The next 15 minutes

I have talked a few times about "How much is fifteen minutes?", and how by using ALL of your fifteen minute time periods you can get a lot done!  Read the original post here.

I haven't quite finished the other fifteen minute project, but am still working on it.  I have it all cut out now via my fifteen minute sections and a family quilt retreat as well.

In between those events, I had a number of projects that were scrappy in nature (you will see some of them shortly) and so I began another fifteen minute project to go with them.  Scrappy Bow ties!

This pattern can be made with as little as an 8" square of fabric!  It takes just two squares of 3&1/2" and two squares of 2&1/2"  of colored fabric and two 3&1/2" squares of light/white fabric.  Sew one of the smaller colors to the corner of the light (square it to the edge of the corner and sew across the diagonal), trim off the excess and press open.  Square that to 3&1/2" and then sew it to one of the larger color squares.  Then sew the two sections together to form the finished block.  Make sure you set them down together so you get the centers lined up in the right direction.  I have had to "unsew" a number of these for trying to stack and hurry!  It doesn't pay!

So as I went through the scrappy projects, I also cut the squares for the bow tie blocks.  This particular pattern makes a 6" square.  

I have them stored next to the sewing machine in a box that I got from the school - the student ID's came in it.  Colors in the back and lights in the front.  Mostly because I will run short of the lights long before I run short of the colors, so then I know when I need to dig up some more lights for the project.  You can see to the left of the box the finished 6" bow tie blocks stack.  

These ones are all blue but I have tons of different colors, and it gives you an idea of how they can be put together to make alternate patterns above and below.

It goes together really fast - just about 15 minutes for four of the blocks - after cut out has been done ahead of time. 

Here is another colorway that I am working on to have a "backup quilt" at the ready when I need one - or someone else needs one!

 Sew simple and a great, easy use of  those scraps and that fifteen minutes that you might have thought was useless!