
UFO Bonanza: Two Down, More to Go, Giveaway #2
If you’re new here, WELCOME! I’m Diane Harris and I’m happy to meet you.
Immediately after piecing the daisies and baskets UFO sampler below, I started another one.
I was on a roll and it was the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s. You may have noticed…
…that my project didn’t begin to use up all of the little baskets. There were about 40 and I used only 16. So that is where I started. I pulled out every bit of patchwork with a pink/red, green and aqua/teal color recipe and started putting things up on the design wall.
At first it didn’t look good but I’ve learned not to lose heart. I went to bed on Friday night and thought maybe things would look better in the morning.
And they did!
This block went in, and it has a story behind it. My friend Carolyn Beam from Quiltmaker days designed it for a 100 Blocks issue, and later remade it for a 100 Blocks video.
Eventually it made its way to me because people at the magazines realized that I loved making things with castoffs and leftovers—they once sent me an entire box of orphan blocks.
Since Carolyn’s tent was fused but never sewn down, I warmed it up under the iron and pulled it off. I thought I’d just use it as a tree block in the Christmas quilt.
But—no. The center tree has no trunk! (No need to do that piecing just to cover it up with a tent, right?) So I considered remaking the tent red and thinking of it as a Christmas campground, but then I had another idea. Could I draw a sleigh? I decided to try.
When I put my pencil to the fusible web, this is what came out. Voilà! A sleigh in place of the tent. I will applique it by sewing close to the edges with matching thread and a short straight stitch.
I found a place for my improv snowman and a little gnome friend on green. My husband called it a “gnome-tree.” ?? I guess?
This funky basket block made the cut. I’d seen a couple of similar baskets on antique quilts but mine just looked weird so it never went any further.
And these! The first thing I remember Bonnie Hunter doing on her blog was making ugly blocks on purpose with less-than-appealing fabrics. I thought I was going to jump on that bandwagon and these were my prototypes. But I lost focus and they languished in the UFO cupboard.
And this super cool block by Paula Stoddard, also from 100 Blocks, fit right in as well. It took me just over a day to arrange the whole top and sew it together since all of the parts were already made. Then came the border auditions. But that’s a story for another day.
Now it’s time for a GIVEAWAY! Up for grabs today is The Weekend Quilter, 25+ Fabulous Quilts to Make in a Weekend from Landauer Publishing. Who wouldn’t want a copy of that?
Think of it as your go-to Quilting 101 textbook! And I know you’ll want this next one:
The brand-new Pillow Talk by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, published by It’s Sew Emma. As you would expect, it’s full of beautiful images and gorgeous pillow projects. Edyta’s signature style is part of each one. You could start making Christmas gifts now and sew pillows all year long!
And several of the items from the last giveaway are included, too! The winner will get the Cutting Gizmo, my favorite pins, and Mundial scissors perfectly sized for use at the machine. Sew much fun!
For your chance to win, leave a comment telling us your current city and state. I’d like to know where my readers are from! Giveaway ends Monday, Jan. 6 at midnight. Prizes will ship Monday, Jan. 13 when I’m back home. Another giveaway coming soon! The winner of this giveaway is meylonie, comment #20, who has been notified.
(Hey, if you want to be sure you never miss a post, sign up to be notified by email, also known as “subscribing.”)
This sampler quilt will go into a new trunk show I’m building called Taste Test: Unexpected Sampler Quilts. Booking now for Spring of 2021. Get in touch and Let’s Talk Quilts!
Tags: make extraordinary scrap quilts, sampler quilts, scrap quilts, taste test, trunk shows
Candi
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Oxnard, CA
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Anne
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I’m a fan from Walpole, NH
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Darla Hunt
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Shepherdsville, Kentucky
Admiring your creativity!
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Mattie valle
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I’m from OH . Have many patterns from old Quiltmaker’s issues, and from you. Love every one designed by you. Wish I can made all. Happy New Year
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Sally
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Oak Harbor, Washington
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Marti Dyer-Allison
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Diane, your orphan blocks posts are inspiring! I’ve lived in Parkland, WA for two years now.
