use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

PINK! i think June was pink for RSC? i made about 30+ crumb blocks. (they're trimmed at 6½", finish at 6" and not all of them are pictured.) 

even though i made granddaughter E a starry crumb quilt for her Christmas present, there were still lots of bits of pink in my jar. 

i've been making crumb blocks in the COM for years now, and i've made lots of quilts with them.

if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, you can click here, which is all of my posts about crumb blocks and crumb quilts gathered in one spot... 

i'm borrowing some of the suggested layouts from the ScrapSnappers quilt along.  last week was a good week for my girls A & B to do {homeschooling} art and lay out some quilts with my large stack of crumb blocks.

B especially got really into it! and i'm pretty thrilled too, with how they turned out.

right now their quilts are in the flimsy stage, hanging in the sewing room closet. maybe we'll finish them this winter. 

we actually did 4 quilts with the crumb blocks (forgot to take a picture of the fourth, which was diagonally arranged rainbowy rows.) the above one will be for donation- location/recipient still TBD. 

and believe it or not, after doing 4 quilts, there is still a stack of crumb blocks about 10" high!

don't forget to go see all the other RSC goodies this week. thanks for stopping! and keep scrolling down- i added a few more posts and pictures that you might have missed.

Rosie the Riveter turns 14!

A recently turned 14. (can't even believe that!) i was out working in the high tunnel pruning tomatoes, when she came out to show me her "new" dress and headband. WOW! did she ever (unintentionally and unknowingly) look like Rosie the Riveter! since she didn't know who that was, we took a homeschooling moment to fill her in on her historical gaps... 

anyway, i posted awhile back that A was working on a quilt using a kit i had purchased from Kitchen Table Quilting.  we recently finished it. the quilt turned into a joint effort; i didn't want her to loose interest or get frustrated and discouraged and end up not finishing the quilt.

she's really thrilled with it, and it shows!

i quilted her quilt using straight line quilting, diagonally through each of the large squares with black thread. it's hard to see the backing (maybe double click?)- but it's perfect for this quilt! the colors match perfectly to the top, and the circles on the back are an interesting contrast to the squares on the front. 

A is a supreme (and enthusiastic!) thrift store shopper; her dress came from our local thrift store. i think she paid $3 for it. the colors are perfect, and the vintage vibe is just what she likes. (the peacock colored dress in this post's first picture was also from the thrift store... she really has a knack and an eye for finding interesting outfits) 

and just because it's so rainbow-y, here's a circle (poodle) skirt we made last week. in home ec/homeschooling the last few years, we've been working on basic sewing skills. you might have noticed (or maybe not...) we all wear dresses/skirts 99% of the time. it's a modesty and femininity thing, but as the girls have gotten older, it can also be a challenge to combine those two things with fashion. 

so, we have a "deal". at our house, we've lots (and LOTS!) of fabric, and patterns too. so, i will make (or help them make) any dress/skirt/design that they would like. if they don't want that option, it's fine, but then they have to purchase their own clothing. (still falling within the modesty guidelines that we've established) part of this whole lesson, also, is learning to be content with what we have, and not be swayed by the tides and thoughts of the culture. which admittedly, is a difficult thing, even for some (many?) adults. so it's a learning process, to be sure. 

anyway... that's my two cents for today. thanks for reading!

COUSINS: it's getting a bit crowded in the gene pool...

i've been sewing along with Angela's RSC for 7 (SEVEN!!!) years now, and i've heavily relied on my stash of 3" squares. i'm fairly certain no one will ever accuse me of making quilts that are too time consuming, or intricate. that's ok with me, really. however, i do enjoy being creative and colorful. 

the following 3 quilts have made at least a brief appearance on the blog here already, but today they're here, all together, and ALL COMPLETED!

the above quilt, Rainbow Boxes, was a RSC17 project. i recently finished (DEE-OOO-EN-EEE) this quilt. it's on my bed now.

this Rainbow Columns i finished during the quarantine. i just quilted horizontal straight lines on it; matching the thread to the row. matching as much as possible, that is, considering it was quarantine, and thread was hard to come by if it wasn't stashed. Youngest daughter B seems to have adopted this quilt.

my Rainbow Plus quilt was made during RSC16. it's quilted in baptist fans. a good friend moved away in the fall. i didn't realize how much i would miss H until after she was gone. she came to visit over Memorial Day weekend, and i gifted her with this quilt. she was super thrilled and so appreciative. (and that's always a big deal to a quilter- that our quilts are loved and used!) 

and: a few more shots of B and Daisy.  Daisy really seems to know what's expected of her when the quilts come out!

