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Monday, February 03, 2020

Down the Rabbit Hole and Up the Squirrel Tree!


I had a day to MYSELF yesterday!

It was GLORIOUS!

Not that I don’t like being around people, but honestly – I can’t remember when I had a whole afternoon into the evening of SOLITUDE.

And it was a Sunday – mail doesn’t have to be dropped off until 4:00pm this afternoon so, I made the most of every blessed minute.

Super Bowl?  WHAT SUPER BOWL!?

The only bowl I was concerned with was the bowl of ice cream waiting for me at the end of the day.  But until then:


Bottomless bucket of small shirt pieces and parts.

This bucket never seems to go down in volume.  We have made so many quilts out of this bucket!  I have handed it off to Mona.  We both got Scrappy Mountain Majesties quilts out of it when it was full of larger pieces.

What’s left isn’t so large any more.  It’s the trimmings that were left after cutting our squares. There are yokes from shirt backs, pockets, plackets, sleeve caps - just the small stuff, really.

And I left the pieces odd-sized because the recycled shirt strip stash is still quite abundant and I thought I might want other sizes.  Maybe 6 1/2’’ squares?  Maybe 5 1/2’’ squares?  What about 4 1/2’’ x 8 1/2’’ rectangles.  Could they be needed at some point?

Yesterday I tackled a bunch by cutting sashings for my current Jack’s Delight project -


Enlarged top now awaiting borders!

The block pattern is in the current March/April 2020 issue of Quiltmaker Magazine and found in my Addicted to Scraps column. (The Quiltmaker website is currently undergoing a re-do since they have been acquired by another company again. So stay tuned on that.)

As things stand right now I am approximately 60’’ x 76’’.  I really want somewhere around 70‘’x 90’’ to fit a twin bed with enough drop to cover the box spring and side rails. 

I do NOT want to make MORE BLOCKS! (Gasp! I know, right?)

I mean – I could right?  But is there something at the QPO that I can use for borders?  We will see later today.

Once I’d gone as far as I could on this one – and the burgeoning bucket of recycled shirt parts was still at hand – One idea lead to another, and then another – all inspired by yesterday’s Quiltville Quote.  Did you see it?


SUGAR LOAF BLOCKS!

I have wanted to make a quilt with these for the longest time.  THE. LONGEST. TIME.  But it has been on the back burner for eons.

Do you see all of those plaids and how the grain goes in every which direction?  Guess what my heart was doing?


Yep! Down that rabbit hole!

Or up the SQUIRREL TREE!

Can you see now why I really don’t want to go backwards to making more Jack’s Delight blocks?  I want to go forward into Sugar Loaf blocks while still depleting the parts of the still very full recycled shirt part bin.

I pressed and pressed and pressed, and cut and cut and cut kits – so many block kits!


And from the small bits?

I kitted up more Shoo Fly Shoo Leader & Ender blocks as well.

I will be making Shoo Fly blocks until we get close to our July reveal of what the NEXT Leader & Ender project will be.  It’s not too late to join in.  These sweet blocks are so simple, and stitch up so fast. They are so cute and use an abundance of small scraps. 

If you don’t have a current Leader & Ender project going – Make a few!  Make 4 and turn them into a cute rug mug.  I dare you to not become addicted.


This morning’s sunrise.

SO INTENSE! 

Photos and video can’t do it justice -

But click to play, anyway!


I did get about half-way through the back log of Quiltville Store orders on Saturday that came through while I was in Phoenix.  Those will be dropped off at the USPS on my way to the Quiltville Post Office where I will be finishing up today.  

And if I’m a good girl – I may be getting those latest 6 placemats loaded into the quilting machine.

Did you catch the Row-by-Row license plate placemat tutorial I posted YESTERDAY?  You’ll also find it under the Free Patterns tab at the top of the blog.  I’ll work this week on getting the printable PDF copy linked up as well, there are just some things that have to happen first.

