I’ve had a little trouble concentrating or sticking with one project. And I have a lot of projects that I would like to finish. But my mind wandered and I decided to make a new quilt. Because I find cutting up bits and stitching them back together in a completely different order rather comforting.

But. I’m also feeling VERY frugal. Just a wee bit concerned about the economy. So. The new quilt would have to come from material on hand.

I’ve been pinning pics of what I call scrappy quilts. This isn’t typical of me. I want my fabrics to match! But since I do have piles of scraps, I thought I’d go with it.

The quilt that was my inspiration was from Orange You Glad and she calls it Potluck.

I drew the quilt out on graph paper and then I started out with fabric left from Cotton & Steel Rifle Paper Company English Garden. I purchased this for my kitchen–new potholders, hot pads, and an apron. I added some other bits from another line of Cotton & Steel, and then found a few pieces of solids and low volume grays that matched the English Garden pieces. In addition I used an off white with tiny stars to create the contrasting diamond shape. I cut them into 3 1/2″ squares and started sewing.

As I was piecing the quilt I was hating it. So not my style. Not until I was completely finished with the quilt top and hung it up wall did I start liking it. All those fabrics that I love all pulled together into a big scrappy pile of happy! Charming!

I thought about taking the rest of the pieces that I didn’t use and making the backing. Scrappy front and back. So I dumped them on my cutting table and thought “Whoa! I can make another scrappy quilt!”

Instead I used some backing fabric that I had bought for a different quilt that I never finished. (One of the projects I was hoping to get to over our extended break!)

I did a very simple one-way diagonal quilting with my walking foot. I had planned on doing it the opposite direction, too, but when I got the first pass done, I said “enough”

I was also torn on the binding. I interviewed some blues, whites, and creams and ended up using a very dark blue. Perfect!

Named it Scrappy Times 1 because that’s what we are kind of living through–Scrappy Times–and I think I’ll be making more scrappy quilts over the next few months.

I think it would be great on my deck on those cool spring evenings. Just kidding–we really don’t have cool spring evenings. I live in Florida. It’s already hot! So I don’t know what I’ll do with it or who I might give it to.

I enjoyed making it and look forward to making Scrappy Times 2 over the next month!