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!

well, that's odd... and Just One More!

a bit of sewing this week- not much, but whatever happens, the 3" squares never seem to get any less...

 

a new project for me for RSC18 is the Growing Up Odd quilt, found over at Deanna's blog, Wedding Dress Blue.



 

I've lots and lots of blues, so there were 5 blocks made this month.

 

 I've even made myself a high-tech scrawled drawing to color and count as I piece along. this will be a large quilt when it's done, (aren't they all?!) but I'm excited to see all those squares playing nicely together...

last year for RSC17 I made the low volume plus blocks in each color of the month. (3" squares again still) I laid this out on the living room floor this morning (this is not the final layout. the girls have already switched a few squares around...) and I'm 1 square short for a 5X6 layout!

 

I have an idea for that 30th square: I want to do it the opposite of all the others: a colored plus, with the low volume background. these blocks have been stalled for a couple months now, and I'm wondering if anyone can help a poor quilter out? (ha!)

 

I'm envisioning my plus for the final block to be a dark fabric, with rainbows. maybe the arc of the rainbow on a blue background? or rainbow striped fabric? it needs to read as a dark, or at the least a medium to work. I don't have any of that in my stash. does anybody have a rainbow-esque fabric that will work? I need just 5 3" squares.

 

I'd be grateful and appreciative if anyone is willing to share some squares. I'll park my address here for a couple days (you guys are the only ones who read my blog anyway...) and then I'll take it down.

 

thanks in advance! and be sure to click on over and see all the other scrappy goodness going on this week.

 

 

It's that time of year!

even though it's October, and "technically" we're still a month away from putting quilts together; I should be working on my yellows (that's the color for October, right? I haven't' even pieced yellow blocks- except for the low volume plus...) I got way too excited and finished 2 quilts these last 2 weeks- my Low Volume Plus quilt, (RSC16) and a 16 Patch quilt (RSC15)

This Plus Quilt is so simple, but can I just say I lovelovelove it? again- lots of favorite fabrics in here; all my family is represented with dresses, shirts, quilts, aprons, ect...

our sweet little miniature donkey, Daisy, now has the hang of the quilt photo shoots. Quilt + Camera = treats for the donkey. she's so cute!

RSC15 was the year of the 16 patches for me. (and again: simple but effective) I used my Farmer's Market quilt all summer. but as usual: I went a bit overboard and pieced HEAPS AND SCADS of the 16 patches. (over 200. sheesh....)

just a simple layout for this one. I laid the colors out in diagonal rows- there was a lot of red; red will also be the backing and binding.

this quilt will go to one of the MCC auctions; probably next fall.

AND: I still have about 20 16 patch blocks left! I'm thinking a baby quilt, or dolly quilt... we'll see.

Red is for September

a bit more time to sew, and even time to blog!

red is a prolific color in my stash- I've pieced 2 granny squares, with 7 more to go... that wasn't even using all my reds- just the ones that I especially like...

another row for my low volume plus quilt- with just yellow and black to go, it will soon be ready to put together! can't wait to see this one finished!

and finally, finally, FINALLY, the Simply Woven quilt is finished. judging by the likes, comments and hearts on both facebook and instagram, it's a popular one. that 's a good thing, as it will be sent to one of the MCC quilt sales (Texas, I think...)

 

 

my friend Karen is a long-armer, and we partner together to send quilts to different MCC auctions. I love to piece; she's great at quilting, and so it's a nice partnership. she's been doing it for years, I just jumped on board a couple years ago... I love to piece, and get WAY TOO MANY quilts for my house, and even still too many to share with my children, so it just works out nicely all around...

 

 

I'm updating the RSC tabs at the top of my page; come back later to see... meanwhile, click over to so scrappy and see what everyone else is up to! 

Grey fabrics; sunny skies

the weather here has been absolutely gorgeous! green trees (with just a hint of fall color), blue skies and clear, crisp air. we call it "birthday weather" at our house. my birthday is next week, my twin sons the following week, and the baby of the family has a birthday in early October. half of our family birthdays are in 2 weeks' time, so it's always been known as birthday weather!

