I LIKE SCRAPPY

You can't help contemplating about life and things while making a quilt.  Between the head-scratching and figuring, there's usually  lots of mindless time as you perform the repetitive tasks.   Recently, while working on the Pine Tree Quilt, I noticed the different blocks and spent some time thinking about them.  They were made by several different people, members of the Issaquah Quilters, a guild to which I belonged.  We would make blocks for each other in exchanges and different kinds of events.  This way you could get a lot of the kind of blocks you request in exchange for making one block per month for the other participants.  It was a pretty good deal.  I have lots of  "Blocks of the Month"  stashed away that need finishing.

These Pine Tree blocks are very appealing.  They are made from mostly triangles, which I find add interest.  Plus there is a difficulty challenge with making all of those half-square triangle squares.  The easiest way to do it is to use just two fabrics.  That way you can stack and whack and sew them up pretty quickly.  I noticed that was how I did most of the blocks I made.  And some of the others, too.

  Some blocks had three or four different fabrics - that added interest.  And when I had to make up a block quickly because one of the original blocks wasn't going to work - I chose a fabric that was multi-colored and textured to make it appear to have more than one fabric.

But the best ones, by far, were the ones made by Elsie Nagle.  She made her's completely scrappy!  Almost every triangle was a different fabric.   It is definitely my favorite.  The greens, the blue-greens, the yellows,  the different textures and patterns...it all works together to make this block stand out from the rest.  Next to the other blocks, this one just sparkles! 

Thank you Elsie,  you are a quiltmaker extraordinaire!