Repeating Rainbows!

sporadic, but colorful sewing happening in the sewing room these days! youngest daughter, BJ (13) wanted to make a Rainbow Quilt for her bed. how's a mother to say no? (purely a rhetorical question, of course! she doesn't...) 

using my AccuQuilt Studio2 cutter, we sorted through my stash of {white based} LV fabrics, and a nice gradation of rainbow colors, and cut out enough rectangles to make her a quilt about 80" X 90". 

BJ wants all the colors to be visible across the bed, so she designed/sewed it with the red rectangles at the top (pillow) end of the bed, going down through to the purples at the bottom. as you can see, the quilt is not all sewn together; it's still on my design wall. i'm loving this quilt, too. it's one of the best rainbow quilts i've seen... 

AND: i even have a finish to show! RSC19 was the year of the 9 patches for me: L/D centers, as well as eclectic AND bohemian color combos. i was hoping to mimic the soft and muted look of Jolene's quilt from Blue Elephant Stitches .

obviously, i didn't quite achieve that, but it's ok! this quilt was completed in time for our *big 4th of July bash*, and it's not really a quilt, per se, it's a tablecloth.  it's shown here on our schoolroom table, which is also the Big Crowds and Family Is Here So We Need More Places To Sit table. 

do you recognize the jelly cupboard in the corner? it's from our New Albany rental house. after a bit of scrubbing and wiping, i decided to bring it to our home and use it for extra schoolroom storage. although, i will say, after bringing it into a *relatively finished and clean* house, i can more clearly understand why it was relegated to the cellar in the first place. it's easy to see more potential in a cellar environment than may actually exist... 

there is no batting in this quilt- it's just the top and a backing. (just like our summer bed quilt.) i love how it turned out- i set the blocks on point, used a brown for the side setting triangles and the binding. ( i read somewhere that brown has all the colors in it; it's great to use it for binding a multi-colored quilt. i follow that advice often.) 

 there was a method to my madness in the laying out and design of this quilt, although it's hard to see in the quilt itself. the colored drawing above makes it much more obvious. i was going for the cascading, converging and melding of the lights/darks/rainbow colors. if you squint hard and run by quickly (or fill the table with lots of food) i guess you can see it?

anyway, if anyone asks, or wants to know, the name of this Family Tablecloth quilt is Converging Memories. there are fabrics from a lot of the sewing that I've done for the last 30+ years. as i was photographing the quilt this afternoon, i spotted a yellow calico from 1988 that was the kitchen curtains in our first home!

also: i should have refreshed my memory by reading my posts from when i first started these 9 patch blocks for RSC19. that was the year that i made the L/D 9 patches, as well as the eclectic AND bohemian 9  patches. i had blogged that i intended to make 2 tablecloth quilts: one for WITH the leaves and one for WITHOUT. 

oops! 

well, this one will fit really well with just 1 leaf. (it fits fine with 2 and no leaves as well, but i wish i had remembered that... ) 

be sure to go see what everyone else is working on- there are lots of creative quilters to meet, and colorful quilts to see every Saturday morning over at Angela's blog. 

out with the old! in with the new!

so sorry i can't get this picture flipped around, but you get the idea! 

I never acutally  "blogged" about the RSC19 project, my indigo 16 patches. i made a quilt for our bed (here's the details)  and had a few blocks left over. 

i was up in the sewing room last week, sorting through my pile of orphan blocks from previous RSC years. i noticed that i had 12+ of these Kona indigo/COM blocks left over. 

a brainstorm hit: why not make {another} quilt for dear baby Addie Kathleen? this one will be kept at Grammy's house. her crib is in our room, so it will match so nicely with the quilts on our bed. i backed her quilt in the fabrics her mama chose (baby A is a "fox", while her brothers C and L are an "owl" & "hedgehog", respectively.)

my penchant and fondness for both Kona cotton and 3" squares really shows in this picture! you can see the 2 quilts for our bed- the Kona indigo 16 patch, as well as the other scrappy patchwork with Kona stratosphere. i used the kona stratosphere for the binding on the baby quilt- all around i'm pretty pleased! 

