Sunday, January 26, 2020

Jumping into RSC 2020!



I've been a spectator on the sidelines of the RSC parade for several years.
Late last year, I told myself I was going to join the fun for 2020!

For the first month of the year, light and bright green was the color. 
The RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) is hosted by SoScrappy.
Each month, a new color is chosen and the participants search through their stash and scrap bins 
to sew whatever their heart pleases!
 No rules, just sew with that color!

I like sewing by those rules. 


Lime green fabrics seem to be abundant in my stash, so this month was no problem.

I chose to make the classic 9-patch block using a white center.


After making 12 of these 5" blocks, I was pleased, but felt I needed another row.

This time, I alternated the white centers so it would look like a white ribbon 
weaving through the blocks. 

January's green RSC rows are 56" long and 9.5" wide. 
That's 216 2" squares!

I'm already worried about February.

The color is orange!
Orange is not abundant in my stash. 

I may have to go shopping. 


Linking up to:





Wednesday, September 11, 2019

My Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop!



It's such fun to join a blog hop with fellow quilters! 
Today is the third day of the hop.
Over the course of 5 days, the hop will feature 38 creative quilters who are anxious to show you their favorite blocks!
Many thanks to Carla, our hostess, at Create In The Sticks for making this blog hop possible!

Today, my favorite quilt block is the Half Log Cabin. 
I've been hooked on this block for a few weeks after seeing a quilt on Pinterest (what a rabbit hole to fall into!).
I didn't follow a pattern for it, but just figured it out to work for me. 



I made this table runner for my best friend for what I thought was her 60th birthday.
Turned out, she was only 59! 
Oh well, she'll have something special to remember her 59th year around the sun! 

She loooooves color, so working from my batik basket was a given!

I started with a 3" square and worked around 2 sides, alternating widths as I went. Keeping it rather wonky, I'd sew on strips til the block was at least 10" square, then I'd trim them all to be the same size. 

Here they are laid out ready for stitching together and auditioning
 for a white background. 



Quilting was fun using a leaf-type design on the batik blocks and 
straight line on the white. 
I'm getting better with my FMQ. Still makes me nervous. 











I added a sweet label to the back corner. 
Don't ask my why I threw grass clippings on there. 
I even made her a birthday card using batik strips!




This is the runner in her new home! 
She is adorned with a lovely vase and garden flowers!




Since then, I've made another smaller table topper using all scraps,
 not just batiks. 



Of course, before I could finish it, I had to make a few more smaller blocks.
This time, I thought I'd keep the outer strip in a solid color. 
Not sure what this will be yet!

My Favorite Quilt Block Blog Hop Schedule
Monday, September 9th

Tuesday, September 10th


Wednesday, September 11th


Thursday, September 12th



Friday, September 13th


Whew! You made it this far!
Would you like a chance at a prize? 

I've got a Clara's Garden quilt pattern and 
Kansas Troubles Wedge Template for one lucky reader!

The winner will be notified Saturday, September 14 by email and will have 48 hours to reply. An alternate will be chosen if no contact is made. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Pixel Play: Project Quilting 10.4


Oh, how I love a challenge! 
I am  not competitive in any way, but give me an idea to be creative and I'm all in!

This week's theme for Project Quilting at Persimon Dreams was Pixel Play. 

I searched the internet for a pixel image to work with and found a perler bead butterfly. 

In my stash for a very long time, I've had a baggie of 2" blocks of purple fabric. 
Perfect!


As I laid out the squares, I realized that this was going to be a big project! 
BIG=lots of time!

Good thing we had 3 school cancellations this past week. 
School cancellation=time to sew!



Lots and lots of chain sewing...along with always counting.

That's 529 two inch blocks total! 


I added a few 9-patch blocks to add more area and interest. 



Then came the quilting. Simple straight-line quilting down the middle of each block. 
Twist clock-wise and stich again!


Next came the binding. 




Both the backing and binding fabric are from my full-time teaching days when I covered my bulletin boards in fabric. Somebody apparently likes purple, huh?
Every piece of this project came from my stash, which makes me (and hubby) happy!

A couple of pups were happy with this quilt too!

I wish they had emails so they could each vote! 

This quilt...perfect for a baby measures 36"x 36".
Made in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.

Please stop by Persimon Dreams this week and vote 
for your favorite 10 Pixel Play projects!

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Red White & Blue: Project Quilting Challenge 10.2


Red, white and blue....in January? 
Well, that's the theme for this week's Project Quilting.

It's been so cold here in Iowa this past week that school was held only 1/2 of ONE day! 
Early dismissals and late arrivals, plus 2 cancellations due to snow and wind chills. 
Now more snow is on the way.
Sigh. 

With no school, I had time to play with my red, white and blue scraps!


Surely, I could come up with some idea to put these to use!

I started with creating a feather.


But I didn't like it.


 

I played with some scrappy triangles.

Meh.




But once I started just sewing strips around a hexagon, I was a happy girl!


I went on to make 2 more square blocks.




I added Insulbrite as the middle layer so I could use them as pot holders.



Even if it is -5 degrees outside as I write this, 
I'm already looking forward to July when I can put these to good use! 

Such scrappy, patriotic fun.

Made in my home in Dubuque, Iowa.