Scrap Happy Saturday

Today I get to join up with others who have jumped in and are enjoying the Rainbow Scrap Challenge hosted here (I'm about #44). I've really been enjoying trying to focus on 1 color to work on lessening the number of scraps in that color. As far as I know, I really only have 2 more pieces of scraps in purple which I will use to try to finish out my 3.5 inch Jacob's Ladders (I'm at 33 of my 80 for the month.). If those run out, I haven't decided if I will cut into a fat quarter, or just make more of the other colors when I get to them...I guess I have 2 scraps worth of time to decide 😀.

The plan for my RSC17 included 2 "projects" each month. One was the 80 little Jacob's ladders to make a rainbow quilt at the end of the year, and the other was a top for charity out of the month's color. That is what happened to the rest of my purple scraps. They became this fun little Toddler quilt (42 x 56). On the plus side, this was the month with the fewest number of scraps for me (though I'm sure I must have more of this hiding in gifted scraps bags that just haven't been sorted yet...I have just a "few" of those 😏).

Today's Block Count: 3

1 more Orange Block and I'll be able to add the orange to the Red Center I made last year for the 365 Challenge. I'm also loving how different my black and white blocks are looking, It gives them a very different look to only be 2 colors.

Ok...Now I need some opinions from my readers. Should I absolutely keep today's Black and White Block (knowing that it will be next to other black and white blocks), Hold on to it until I lay out that border and see if it looks better with the others knowing I could make a different bonus block when it's time to put the border together, or Just go ahead and make the available bonus block now and put this in my orphans?

Statistical Stuff:
365C2017 - 15/15
365C2016 - 12/15
RSC - 33/42
WS/SS/PSM - 0/14
Total - 70/98
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2
Tops - 1
RSC2 - January Done (12)

Purple Scraps Depleted

Today's Block Count: 14

I've been slowly working on this quilt top in the January Rainbow Scrap color. I thought I would have enough of each color in scraps to do a twin size quilt for charity each month. This is a super simple pattern I've come up with that uses 2.5 inch strips to make the blocks (7 strips for a 14.5 inch block). I also allow myself to use strips that are smaller and just sew them end to end, until I can cut the 14.5 inch strip.

This month, though, I have very little of the month's color, so I was only able to make 12 blocks. But it is a good size toddler quilt, and can still be used easily and if I want it to be bigger...I can also come up with 14 inches worth of border in another color...but I think this is the perfect size for this one. It is 42 by 56.

With this project done for the month. I'm going to "transfer" its daily block to my 365 Challenge 2016, and aim for 2 a day for that one the rest of the month, since I've decided that is what I want to work on the most right now.

I also managed to get 2 little blocks done for my 365 Challenge 2017, which makes that project current again. It also means I'll be able to enter into the weekly drawing for this week. Woohoo.





Block Counts:
365C2017 - 14/14
365C2016 - 10/13
RSC - 33/39
WS/SS/PSM - 0/13
Total - 67/91
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2
Tops - 1
RSC2 - January Done (12)

Homework Fight

Today's Block Count: 0

I spent most of today fighting my 5 year old about his homework. I did play with some purple 2.5 inch strips while talking to my mom while he was at school...But that was all.

Good Day

Today's Block Count: 9

Today was a nice productive day. I managed to get the last orange side done and 1 of the corners for the orange border, leaving 3 more corner blocks and the oranges will be done, and I will be able to attach the oranges to my center. I also got today's black and white block done, as well as my RSC blocks for yesterday and today. I also cut a bunch of my purple scraps into 2.5 inch strips for my RSC2 (monthly charity quilt). I'm starting to think that the quilt this month will be a baby size, since my purple drawer is almost empty, I could also just go random scrappy for the rest of the blocks, or cut from stash....though purples seem to be kind of lacking in my stash.

