What's In The Box ~ Part 10 ~ Orphan Blocks

 Who doesn't have a box of test blocks, miscuts and orphan quilt blocks? Oh, I'm sure there's one or two of you out there with the will power to use them up immediately or toss them in the trash.  And I'll admit I've done it a time or two myself.  

But the older I get the more frugal I get when it comes to quilting. 

I've done a little research on making quilts from the orphan blocks and Improv quilting. Those who do this style of quilting make it look easy, but I know it's a learned skill.  My style of quilting is a bit more structured.

Repetitive quilt blocks and well-balanced quilts is my style.  Can a dress right dress kind of quilter, like me, be taught to think outside the box and go willy nilly?  

There's only one way to find out and that is to jump in and give it a try.  The worst thing that can happen is I make a few quilts that I don't like and that's nothing new.  There's been a few over the years that made me wonder "what was I thinking?".

So, here I stand at the edge wanting to jump in with both feet but I'm just not ready to make the leap. The plan for these three bags of misfits is ...someday.  I realize, someday, is how my UFO's have become out of control...sigh.  

These will go to the bottom of the list because they overwhelm my dress right dress quilty brain.  For now, I'll work on the simple and easy to finish UFO's.  One has already been chosen, and I will start it when I have a slot in my 3-quilt rotation. 

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Part 9 ~ What's In The Box ~ Black and Bright

 The deeper I dig into the UFO box, the older the UFO's. I'm pretty sure this one was started before 2011.  That's before I started blogging.

Many years ago at an estate sale I purchased a quilters scrap box of fabric.  Hidden deep in the box was clothing with the seams removed.  The wild and funky print in the middle of the block below was once a pair of bell-bottom pants.  The other fabrics are cheap fabrics from Joann's or Walmart.

The arcs in the blocks are appliqued onto the floral centers.

All that's left to do is add the sashings and borders and she'll be ready to quilt.

Yep, this groovy gal is going to the top of the finish it list.  It'll be quick and easy.

Everything I need to finish the quilt top is in the bag.  All I need is backing and batting. I have plenty of both on hand.

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What's In The Box ~ Part 8 ~ Red December

 Hello Quilty Friends!  Today's UFO quilt is Red December, designed by Esther Aliu.  A quick search of my blog for the start date yielded one mention of the quilt in 2014.

The pattern calls for over 400 tiny red circles. I made 322 and a few other shapes before she was stored away and became a UFO.  Today she will no longer be a UFO.

I've made the decision to give up on this quilt and put the applique pieces in my applique spare parts box.

This is where I put most of my applique tools, test pieces and oopsies. 

Hopefully someday I can find a use for most of the spare parts in this box.  Maybe an orphan applique quilt?

Here's the quilt in all its glory.  Isn't it gorgeous?!!  This image was pulled from Esthers blog.  The quilt was made by Gail Smith.  If you would like to purchase the PDF pattern you can find it here.  My virus protection says her blog is a threat.  I think that is false because I belong to an Ester Aliu Facebook group, and they use it often for purchasing and downloading patterns. 

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What's In The Box ~ Part 7 ~ My Tweets

 Hi Friends! Today's UFO is probably my oldest one.  The My Tweets by Erin Russek of One Piece at a Time was started way back in 2011.

Everything I need to finish this quilt top is here.  It's just a matter of mustering up the gumption to do the work.

I know many of my long-time followers are shocked to see orange and purple, right?  Instead of making this quilt my own and using different colors, I chose to match Erin's colors.  The reason is simple, my fabric stash was small, and I had all the colors in her version.

However, I do remember making some design changes to one or two of the smaller blocks.

All of the applique is handstitched.

This "kit" includes the threads, scissors, needles and the background fabric.  Most of the remaining applique pieces are finished and ready to be glue basted onto the border fabric.

I'm thinking this one should be worked into the rotation after I finish the Bumpkin Baskets applique quilt.

The My Tweets patterns are still available for purchase in Erin's Etsy Shop at very reasonable prices.  I was shocked that she hadn't raised the prices to match what other designers are charging these days.

The center block can be found here.

The 12 smaller blocks can be found here.

Erin's blog and her newest quilt design can be found by clicking here.  It's not a free pattern but it's cute and I have the center block in my shopping cart!

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