Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Addictive Little Blocks

I am enjoying stitching together bits of fabric to make these little blocks, and then stitching them together with sashing and a center square.  They are addictive and oh-so-easy to make.  The only accuracy needed is the final cut into a 4" square.  And cutting the sashing accurately, too, of course.  (The color's a little off, maybe a little too creamy:  no sun today and evening flash.)
I don't know what the final layout will be.  They'll probably get circles, large or small, but I'm waiting to finish more blocks made to decide.
 
I still have heaps of light colored scraps.  (These colors are off too -- not creamy enough.  Oh, sun, please shine again soon.)

They are fun but they are time-intensive.  Some of the pieces are as small as an inch by an inch-and-a-half.  (I can't seem to throw them away.)  And I press the seams.  I know some of you wouldn't but I think pressing makes the blocks flatter. 
Sometimes I question the value of the time I spend stitching these together and wonder if the fabric could be put to better use, or if my time could be put to better use.  Do you ever question an in-progress quilt?

I knew this quilt would be light.  Maybe it's going to be even lighter than I thought.

While I'm working on these, the stars are on the (design) floor with two different colors of fabric to try out sashing options.  More about that quilt tomorrow.

I'm linking this post to
> Scraptastic Tuesday at Mrs Sew and Sow
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
> WOW at Esther's Blog
> Design Board Monday #24 at Bits 'n Bobs
> Let's Bee Social #115 at Sew Fresh Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.  I appreciate it.

Thanks for stopping by to look at my blog.  I hope you'll leave a comment.  Happy quilting to you!

--Nancy.
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11 comments:

  1. NickyMarch 10, 2016 at 2:47 AM

    They do look time consuming but the result is beautiful. I love a bit of mindless stitching when I need to work out how to do something more complicated - it is a stress busting activity for me. Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday

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    1. NancyMarch 10, 2016 at 8:37 PM

      They were the perfect thing for me to sew yesterday after having spent a good part of the day doing income taxes. Yes, mindless sewing is often to perfect thing to do, Nicky. Thanks for hosting Scraptastic Tuesday.

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    2. NickyMarch 13, 2016 at 9:09 AM

      It is our pleasure!

      Delete
  2. SewmotionMarch 10, 2016 at 1:04 PM

    I think switching off to some simple cutting and sewing is good for the soul, and for our brains to have a little rest once in a while can only be a good thing! I love that strong pink against the creams.

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    1. NancyMarch 10, 2016 at 8:39 PM

      Thank you, Sewmotion. I agree that the mindless sewing is soothing for the soul. I'm still working out how strong the pinks/peaches/corals have to be before they fade away -- and whether fading will add more interest to the quilt or only be a distraction. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

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  3. KathleenMarch 10, 2016 at 2:18 PM

    I like it -- just my style! I had a friend who knows I love scrap quilts. She is one who makes those beautiful "picture" wall hangings and she ends up with LOTS of small scraps from her huge stash of colors and textures she uses in her designs. One day she handed me a large bag of these scraps and challenged me to make a quilt using only these scraps. The largest were perhaps 4 inches, most were 2-3 inch strips and many, many were tiny strips and scraps. I finally have the blocks almost finished and am ready to sew the top. So many of the pieces are very small and the blocks are very square looking because I just couldn't take the time to make all of them crazy. I do like the overall look of it, but there must be a thousand miles of thread in it!

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    1. NancyMarch 10, 2016 at 8:41 PM

      Oh, Kathleen, lucky you to get a bag of scraps. I'm looking forward to seeing how you put them together. Yes, I was thinking about how much thread these were using as I was stitching yesterday. Thank goodness I have many spools of thread rescued from the clearance bins.

      Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

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  4. LeanneMarch 11, 2016 at 10:08 AM

    These are really soft and pretty. Time is a funny thing, the better question is does the process make you smile, even if it is easy, and is the result something you like. For me, if I can say yes to both then I can enjoy the time spent, and sometimes something relaxing and calm and beautiful is a good thing to be making.

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  5. CathMarch 12, 2016 at 10:11 PM

    Hello Nancy....thanks for sharing at Design Board Monday! Do I ever second guess an in progress quilt? Oh yes, all the time...I believe I am the worlds biggest procrastinator! Great work...please keep up with your project so we can share in the finished quilt.

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  6. Heather HasthorpeMarch 15, 2016 at 10:58 AM

    I like these a lot, the pale almost faded look is great. Isn't it good to usefully add in those tiny pieces!

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  7. LorettaMarch 31, 2016 at 9:36 AM

    I can't throw scraps away, either! I love to make crumb blocks, but they are labor-intensive...so many seams to make one block...and finding that just-right sized piece of fabric to fill a blank area...because you don't want to have to cut a scrap and make another scrap! LOL

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I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks for stopping by.

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