Plans, Hopes, Dreams: RSC19

another year has come and gone- many scraps have been sewn into blocks AND quilts, and still: they're not all gone!

SO: making a list (mostly for my own reference) of what i'll be working on for RSC19. as always, i'll be working with my 3" squares again. (i'm planning on soon doing a post just of the quilts that I've made with my 3" squares. it's alot- and the drawer is not even half empty!) 

in no particular order: first up, i'll be making 9 patch blocks in the COM. half will be with a light center running through, the other half with a dark center. inspired by Jolenes's quilt, here.

last year i took a break from making crumb blocks. the scraps have multiplied to make baby scraps, and now the jars are overflowing. i'll get back to these this year. surprisingly, making crumb blocks is very relaxing and soothing! i love to make them... 

i pieced (and completed!) 4 small crumb quilts this summer. i made them for my grandchildren, and tiny napping visitors. 

i'll also make "rail fence" blocks in the COM, and my neutral/light squares. i think these will be relatively easy to assemble into a cohesive quilt at the end of the year. 

2 other projects i plan on working on in conjunction with RSC19: Angela's Tiny Tuesday Sampler. I'm still pondering the details of this for myself, but definitely planning on participating! 

and finally: a personal goal/challenge to myself! i'd like to make a donation quilt in each COM. right now i'm planning on isosceles triangles, with a neutral. (and maybe by the end of the year i'll actually be able to spell isosceles without the help of spell check!) 

so- here's to another year of sewing along with all my quilty friends- and as always: special thanks to ANGELA! 

running to catch up!

I've been busy behind the scenes working on finishing up some of my RSC18 quilts. i actually have some finishes to share! so glad to join in this last linky of the year. (and i'm looking forward to/planning blocks for RSC19!) 

i {practically just this minute} finished my Kona indigo 9 patch. each month in RSC18 i made a slew of blocks from my Kona stash in the color of the month (COM) and indigo. i just randomly made blocks- some with 5 indigo/4 COM and some with 5 COM/4 indigo. i didn't overthink the layout- just went for a general fade, and i'm really thrilled with the result!

one thing that i did differently with this quilt is: i used no batting! i just sandwiched and pinned the top with a cotton backing, and quilted in a cross hatch design on the indigo squares.

(couldn't resist an instagram worthy glamour shot!)

i'm "extra proud" of myself- this is a RSC18 quilt that was started, quilted, bound, washed and is being used right now- and it's still 2018! that's probably a personal record for me!

everything is dreary and mud around here- no beautiful outdoor shots this week... this rainbow quilt finished at 60" X 75"- a perfect quilt for napping!

i love the hand {feel} of this quilt with no batting- it's really more like a sheet than a quilt. i think it will be perfect for summer time naps- when you just want a bit of covering...

another bonus: this quick and delightful finish has spurred me on to also finish my kona/indigo 16 patch quilt. (pretty much the same as this kona/indigo 9 patch quilt, but not...) at last i have a layout finalized in my mind, and actually plan on working on that this afternoon! (i also plan to finish it the same way- no batting, just cotton backing, and a crosshatch quilting through the indigo squares)

and my final finish to share: Growing Up Odd! after a generous infusion of orange scraps (scroll down a couple posts to read about that...) i buckled down and got this top all sewn together- it's just 9 blocks, but alot of sashing... my girls helped me lay it out, and i'm so happy with how it turned out. (and here's where i wish i had more beds in my house!)  the squares that i used were 3", finishing at 2½", so it's quite large- 97½" X 102½"! 

you can sort of see where i added a row of scrappy squares, as well as another row of sashing on the top and bottom of the quilt, making it a rectangle rather than a square. i counted through my notes last night, and there are 1000++ different, unique fabrics in this top! (really!) this quilt is for sale, but if it has to stay here and live at my house, that's just fine with me! there are so many fabric bits and memories of the last 30+ years in this quilt!

( i also updated my RSC18 tab at the top. will be adding to my RSC19 tab in the next couple days....) 

thanks for stopping! and here's to a healthy, happy and productive 2019 of RSCing- along, together! 

hey you guys! wait for me...

i've participated in Judy's UFO challenge for quite a few years now. (5?) i'd like to sew along for 2019. (but how can you STILL have UFOs I can hear some of you saying...)

just saving my spot in the link up until i get my act together to gather and number 12 UFOs...

so here they are, in no particular order, and without a lot of extra time taken for taking beautiful pictures... (can you tell?!)

