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! 

a rainbow for a beautiful little girl...

i posted about this quilt a few months ago, but as usual, i'm way behind in the Telling You Guys What's Going On Category.... many sorries... oldest daughter M, and her husband K, dropped off the 2 grandsons C and L at Grammy's house on May 11. M/K were on the way to the hospital- M was being induced for baby #3. Gestational Hypertension and all that... (and yes, in this picture M was a mere 36 hours from giving birth to her first daughter!) 

the quilt for my 5th grandchild was done and just waiting... COVID19 made things a bit complicated, but it all worked out in the end. i did the quilting myself, and i'm not very happy with it, but really, that's fine, too. the backing is a sheet from IKEA. it has the woodland animals on it that represent each child. (C: owl. L: hedgehog. baby #3: fox.) 

before basting the quilt, i took some beauty shots. never did this before, but i'm glad i did! it really helps the quilt to live up to its name: Luminary. the pattern is from Alison Glass. i used a moda brights honey bun. i pulled out some of the darker greens and browns, and added in more orange and aqua, as i knew those were the colors M/K wanted for the baby. 

more details on the quilt in a minute: BUT GUYS!!! THIS CUTE BABY!!! baby girl Addilyn Kathleen was born early Wednesday morning, May 13. (@3:40AM) no complications, perfect in every way, and dearly loved by her whole family, even though we had yet to meet her in person. 

Addie, as she will be called (except for when she's in big trouble) is the dearest little girl. she weighed 5lb. 8oz.  and her nose is smaller than a button. we call Addie our little tie-breaker- now we have 2 grandsons, and 3 granddaughters. 

i don't usually share the names of my family on the blog, but i made an exception this once. Addie's middle name was my mother's name: Kathleen. i lost my mother suddenly and tragically over 30 years ago. i was only 19, and not prepared in the least little bit to find myself motherless. 

so it's deeply meaningful to me that M and K named their first daughter after my mother, Kathleen. (my second daughter, Anna Kathleen, also shares my mother's name.) all babies are special of course, but dear little Addie will hold a special place in my heart. so also, her mother, Miriam, my oldest daughter, for honoring the memory of my mother in this way. 

nothing says I LOVE YOU like a rainbow!

with 2 little girls still at home Valentine's Day can kind of be a big deal...

we try to make it special for them, and what's more special than a rainbow quilt from mom? i had the brainstorm a couple weeks ago to save and gift these quilts to them for Valentine's Day.

needless to say, both A (with the 9 patch kona indigo quilt) and B (with the Kona RSC16 column-along) were thrilled. 

both quilts have been used *almost* constantly since Thursday morning, and that's a great thing! i'm thrilled, too, to spread the love and quilts to my 2 youngest daughters!

go see what everyone else is stitching up this chilly February Saturday!

edited to add: the RSCsquared quilt was also #1 on my UFO list from Judy's blog. linking up to join in the fun! (I've actually made a bit of progress on some other UFOs, too, but just haven't caught up with the blogging of them...) 

Show me the {Kona} LOVE!

I'm excited with Angie's choice of yellow for such a dreary (and cold!) month! and yellow works well for a short month, too, as i don't have a lot of yellow in my stash. (but maybe I say that every month...)

I laid out *all* my yellow 3" squares for the picture above, and got 81. with all the lonely (only 1 of) squares, i'll have nearly 100 different yellows to work with. 

on a different note- it's *weird* how the cheddars, which are clearly in the yellow camp, can so quickly dessert and head over to the orange side- making the division of colors a bit stressful for monochromatic quilters like me... 

this week is all about the Konas- Kona Cotton Solids, that is!

my RSC16 column-along is DONE! like: quilted, bound (in indigo), washed and nice and crinkly done!

i made 2 of these RSC16 column-alongs. one was gifted to my oldest daughter, M and her husband K last Christmas.  i made 2 of these because I was sure I would love it too much to part with it- and I was right. This quilt is the smaller of the 2- it finished at about 56" square. 

