oh scrap!

Weekly update: quiet weekend, RSC, batik blocks from With Strings Attached

I had a meeting Friday morning (good to get out and be sociable) and the rest of the weekend I was at home with just a couple of errands. We're on the southern edge of the huge storm with only 4" of snow. We're under a blizzard warning because it's quite windy. I cancelled an appointment this morning and plan to stay in today. Sewing and reading and, just maybe, catching up on a few no-time-pressure tasks.

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In the studio: I made red "coin" panels for this year's RSC project. The pattern (shown in the photo ...

added by Nann 3 days, 17 hours ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : Delivery by Wilma from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

This was a great week for Many Hands and Many Hearts. We have TWO new longarm quilters joining our volunteer ranks. One is even ready to do a couple a week for us.

So, I have been spending this week trying to get backs pieced, batting cut and (for some) binding prepped. How many? I am prepping up for 19 quilts! Needless to say,
I don't have anything scrappy to share today.

But I do have some finished quilts to share. Wilma lives in the Sacramento area and was planning a trip north with some friends. They offered to ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 4 days, 18 hours ago. under finished quilts , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap! , scrap quilting

Weekly update: celebrations, a binding resolution, and remembering from With Strings Attached

The Lake County Women's Coalition annual Women's History Month luncheon was on Saturday. Each LCWC member organization nominates an honoree who exemplifies the year's theme.

I'm on the LCWC steering committee as the rep for the Zion Woman's Club but I am also a member of AAUW. AAUW's honoree was Nan Buckart (bio on left) who was director of education for the Lake County Forest Preserves. ZWC's honoree was Wendy Driver (bio on right) whose many interests in community activism include gardening (seed-saving, monarchs, zinnias, and more).

Top: the ZWC contingent.

Kim Sigafuss ...

added by Nann 1 week, 3 days ago. under design wall monday , lake county women's coalition , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : Some of my Scrap Quilts from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I know you are probably tired of me saying it, but it was another busy week! But I am hoping by the end of March, I might get a breather until late summer. Fingers crossed!

It was fun to see some of the scrap quilts I put together crossed the finish line this week. This pretty snowball quilt was made from a bunch of pink and purple scraps. The inspiration was some pansy fabric I had a small piece of. Nann sent in the backing fabric and board member Bev quilted this one.

I also made these floral blocks from ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 week, 4 days ago. under donation quilts , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap! , scrap quilting , snowball

Weekly update: SAHRR and another finish, stash report, goals + reading from With Strings Attached

It was a puttering-around kind of weekend. Too chilly to go for a walk, no major errands to run, nothing much that needed attention. So I sewed!

The Stay at Home Round Robin is quilted and bound. Hooray!

The back uses two book-related fabrics.

I made the courthouse steps flimsy in 2023. Barb quilted it in an overall Baptist fan. I bound it last evening. It's 72 x 84.

I've scheduled a quilt a month with Barb. Whether I take something from the box of flimsies or create something new will depend on the month.

STASH REPORT, February ...

added by Nann 2 weeks, 2 days ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sahrr 2026 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : Scrappy Finishes from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I have not been very good about sharing finishes lately. So, I thought today I would share a bunch of pretty scrappy donation quilts that have crossed the finish line.

Let's start out with this bright and fun novelty quilt. What a great way to use those colorful novelty scraps and the color placement is (chef's kiss)!

The tag got misplaced on this one, but I think it was made by Sue or Jean. I do know local longarm quilter Laura not only quilted it but also sewed on the binding for us.

We even made the backside ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 weeks, 4 days ago. under many hands and many hearts , oh scrap! , scrap quilting

Oh Scrap! : More RWB Strips from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Sorry I did not get a post of some finishes up for you this week. I actually had quite a mess on my hands. I started going through our shelves of fabric. My plan was to just go through the RWB shelf but I was knee deep in fabric for quite a few days as I went through and organized all the fabric we have.

That was a project!

I did find some time to cut more 2.5" x 11" strips. I now have just about a tub full. We will be using these at our next Fundraising Sew ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 3 weeks, 4 days ago. under oh scrap! , patriotic quilt

Oh Scrap! : Hearts from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

Happy Valentine's Day...

So, I am a day late - but I still wanted to share some heart quilts made from a previous block drive.

This is the sixth quilt we have finished from the Low Volume block drive. Marcia, a board member, quilted this one up for us. She quilted it with heart lockets and ribbons. So Cute! I am not sure who sent the backing fabric, but I love it on this quilt. I think I projected that we would make 10-12 quilts from the blocks received. We are over halfway finished!

Our friend Audrey went to the ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 month ago. under donation quilts , heart quilt , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap!

Oh Scrap! : Binding from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I decided to spend this week going through the scrap bin and grabbing fabric that was appropriate for bindings. Most of these scraps came from the trimmings of backing after quilting.

I set to work cutting all the cotton scraps into 2.5" wide and the flannel into 3" wide strips. I also went ahead and sewed the strips all together. I know this pile might not look that big but I could easily hide a small child underneath it.

I divided them up into 7 grocery bags - there are about 10 bindings in each bag. I am hoping I ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 month, 1 week ago. under binding , donation quilts , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap!

Oh Scrap! : Turning Scraps into Finishes from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

This was another busy week for me. I didn't get to play with too many scraps, but I did turn a bag of misfits into a finished quilt.

Local longarm quilter Terry did a bunch of work in her sewing room. During the renovation, she found a bag of partial blocks and cut squares. It was a project she didn't want to finish. Once I got into the bag, I noticed not all the squares were the same size. And they were a slightly different size than the pieced blocks.

