RSCing: keeping busy in the darkest of winter...

technically, we were supposed to be sitting in the airport at Buhbenshwar, India right now... but because of a hiccup with B's visa, our trip is postponed for a couple weeks until we get her paperwork straightened out.. 

so, it's off to the sewing room i go, with some "extra" time on my hands, and no shortage of scraps, fabric, thread or ideas! not too bad of a delay, i'd say! 

i made some progress on the scrappy 5 patches. i'm loving the contrasts and unusual combos. it's not a RSC26 sew, if we want to be that technical about it... but since i'm going through my 3" boxes anyway, and with the goal of actually USING the fabrics, it seemed to fit into the assignment... 

lurking above these on the design wall and patiently waiting are the paper pieced schoolhouses. they were pieced during RSC22. using Kona school bus, i made a few each month in the appropriate color. this project has stalled out, but i do plan to get back to it sometime... 

my scrappy bear paw is coming along nicely. the claws of these paws are a consistent black (gold polka dots) and each set within the paw is the same. too much scrappy can be quite chaotic and unsettling...

below is a picture of a quilt Rachel made, pictured in the book A Quilter's Field Guide to Color . this is the inspiration that is giving me direction on how i want to proceed, and how i'd like to end up... we'll see how these blocks progress over the year... 

there's SO MUCH FABRIC in my sewing room. not a problem, really, but i need to get some quilts out into the world! i've always lots of ideas flowing (sometimes rushing!) through my brain, and although i start lots of quilts, and have lots of ideas, i do try to keep organized, with good notes with each project. one thing i enjoy (besides all you guys!!!) is the UFO Bingo on Facebook. it's a fun way to get some stuff done; i've participated in this for maybe 5 years or so... today i plan to get my bingo card filled out... make sure you hop over to Angela's and see everyone else's colorful blocks!

 

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! 

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... 

more pinkity pink pinkness...

i'm happy that i've been able to make some progress on my pink RSC blocks in this busy, busy month! there's so much going on, that it's nice to retreat to the sewing room for some soothing fabric play!

lots of HSTs this month- i'm getting excited about this project, and the design possibilities! originally, i was thinking that i'd piece linear, colorful columns,  but at the moment i'm leaning towards a bit for ecclectic and interesting.... (think Gee's Bend) i'll see how this project evolves, and what it needs when it's time to piece the top... 

35 crumb blocks this month will join the pile...

lots of pinks: hot pink, pale pink, salmon, purple-ish pink and some dusty rose join the party... 

 i'm almost done with the pink for our April RSC22- just need to work on some of the schoolhouse blocks- pink, and there are a few holdovers from aqua last month... 

finishes and progress!

life has been busy here... a "big" upgrade started here in our house 2 months ago, when the 4ft.  lightbulb in the laundry room died. what started as a quite simple "hey, Dave, can you please put a new light in the laundry room fixture" turned into:

1. buying a NEW light fixture for the laundry room. (in the 13 years since it was installed, those 4ft bulbs became obsolete, requiring another fixture altogether...) 
2. drywalling the laundry room ceiling
3. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the laundry room
4. painting the laundry room ceiling
5. installing new "luxury" vinyl plank flooring in the laundry room
6. closing the access hole between the  laundry room and the master bathroom
7. installing new "luxury" vinyl plank flooring in the mudroom
8. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the mudroom
9. painting all the trim in the laundry room (white)
10. painting all the trim in the mudroom (tan)
11. painting the bathroom ceiling (!?)
12. painting the bathroom wainscoting
13. replacing the sink base cabinet in the kitchen
14. getting a new sink/faucet for the kitchen
15. installing new quartz countertops in the kitchen
16. installing a new granite island countertop in the kitchen
17. finishing ALL. THE. TRIM. in the kitchen
18. painting all the trim in the kitchen (white)
19. painting MORE trim in the kitchen (yellow)
20. i think that's the end of the list... 

so, actually, our *tiny* home improvement project became a lot like the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. (there are several books like that- If You Give A Moose A Muffin... If You Give A Pig A Pancake...) I'm sure you're familiar with these delightful children's books...

anyway- NOT complaining at all! we really stalled out in the home improvement/DIYprojects in the last 10 years or so. it's really nice to have these 3 rooms DONE! 

so: on to the quilty stuff- i know that's why you really came! 