since the *majority* of my RSC blocks are made from the 3" squares, all the orphan blocks fit together so nicely. i found 30 16 patches from previous RSC quilts- Rainbow Rails & Rainbow Boxes. i'll sew them together into a top for S2W (our church sewing group). a 60" X 80" quilt will soon be out of my sewing room, making its way to someone who can put it to good use. 

with the use of these orphan blocks, that leaves me fairly "caught up" and turning towards next year: RSC21. i've been thinking of what kinds of projects/blocks i'd like to do. 

for a couple years, i've been thinking that i really need to up my game, and throw in some triangles with my 3" squares. i bought a triangle die for my accuquilt cutter, and i do plan on these variations of the 9 patch. (always a favorite!) of course, they're essentially the same block, just different layouts of light/dark/background. 

i plan to use a solid grey that i have in my stash, and depending on the # of COM (color of the month) 3" blocks i have, i'll piece either/or block. 

i'd also like to do houses this year; still mulling over what kind. 

and somewhere i saw a block like this: and after clicking around and visiting other RSCers through Angela's link up, the block seems to have come from Kathy, via Nann. 

i plan on making these Waffle Blocks, too, this year. i think i'll do the "opposite", as well. 3 rows of the COM, and then 2 neutrals. 

side note: I've had my EQ5 program for about 18 years, and STILL don't know how to draft a block... the neutral will be a solid piece of fabric, not squares, and no triangles will be harmed in the making of this block. 

last year i made a LIST of wannado's, needtodo's and mustdo's. out of the 17 on that list, i managed to finish 14! yay, me. 

here's this year's (partial) list: 

1. Christmas pillow covers for the sofas. 
2. L/D 9 patches: *minimally* piece into flimsy
3. eclectic/bohemian 9 patches: holiday/family gathering tablecloth
4. I Spy quilt/s for Elizabeth & ???
5. Louisa Charm Pack 4 patch
6. Bind Good Neighbors rectangle quilt for guest room
7. Piece together top: Churn Dash (with the cherry fabrics/yellow gingham) 
8. Patriotic rectangles: piece top and backing
9. Crazy Mom June QAL- i'm using neutrals along with Kona stratosphere and duckling
10. Civil War flying geese
11. Scrappy Stars: RSC20 (there are enough blocks for several quilt tops) 
12. #snowflakesewalong: grey/polka dot quilt (already cut out) 
13. Orange Dot Map Quilt : #onlyonequilt

whew! i better get off the computer and get busy! 

another final goal that i have for this year is to use my accuquilt Studio2 cutter even more. i've cut and pieced numerous quilts for MCC and our church sewing circle using my tumblers, churn dash or rectangle dies. i'd like to do more baby quilts, and more kits for the ladies at church to use for sewing tops. maybe i'll even do a tumbler or churn dash quilt for myself. 

so, it's going to be a busy and exciting year! thanks so much for reading and stopping by! be sure to click on over to Angela's blog: our fearless leader, and the headquarters for all things RSC! 

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. 

sewing the summer blues!

i did have a finish this month: as in FINISHED! quilted, bound, washed and on the bed finished!

woohoo! this scrappy 16 patch has been in the works for awhile. it never made it to the UFO status- just a sluggish WIP. 

i quilted it myself- straight line quilting through the kona stratosphere blues with no batting. (just like A's RSC18 kona quilt that i gave her for valentine's day)

it's a perfect summer quilt. quilting the top and backing with out batting makes it feel more like a sheet or light-weight blanket, but it still has the aesthetic beauty of a quilt, and looks nice on our bed.  the backing is cheddar orange (or yellow?) it's a long hoarded favorite piece that i'm thrilled to finally see in use! 

the pictures are a bit out of order, but the 2 pillows at the top of the post go with this quilt. (obvious, i guess...) i pulled out all the medium blues as i was piecing the top- i didn't want the patchwork pattern to get lost with blues that were "too blendy" with the kona stratosphere. i used them to make two (22") pillows, complemented with kona duckling. 

the quilt measures about 82½" X 102½" after washing. every morning when i make my bed, i spot so many different fabrics, and it brings back happy memories of my children when they were smaller, my grandchildren that are small now and already have fabrics that are "theirs", and many other projects and special people in my life, too. 

