scrappy rainbow stars

Earlier this year I decided to buy a sizzix.  My goal was to use my scraps more by being able to easily cut usable shapes to have on hand - when I made a bed quilt from Anna Maria Horner fabrics last year, I immediately cut the remaining scraps into squares and have found I use them so much more than other scraps!  I also loathe cutting bindings and often have a quilt ready to bind for months before I finish it, so I started with a 2.5 inch strip die.  I used it to cut a rainbow of scraps into 2.5 inch strips, and then subcut those to 2.5 inch squares.

They sat in their bin and the next time I was feeling project ADD I decided to start sewing something with them.  I started off by making a wonky red star

Which quickly became a rainbow of stars

                             

And then I decided to do some with the low volume for background... and then I added in some simple nine patches... and then I had a quilt top!

                             

I ended up backing it in some Heather Ross I found in my stash that I won in a giveaway years ago -- I just love finding the perfect match when something has been on my shelf forever!  And this was a particularly soft piece - I have no idea what the fabric is but I think it's perfect for a baby quilt.

                                     

And now it's washed, crinkly and ready to be loved by a newborn baby girl - I hope she loves rainbows as 

much as I do!

                        

#smittenkittenquilt

I decided I needed a general color scheme to pull from while working on my cat quilt -- when I cut the first two blocks it took me hours to choose the fabrics - and one of them is just blues!  After a bunch of digging and comparing and black and white photographs to ensure contrast, I decided on this gorgeous group of fabrics.

I have never fussy-cut a quilt before, so it's been a learning process for this one.  I'm very glad I took the time to make plastic templates, but I'm still surprised by how long it takes me to choose just one block!  Because the pattern calls for several different blocks, I made myself a little notebook to track my status -- I copied the picture from the pattern and made little boxes to check off as I go.  I make an "x" in a box once I've cut a block, and color it in once I've sewn the block together.  I'm hoping this will keep me from getting too confused and running out of paper pieces!

I cut a few more blocks this week, and they're basted and just waiting to be stitched together.