Quilt Finish: Scrap Vortex

Some of you might remember that I had a little meeting with myself in regards to my UFOs.  I wanted more finished.  I started the year with 12 on my list.  From there I finished one.

I now have three more into tops…and this one, Scrap Vortex is FINISHED.  I made a deal with myself.  No new starts until I have 6 of the UFOs on my list finished.  We’ll see how I do.

So without further ado…Here is Scrap Vortex.

This was a quilt along with Crazy Mom Quilts.  You can find out more info HERE about the quilt along.  (Scroll to the bottom of the page)

It’s not a fancy quilt…it’s totally a utilitarian quilt.  From the looks of the background of the grass and shrubs, it looks like autumn.  It’s not.  It was just another cold and drizzly day in Iowa.


I started this several years ago…long before Kelli had kids.  My friend Connie came to my house for a weekend retreat.  Kelli came too.  Kelli wanted to make scrap vortex in bright colors.  I had planned on making mine in bright colors too…but Kelli didn’t have any bright scraps so, what’s a mom to do?  I gave Kelli the bright scraps I had been saving so she could make hers.


I ended up making mine with my dark and reproduction fabric leftovers.


I tried to add a lot of yellow and gold to mine to brighten it up a bit.


I didn’t use a lot of neutral prints.  When I did, I tried to make them more of a medium print rather than a white print.

It still ended up pretty dark.  It’s okay.  It is after all meant to be a utilitarian quilt…not a raging beauty.


It sure does look fall-ish in these pictures.

I like these kinds of quilts.  They are really a historical record of the fabrics I had at the time.


I used a sheet for the backing.  It was a batik-looking gray.  I thought it would be perfect.  The only problem is that it wasn’t big enough.  I ended up digging through my orphan block drawer and found a strip from a lozenges quilt I made.  I added that.

I also found and added a row of these…

I’m happy to have these used up too.  This was the perfect quilt for a scrappy backing.


I used a rum-colored thread for the top.  I knew my quilting motif would get lost in all the business of this quilt so I didn’t even bother to use a fancy motif.  A simple stipple for the win.


On the back, I used a light gray color.  It turned out good.


I ended up using a dark red print with black flowers.  Our daughter, Kalissa, always tells me to pick the darkest color in the quilt and that should be the color of the binding.  She’s not a quilter, but I take her advice quite often and it hasn’t failed me yet.

Here is your Rosie picture…actually two of them.


I couldn’t decide which picture I like better-  begging or sitting.  I’ll let you decide.


So with that, I now have two UFO projects completely finished.  I’m doing the happy dance about that.  I only have four to go before I can work on whatever I want.  WHOOT!  WHOOT!!  The good news is that I actually do like my UFO projects.  It’s really not a chore to work on them.  I, too often, get pulled away by something else and they accumulate, that’s a problem.