Friday, March 30, 2018

My $1.50 Quilt

Is there anything more fun than finding a GREAT deal on scraps??   If you read my last post, you know that is what happened to me this week.  I found a bag of scraps for $1.50 and was immediately transported down memory lane when I realized it was full of 1980's fabrics.  

Last time I had made 5 blocks and was hoping to squeeze four more out of my scraps.   Success!  And here are all 9 blocks up on my design wall.


On top of all that I STILL have a pile of scraps left!  Granted, there are very few with enough length to make any more of these kinds of blocks,  but  I think there is probably enough to make some kind of scrappy border.  What do you think?  Piano keys?  Should I add some kind of divider border from my stash first?  What would you do?


I got a real kick out of reading all of your comments last time.  A few of us got to reminiscing about the 80's.  Clothing styles, and bad perms.   Louise in particular, made me really chuckle.  Talking about Gunnie Sax dresses and Farrah Fawcett hairdo's.  Confess!!  How many of you had one or both of these?  Would you be willing to share pictures?  I think that would make a very entertaining blog post to share a collection of these.  I will share mine and would love to have others to show as well.   I didn't really have a true Gunnie Sax dress but if I can find it, I'll show the one that came as close as I could get.  I definitely tried the Farrah Fawcett hair.  Who's with me?

Linking with:
TGIF Friday
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop

21 comments:

  1. That was an awful decade for fashion for sure. Love the blocks. Piano keys would be great. Just strip those last pieces and put a divider border in, blue maybe.

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  2. Congrats on a very sweet finish. I had to look up what a Gunnie Sax dress was. Nope, not in my wardrobe at the time. I had Farrah Fawcet bangs at one point, but that was about all my hair would accommodate.

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  3. Oh man my sister has that Farrah hair!! Lordy I hated going into the bathroom after she was done.LOL!! Being a girl of the 80's I say...good find!! And yes, love your idea of piano keys.

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  4. A dollar fifty? That's what you paid for your fabric?? I NEVER find deals like that. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum, paying premiums to etsy and eBay sellers for discontinued fabrics that I ran out of mid-project! As for my '80s hair, it was pretty much pigtails, pony tails, or headbands. I vaguely remember an elementary school fad for barrettes that were braided with multicolored ribbons, too. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF today!

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  5. I would definitely do a stop border before the piano keys which would look great. Nice to see you are back sewing and posting!! I remember tent dresses but they were more 70's, and those BIG eye glasses, ye gads. The 80's I was busy getting married and having 2 kids:)

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  6. That is a rags to riches story!!! Love how you resurrected a bag of old scraps, in the true spirit of Easter. Looking forward to this finish. I might go to the thrift store this weekend.

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  7. Great blocks from a scrap bag of fabrics. I'm not sure which is better, though... the blocks you've made or the memories of the 80's. There are certain things in life that should not be revisited. I never had the Farrah hair or the Gunny Sax dresses, but remember them well. A piano keys border is a great idea.

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  8. oh my gosh, I ****LOVED**** my Gunnie Sax dress. :) I never got to do the Farrah hair, although I really wanted to. It was very similar to this one, but in pink: https://www.google.com/search?q=gunne+sax+dress+1980s&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUuPjVyJTaAhVL52MKHbj3AzsQ_AUICygC&biw=1536&bih=760#imgrc=buHR1f2KZP8nQM:

    Yes, a piano key border would be great for this quilt, with a neutral stop-border between it and the blocks, say the same width as the logs in the blocks, or just 1" if those are 1.5" finished. Then you could also use that neutral for the binding and the backing, even. Cream would probably be my choice.

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  9. Love your blocks! Bargains are great. I had two Gunny Sax dresses and wore Farrah hair. Thanks for the memories!

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  10. I just love finding fabric remnants and partially completed quilt blocks - that just makes my day! My last quilt incorporated three elements from 3 different mystery quilters.

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  11. OK, now I *really* have to find those photos! What's ironic is that I only wore my GS dress to prom. Mostly I wore vintage thrift pieces from the 50s and 60s, which were not "cool" then at all. I was too chicken to wear a gorgeous strapless taffeta 50s dress to prom, sigh.

    A piano key border will look great on this piece! You definitely want to use the scraps from that same era. I think modern fabric won't quite "go," but I could be wrong about that :)

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  12. Definitely a border before the piano keys. Maybe a solid color?

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  13. What a wonderful bargain! I think a thin solid border before adding a piano keys border. I look forward to seeing how your quilt ends up.

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  14. Those blocks have come together so well. I would definitely go with both of your ideas- a narrow border ( solid or marbled effect fabric) and scrappy piano keys.

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  15. You’re funny! Yeah, I did the Farrah Faucett hair! and I confess to having maybe one gunnie sax dress. But pictures are long gone. Shucks. Your quilt is coming along great. However you decide to finish it will be perfect!

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  16. I started my quilting journey in earnest when I came upon a large, black leaf bag filled with fabric from an estate sale. $10! I snapped that puppy right up and had great fun pulling out fabrics, carefully ironing and folding each one, and wondering what intentions the previous owner had for them. Yes, add a sashing between your blocks and the piano keys - it will give the eye a spot to rest and tie it all together. I envied the girls who had Gunnie Sax dresses back in the 70's. Having one was not in the budget. Never made it to the Farrah Fawcett hair though - raising kids has something to do with not caring so much how high your hair goes, lol!

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  17. Your blocks are going to make a fabulous quilt. I love the soft look of it. I guess I was too busy raising children to get into the 80's styles. Think I'm glad about that. The 70s were bad enough.

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  18. Yes, definitely put in a narrow border before the piano keys. Oh, the 80s! I missed out on the Gunne Sax, but my daughters did wear Daisy Kingdom dresses and I *may* have owned a bright-colored track suit. Don't tell anyone! :)

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  19. The blocks look great. Well done from a bag of scraps.

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  20. Oh my! This post makes me feel old. I did spy a fabric in your quilt that was one of the first fabrics I had in my "stash". But in the 80's...my kids were doing the Gunne Sax dresses, Farrah hair, leisure suits. They both graduated HS in the 80's! Me, I was trying to be the Cool Mom and not succeeding!

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