Saturday, January 30, 2016

Blue tumblers... or are they thimbles??

Ah hand sewing! I was putting away the blue scrap bin then thought... hmmm what if I used these really small scraps for tumblers of different sizes? Will they go together?
some of them are 1" Some 1.5" and some 2.5"

Close enough!

It snowballed. Like eating potato chips I couldn't make just one.

I'm totally obsessed now.


sew them into strips then decide how to place the strips...

Will I add a strip now and then?
Will I put a little and medium next to each other?

Separate them with bigger ones?






Now that they crossed over from an idea to a project to an obsession....
They need a carrying case!

This little make-up case will do for now.
Til the project out grows it.

I printed the thimbles onto card stock and cut them out to make templates... here
http://www.quiltviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/thimbles1.pdf


little ziplocks for each size, little snips of fabric rough-cut ready to baste, with thread or glue

I don't know what got me going but it's very fun. Could be the colors, the mindless aspect of same shape with the choices of color placement and design still there to make it interesting. It's small but it's teaching me as I go, and it's really quick to make too.
Whatever the reason, I am enjoying the process so much.
Update: MORE is BETTER!
This picture skews to blue but I have added in bits of ruby red, purple and green. And this weel little perfectly placed little scrap of what looks like a spirograph drawing. Remember those?
All pieces someone else would have thrown away.
I'm obsessed with color!


43 comments:

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

No, I seem to have the same affliction as you. Can I tell you how many project bags I have? And being a seamstress is a bad thing. If I run out of project bags......I just make more!

Love your tumblers...I have a lot of little scraps, too.

NO! Not doing it, nope. Millefiore will have to take up my desire for doing things like this.

scraphappy said...

Those are fun. Love the way you mixed in all the different shapes.

Nell's Quilts said...

Today and tomorrow left to play with the blue scraps before it's time to pull out another. A girl could do a lot of damage to the scrap bin in that time! Cute idea.

Kaja said...

More is definitely the way to go! Love the mix of sizes too and the intensity of the colours.

The Joyful Quilter said...

Friends thought I was crazy for sewing 1" squares together, but you've taken it to a totally different level of CRAZY with those Thimbles!!!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

What a great idea to use for RSC! :)

Tails Around the Ranch said...

Is that like asking if the glass is half full or half empty? [wink]

Cathy said...

What a fabulous idea! And why shouldn’t it skew to blue, after all? Maybe your next area will morph into another color.... what fun!!

sonja said...

Yes, it is all about the COLORS! i love to play that way usually in strips though. I will watch out for you posts on ways your might/end up joining them...let me count the ways...be well, Sonja

Joanne said...

Winter's quite colorful at your place!
Using up scraps, using color! Fun stuff!

Joanne said...

Winter's quite colorful at your place!
Using up scraps, using color! Fun stuff!

Kathy S. said...

Fun. Love the blues!

PaulaB quilts said...

Call it a passion, not an obsession, and it has a positive ring to it. You're doing some great USING there. Love the sofa, hope you can make it easier to do next time. The TV is a blast from the past!

DeAnna said...

I think you have something there. A great use of scraps! The different sizes look good together.

PeggyinNO said...

You are such an enabler!! Even giving us the pattern!!! I am just looking away now!!!
BUT, I do love what you did!

PaintedThread said...

Very cute! They look great.

Michelle Ridgway said...

Great idea...such fun!

quiltedfabricart said...

They look like gemstones! You are crazy like a fox :-)

Kathy's A Quilter said...

Leeanna be nimble, Leeanna be quick, Make another thimble...you get the idea. these are fabulous.

Lisa said...

I have always wanted to make a thimble quilt!!! Love yours!

gayle said...

Oh, LeeAnna, using multiple sizes is the BEST idea! But ulp, you've now removed the last roadblock standing between me and a tumbler quilt. The idea of using just one shape over and over ad infinitum has always stopped me from tumblers and hexagon quilts. But Millefiore and now your tumblers are quite inspiring...

The Cozy Quilter said...

Your thimbles and tumblers play very nicely together. Have fun adding a few more to your project today.

Jayne said...

The blues are beautiful and obsessed...I get that! EPP has done the same thing to to! I'm still on the hunt for my next project! I love the different size tumblers. Great idea!

Denise :) said...

Wow -- I love the tiny thimbles in there with the tumblers -- how cool that is. Way to mix it up!!! ;)

Kate said...

Fun way to use up those little scraps as thimbles. They will make an interesting scrap quilt.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Fun idea- lets call them thimbles!

Quilter Kathy said...

I sure do remember spirograph... I loved it!
What a fun project you are working on!
It was wonderful to see how you organize everything for carrying!
How about "thimblettes"?!?

Carla A Few Of My Favorite Things said...

Oh i like the different sizes put together, a bit like a puzzle, you just want to see where it goes!

Teje Karjalainen said...

Hi! I like tumblers and your idea to make them in different sizes is great! So beautiful blue colours! Looks beautiful and inspiring! x Teje

Cathy said...

I think thimbles. Really, really cute thimbles. How fun that you mixed in different sizes.
And, yes, I remember the Spirograph!

Deb A said...

What a fun project. Love how you changed up the size and popped in some spots of color here and there that are different. How about little bitty vases? That is the first thing I think of when I see that shape.

claudia said...

Oh. My. Goodness!!! How much fun can one person have???

Ann said...

What a fun project. Love the different sizes of each row.

Jasmine said...

What a fun colorful project. I love how the sizes look together.

Stephie said...

Oh Leanna, this is gorgeous! I've never seen different sized tumblers together - very creative. And Spirograph...how could I forget, I spent hours whiling away the time with a set at my nan and grandad's, great memories :)

Mary Huey said...

Fun and inspiring!!

Quiltdivajulie said...

These are just fabulous -- variety in sizes really adds interest. LOVE!!

Sally Trude said...

I love the variation in size. And maybe years from now there will be a reproduction movement to copy your quilt that will be called "Total Obsession."

Mystic Quilter said...

Now these are tiny!! Like Sally T too like the variation in size and this adds a whole different look to the classic tumbler.

Lisa J. said...

These are unbelievably small. All the different sizes look great together.

Sara said...

You are right - they do look like thimbles. Very cute, but too small for me.

Scrapatches said...

Like the look of the different size tumblers together ... :) Pat

Sharon - IN said...

Very fun! Looks like Tumblers, cups, and thimbles!