Digging Deeper...En Provence Part 2 & 3

After only getting 40% of the neutral 4 patches I needed on my first trip through the scrap bin, I dug deeper and got within 12 sets away from the required 221.  I'd consider that a pretty good 2nd effort.

2nd Trip to the scrap bins

Kite tails ready to be cut and pressed

This is what my "kite tails" looked like for the 2nd batch of 4 patches.  On the right are my 221 finished 4 patches.  Whew! Step 1 complete!                                  I had to include this photo of little Lucifer2 (long story) sitting on a stack of quilts like the Princess and the pea.  My babies love to hang out in the sewing room with me.

Lucifer2 loves this pile of soft quilts

 On to Step 2 of the mystery quilt.  What was I going to use for the magenta?  It was recommended to use yardage.  I don't have a lot of cuts larger than a yard.  I hoped I had something.  Luckily I found the PERFECT fabric.  I had 1 3/4 yards, so plenty to spare, and I LOVE how it looks.  Its going to be the perfect pop of color!  The reason I'm so excited about this is usually when I need a fabric something pops to mind because I know my stash really well.  This fabric was with my yardage and I have no idea where I got it or when, which is very unusual.  I was giddy the entire time making the triangle squares. Love Love Love!

100 Triangle Squares!

Nobody likes trimming blocks after they're done, but in this case it was definitely needed.  Luckily I have the Quilt in a Day triangle square tool which made the job really easy and I was sure I was trimming them properly so my points come out great in the finished quilt.  As you can see I've got a nice pile of trimmings.  Each block isn't that much off, but I had left the blocks as-is all this combined inaccuracy would have effected the quality of my quilt appearance.  I ended up working late into the night to finish Step 2 because I was having so much fun with that magenta fabric.

After trimming with the Quilt in a Day triangle square tool

Even though it was pretty late at night, the next step involved PURPLE (my favorite color).  I actually don't use purple that often in my quilts, and when I saw the 4 patches were completely made from purple (light & dark) I had to "press" on.  I have a full gallon bag of purple scraps, so I thought getting what I needed for the 168 units would be a piece of cake....wrong!  I didn't want to use colors too different in tone (i.e. red purples vs. blue purples, bright vs. muted, etc) so I was somewhat limited.  I cut and sewed up what I thought would be plenty and ended up with 69 units (only 41% of what I needed).  Time to dig even deeper.......

69 Four patch units.

1/2 the trash can filled after steps 2 & part of 3

It was well past 2 am when I finished the first set of purple 4 patches.  I didn't have the energy to finish, but I decided to put a little effort into digging through my stash before calling it a night.  I cut a bunch of purples I didn't feel matched the scheme I was going for and went to bed.  I am really resolved not to buy any fabric to make this quilt top.  I'm glad I stopped before I went further because I probably would have been very disappointed with the quilt if had I used them.  In the morning I went digging even DEEPER and dug out my batik scraps.  I figure there's no rule against throwing a few batiks in there.  If they're the right colors, they'll blend right in with everything else.  I was able to get enough fabrics to finally finish the last units!  I'm caught up with the mystery with time to spare!  In addition to having some major fun going from the AWESOME magenta in Step 2 to the PURPLE in Step 3, working with the purples was made even more fun by the fact that I used some fabric from the first quilt I ever made (top and backing).  I had to chuckle when I went to cut the fabrics and realized they were folded such that I had cut them along the length of the fabric,  not the width.  Back in my early days I had no idea even how to cut my fabric properly!  I also had to use a TON more yardage than the pattern said because I was trying to make my log cabin blocks of out these short pieces that were cut along the length I bought.

My first quilt!! Shadowfax performs an in-process inspection

The last little bits from my first quilt backing

I do have a little sadness in using up some of those fabrics from my first quilt.  Especially the backing.  I chose a great dark purple batik.  I've used the leftovers in several things and this is all that's left.  These pieces are pretty small.  I'm not going to get much more life out of them.  Its the end of an era, but I guess that's what scrap busting is all about.  I will appreciate this fabric in the quilts I create with it more than if it is sitting in my closet.