i'm actually caught up! how amazing is that?

despite all that's going on around here, I'm keeping up with Bonnie's Grand Illusion Mystery quilt. hopefully this week we'll use more of the greens.

here's a few blocks up on my design wall- I'm totally baffled as to how these will go together! the different sizes of the green and neutrals has thrown me off. it's obviously too early to guess...

 

linking up with all the other quilts over at Bonnie's blog...

all sewn up!

my 7 (seven!) RSC14 quilts are finally done. funny thing, though- I still have LOTS and LOTS of crumb blocks left! how did that happen? i'll be making a couple more quilts to get them used up- and then i'll be ready to start fresh for RSC15.

 

 

Rainbow Rows (42" X 54") I just used the crumb blocks, stacked according to color and value. Kona White in between the rows.

 

 

2 Stars ((42" X 51½") I used the crumb blocks again, making HSTs with the Kona White. the second star was an afterthought- since I still had SO MANY crumb blocks left over. I wanted to use the rainbow colors again, but in much, much duller tones.

 

 

(Modified) Bottled Rainbows (45 X 52") I used Rachel's bottled rainbow color chart. lovelovelove this one. with some of my leftover crumb blocks, I plan on making a small table topper. (for me. to keep)
 

Baby Soduku. (39 X 51") my own original design. I did a couple others with 9 colors, all the same, and I liked those much better. this is a bit muddled. but still fun, since I chose some of my favorite fabrics from my 3" suitcase.

 

Neutral Squares. (48"sq.) the inspiration was taken from Cheryl and AmandaJeans's book Sunday Morning Quilts.  that book was definitely the inspiration for me to start sorting and using my scraps. I was lucky to stumble upon RSC14- that gave me a direction and more inspiration for those scraps. and now the rest is history!

 

 

Color Wheel (42"sq.) made from a pattern purchased from Rachel. I plan to hang this finished quilt in the sewing room. (I made it a bit bigger than the pattern, and that 1" sure made a difference! i'll trim it down, and bind it in a dark color- I know that will make it look better) despite the curved seams (the wheel is pieced, not appliqued) this quilt was very easy to make.

 

 

 

Stacked Nines (45 X 53") despite the 9 patches being a late addition to my RSC14 piecing, and a frantic scramble to catch up with all the colors (didn't start these until September!) this is my favorite quilt. I'm tempted to keep it!

 

i have a special give-away planned with all these quilts (to my children!) the next time we're all together. with one son in the Navy and about to be deployed, another son (and his wife) stationed across the country, I don't even know when that will be! but that should give me plenty of time to get them all finished. i do plan on quilting them myself- i bought some Kona White and a roll of Warm and Natural. (all 50% off at  Joann's!)

 

i can't wait for RSC15 to start- i already have some ideas of what I'd like to do. i still have SO MANY scraps! the pile never seems to get any smaller!

 

lots more quilts and inspiration over at angela's blog: so scrappy. 

slow and steady...

Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, and it was a busy week for us. a special sewing day at church, the little girls had their piano recital last night, the church cookie sale is this morning and tomorrow night is the church Christmas Program. Phew! not much time for sewing this week...

 



I did piece my Neutrals quilt for RSC14. the inspiration comes from Cheryl and Amanda's book Sunday Morning Quilts. lovelovelove that book!

the 7th (planned) RSC14 quilt is up on the design wall- almost done, but no time to sew it together this week. there are still LOTS of rainbow crumb blocks left over- I guess i'll be making a few more quilts than I originally planned!

Grand Illusion Mystery, clue #2

I'm enjoying that the mystery this year is easier (and bigger!) than last year. phew!

 

clue #1- all done, half pressed.

 

clue #2- half done, all pressed.

 

I'm good with that for this week.

exciting to see RSC14 coming together!

 

busy week here- 3 more RSC quilts done! I'm so tickled with how they're turning out- and happy to share them with you. the first one is a modified Bottled Rainbows- (45" X 52")  using my crumb blocks. (and Kona white. I'm such a Kona junkie! (or is it a Kona snob?)

next is my Color Wheel (42" sq.)- lovelovelove this one, too! the pattern is from Rachael at Stitched in Color. I bought the pattern from her a few months back, and finally got it together. each wedge of the wheel is 2 of my crumb blocks sewn together, and then trimmed using the pattern piece. I'm not sure how i'll quilt this one yet, but when I'm done, i'll probably trim it down an inch or so (seems just a tiny bit too big) and it also needs a dark binding. I plan to hang this one in my sewing room.

