Kitting up Lozenges!

I must have the ugliest 3.5” strip bin on the planet.

Maybe in the whole galaxy!

But I’m excited about our new 2014 Leader & Ender Challenge, Lozenges – because it is going to turn this mess of strips into something SPECTACULAR – I just know it.

I don’t use the 3.5” strips as much as I do the smaller 1.5”, 2” or 2.5” size…usually I end up with a 3.5” cut square as a center, a corner, an alternate unit – but rarely do I just piece with them, so I”ve got a stack to use up.

Today I decided to get this job out of the way, and I ironed and sorted and began to cut.

In yesterday’s blog post with the instructions for Lozenges, I said that a quilt set 30 rows across by 15 rows down would give a quilt that measures 90 X 90.  That’s bigger than I want to go.  So I’m going to do 27 across by 15 down,  which will give me a quilt that measures 81” X 90”.  A very useable full size.  This will take 405 Lozenges!  That’s still a lot!

Look at this stuff!  Trimmings from backings --

This was the very popular “pillar” print, a post civil war era repro,   and I had used it as a backing..this is what was left from the margin.  CUT IT UP!!  I mean, really – what am I saving it for?

1970s faux-patchwork and a 1990s cabbage rose?  CUT IT UP!

Oooh…how many had or still have that light purple with pink in the center?

CUT IT UP!

Now this one definitely takes the cake --

UGLIEST FABRIC IN THE STASH hands down!

CUT. IT. UP!!

This little stack – holds 100 3.5” X 6.5” rectangles.

Doesn’t look like that many, does it?

I pinned them in stacks of 10 and then laid them cross wise on top of each other until I had 10 stacks of 10 in each pile ---

And I wasn’t just cutting Rectangles!

If I got to the end of the strip set and couldn’t get a 3.5” X 6.5” rectangle out of the piece…I’d cut it down right away into the next useable size.  In this case, I got a couple of very useable 2.5” squares.

In this case I got a 2” square and two 1.5” squares out of the odd end.

My goal is to not leave a basket of odd pieces to have to trim down later.  I’ve already got the ruler and rotary cutter going – just keep cutting down until you can’t anymore….I’ve now got a stack of 1.5”, 2” 2.5” and 3.5” squares ready for other projects.

Next up?  Cutting the black 2” strips into 2” squares!

Last night after we arrived at the cabin I was too wiped out to do much else than finally attach the 6th star point to the mother ship of my hexie project.  I’ve also finished part of the fill in area – you can see it as 4 diamonds at the bottom.  There is no pattern for this quilt, I’m making it up as I go along.  It has no deadline, It’s just my busy-bag project for when I travel and don’t have access to a machine.  It’s been fun to see it grow over the past year.

This morning’s blue sky looks inviting…but it was 24 degrees out when Sadie and I went walking!  I can tell you this fit bit is not going to register 10,000 steps again until it warms up a bit outside!

Potatoes are baking on the oven.  Steaks will go on the grill soon --almost time to make a salad.  This is the stuff that bliss is made of!

Love from Buck Mountain ---

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