February is aqua- and i have more than i thought... i made all these HSTs, in the "magic numbers" of 3, 6 and 9. (read more about them, and magic numbers here.)

while cleaning/tidying some of my baskets in the sewing room last month, i came across these fabric sayings on a panel. i divided them up into quilty sayings, Christmas sayings and bible verses. i decided to work with the quilty sayings first. 

i remembered that i had some pieces left over from a Kona cotton honey bun after piecing this quilt for my 3rd granddaughter, AK. i thought to improvise log cabin piecing around each saying. again, i used the "magic numbers" theory, cutting each block/rectangle some variation of a 6", 9" or 12" square or rectangle. 

 and finally- here's the shoo fly and donut quilt (one of them) that I pieced during RSC21. it's all finished and on its way to the PA Relief Sale. 

so, now you're caught up on the recent happenings in our neck of the woods. (mostly, anyway!) thanks for stopping by. I'll be linking up to Angie, our hostess with the mostest for all things RSC. and stay tuned: i started a few more RSC projects that I'll be sharing about shortly... 

if you care to see our kitchen in its raw, recently purchased state, and follow along on our progress in fixing it up, just click here. 

and here's a bit of the back story (and cool features!) of our mud room. (just read the first couple posts. they're the most relevant)

getting started on RSC22!

i thought i'd really switch things up this year for RSC22, and start working with some triangles! woohoo! even though my "base block" is my old standby, the trusty 3" square, i have a triangle die for my Studio2 cutter, and with the addition of lots of scrappy whites for the triangles, i plan on making a colorful throw size quilt this year.

each of these HSTs will finish at 2½" in the quilt ("designed" on EQ5) using some tips on magic numbers for quilting and quilt blocks from Rachel and Katie, I'll be making 3, 6 or 9 HSTs in the monthly color. 

this is my 9th (!!!) year sewing along with RSC, and while i still have MANY 3" squares to choose from in my drawer, they're certainly dwindling down in both numbers and variety. although i added some more red HSTs last night, you can see on the right side of my design wall that I've a good start on this new project. 

also: I'm working at laying out an everyday tablecloth from my RSC18 project, eclectic AND bohemian 9 patches. only 4 more rows to put up, and i can take this down and sew it together. 

and: after a 2-year hiatus, I'm back to sewing crumb blocks. as you can see, all the jars are overflowing. (and the cream/white jar is not even on the shelf!) last night i finished up and trimmed the red crumbs (they'll finish at 6" in a quilt)- there were a lot! I'll definitely have to keep my eyes out for some clever/interesting design ideas on how to use the crumb blocks in an interesting quilt/layout. 

it's hard to tell without a reference for scale, but the above and below 2 pics are of rectangles and squares that are smaller than my usual crumb blocks. they measure 9½" X 4½" and 4½" square. i have a bunch more of these sizes pieced in other colors, left over from RSC15 (?). i never did anything with them, but will continue to build the collection of these for RSC22. 

my initial, and continuing idea, is to do something along the design lines of Crazy Mom's June QAL. i finished one of these quilts last summer; it's a favorite of mine, and is a great (bright and cool) summer quilt for my bed. I'll keep pondering this idea as i make more blocks each month for RSC22.

43 red crumb blocks made a huge dent in that overflowing scrap jar. there are stills some seed reds in there; they can breed and multiply until next year. (ha!) 

although i made an effort to sort out my different reds by value and saturation, i wasn't nearly as particular as I've been about it in years past. i decided that it's not really necessary to be quite that particular...

and: if you're looking for clever OR interesting quilts, (and beautiful!) be sure to visit Angela's blog on Saturday mornings! inspiration abounds over there... 

also linking to Oh, Scrap on SUnday. 

click here to read all about our birthday adventures and pear placemats! 

just plugging along quietly in the background...

i'm thrilled to have a flimsy finish to share today! I've been working on these wonky star blocks in the COM all RSC21, and finally finished the blocks last month. (was it really that long ago?!) 

