FIF: first Sharon quilt

 The three municipalities that comprise our community do some things alike but other things differently. Case in point: Hallowe'en.  Beach Park and Zion had trick-or-treating on Sunday afternoon, October 26. It was sunny and warm.  Winthrop Harbor is having trick-or-treating today, Hallowe'en. It is blustery and cold. All those Elsas and Olafs are going to be frozen for sure!

We woke up to find that a critter had gotten into one of the pumpkins on our front steps.  A couple of hours later a squirrel was feasting on the pumpkin seeds.  (I don't carve our Hallowe'en pumpkins. I cut them up, boil them, and freeze the pulp for Thanksgiving pies and other winter meals. I know that pie pumpkins are sweeter, but I feel very virtuous about reusing the decor.  And whatever I make tastes just fine.)







The Heartstrings group is having a challenge this season. Rather than an all-scrappy HS quilt, make a "Sharon quilt" using the same fabrics in the same positions in each block.  (The eponymous Sharon is a regular participant in the semi-annual HS sew-ins in Maine.)

oops

If you are familiar with my quiltmaking you know that I like scrappy. The instructions call for one yard of each of eight fabrics.*  Finding eight-yard pieces that go together was a challenge in itself. But I searched here and there and found a combination I liked.  I made 48 blocks according to the by-now-familiar HS pattern: 2" strips sewn diagonally on a 10" fabric foundation; completed block trimmed to 9.5".

I caught one mis-pieced block before I assembled the flimsy, but I found two others afterward. It was easier to remove the erroneous blocks and replace them with new blocks than to rip out the misplaced strips.

The colors are brighter than the photo shows. It's a nice autumny scheme, I think.

I needed to cut more 10" squares for HS foundations. In a far corner of the Deep Stash I unearthed a tub that I hadn't looked at in several years. It was full of solids -- cotton, poly-cotton, bottom-weight, sheeting. The bottom-weight will be great for Care Bags . The slippery-shiny lining fabric is going to the textile recycler. But the rest will be great for future HS quilts. And, HOORAY! that's one fewer tub in the Deep Stash.

I washed the reds, just in case

See what other quiltmakers have finished at the end of another week and month at Crazy Mom Quilts

*It turns out that you don't need one-yard pieces of all eight fabrics.  Label the center 1, the strips flanking it 2 and 3, then 4 and 5, then 6 and 7, and the corners 8.  #1, #2, #3 -- 16 strips (32"). #4 and #5 -- 12 strips (24"). #6 & #7 -- 11 strips (22"), #8 -- 4 strips (8").  That is handy to know if I try another Sharon quilt.