A joint effort

I like when things come together.  Now before you start yelling at the screen telling me that I shouldn't be starting another quilt, I'll let you know that this is something that was already on my list of works in progress, or at least the blocks in the first picture were.  And yes, I do know that I am getting distracted from what I should be doing to finish a certain quilt before Christmas, but the ideas just started flowing.....  They started flowing for two other quilt possibilities, which then turned to this one instead....  You know, that's just how it goes and I don't fight it.....lol.  I hardly even resist....lol.

This quilt was a joint effort that started off with one friend giving me these five blocks.  They are all the same.  They sat in my UFO bin for a while, as I didn't know what to do with them.  Recently, when I was going through my bin, I decided to organize things and come up with ideas.

I figured five blocks was a good number, as I could make a nine patch with these as the outer corners and one in the centre, divided by plain squares in the alternating blocks.  So my head just stored that information until I came up with a full plan.

Instead of the above blocks, I had part of a plan for two other blocks, that were also from this UFO bin.  I pulled them out and proceeded to work on them (distraction number one).  I'll share those with you later.  While working on them I thought I could use this leftover piece of a bargello quilt.  This was given to me from another friend, just this weekend past.  

It would have worked with one of the first two blocks I had, but I felt that the block was not big enough to hold any interest and this piece above would not have made the block big enough on it's own.  

Then it hit me!!  I wasted no time and rummaged through the UFO bin to fine the five blocks above (distraction number two).  I ironed them and trimmed them the same size.  Then I found some suitable fabric for the alternating blocks.  Zip, zip, zip, cut everything up and stitch, stitch, stitch, sew it all together into a nine patch top.

Once I was done that, I started to disassemble a section of three rows from the bargello piece at the bottom and also one section of three rows from the top.  These two sections were the perfect size for the side of the nine patch top I made.  I sewed those on and proceeded to figure out how I was going to get enough to do the now longer top and bottom border of the quilt top.

I took off three more sections that were the closest in size, as I was going to have to piece half of one section to a full section, twice.  It worked!  They are slightly different, but I don't think enough to make it stand out too much. 

What do you all think?  I made some simple, solid square-in-a-square blocks into something pretty with a bit of flashy border parts, leftover from someone else's bargello parts.  I love it!!  It turned out fabulous.  Now I just have to quilt and then bind it.

This was a joint effort that would not have happened if we all didn't contribute to the whole.  Two different people with orphan blocks, that I then combined together with a bit of my own fabric, to make this lovely NICU quilt.  This will be going to Project Linus.

I'll be off to my mom's for dinner tonight, after work, so there won't be any sewing.  But I'll make up for it this weekend!!!  LOL  This weekend, I'll try to put those other two blocks aside, to get back to what I should be doing, as time is ticking!!

Take care everyone.