when I first completed it this week, I wasn't too happy with how it turned out. I had done a poor & lazy job of pressing the top upon completion, and it wasn't laying as flat as it should have been. however, i determinedly and courageously (and carefully) pressed on, and managed to finish quilting loopys on the top with no wrinkles or puckers. 

the stripe fabric is a Moda/Jen Kingwell fabric that i had purchased awhile back with this quilt in mind. i pieced it so the pink was not twice in the back. after a round of washing and drying, the quilt is officially finished, and i'm pleased with the small amount of shrinkage. not only did it improve my quilting, now instead of being of the frame of mind "finished is better than perfect", i'm very happy with how it turned out with no regrets. 

the weather here in northern PA has been absolutely frigid this week (literally!) and it was too cold and windy to go outside to take a picture...  but: 

i finished my Kona 16 patch from RSC18 into a top! the sun did come out and contribute some cheeriness to the colors as we were taking this picture, but still- the picture doesn't do this quilt justice. 

this 16 patch kona/indigo is the big sister to the kona/9 patch that i also pieced during RSC18. (all squares are 3")

this quilt top seems to be glowing! i used indigo for the alternate blocks, and arranged the colors into rows. this top finished at 80" X 100". i plan to use it on my bed, and there is plenty of overhang on the sides to allow sharing with a cover hog. *ahem*.  as the weather improves, i'll take a better photo. 

linking up with Angie and the other RSC19 creators! 

STOP hoarding and START sewing, the quilter says to herself...

I've been plugging away at my RSC18 projects. I guess I'm a slow learner, since I'm just now realizing I have ALOT of projects started, and I'm not too good at getting them finished....

 

the soothing and mindless sewing is a good thing, but then at some point I need to buckle down and get some of those blocks sewn together!

 

this week I did 12 of my kona indigo 9 patches. 11 colors, 12 blocks. I think I might have done papaya twice....

canary, curry, yarrow, school bus 🚌, buttercup, daffodil, banana 🍌, papaya, butter, maize, corn yellow

between watching the 3 littles 3X a week (our family babysits 3 little girls- ages 5,3 and 1) and grandchildren who visit very regularly, I was realizing that we didn't really have enough small quilts for naps, snuggling, floor time, ect...

 

"didn't really have enough small quilts"

 

can you even believe I just typed that?!

I have a HUGE stack of the crumb blocks- a RSC project from 2016 and 2017. ( I did crumb blocks other years, too, but used them all. or most.)

 



the above 2 rainbow quilts were based on patterns/photos I found here and here. I've had them pinned for awhile; glad to finally get something up on my design wall!

I chose a 7X7 layout for these quilts so I could choose a backing without having to piece it. they're nice and small for the littles to use, and not too heavy or bulky. (the crumb blocks will finish at 6")

 

the purple and yellow quilt above is for my granddaughter to use. she and her family live across the country, but it will be here for her whenever she comes. I did rearrange the  color columns, and they look much tidier now.

although the pictures show the quilts just laid out on the wall, as of this typing, they are all sewn together, pressed and have backings picked out. 2 are even quilted! I'm anxious to get them done and washed so we can start using them!

 

plus, with the changing weather (although we DID have snow 3 TIMES this week!!!) it's time for me to be making some spring dresses for my little (or really, medium sized) girls! they've also requested some nightgowns.

believe it or not, the above photo is AFTER I used nearly 200 crumb blocks for the 4 quilts! and the black/brown/grey/cream crumb blocks aren't even pictured!

 

I'm thinking of making another crumb quilt, similar to what's pictured here.

 

anyway, if I want to get these quilts done, I guess I'd better get off the computer, and up to the sewing room! thanks for stopping by, and I hope to have the quilts done and ready to show off next week. meanwhile, click on over to Angela, the hostess (with the mostest!) of RSC18 and see what every one else is working on.

so much green and new life, too!

no fabric in this first picture, but it's green! these are our tomatoes that are growing down at the local greenhouse: they're custom started for us so they are the variety we need, and the size we want when it's time to plant. for us, in Northern PA, our target date to plant these in our high tunnel is May 1. even with the high tunnel, and our particular micro-climate of living by the creek, that's still plenty early for zone 5!