             

Daisy {the miniature donkey} is *always glad* to see me head out to the pasture with a quilt. she knows that for just a little co-operation, and minimal lip quivering, she'll be rewarded with some special treats! 

we also have our big, galloping, goofy and friendly steer, Wellington Xaviar Basset. (Welly for short) but he's not nearly as cute and he's much more muddy (and other brown stuff, too...) so, he dones't usually get to be in on the photo shoots and treats.

it was quite the puzzle to get the blocks together and blending (colorwise) on the design wall. (some sneak peeks of that over on Instagram) the quilt (unfinished) is 68" X 87", and it took 3 evenings to carefully take it off the design wall and bring it to the sewing machine and sew it together, with lots of partial seams. thankfully, i got it right the first time, and no major seam ripping was involved. phew!

it took several iterations of block and color arranging to get the color flow to go the way i wanted... then, there was more digging in my 3" square stash, and finding other bigger pieces and colors in my stash to get enough blocks in the right colors to fill in the blanks. 

here is a "detail" shot of the 4 corners of the quilt- the pics should supersize if you click on them...

just in case you're interested in seeing some of the different fabrics!

i will admit, there are just a few duplicates in this quilt (not counting the wonky stars, of course) ...at least 2 that i know of... 

 but other than that, i'd say it's a safe estimate to say that there are over 700 different, unique fabrics in this Rainbow wonky stars quilt. 

i plan on quilting this one myself (soon?) and entering it in our local County Fair in July. then, i have a special recipient in mind, so I'll keep that a secret for now. make sure to go see all the other colorful, rainbow finishes this week- it's a colorful time of year!

Rainbows, Everywhere!

it's October (almost November) in RSC Land: and what does that mean? time to get all those monthly RSC blocks into tops! all year i've enjoyed playing with my scraps and squares, and i've been making waffle blocks, (2 different versions) and also the shoo fly and donut blocks. 

last week inspiration and motivation hit like a ton of bricks, and all in a rush, i pieced 4 different RSC tops, using up nearly all of the blocks i pieced this year. (go, me!) 

This waffle block quilt is about 62" X 75". i used my stash of 3" squares in the COM, making about 2 blocks each month. the brown waffle stripe (strip) is the same in each block. i only had to make 2 more blocks to complete this layout. 

i'm definitely working through my pile of 3" squares. i'm even considering taking a break from piecing RSC blocks with the 3" squares next year (!!!) and focusing on crumbs and strings instead for RSC22...

(as i'm writing this post, i realize i should take a better picture of this quilt, so the details of the fabrics can be seen better... this quilt is at church now, but i'll try to post a closeup soon...) 

since i can never leave well enough alone, (and tend to be that annoying firstborn overachiever) i did TWO waffle block quilts. For the second one i used the COM as the waffle strips, and 25 LV (low volume) squares, again making 2 blocks per month/color. this quilt i also pieced an additional 2 blocks to complete the "rainbow" layout. 

AND: after the 10+ months of piecing, i had 188 of the donut and shoo-fly blocks. (Kona lighthouse is the grey i used, in case you were wondering...) i was a bit stumped on how to put the blocks together, undecided as to whether i wanted to do a GIANT quilt, or what my other options might be...

then: A FLASH OF LIGHTNING, and a CLAP OF INSPIRATION! i was working from my Farm Girl Vintage book, making pear placemats for my 5yo granddaughter Es birthday (more on that later) and i saw this sawtooth star quilt layout in the back of the book. i realized that if i "pretended" my donut blocks were the big stars (by combining 4 donuts) and treated my shoo-fly blocks as the smaller sawtooth stars, i could use this design as my layout! 

i quickly got a "volunteer" to help me lay out the blocks on the design wall, and i was (am!) thrilled with how it turned out! after the year of piecing these blocks, we had lots to choose from, and combined the like (monochromatic) colors to make the layout here. 

after sewing that top together, i realized that there were (of course) many blocks still left over. so we just reversed the design, so to speak, and substituted the shoo-fly blocks for the large star, and the donuts for the smaller star. ( i'll say, though, that i like the first layout better... the donuts combine better than the shoo-flys) 

so, the end of this RSC21 story is that we have 2 waffle quilt tops for local donation through our church sewing group, S2W. and my long arm friend, Karen, adopted the 2 donut and shoo-fly quilt tops for an upcoming MCC auction. 

 i'm looking forward to RSC22, and starting some new projects (!!!). (i'll confess, tho, i still have a few RSC 19 block piles to get into tops, and a growing stack of leftovers and RSC orphans that need a purpose...) 

it's fun to visit the  RSC Saturday link-ups every week and see what everyone else is working on- you just never know when a great idea might explode!