Last year was the first time I participated in the annual SAHRR (Stay At Home Round Robin) hosted by Quilting Gail each year. Gail began this quilt along during Covid as a way to stay connected during quarantine. I jumped on board last year and it was a lot of fun. I like the challenge of a new block to use weekly in any way I want. There are quite a number of quilters involved now and seeing the interpretations of the new block was really inspirational.
Last year I made a baby or toddler size quilt using pieces I had cut for a different project which had since been abandoned. It was a great use of the fabric.
This year I had a few ideas of what I wanted to work with. My bin of orphan quilt blocks (the leftovers from projects, test blocks etc.) is stuffed! After pulling three different piles of fabric and unused blocks, I finally made a decision.
This block is made of bits left over from a quilt I made years ago as a gift for my niece and her new husband.
I have quite a variety of pieces leftover and will do my best to re-purpose them into this quilt. I can always add to this as needed but I hope to use most of this. Likely I will have to cut up or take apart some of the existing blocks. The challenge will be meeting my two goals; use up the leftovers and keep the quilt size as small as possible. Watching other quilters last year, I saw many who combined weekly assignments into one round. Six bloggers will each post one block but this doesn’t mean the quilt has to have six separate rounds.
If you want to see what some of the other quilters are planning as their starting point, I would pop over to Quilting Gail’s to take a look. We are linking up our starting blocks there. I can tell from the variety of chosen center blocks, each quilt will be unique. Now to wait until the 23rd when Wendy of Pieceful Thoughts announces what we are to use for the first round!
Oh, what a great choice for your center block! It will be really fun seeing you use those bits and pieces to grow your quilt! Glad you are joining us again this year!
I think it will be a fun project. I love the blue/black/white combo – If I have to add fabrics to make this work out, I am not sure if I would add any other colors. I have lots more black and whites tho so it shouldn’t be an issue. Can’t wait for Monday – this sort of thing makes me so impatient!!!!
I knew you’d come up with just the block, Bernie. The color combination and patterns are so striking, and it looks like you have lots of bits to fill it all out.
Thank you! I want to be able to hang this on a wall somewhere so it can’t be too big. Hence the idea of combining blocks into less rounds. We shall see!! Come on Monday! I want to get started.
Hi Bernie! Oh, what a great idea to give this block a home. Wouldn’t it be cool if some of the leftover pieces you already have made can be incorporated into this year’s SAHRR project?! I can’t wait to see this come together. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
I am sure they will incorporate somehow or other. Last year I worked with the biggest stack of HST’s – I cut them down, took them apart – whatever I could and then found I used almost all of it. So hoping for the same result this year!
Great choice for your center block, Bernie! Glad to have you joining us!
Thanks Brenda. I don’t know why it took me so long but I am glad I finally joined it – I am looking forward to this year’s process.
Juchuu, so nice to see you are joining! The colours are great. i see some orange or hot pink with it… but will be interesting what YOU will add.
And it is sustainable to ise the fabric you have first and add matching one if you/we need.
Have a big issue here with my idea for SAHRR 2024.
But I do not understand why you want to make it as small as you could….
Mhhh, may be a wallhanger or a table top?
I am highly motivated and much more now reading your information here.
Hope you are fine and weather conditions are not to bad!
Love how you described and informed your audience. And great thanks to Gail….
Cant wait to see the first border, Wendy will present!
Be part of the SAHRR last year to all who are thinking about…. It makes so much fun and
it is a great experience and at the end .. there is a quilt or table top or wall hanger!
Big hug form over the ocean!
Hi Eva: I had to look up the meaning of juchuu. See I am learning from your comments!
The reason I said I was going to compromise between making it small but also use up the leftover pieces is I do not really need a big quilt. I have several lap quilts, one small bed size and a large bed size quilt in process. For this project, I just want to hang it on the wall in my sewing studio. The colors would look great in there.
What is the issue with your SAHRR project? Will you be sharing photos with Wendy again so we can all see them?
I am excited to see the first border that Wendy shares with us on Monday. Until then, my husband and I are going to go see our daughter for the afternoon on Saturday. Then we will have an evening with my son and his wife. I am looking forward to this. Back home on Sunday. Sending hugs back across the ocean to you!!
I love the quilt you made last year and your centre block looks great. I’m looking forward to seeing how your quilt grows 🙂
Thank you Janine. Last year’s project was fun and very colorful. This year will be a smaller and simpler quilt (I think??). I suppose it remains to be seen!
Your centre block looks great! I’m sure you’ll be able to use some of your bits and pieces in the quilt! Thank you for showing us last year’s SAHRR and joining in this year!
Happy Quilting!
My plan is to use as many of the extra pieces as possible. I was successful last year in using a ton of scraps. There is sooo much extra stuff in the sewing room and I have really been trying to use it up. This event is a great way to do that. Thanks Gail.
I really like how you are using the SAHRR to pull out projects with enough pieces that you can work with to grow the center. Have fun!
That was my plan – to use this QAL to use up scraps, just like last year. Seems that over the past couple of years, I have accumulated a lot of scrap and it is time to use it!!
That is a beautiful block – love the color combo! I’ll be interested to see how it all comes together. Your quilt last year is so pretty. Enjoy your weekend Bernie!
Thanks Linda – Hoping to make a fun quilt to hang in the sewing room. The colors are perfect for that.
Have a great weekend. We are going up to see Julia. She adopted a kitty, Sammy, and wants us to meet him. 🙂
Yay on the grand-kitty! 😀
Great choice! I love the blue accent, and I love that you’re repurposing the old project. It will feel so good to get that out of the closet! Looking forward to seeing how it shapes up. Have a great day, Bernie!
It does feel good to use these pieces up. Looking forward to this huge group of us working on our rounds each week – almost like a guild between the 20 or 25 of us that are participating. (Maybe more than that??)
Love it! What a fun project and great use of orphan blocks, stash/scraps. Have fun with it! Might even count as a UFO….
You know it! This is on the UFO list and will be finished by end of March. I do well with a time limit. 🙂
Bernie, I love your idea of using up leftover pieces from a previous project! That blue, black, and white color combination is really striking. I’ve learned to keep this a small project, too – so last year I made four small blocks for every prompt and then combined them into borders at the end of the QAL. It’s fun to participate in something that you can make your own!
I remember your work last year. It makes sense to do it this way. I am always itching to move forward but I think I need to be patient this year and see how I can use the prompts and still keep it wall size. Thanks for the reminder!
I love this! I do hope you can incorporate some of the other pieces – I am almost sure you will be able to. I rarely do “full rounds” and often combine prompts one in the border, one in the cornerstones…and you don’t have to do every round…and there is always the back too! I can’t wait to see what yours looks like!
Good morning Kathleen – I just read Wendy’s post. I am sure to use pieces with the signature blocks. Currently pondering if the centers will be blue or the black/white prints. As you did, I plan to make a small stack of them and then see what the next round is. Maybe enough to run along two sides of the center? Fun stuff!