finishing ALL the purples:

from the lightest (and darkest) pinks to nearly brown...

life is busy- but i do find some time to have some quiet time up in the sewing room, and keep up with my RSC projects. it's something i really enjoy! 

i added a few more twinkly stars to the growing, colorful pile. instead of keeping the blocks all 3x3, 4x4 or even 5x5 i decided to make them all random, according to the shades of the COM that i had. 

then, at the end of the year, i'll piece the blocks all together randomly, higgelty-piggelty style. i think it will be more interesting that way anyway... 

i made a whole slew of purple donuts and shoo-fly blocks, too. very happy with them as well!

 4 more waffle blocks join the wings, waiting for breakfast time in December. haha. 

i also finished a lingering RSC UFO- from 2019! i made a large pile of 9 patches- both light and dark, planning on making them into a tablecloth. we're having a *modestly sized church/family picnic* tomorrow {what was i thinking?!} and its debut is planned. stay tuned for a post about that. (the quilt, not the picnic, necessarily. i haven't' taken a picture of the quilt yet.. ) 

click on over the our favorite spot for Saturday mornings and see what everyone else is working on! 

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. 

H2H- all done and checking in!

i do quite a bit of "charity quilting" but this is my first time participating in Sarah's Hands2Help campaign. i saw that one of the chosen gifting recipients Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project, which was specifically looking for larger quilts.  

i pieced strip sets (2½") for Rainbow Scrap Challenge in both 2015 and 2016. In 2017 i managed to get 2 "pinwheel" quilts out of that multitude of blocks!

although my youngest daughter, BJ, originally chose this quilt in our Great Quilt Gifting of 2017, she decided that she liked a different quilt, Growing Up Odd better, so she swapped. 

we packed up this behemoth, along with backing and binding, and sent it off to Sally F. in Wisconsin.  She sent me this picture of the completed quilt (thanks so much, Sally!) and i'm thrilled that it's finally done, and will go to a new home to bring warmth and comfort! 

in which the blogger actually finishes TWO quilts!

haha! hope you're sitting down....

I basted my RSC17 Low Volume Plus blocks last week. even though I was so excited to get it done, I still had to "discipline" myself to quilt it- that's really not my favorite part!

I love how the colors just sort of fade into each other. and it's a nice size, too- about 62"X75". a nice snuggle quilt.

the backing makes me happy, too. I waffled between several different fabrics (I'm usually not so indecisive!) and settled on these. the panel was a gift from my husband a few years ago- it's a color swatch of many different Hoffman batiks. the stripes are Moda- and after looking at the picture, I wish I would have noticed that the blue stripes aren't lined up... oh, well... and of course I was just a *tiny* bit short of fabric, so the clown hair rainbow fabric makes a small appearance on the back of the quilt.



I'm such a horrible procrastinator- but I finally got the baby quilt done! my oldest daughter, M, was due with baby #2, a little boy, yesterday. (yesterday!) we knew he would be late, but at least it's not my fault, since the quilt is done now!

 

C, the first little guy is 16 months old, and he's a busy little boy! (he also has no idea how his life is about to change!) despite being so active and a little bit crazy, he loves to be read to. he'll sit for quite a long time and listen to story after story.

you can't see M's baby  bump here, but it's so cute! the nursery is decorated in hedgehogs; you can see the 4 different hedgie fabrics I used in the quilt. one of them was from spoonflower- a definite splurge, but they were so cute I couldn't resist! the nursery colors are aqua and navy. I threw in some green because that seemed to match well and be in several of the other fabrics already. she and husband K really like the quilt, so that makes my mom (and grandma) heart happy!

 

now we just wait for Little Mister #2 to decide he's ready to come...

 

while we're waiting, click over to Angie's to see what everyone else is working on this week!

(and I even updated the RSC18 tab this week too! so many accomplishments in just one week. ha!)

 

did you miss me?

haha! just kidding... you don't need to answer that. it's been a crazy 2 weeks around here, with just in the last few days a little bit of {much needed} time in the sewing room.

