From Small Things: Episode 74: Scrappy Squares

Welcome back! This week, I have been working on 3 different quilts, all of which are using squares from my scrap stash. First, I have started to make an "ugly quilt." This one is inspired by Glendora Chase, a quilter living in England. I saw her on The Scrap Chat Podcast, hosted by Kristen Hubert, where she shared some of her work. One of the quilts she shared she referred to as her "ugly quilt," and I just loved it. It was a truly scrappy patchwork quilt, using squares. So, I decided to make one, too. I am using 3 1/2" squares from my box, and began by sorting them out into lights and darks. It started to develop a color theme on its own because of what was in this box to begin with, so it is primarily a red and green quilt. I have also added in some 6 1/2" squares, as well as 2 1/2" squares, so that I didn't have to cut any new fabrics to make all of my blocks. At this point, my blocks are made, but not yet pieced together. The second quilt I'm working on is my red and white checkerboard, which I am currently hand quilting. This one used 2 1/2" squares from my drawer, and will be donated to a local organization which preserves quilts and textiles (among lots of other things). I am quilting the checkerboard part with a simple crosshatch, and still have to work on two borders. I am thinking of quilting the white border with a clamshell pattern in red thread, to make it really pop. This one will be finished pretty soon. And the third quilt this week is my Scrap Basket quilt, which is based on a pattern from McCall's Quilting. This one features Trip Around the World blocks and Churn Dash blocks. I used mostly 2 1/2" squares and strips from my scrap stash for this one, and hopefully a color theme has developed here. I will also share with you a mistake I made with this one-- once you cut your fabric, there's no undoing it! But, it's all fixed and moving along. I'll also share how I'm trying to keep it organized to avoid color-placement mistakes moving forward. Finally, the quilt on the door is sort of a bonus scrappy square project. I made this one a year or two ago, it is called Carolina Chain and is a Bonnie Hunter pattern. I threw every color in this quilt; it is super scrappy, and a lot of fun to look at. I hope you are using your scraps up, too!