Japanese X and +

I wanted to offer a sincere thanks to everyone who donated Japanese X & + blocks for our current charity scrap quilt. We’ve collected 44 blocks to date, but we all know they work up a bit small and therefore you need a million (well, not quite a million) blocks to make a quilt. We’re opting for no sashing as the blocks make a more of an impact when all the colors run together in true scrappy fashion.  None of us likes a quilt that is too short, and likely our recipient won’t either; as such, we think having a total of 88 blocks should do the trick.

So, for those of you that forgot to bring the blocks you made to our last guild meeting, YOU GET A SECOND CHANCE! And for those of you who totally forgot, WE FORGIVE YOU, but YOU STILL HAVE TIME. So make a short or tall stack and bring them this Thursday. Our goal is to have at least 88 blocks to assemble by the next Sewing Saturday!

We’re using the fabulous tutorial by Amy of Badskirt for the block construction. QUILTER BEWARE: these blocks are addictive and a great way to burn through that randomness that is your overflowing scrap bin. Consider yourself warned.

P.S. We’re using an anything goes approach. No need to get too matchy, matchy. Pull it out, press it, cut some squares, and stitch. 100% quilter’s cotton only, please.

 

Foundation String Quilt

For our next charity quilt we’re going with another scrappy option–a Scrappy String  Quilt. This is a really old-fashioned design, and has a great look when you really mix up the fabrics. Please dig through your scraps and bring a sampling of strips to the meeting THIS THURSDAY. Any width will do, but 1-3″ is best. Then, we’ll mix the pile and all grab a handful to take home and stitch. This will ensure our fabrics are all blended and will create a more unified quilt in the end. I won’t tell if you get a really great strip that you decide to keep for yourself.I ask that you be open to the concept that you may also end up with some strips that are “ugly.” Trust me, it will look great in the end!

Up next: I’ll post a tutorial for how to make the blocks using a used dryer sheet as a foundation. This will keep the blocks from stretching too much as the edges will have a bias.

See you Thursday!

Cheers

Elisa