What a lot of Flannel

I recently came across a big tub of flannel fabric and decided it was time to sort it out. The only flannel I buy is the vintage pieces from the opshop- can't resist that- but many years ago two customers gifted me all their left-overs. Of course I didn't say no, but I don't really want a flannel stash. If I could just use it all up I know I wouldn't replace it, right? (Except for that vintage stuff.)

So I pulled everything out of the tub and sorted it into pastels for baby quilts and brights for older kids and some reproduction bits that are lovely, but.....flannel. The fact that a lot of it wasn't yardage but scraps from other quilts meant that I was limited to what I could cut, and I didn't want too many seams because...flannel. Same for triangles. Eventually I came up with this block, all cut from 2 1/2"strips and pretty brainless. 

It's like this double ninepatch block that Keryn just recently used but the construction is different. I didn't have enough fabric to cut 4 1/2" squares, and my block uses two fabrics (plus the contrasting squares across the middle) so it can be used like a log cabin in a variety of settings.

It was pretty simple to turn most of the pastels into strips and then sub-cut them ready for piecing. The pink solid was quite a large piece that I chopped into squares and the largest amounts I set aside for borders or a backing. It's great when you finally decide on a plan and steam ahead with it!

From each fabric I cut a 2 1/2" square,  a 4 1/2" rectangle,  and a 6 1/2" rectangle.  To piece the block I started with two colours in a pleasing combination and four pink squares, sewing them into a four patch. Although I don't usually do it I pressed the seams open because...flannel.

Then I added the 4 1/2" pieces to the appropriate sides, sewed the remaining two pink squares to the 6 1/2" strips and added them to the middle section. Easy as!

The block can be pieced in rows too, but I just don't like seams all going one way across a design, I find it a bit distracting, but that's just me.

Twenty blocks later I had this little top, and a piece of vintage flannel made a nice border.

I'm super pleased with how quickly this was put together, and I've made another kit to sew later on. All the off-cuts are in the bin and the pile has diminished a bit. I'll keep chipping away at this tub of fabric and cutting out more kits and one day it will all be under control.

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 I started these album blocks in 2011 and they'd been sitting around for years. Every now and then I'd sew a bit more, but I had no idea how to set them so I wasn't really motivated. Last year I was determined to finish them and after the blocks were completed I found this toile that seemed to suit them perfectly. It has a slightly greenish cast to the background  which had made it hard to use. It must have been waiting for this UFO all along.

The sashing is a greeny brown and I wanted to have the effect of long unpieced strips so I used a very similar colour at the intersections. This makes it super easy to keep the blocks in line without having to mark anything. 

I cut the setting triangles larger so the blocks could float and not touch the border. I didn't want to have to add a small light border and this gave the same effect with much less hassle. I was debating about the red border, but finlly decided the darker red was just too heavy. It's a luxury having bolts of fabric to choose from, and being able to reel off as many metres as needed.

This beautiful floral was just what was needed for the final touch, even though I had to do some matching of the print to get the lengths I needed. I actually like fiddling around to get the seam perfect, and quite often do it on backings, just for fun.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I thought the blocks were a bit boring and the sashing was drab and the toile a "difficult" colour to use. And then they all came together like it was meant to be, and I love it!

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At one stage last year my little log cabin blocks became all consuming and I couldn't seem to stop sewing them. They were supposed to be leader-enders  but sometimes that concept gets away from me and I end up sewing exclusively on the wrong project.

I have a rule that I can't cut these one inch strips from yardage or large scraps because it was meant to use up the tiny off-cuts that had no other use. I can hear Keryn saying that they have another purpose; to fill up the bin! But even she has admitted the blocks are awful cute.

I finally came to my senses and realised that all my other projects were on hold and the log cabins and little strips had to go away for a while. They seem to be self perpetuating, I was using them as leader-enders for themselves, a pile of  tiny one inch squares spawning the start of another batch, over and over. 

"I'll just finish this lot" I'd say, but then there were another five or ten.... I had to go cold turkey and put them away. I think there are a couple hundred here and I plan to go on making them with all my teeny tiny scraps for years. They will probably be used in more than one quilt but I haven't really got a plan yet.

I'll come back to these little cuties but only when I can trust myself not to get lost in them again.

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