#1- it's my Kona Love Row-by-Row Sampler from RSC16. i lurve this quilt- and want to get it quilted and in use!

Add caption

#2- my bins of strips. (this is a holdover from last year) i have a lot of 2½" strips that have *magically* appeared in my sewing room. i have a plan for these, and i'm hoping that my quilty friends at our church sewing group will help me turn these into quilts that can be used and loved!

more on that later!

#3- ???

#4- neither of these is a recent picture, but i would like to get this quilt DEE OH ENN EEE. (d.o.n.e.) it's pieced into a top, and "just" needs borders and quilting.

#11- this is obviously a very unloved UFO.  i started this quilt with my quilt guild about 1997, so it's definitely time to get it done. who knows: maybe 2019 is the year!

this star quilt was a BOM and has stars in 12" and 6". i still have fabric to finish the top in with the pile, and i like the idea of a setting as seen here.

#5- my Rainbow Squares, pieced during RSC17. it was a UFO in last years list, and i have firm intentions of completing it this year! the backing is pieced, and i know how i want to quilt it.

unfortunately, i don't really enjoy the quilting aspect of quilting (i like the design/piecing the most!) but with the budget being what it is (or is not!), i really need to knuckle down and finish some of the tops in the sewing room closet myself. (put on my big girl panties and just get to it!)

#6- this isn't really a UFO, more a WIP. this picture is from last year, but i did make some progress on Crazy Mom's June quilt. i'm piecing my rectangles in neutrals, and have 53 made. i plan on using blue and yellow, too, in the quilt. i'll add a current picture later.

#7- not my work, not really a UFO. but this is an important quilt, and i need to help/encourage my youngest daughter to get it done. B pieced this carpenter star, and our Christmas gift to her is to get it quilted. the top is together; just the borders need done, and the backing pieced.

#8- again, not a UFO, more a WIP. i'm making a scrappy patchwork quilt with Kona stratosphere and a favorite selection from my 3" squares. just a simple quilt, but i have some ideas of other quilty accessories i'd like to make for our bedroom to go along with it...

#9- locate and complete the Wonky 1930's Sampler quilt. i started this quilt when B was a baby (see #7) it has matching fabrics from her baby quilt; i thought it would be nice to have a matching quilt for our bed. i think this UFO has made several appearances in the line-up through the years... 

#10- Coffee Time: a pile of 4 patches made with Bistro from Moda. i started this last year, and then changed my mind on the completion timeline and set it aside. 

#12- ???

as i've said- this is about my 4th or 5th year participating in Judy's UFO challenge. is it possible i only have 10 UFOs? maybe- not sure... need to dig deeper in the sewing room, but this is enough to get me started for now! 

ORANGE you THANKFUL for friends?

i wrote about my dilemma with my Growing Up Odd quilt a couple weeks ago. The blocks were all pieced, with the exception of one 49 patch. I asked for suggestions, as to what color block to piece, AND: 

a never-before-met-quilty-friend, Dorthy, sent me a bag of orange scraps (more like orange hunks and small pieces, really!)

there were 50+ (!!!) pieces of orange in the surprise package i received the other day... enough to make the remaining 7X7 block for my Growing Up Odd quilt. 

the infusion of fun, new and colorful fabrics has spurred me on to finish this top! i dug out some neutral from my drawer, did some simple math (since my squares are cut at 3"; different than the size in the tutorial) and got to sewing. hopefully i'll have a finished flimsy to show next week! 

while my cat (Millie) naps in the sewing room, i've been busy making forward progress on this fun quilt. she's laying in the box of *another quilt that i've started*: the blue is kona cotton stratosphere, with a patchwork design with 1 of all the different 3" squares in my drawer. i think it's going to be obnoxiously big (the quilt, not Millie!) as there are far more squares in that drawer than i imagined!

and just to keep things interesting- i'm along for the ride on Bonnie's mystery quilt this year- Good Fortune. i've done all the shopping from my stash (yay, me!) and have substituted the orange for cheddar yellow. i'm thrilled with my colors- especially love those blues! 

i've pieced all of clue #1- just need to do the spinning of the middle seam and then the pressing. this is my fourth Bonnie mystery. i love the colors, so i'm hoping i love the quilt, too!

