Am I Ready for the End of Green?

We've had almost a month to play with our green scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I've faithfully worked on all my scrappy projects, adding green blocks to each mix.  I've enjoyed it so much I'm not really ready for the month to end.  I've had all kinds of inspiration for green quilts - especially green and white quilts - but not enough time to get anything started.  So many quilts - so little time!

 

The Sugar Bowl blocks came out to play this week.  I added two new blocks using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

 

I'm still not sure how well the Kaffe-inspired Sugar Bowls will look with last year's plainer SB blocks, but we'll see how everything shakes out at the end of the year. 

 

I also managed to do some prep work for the selvage border for the Maverick Stars quilt.  The green selvages will be the centers for square-in-a-square blocks that will be the border.  I need to do the math and figure out just how many of these blocks I need (in multiple colors).

It's been an errand-filled day up til now, so I'm looking forward to some quality sewing time in just a few minutes.  If you are starting to think green and need some inspiration, check out the RSC link-up at Angela's.

 

 

Time for Green Scrap Jar Stars

I made Scrap Jar Star blocks in reproduction fabrics for last year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  At the end of the year I decided I didn't have enough blocks for a good sized quilt and planned to make more SJS blocks in 2016.  I've been adding a block whenever the RSC features I color I need for the quilt. 

 

I definitely needed another green block, so the green reproduction scraps came out to play this week.

 

I pulled out last year's green SJS blocks so I could admire them all together!

I only need 3 more Scrap Jar Star blocks to meet my goal: red, pink & gold.  It will be good to finally finish all the blocks for this quilt!

I'm thinking I need some new Rainbow Scrap inspiration - a new block or plan to use up more reproduction scraps.  Maybe I'll find The Very Thing at the RSC link-up today.

 

Green Stitching on the Porch

Who'd a thunk it?  Our amazing spring weather continues - it's cool and breezy this morning - and I'm enjoying some hand stitching on the porch at the camp.  The trees have really leafed out and the magnolias are in bloom, which means there is sweet scent on the breeze.  We have a lot of bird feeders here, so in spring we always have a parade of birds - locals and transients. 

One of our local woodpeckers

This week I pulled out green scraps for some 4" Sawtooth Star blocks.  I use scrappy strips from my 2 1/2" strips/squares box for these.  One block only needs about an 11" strip of the main color. 

 

I finished up with 6 new Sawtooth Star blocks to add to the collection.   

I hope I'm able to stay outside for the rest of the day today.  Soon summer weather, with its attendant heat and humidity will set in, so enjoying these wonderfully mild days is a priority!  I've got a batch of Quilty 365 circles to stitch, and then some EPP for Barbara Brackman's latest BOW. 

 

 

The Greening of the Quilts

It's a new month and a new color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  The official color challenge is Evergreen Forest - forest-y greens with a little brown for accent.  I will definitely be using some of that color idea later in the month, but for today it's more of a spring-y green.

 

I pulled out the white-centered green 9 patches from last year's RSC.  It was quick work to make some coordinating green-centered 9 patches from my 2 1/2" strips & squares scrap box.

 

That left me lots of time to continue working on last year's Maverick Stars quilt top.  I have one seam left to stitch up and the stars will be set.

 

I also did some more playing with ideas for a border.  Thanks to Sally, I now have a never-ending stash of selvages, so selvage playtime happened.  This is my current working plan, although I have yet to figure out all the math.  

We are enjoying one of the last wonderful days of Gu'f Coast spring weather at our camp this weekend.  It has been a marvelously long and cool spring here - the morning temp at the camp was 49º F.  Usually we blink and spring is over and searing summer weather is upon us.  The birds have been visiting the feeders and a great blue heron even stopped for a visit on our neighbor's dock.

 

My goal for this weekend is to mark my Eagle quilt top for hand-quilting.  I might have to set up a table outside for marking - I don't know if I can bear to be inside the house today!

Quilty 365 Loves Remembering

 

Time for another Quilty 365 report.  How did it get to be May 1st already?  I've been making circle blocks for 178 days now.  Some days I get a little frustrated, because stitching circles has taken up much of my (very limited) weekday sewing time.  I fret because I think I'm not finishing other projects fast enough - but I'm the only one making self-imposed deadlines.  I can't imagine stopping the circle-making now that I am almost half-way through!

For the most part, I'm going strong - choosing fabric every day based on mood, events, weather - whatever strikes my fancy.  I've kept up with my journaling, too, so I can actually remember what inspired each day's fabric choice!

 

April wound up having more remembering than I imagined at the beginning of the month.  There are circles to remind me of a birthday (mine!), quilt shows, my nieces who are learning to sew, a special musical event and even death and mourning.  It's going to be an extra-special quilt when it's finished...in another 198 days!