The Last Blast of Yellow Scraps

Here are the 21 blocks made from the 336 yellow HST units I cut and sewed a week ago.

I still have some yellow scrap projects yet to get around to this month, but getting these done feels good.

And here's how they look mixed in with some of the rest of the scrappy blocks made so far as part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge.

And this is my update for the HSTeria QAL and Angela's Farewell to Yellow (Rainbow scraps challenge) tomorrow. 

I cannot believe how many of these blocks I've made and how close I am to having enough.  And how, two years later, I still like the idea. 

A Proof of Concept ... and a Plan for FNSI

These are the twenty 12-inch Half-Square-Triangle blocks from a block swap a long while ago.

Below them are the twelve 18-inch frames I created, after I disassembled and re-combined and assembled them for my idea for a summer project.

I'll blog more about my plan for the 12 weeks of summer this weekend, but here's a sneak peek at my first completed block–my proof of concept for the this idea.

The center is a hand-pieced block made from a pattern drawn by me. The design is most identified as a New York Beauty ... but I've been thinking of it as my summer of Sunflower blocks. 

I am happy with the combination of HST background and round and spiky centers ... my summer of sunflowers is a go.

My plans for the Friday Night Sew-in tomorrow are also HSTerical. I'll be cutting and sewing the 672 yellow triangles I need–or as many as I can cut from my scraps–to make scrappy yellow broken dishes blocks to add to those made so far, as part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge.

Some of those triangles will come from the scraps of pretty yellow and gold hand-dyed fabrics from Vicki Welsh that I won in the drawing last month in the HSTeria QAL.  Thanks, Vicki!

Here Comes the Sun

I've been slow to start making scrappy yellow blocks for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge this month, both because yellow fabrics aren't well represented in my stash or scrap bin and because I know that finding "light," "medium," and "dark" yellows with enough contrast is going to be challenging.

I started with my blocks for the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along. This month's lotto block, Sunrise, is a half sun shape.  In the Mod-mod quilt, pairs are combined to form a full sun shape. I decided to combine the halves and sew the block as a paper-pieced donut then add the circle center and outer background using the 6-minute circle technique.

 If you google Dale Fleming 6-Minute Circle you’ll find links to Dale Fleming demonstrating her technique on Simply Quilts (on the HGTV website) and a longer version (with other shapes and examples)  from her onThe Quilt Show (if you are a member).  

The book contains a lot of information on color and design principles and how to use the technique with different shapes. It was published almost 10 years ago, but I noticed that Amazon has it available on Kindle.  

Clicking the book image will take you there. 
When choosing fabrics for the block, I was looking for contrast between the yellow fabrics and something that would play nicely with the existing blocks, so I put some of the blocks from previous months on the design wall to audition fabrics.

So far, so good.  So I made a second full sun block.  In the second block, I hand-appliquéd the circle in the center.

And when it was done, I couldn't resist laying out all the blocks made so far on the wall, placed as they will be in the quilt.

This weekend, I plan to make more Sunrise blocks–I'll need 5 pairs for the larger quilt.

I think I am working my way up to cutting and sewing the nearly 700 yellow triangles I'll need to make the broken dishes blocks for that rainbow scraps project ... because after sewing the sun blocks, I next turned to something easy–the single Oak Leaf block, made from 14 large half-square triangles (HSTs).

This was good practice with working with yellows and contrast. A couple of those HST units are a bit muddy, but I still like this big 10 by 15-inch block ... and it plays nicely with its friends.

This block, the scrappy version of one of last year's block patterns for the Block Lotto, makes me want to fracture more traditional shapes into triangles. I love the twinkle in these blocks.  

I am linking this post with the weekly posts for Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday and Vicki's HSTeria QAL.  Both these lists are rich with great ideas for quilt blocks and quilt design. 

Reconstruction Zone

I've deconstructed the rest of the 12-inch HST Sampler blocks and am in the progress of figuring out how they become more 18-inch background/frames.

Re-arranging the squares is a good activity while I make a decision about what project I'll choose for my goal for a Lovely Finish in June.  I shared the first six that I finished here.

These are all made from 3-inch units. I also have some 4 inch, 8 inch and lots of 2 inch bits and pieces with which to come complete these and come up with a 12th block.  I envision more cream/tan/brown HST elements as sashing.

That's what's in-progress for me this Wednesday.  I'm joining the long list for WIP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced.

I'm motivated to sew these together and finish them all up so I can start on the circle blocks that will go into the centers.  My plan is to design and sew one block a week during the 12 weeks of summer. In my head, I am thinking of it as Sophie's Summer of S_____.

I need to commit to a June goal for aLYoF soon.    If you are curious, here are the top contenders.

I have almost settled on a pick, but I considered these six projects:

1. Turn the Good Morning/Good Night red work I stitched through the Winter Olympics into pillow covers. 
2. Complete my Feather Bed quilt.
3. Quilt and Finish the little Leftovers pinwheel quilt.
4. Quilt and Finish the 2013 Block Lotto Sampler (a missed goal earlier this year).
5. Quilt and Finish my Tea Towel Challenge quilt. 
6. Make three Kitty softie friends for for Proto-kitty for the NNMQG's gift shop. 

Deconstruction-Reconstruction HSTeria on my Wall

When I thought more about turning the 12-inch HST Sampler blocks into larger backgrounds for a new project, I realized that they really didn't need to be whole blocks because they would become background/frames for large circular elements and whatever was in the center would be hidden/cut away.

And this is what happened.

I don't know anyone who likes to rip-rip-rip out seams, but somehow it isn't so terrible when you're not ripping out mistakes to fix them, but are creating building blocks to play with on the design wall to create something new.

The new blocks are 18-inches square.  They will surround 14-inch circle elements. Some are symmetrical; some are almost symmetrical; the rest are not symmetrical at all.

I plan to turn the original 20 HST swap blocks into a dozen larger ones, with more HST units made and added, if needed.

The original blocks are below.

Deconstructing the blocks was a little like quilting archeology. The flying geese units in one of the blocks had been paper pieced and while there was no sign of paper on the back, it surrounded the threads in the seams ... and being the well-made block it was, the stitch-length was smaller and not a joy to pick out. I don't know if there will be enough HST-fabric to make the backgrounds I need; unfortunately, a couple blocks had stains and scorch marks that I chose not to include.

I'm adding this post to the links for Vicki's HSTeria QAL and Design Wall Monday (tomorrow) on The Patchwork Times.