I did manage to get a *tiny* bit of green sewing time these last 2 weeks, and finished 17 (!) of my kona indigo and the COM 9 patches. super thrilled with these, as usual...

the featured colors, in no particular order: sour apple, green grass, mint, ice frappe and celadon

 

candy green, chartreuse, leaf, moss, spruce and holly

pickle, grasshopper, sweet pea, avocado, pond, basil and peridot.

this little bundle of joy and sweetness is the main reason I haven't had much time to sew (him, and getting ready for Easter with new dresses and surprises for the Easter baskets...)

little LR made his appearance a mere 2 days after his baby quilt was finished! the labor and delivery was MUCH EASIER for my daughter M this time, and she's made a speedy recovery.
 

Baby LR is healthy and happy in every way, and loved by his whole family. he nurses like a champ, and he sleeps pretty well, too. he's less than 2 weeks old, and already we can't imagine our lives with out him!

 

toddler C is adjusting well to having a new baby brother, and mom is adjusting well to having a busy little boy (I sometimes compare C to a rabid capuchin monkey. if you think of a cross between a squirrel and a monkey, that would be a pretty accurate representation of C!) and a seemingly always hungry newborn.

 

life is good! and more good news: spring is coming, Christ is risen, and the new color of the month is yellow! click on over and see what everyone else has been working on- it's sure to inspire AND cheer you up!

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...

Prolific Pinks!

aside from a few notable events of going to the beach  (OCNJ) in October. (during the tail-end remnants of Nora. such is the life of a farming family...) and making 3 memory quilts for a friend, I don't have too much to show for RSC17 pink. but I'm still working on a last few blocks....

11 kona cotton solids blocks in pinks with the indigo. just the browns and tans to go, and then I can start putting this one together.

watermelon, azure, candy, bubble gum, azalea... those are some of the colors that quickly come to mind that make up this batch.

31 pink crumb blocks, too! (only 25 shown) when you've been doing the RSC as long as I have, word gets out that there is a crazy quilting lady who doesn't live too far away and will use all those ridiculous scraps. scraps come from far and wide-

 

and these pinks are no exception! a few of these pinks are mine (as in, leftover from another project, or fabric that I purchased) but the majority of these pinks are from a scrap bag from my LQS. how fun is that! and I'm not even done! there are still about 15+ pink blocks to piece, I'd guess.

they'll join a stack of crumb blocks that was, at last estimate, about 14" tall. wow! (2 years of piecing- RSC16 & RSC17 for the crumb blocks) when finished, I trim the crumb blocks at 6½" and they'll finish at 6".

looking forward to getting lots of these blocks into quilts. click over to Angela's on Saturday morning to see what everyone else is working on !

what happened to September?!

I didn't realize until just tonight when I sat down to write a post and link up with Angela, that I hadn't posted any of my oranges from this month on the blog!

I've been working on these Kona indigo and the COM all RSC17. at last count, after scrolling through my instagram, I think that I counted 70+! and we still have pink and brown to go... looking forward to getting this one done!

 

the colors? school bus, coral, flame, amber, terra cotta, tangerine, orange and nutmeg. I still have one (salmon) to go, but that's it...

 

 

six 16 patches for this month, plus some lurking (lost) red fabrics that I made into red crumb blocks that I found from March.

 

I surprised myself with 16 orange crumb blocks- would never have imagined that I had that much (and varied) orange scraps. I guess those few "donations" of scraps throughout the year made a bigger difference than I thought!

 

I showed my ever-growing stack of crumb blocks here, and right now I'm leaning towards Rachel's Rainbow Picnic Blanket but I definitely want to get some of my other, more traditional blocks sewn into tops first...