June was blue- or was it green?

although the "official" color of June was (is) blue, for me it seemed like it was really green!

so many green things growing: hydroponic lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, kale, swiss chard, herbs, sweet and hot peppers, pumpkins, summer squash, zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, sweet corn... 

our CSA/Farm Share pickups have started, and with our biggest group of members ever, it's keeping me busy. and mostly exhausted, too. 

i did sort out all my 3" blue squares at the beginning of the month, and sewed 16 of my eclectic and bohemian 9 patches- 8 with dark centers, 8 with light centers. 

9 of my "split rails" of sorts blocks happened, too. i also cut out my isosceles triangle quilt for this month- a dark {and ugly} Kansas Troubles blue with a creamy calico as the alternate triangle. there was so much of the KT that it's the backing and binding, too! 

click over to Angela's SoScrappy blog- lots of beautiful blues happening over there. (and soon it's a new month and new color- can't wait!) 

orange you glad it's spring?

i made my monthly marker, but forgot to share it here. oops! (you can follow me at jlcap69 on instagram. i'm slightly more active over there...) 

i'm sharing these 40ish *untrimmed* crumb blocks now- who knows, if i wait until they're trimmed to share, it might be the end of October. ha!

the whole gamut of orange here: pale peach to dark umber.

and a few salmons that lean towards pink...

be sure to click over and see the more productive quilters and projects for RSC19.

What color did she say again?

oops! i just realized that although i up loaded my aqua crumb blocks from April, i forgot to write the blurbs and post the pictures!

just like the orange blocks, aqua can't really decide what color she wants to be, either...

teal, aqua, turquoise, mallard, light blue, sea foam, slate... all those colors were in my scrap jar.

never-the-less, i pieced 35 of the "teal" blocks for April, and the pile continues to grow! (and the jars that i keep the scraps in- 1 gallon glass pickle jars- never seem to get any emptier!) but they are pretty to look at on my shelf...

go look at all the other pretty blocks at soscrappy...

a quick check in between the yard work and field work and garden work..

i have had some time to sew in the last few weeks. if i have the energy, i enjoy going up to the sewing room to sew a few orange blocks for May RSC19. 

orange is one of those goofy colors that just can't decide what color it wants to be... orange, rust, burnt umber, cheddar, salmon... 

it does drive an anal meticulous piecer like me a bit batty, separating out all the different oranges into their own friendly family....

still, i pieced 6 of my rail fence blocks.

and thanks to the generous contribution of my unknown, but generous friend, Dorthy, i had lots and lots of orange squares to choose from this month! 

i pieced 11 of my light/dark 9 patches. i'm thinking that maybe i'll use these, and also last year's bohemian and eclectic 9 patches to make 2 table cloths for our table at the holidays/family meals (one sized for with the leaves, the other to fit without the leaves) 

i'm almost done with piecing my orange crumb blocks for this month, too, so i'll have another orange post to share next week.

off to work in the flower beds- hubby Dave got a great deal on mulch from Lowes (he works there) so we've been inspired to do a bit of sprucing up around the flower beds near the house. they've been neglected the last few years- i've been busy with the veggies, but now i'm on a roll! maybe i'll share pictures of that next week, too! have a great week (the weather is fabulous today!) and thanks for stopping by!

aqua- such a cheery color!

APRIL! it's been here awhile, and i've been sewing a bit.  just now taking the time to post about my blocks. 

April is a busy time on the farm- so much to do, and all the spring work hits at once! we've hit the ground running with tilling, plowing, discing and planting some of the earliest crops. it won't really slow down too much until we hit the lull in mid-June or so. then we gallop along again until September, where we wind down and are done early October. 

i've enjoyed a few quiet moments piecing my aqua 9 patches, and a "split rail" of sorts. i don't have too much aqua, so that's been a good thing. 

i have no aqua yardage, so there will be no isosceles triangle quilt this month, which is just as well, really... 

i have a modest jar-full of aqua scraps and crumbs- i'll be piecing my (6½") crumb blocks in the next week while waiting to see what Mays color will be. in the meantime, click on over to Angie's So Scrappy on Saturday and see what everyone else has been sewing on.