 

the last finish for this week is the Twinkling Stars. (42" X 52½") again I used my crumb blocks, pairing them with a Kona white square, and making a HST. when the first star was pieced, I thought it would be interesting to do another star, but this time using much duller colors.

 

the only "problem" with this quilt is I'm not sure how I'll quilt it. (I'm trying to avoid getting this series of quilts custom quilted.) kind of hard on the budget! I'm thinking maybe some double straight lines on each diagonal of the star point, but not sure how i'll do the lower left hand corner...

thanks for stopping by. it's great to see all the quilts that are getting done. click over to so scrappy to see some more rainbow goodness!

it's a grand adventure ~ Grand Illusion!

I'm making good progress on clue #1 of the Grand Illusion Mystery. happy with the fabric choices and combinations so far....

 

          

 

see all the other GI quilts over at Bonnie's blog. 

sneak preview of some RSC goodness...

I pulled out all my (6½") crumb blocks- I needed to gather/audition 16 colors for the Color Wheel quilt that I want to make for in the sewing room.

I'm excited at how it's turning out so far!

now it's on to RSC14 quilt #4- these crumb blocks will be sashed with the Kona white. the "map" for the layout is from Rachel's blog and more specifically, the Bottled Rainbows quilt along.

 

I'm not sure that this can "technically" be included in my series of RSC14 quilts, but they are the crumb blocks that I made this year. I plan on making a quilt loosely based on Cheryl and Amanda's quilt in Sunday Morning Quilts. (and actually, it's really fitting that I make one of their quilts, since it was after buying this book that I was inspired and motivated to organize all my scraps and crumbs, and start using them instead of hoarding them!)

 

SO: that's 5 RSC14 quilts so far. I plan on making 7 of these quilts (all finishing somewhere around the 40" X 50" size, give or take...) I'd like to give one of the RSC14 quilts to each of my children (saving the Color Wheel quilt for myself). the next time all 6 are together and home (4 are grown, 2 are married, and 2 live on the west coast) I'll think of some fun way to distribute the quilts to each one of them. even though it will be quite awhile until they're all together again, i guess i should get busy!

 

PS: if any of my children just happen to read this post, and just happen to mention which quilt they like the most, it might just happen that you'll get the quilt you like the best...  just sayin'



bringing it all together...

this week I was able to piece TWO quilt tops from the blocks I've been working on for RSC14. even though the rainbow 9 patches were a last minute addition (I didn't start them until September) I did work through all the colors using my suitcase of 3" squares. I just pieced each 9 patch using colors that were very similar in value, with a Kona white center. considering that I had NO IDEA or plans on what I would do with them when I was done, I am beyond thrilled at how it turned out!!! (this quilt finished at 43"X53")

 

when I laid the blocks out on the design wall, I realized that I was just a few blocks short. so I pieced the 5 white blocks with the colored center, and put them at the dividing line of lighter/darker blocks. I lovelovelove how the quilt is all pastel on the top, and darker and vivid on the bottom. I got the inspiration from a couple quilts on my RSC pinterest board 

 

this quilt is another one of my Sudoku quilts. I pulled 9 3" blocks of red, pink, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple and brown. I laid the blocks out according to a Sudoku solution, so there are no two alike colors in any row or column. with a few extra squares as a top and border, it's complete. (the flimsy measures 39"X51")

 

I have to say, though, that I don't like this quilt as much as the first. even though the baby soduku quilts turned out so cute, they were a more controlled color palette, using only 3 colors of different values. note to self: using 9 different colors, of (almost) 9 different fabrics each, leads to a muddled looking quilt. I'm especially disappointed since I had picked out some of my favorite fabrics to use in this quilt.

 

I have 5 (!) more RSC14 quilts planned. hop on over to see a sneak preview, and why I'm making so many! click on over to so scrappy to see some more of the RSC quilts- they're all beautiful!

finishing up the odds and ends...

it was a productive week for me for RSC14. I finished working through my little suitcase of 3" squares, and made the green, yellow, red and teal 9 patches (with Kona white centers. )

(I especially like the teal 9 patches...)