Block Counts:

365C2017 - 12/12
365C2016 - 10/10
RSC - 33/33
RSC2 - 0/11
WS/SS/PSM - 0/11
Total - 55/77
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2

I do also have another Bonnie Hunter project that I've only pulled scrap fabrics for, but have not begun cutting that will be using purples...so I could cut some for that and some to continue my RSC projects, it would also give me the chance to work on a new project (one I haven't cut for anyway) and a UFO at the same time (counts as a UFO for me if I have a plan and/or fabric...which was both for that project).

Now that this idea has entered my mind...I want to get started. Hopefully, my mind won't keep me up planning, so I'm not too tired to actually work on it tomorrow.

Long Day

Today's Block Count: 1

I had a slow mental day today, so I could only get myself to focus for 1 little 365 Challenge block. But I'm ok with that. Not every day can be a 14 block day.

Block Counts:
365C2017 - 11/11
365C2016 - 8/9
RSC - 27/30
RSC2 - 0/10
WS/SS/PSM - 0/10
Total - 46/69
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2

Monday Progress

Today's Block Count: 14

Today I managed 1 Black and White and 1 Orange 365 Challenge Block each. I also got caught up on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge Purples (3 a day) by finishing 12. Now it's off to bed, since I should have gone to bed an hour and a half ago...oops.

Block Counts:
365C2017 - 10/10
365C2016 - 8/8
RSC - 27/27
RSC2 - 0/9
WS/SS/PSM - 0/9
Total - 45/63
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2

Sick Sunday

Today's Block Count: 10

One of my boys is sick, the other is just over being sick, and hubs seems to have come down with another sickness. One of the dangers of traveling across the country is that we are exposed to many different bugs all at once. It's not uncommon for several bugs to travel through the family at the same time after holiday travels.

But anyway...

I managed to get my Black and White 365 Block done for today, and 2 make up blocks for the rainbow 365. I then managed to get 7 more Tiny Jacob's Ladder Blocks done for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I'm loving getting to use my scraps without feeling like it has to be specific (aside from the pattern I chose). I'm even contemplating a third project that will focus on the color of the month. It will use the same size as the second project, so I may just go through and try cutting all the purole scraps at one time, But then again, who am I kidding. I struggle to even make a tiny dent in my scraps when I cut a gallon size plastic bag's worth of strips.

I also worked out the math for a wedding quilt for this coming spring. I found a great pattern, and have even picked the fabrics I will use (still in an online shopping cart...sometimes it's really hard to pull the trigger). Then I had to increase the block sizes to make it a bedsize quilt. While I am not a huge fan of quiltmath (it's almost the only kind of math I use now) it is good for getting me out of mental funk.

Block Counts:
365C2017 - 9/9
365C2016 - 7/7
RSC - 15/24
RSC2 - 0/8
WS/SS/PSM - 0/8
Total - 31/56
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2

Kyle's Birthday

Today's Block Count: 1

Today was my second son's 3rd birthday. It was a lot of fun to watch him be excited that it was his birthday. We got him a Fire House that is part of his favorite show, Transformers Rescue Bots, and I made a basketball hoop for him for small felt balls that my dad has made. I used a tri-fold project board, and blue fabric (blue is his favorite color) to make a stand that would roll the balls back towards him. My husband 3D printed the hoop and I added cotton yarn to make the net. I'm quite pleased with the result. It doesn't look very professional...but he loved it, and new exactly what it was, and insisted on finding some of the balls for it.

Since this took most of the day, I was only able to get 1 block done for the 365 Challenge 2017. But I'm ok with that. Tomorrow will be a new day, and there will not be a looming birthday present to make.

Block Counts:
365C2017 - 8/8
365C2016 - 5/6
RSC - 8/21
RSC2 - 0/7
WS/SS/PSM - 0/7
Total - 21/49
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 2

Making Progress

Today's Block Count: 14

I am still caught up on my 365 Challenge 2017. It's so nice to be able to say that. I've found that when you can say that something is up to date it makes everything else seem a bit less overwhelming.

