A very nice scrappy quilt!!

It will be so beautiful. :)

Just wonderful! So colorful!

you do such nice work! i'm finally getting to where i have enough scraps to do something scrappy! and this design is very tempting!

Awesome scrappie can't wait to see it when it's all finished.

Thanks, nancia!! Well, we can't wait to see what you come up with! If you use your hand-dyed fabrics, it will be a stunner for sure!! Yes, I love something easy like only 3 pattern pieces to a block! lol.lol. Well, I plugged in the last 9P unit for the top half tonight and can't wait to show a pic! The navy blue center strip is a Judy Rothermel print from the 30's reproduced and it's a little girl bent over playing with her chicken!! haha! You can see her slip! Sooo cute! Well, here's what the last 9P block looks like and we can't wait to see your work, Nancia!! Scraps make the most amazing quilts! :thumbup: She better watch out, there's a crocodile in the block below her!! hahhaha!! (the purple thing is his big mouth!) (I'm having more fun with this quilt!)

Really pretty! I'm finding myself drawn more and more to the vintagey looking quilts lately! It's funny how our tastes change from time to time.

Your quilt is beautiful! You are a very talented quilter to work those colors in so nicely! I hope I can get a picture of it to put in my bucket list.

Very interesting and great planning.

Thank you, Shayvian! When I get finished w/the top, I'll PM you so you can get a pic of it completed for your bucket list. :o:)

Very pretty!

Ok, now, this is one CUTE scrappy! Love it!

Finally finished the Scrappity Do Dah and next will be lots of borders! I took alot of pics today because there are interesting fabrics in this quilt I just had to tell you about! Several fabrics I've cut into for the first time and are using them in this quilt. One is a Moda print of a church that I paired up with a feedsack. I think the steeple got cut off but you can see the church. I took a real close-up of that one so you can see. There's also an unusual fabric where the words are printed backwards. You have to hold it up to a mirror to read the word. It's a white fabric of bedroom slippers and says 'slumber' backwards. The other words are sleepover and party also printed backwards. Then there is this unusual fabric that sparkles with holographic discs on it. You can iron over it and nothing will melt as it's non-removable and non-destructible! I love the sparkle most of all but the camera will not reflect that aspect.
Hope you enjoy the pics and I'll be starting a new thread on this quilt for final view.[ATTACH=CONFIG]362964[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]362965[/ATTACH] The center strip has the holographic discs on it![ATTACH=CONFIG]362966[/ATTACH] It's dark but can you see the church?[ATTACH=CONFIG]362967[/ATTACH] Words are printed backwards for fun in this print![ATTACH=CONFIG]362969[/ATTACH] Lotsa bugs!! Forgot to tell you to scatter some white prints thru your quilt so I chose this one to light up a dark area![ATTACH=CONFIG]362970[/ATTACH] Lotsa butterflies![ATTACH=CONFIG]362971[/ATTACH] There are M&M's too![ATTACH=CONFIG]362972[/ATTACH] Eeeeeeewwwww, bats!!

Oh WOW, love it.

I love scrappy!

This is great! Hoping to find some time today to try my hand at some of these blocks. I really like the look of this pattern. Can't wait to see it all finished!

Thank you, Lillysews!! Now is a good time for an update to this pattern for you and others who will make it. I forgot some really important things about this block that you need to know!

SO HERE'S AN UPDATE TO THE MINI-TUT I FORGOT TO SAY EARLIER:

1) To make this quilt, you definitely will need a ruler with a diagonal line on it. This line is so important because it needs to be laid right on top of the center of your strip! Your corner point should have equal amounts of fabric on each side of the corner! If the strip is not equal at the corner points, it will be off when you join blocks. SO LAY THAT RULER SO THE DIAGONAL LINE ON THE RULER IS ON THE CENTER PORTION OF THAT STRIP!! It's only natural that you will have your strips to not meet perfectly when the 4 blocks are joined!! It is very natural to have one strip a tad wider than another. This comes from us going too fast on the sewing machines and not putting the fabric flush to our seam guides where the seam becomes narrow and the width becomes wider! But don't worry about this so much. It is far better to have your seams to match perfectly than the strips so that your blocks will square up correctly!

2) ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT THAT I MISSED! On closer examination, I realized that there is only ONE way to set the 2nd triangle while starting to sew and that is ABOVE AND NOT BELOW the point where you started your first triangle or HST. I stated earlier that it could be above or below where you started the 1st HST. You need to do this in order that the block comes out wide enough to meet the 3" size. If you are making this in 6" blocks, it will not be necessary to offset your HST's. There will be enough fabric in that size block to trim off that you won't need to do that.

3) When squaring up your individual blocks, be sure and align the edges so the diagonal line is flush with your corner points.

4) There are some simple rules that I didn't mention that I take for granted everyone knows about but I will reiterate those points now for those who may need it.

5) The first point is that when you have lots of busy fabrics in a quilt, you need to bring a balance to the quilt with solid fabrics or near-solids! You can see how I scattered lots of solids and NS in the quilt! This factor draws the eye to what you want it to see. It also is used to highlight certain areas! Take a good look at your fabrics and choose those solids that 'pack a punch' or give some pep to an area. It will make a difference in your quilt!

