Strip pieced squares

I've been making strip pieced 6-1/2 inch squares which will sew up as 6 inch squares, of course. It is for a swap-bot swap. Last year I did a couple of such swaps and got briefly addicted to making these squares. I used up quite a bit of my strips stash but now I find I have a stuffed bag and these ten squares hardly made a dent so maybe it's time for a couple more strip pieced quilts. Below is one of last year's quilts. I find I don't like large solid expanses of the strips. I like them broken up with wider stripping in between. The one below is actually reversible to assorted six inch squares which used up more of the scraps stash. I may do that again also.


Stash using is a very satisfying exercise especially when the January sales are beginning in the fabric stores and the urge to buy more fabric is strong. However the frugalista persona is saying but, but, but ...

I have trouble throwing away anything larger than 2x2 inches. I've been looking at Nelly Duran's lovely little art quilts with small pieces of bright fabrics on a dark ground and some of her excess yarn and thinking that might be a good way to shrink my bag of the smaller piece that won't work in a strip pieced quilt. Click the listing in the sidebar to the right for Nellie's Needles. She is a very talented and imaginative art quilter. Her blog is inspirational to me.

A Good Week

It's been a good week -- Leslie has vacationed and I've vacationed with her. We've had quite a bit of good beach weather, some very nice seafood meals and just lots of quiet rest time. The Cape is beautiful with tons of roses everywhere, the ocean and the bay sparkle and have presented her with enough shell bounty that she's packed up a box to send herself as a present when she gets home.

Yesterday when she and her sister did some very serious hiking in the dunes between Truro and Provincetown with Rachel's school hiking club [much dwindled this last hike of the year], I was able to finish the quilt in the previous post. It's not one of my favorites, too in-your-face colors. But I really wanted to use the diamonds. It was a total stash buster with a backing of a different parrot fabric that I've had for quite a while. Love using up parts of the stash. Will now look for a place to donate the quilt -- but not until I've joined the local quilt guild, showed it at the first show-and-tell and thank the woman who gave away the diamond pieces and show her what became of them. [I hope she isn't horrified.]

Next week it will be life as normal with the addition of serious dieting for the rest if the summer. In the crossword puzzle the clue is "person dieting" and the answer is "loser." I hope that will be me. I shall not come back to this theme very often; I have always preferred that my dieting be private so I can suffer silently and alone. [and sometimes cheat a little, I will admit].