Wednesday, May 09, 2018

lost in the crowd progress

For my WIP today, I decided to work on my lost in the crowd blocks. (You can see the inspiration quilt here.) I'm having a little 4 patch party! These little bits of happy fabric are fun to sew up. I have plenty of new scraps to sew thanks to my new Heather Ross quilt that is in progress.
I came across some 3" squares in one of my scrap bins, so I chopped them into quarters. Each block yielded four 1 1/2" blocks with no waste. How handy and timely!
I have 305 blocks complete. (I had to replace a few because my dog ate at least a few of them. Good grief!)

I did the math over lunch today, and according to my calculations I will need 1200 pieced 4 patches for a queen size quilt. I have to admit that I was actually a little disappointed that it wasn't a higher number. Maybe it's time to seek professional help? Ha! Anyway, that means that I'm about 25% done piecing the 4 patches. That's pretty encouraging!

17 comments:

Noblequilts@gmail.com said...

Oh goodie, I'm working on a "lost in the crowd" quilt too and you just made it so much easier for me by doing the maths. Thank you

Rosemary B❤️ said...

eeek the comments above (3 of them) are creeeepy

I like your fabric choices for this very large quilt. It looks easy and fun though

grammajudyb said...

Weird comments! Did anyone translate for you?


I am thinking your quilt will take "a long time" also. I worked on 9-patches as leader and enders...I needed 290 and it too me 2 years. Knowing you, you will get in finished in record time though. I am enjoying your WIP week!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Enjoy your 4-Patch Party!! Personally, I'm loving the little fussy cut squares.

Deb E said...

Looking at your four patches was like looking at mine. I decided to do my own postage stamp quilt (but I'm repeating prints as the whole point is to USE the scraps!). I'm doing a 126" x 126", which calculates out to 15876 patches, or approx 4000 four patches (allowing for a few that won't 'fit' aesthetically). I'm now at a bit over 2200 four patches. Totally enjoying it, too. The really sad part? I don't see any difference in my stash of scraps. Yes, I have an over 40 year stash, but still..... Deb E / Oregon mdenders@msn.com

Donna said...

I am making this quilt too thanks to your blog! I figure it is going to take years since I am only sewing on it as leaders and enders. Can't wait to see yours finished! Thanks for doing the math! I haven't decided on the size yet, still have plenty of time!!!

Pamela Arbour said...

You need 1200 4-patches? I think you have title your blog correctly! LOL If I am doing the math correctly, then you will have 4,800 little squares in that quilt! Whew! I am looking forward to seeing the finish. Maybe it will be in your next book? I can't see myself working with things that tiny. Not so far, anyway! LOL

KaHolly said...

Some days, I think we all might need a little professional help! Love where you’re going with this. I missed the original post so thanks for the link back. This is a great 'use your scraps as you generate them' project, my focus for 2018.

Unknown said...

Are you going to use any sashing? Is it blocks only...Crazy, but I have started cutting 1 1/2" squares as well but not sure what / how I will put them together...
Thanks,
imaward

Marla said...

Impressed with your progress! I bet it was fun to add on those Heather Ross scraps.

Melissa Corry said...

That is a lot of 4 patches!!! So awesome!!!

Marlyn said...

I think you are doing well to have so many 4 patches made and you just began this not that long ago. Are you going to have a solid square in between your 4 patches, like Jean's quilt?

I was inspired by your "Biased" quilt and made up 35 blocks from phone page foundations to make a charity quilt. I used about half of a bag of strips I'd gleaned from my stash a bunch of years ago. That bag has been hauled to several retreats and has been living under my ironing board. The first 12 blocks I didn't backstitch at both ends of the seam. I did not have any problems with the stitches pulling out when I took off the paper. Whew! I did use a size 14 needle and a length of 1.5 for the stitches. The paper was easier to remove than paper bought for paper piecing.

A question for you and your scraps. Do you always cut up your fabric into squares or strips when done with a project? How do you know what size to cut them into?

claudia said...

The quilt is amazing! You certainly have a project ahead of you, but I think it will be so worth your effort! I'm not quite that ambitious!!!

mascanlon said...

Oh dear, I think I am going to be sorry I read this post today. I really really struggle with the scrap bins slowly easing their way out of the closet and into my space!

Anonymous said...

hello: a question: do you iron the blocks with the seam open or to the side? regards

jam said...

I believe I'm looking at my future project. Always inspiring to see your blog.

Home Sewn By Us said...

HAHAHA! Darn dog! I love dogs! Anyway, 305 (!!!!!) blocks complete, only 900 more to go. Holy moly. Those fabrics all look SO fun and definitely sew worthy. Enjoy!
~smile~ Roseanne