6) Point 2 is that anytime you have a scrappy of all sorts of colors, you need to bring balance by using the color white. You'll notice the white blocks I used are all busy white blocks. This helps to draw attention to the white blocks! It's a defining factor in your quilt.

7) Another point is that if you want your scrappy to really stand out, then you need to put a warm color next to a cool color! It is one of the best secrets to a successful looking scrappy! You'll notice I did that in this quilt.

8) When I finished the top half of this quilt, I repeated some of the same fabrics in the top down to the bottom. This gives it a 'connection' and unity that was prevalent in antique quilts. Those quilters did that same thing whether out of need or desire we don't know, but the repeat of a certain fabric hits the message home better!

9) I ignored the colors of the center strips all through the quilt except when I had a noticeable exception that needed switching I think only happened once. One of the advantages of using all different fabrics for your center strips is eliminating the worry of possibly bumping into the same fabric again! I don't like doing that. It's ok if the same fabric is 4 blocks over, but you don't want it to meet its match next door. So you can see how the strips form their own wonderful colors when they meet. It happens automatically!

10) Last but not least this is not a quilt to match things up with. You notice in the many blocks I showed you pics of where I put a big floral on top of a check or plaid! This is what works best! Just concentrate on getting dark strips with light squares and dark squares matched with light strips and you'll have a FANTASTIC looking scrappy!

Well, now that you know all this, I am sure some of you will give it a try and we will be looking forward to seeing your wonderful scrappy posted here! One of my blocks has a center strip that was pieced and left over from an earlier project!! It has 3 different fabrics in it!! It's a scrap quilt, so don't get too serious but pull your leftovers too and have fun with it!!:thumbup:

A beauty for sure. Please share updates on your progress.

What a great posting and you really helped us out with all the extra hints. This might be on my next years list of things to try. Kudos!

I absolutely love scrap quilts and this is one I am definitely going to do. It may be after the first of the year but it is going on my short list. Thanks so much for the tute. I have read all of it and it is very, very helpful. Thanks, again.

Thanks so much for your nice compliments! I am so glad you are going to give it a try sometime! You know I was surprised at 2 fabrics in my quilt that lit up an area that I never would have thought of, but let me suggest that you place some squares on a design wall, all darks and one light, and test to see how well they do work. Some light fabrics are just plain dull and others really show energy! So before cutting anything, just try assembling some darks and lights together and testing them. It will help you alot!

I can tell you that you have to be careful with colors! Looking at my quilt, you can see the color 'cheddar yellow' almost taking over had I not limited its use! This color needs to be used sparingly or it will change your color theme without you wanting it. Some colors will do that and it depends on what you put together. I noticed every red block in my quilt has a blue next to it. These are warm and cool colors that I just do automatically without thinking about it. However, some people need help in putting their warm and cool colors together and must plan it.

I didn't talk about low-contrast blocks/colors, but I have a few of those and if you like the random look of this quilt, you might want to do the same. This is where the 2 fabrics in the block almost look similar. It gives a nice balance to the quilt as not all things in life are bright and happy, there are some dull moments as well. So these rather dull blocks really look good among the bright, cheerful ones. Well, thank you, Sandy and Polly, for your encouragement. I sure hope you will try it. It's a great looking way to use up scraps! It always turns out so nice!! :thumbup:

This is turning out so nicely, n2. Think I might try a little smaller block--no big surprise to you!! Haven't thought it through yet though. Have 101 things on the sewing burner these days and then you go and through another idea at me!! Oh you are such a bad influence on me:D:D:D

Oh, c'me on, Gladie, you've just GOTTA try this block!!! You know you want to!!! tee-hee! If you try it in your famous micro-mini size, we know it will be just so darlin.....you must've read my mind today 'cause I was just thinking how darlin this would be in a tiny size!! hahaha. I even thought about how it could be done by fusing the strips to already sewn blocks!!! hahaha! I am begging you to do it and I know it will be so irresistible!!!! Now what would you do without me always coming up with a block to entice you with????? I'm glad I'm such a bad influence on you.....jhahhahaha.....and that's in a GOOD way!!! Awww, your 101 projects can get done later!!!:D:D:hunf:

It looks very pretty

I like it!!!!!!!!

Trying out navy trim on string blocks. Yellow border is on. Latest pics so far:[ATTACH=CONFIG]364075[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]364076[/ATTACH]

very pretty scrappy!!!!

I keep trying to resist the temptation! But look I'm back looking at this thread again. :D The borders on the diagonal string blocks is wonderful. I think it serves 2 purposes. It stabilizes the row of blocks as it separates and defines them. In the first pic with just the 2 types of blocks the string blocks alone got lost next to the centerpiece. This way the string blocks complement the center pieces rather than being shadowed by them.