i backed the Rainbow Rows quilt with this neat-o ruler type fabric i've had in my stash for ages. (and after the quarantine, i bet alot of us won't feel nearly so guilty for having a deep stash!) i also found this black, dotty, colorful fabric in my stash; perfect for the binding.

the above picture was taken a different day, but it was too cute not to share. L and daddy were visiting. L was giving Daisy a treat. Daisy would ever-so-gently take it from L's hand with quivering lips. L was delighted, and would turn around and look at me with a big grin, clapping and saying "yay!" with so much cuteness going on, Daisy got a few more treats than normal that afternoon. 

here's the backing of the Rainbow Boxes quilt: a random Kaffe Fassett print i found. i love the big print and bold colors. 

you can't see it in any of the pictures, i guess, but i bound this quilt in a calico brown. brown seems to nearly always be a good choice for the rainbow quilts. 

as i said, the quilt is on my bed now; and most afternoons our cat, Millie, can be found melted in a puddle on our bed. it's been really hot here. 

and just for funnies: look who came waddling over when were were taking quilt pictures with Daisy the other night. it's Flossie, our duck. she's so funny. and noisy! Flossie is pretty tame, and every afternoon at 4PM she comes to the back door and QUACK QUACK QUACKS until we come out and feed her her dinner of dog food. she'll eat it right out of our hand. 

the horse got out. i will shut the barn door now.

we had a very nice family gathering for July 4. just about the whole fam was there. and: all FIVE grandchildren! that makes any gathering, on any day, extra special! 

i started this crumb flag way back in April of 2018. (didn't actually post about it on the blog; had to look back at my RSC albums on Facebook) 

now that July 4th is over and done for 2020, i thought it would be the *perfect* time to finish this quilt. (but, in my defense, there are lots of patriotic holidays that it could be used/displayed for, right? Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4, Labor Day, Patriot Day, Veteran's Day... you get the idea.) 

and since i just finished a July 4thy quilt, why not start another?!

i recently bought an accuquilt Studio2 cutter. (not regretting that purchase at all, i might add...)

and had a brain storm to use up some hoarded fabric to make a rectangle quilt, much like the two by four quilts that seem to be pretty popular right now. i'm using the above die, after doing some "research" on Katy's blog to see which one she used. 

before inspiration hit with the RWB quilts, i made this quilt for our church sewing group, Scraps to Wraps, from fabric that i found in our sewing closet. lots of our quilts go overseas with MCC, but this one we'll keep for local donation. 

anyway, here's the (8) reds i pulled from my stash that i thought went well together. on a side note, one of the things i've learned from doing RSC for all these years, is that i really like to work with fabrics that are monochromatic. good to know, i guess...

and ages (and ages!) ago, i had purchased this star fabric, and the presidential/patriotic fabric, along with a pattern to make a quilt. the pattern obviously went by the wayside, but now i'm excited to start making this quilt. 

and just becuase my family mostly all dressed up so patriotically and coordinatedly, i'll share some more RWB pictures from our get-together. 

(you can't see the GIANT pile of fireworks stacked up at their feet...)

youngest daughter, B, with middle granddaughter, L.

D (oldest son), M (oldest child, oldest daughter) A (middle daughter, fifth child) and A. (M's daughter, youngest granddaughter) 

i guess i should also say: thanks, Old Navy! haha!

my twins, D & N. they'll be 30 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in September. they both have 1 daughter. it's so cute to see them with the other's little girl; they refer to each other as the counterfeit daddy.

on a side note... it really warms my heart and is so special to me that the grown children spend time with each other, separate from me. i feel it's important that they build adult relationships with each other. and A & B are always so happy to get together with their big brothers and the nieces and nephews. 

and A again, with L.

click on over to Angie's and see all the other colorful projects!

oh, almost forgot! here's another flag quilt that i made ages ago, and almost forgot about!

tap...tap...tap... anybody there anymore?

I've lots to show and share, but all platforms of social media seem not to be my friend right now...

i tried three times (3X!) to upload RSC20 pictures to Facebook so i can grab them for the blog, but something-or-other is not co-operating. (and i don't know how to get the pictures off my phone and directly onto the blog...)

my Instagram account was hacked (and deleted!!!) this week. ( i was jlcap69. I've not set up a new account, yet, so there's nothing to follow or see over there from me) loosing my Instagram (pictures and hashtags that are mine, as well as the ones i follow) is definitely a first world problem, but still. really makes you wonder what the world is coming to...

but i will say, at least blogger hasn't gone wonky for me.

yet.

crossing fingers. 

i'll be back soon, i hope, with pictures.