( i was a bit disappointed in the MQ from 2014) but after all, it's just fabric, right? i know the completed quilt will be loved by someone, no matter what!

linking up to Angela at soscrappy and Bonnie at Quiltville. thanks for stopping! 

how odd is that- TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY!

  I've been working on my Growing Up Odd quilt right along, and was making pretty good progress until i hit the wall...

above is a "cheater picture" from my instagram layout... i like the controlled riot of colors. 

my squares are 3", and the quilt will have 9 blocks, making for a pretty large quilt....

i was thinking of doing the sashing for in each of the blocks, and between the blocks in white/cream. 

that may change, though...

i do tend to get hung up (more than just a little bit, i'll admit!) on keeping my blocks monochromatic within themselves. 

does that last sentence even make any sense?!

some colors i have LOTS AND LOTS of... (like blue, red and whites/creams)

and then there are colors within my stash that are pretty poorly represented.

orange and brown come to mind...

so: maybe you can help me? (pretty please?) i need one more 49 patch to finish out this RSC18 quilt, and i welcome suggestions! i do not have enough orange or chocolate brown to do the last big block, which would maybe seem to be the logical conclusion. a green block was suggested by a friend on facebook. 

what say you, quilty friends? and be sure to click over and visit all the other RSC18 projects at Angie's blog- it's the end of the year, and the fantastic finishes are really starting to roll in! 

grab a cup of coffee, and settle in...

it's been awhile- and there's lots to catch up on! get your coffee, and settle in- we might be a while! 

the biggest news: i'm a grandma again! sweet little LL (named after me! imagine that...) joined our family a few weeks ago. she's the sweetest little thing ever, and evens up the score: grandsons- 2. granddaughters: 2. 

i don't think life was any more particularly busy than normal, but I've not had as much time in the sewing room. (not complaining, just explaining, as my MIL would say...)

my red SquaredAwayBOM blocks have been done for awhile (on time, even!) but i just realized that i had forgotten to post or blog about them.. 

you might recognize my black blocks as the GREEN October blocks. my March SABOM blocks were a mix of light and dark greens, so i decided to do these blocks black instead of green, rounding out the colors a bit in my quilt. 

(you can see my green blocks here. i guess i never blogged about them alone; they just got clumped in with some other blocks...)

i was a good little quilter, and followed the rules for September's blocks. (never mind that they just got finished this Saturday morning in November!) ha. 

i didn't think i really liked these blocks, but neither did i have the energy to come up with an alternate design for dark blue. 

however- after piecing them, they've grown on me, and i do like them now. 

this gives me 29 SquaredAway blocks to play with. i did enjoy piecing them, and using some more of my 3" squares (which do finally seem to be dwindling). i actually don't have any specific plans for these blocks, but i am considering sending them to a friend who had wanted to do the SA quilt, but for health reasons wasn't able to keep up. seems like a win/win- i had the fun of participating, and using up some of my fabric, and she'll have the fun of designing and finishing a quilt. i'll let you know how that works out... 

linking up to SoScrappy- and come back again soon, as i plan on catching up with some of my other RSC18 projects- like my BoHo 9 patch, and the Growing Up Odd quilt, too!

just under the wire...

WHAT?! it's still August while I'm posting this... haha! it was very busy at the beginning of the month, followed by a slow remainder of the month after loosing all our fall crops to some localized flash flooding...

 

but: we're all fine- house, children, belongings... and there's always next year (said almost every farmer ever..)

so: oranges and browns. pretty sparse in my stash- so it was fortuitous that both those colors were together, giving me a bit more to work with...

blogger grabbed the pictures all mixed up, so bear with me...

3 of the Squared Away BOM- you can tell I really dug deep to finish out these blocks..

and 12 eclectic and boho 9 patches. just a couple more months and colors to go...

fourteen 9 patches with kona indigo- don't know why I only got pictures of 8... I couldn't believe how many kona oranges I had- I think there were 8! not sure how that happened...

 

I've been busy with baby quilts (grandchild #4, a girl, due in a few weeks!) and after next week's baby shower, i'll share that quilt here) think: kona cotton solids and the 3" squares. I never seem to get tired of those...

click on over to soscrappy to see what everyone else is working on- and for the new color, too!