gearing up for more colorful fun!!!

how is this even possible?! i've been RSCing with all you guys and our colorful scraps for 13 years now!!!

nearly unfathomable! and the scraps: they keep coming and growing!

CHEERS: here's to another colorful year, filled with colorful quilts....

  

RSC26: plans, purposes and piecing...

since Betsy and i are leaving for India on January 1, (we're going to an orphanage in Kalinga to teach English, among other things...) i've gotten a head start on RSC26. in between ALL THE THINGS with traveling internationally, getting ready for family visits AND Christmas, i've found some time in the sewing room to methodically piece with my colorful 3" squares, and enjoy some quiet, contemplative, relaxing evenings... 

i've never made a bear paw quilt (!!!), and thought i'd mix it up a bit this year and throw in some triangles with my squares. 

i also made what i hope was an educated guess, and started with green. i went through all my little boxes of squares (i have them all divided into colors) and picked out 2 of each individual green. instead of trying to find 4 greens that "read" the same, i chose instead this year to make 4 patches, of a pleasing and contrasting monochromatic color way. 

it's of course, much easier, less stressful and more relaxing to do this. and i did a few of the 4 patches into the bear paws, to see how i'd like them. after doing a dozen (!) i decided that to have the lighter patch in the corner next to the claws looked better; i'll do the remainder of the blocks this way. 

above are the plates with the yellow, pink and purple 4 patches picked out and matched up. i've already cut out all the black claws, and the scrappy low volumes to pair into the triangles. i'll work on that as i'm able, and then of course when i get home in mid-February. 

as i was going through all my boxes of squares to find the twosies for the 4 patches, i quickly realized that i wasn't really decreasing the amount of cut squares in any significant way... (i'm clever like that!) 

so back to the boxes i went, and chose any and all squares that had 12 or 13 of a print. as i am able, or the mood strikes, i'll make these 25 patch blocks. 

there are quite a few blocks in the enamel bowl; i'd guess to make at least 25-30 blocks. i've not paired them up yet, so that's just a guess... 

another interesting fact: i've never made one of these- meaning a 25 patch. i've always focused on either a 4, 9 or 16 patch sized block. maybe this will help work through all these 3" blocks that i have!

click on over to Angela's blog to see what everyone else is up to... and thanks for stopping by! 

*taps on screen* is anyone there?

it's a parade of 3" squares! i have an accuquilt studio cutter, and a selection of *favorite* dies, and i'm not afraid to use them... haha! i've been sewing quietly and sporadically in the background this year. i enjoy visiting so scrappy every saturday to see what everyone is up to... and obviously, i gather much inspiration from what you guys have been up to!

the idea for this quilt was sparked from somewhere or another, but i can't remember now... i had hoped to to the alternate blocks as hourglasses, but i didn't have enough of scrappy greys, so i did HSTs instead. (i purchased the greys from Wanda) 

this quilt layout also seems to be pretty popular. (as well as pretty beautiful!) i first saw this layout over at Jolene's. i love her style! also: i love this quilt! i wish i had made it bigger... but, i still have MANY 9 patch blocks leftover, as well as MANY, MANY 3" squares... i think this would make a nice baby quilt. 

this rainbow bars quilt i started last year. there are no repeated fabrics within the columns. many of the fabrics are special. this is a completed quilt (imagine that! it's not a flimsy. the cat and i took a nap under this quilt just yesterday...) 

alhough i didin't get any closeups of the quilting, each row is quilted about ¼" on either side of the seam. the white is just with white thread, but each rainbow row has its own color: red, pink, orange, yellow, green, aqua, light blue, dark blue, purple, brown, black, tan and grey. 

 that was definitely a hassle to quilt it so specifically, but i persevered, and in the end, i'm very glad i did! my daughter, B (she's 18 now!!!) are going to an orphanage in India for 6 weeks in the New Year to teach English, and i plan on taking this quilt with me! 

thanks for stopping by! thanks for reading this far! thanks for the comradery ad inspiration through all the years~ i started RSCing in 2014! i have some ideas, plans and lists for RSC 2026, and i look forward to a new year, with new fabrics, new ideas and new quilts with old friends! 

slow but steady wins the race...

RSC23: the inspiration of this flower basket quilt hit; sorry it's been so long ago that i don't even remember where i was inspired to create this quilt from! 

i pieced 9 different blocks. each flower was a different color, but each basket was the same brown fabric. each of the leaves, and the cornerstones in the finished setting was a different green. (i had way more greens than i thought i did!) 

 

i used a batik for the background. (and *almost* had enough before needing to switch out to something very, very similar...) sigh... 

very often i do a mock-up design and layout in my EQ5 (!!!) program. that makes things much easier to work on in bits and starts. it also allows me to remember what i'm working on, and my original idea of where i was headed... i often have ALOT of projects/WIPs going at once, so i like to have the reminder tucked in with what i'm working on... 

blogger is being super dumb, and won't let me separate the two pictures... but, above is the finished quilt. it's being auctioned off at the PA Relief Sale next weekend in Harrisburg. i donated the top, and it was hand quilted by some of the MCC volunteers. (click on over to see the details and some up close beauty shots...) 

my youngest daughter, B and i will head down to say a fond farewell to this quilt, as well as take in all the sights and sounds this sale has to offer. 

thanks for stopping by. i've been so sporadic with the blogging, but still sewing along for RSC25. go see what everyone esle is doing, too, over at Angie's blog! 

2025: 12 years of rainbow scraps; and still not touching bottom!

