what a colorful riot of blocks!

we're halfway done with RSC15 (can you believe it?!) and I have quite the pile of blocks. with no further ado:

 

9 patches (monochromatic) with Kona white and black. 

strippy scraps- not sure what i'll do with these, but I'm sure an idea will strike!

16 patches- possibly my mostest favorite so far! I have 112+ of these guys (and I even got the green, purple and aqua ones ironed!) I'm thinking that I'd like to make 2 quilts out of these- either for the guest room beds, OR one for a tablecloth for family holiday dinners, and the other as a tablecloth for my table at Farmer's Market...

4 patches: I'm not loving this stack, but there are oodles of possibilities.

the dreaded D4P. some are from last year, and a goodly amound from this year. my friend did a D4P with a very simple setting, and it's a great looking quilt. i'll probably end up doing the same.

crumb blocks (6" finished): this is what started all this rainbow goodness for me- I was piecing these blocks sporadically, but when I stumbled onto RSC14, it was all over, and I haven't looked back yet!  

here is the stacks of blocks for my zigzag quilts. I plan on making two: one horizontal, and one vertical. I'm excited aobout these 2 quilts, and can't wiat to see how they turn out! (there is a picture in this post of a small sneak preview of the layout...)

 

and last (but not least) a recent re-stashing of neutrals for my RSC15 projects. it takes lots and lots of neutrals to keep these projects rolling- more than I would have ever thought, actually. recently, one of our LQS had a 40% off sale as part of their grand re-opening.

clearly, it would have been irresponsible NOT to go and save all that money!

ha!

I couldn't ask for more!

it's a rainy Saturday morning, the garden chores are done (or at least done enough until Monday morning!) and I'm upstairs in the sewing room, making the rest of my D4P. (3" squares)

if you need me, don't call me- unless it involves bleeding from a major artery, or a broken bone.

ha!

a very busy week, but still time for a *tiny* bit of sewing...

 a couple relaxing evenings of sewing up in the sewing room, and I pieced, pressed AND trimmed 25 crumb blocks. who knew there were so many shades of green?

I'm going to hold off a bit on making my green sawtooth stars until I see how the RSC15 sampler quilt is laid out. i have so many different greens that I'm not sure which ones will look the best...

4 16 patches of aqua, and another green. I can't believe how many 16 patches (and all the other blocks) I have! funny how just a bit at a time really adds up over months of diligence....

it's also quite evident that I need an ironing fairy!

 

you can click and like here to see what I'm up to the rest of the week when I'm not in the sewing room. (and also see why I'm often too tired to even go upstairs for a bit of sewing!)

 

click over on Saturday morning to see all the other RSC15 projects.

Aqua and a bit of light blue...

 

a very small bit of sewing time this week, but I was able to sort out my aquas, and make 12 crumb blocks.

 I took 2 light blue crumb blocks that I had already made, and sewed them up into the sawtooth stars for this month's color. I guess the 2 aqua stars that I did might end up being extras...

all the rest of the rainbow loveliness can be found on Angela's blog.

just a bit of aqua...

I don't have too many light blue scraps- I used all my blues back in January- it was easier for me to use the light AND dark, rather than separate them out. so this month i'll be working in my aquas, and also catching up with the greens, since I didn't quite get them finished.

 

first up is the scrappy 4 patches- and pressed, too!

I did get my scrappy 9 patches done (kona white, and scrappy black center). but once again, I did not manage to get them ironed. sometimes, you know, that iron is just too heavy to lift and push around after a long day in the garden...

 

 

last year (or was it two years ago?) I made the girls matching quilts for their beds. usually I cut off a 2½" strip from my fabrics, and toss them in the strip bin. i had many, many strips (still do, actually!) and wanted to make a smaller sized quilt that would match their bed quilts. Bonnie's scrappy trips to the rescue! I pulled all the bright colored strips from the strip bins and put them in my colander. (yes, I store all these strips in a VERY large, restaurant sized aluminum colander. it's really cool! I'll show you sometime...) the girls pull sets of 5, and then sometimes in the evening, i'll make a few blocks. it's relaxing and mindless- just what I need sometimes. (and those of you with an eagle eye will notice that 5 of the blocks up on the design wall are not pressed. I see a pattern here...

 

here's where I pieced my light blue, and a few aqua strip sets for my zig zag quilt.

 

I also pieced 2 aqua saw tooth stars that I show here.

