Scrap Bustin' Sampler

Today, my overflowing jars of yellow and green scraps were calling my name. This (entirely candid!) shot captures the mood-- gray and windy, a typical San Francisco summer day. At least my fabrics could be warm and sunny!

But what to make? A little rooting in the ol' quilt cupboard yielded these forgotten finds:

A log cabin made from scraps sometime last year, with no purpose in mind other than to get that sunlight-through-the-forest-canopy type feeling...
















...and three little trees left over from these potholders I made my sister-in-law last Christmas. They have been patiently waiting to participate in a quilt ever since.


Since my attention span for repetitive block-making is at zero lately, this is the perfect opportunity to try my hand at a sampler. Some new blocks, a few old favorites, bustin' scraps...yay!

It's a challenge to stick to the scraps. I want to leap into yardage! But so far I've been pretty good. The trees got some roots from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow (which I horde):

I don't love how it looks right now, but I have some ideas on how to improve it. Like maybe adding a lil sun:

I'm reflecting that I may be a bit obsessed with sunshine. I'm a native of San Diego, and while I love the Bay Area (and the fog that comes with it), I often miss the desert and the big open sky. Especially in the summertime.

I also found some 3" HST. (How am I just "finding" this stuff? Who cut these?!)

Endless possibilities! Yet I had nothing big enough to put them together with, so I made some green "fabric" from the thin strips I had on hand.

 

I find myself doing this increasingly. It's a pretty effective base for any and all wonky projects (not that I've done that many), but I'm getting kind of bored with it. You see why I was so excited by those HST...I've been living in line-land.

I haven't committed to these pinwheels yet. They seem a little...pukey? Sorry, pinwheels. Just calling 'em like I see 'em. I need a sharper contrast. It may be back to the cutting board on this one...