I started a new scrap quilt last week because I made up an easy block and couldn’t resist playing with a fabric combination that I created in EQ8.

I had quite a lot of the green for my background, shown below. I wanted to use only one green to add some order to the scrap quilt. If the foreground is scrappy and the background is also scrappy, it can be chaotic.

I made nine blocks and put them on the design wall. They were really fun to sew and practically mindless for construction.

But I was disappointed with them. The first problem is an easy fix: the square shape didn’t please me and I knew I’d like it better as a rectangle. I could add one more row of blocks and it would still be a good size for a toddler, for whom this is destined.

But that presented a second problem: I didn’t have enough of the green background to make more blocks.

Scrap Quilt Savvy to the Rescue!

I’ve made enough scrap quilts to know that running out of fabric is not a problem. The best solution is to use something similar and to sprinkle the new addition(s) all over the quilt.

I pulled a bunch of light greens and yellow-greens from the drawer. I wanted to keep things pretty calm so I searched for things that were the same value (lightness/darkness) and a similar color.

And I wanted them to read as fairly solid, so I avoided anything with very light or very dark values in the prints. Then I started making blocks.

Mix the fabric types

I love to mix all kinds of fabric genres together. There aren’t any rules that say you can’t put a batik with a modern print.

You can pair a novelty with funky geese and a polka dot for happy results. I wanted to use that spot just above because it’s almost red, but leans enough toward orange to work. I love a challenge like this!

The ditzy print above was in short supply so I pieced as needed. It won’t be noticeable in the final quilt, and if it is, no worries. It’s a scrap quilt!

Use a design wall

I have learned that it’s important and so helpful to use a design wall for auditions and making fabric decisions. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

I put four blocks up and could see that the new greens were going to work just fine. In fact the quilt might be better because of them.

Here are a few of the original blocks.

It’s difficult to get photos that show the actual colors of the fabrics.

The block above uses a large-scale print and while it looks funky on its own, it works in nicely to the big picture.

This one was another experiment but it worked!

I’m a big fan of this block because is that pink or is it purple? That’s the kind of thing that makes you look at a quilt a little longer, and you always want a quilt that is interesting enough to hold someone’s attention.

Here is where I landed. I like it so much that I’m making blocks for a second quilt. You might know that I have twin granddaughters who are one, and I think these could be gifts for their second birthday next summer. I’m only a couple of blocks away from being finished.

Coming up next:

The quilting plan for these on the HQ Stitch 710 and the HQ Capri.

Until then, quilt on!