Sunday, October 2, 2016

What?

Out of Left Field

I know, I know .... I haven't finished even half of what I touched in September, so why am I dragging out yet another Moldie Oldie?

Dots and Dashes
These monkey wrench blocks are "planovers" (an old Weight Watchers term) from a top I gave to charity many years ago -- probably pre-2008 since I have no recollection of working on that quilt in this house.

I'm not a pastel kinda person. Nor am I a floral kinda person -- at least on fabric. How I accumulated a collection of pastel florals is still a mystery to me! So back in 2007 (or so) I found an idea in 101 Fabulous Rotary Cut Quilts by  Judy Hopkins and Nancy Martin that I thought would be a good use for these fabrics (mostly FQs).


Before I go on, let me just say that this book is one of my essential reference tools. In fact a couple others are by either Hopkins or Martin, now that I think about it. I highly recommend having it in your library, especially if you are a traditional quilter.  But I digress ...

So, anyway, this is the design I selected -- Double Wrench.

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I wish I had a photo of the quilt top I gave to the sisters at Mount St. Joseph, a Catholic convent and retreat center in Kentucky. It was so sweet and the on-point arrangement reminded me of a ribbon running through the wrenches.  Since at the time I was trying to use up the florals, I went ahead and cut extra sets to make a pair of twin quilts for the antique beds in our guest room (which in that house was painted yellow). 

And there they sat for 8 years, with almost half the blocks made and another almost-half cut and prepped ... until the middle of last week when I was looking for projects to take to retreat this week. Since it's one of those projects that needs a really big design wall and the upcoming retreat will have plenty of wall space available, these quilts made an appearance. I don't expect to get the tops finished, but I plan to finish the blocks, lay them out, and have the rows ready to put together at home.

I'm linking up with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework to share my scrappiness.









9 comments:

  1. I use that book often. Thanks for sharing those pretty blocks on Oh Scrap! It is good they are seeing the light of day

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  2. Monkeys always seem to come at ya out of left field! Or maybe that's just me...

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  3. Snap! I too am working with an old WiP from the wardrobe! I love the idea of setting your blocks on point!

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  4. Sometimes it takes a long while for seeds to germinate. That includes quilt seeds. I have the three Martin/Hopkins books that were combined into the one you have. I have had them for nearly 20 years. I don't think I have made many of the quilts but I turn to the, for inspiration. (I also have Judy H's quilt blocks books. The first one is the best, I think, and I use it a lot.)

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  5. Sounds like you've got a plan for to get those blocks off the UFO list. You've really done a great job this year of finishing UFOs. It's been fun to watch.

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  6. Looks like a fun retreat project. And sooner rather than later you'll have it off the UFO list.

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  7. I am like you Libby......not found of pastel/floral fabric. But, I love what you are doing with yours! Have fun at retreat!

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  8. Hooray! for Moldie Oldies. Keep digging out those UFOs and finishing them off!!

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  9. I like the inspiration picture, and taking these blocks on retreat sounds like a good way to achieve a finish.

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