I was able to make only 3 of the 16 patches; although I have LOTS and LOTS of the 3" squares, I don't have enough of a variety to make more of the 16 patches. I tried and tried to upload a picture of the before and after of my suitcase, but blogger wouldn't let me. go figure...

so, I've already planned my projects for RSC15 (pretty please, there really IS a RSC15, right?!) and maybe next year I'll also come back to my D4P. getting excited to start sewing these squares into quilts!

(sorry for the wonky post- blogger is being difficult this morning!!!) 

sewing the blues...

the RSC color pulled for this month was light blue.

I pieced my blue crumb blocks way back in January,   using all the shades of blue. I also pieced a slew of teal/aqua blocks in March, so there wasn't really a lot in my blue or teal crumb jars.  I decided that I should really tackle that suitcase full of 3" squares.

 

back in September, I realized that I was not really making a dent in my stash, so I added a 9patch with a Kona white center to my monthly RSC piecing, as well as a 16 patch, both using the 3" squares. (already cut and in the suitcase.)

 

this week I worked through red, purple and all the blues. still yet to do: yellow, teal and green.

 

 

unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk myself into doing the D4P. so maybe for RSC15? I do have a plan of how I'd like to use all these crumb blocks, 16 patches and the 9 patches. more on that another day...

 

thanks for stopping by! and be sure to click on over to so scrappy to see all the other wonderful projects going on...

brown overload!

it's the last week for browns/blacks/greys. I for one, am glad! not too many blacks and greys in the scrap jars, I did end up with more grey crumb blocks than I thought I would.

last week I concentrated on making all my brown crumb blocks. until I started sorting through the scraps in the brown jar, I didn't realize that #1- I had ALOT of brown! and #2- many of the brown pieces were pretty big. so first, I cut all the large scraps into 3" squares.

 

I made the brown 9 patches, with the Kona white center, and also 2 more brown 16 patches. a few black crumb blocks were made, too.

 

so many brown 3" blocks- 10 more brown D4P. ack! (2 of the blocks below are black) I worked on them bit by bit, and I will say I'm glad they're done!

I have a few ideas of how I'd like to put all my blocks together in December- no point in hoarding them all, right? excited to see what color will be for next month!

linking up with angela at so scrappy. go see what everyone else is making!

getting excited for another mystery!

 

it's that time of year again- time to gear up, rummage around in our stash, and get excited for Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery quilt! personally, I L.O.V.E. mystery quilts- it's a chance (and a challenge) to make a quilt that is different than what I normally do, and use some fabrics from my stash. usually, when I hop on for another mystery quilt, I add the additional challenge to myself to use only (mostly) fabrics from my stash.

 

last year's BH mystery, Celtic Solstice, I pieced ENTIRELY from my stash. not sure if I should be proud, or cringing in embarrassed shame...

 

Judy's mystery last year was Mystery Medallion- again, pieced mostly from stash. that completed quilt was gifted to my son Nathaniel, and his wife Priscilla as a wedding gift in May.

 

and finally, this year it's Tell It To The Stars. just a couple more months and borders on that one, and we're done!

 

the yellow I chose for Grand Illusion is "tape measure yellow". I thought that would be fun. (I'll have to confess that I did buy that yellow this week- but it was 50% off... so that's ok, right?) I've decided to use Kona black for my black. I may change my mind and end up going scrappy, but for now Kona is the plan.

 

 

 

 when I first saw the colors for Grand Illusion, I thought I wouldn't have the colors I needed. silly me! I love.love.love. the pinks and aqua- it's such a happy little pile!

 

the greens are only so-so, but they're fine, really... my stash seems a bit light on the grass green, but I'll just go with what I've got. the little pile of whites are 2" strips- mis-cuts or leftovers from Celtic Solstice- so i'll want to use them up first if at all possible. the rest of the whites i'll pull and use from my stash as they're needed.

 

42 days and counting...

plodding right along....

I worked on my black, brown and grey S4P most of the week, and lo. it nigh unto killed me! normally I don't enjoy working on small and twiddly things, and these S4P were approaching either small, twiddly, or worse: both! I started with 3" blocks, which isn't terribly small, I guess, but after almost 30 blocks, it sure felt like it! after piecing the 4 patch together, I make a cut 1" on the center seams. that's a ¾" finished 4 patch in the middle- small for me!

 but, I will say, that having them done is a good feeling! I started on my crumb blocks last night, and found some a lot more pieces of brown in the scrap jar, so I guess there are a few more brown S4P in my future this week!

