March RSC2020 Turquoise Blocks

Scraptastic Star

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) color for March is turquoise (or aqua or teal). Back in the early 2000s I collected aquamarine depression glass and developed a deep love for teal, aqua, and turquoise. I've sold most of it since then, but I still love it! Our kitchen and family room are decorated with aqua with touches of red and gray, and fortunately my husband likes it too!

Geese Migration

Since I have a lot of turquoise in my stash, I assumed I would have plenty of scraps to work with this month. I was wrong! I have many blue scraps, but not so much of the colors I needed. I broke my rule of only using scraps and delved a little bit into my stash. Please don't tell the scrap police!

Cynthia's Irish Chain

My blocks are Scraptastic Star, Cynthia's Irish chain, and Geese Migration. I was not able to finish any strings this month, so I will squeeze those into one of my posts next month.

I'm adding my post to all the fun at Angela's Scrap Happy Saturday and Cynthia's Oh Scrap!

March Monthly Color Challenge

The representative bird for the Monthly Color Challenge for March is the Baltimore Cardinal. Since my orange scraps are depleted from last month's RSC, I decided to go with the female Oriole, who has more muted gold/orange/yellow feathers than the brightly colored male. You can click on the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge button in my sidebar for more info. It isn't too late to catch up!

This block is formed with HSTs and with flying geese using the no-waste method. Am I the only one who forgets to press the seams after the first cut? I always have to rip stitches! Also I have a little difficulty trimming the geese using a regular ruler. Some day I shall purchase a ruler made for trimming flying geese, and my life will be perfect.

February's Indigo Bunting block enlarged from 8-1/2 to 12-1/2 inches

The block patterns produce a 12-1/2 inch block, and I had forgotten that last month I reduced the block size to 8-1/2 inches in order to accommodate my scraps. Sooooo, although I really liked the 8-1/2 inch blocks, I went ahead and added fabric to the borders of the January and February blocks. It's just asking too much of myself to remember to make that adjustment each month!

To enlarge January's Goldfinch block to 12-1/2 inches, I cut into some long

hoarded Michael Miller fabric called Summer Soiree by Paula Prass.

This month's RSC color is teal, and my overflowing scrap bin is ready. I'll be making a Scraptastic Star, string blocks, a Geese Migration block, and an Irish chain block. Hopefully that will help reduce the overflow somewhat. Before I start, I plan to use Preeti's suggestion of separating my scraps into greenish blue and bluish green! We are good to go on groceries for a few days, and with no visitors or activities scheduled for awhile I should have plenty of time to get going on scraps.

I'll be linking this post at the end of the month with Jen's 2020 Monthly Color Challenge for March.

Orange Zest Blocks

Having squeezed most of the "juice" from my orange scraps for this month's RSC2020, I'm starting to use the zest - lol! In fact I thought I was done making blocks but I spotted some neat blocks made by Cynthia Brunz at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework and decided to shamelessly copy them. I'm calling mine "Scrappy Irish Chain" blocks.

For each block, I simply chose twelve 2-1/2 squares - 4 dark in the center and 8 light for the outer - and the 4-patch corner "chains" are made with 1-1/2 inch pieces. My blocks finish at 8-1/2 inches.

I also made them in green to join with the other green blocks for January. I think I am finally finished with green and orange!

This one is my favorite

I'm joining the fun at Cyndy's Oh Scrap! and to Angela's So Scrappy

January 2020 Monthly Color Challenge

Diann at Little Penguin Quilts always has the neatest projects going on, and when I saw that she had joined the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge, I just had to check it out. The challenge involves a block in a different color each month, which will make good use of my scrap bins, and the color inspirations are from birds, so what's not to like?

Here is the list of each monthly color and its bird counterpart:
January yellow: Goldfinch
February teal: Indigo Bunting
March orange: Oriole
April purple: Honey Creeper
May green: Budgerigar
June blue: Blue Bird
July rust: American Robin
August pink: Flamingo
September cinnamon: Cinnamon Teal
October olive: Ruby-crowned Kinglet
November buff: Buff-breasted Sandpiper
December red: Cardinal

The challenge is sponsored by Jen at Patterns by Jen, and she provides a monthly pattern that is free only during that month. The January block is a simple one that goes together quickly with strip piecing, unless you elect to go "scrappy", and it finishes at 12-1/2 inches. I say the pattern was simple, but as you see in my first attempt above, I still managed to place a 4-patch in the wrong direction!

