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Sunday, March 12, 2006

Fun Finds!


Gotta love ebay! I found this quilt while doing a search for "string quilt". And it's a beauty! I love the alternating splashy red polka dot background with the white background blocks...it adds so much to the quilt! (and i think all red polka dots would have been way too over powering, but what do I know?) Look at this! It has a row of 1/2 blocks (I love it when they do that!) and then one end has broken dishes type triangles!

I love how these stars have some solid star points, and some piecey ones and are just put together with whatever they had! Looks like a whole lotta blacks, greys, and blues...but there is a couple pinks sprinkled in there! I have some of these stars started...and waylaid...somewhere...I was piecing them on phone book pages. It had to be way before finals and graduation, I wonder if I can find them somewhere..I know I was using shirtings for the backgrounds, but maybe if I made some with a bold splashy red (yes I am ALWAYS so drawn to red!)it will give it the punch it needs..they were looking a bit washed out with just shirtings for the backgrounds.

Does anyone else have quilting friends like I do? I have ladies who think it is so fun to just donate their scraps to ME instead of dealing with them themselves! Of course I love it, it is so much fun to play with someone else's cast offs and usually they are fabrics that challenge me a bit, because they have a totally different taste than I usually lean towards.

This week's guild meeting was no exception! I was gifted with a HUGE bag full! Lots of pieces very useable, nearly fat 1/8 size, lots of strips, partially sewn sets, some 9 patches, and some already started string blocks.

And look! A WHOLE HUGE AMOUNT of the trimmings from someone's string blocks! All these strippies are 1" to 1 1/2" wide....from squaring up her blocks! There is a mountain of them. Not sure what to do with them. Any ideas? First idea off the top of my head is to use them as a pieced accent border on my next string quilt....

This gal makes a lot of strip quilts, and there are lots of 'ends of panels' that are already sewn. I'm thinking I could trim them down into large 1/2 sq triangles and do something that way, or....trim them into kaleidoscpe wedgie shaped triangles??

There is also some Jinny Beyer striped border fabrics in here that has been all cut down..might make good borders for a mini or something. It's just a treasure trove! Just that...I'm not sure WHERE to start! *LOL*

Bonnie

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:23 PM EST

    Maybe the maker of this quilt had a houseful of boys, with all the blues/greys. I love the red backgrounds contrasting with the whites. Lucky you! What a great gift of all those strips and predone pieces - I'm sure you'll do something wonderful with them :-)

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  2. Love the string star you found Bonnie..it is striking with part of the backgrounds red vs. white, what a neat idea to give it some punch.

    I'm giggling about your "scraps" you love it and you know you do!!! I'm also giggling becasue apparently great mind work in the same channels. I had the sewn "stumps" as I call them, trimmed off my RR crossing strips. Most of them were or were trimmed to 1.5" X length. I was going to put a solid 2nd border on the RR crossing, but decided to add a 1.5" across the stumps, top and bottom and join them with black at the joining point..LOL. It's along way around a 56" square quilt, so I'm only part way there..but I'll snap you a picture.
    No matter what you do..it'll be fun.

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  3. I can't believe what people toss out - those are huge "scraps". People never give me scraps tho I've certainly acquired some by fishing in the trash after classes or guild meetings.
    That string star is loads of fun. I like the half blocks too. Was it planned because she wanted a certain size or did she just get bored? We can only speculate.

    By the way, not being able to blow your nose in public? I (allergy girl) would have loads of problems with that one. Here you get people just blowing their nose straight onto the street - no hankies, no kleenex, no sleeves.

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  4. Really lovely quilt..., I am just looking forward to see what you do with those heaps of leftovers :o)
    surely it will be something really inspiring - as usual...
    Thanks for popping by at my blog, Bonnie...

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  5. Maybe those strip units (in batik) can be part of your border.... I tried that with my CW Repros - not sure if I wll follow through though....

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  6. That is a fun ebay quilt! Have fun with Jason and his girlfriend! I know you'll have a great time!

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