 

2 Sundays ago, my youngest daughter, BJ, was sick and sore with an achey neck. (I was also getting sick, too, and till the end of the week had Flu A and an ear infection...) long story short, BJ had a serious staph infection, and after a visit to the walk-in clinic, our local ER and a CT scan, she was transferred to the nearest Children's Hospital so she could be cared for by a pediatric ENT. (there are NO pediatric doctors of any sort in our rural county). 3 days of IV antibiotics later, and we were all on the mend and back home.

 

we're thankful for {good} health insurance, a great Children's Hospital with wonderful doctors and nurses, supportive and loving family and a wonderful church family, too. we got sick on Sunday, February 25 and then the next thing I knew it was Tuesday, March 6! we're glad to be home, and back together again!

green is a great color for March. I've lots of greens, and although the called color is on the lighter and brighter side, it's easier for me to work on all my greens at once. I think it's too much for my brain to sort them out and then set some aside for another month...

I'm working on my eclectic and bohemian 9 patches; 16 are added to the pile for this month.

I finally found the perfect fabric to finish the last block of my RSC17 Low Volume Plus quilt. (think 1980's clown hair...) and pieced the last block for that quilt. I've just finished pin basting it too, and hope to have it in the DONE pile soon. i'll keep you posted with pictures.

don't forget to see what everyone else is working on with their bright and springy greens!

sharing the love... spreading the warmth...

since my children live spread out all over the country (a son in WA and another son in the Bronx) we planned to celebrate our Christmas early this year while we were all together. We had our family Christmas on Saturday, December 16. it was a lovely day- full of memories, and all the traditions that we would normally do on the 25th.

 

my youngest son, G, chose not to come, but my mother heart loves him all the same, and despite the full house with all the children and grands, I missed him just the same...

the little girls, A and B, were especially happy for new jammies!  and look: everyone smiling! everyone looking!

we drew numbers for the quilt picking- #1-#5. I had 11 quilts to choose from (!!!) so even the last person had a nice selection to pick their favorite. my oldest daughter, M and her husband K were first. they chose one of the RSC16 column-along quilts. (they chose the twin size; that leaves the lap size for me! yay!) here they are in front of the tree with "baby" C. C will have a new baby brother in March, the quilt is hiding M's cute belly...

 

my son D is a Corpsman in the Navy, stationed in Bronx, NY. (go figure...) he and A chose the Flying Geese quilt.

 

second son N is married to P, and they have a little girl, E. N is in the Army, stationed in Seattle, WA. it was a treat to have them here and visit with them for almost a week. (it was fun to watch the 2 cousins together, too. they're only 6 days apart in age) N and P chose a low-volume patchwork quilt, sofa size. I guess I never blogged about it... but you might have seen it on instagram.

 

 

A is 11, and chose this Roman Stripes quilt. (it's made out of the same fabrics as D & A's quilt) I made this quilt quite awhile ago- glad it's finally found someone to snuggle with...

 

(here's a tutorial on how I made it) and here's where I pieced it together- almost 8 years ago. yikes! 

 

 

baby BJ (sometimes I still call her that, even though she's 10 years old now...) chose the pinwheel quilt. I blogged about this quilt here, too. this project has been in my RSC roundup for a few years, going through several evolutions, and even thrown in as a UFO a time or two, too... but now it's "done" and we'll piece a backing for it this week, and set it aside to be quilted.

 

a couple quilts weren't chosen that I was sure would be top on the list, but that's ok. we might have a wedding in our near future, and some can live in the sewing room closet until they find a home. others will go to MCC. one way or another, all the quilts will be loved and used.

 

my instagram feed has been full of smiling children, happy faces and lots of snippets of memories in the making- not much sewing at all for me this month of December. but- of course, that's OK! i was glad to have some time with my family. when our children are small, we honestly don't' realize how fast the years will fly- because those days can really drag, can't they?

 

one day they're all grown and gone, and it's a big deal when they all come home and we can be together. enjoy those moments while you can!

 

and click on over to Angie's, too! lots of great quilts getting done!

 





in which the blogger gets her act together...

we have so much to be thankful for: family, friends, home, bountiful food... we have all we need and so much of what we want, and for that I'm Thankful!

now the Christmas season is upon us (how did THAT even happen?!) and we're busy preparing for all the joyousness and traditions that go with the celebration of Jesus' birth.

finally got some pictures of my completed (flimsy) 16 patch. Name? how about Rainbow Boxes? sounds good...  (shown here) in its layout phase.

another big one at 90" X 110". this one seems to be a favorite with the little girls. we'll see who picks it for the Great Christmas Quilt Giving in a couple weeks.

a bit of time this week for some RSC sewing. I realized I hadn't done any of my grey crumb blocks, but an evening of sorting and sewing got that task accomplished...