I managed to get "caught up" on my 365 Challenge 2016, which just means that I have done enough blocks to have 1 a day for 2017. I don't think that 6 inch was supposed to be in my yellow border, but it's staying, and I will be jumping to the border that goes between my yellows and center...just so I can see the progress of it coming together better. It also means I can change some of the block colors for last year, to accomodate for the fact that there were bonus blocks and I wanted to be able to do those.

I also managed to make 9 Tiny Purple Jacob Ladder Blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge...and for my One Monthly Goal...however, one of them will be going into my orphan blocks because I rotated my 4 patches the wrong way, and I was not going to rip out on a 3.5 inch block.

I also managed a BONUS FINISH yesterday, I recovered my tv tray ironing board. This was the second time I had worn a hole into the top. Mine is removable, so that I could wash it if needed, so I just cut off the top and appliqued a new top layer on. Next time I might try just adding the new layer on top, we'll have to see if that works. But hopefully, I won't need to do that for a bit.

Block Counts:
365C2017 - 7/7
365C2016 - 5/5
RSC - 8/18
RSC2 - 0/6
WS/SS/PSM - 0/6
Total - 20/35
Bonus Blocks - 1
Finishes - 1

Why Do 1 When you can do 5?

So, apparently, I don't like to leave things very simple. While calculating all I wanted to do this year, I came up with a Big Monthly Goal, or a Monthly Block Goal...not sure what I'll call it at the end of the year. But I had seen someone who had a tally of how many blocks they made last year. And decided I wanted to see that too. So I'm going to try. Of course, my Daily Block Goal is 7 blocks a day to be able to do the ones that I have decided are my focus projects for this year (they could very well change, or get finished sooner...so I can substitute others in.). There is actually a breakdown for this.

Daily in order of Priority
1 365 Challenge 2017 (trying to stay current) (January count will be weird since It's on Australia Time)
1 365 Challenge 2016 (playing catchup...I'm in March)
3 RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) (Tiny Jacob's Ladder Blocks) (80 a month max)
1 RSC2 (Strippy blocks for Charity quilts) (30 a month max)
1 Winter Solstice/Splendid Sampler Block

I wasn't home the first 4 days of the year, so I am a little behind...but I hope to remedy that in the next couple days...but I'm still going to just push for the 7 and if I'm behind at the end of the month, I've got some Leader and Enders that can be pressed and counted too

Yesterday I managed 7 blocks.


Block Counts:
365C2017 - 6/6
365C2016 - 1/4
RSC - 0/15
RSC2 - 0/5
WS/SS - 0/5
Total - 7/35
Bonus Blocks - 0

2017 Goals

The first of the year always gets me thinking about what I hope to accomplish. This year, I'm really going to try to not join every quilt-along I see. This has always been a challenge for me because I see and I want to do. I'm giving myself just a few goals for the year.

1. I don't have to finish anything. This isn't about finishing, it's about enjoying. I have been a quilter, who just puts peddle to the metal and it gets a little overwhelming rather quickly. Then I stop everything.

2. I have a list of 2 projects that are carrying over from last year I want to find time to continue. The 365 Challenge is one of those. The other is the Splendid Sampler. (And I guess also in the category is Pat Sloan's Winter Solstice Quilt-Along, but I haven't actually started it yet. I did decide on a color scheme though. Black/White/Grey with a Color accent...Color to be decided later this week.)

3. I have wanted to follow the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for a few years, so I have decided on the project I want to use for that. I will be using a low priority UFO for this project. This will be my tiny Jacob's Ladder blocks that finish at 3.5 inches. I will need 80 blocks a month for this...but it should be a quick and easy little block that would be easy to get at least 3 blocks a day done. I will also be using the first 80 blocks in purple and neutral for my OMG link up with Elm Street Quilts. Picture is my trial block from some time ago (I think 2014).

