What to with over 1000 cut out squares 2.5"
 

I cut out around 1,500 squares 2.5" to make grandmothers flower garden quilt - I was feeling very ambitious. My mistake, I think, is I used Civil War fabrics in reds, blues, greens, golds, tans, browns and a civil war yellow for the center. I have a creamy/goldish muslin for the paths (not cut out yet). Now I am thinking it will be too dark for a grandmothers flower garden quilt and think I should do something else with all these 2.5" cut out squares.

Any suggestions or pattern ideas to use up the 2.5" squares would be greatly appreciated!!!

Or, if you have seen or made a grandmothers flower garden quilt out of Civil War fabrics, please let me know your opinion on how it looks with that type of fabric. I am worried to put that much work into it and not like it.

I'll admit that most GFG's are done with flowery colors, but there's no rule saying they have to be. I would go ahead and make it with the fabrics you have, and celebrate not following the usual path. Call it "grandmother's fall garden" instead.

Here is one we made with scrappy squares. We used solids to make the "paths" that go through diagonally. I am drooling at the thought of all your CW fabrics, yum!

There's a couple women in my guild doing English paper piecing with civil war fabrics and they are stunning ... Stick with it

as stated elsewhere, no rules about color. if you like these fabrics, use them. if you decide you really do not like them for this quilt, then check out quiltville.com. bonnie hunter is the primo scrap user.

Check out http://www.quiltville.com . You will find a lot of inspiration and free patterns there!

first off i love cw fabric go ahead and finish that and if you could post pic of it done.and ptquilts love what you did with yours to love love it.

You could just lay some of the pieces out in approximate positions and see what you think of them.

You can also lay out the hexagons in 'diamond' shapes instead of 'round' ones for a different look.

If the fabrics look nice together - why not?


But on the other hand, if you've decided you don't like the fabrics - for anything - than don't waste your time on it.

check out the book "Civil War Sewing Circle" by Kathleen Tracy. she does a hexagon flower (print center and six surrounding) then appliqués them onto dark squares. Her quilt is with very small hexagons but the idea would work for any size. I have been wanting to make her design. You may then be able to use your gold as a boarder.

how about granny squares?

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...lted/002-2.jpg

That is a gorgeous quilt and I like the pattern a lot. Great option for my squares. Thank you for the picture. I could use my creamy muslin for the paths.

Another great option. Thank you!!!!

I checked out the book on-line at Amazon.com. Before I make up my mind on what to do with my squares, I will order this book. I love CW fabric and it looks like a great book. If I can see her version on the hexagons, that will help me decide what to do. Thank you very much!

So many options :thumbup:

I love this one!! May start cutting squares from my cut offs from quilts!!

Are you familiar with the pattern "Jack's Chain"? It is the one which uses small squares to make nine patches which are then arranged in a circular pattern very similar to a Double Wedding Ring. The nine patches are joined with triangles inbetween, so the entire quilt is constructed with Y seams, but it's a gorgeous quilt. It is the last pattern in the book "101 Nine Patch Quilts", by Marti Michell.

I have not heard of that quilt, but I have only been quilting a few years. I will look it up and take a peek! I did learn how to do Y seams. I love 9 patches.

I think that your colors would be nice in a Grandmothers Flower Garden. Even though they aren't traditional colors, I'd use them. I think it will be nice.

Some times stepping out of our usual comfort zone is a good thing. Darker, subtle tones can result in beautiful quilts...I would go with the GFG (but I am addicted to hexies:)).

i like the granny squares idea myself

Well , I suggest that you check yourself in at the nearest mental health clinic. hehehe I can't imagine cutting out that many tiny squares. But you have my respect. Anyone that would do all that work can't be a bad person. hehehe Hope you know I'm only kiddin.

I love the civil war prints also and if it was me I would go for it! I think it would be a stunning quilt. I never got into the thirties materials. I always gravitate toward the civil war and things along that line.

Just saw a beautiful quilt with a lot of little squares in the photos section posted by terri bb. The subject of the post was "my take on arkansas :)" and yes, it was all lower case and included a smilie face made with a colon and parenthesis not a real smilie that this one will probably change to when I post it, but not the quotation marks. I think you could even use the squares to make the parts with the slanted cream colored pieces. Start with a large cream square and two small print squares and sew across the diagonal of the small squares and trim off the corners. Really shouldn't be too hard to figure out with your sized squares.

Now I went back and it was changed to a real smilie face, so it may or may not be with the colon/parenthesis. :(

Same here. I gravitate to the Civil War and more muted fabrics, although I love batiks. I think I will make a few flowers and lay them on the path muslin fabric and see what I think. When I originally posted I doubted I would continue with this fabric, but now I think just might give it a try.

Yes, that would be a great name for the quilt!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/attachm...595222-002.jpg


Wow, I went and looked at the quilt picture. It is stunning and you are right - would be a great use of all my squares. Now, I have so many beautiful options and I just want to make them all!!! This is when I freeze up, afraid to make the wrong choice and just sit and look at the fabric forever dreaming.

If you still like the fabrics and want to do the GFG I would make it as planned. Before I started my GFG I surfed the web and found lots and lots of GFG that were not the traditional 30's GFG. All were stunning in their own way. I've seen beautiful GFG's done in all black and white, in all batiks, I think a civil war fabric GFG would be beautiful.

Would a postage stamp quilt work, i love cw fabric also and did a lap this way.

I love your idea of using the CW fabrics for a GFG quilt, but you could also consider making a Cathedral Window quilt using all your 2 1/2" sqs. I know you have more sqs cut out than needed for a Cathedral Window quilt, but you could make more than one, lol!

I recently made a scrappy quilt that I think would look great in the fabrics you described. I wrote up piecing instructions because I taught it at a local shop and I included four options on how to pieces the quilt, including using individually cut 2.5" squares. If you like the quilt and are interested in the instructions, feel free to PM me. Also, I'd love to see what you decide to do, so be sure to post pictures. Good luck!!

Buy Fonz and Porters book on scraps .Their use of squares is amazing.

Kathy Tracy has a group=smallquilttalk where the groups dose quilts using CW fabrics. They are getting hexs' for the Oct small quilt so you could check that out too for ideas for all your CW squares.We've been making 1 quilt a month out of 1 of her 4 books.

How about a Cathedral Window - all by hand. They're beautiful.

I think I would go ahead and use them. I love the CW colors and think you might really like it once you're finished. You must like those colors to have them in the first place, right? Even thought most GFG's are in pastels or florals...this is your quilt. Do it your way. :)

My MIL made a gorgeous GFG with black for the diagonal crossed paths, a fairly bright pink for the background, and all sorts of prints (including pieces of SIL old candy striper uniform) for the hexes in the flowers. The quilt survived nearly 30 years of constant use, although it had gotten too threadbare to use, but was lost when our house burned in 2000. That's probably what happened to the pictures too.

I know... between the thought of all those little Civil Wat squares & the darling puppies in your avatar, it's a wonder I'm not headed your way right this very instant!!!

Robin, I promise the quilt police will not come to your house! Go ahead and make that quilt as you planned - it'll be wonderful!! And please post a photo of your progress along the way!!
Regards,
Debbie

I'm a Civil war fabric fanatic and think it would be beautiful!!! I think any quilt with Civil war fabric is stunning though.

That is what I was thinking!!!

ok, my question is, "How do you make a GFG from squares?" I thought they are cut from hexigons.
Marge