 

(and why do those jars of scraps never get any emptier?! it's a mystery....)

 

while you're clicking around, be sure to see what everyone else is finishing up- it's that time of year!

 

 

what does November mean?

November in RSC Land means our blocks are done (or nearly so) and we start to see some pieced flimsys in our Saturday linkups.

I tend to make lots and lots of blocks, but I'm not always so great at finishing them into tops... I have some good new to share this week, though!

new for my RSC17 block list this year was the low volume 16 patches. I had lots of the 3" LV squares left from my Plus quilt that I decided to use them again this year in a 16 patch.

with the completion of my brown 16 patches this week, I was ready to lay out the blocks...

 

I had already been pondering how I wanted to lay them out, so it didn't really take too long to settle on a design. the layout is 9 X 11 blocks, so the quilt should finish at 90" X 110". (another big'un!) I had 9 blocks leftover, but unfortunately they weren't the right color or shade, so I'll be "custom" piecing a few more of these to get the quilt done.

 

I'm loving it so far!

 

these pinwheels started as one of my RSC15 projects, and I pieced (and pieced!) a boatload of them. I finished the first quilt with them (shown here) and just this week completed this one. it measures 62" X 78".

I'm calling it Windblown Pinwheels: I'm sure there was  pattern in the colors somewhere, but in the process of picking the blocks up off the design floor, and then up to the sewing room, they must have gotten jumbled a bit... that's ok! finished is better than perfect, right?!

those long nights of sewing...

we're in that time of year for us where the garden work is done and *mostly* cleaned up, and it's still not time for butchering- turkeys and pigs. does that mean I have *extra* time? no, not really {haha} but there have been lots of evenings where I can work in the sewing room, piecing away..

I felt like I had so many brown scraps, but I was able to get these 19 crumb blocks pieced in one evening: see above {those long nights of sewing...} from caramel to chocolate, all the browns are there...

can I say just one more time: these Kona indigo and the COM are my favorites? I say that every month... and I say that I say that every month...

I'm concentrating on getting some of my RSC16/17 blocks pieced into tops for our Great Quilt Gifting in early December, so these indigo 16 patches will have to wait until Christmas time-ish to get pieced into a top. BUT: they're at the top of my list- can't wait!!!

 

colors: (not in order) honey, sable, earth, pepper, chocolate, expresso and ???.

 

the 16 patch LV blocks are all done- and getting ready to be sewn into a top. I wasn't sure how I'd like them, but so far they're looking great. (sneak peek here) 

and a few (16) lonely pinks to add to the crumb stack. my {tallish] crumb stack is from RSC16 and RSC17. I have an idea how I'd like to piece them into tops; I'll start that project in the New Year. but I think I'll take a break from crumb blocks next year... (not that I'm running out of crumbs or anything... they're having babies up in the sewing room as. we. speak.)

 

speaking of RSC18: (18?! how did that even sneak up on us?!) I'm planning on participating again next year, but entirely uncertain what my blocks/projects will be... I'd like to do something that uses LOTS of my 3" squares from my suitcase of squares, but I'm not sure what I'd like. I want to do something a bit more multi-colored, but then that kind of defeats the purpose of RSC, right? I'll keep pondering, but I'm open to suggestions...

falling for brown...

fall finally seems to be here; brown is a good color for fall! I have some brown, but not an overwhelming amount... that's good, since I still have some pinks to piece into my crumb blocks...

my browns seem to be a nice mix of monotone chocolate browns, and colorful browns to make blocks pop. (this is my 4th year of RSCing, and the scrap jars, bins and drawers never seem to get any emptier...)

 

one lonely low volume plus block for the browns, and  I have a few 16 patches I'm hoping to get to today. lots going on in the sewing room- secret projects, memory quilts, Christmas preparation- good thing the garden is done!

 

linking up to so scrappy- go see what everyone else is doing- and it's that time of year when all the blocks start getting sewn into quilts, too- woo-hoo!