 

for the love of quilting...

getting ready to post again! after a 6 month hiatus (longer, really...) i have some pictures and RSC quilts to share. i'll be back soon to fill in all the behind-the-scenes details!

this summer i was able to zip down to Baltimore to visit family, and i was thrilled to take down T's {finally completed!} I Spy quilt. 

he really liked it, and we go right to work playing I Spy with sister E, Aunt A & Mommy. 

a quick photo shoot up in his room. (and you can see a quilt hanging on the wall- i made it for T's daddy, Nathaniel WAY WAY back- circ. 1990s, i'm sure... ) 

one of my RSC23 projects was the scrappy hearts. on a Saturday link up i saw that Diann was making them too.  when i saw how she was putting her top together, i was inspired to make alternating blocks in Irish Chain fashion. (click on the picture to enlarge) i used black as my chain, completing the pattern into the edges. i'm very pleased with how this quilt turned out. although it's not quilted and will be in the flimsy stage for a bit, it's been claimed by my youngest daughter, B. 

the pixelated heart quilt has been a *slight obsession* with me, you might be able to say... this one was a kit i purchased on a whim. i supplemented the LV background squares with my extensive I Spy stash. 

above are the final 2 I Spy quilts for the last 2 granddaughters: A and S. they're 4 & 2 and were not yet born when i made the first 4 grandchildren their I Spy quilts. although they're pictured here in the flimsy stage, i just got them back from the quilter this week. i'll get the binding on them, and gift them very soon. 

again- pixelated heart in a rainbow inspired layout. all the blocks are 5", and i've used my EXTENSIVE I Spy fabric collection. with the completion of these 7 quilts for my grandchildren, plus one for a young niece last year, that brings my I Spy plans to a rest for a bit. my youngest 2 daughters are 17 &18 so it will be awhile before there are more grandchildren. i've sorted and saved some of the favorite blocks for A & B's children, and stored the remainder of the blocks away for awhile. 

e

finally, my last I Spy quilt for awhile- and a super favorite of mine! i LOVE doing quilts with LV, and when i saw Cynthia's pattern in a recent American Patchwork & Quilting magazine (can't remember which one) i knew instantly i had to make it! again, i used my 5" squares. i think the pattern called for 3" finished squares, but the bigger squares made a nice sized quilt, which we'll use as our sofa/TV quilt. VERY VERY happy with how this one turned out! 

 

and finally- not hearts, but another finish... the Baltimore gang has a cute little Craftsman house with a beloved pear tree in the backyard. Granddaughter E had asked for "pear placemats" for her 5th birthday.  (what Grammy wouldn't move heaven and earth to make that happen?!) i finally got around to making a table topper and buffet runner for her mommy, DIL P. for her 30th birthday. 

so: that's a highlight of the quilty happenings around here. life is busy, full and happy. thanks for stopping by and reading all these ramblings! click back on over to SOSCRAPPY and see what everyone else is up to... 

SQUARES....as far as the eye can see...

it's a photo heavy post; sorry!

i knew i was behind on my blogging, but i didn't realize that i hadn't really blogged about any of my RSC23 projects! YIKES!

i was still working with and through my 3" squares. i have a Studio2 cutter, and a few dies that i really like to use. 3" squares show up in the majority of my projects. 

i made hearts- 9 of them. (the grey one got lost at the bottom of this post...) all from scraps! 

keep scrolling- and then there's the 36 patches- an idea loosely inspired by some of Cynthia's work. 

there are 12 of the 36 patch blocks; i've not decided on whether i'll combine the hearts and big blocks together for one quilt, or make 2 different quilts.. 

did you just scroll all the way to the bottom to see all this scrappy random colorness? SO MANY DIFFERENT FABRICS! bless your sweet little heart! thanks for stopping by, and be sure to click back to Angela's blog and see what everyone else is doing.. 

 

Gifted, Shared, Loved...

i've been absent from bloggy land, and missing my RSC friends. i'm back with a plethora of catchup posts! mostly from RSC23...

 

 

granddaughter L turned 5 in late October. i mailed her 2 of my favorite quilts from RSC22. 

just 2 very simple designs; i like to focus on color and contrast, rather than fiddly piecing. 3" squares, and 3" HSTs. she loved them!  no pics of the colorful backing, though...

my favorite DIL turned 30 (!!!) the end of July. P had commented in RSC21 that she really liked the scrappy twinkly stars that i was making- so obviously, the quilt needed to go live with her! (full picture of this quilt in my header photo, but now it's finished, not just a flimsy...) youngest grandson T had to get in on the happy occasion... 

Daughter #2, A, turned 17 June 29. (see, i'm really behind!). as a budding young writer, the Full Stop quilt seemed like she was the best one for it to be loved by... she was really happy! 

sharing and gifting a favorite quilt to one of my loved ones is the best ever. it's great when they find a home to go to; where they'll be appreciated and used. 

June 30 my youngest son passed away tragically and unexpectedly in a motorcycle accident. although i kept sewing along with you all, i just didn't have the energy to blog for awhile. 

i'm doing ok, and so is the family, though it was quite a shock, and so sad. 

 

the above 2 quilts were not pieced as part of my RSC shenanigans. the first one is for a great niece's baby in CA, the second (Baby Shark; inspiration found here, although now that i revisit Katy's post, i realize she used HSTs, not isosceles triangles... ) was pieced for the Nebraska MCC quilt sale, and is on its way into the world...) 

i appreciate the friendship and camaraderie of all my RSC bloggy (and Instagram!) friends! go see what every one else is up to- you just might be inspired!