what I'm working on today

What I'm working on is catching up on some customer quilts. They have waited far too long. Hubby is sleeping in the chair and the quilts are calling me.

I love scrappy quilters - they leave happy surprises in the quilt which makes me smile.

I am linking:

midweek makers 

boms away 

Oh scrap

soul searching finish

I finished this quilt last week, but couldn't get a picture. I made it last year as part of the rainbow scrap challenge. Each month of the color, I made a block. By the end of the year, I had a quilt. I really like following along each month to use up scraps and to stay inspired. I have seen some remarkable quilters and their projects.

This quilt was great at using 2 1/2 inch strips of scraps. I tried to do a machine binding, and I am still happier with a hand sewn binding.

This quilt is part of my 2019 finish- along, my goals for this quarter are here.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different

Whoop Whoop

peacock party
oh scrap

UFO busting
rainbow scrap challenge 

row by row

I've enjoyed the end of the year for cleaning up odds and ends of projects and their respective piles.
It seems I am a stuffer. When I get to a certain point in quilt making, I stuff the odds and parts somewhere. As the stacks grow taller, I get a little bit crazier.
I have been unstuffing, slowly and without pressure.
I have moved 3 quilts through borders, backing and binding to the quilt closet including soul searching.,  a rainbow scrap challenge quilt.

I have started assembling rows of the birch trees quilt. I finished all the blocks during the year as part of the rainbow scrap challenge. I am glad we have the last two months of the year for finishing our rsc quilts. But, I am a little lost. I have all these ideas for next year, and I NEED a color. I want to start right now, not next week. Now...

I guess I will just go clean something. sigh....

I am linking:

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

getting closer

Yesterday, I gave in to a nasty cold, and a lot of Christmas movies were watched, snuggled in a warming blanket. I didn't even do hand work. ahhhchooo. It has slowed any progress throughout the week as well.

I did get all the rows together for Soul Searching and it will live in the to be quilted pile.

and I finished row 4 of the tokoyo subway quilt I have one more row to finish.

I hope next week is a little better. I miss my sewing room.
I am linking:

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap 

soul rows

Today for the rainbow scrap challenge, I have rows ready to assemble into a quilt for soul searching. This is the way I see it, but then it is rectangle the wrong way.

This is a more typical arrangement. I don't like it very much this way. sigh...

I have really enjoyed making this with the rainbow challenge. I used up a bit of 2 1/2 inch strips that had been hanging around for too long. I am even thinking, I might make a shirt plaid version next year. I would definitely have enough.
I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

a bit of soul

I cut the dark blue pieces I needed for soul searching so that I could take them to Friday group with me. I am using 2 1/22 in strips from my scrap drawers.

I was able to sew it together before I spent time piecing my double wedding ring. This is the last block I need for the quilt. Well at least that is the plan. After I put it together, I may think I want it bigger.
Dark blue is the rainbow scrap challenge color for September.

I am linking to

 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

Oh Scrap

soul searching

I only have 1 more block to make for soul searching. Today was orange day for my rainbow scrap challenge. Orange is one of my favorite colors, but I don't use it much, so I don't have as many scraps as I would like.

It was a sunny windy day, Photos were challenging.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

soul searching in red

A new month and a new color for the rainbow scrap challenge. Can you guess?

While I was waiting for the new color, I put a row together of soul searching. These blocks are big 20 x 24 inches, so three will make a good size row.
There is something magical about this pattern. The cutting sizes are easy to remember and go quickly. And then the block is in 4 parts. And when the 4 parts go together, it is so fun. Almost a surprise. While I am sewing this block, I keep imagining and wanting to make other quilts from it. And then, doing it one color a month is such a treat. Maybe, I will make one every year for the rainbow scrap challenge. Well now, I am sure getting ahead of myself.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday


ufo busting

We've got soul

With the first Saturday so close to the first of June, I was not expecting to get any rainbow scrap challenge sewing done. But, I was able to find a few turquoise 2 1/2 in strips and get started. I have even less of this color than pink from last month.

