A Scrap Quickie!

I'm little embarrassed to admit that I've never made a disappearing 9-patch quilt before. To be honest, the block never really appealed much to me. But I made a small D9P for our July scrap-busting project and I have to say, it was a fun, fun quilt to make! I'm now a big fan of this block.

This 39-1/2" X 39-1/2" kid sized quilt was super fast to put together. You could make it this size for a quick shower gift or a great table topper, or add more blocks and make a lap or bed quilt. The blocks finish at 13" and we used only 9 blocks for this one.

12 X 12 - Scrappy Rails

This month's scrap buster is a kid's scrappy rail fence quilt with prairie points. (To see the other quilts in our series, start here!) This quilt is approximately 36" X 48" (or 40" X 52" including the prairie points).

This post will include instructions for completing the quilt top. The prairie points and finishing will be detailed in the next post.

Here's what you need:  
1/3 - 1/2 yard of a focus fabric
1/2 yard of white or other neutral fabric
1/8 yard of a coordinating stripe
assorted scraps to coordinate with focus fabric

        (see post from 3/28/12 for more on selecting fabrics for this project)

**I created a "starter kit" for a customer who wanted some of the fabrics I used. If you're interested in these colors, a kit with a total of 2-1/2 yards can be purchased here for $20. These are the fabrics:

12 X 12 - April's Scrappy Quilt

For our April scrappy project, I thought it would be fun to do a kid's quilt. And make (or learn to make) Prairie Points! This project leans a little toward the girlie side, but we'll discuss a slight variation that works great for a boy. Anyway, I wanted to give you a little advance notice so you would have plenty of time to plan your fabrics.

The main design/block for this quilt will be a rail fence (with only 3 rails), like this:

This is a great "skill builder" block because you need to use an accurate 1/4" seam to ensure that you end up with a 6-1/2" square (unfinished) block. After the first few blocks, you should have your 1/4" seam perfect and then just breeze through the rest of the blocks!

This quilt  also has 2 sections with a little bit of applique. Each of these sections will replace 3 of the rail fence blocks, so if you're adamantly opposed to applique, you can just make more of the blocks or even substitute a larger piece of the focus fabric.

12 X 12 - Boxed Pinwheels

Our scrappy quilt for March started out a little different than it ended up.  However, I'm pretty happy with the result:   (For the background story on our scrappy quilt along, click here.)

Before we get into the how-tos, here's a brief recap of why I changed mid-process. I originally wanted a quilt made up of pinwheels and 9-patches (alternating between each). I got all the pinwheels done and put up on the design wall, then started making the 9-patch blocks. I'm very impatient and after I had a few finished, I raced over to add them to the pinwheels so I could admire how good it was going to look. I like to put something up on the wall and then try to not look until I get way back. So I put up the blocks, walked to the other side of the room, and turned to look . . . at this:

A Scrappy Finish

I'm sitting here all snuggled up under a freshly washed scrappy quilt typing up this post. I really wasn't that crazy about it as I was finishing the quilting part, but it is kind of growing on me. 

12 X 12 Backing Ideas

I finally finished the quilt top for our first scrap busting project! Are you with me - or getting close?

As I was mindlessly sewing these pieces together, I was thinking about backing. Here are some of my thoughts on backing:

12 X 12 Scrappy Rectangles construction

Ready to start sewing these together? (For the background on this quilt-along, click here.) There are a lot of pieces, but it's actually a relaxing kind of stitching. You know - just a lot of straight lines, all the pieces are short and match easily. We just have to get everything together and then start chain-piecing. (Since we're stash-busting, this is a great time to let our minds wander off to how we're going to re-fill our storage bins with an even better stash!)

12 X 12 - Scrappy Rectangles Next Steps

Let's get this show on the road! For anyone just joining us, click here to get the whole scoop! As you know, in our previous post, we had you get started sorting your stash into color groups. If you're still sorting fabrics, that's fine. I'm going to go ahead and get this first project started. Anyone can join us/start at any time. Here's what we're going to make with our stash scraps:

This quilt finishes at 59-1/2" X 69-1/2". It's made up of 3 different sizes of rectangles and one small square - super easy!

12 X 12 - Getting Started

Our twelve scrappy projects for 2012 will be detailed in posts tagged "12 X 12" throughout the year. Want to know more about our Scrappy New Year Quilt-along? Click here.

Today, we are going to start collecting and prepping scraps for two projects - a scrappy pet bed and a super simple scrappy quilt.

Scrappy New Year!

I'm determined this year to make a significant dent in my fabric stash. Starting now, all new fabric I bring in will be kept separate from the old fabric. I really just want to use up my older fabrics and have a stash consisting all of fabrics from this century! My goal is to make 12 scrappy projects in 2012. I'll be blogging about each one as I go. Wanna join me? I have a rough plan in mind. There'll be a nice variety of projects. Some small, some big, some quick, and some that I'll work on over time.

Join the fun!

I finished another Christmas Sampler block! Seriously, if you've been thinking at all about making this quilt, I have to say "do it!". These blocks are so much fun to make. Melissa did a great job on the design of the quilt and her tutorials are really easy to follow.

Two More Sampler Blocks

I just finished the Log Cabin and Wonky Barn Fence blocks from SewBitterSweetDesigns' Christmas Sampler. I really want to use all the fabrics from our fun and contemporary Santa's Chocolate Shoppe line,** so I decided it was time to start bringing in some of the blue.