String Quilts

Strings are not something I think of when I think of quilts.  Quilts are wonderul pieces of fabric created from other pieces of fabric to make a harmonious whole.

String quilts revel in their mismtaches and only combine into a harmonious whole because of the large border that is usually put around the blocks to keep them in check.

The Once Upon a Time Bee got together last Friday and made blocks for several string quilts that will be used to make wheelchair quilts for the local VA hospital.

Here is how a couple of them turned out:

 The first photo is of some individual blocks while the other one shows another set sewn into a  quilt top.  The borders will be added later.

Of course some people like to work with a more controlled color palette:

Making a string quilt block couldn't be easier.  First you need a base of either paper or scrap fabric.  Each of these quilt blocks started with a base of one husband's old dress shirts.  The bases were cut at 10" square.  The strips of fabric are leftovers from other quilting projects and are sewn on the base, one at a time using quarter inch seam allowances , starting from the center of the base and working to the edges.   Accuracy is not a big factor as our 10" foundations were trimmed down to 6 1/2" blocks before being joined into quilt tops More detailed instructions can be found here. 

This can be a pretty messy processs but think of all the scraps you can get rid of in a guilt free manner?

I hope your week is going well.  I have a cold... an incredibly snotty cold, to be perfectly frank....and I'm being miserble to the dogs by refusing to go on walks with them when I can't go more than a couple of paces before I need to stop and blow my nose or other such disgusting sickness related stuff.  I hope this calms down soon or I will be up on animal abuse charges!