I have a soul searching block ready.

I had time at Friday group to start assembly of last years rainbow quilt -pineapple blossom quilt.
The center is together. I need to begin the borders.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

soul in pink

May rainbow scrap challenge color is pink and rose. ooo how lovely.  But what a surprise to find only a handful of 2 1/2 strips in those colors. hmmmm I must not make enough pink things. With the colors so far, I have had a whole drawer full of strips in that color.

I had enough to make the monthly soul searching block at my Friday small group. I like it in pink.

I think I will spend some time outdoors today and soak up a little Spring.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

rsc soul

April is the start of yellow for the rainbow scrap challenge. I finished the soul searching block.

this is the customer quilt finished

And this is a memory quilt made with shirts. Great machine quilting.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

soul searching

At Friday sewing group, I had a chance to cut and sew my green soul searching block for the rainbow scrap challenge. The green color is great. I have many 2 1/2 in strips in the green bin. Here are the other 2 colors



I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc18 super saturday

purple and Christmas

The blue bin is still full but much more organized after making January blue blocks. Hooray

I am excited to use purple for the month of February and the rainbow scrap challenge. Purple is one of my favorite colors.

I spent my Friday quilt group cutting and piecing the purple block for soul searching. This is a great stash busting quilt. These blocks are huge about 22 inches. I have also cut the 2 inch squares for the tokoyo subway quilt. There are 8 blocks that will need purple.

My work on the Christmas block of the month has been slow. Jo of Jo's country junction has a challenge for finishing old block of the months. I did cut a bunch of 1/2 square triangles.

I was worried about "inventing " the blocks since I have lost the patterns, and then I realized I had used the same sizes in last month's squared away block, so I did finish one block. I only have 4 more to go before I can start to plan a layout.

oh, maybe I could do this layout from my inspiration board...

or this...

Time will tell ... or I may just want to get it finished quickly with rows and sashing.

I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc17 super saturday

Jos Country junction

A Christmas challenge

Jo of Jo's Country junction has offered a block of the month challenge on Saturdays at her blog. I have no trouble finding a few block of the month projects that I have let slide into the abyss of UFOS to work at completing. The one I want to focus on first is a Christmas Block of the month from a LQS.
I signed up for a block of the month about 40 miles from home several years ago. The sign up fee was 15.00  for all the fabric we would need, and we received a hunk of jelly roll strips and a hunk of 5 inch squares in Christmas colors. Our job was to attend a meeting every Saturday, and they would give us a spiel about new fabrics and new tools in the shop, and if we brought our completed block to the meeting, the next pattern was free.. It seemed well worth the expense, and I was convinced I would have no trouble attending the Saturday meeting. After all I am a responsible person. Gosh, I hated that drive....I have 7 blocks completed. I think I will need 12 before I can think about what to do with them.

 There were several different kits, so I am inclined to think it was their way of cleaning out their scrap bins. We didn't get to choose, they came in paper bags. I liked the colors, but felt that there was a lot of darks.

 There were no instructions in my box, so I have misplaced them. And I didn't attend the last few meetings. Everything was made using 2 1/2 inch thangles. So I can just make my own assortment of triangles and call it good.

Today is the rainbow scrap challenge at super scrappy. The color for January is light blue.

I started with my 2 1/2 inch strip bin and cut for a quilt called soul searching. My blue bin still won't close, so using the lighter blues was a blessing.

I cut the pieces at my Friday sew group. It didn't take long before I had one ginormous block ready to go.

After  working on On ringo lake the pieces and the block seemed huge. I think I am really going to like this quilt. And Elvis has made an appearance LOL

I don't know where it comes from. I am winging it from a picture I saw on a blog.
I am linking to
 SewCan She

rsc17 super saturday

 and Jo's country junction