Loving a good challenge, I decided to start ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under donation quilts , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap!

Weekly update: SAHRR, the answer is 42, scrappy souvenirs + reading from With Strings Attached

Brrrrrrr! I hope you are keeping warm during this storm. I've been mostly indoors since Friday. I went to two memorial visitations on Saturday (the son of a Rotary friend in the morning and a quilting friend in the afternoon) though I didn't stay for the funeral services. I overrode the thermostat so the heat stays at daytime temperature overnight. Otherwise it would take all morning to warm up. Snowfall was about 2", no wind.

wrapped up in the Magpies' quilt with another quilt at my back

I appreciate all the people who braved the cold, wherever they ...

added by Nann 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under monday musings , oh scrap! , reading , sahrr 2026 , sew and tell , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : Teddy Bears from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I have no idea where this week went. I know I quilted up a lot of quilts for Many Hands and Many Hearts. There were lots of labels to sew on and bindings to finish. MHMH also received a lot of packages this week, so I spent a lot of time organizing all of that.

But I didn't spend a lot of time playing with any scraps!

I recently joined one of the local quilt guilds. Some of my longtime friends work the Community Service table so it was natural for me to join that team. At our last ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilting

Weekly update: picture books, some surprises, remembering + MQG swap #2 from With Strings Attached

The special exhibit at the Dunn Museum opened back in October. I finally went to see it on Friday, two days before it closes. (Hmm. I went to last summer's big exhibit at the Art Institute a couple of days before it closed.)

The Dunn Museum is a division of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Museum programming includes county-wide history (the annual history symposium (Zoom) this month was great), natural history, and traveling exhibits like this one. Just $3 admission for seniors.

So many familiar and favorite illustrators were included. You may not know their names but surely ...

added by Nann 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under design wall monday , estate sale , lake county forest preserves , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell

Oh Scrap! : 2.5" Strips from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

The flannel scraps have been put away for a bit. I have another project I need to get working on.

We have a number of patriotic scraps that need some attention. I have been busy cutting them into 2.5" strips. I am also including any red, blue and white prints I have in our scrap storage.

I am also chopping them up into 11" long pieces. I will let you guys know soon what we are using these for. I just need to get a few more details before I make an announcement. I also need to make a ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months ago. under many hands and many hearts , oh scrap!

Weekly update: goal met, onto the next + reading from With Strings Attached

The last batch of placemats! The units and blocks are from the orphan box/parts department. Some are recent (the three at the lower right); some are middle-aged (the green/blue hourglasses are from Indigo Way (which itself is blocks-in-a-box); some are elderly (the hard-to-see scrappy trips that are the background for the two feathers in the upper right).

Choosing layouts and coordinating fabrics was a great design exercise.

Each is approximately 13 x 20.

All 121 in the bin. Each placemat averages 3/8 yard, so 45 yards. (With thanks to QuiltDiva Julie who sent a set of four ...

added by Nann 2 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : This and That from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I can't believe I went another week without sharing any finished quilts. This was definitely a week of unplanned events interfering with my schedule. I am hoping next week will be different!

I moved out of my sewing room and have been sewing on my dining room table for more than a year now. In the last few months, it has become home to a large pile of scraps. Many of them need to be cut into binding strips but there are some that inspire a quilt.

I had some leftover plaids from some napkins we made for our ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months, 1 week ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilting

Weekly update: first finish for 2026, placemat progress + reading from With Strings Attached

Lazy Goose, the January top-along, is finished! I quilted it in parallel lines with the serpentine stitch. The back is a print I've had since the 1990's.

5-7/8 yards used in all.

One of my January goals is to make 20 placemats. I've finished six.

Six more are underway.

They all use units from the orphan blocks box.

(The fine points of terminology: a patch is a shape cut from fabric. A unit is composed of one or more patches sewn together. A block is composed of units sew together.)

# # # # # I have a fear of running ...

added by Nann 2 months, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , reading , sew and tell , weekly update

Oh Scrap! : A Little Late from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I have been having a heck of a time for the last few weeks remembering what day of the week it is. I know I am not the only one - a reader emailed me yesterday looking for this Oh Scrap! post.

Hopefully my inner calendar corrects itself soon!

I needed something quick I could share and this quilt top sent in by Rena fits the bill. It is so fun and scrappy. I love all the playful novelty prints in this one. The bird backing fabric was donated by Karen and local longarm quilter Laura finished it up.

We really ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under oh scrap! , scrap quilting

Oh Scrap! : Strings from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

I hope all of you survived the holiday. Arthur is back to his cheeky self and we just spent Christmas goofing off. It was quiet and relaxing. Just what I needed!

I am spending the end of December cleaning, organizing and planning for the new year.

So not a lot of sewing right now.

But I did want to share a bunch of fun string quilts that made it across the finish line. I think Elana sent us these blocks a long time ago. I handed them off to our new board member Karen with some black fabric sent in ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under donation quilts , finished quilt , many hands and many hearts , oh scrap! , string quilt

Oh Scrap! : Progress from Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

My boy Arthur has been feeling under the weather the last few days, so I have been doing a lot of cutting and sewing at my dining room table. He likes to lay at my feet while I work - under the table is his safe place. So for a change, I have been staying right by his side.

He has an appointment at the vet Monday morning so hopefully we can figure out what is wrong with him. I don't like seeing him in pain.

Not only did I get all of the pink flannel cut, but it is ...

added by Cynthia Brunz Designs 2 months, 4 weeks ago. under flannel , oh scrap! , scrap quilting

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