4. If I have extra time (I know I have more than enough scraps). I want to try to get a quick and simple strippy charity quilt each month in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Color...or at least the blocks sewn , so I can put the top together at Epic Sew Day. I will simply cut the scraps into 2.5 inch strips and sew 14.5 inch blocks with them.

5. #QuiltYourWeightOff2017 is a quilt along on Instagram that I am following this year as well. But it is more of a on your own project. As I lose a pound I can make 1 block. I'm planning on using Swoon Sixteen blocks for this project.

5. If I can manage all of these then I will go back and work on some of the other projects I was trying to follow, including the Quiltville 2016 Mystery Quilt, and a few other quilt alongs.

Play with Me QAL: Coppit

The block/board for the August for the Play with Me Quilt Along was Coppit. And the technique was curved piecing. This is as far as I've made it, thusfar, but the plan is to finish tomorrow.

I really am liking how this one is coming together. I specifically went with subtle differences in the squares. I play to accent the spaces when I quilt it by inlining (outlining just seemed like the wrong word :P ) each of the spaces.

I do feel that the curved piecing was faster (and easier) than the foundation piecing used for the curved spaces. However, I can say that I am getting pretty good at being able to just fold down the strip of fabric to get the spaces so I don't have to cut a piece of fabric for each space. Check out the other boards here.

FAL 2016: 3rd Quarter Goals.

 It's time again to assess what I want to try to get done in the next 3 months for the Finish-Along 2016. Rather than just keeping the leftovers from the first and second quarter I re-evaluated what I actually want to work on (or what has a deadline) and narrowed it down to 9 for this quarter.

Check out the other proposed finishes here. My list is number 44.

4. Allietare

6. Blue Quilt

5. Disappearing 9-Patch

8. My Car Quilt

7. Tumbler Quilt

9. Bravo Indigo

2. Star Swap

1. BAD 3 (Block a Day)

3. Vomit Quilt

Easy Street

Managed another Last Minute Finish for the Finish Along 2016. This one is my Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. This one measures 94 inches square. I love how it turned out. I used fabrics I already had and am quite pleased with how it turned out. I quilted it in an overall stipple.

You can find other great finishes here. This one is number 675.

Jacob's Ladder

This quilt was started as part of a Facebook group Quilt Along. We were working with the traditional block, Jacob's Ladder. I chose to make my blocks large and use some of the fun Novelty fabrics that I had gathered. The block size is 18 inches, and the quilt measures 72 x 90. I chose to quilt it with straight lines that followed the arrows formed by my layout. I am very happy with how this turned out.

This was also one of my Finish Along Goals. You can find other great finishes here. This quilt is number 367.

Play with Me Quilt Along: Ludo

One of today's goals was to get the block made for the Play with Me Quilt Along. I managed to do just that. This month's block is Ludo and our technique was traditional piecing. It went together really fast, and I'm quite pleased with the end result.

Check out the others that have been made this month here. I'm number 254.

Half Square Triangles 2

This quilt was pieced as part of a quilt along in a Facebook group I'm part of. We used Little Miss Shabby's Epic HST block. Because I was trying to focus on finishing things I'd already started, I decided to enlarge the block and use 1 to make a baby quilt. It was really quick and easy. I love how it turned out. And now I have a back-up baby quilt at the ready. It finishes at 48 x 48 inches. Which is a great size for toddlers, too. I quilted it with a loopy stipple in blue.

This is one of my Second Quarter Finish Along Goals. Check out the other great finishes here. This one is #222.

Winter Quilt

This is a quilt I made as a wedding present for the daughter (and future son-in-law) of a dear friend. I used the pattern Winter from the book Cultural Fusion Quilts by Sujata Shah. It uses a free-form piecing technique that started out intimidating me, but was actually quite simple and fast to use. The quilt finished at 92 x 92 inches. They used it at the reception (picture shown) on a day bed that served as the present table. I loved that idea. I definitely look forward to trying a few more patterns from this book.