13 grey crumb blocks are done- I've got a nice little pile of these.

both of the grandbaby quilts are done- one is delivered, one is at the quilters now. i'll share more about them later. we're just 6 weeks and counting now for the first baby, and while the second baby (a girl) is due on November 15, it's in WA state. (we live in PA) BUT: the good news is we've already purchased our tickets- December 1. can't wait! (and B is already making her list of what she's going to pack. it's a big deal to be an aunt when you're 8!)

4 more granny squares to add to the pile. I'm steadily working through the blocks (hundreds and hundreds; many different blocks!) that I made last year and getting them into quilts. I'm working on updating my RSC15 tab, too. it feels good to get the blocks out of drawers, and into quilts that can be used...

i'm still here... and i'm back!

holy smokes! what a summer... drought, wind, hail, exhaustion, bronchitis, more drought, even a "monsoon"... this has been our most difficult growing year yet, but we're almost done, and still managing to produce (and harvest!) lots of good food for our CSA members.

 

I completely missed out on August's sewing, so I'm slowly catching up with the greys. why do I love grey so much? no idea...

I've done the row for my low volume plus quilt, and can also pull the reds for September and get working on them.

I finished my pink crumb blocks, (and it was still August- so only one month behind on those!)

 

I made one baby quilt for grandbaby #1- due in October. and I've got a great start on the quilt for grandbaby #2- due in November.

 

I haven't done any more rows for the column along quilt for RSC16. I fell behind with the green flying geese, and then got a bit stumped with the grey row... I'm doing the quilt in all Kona solids, and my background is grey.... so i'll have to figure that one out pretty soon... I don't want to relegate yet another quilt to the WIP/UFO pile!

 

speaking of which... my pile is getting bigger and bigger! I just can't keep up with all my ideas- I really need to get some of those started quilts finished! I think that will be a good project for me to work on after the gardens are put to bed!

 

click on over to Angela's to see all the other beautiful quilts!

I'm still here!

the garden is growing well, and we're very busy planting, tending and harvesting... every once in awhile I'm able to sew for just a little bit. (but not this week!) it's taken me a couple weeks to get my photos uploaded, but here I am!

I'm loving my low-volume plus quilt. (are you an old-enough quilter that you can remember when we called "low volume" our "neutrals"?) ha! every month my LV+ quilt is the first one I go to... it's easy, and soothing to piece.

the granny squares are going fine, too. I have all the aquas done, and a few pinks. I still have a couple greens to finish up from May.

My Simply Woven quilt blocks are all done. here my daughter, A, and our friend B are laying it out at Scraps to Wraps for me. the rows are pieced together, now I just need to sew the rows together. next time I want to do a quilt like this, please talk me out of it! it didn't' go together as easily as I had hoped... (but I'm sure it will all quilt out!) I have a big bag of 2½" strips that someone gave me for S2W, and I plan to use them to make a Scrappy Trips quilt ala' Bonnie Hunter.

 

I haven't even worked on my RSC16 Column-Along! it's in the back of my mind, though, and I have all intentions of finishing it. I love column quilts, and have always wanted to make one. I just need to take the time to look over my stash of Konas, and see what I still need. our local Ben Franklin has the Konas for $5.49/yd every day! how fantastic is THAT?

 

be sure to pop in over at Angela's blog to see what everyone else is making!

Just enough green to keep me sane!

I promise not to start off yet another blog post by saying "it's been a very, very busy week here on the farm". *ahem*

I finally took the time (and had the energy) to begin to sort all the green squares (3") from my suitcase of squares, and even managed to get one of my RSC16 projects worked on. (and many of my greens are a dark, or dull color. I 'll have to keep that in mind the next time I'm "stash enhancing". )

I made 11 of my low-volume plus blocks. can't wait to see how this quilt comes together. plus- I had to laugh at myself- I was looking through my little quilty notebook, and I see that I had planned on making 8 plus blocks each month. somehow the number has been creeping up and up each month! I'm such an over-achiever- can't help it I guess! and this could also explain how many of my quilts turn out so large.

and here's a picture of Helga, and her little lamb, Katie. the girls and I have been having such fun with the sheeps this week- Katie is so sweet! (and Helga got a haircut, too!)

thanks for coming for a visit- click on over to Angela's blog, and see what everyone else is working on.