 

so: that's that! visit Angela's blog to see more of the RSC15 projects. I'm sure you'll be inspired! 

it's all about the green- inside AND out!

 

 it seems silly to even mention that it was a busy week in the gardens... we planted tomatoes (300 Roma), 70+ hot peppers, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, 150 late cabbages, hydroponic lettuce and other stuff I can't remember...(it all blurs together after awhile!)

there were a couple evenings that I was able to find some time and energy to sew upstairs, and I finished my 9 patches- AND even ironed them!

I also finished numerous strip sets for my zig zag quilt, and even got them pressed. I was too tired to get them cut into the 4½" sections, so will work on that this weekend. click on over to Angela's to see the last week of greens. so much inspiration in one place!

a little bit of pressure goes a long way!

it was a busy, busy week here, and if not for the pressure of my local quilt groups UFO15 project that was due on Friday afternoon, I probably wouldn't have gotten any sewing done at all.

as it happened, I "finished" my BOM top at 9:30PM Thursday night. ahem... even though I know I work better under pressure, sometimes it gets a bit ridiculous...

 

I was in a hurry (or tired) and forgot to lay out the final row of sawtooth stars on the quilt, but it's all done now. I still need to add borders, but since I changed my mind about the color, I'll have to get more fabric. I love the way it turned out- but it was a killer to make all of those tiny stars. ack!

 

in other news, I've realized that even though I'm being really diligent and creative, I'm not working through my 3" squares like I'd like to. so- I've pulled all the ones that I'm fairly sure I won't use, and I'm offering them to the first reader/commenter who would like to use them for any project.

 

I'd like to see them actually used, instead of hoarded, so I'm passing them along. keeping it moving, so to speak.

 

 

the stack is over 7" high- I have no idea how many squares are actually there, but it's A LOT! 99% cottons, and many, many different kinds of fabrics: vintage, shirtings, calicos, solids, pretty, ugly...

please let me know you'd like them in the comments below- I'd be so happy to pass them along. (or you can e-mail me at djcap8 at frontiernet dot net )

and I can't wait to see what YOU will do with them!

bits of green all over!

another busy week here; it feels redundant to mention it! of course it's busy- it's spring on the farm!

I made 40 4 patches-and even managed to press them, too! woohoo!

on another note: I've noticed this before, but never said anything: the kindle takes TERRIBLE pictures! the iPhone pix are much better, but pictures on the kindle are easier for me to upload onto my blog...

also: don't forget the hashtag #rainbowscrapchallenge2015 on instagram!

with nothing "pressing" going on...

haha! did you get the pun in the title? nothing "pressing". ha! even though these blocks are pieced, they are not pressed or starched. i'll save that for another day... it was a busy week, with lots going on- potatoes and onions to plant, mulch to lay... the list goes on and on.

 

however- Dave worked 2-11 every day this week, so instead of working out in the fields or gardens until dark, I worked until dinner time. that left me with a  few evening hours to sew.

I already had the squares cut out, so it was very soothing and peaceful to just sit at the machine and repetitiously sew and sew.

some of these fabrics I've had for many years- dresses for my daughters (my oldest daughter is 25 now!), dresses, aprons and doll clothes from my youngest daughters, shorts, shirts and jackets for my 3 boys (24, 24 and 22).

 

perhaps the biggest reason I love making scrappy quilts, and working with my saved scraps is because of the fond memories it brings from when my older children were little. those were busy days... but the happy memories that the fabrics brings back just adds another layer of meaning and sentimentality to my scrappy quilts.

 

 

one way or another, there is green!

spring has truly and really arrived, so there is not much time for green sewing. after 2 evenings of sorting, pressing and cutting, I have this table of green 3" squares. with the exception of a small pile of scraps that were given to me, this is all my green.

 

 

every month I think- "oh, good. color XXX.  I don't have too much of that color; this shouldn't take too long. this month I was wrong again! I also went through my Christmas green; I'll be making a scrappy Christmas quilt (in an effort to use all. those. squares.)!

 

 

on the encouraging side, though, is this picture of my green basket. look how much of my green I was able to put to use- some for my squares and strips, and I gave a bunch of greens that I won't use to my church sewing group.

I spent a lot of time on the tractor tilling this week. it's great to be able to finally work the soil in preparation for planting!

we planted the high tunnel tomatoes this week- and they're doing great! even a few blossoms on many of the plants.