My "yellow" is a dark gold that was hard to capture in a photo

This post is linked to the January linkup on Jen's blog, and you can see other yellow goodies by clicking on the logo above.

Going Green With Strings

As I mentioned in my last post, this month's RSC color is light and bright green. When I visited Cynthia's blog the other day to link up with her Oh Scrap!, I saw that she had made green string blocks. In true squirrel fashion, I thought "string blocks!" and got my green scraps back out to play. Notice I said "play". In my last post I mentioned that I don't really enjoy "playing" with scraps. Well that has changed. String blocks are just fun. Another quilt in the works - just what I need (not!).

I saw a string block on Instagram with a wider strip that forms the center, so I experimented with that. I think I like any kind of string block! Both blocks are made with four 6-1/2 inch blocks sewn together for a 12-1/2 inch block.

One of the fun things about using scraps is seeing favorite fabrics I've used. This one is called Doglandia Unleashed, and I used it in my granddaughter's green quilt I made last year. The fabric is peppered with fun dog phrases such as "Fetch" and "get the ball" and "get the stick".

I'm pleased with the reduction in my green scrap bin, although it wasn't very big before.

I'm joining Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday and Cynthia's Oh Scrap! Go have a look at all the scrappy goodness!

January RSC 2020

This week I've joined the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2020 with Angela at So Scrappy. January's color is "light and bright green", and green is my most sparse scrap bin! Why? I have a lot of fat quarters in many hues of green, but I usually only like green at Christmas. I really should use it more!

Although I save and use scraps, I don't enjoy "playing with scraps", but I really want to challenge myself to use more scraps instead of always reaching for yardage. After two days of struggling with what I found in my green scrap bin, I finally realized that I don't have to stick to "greens only" (where did I get that idea?) and invaded other bins for scraps with touches of green. Then I was able to put together a block using a pattern by Melissa Corry called Scraptastic Stars. The blocks finish at 12-1/2 inches, so by October I should have enough to finish up for a nice sized quilt.

In 2016 I enthusiastically joined RSC 2016. I made a log cabin block from this tutorial on Cynthia's Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework blog, and that was the last scrap block I made that year! To make myself more accountable this year, I'm going to cut 2-1/2 inch strips for scrappy binding as I go, so I will have what I need to finish this quilt. I'm thinking about using this tutorial to make sashing that forms secondary stars as cornerstones.

Although it is Wednesday, I am linking to Angela's ScrapHappy Saturday and Cynthia's Oh Scrap on Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework.

Cottonwood Quilt - Nine-Patch Squirrel Part 2

This is the squirrel that came to stay. My last post has the details of how this squirrel first came to be. Now that it is a full-blown project it deserves a name, and I chose the name "Cottonwood". The farm where I grew up had a cottonwood tree that holds many happy memories for me - from playing beneath its shade, to seeing it silhouetted against the sky at night during lightning storms, to watching "cotton" shed during early summer. Seems like an apt name for a happy quilt!

Excel spreadsheet instead of graph paper!

Bevquiter123 on Instagram has been very patient with my questions about block sizes for this glorious vintage quilt that first caught my eye. I was wrong on my initial impression of each block measuring about 12 inches. There is no "12-inch block", just nine-patch blocks separated by strips of rectangles and squares. With the blocks finishing at 6 inches, rectangles finishing at 6 x 3 inches, and squares finishing a 3 inches, I estimate that 7 nine-patch blocks across and 8 down separated by rectangle/square strips will make a lap=sized quilt.

Some of the blocks will be balanced in color and pattern, but others will just be scrappy. My comfort zone balks at this, but I'm actually finding it to be fun. It takes a lot less time!

Original quilt with pink squares

Dotted cream squares

Pink squares

The original quilt was "anchored" by pink squares. I have not yet decided whether to go with the neutral dotted cream or the pink-ish fabric. My comfort zone tendencies are to go with neutral, since the other fabric strips will be very busy, but then I look at the original quilt and I'm tempted to be a wild girl.

Rosie inspecting my antibiotics

It is nice to be back in the sewing room for longer stretches of time. August was a month of fighting a really bad cold that wouldn't go away (kind of like the squirrel!). Weight loss and breathing issues finally sent me to my doctor last week. He ordered a chest x-ray and antibiotics and a chest CT is scheduled in a couple of weeks. My recovery has been slow and my energy level sapped, but I'm finally starting to have days of feeling almost normal - yay!