(take a minute to check out my other posts this morning: my fabric pull for Bonnie's new mystery, Grand Illusion, and my soduku baby quilts. )



linking up with Angela at soscrappy.

why re-invent the wheel?

after receiving an invitation to a baby shower for early November, I figured I better get busy on the baby quilt I was planning to gift.

 

my stash of 3" squares is pretty impressive, so I knew I wanted to use those. (even with these 3 quilts, and RSC14, the suitcase is still overflowing!) as far as I know, this particular quilt is an original that I've designed. I'm know I was inspired with other quilts that I've seen, but I don't' remember seeing this particular design before.

 

the pink/yellow/purple quilt is for our church's sewing group. we like to give a quilt to each new baby that is dedicated. now we'll have 4 quilts in reserve for the mamma's to choose from - 2 for a boy and 2 for a girl.

 

the second quilt is for a dear friend's daughter- M is expecting her first baby in early December. the nursery is teal/grey/white. I threw in some yellow just for fun. I love how it turned out- but wish I had remembered to put the side pieces on the center square before adding the top and bottom borders. oh well.

 

the last quilt is for a dear friends daughter (same dear friend, different daughter.) H had her second baby girl in july (?). I did ask for some input on the colors- H wanted purple/sage colors. the fabric that I used for this quilt is hand dyed fabric from Vicki - I won it last month (I think it was last month!) while participating in Judy's Tell It To The Stars  mystery quilt. the background is Kona thistle. (the light purple didn't show up too well in this picture)

 

the quilts finish about 40" X 50" (I think!). what made centers particularly easy, I think, was that I used the solution to a Sudoku puzzle to lay out the centers! I chose 9 fabrics, 9 of each, and just followed the answer key to lay out the center patchwork. easy-peasy!

RSC: brown and black (and busy!)

 

borrowing the blog title from Angela- it's been busy here, too! i thought this week would be a bit slower- but HA!

 



 

my baby turned 7 this week. SEVEN! and with my oldest daughter being 25, that can sure make a mamma feel old in a hurry! this week was busy with a dentist appointment, piano lessons, birthday preparations and celebrations, 64 quarts of applesauce (done with lots of help, though!), harvesting 40+ bushels of potatoes and closing down the gardens and fields, so there was not a lot of time (and energy!) for sewing.

 

but I did get these 7 blocks done. I'm ready to move on to the brown and black split 4 patches, and then the crumb blocks for brown, black and grey.

 

totally loving the RSC! and: is anyone else squealing with excitement about Bonnie Hunters's 2014 mystery, Grand Illusion? or is it just me? I can't wait to do my fabric pull for that quilt- the colors look so exciting and happy.

scrappy saturday: october is brown, grey and black!

I was excited to see what color Angela would pick for October... wanting to look in my little suitcase to see what colors I could play with this month... (also, in the background you can see one of those little sewing caddies just like the one that Jo received as a gift. mine is from a dear friend that passed away a few years ago.)

 

it's brown, grey and black. sorting through all the squares, I realized that I have ALOT of brown... less black, and less grey. (even after pulling the 3 colors for this month, and the orange from last month, there are still many, many blocks in here. I guess I'll be busy for quite awhile!) 

 



after a busy, busy week, I was able to spend a few hours in the sewing room last night, and pulled out all the squares from the little suitcase. (the suitcase was my mother's, and had lived in the attic for ages and ages-years, really! last spring I pulled it out and thought that it would work really well for some cute storage in the sewing room.)

 

last week sometime, I was also able to work through the pile of fabrics that were waiting to be cut into 3" squares... the pile was so big, it took 2 nights to do it! in looking at these fabrics, I see some that have been around for 20 years or so! in the above block, the geometric print second from the right on the bottom row was from a quilt that I made my boys when they were 5. last week they turned 24 ~ it's great that this fabric is finally finding a home! 

these "tiny" split 4 patches are not my favorite block to make, but they do look cute when they're done! I have about 4 more to make, then i'll start on the black and brown. thanks for looking ~ hope to see you again next week!