I'll show you ugly!

I whipped up 2 blocks this morning after I saw the invitation.....I love making string blocks! Especially when I can throw in anything I've got handy. This is going to be a wild-looking quilt!
I just noticed that one of my black diagonals got a little shifted---I won't submit this one of that's not acceptable.

Different strokes and a string block challenge

Brenda here posting this for my friend Terry, who couldn't get Blogger to work for her.

She made this set of scrappy diagonal string squares.

I like the consistent dark diagonal strip.

Here's what she said about them:
I took these squares to coffee break at work to show to a quilting friend. One of the other women at coffee exclaimed, "That is soooo ugly!!" Uhm.  "Look," she says, "Those colours don't even go together ....and those strips are different widths."

Very amusing. There are no convincing her that this was a string quilt made from scraps and BELIEVE ME, it will all work out in the end.

I haven't decided if I'll just make a few more squares and run them together or if I'll put a border around groups of four. Wait and see!

 This is Brenda again.

For the record, I love diagonal string blocks, the scrappier the better. And believe me Terry, these colours do GO together. It's going to be a great quilt.

Just to prove that anything goes when it comes to string blocks, I'm proposing a little challenge.

1.Make an 8.5 inch string block with a black diagonal like Terry did. Please sew it on an 8 inch muslin foundation so it has a 1/4 inch seam allowance around it. That eliminates extra bulk when I join the blocks.
2. Use the ugliest (to borrow a word from Terry's colleague) fabrics in various widths.

3. Post your pictures here.

4, Pop the block in the mail to me and I'll collect them to make a charity quilt.

(I already have 48 string blocks made from a previous project, and these can go with those.)

5. Let's show Terry's friend we don't make ugly quilts when we use up our scraps.

6. Deadline: April 30.

7. Leave me a comment here and I'll send you my address.

And just wondering:  What would the rest of you string quilters have said to Terry's colleague?

Orca Bay Mystery

I just finished the top for the mystery quilt Bonnie Hunter ran in the fall. I made almost the entire thing with scraps and larger pieces from my own stash---it was a great feeling. I'd never tried string piecing before this. It's a great way to use of scraps and come out with an interesting quilt.

String star quilted and bound

I finished my skinny string star last week

quilting it with feathers

and putting a surprise on the back.

This is a bright quilt for an alert baby,

and I'll be donating it to a local children's charity.

I'm enjoying all the great string quilts you're posting here

and I look forward to a few more

before we wrap up the string thing along in June.

What sort of string-y things are you up to?

Purposeful Strings

I say "purposeful strings" because I made my string blocks from yardage rather than scraps (for the most part). I used the layer and slice and shuffle method to make 6.5" blocks.


Then I arranged and sewed most of the blocks into four columns. The leftover blocks were cut down to 3.5" and sewn into three narrow columns.


I used sashing strips that finished at one inch to separate each column from its' neighbor.


Another one inch frame went all the way around before the six inch border was put on.



Ta-daa!

I'm really pleased with the way this turned out. Can't wait to get it quilted so I can cuddle up with a good book. ;- )

First string quilt top

I've had these 5 1/2" string blocks sitting in my closet - I made them 3 years ago. Yesterday and today I put them together, and ended up with this top. I had a bunch of 2 1/2" strips that I used as a border - needed to use them up.

This will go to my guild's community service program, where someone else will sandwich it, quilt it, and give it to whomever they give their donated quilts to.


I have five gallon-sized zip bags full of strings, so I guess I need to get crackin' and make some more! 

Skinny strings and two quilts

Here's a tale of two string quilts, this one above

and one you can win here.

Back in January, Karen over at the Selvage Blog asked her readers

to sew together seven 1.25 inch strips to a final size of 6 by 55 inches

to make a group quilt.

That's my contribution above.

Except I was a bit slow off the mark, and Karen had already finished the quilt

before I sent her the strip.

So I auditioned some solids and came up with that bright green

and then made some half square triangles, 5 inches unfinished

which I sewed into a star, trying to match up the skinny strips in the inside blocks

auditioned some borders

and finally came up with the quilt you see at the top of the post.

Karen is generously giving away her World Quilt,

named because it has contributions from all over the globe.

I'm giving mine away too, once it is quilted.

It's destined for a yet- unknown baby.

Victorian Hexagon Quilt

Almost a month ago Barbara Brackman posted about a hexagon quilt she came across in a magazine. It made her curious enough to look for more of the similar quilts and even make one for herself.

I got pretty curious myself reading her post and drafted blocks for different versions of the Victorian quilts. You can find the tutorials to draft your own block on my blog.

I must warn you that this is definitely not a 'quilt in a day' kind of project. My method also requires inset seams but they are not terribly difficult to do.

Sunday Paper

I have made more blocks since I took this picture and currently working on the side pieces. Barbara and I are hosting a quilt-along for this quilt. If any of you decide to make this quilt, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Brenda, thanks for inviting me to post here. I love scrappy quilts myself and it's always nice to see what everyone is doing with their scraps and strings.

All to Pieces

I was inspired by Tonya's Legos quilt last fall to piece my 1.5" bits into strips/strings. I didn't follow her process exactly, of course. I started with four liberated log cabin blocks (six inches each) and then went round them with my pieced strips. There's one strip of "sashing" between the four blocks, and I added a couple more rows at the top and bottom.

I have it basted and pinned for quilting. The more I think about it though, the more I'm thinking I'm going to tie it instead. I plan to donate this to the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study; the ties will give the recipient something to fiddle with...

Edited to correct the name of the donation destination and build in the hyperlink.