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! 

tap, tap, tap.. is anyone there? i'm sewing in the background...

is it ok to say life has been busy?

my calendar is full, our schedule is busy and our life has been humming along... i'm still sewing along with RSC23, just not as often as i'd like... i'm sharing my blue and pink churn dash blocks from January and Febrruary (in April!) and i've got a start on the greens and purples for March and April!

one of my RSC projects this year is the churn dash blocks. i have an accuquilt die for this {my favorite block} and i decided to do the blocks with a white center, and the background in the COM. 

i'm loving them so far!

i'm thinking of an on-point setting for these, and perhaps i'll keep this quilt for myself... 

although, after our recent trip to the MCC PA Relief Sale, i've been inspired and motivated to sew/give more quilts, specifically for the MCC auctions. and here's some good news: the Hands2Help drive this year has MCC as one of the donation points! go check it out!

and be sure to click over to SO SCRAPPY and see what everyone else is making! 

 

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!