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Sara Holmquist
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Burwell, Nebraska
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Jean
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Blair, Ne……LOVE the new sampler!
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Margaret Kennedy
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Winchester, Virginia
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Cindy L Weichel
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I live in an itty bitty town called Harbine Nebraska.
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JESSICA GRENI
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Kearney Nebraska
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Barb B
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Hebron, Nebraska
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Deb McD
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Dallas, the little one in Oregon not the big one in Texas.
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Diane Oakes
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Mattawan, Michigan – love your creations with the orphan, extra blocks!!
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Deb McD
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Hello from a former resident of Kalamazoo.
LeeAnn
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Wilcox, Nebraska!!!
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Alyson
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Wailuku, Hawaii
I think/hope you will be visiting our guild in March!
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Patty McArdle
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I am another Nebraska girl from Elkhorn, NE!
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Ramona Johnson
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Mountain View, AR! Love your Blog!!
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Linda Theriault
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I am an from sunny 🌞 Flagler Beach, Florida!
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Karen Anderson
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San Diego, CA.
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Maggie Nichols
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Cave Creek AZ
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kathy sorkin
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Deerfield, Illinois!
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Kay
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Rural Madison NE
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Beth T.
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Clatskanie, OR, USA
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Mary
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Trees and sleigh is so cute!
Enjoyed the retreat in Holdrege Ne this weekend.
Mary
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Betty
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Daykin NE
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Deb
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Holland, NY
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Sally Christiansen
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Kenner, Nebraska
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Monica Gerhart
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Papillion, Nebraska
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Cindy
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Kearney nebraska
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Edwina Smith
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Lee’s Summit, Missouri!
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Kaye Mattson
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Chapman, Nebraska
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Trish Davis
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Hello from Wichita Kansas!
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Jan Turner
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Live in Marysville, KS, but my heart is still a Nebraska girl. So enjoy reading your blog. I met you at the museum in Lincoln.
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Deanna Klintworth
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Marquette, nebraska
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Nancy
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I love in Columbus, Ohio. Thanks for offering the giveaway!
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Marty
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Panther Creek, ID (inside a National Forest) ❄️🥰⛄️
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Elizabeth Clark
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I’m a “mostly modern” quilter from Grand Haven, Michigan.
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Diann Jones
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I’m from Rio Vista, in northern California
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Denise
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Calgary, Alberta Canada eh! I’m a regular lurker and enjoy the time spent here!
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Diane Paul
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Tinton Falls, NJ
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Vicki
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Grand Island NE
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Connie Luers
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Wahoo, NE
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meylonie
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Lincoln, NE
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Beth Salistean
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Hi Diane! Omaha, NE
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Jennifer Simmons
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Garden City, KS!
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Marty
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Elwood ne
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Liz A.
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East Wenatchee, WA
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Donna Amos
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Decatur, Arkansas
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Maryln Fleming
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Prairie City, Iowa
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Julie Lechner
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Grand Island, NE Love your UFO stories!
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Kay
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Grand Island, NE
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Dorothy Lange
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Omaha, Nebraska
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Robyn O
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Salt Lake City, Utah
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Barb K
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Hi! I really enjoy reading your blog–I’m from the Sandhills in Bassett, NE.
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Chris H.
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rural Pierce, Nebraska
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Janelle Vogler
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Omaha, NE! This was a great blog post 🙂
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Kathy
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Took your class in Lincoln,, int
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Mary McIntyre
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Common Threads Quilt Guild, Lafayette Indiana. Love your patterns.
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Terri Costa
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Hello from Gig Harbor, WA! Love following your adventures!
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Kathy
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Bark River, Michigan
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Erika N
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Fishers, Indiana USA
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Erika Nickens
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Oops wrong email in previous comment!
Fishers, IN USA
Mary Weich
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I love your color choices, I to am known for scrappy quilts. But like Kaye Petta Im slow as I still get to watch grandkids, daily.
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Cathy Richardson
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Your creativity always amazes me. Candy for the eyes and soul.
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