Well, gang, here are some more pics for today's tryout! It grew beyond my design wall space so I moved the quilt outdoors. It's already 57" wide now from the 2 rows sewn on last night and looks like my plans for lots more rows will be altered. I absolutely love framing anything and it sure gives the definition to the quilt I wanted to do. Framing those string blocks brings the focus even nearer to the center of the quilt! I love the stateliness that a navy fabric brings to a quilt! Yes, it gives it a dignity that's unsurpassed by any other color! I had auditioned bright red framing the blocks but it overpowered the center. I tried a lighter red next which was just perfect! But navy won out this time! It's not always necessary to have a separation between rows, but as you can see from my pics, the little 9P's look great as a stand-alone meaning a row separating them is necessary! Guess I'll have to abandon my plan of 3 rows of more of the grid blocks as the final rows of the quilt.

Who knows? I just might turn this thing around with a wonderful floral displayed in a wide border!! (either painted, fused, raw edge or just my crayons! haha!) Tonight I'll be making string blocks for the final row. Remember that everything turned out nice and straight but the quilt is laying on grass in these pics and it looks bumpy and wavy!


Well, here comes the pics![ATTACH=CONFIG]364265[/ATTACH] 2 rows on, 1 laid out and 1 to go![ATTACH=CONFIG]364266[/ATTACH]the 3 lt. florals are all feedsacks I wanted to show you in the upper left-hand corner. Just love feedsacks!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]364267[/ATTACH] testing the next row...[ATTACH=CONFIG]364268[/ATTACH] def. needs space between rows[ATTACH=CONFIG]364269[/ATTACH]just right!![ATTACH=CONFIG]364270[/ATTACH] camera colors turned out great!

It is looking beautiful! Looks like you are havin' fun.:)

So glad you made it back again, Gladie!! Your analysis is right on! Very good! Yes, in the beginning pics, I was just laying the string blocks there for people to see what I was adding as my next row. I didn't tell my plans then for framing those blocks. Anytime you frame something, it always stands out and yes very much it is a defining factor in the quilt! Wish quilters would do this more often. The navy blue quietly calls attention to the centerpiece. I like the drama it gives!! Looking forward to your playing with this block, G, and we'll be anxious to see your post on it!! Thanks for your compliments!! :)

Thanks, Linda!! I was having a good time with this until I looked at my quilt after finishing the 3rd border and I SCREWED UP THE CORNERS!! haha. Does that look weird? What would you do? I think I will just applique navy pieces around the whole square until it all meets corner to corner accurately!! lol.lol. That's what I get for adding a section that already had the border on and not taking that into account! YIKES!! I now have a HAPPY MISTAKE that I could always leave that way. My corners are screwed up
here's the right side[ATTACH=CONFIG]364341[/ATTACH] here's the left side[ATTACH=CONFIG]364340[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]364338[/ATTACH]

Hi, Well, so you don't have to unsew, how about trimming your yellow square so that you can add the blue border only to the two outside edges of each yellow square? Your inside edges wouldn't need the border since the square corner of it is already complete. Hope I am making sense.

BTW, a treat is headed your way soon. I think you will be blessed right out of your socks! :D

neat scrappy love it

wow very nicely done

Thanks everyone so much!~~!! I think I will have a great surprise for this quilt in the end so keep tuned! I am thinking of doing something really unique and unusual with this quilt. You know when I added the 3rd border on, I then squared the bottom up really nice (meaning I cut off the extra string blocks and the navy trim that could've been left on to make up for adding the 4th border w/o having the same trouble as the 3rd border if that makes sense) so that it would be all ready when I added the last set of string blocks.

I think I will repeat the same happy mistake again and do something really unusual in each of the 4 corners! I am thinking a Greek Key design in it with navy strips or who knows what I will come up with!

These 4 corners are now kind of 'striking' being offset!! I'm kind of liking this!!

Thanks, Linda! Your idea is great except I can't unsew since borders were cut off and squared up before I added row 3 with the frame on. Yikes! Oh, I see what you mean about adding horizontal and vertical strips to match the navy! Great idea. I may do that by appliqueing it all on. Btw, I am using this beautiful navy fabric on the WRONG side! I love both sides of it, but I love the way the print comes thru to the backside!

Do you ever have a fabric where you love the backside better?

Linda, I just reread your post again and I really think the INSIDE EDGES WILL HAVE TO BE DONE too because the string block starts BELOW the trimwork and not EVEN with it....duh....that's the part that looks so funny! It doesn't start at the edge like it should.

I am wondering if the end of the string blocks should have a stopping point separating the corner block from them? Shouldn't there be a divider there? In other words, the corner block will then be continually wrapped with trim around it! From a visual standpoint, will that look right?

Linda, I will get the postal fee off to you in the mail since you are getting ready to send to me! What in the world has the QS done this time??? Wonderful surprises, I'm sure!! Thanks again for all your wonderful help!! Quilters are the BEST in the world!!

Well, keep tuned to see how I work around this error. I might do something dramatic for these corners now to get them to stand out! The dark yellow compliments the 'cheddar yellow' in the quilt since that color seems to be dominating the quilt so far. I've tried other colors in the corners, but the cheddar yelllow is screaming for something similar! lol.lol.:shock::hunf:;):p

WOW! I love it! All the bright color make it such a fun, happy quilt! :)