Time to hit the scraps!  I'm feeling the itch to clean out my scrap bins.  Maybe it's the sunny spring time weather?  I'm going to indulge in some simple, repetitive piecing with all the pretty greens, blues and purples of Soft Botanical, plus lots of warm pinks, yellows, and soft oranges. 

First a plan and some tests blocks!  I was inspired by Rita's quarter log cabin tutorial, but decided to work with larger dimensions.  I'm starting with a 4.5" cut square, then adding two layers of 2" cut logs and finishing with an outer layer of 1 3/4" cut logs.  Each block is squared to 8.5". 

Sponsor of the Week

Mad About Patchwork

Noel from Cotton & Steel, just in!  Use code NOEL10 to save 10% off the collection through Sunday, May 14th.  Ships from Canada!

I'm excited that this design will utilize both small squares and string scraps.  Especially string scraps!  Allowing for the outer layer to use slightly thinner logs, lets me include those scraps that are just shy of 2".  Because somehow there are always scraps just a little too small, right?

When I make a quilt, I almost always complete blocks as I go.  This time I'm trying to work in stages to be a little more efficient.  I cut about 60 squares before moving on to cutting strings.  I didn't cut quite enough strings, because I ran out of suitable string scraps in most colors!  I'll go back and cut more strings from some of my larger scraps when I get a feel for what colors I want.

Today I'm pressing and squaring the first layer of logs.  Looking forward to adding another scrappy layer soon!