Time Off

Tomorrow is the first day of.....

I am not going to the beach...

... because there will be seven zillion kids all over the place...

I am going to stay home and watch cute service techs, carpenters, electricians, and appliance dudes repair the ice maker and remodel the kitchen a bit... 

...and while I'm waiting for the aforesaid individuals to show up and  to do their thing, I'm going to need something to work on.

Yes!  It's time to finish up the Civil War BOW....  I like crossing UFOs off my list!

A (Partial) Finish

Now that my baby is home, I was able to finish up the last two of the 56 blocks for the Civil War quilt.

Block 52:  Christmas Wreath (or Star)

Because I was stubborn about not doing the applique blocks, I needed several extras for the 7x8 layout.   So...   I selected "Scotch Squares" for the final block in honor of all the folks from Scotland who settled in the Sandhills of North Carolina....  some of whom have a descendant who is an Empress!

True to my promise, I used only fabrics I had on hand.... this time raiding my favorite scraps, which as you can imagine were not the largest pieces I have left.  

It was a challenge because I didn't have enough to be too choosy.  For example the outer four HSTs should use the brown background fabric found in the center square and the four small HSTs...  but hey!  You do what you gotta do!

Next... on to the borders!  I did mention I found another fabric for the borders, yes?

The Hanna Wallis Collection by Windham Fabrics

Civil War Block 50: Grapes of Wrath

A great history lesson was included with today's block: Grapes of Wrath. 

I only had one purple fabric but found some small remnants of the dark blue, which I'm pretending are Concord grapes.

Only three more blocks left...

A Star for a Friend

Back in June, an angel in blog-land sent me a very special package that has allowed me to continue with Barbara Brackman's Civil War Block of the Week project without purchasing fabrics, enabling me to use only stash and her generous gifts.  Each and every "angel" fabric incorporated into blocks reminded me of her kind thoughtfulness... and I consider this quilt a joint project.

Since I need five extra blocks to complete the 7x8 block grid, I wanted to have one specially for my angel.  I found a pattern for Friend's Star online and, since it was a 12" block, I did a little figuring and made this one.

I think the block is almost as beautiful as my blog-land angel!