Our weather has been drastically affected by the dreaded late summer high pressure dome, with very little rain during July and August and now into September. We have some chances of rain this week, so I plan to perform my rain dance today. Hurry up Fall!

Flower Power, Texas Flag Quilt, and A Break

I've been working on a pattern I saw on Instagram and immediately loved. It is called Flower Power by Kelli Fannin and is available for purchase here. I am using a fat quarter bundle of Enchanted Pond that I purchased some time ago and this will become a lap-sized quilt for my sister-in-law! I put a 5-inch charm square in the photo so you can see how big the blocks are at 16-1/2 inches square. The blocks go together quickly, and I am really enjoying it!

I have set the Flower Power project aside to start work on a surprise for my husband - a Texas Flag Quilt or Lone Star Flag quilt. He is out of town until Thursday, Sept 28, and I have other plans all weekend, so I need to get it done quickly. The pattern is by Lisa at Things Here Lately, and it is available in PDF here. I spent the entire afternoon laying it out on the design board, and today I will start piecing. I love scrappy flag patterns, and I am excited about this one. I can't wait to see his face when he sees it across our new slate-blue bedspread!

I will be taking a little break from the blog. I know you're thinking "A break from what? She hardly ever posts!" Lol! I plan to be back soon with some Christmas projects.

Scrappy American Flag Finish

The Scrappy American Flag was completed a couple of weeks ago, but I am late getting a blog post up!

I have yet to sew a hanging sleeve on the back, and it is currently "tacked" onto the kitchen wall.

Many thanks to Julia at Running Stitch Quilts for a great pattern! And thanks to Amy of Diary of a Quilter for her American Flag Quilt tutorial (another great pattern!), where I learned the proper way to hang an American flag vertically is with the blue/star field in the upper left corner.

Jack loves the new backdrop to his handsome-ness!

I primarily used 2-1/2 inch scraps of Moda's Freedom by Sweetwater and filled in with scraps from stash. I loved fussy-cutting a couple of my favorite states!

The back is from a layer cake of Moda Independence Trail.

Binding is a nice navy grunge-ish fabric I found at Hobby Lobby!

Currently working on a quilt for our soon-to-be 14 year-old granddaughter!

Scrappy American Flag Quilt Flimsy

Flimsy complete

Back in June I started looking for a flag wall hanging for one of my kitchen walls. I wanted our American flag represented somewhere in the house; plus I knew the colors would coordinate with my kitchen very nicely. When I found a link to Julie's wall hanging at Running Stitch Quilts, I knew it was the one. I love it! (Be sure and click on the link to see her gorgeous version!) She is also on Instagram @runningstitchquilts

Pre-piecing

She was in the process of making a free pattern, but I was impatient. So I studied hers closely and started cutting 2.5 inch scraps. She was in the midst of a move but still managed to create the pattern. When she offered it free for one week only just for signing up for her newsletter, I grabbed it! (Although the link is still on her blog, I'm not sure if it's still available.) Her pattern is very well written and beautifully illustrated and having it really helped answer some of the questions I had.

I want a blue denim-ish fabric for the back and have considered various fabrics but of course none is in my stash! I also want to sew in a hanging sleeve.

Space above bookshelf (with Katy Kitty) is 30 x 46

The quilt will finish at about 26 x 46, and I may have to get a new bookshelf for my cookbooks if it doesn't fit above it. But the kitties will insist it has a nice perch for them!

This post is linked to Mama Spark's World WIPS With Friends

RSC 2016 - Scrappy Curved Log Cabin Block

Angela at So Scrappy is hosting her annual Rainbow Scrap Challange, and I've decided to join the fun! You may follow the monthly color choices and/or design plan for a scrappy sampler, and she has a tutorial for beautiful Twinkle Stars. For January the color is blue.

Last summer I made a eight scrappy curved log cabin blocks using this tutorial for scrappy offset rainbow blocks by Cynthia Brunz at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework. Yesterday I remembered them and decided to resurrect and complete the blocks for RSC 2016. Each completed rainbow "circle" is composed of four blocks, and I had made one block each of blue, aqua, hot pink, red, orange, and green. I pulled more scraps for three more blue blocks and finished them last night.

My "cheat sheet" for Cynthia's instructions!

Can't wait to see what next month's color will be! And after seeing Cynthia's version of Twinkle Stars, I may have to make a few of those blocks too!

There's still one more day to enter my Giveaway!

I'm linking to Scrap Happy Saturday and Oh Scrap!