Using up All the Leftover Stuff - Making Progress

 

Well, I finished the first and second of the three Baltimore Album leftovers quilt tops.  They measure about 40 x 57 and I am pleased with them!

I killed two birds with one stone here, using the leftover blocks and a lot of the leftover strip fabric I made so long ago.  I still have a bunch.  Some of my ice dyed fabric made a nice outside border!

This quilt was inspired by a quilt I saw on Facebook which used a Delectable Mountains block to make flower-like blocks.  I had this pile of 5 inch blocks cut from the leftovers of various quilts.  I have been trying to decide what to do with these blocks as they stare at me each day.  I finally decided to try the Delectable Mountain approach with these blocks, making half square triangles with the blocks and white.  Instead of cutting them in four pieces, I cut them in half. When sewn back together,  this results in blocks that are 5 inch by 4 1/2 inches.  In order to put the four together, you need to use a partial seam approach, adding a center made from a 1 inch square which finishes to 1/2 inch.  This was the tricky part but finally I figured out a way to make this happen.  Even the border is scrap as it was used in the first quilt above!  

Attacking the UFOs

We had a request from one of the RAFA members to contribute 6 inch square pieces to her for a charity here in Rochester called Empty Bowls where potters make bowls which are auctioned.  She is making some kind of wall hanging to go with the auction.  I utilized some very small pieces of leftover painted fabrics to make my bowls.  I had held onto these pieces, wondering what I would ever do with them as they were small and there weren't many.  Seemed like a good  use.  Each one is appliqued, batted and zig-zagged around the outside.

I decided to only use the Baltimore Album blocks instead of including the birds as they just were dwarfed.  I settled on this arrangement and then decided again to take the three more complex blocks and make pillows from them and then use the remaining 9 blocks in groups of 3, 4 or 5 to make the medallion type quilts which I have made with some of the other leftover blocks.  They follow!

Here is the first one completed.  It measures 42 x 60 inches and will be donated.  It is made up of 4 leftover stack and whack blocks and the columns are made up of fabric that I pieced, cut and recut and then never  used for any project but thought it was perfect for this.

I really liked how this one turned out!  It is made up of a runner I made to show some ladies how to do disappearing 9-patches.  I utilized a bunch of my marbled fabrics for the squares and the border is made from the huge pile of the strip yardage I made from leftover blue fabrics many years ago.

It measures 38 x 65 and I might just keep this one!  I found some perfect fabric for backing both of these quilt tops.