Friday, July 08, 2016

a simple summer quilt

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I've been on a mission to use up some scraps this summer. (Who am I kidding??? I am always on a mission to use up scraps. hahaha!) I had a tall stack of 6" squares that I have been collecting for years. It was high time to use them, so I had my daughter help me arrange the squares. When we were close to a twin size, I decided to cut about a dozen more squares to fill in the gaps.
There is something so charming about simple patchwork. I doubt that I will ever tire of this kind of quilt. Since I've been collecting fabrics for so long, there is a wide variety of fabrics included. It's apparent my tastes have changed over the years, but that is kind of fun to see. This quilt screams summertime to me.
After taking the photos, I realized that the darks weren't distributed very evenly. Ooops! Do you see how light the left hand side of the quilt is?
I did a little stitch ripping and added one more brown square to the left hand side.
It's amazing how changing just one square makes such a difference. I think it's much better now! I'm looking forward to quilting this one up!

I've been keeping up on my one a day pincushion challenge, too!

Day 6....
This is a revisited design, but since I gave away the first two pincushions I made like this, I had to make another one. (This one is paper pieced....or else my points would be laughable.) It's scrap project #153.

Day 7....
This one was an instant favorite! Teeny tiny bow ties. This is scrap project #154.

That's it for me today! Now it's your turn. Please link up your finishes for the week. Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday! Have a great weekend! xo

39 comments:

Bernie Kringel said...

Basic patchwork is my very favorite. It is the quintessential quilt. I have made several and each has its own personality. I am currently working on one using vintage sheets and it is so pretty. Love yours too!

Anonymous said...

That bowtie pin cushion is just squeezable!

The Cozy Quilter said...

I love your pincushions and wish I had time to make one a week!!!!

Anonymous said...

ah! I love your scrap fabric collection, you have such a nice selection there :) and ofcourse your pin cushions are super cool! I love the simplicity. Thanks for hosting, Hannah

Pat said...

Cute quilt and good idea! I have a stack of 5" squares from various charm swaps as well as ones I've just cut from leftovers of projects. I really must try this. Love those little pincushions - especially the bow ties.

Crystal_235 said...

Love your pincushions. Do you use patterns?

travelinsewl said...

It screams picnic and summer! Very fun.

travelinsewl said...

It screams picnic and summer! Very fun.

Di~ said...

Mmm Mmm Mmm light dark in out up down big small It is all wonderful! :) Great finish today, oh wait they all are everyday! :)

Southern Gal said...

Oh, how I love patchwork! One day...

Preeti said...

What a coincidence, Amanda. My flimsy finish for today is a scrappy quilt inspired by your scrap vortex quilt. It even has some of the Good Neighbors fabric from Connecting Threads. Thank you for hosting and inspiring all of us.
Hugs,
Preeti.

doodlebugmom said...

simple patchwork quilts have always been my favorite, lets the fabrics be the stars

Kathleen said...

Love the quilt, and the sweet pin cushions.

Suzanne said...

It makes me happy that Abby helped and that you demonstrated that it's worth it to stitch rip to get the look you want. Yay!

Emily said...

Wow, you are right, changing just that one square to a dark color makes a huge difference!
I love it, so bright and happy!

Julie Bagamary said...

Great quilt & your pincushions are wonderful as always.

Unknown said...

Beautiful summertime quilt!

Sarah Craig said...

What a beautiful quilt! It does scream summer, and picnics, and fireworks under the stars. And I love the little pincushions you've been making - so cute!!

Lorna McMahon said...

You and your daughter managed to use up some sweet squares and came up with a really cute top. How nice that you were able to do some creating together! Love the pincushions... One a day? Wow! That's going to result in a lot of giving!

Mary Marcotte said...

It's true, everything old is new again. I've been collecting 5" squares in random, weird fabrics, even the ones I really don't like very much. If my quilt comes out half as nice as yours, I'll be thrilled! I'll try to remember your trick of changing just one square if things are off balance because, believe me, that worked!
Love your pincushions! You know, you're practically famous for those cute pincushions!

simple :: dream :: quilts said...

Seeing this beautiful quilt top reminds me of how much I like simple square patchwork quilts. I have bins of squares ready to stitch up. I should make that my next "therapy" project after a couple more custom quilt orders.

Nancy said...

What a bright, fun, summery quilt. I keep reminding myself that every quilt does not have to be a complicated pattern to be beautiful, and your quilt is proof!

Thanks for hosting finish it up Friday.

--Nancy. (ndmessier @ aol.com, joyforgrace.blogspot.com)

Noblequilts@gmail.com said...

I love, love, love this quilt. I keep picking up my phone and look at it again and again. Simple yet delightful and scrappy. My favourite xoxox

Unknown said...

I love this scrappy quilt! I have yet to make one that's totally off the cuff and spontaneous. I'm hoarding some beautiful fabrics, but not sure what to do with them since they would never be enough to "follow a pattern". When I return from Chicago this week to meet my 4th grandchild for the first time (one month old) I'm going to cut a bunch of 5-inch or 6-inch square and make a scrappy quilt and then finally work on my FMQ skills. I'm ready to advance forward. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

Love this quilt, so fresh and happy, great way to use those scrappy pieces we use to collect,
It's always nice to see how beautiful a simple square quilt looks so great.
Thanks for sharing

piecefulwendy said...

This quilt just screams picnic in the park to me! I love the colors and the simple style. Wish I had fun scraps like that, because I want to make one now!

Needled Mom said...

That is such a fun and basic scrap quilt. I love the little pincushions too.

TheEclecticAbuela said...

I've been doing the same thing--sewing 5" squares into four-patches. I have so many cut from scraps--I need to put them to use. The quilts may not be works of art, but they will be warm. :) Your quilt is lovely--if you use enough different stuff, it all works together!

sansuey said...

This kind of quilt is the most appealing to me! No, I did not notice an imbalance in the light/dark ratio. I just love this quilt!

Carla said...

I've been scrap busting too. So fun to see old fabrics again and remember the project they were made from ; ) Yes your quilt screams summer and picnic!

Kate said...

Scrappy quilts are the best. This one has lots of fun fabrics in it.

pennylanequilts said...

Hooray for another scrappy finish! I love simple patchwork, too. I'm currently in the midst of some challenging piecing and I'll have to counteract that with some simple squares when I'm finished.

Louise said...

Such sweet patchwork! Yes, an extra dark square really did make a difference. Amazing how that works :)

Cathy Melancon said...

I absolutely love this patchwork quilt! The fabrics are fantastic and certainly tell a story!!! I need to do this sometime myself! Beautiful!!

Carol said...

Love your scrappy patchwork quilt❤️
And I look forward to seeing your next pincushion everyday. Fo perfectly pieced & plump!!
Maybe I missed it..
What do you use to fill them?

Carol said...

Ha! I found it!! Here is what you posted about the filling...
"A few notes about the pincushions....each one is filled with crushed walnut shells (sold as lizard litter in larger pet stores)."

Sandy Panagos said...

Going back to basic designs can be fun sometimes. It does scream summertime. It would make a great picnic quilt!

mascanlon said...

Don't know what I love more in this post, the cute quilt or the adorable pincushions. I need to improve my paper piecing skills, I love those geese!

Mama Urchin said...

I have a stack of squares too. I don't know what I'm waiting for?