example go to <http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1200293693055251046pfPBmk>
By the way, you did not <<sound stupid>>. You cannot learn without asking questions! I think that being “stupid” is not asking and learning when the opportunity arises. More you ask, more you learn! :?

I spy quilt is a quilt that has different blocks that have different things of interest. You are sitting with a child, and say : I spy a monkey, or a shoe or a flower. They can be made in as many ways as a regular quilt, but with the square of novelity fabric in there for your I spy game, usually every other block thru out the quilt. Or that was my understanding of a I spy quilt anyway. I have collected several novelity fabrics am going to try and make them for the local childrens hospital we have here. So far haven't gotten very far but the thought is there. This is one time that the thought really doesn't count . Hope this explains but if someone else has a better one sure hope they jump in there.

Rita

You all did a fine job explaining the 'I Spy' quilt. Wait till you hear about mine. One day I saw the 'I Spy' quilt on Fons and Porter's PBS show. At the time my house looked like a nursery school, with toys in a bookcase and large riding front end loader in my livingroom. Although my daughter was an adult and long gone, there were neighborhood kids around often, with another batch in the oven. LOL While visiting a quilt shop in next town, I saw these templates for the 'I Spy' made by Fons and Porter, so of course, I had to have them. The boy across the street loved Pokeman, and I still had fabric left from a vest I had made him. When I returned home, found a box and cut out the pokeman. Then going through my stash, found a few more novelty fabrics and cut those. My excitement grew with each fabric I found. When I was done had only 20 hexagons, but figured it was a start.
Now six years later, the box a little dusty and on a shelf in the sewing room. I recently came across that box that once excited me so. Inside I found the templates and 20 hexagons. The only explanation I have, is that there was something new on the next quilting show that got me headed in yet another direction.
My sewing room is full of patterns never made, gadgets hardly used, and books I had to have. Any of you have similar problem?

Barb love you I spy quilt, its really pretty. Thanks for showing and for helping explain what a I spy quilt is. I have trouble putting thoughts into words, so your explanation is great complete with pictures. I have also found some that are plain 4 patch with different novelity prints as a filler, so the possibilities for these quilts are endless. You can make it anyway you would like. I don't have time today to find some of the sites, but if anyone would like them, I have a few different ones.

Thank you so much for the help.

Rita

OH, MY GOSH!!! Now I have a good excuse to collect all of those novelty fabrics that I find so cute. I couldn't figure out how to use so many. Thanks, girls. I am now on a new tangent. :twisted: Thanks for the pic. How cute. I have new nephews and there's a new kid down the street. I got work to do!!

Boo...Let's don't go there! I'm sure you don't have any more or less tools, patterns or ideas that I do... I'm so easily swayed off my chosen sewing/quilting path. I have a dozen projects STARTED! All started with the same excitement you speak of regarding the I Spy quilt with Pokeman. I have told my husband and my sister that should I drop dead she is to be here immediately with 3 empty moving vans to clean out my sewing stuff because our kids would NEVER understand my fabric/quilting/tools/pattern and UFO quilt collections! I feel better knowing I'm not the ONLY one who has projects in the "making."

Keep on sewing, keep on sharing,
Randy

I was wondering about the "spy quilt", also. I don't remember seeing that pattern in any of my quilt magazins.

Scrap quilts are all that I make, but I'd like ideas for using up small pieces of fabric. Because of my disability, the sides of each individual piece must be straight so that they can be cut with a rotary cutter. I tried to cut around the curve on "drunkards path" block with a small rotary cutter but found it too difficult, impossible not difficult, due to my shaking hand. My favorite quilt block is the 9 patch, but I also make 4 patch, brick wall, tumblers, and even string quilts. I can't bear to throw away any scrap large enough to sew onto another piece of fabric.

I made a quilt foir my grandson using fabric with pictures. I call it the view from Mason's windows. It was only my third top so my windows look odd , I will post a pic if I can figure that out

Oh how cute is that??? I hope you can post a picture cause that would be so neat to see, we wanna see we wanna see.

Rita

My first try

I can't find it will take another photo...so I posted my first scrap

Love the quilt, great colors and job you did there. I love it. I am not good with colors you have done a fantastic job.

Rita

So glad you reposted that you couldn't find it. I was staring at that pic looking for the windows. LOLOLOL :lol: My first reaction is that your windows look alot like a railfence quilt. :lol: As a scrap rail fence, it is very nice and sure it was a satisfying project. I love scrappy!

LOL I'm glad Boo posted, I'm bad about reading real fast(cause I'm at work and have to hurry) so I didn't catch the part about this just being ANOTHER scrap quilt and I just couldn't figure out why it was called some kind of windows! Guess I'll slow down a little.

Thanks to all of you for your explations of th "Spy Quilt". I can see it as another way of using up those short lengths of fabric left over from other projects. I love the quilt pictures. Thanks again to all of you.
Betty

barb c i just love your husbands quilt your very lucky to have . i think i'd like to make one to.

WOW, Barb, your husbands quilt is fabulous :!:

an I spy quilt is usually made for children. It features differnt pictures within the blocks of the quilt usually done with hexagons but not necessarily. The blocks feature a different picture, thought I have seen it done with to identical pictures and also with an adult animal in on hex and a baby in another. The idea is then to ask the child can you find the...... You can find several sites on the net if you put in I SPY Quilt into your brouser
May Anne

Barb, thanks for the website! That Bonnie is a genius!
And I thought I was the only one "Paralyzed by my Stash!"

I love all her helpful hints and other information, not to mention the pics.

YEAH!

I just made my first scrappy quilt - well, a table runner... I LOVE it... my daughter, who declares she does not like quilts (she told someone they have taken over her life - referring to my spreading out in our house!!), wants a baby blanket (she is 17, not even close to being married OR pregnant) to put in her hope chest made out of the same fabrics... I did go and buy some and then she said I had to wait to make it because she wants fabric from HER baby blanket in it and if I make it now she will have to give up her blanket (remember, she's 17!!) and she's not ready yet!! I have put that project on hold :)

I happened to have some scrap material from dresses, shirts, etc. I had made the grandchildren from time to time. Then a friend sent me a batch of cloth with lots of wines and browns. Vicki R. sent me a nice stack of blues for sky (which I have not finished piecing yet), and so you can see it truly is a scrap quilt.

I have tentatively arranged them on a friend's dining table. She and I worked back and forth for a long time to get the effect of sky, water, vegitation and fossels on the bottom of it all.

I am still not sure the top is going to satisfy true quilting esthetics. I need suggestions.

Grammer

One more set of photos should tell the story.

And finally the photo of the baby grandson who is to be the recipient. His father was our youngest adopted son--Asian Indian.

GramMER

http://cgi.ebay.com/It's-A-Snap-Quilt-Pattern_W0QQitemZ120194693013QQcmdZViewItem

Here is a link to an ebay auction for the pattern called "It's a Snap" that I think would work really well with the blocks you have laid out.

Check it out!
Wendy

Wendy,

I could not see any specific pattern for a Noah's Ark quilt at this site. I guess what I forgot to tell everyone is that I started off with the Noah's Ark pictures and sort of tried to build around that theme. The greens and browns were soil and vegetation. The wines and browns were vegetation (decayed) and possibly fossilized. The blues were turbulent waters of the flood. The actual prints were in the center and the rest sort of built around it. I had wanted a better blend, but it is sort of turning out striped. The sky (still to be done) is to have a rainbow in it somewhere, etc.

Now will the suggestions be easier?

GramMER