Before the Thanksgiving

I was able to put together my 2017 Rainbow Scrap Challenge top:

All the block's are from Pat Sloan's Summer Solstice Quilt Along. I modified them to be 9" blocks instead of her various sizes to get the size quilt I needed. The fabric was whatever I had in my stash that was the color of the month - even the background. I'm learning that one does have to buy larger pieces now and then to have on hand for backgrounds. Now to think of a border.  Any suggestions?

I also was able to finish the first round of leaders and enders around my Mother Goose medallion  as I cooked and baked and visited with my DGSs #1 and 4.  Just have columns of half blocks to add to the sides now, and that baby top will be done.  I'm liking this way of using up scraps.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday or weekend. Blessings!

Catch Up Saturday

I've been working on my  2017 RSC challenge blocks.  Didn't want to end the year with another WIP.  Angela picked black/brown for November or as a catch up month so we can do just that or start

assembling.  So I made another orange block.

Then I made a lavender block. My layout needed one of this color or as close as I could get to it. RSC blocks are good for pointing out deficiencies in one's scraps and stash. Next year I have teal, neutrals and lavender I need to replenish --oh, a reason to buy fabric!

I've been making my RSC blocks with the patterns from Pat Sloan's Solstice quilt a long. 

Enjoy your weekend.  I hope you get to quilt. Blessings.

Another Pink

Made this for the RSC challenge yesterday.  Last day for pink.  Linking to Angela's party.

What are you up to?

DGS#4  - a Ninjago for Halloween with his cousins.

Some of This; Some of That

Destashing:  One back for isolette top, 2 RSC challenge blocks, 11 blocks to finish other baby quilt top = 1.3 yds out - giving me  53.38 yds YTD out of my stash.  I'm linking to quiltpaintcreate's Sunday Stash.  I'll be linking to a few other parties. See my tab under the header. Click on more. 

Here are the RSC blocks (my BOMs Away for this week:

These are blocks Pat Sloan is sharing for her Summer Solstice she is sharing at I Love to Make Quilts site.  They're to the quilt top stage already - I'm behind.

Here is view from my front door to my DH's planting in the front of the house. Lol, we don't have grass.

The tall plant with the poofy flower heads is an Alluaudia procera from Madagascar. In fact several of the plantings there are from that country. People stop to take photos.  The one behind it is a Canary Island palm in our across the street neighbor's front yard. It got a recent hair cut. Personally, I'd have left all the leaves to give shade for this already hot summer. The three Washingtonia palms are also in their yard.  They must be near 100 ft. tall.

I hope you are having a nice quilty day with some slow stitching. I've prepped some more Bliss hexies to sew while I watch Father Brown tonight.  Blessings.

And then there were three

Here's my third green scrappy block for the 2017 RSC

For the quilt I have in mind the blocks have to be 9" finished. In the I Love to Make Quilts version, it is a 12" block. I've finally worked out a method to make reducing the block less complicated for me.
I see what the size of the finished pieces have to be and then add a 1/2" to the measure. For instance for the one above.  The middle of this 9 patch is twice the size of the corners, so my pieces have to be 1/4th the finished size.  So I divided 9 by 4 and got 2 1/4".  I added the 1/2" seam allowance and squares for the corners  should cut at 2 3/4".   The middle rectangle is 2 3/4" twice, but since this is a long rectangle, one subtracts the 1/2" seam allowance as there is no seam in the middle.  And so it goes...

At retreat, we do make and takes.  They give us a kit and we make it.  Most of us are usually learning a new technique when we do this.  Our first make and take was to make a name tag.  Here's mine.

We had three birds to choose from.  Here's my daughter's:

She stuffed hers and braided the feet.  Wish I had taken more pics of my Mom's and DDIL's.

I'm linking to Angela's RSC 2017.

Making blocks

Well, a bit of progress - I made five blocks for the RSC 2017 challenge trying to feature aqua (except I have very little of it).

Only the basket one registers for me as aqua and the upper right comes close.  Maybe I'll do better with the March color.

I've started the last block of my current "17 UFOs in 2017" challenge project.  If I get it done tomorrow, I'll have all the blocks made for this going on seven years (this summer) old project. WIPs Be Gone!

Linking to Angela at So Scrappy.

Some of This; Some of That

Want a free fat quarter?  Check out my giveaway - top, sidebar.

My daughter came over and raided my stash - a good thing - lol.  Helped with my numbers for this weeks stash report. She's clearing out her sewing room/computer corner to make room for an addition to her family. You can read about it here. She found fabric for two backs and took 2.40 yards.  I used .6 yd for my crumb blocks, .5 for my Madonna SC, .25 yd for a pieced block for my UFO challenge, and another .5 yd for another teal block.

That brings my YTD total to 21.86 yds destashed.

I've finished hand quilting my third side of the last border on the ancient one. I've learned so much since I started it in 1987. And one thing is how to space quilting motifs in a border.  This last row has (ahem) a bit more space between the last two motifs.  But that is the way it is. Placement should be better on the upcoming hand quilting.

And that center motif should have been lower - I was alternating them up and down to fill the space.

What are you up to?  It's an overcast and gray day here - just right for a walk in the park and then some hand stitching while watching The Crown.  I'm linking to some parties that you'll find under my tab "Linky Parties" above.  Blessings on this Lord's Day.

Some of this, Some of that

First my destashing report:  Used a few scraps for some string blocks - about .10 yd.  Used a few pieces to make more hexagons - another .05 yd.  Made a few more units for En Provence and a few pieces for the Anna's Garden block - .05 yd.  Pulled and sorted out of the stash 6 yards to give to the Pay and Take Corner at the guild meeting tomorrow.  My YTD use/donation now stands at 6.8 yds destashed! 

Design wall #1 hasn't changed. Design wall #2 now has my first 2017 RSC block which is also my first Winter Solstice block.

I'm also participating in Shelley's "The 350 Blocks Project" in which you make blocks all year to see how many you construct.  If you get to 350 blocks, you're eligible for prizes at the end of the year.  Last year participants made over 35,000 blocks!  What's fun is you decide what blocks you're making; they don't go anywhere. It's all fun.  And the two 2017 projects above will help me keep making blocks.  Here's her badge, and Angela's, too.

Link in paragraph above.

What are you up to?  I'm working on my sampan, my Anna's Garden block, and thinking what top to make next as a baby quilt.  Leave me a comment and I'll come check your blog.  Blessings!