And for those who didn’t know – the license plates themselves are/were sold through the quilt shops that participated in the row-by-row program. So check with a quilt shop near you.

If you don’t have license places, or a participating shop near you, you could trade out the license plates, and substitute in some string pieced rectangles that measure 8’’ x 4 1/2’’.

Our March/April Quiltmaker 2020 Gift-Away is still going on – enter to win ON THAT POST.


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Found in Thomasville, North Carolina.

Start the daily practice of not letting the little things bother you. If the little things ruin your day, what's going to happen when the big things come along?

And I may have greatly screwed up last week, but I can do better this week.

I fell in love with this simple single Irish chain and all of its scrappy variety. Such a simple quilt, and so timeless.

Get out and enjoy this Monday!



18 comments:

  1. Your quote was funny, simple, and oh so true!

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  2. Beautiful sunrise! Love those Sugar loaf blocks. And my Son, Joe has a Birthday tomorrow. I got my Quiltmaker Magazine so I can make a few. It's a Monday in Nebraska. Freezing rain in the forecast. Might turn into a Sew Day.

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  3. Love the Jack' Delight top, will have to add it to my "make this" list. I think it now will keep me busy into the next decade.........
    MaryAnn

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  4. Love the sunrise and love the sugar loaf block. Is that one of your patterns from the Quiltmaker magazine?

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  5. I really like the many different fabrics in your sashing in the Jack's Delight quilt.

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  6. You hit the nail on the head with your quote this morning. This past weekend I let little stuff get to me. Nothing big-just drip, drip, drip of little things. But I let them get to me. Cut right into the things that make me happy. Over it now. Thanks, Bonnie!!

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  7. I adore that huge bucket of shirt stuff. You inspired me to make 2 quilt tops, plus one pieced back, from work shirts of mine and DH. So much fun.

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  8. Eeeee!! I've had my eye on Sugar Loaf for a long time too, and I love the idea of doing it in recycled shirts. Your new blocks are adorable! Looking forward to seeing this project grow over time.

    A dear friend gave me four huge bags of assorted shirt parts this weekend, and I'm having fun sorting through them, imagining projects, and integrating them into my shirt stash. Fun stuff!

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  9. Down the rabbit hole indeed! I just searched the net for the sugar loaf pattern and couldn't find. Commentor #2 Mary said she just got her Quiltmaker magazine, is it in there?

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  10. Oops, just opened my current copy of Quiltmaker and I see that it is time to renew. Just do that ASAP as I don't want to miss any issues. It is packed full of great projects! One theme for our quilt show this summer is "Rainbows". A couple fun, quick ideas are in this issue, and on the cute bunny table topper. I want to make everything in it, now to find the time (lol). Of course your column is calling to me as well. It's time to start cutting into my dear hubby's shirts for quilt pieces. Now to decide which pattern to use. Most of his shirts were plaid with a few solid colors. Need to watch your video on taking a short apart.

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  11. Love to find your daily blog...just like sitting down for a little ‘catch-up’ time with a long-time friend! And someone who ‘gets’ my quilting life. Thanks, Bonnie

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  12. What a lot of good things you've given me to think about today! And more quilt ideas. Thank you!

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  13. I love scraps and the shirt fabrics have always intrigued me. Here in Australia most of the men's shirts that I can find are poly cotton blends except for flannelette. Are your shirt fabrics poly cotton or only cotton. Unless I go very high end shirts I can't find shirts like your scraps.

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    1. Yes, my shirts are 100% cotton. If you can't find cotton shirts, look for plaids and stripes at the quilt shop.

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  14. I overdosed on televised sports when I was married. Today I call it the "Stupid Bowl!"

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  15. You are such a delight. Thank you

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  16. Those sugar bowl blocks would be great for a border for the first quilt.

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  17. Beautiful sunrise and those sugar bowl blocks are just adorable. Thank you for sharing your beautiful Jack’s delight quilt it’s looking stunning.
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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