Cutting it a bit Fine

As you know I tend to be a thrifty quilter and like to use the last possible piece of my fabrics.  Well I nearly came a cropper this week.

I've been working on Monkey Business, this was a fun quilt to make and I enjoyed the variety of colours and simple sewing - no seams to match up on this one and as long as you keep trimming the edges it works out just fine.  The kit produced twenty 13.5inch blocks, which when put up on the design wall made the quilt too big for purpose.  It's another PHEW charity quilt.  I took out five and decided they would be used another day.  Bordering the 15 blocks with a silver grey solid and binding it with the navy supplied in the kit finished it off nicely.

Oops Ii should have hung it the other way around - it needs a good press.

........... but what to do with the 5 left over blocks.

I really should be making a start on the 2 baby quilts I have to complete by the end of July, however 5 blocks sitting on the edge of my table - too many to leave unused.  Improvise, Audrey, improvise.  K at class has designed and sewn a beautiful flying geese quilt using colourful batiks for the geese and a lovely black/charcoal version of Moda Grunge.  It's stunning!  This reminded me of my dark blue Grunge fabric sitting in my stash.  

A Solid/Tone on Tone/Marble all mixed together  - I like this range

Let the improvisation begin,.....  I cut out four 15inch squares, slashed into them and inserted a contrasting lime green 1.5in strip in each one.  Then I slashed again and inserted another strip.  How liberating and so much fun to have no idea what the end result was going to be.  Trimmed down to size and voila four more blocks to be added to the orphans and another quilt was born.  I continued on the improvisation theme and added two green borders and two blue, backed it with a lime green fleece and then..........bindings required.  This is where I came off the rails.........my intention was to bind the blue borders with the green and visa versa.  

It's great to improvise but perhaps I should have checked before starting out that I had enough fabrics to complete the project.  I had plenty grunge blue but, aargh! I was about six inches short of the green, and nothing, nothing in my stash would do the job.  Asked at class if anyone had the fabric without success, I even had a browse around the websites but didn't know if it was a Bella or a Kona nor did I know the colour name/number (bought before I started taking notes).  It's only 6inches, get a grip woman, no need to buy more fabric.  The poor quilt was put aside then last night I thought I would check the scrap bin.   There hiding three quarters of the way down was a glimpse of green, would there be enough?  Yep, sorted.  It's now all complete and for some reason I find myself fulfilled at using up the 5 extra blocks and finding that last wee piece of fabric.

Improvised - and that little scrap of binding is on the left hand side

The kit fabric still goes on.  I will get three good sized quilts tops from this kit which cost me no more than $30 US from Connecting Threads. Equivalent to about £20    It has provided a lot of fun and no real hassle. (Except for my shortage of that last 6in of binding). I still have offcuts of the 10 fat quarters which will need to be used up some day but not for now.  I need to get on with the baby quilts.

I hope you are all enjoying the lovely sunshine we are having at the moment.  Its not that great for sewing or housework but its good to get outside and into the garden.  Have a good week!