There were lots of fun fabrics in this quilt. Including, elephants, rockets, flowers, and much more. I quilted it with a stipple with hearts thrown in randomly, at least I think so...this is why I try to remember to blog about my finishes when they are finished not 2 months later...oops.

Update: This was one of my 2nd Quarter Finish-Along Goals. You can check out what others have finished this quarter here. Mine is around #116 in the linky.

Play With Me QAL: Peg Solitaire

The block/board for May for the Play With Me Quilt-Along is the Peg Solitaire board. Our technique to learn was Applique. So I chose to Raw Edge Applique my circles on. I then was able to try out a new kind of thread as I free-motioned in the circles to hold them down. The thread I tried was Glide and the color was Warm Grey 4. I think it worked really well. It kind of had a soft metallic look to it. I loved the 3 color look that Alida used, so imitated that. The circles all came from my scrap bins and the neutral was a fat quarter I got at Corn Wagon Quilt Co. after one of our guild meetings earlier this year. I loved how quick and simple this board was. It made it a lot easier to get it done earlier in the month.

Check out what the others joining in on this quilt along are doing here. I should be around number 188.

Play With Me Quilt Along: Go

April's Block for the Play With Me Quilt Along was the Go Board. Each month we get a game board to make if we made the one from the month before. She gives us a different technique to learn, or practice for each board. This month we did embroidery. It was fun to try to some different stitch styles. I decided to use the colors of floss that would imitate a sun burst on the dark fabric.

Check out all the fun blocks/boards that the others have made here. I will be around number 185.

FAL2016: 2nd Quarter Goals

I loved being able to link up and come up with a list for the first quarter of the Finish-A-Long. Unfortunately, I was only able to finish 1 thing last quarter, which was a little disheartening, since I am overly ambitious in beginning things. So for this quarter, I will include the remaining 16 projects from last quarter which can all be found here. And I will also include the 10 things that I either started in the first quarter or made their way to the "stuck in my head" stack during the first quarter. I'm really hoping this quarter is nicer to me. Be sure to check out what other people are hoping to finish in the next 3 months here. You'll also find my link there. I should be about number 141.

1st Quarter #1: 9 Patch Baby Quilt--Updated

1st Quarter #2: Jacob's Ladder-- Updated

1st Quarter #6: Allietare--Updated

1st Quarter #10: Winter-- Updated

1st Quarter #12: HST2--Updated

1st Quarter Task List: Updated

2nd Quarter Task List

2nd Quarter #4: OBOQ 2

2nd Quarter #1: Tumbler Quilt

2nd Quarter #2: Purple Quilt

2nd Quarter #3: OBOQ

2nd Quarter #5: Blue Quilt

2nd Quarter #6: Double Delight

2nd Quarter #7: My Car Quilt

2nd Quarter #8: Granny Squares

2nd Quarter #9: Grand Illusion 3

2nd Quarter #10: Bravo Indigo

Play with Me QAL: Backgammon

Woohoo. I love that I am starting to make progress again. This is the March Block for the Play with Me QAL. This fun Quilt Along gives us a game board each month (if we finished the block the month before, otherwise, you can purchase each board as well). This is the one board that sealed the deal on me joining this quilt along. This is Backgammon. I love Backgammon. It is one of my favorite board games. I had chosen a darker fabric for the main part of the board, but accidentally cut it too small.

This month's technique was to do Raw Edge Reverse Applique. While it was fun to get to try out this technique, I don't foresee myself choosing to use it again. It is a little stress inducing to cut 1 fabric so close to another fabric. I was worried the whole time that I was going to cut the underfabric....particularly on the last spike or 2. Luckily I did not have that problem, and I can happily say my block is done.

Check out the linky to see the other fun blocks and color combinations that others have made. I'm around number 135.