looking ahead to RSC23!

we're still in 2022, specifically RSC22, but already i'm getting excited for RSC23! i'm looking to do some different things this year, as well as carry over one of my projects from RSC22. (the PP schoolhouse blocks with Kona school bus) 

i recently pieced this Rainbow Baby Churn Dash quilt for a (as yet, unknown & unborn) baby from our church family. our sewing group, Scraps to Wraps (S2W for short) gifts each child of our church family with their own quilt on Dedication Sunday. 

i found {most} of these colorful fabrics in the sewing closet at church, and immediately thought of making a colorful churn dash quilt, in aaalllllllllll the rainbow colors. i used Kona snow and lighthouse for the centers. then: it occurred to me that another quilt like this, pieced along with RSC23 could be really fun, too. and since churn dash blocks are one of my favorites, i quickly added this to my List Of Quilts To Piece Next Year. 

and: while I've got 'cha: does anyone have any suggestions for a (quick, fun, easy, favorite) quilt using a charm pack AND a jelly roll? i have a couple of those pairs floating around, and I'd love to use them to their best advantage. any suggestions would be much appreciated!) 

my drawer of 3" squares is still going strong, and not even nearly empty- even after 9 years of RSCing! yes- this will be MY TENTH YEAR of sewing my scraps, one color a month!!! wow! i've seen a few of the RSC blogger friends have done the scrappy hearts block, and made some really pretty quilts. so this year, i'll be making these hearts too. the block is drafted in my EQ program (and of course, you know it's not my original idea- this block, in several variations, is floating around all over the internet... ) and as drafted, would finish at 20" square. 

i'm loving these school house blocks that i started last year.  i'm using Kona school bus yellow as the background, and lots of different, bright and favorite fabrics for the houses themselves. i pieced 27 (?) of these last year, but plan to continue piecing even more this year. i'm thinking i'll make a {long, rectangular} quilt for in our stairwell, with Kona indigo sashing. 

above is another (non-original) block i saw some other RSCers were working on. drafted up in my EQ, it also finishes at 20" square. i'll piece a few of these each month, but not be so very strict about adhering to the called RSC color. i want the flower pot to be colorful, not quite so monochromatic as most of my piecing... 

( i really should try to branch out a little, right?) i already have all the background cut out, and plan on having the brown baskets from *mostly* the same fabrics. and: interesting back story about the brown fabric: i sent some quilts along to the Little Lambs Foundation For Kids, as part of the Hands2Help quilt drive. Mari was in charge of coordinating this year, and i was the lucky recipient of some batting, 2 charm packs, and several yards of  BROWN FABRIC! (which is a color i'm lacking in my stash!) so, obvouisly, i plan to put that brown to good use in these flower baskets, and then i'll have even more quilts to donate...

funny how that works, right? we sew and sew, using our stash and scraps, and then EVEN TEN YEARS LATER, we're still going strong! quilty math is the best math, right?!

 my final {new} block for this RSC23 roundup is Primrose, from Cluck Cluck Sew. we recently had a new quilt shop open up in our area (after several years of NO LQS's) and i made a special stop, looking for Ball blue mason jar colored fabric. i found several very nice fabrics that i'm super happy with, and plan on making several of these blocks each month, featuring all different kinds and colors of flowers. i think i'll keep this quilt for our bed- it will be perfect for summer. this block finishes at 20" X 10", so there will be multiple rows of colorful flowers dancing across my bed! 

and: maybe one more new block for RSC23: sawtooth stars! i forgot how much i love them (they're one of my favorite blocks!) and maybe i'll do a few of them next year, too...

so: what are you working on? what has you excited to sneak away to the sewing room? and be sure to click on over to Angela at SoScrappy and see what everyone else is working on! 

HST: 3/6/9: So. Many. Triangles!

one of my RSC22 projects this year was these HST triangles. i STILL have many 3" squares, despite piecing SO. MANY. TOPS. with numerous iterations of designs based on 3" squares since RSC14. this year i switched it up a bit, and made those squares into triangles. (me so clever...)

the "design", or at least the idea behind the design is based on this tutorial. 

this finished flimsy is a bit different than what i had originally envisioned, including a few twists and turns along the way, i'm happy with how it turned out. 

using my design wall, i started with the palest pink in the upper left hand corner, trying to gradually and seamlessly (haha) transition to black in the lower right hand corner. 

with the addition of a few {rainbow} white spacer blocks in some of the rows, i'm very happy with how this quilt turned out. there are a few triangles/colors left over; perhaps enough for a colorful sofa pillow?

 i'd like it to be at the top of my "to be quilted soon" list, but we'll see how that ends up working out... 

making progress: one stitch, one block, one row, one flimsy at a time...

our life gallops on, one week at at a time (or really, one day at a time, just like everyone else...) and i'm able to spend some time in the sewing room a few nights a week. i appreciate the quiet time, and some time to be creative. i have a few finishes to share this week!

the Shoo Fly {Churn Dash}remains one of my favorite blocks. in fact, i have several quilt tops cut out, and kitted up in this block/pattern. so many variations, and i love this layout especially. (of course, i can't take credit for this clever design. i saw it over at Alycia's awhile ago and it really appealed to me...) 

my Framed 4 Patches danced their way through all the colors of RSC22. (except for brown and black) and i pieced them into a quilt top. 

the Kona colors that frame each monochromatic 4 patch are: black, pepper, ash, snow, charcoal, lighthouse and slate. (or something very similar to those colors... can't remember ATM.) 

if you look VERY CLOSELY, you can see that the first row is in rainbow order. (meaning the colored 4 patches) for the remainder of the quilt, i just made sure that the colors were evenly sprinkled around. this quilt will go into our church sewing group, Scraps to Wraps, and be tied and given as a local donation when a need becomes apparent.  This top seems as if it could be appropriate for a child, or even a teen boy if necessary. 

 one last picture of the Churn Dash quilt. Welly. (short for Beef Wellington) is usually sad when we take Daisy out of the pasture for quilt/miniature donkey photo shoots. he hangs around the fence and bawls. But: he matches the quilt so nicely, doesn't he? he's a curious steer ( i think they all are) and was happy to be included. (i even gave him an apple when we were done!)

COMING SOON: i finished my HST 3/6/9 quilt! i'll get a picture up later today.... 

and of course, as always, i'm linking up to RSC22 rainbow parade over at Angela's blog!