The Blues Go On Forever, and the Cutting Never Ends

Most of my  blue Rainbow Scrap Challenge sewing this week involved the assembly of a lot of Sawtooth Stars and Uneven 9-Patch blocks.

This project has been floating around for a couple of years, and I decided 2017 was the year to finish it.  This is only about a quarter of the blocks.  The rest were assembled into similar-size sections, which will get sewn together before the weekend is over.

Another element of the Sawtooth Star quilt will be a border of Flying Geese blocks.  I've got about 50 FG blocks made (upper left), but I need about 40 more.  Hence the pile of 3 1/2 inch strips on the cutting mat.

While I had the blue fabric chunks and yardage out, I also cut a big batch of 2 1/2 inch strips to add to the collection in my bin (top right).  I'm succumbing to temptation and joining Diane Knott's 2017 Summer Sew Along.  I've been thinking about projects that would use up more blue scraps, and this seemed like a great idea.  I'll be using blue and white and cream as my color combination.

Dear Hubby and I were out and about for a bit this morning and dropped into a couple of our favorite treasure-hunting places.  A fun time was had by all!

It's All About the Blues

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for July is blue.  Since we in the northern hemisphere are about to find ourselves in the hottest time of the year, maybe playing with blue scraps will help us stay cool.  I'm going to keep that idea in mind while I try to use up as many of my blue scraps as possible!

In the U.S., it's also our nation's birthday weekend, aka the Fourth of July.  That means we've packed ourselves off to our camp for the next several days, where we'll enjoy all kinds of outdoor summertime activities.  It's not a good time for sewing, but I did bring lots of scraps to prep.

I pulled several stacks of strips and squares from the 2 inch scrap box.  These will get prepped for a variety of RSC projects.  I also need to make almost 100 Flying Geese blocks for another scrap quilt in the works, so I brought the prepped pieces for those - maybe I'll do a little sewing...

Some folks refer to this time of year as the Dog Days of Summer.  This year, I have a new understanding of the Dog Days.  

Our oldest son, Andrew, is off exploring a host of national parks and will eventually wind up in California, hiking the John Muir Trail.  He's been planning the trip for the past year and is anticipating lots of good adventures and photographs.

While he's off adventuring, we're taking care of his dog, Moose.  

That's in addition to our two dogs, Bailey & McKenzie.

In about two weeks, we'll add another dog to the menagerie, as our youngest son's dog will come for a visit.  Every summer, youngest son David's job takes him to California for a month, so we take care of his dog, Jozy, while he's gone (Jozy and McKenzie are siblings).  

The end of the Dog Days of Summer signal the beginning of the worst stretch of Hurricane Season.  I think I'll still be glad to see the end of the Dog Days this year!

I'm curious to see what all the Rainbow Scrappers are dreaming up for their blue scraps.  There's a linky party at Angela's blog - will there be virtual barbecue and fireworks in honor of the holiday?!

The Clean Up with Yellow

For this week's Rainbow Scrap Challenge stitching, I dug into the last of the yellow scraps and made some small building blocks.

It only takes 2 inch strips and an Easy Angle ruler to make scrappy pinwheel blocks.  I have a design in mind for these, but I'm waiting for all the RSC colors to finish up before I start assembling anything.

The last of the yellow 2 inch strips and pieces got assembled into 4-patch blocks.  No specific plans for these, but I'm sure inspiration will strike at some point.

I also tried my hand at making two more Burgoyne Surrounded blocks.  

The yellows don't balance out too well in this block, but I think it will be OK when combined with more blocks in a quilt.

I think this one balanced out a little better.  I was inspired by Cathy's Burgoyne blocks; Cathy was inspired by the pattern here.  If you are intrigued by this block, I encourage you to give it a try.  Choosing the fabrics is fun and the cutting and piecing are not difficult - not quick, but not difficult!

I've enjoyed all the yellow fabric play this month, but my yellow scrap bins are pretty empty and I'm ready for a new color.  To see more yellow scrappiness, check out the weekly Rainbow Scrap Challenge link-up.

Flamingo Hexie Progress

On my recent trip to Florida, I procured some new flamingo fabrics for my collection.  Some of these will get used for flamingo hexies, the rest will wait for other inspiration to strike.  I have to give a shout out for one of my favorite fabric stores, A & E Pharmacy in Pensacola, Florida.  Yes, it's a real pharmacy, with a ginormous fabric store attached!  If ever a trip takes you to the general vicinity, it's worth the drive to check out the shop (hint:  it's not too far off I-10).  

I've made a little progress on my flamingo hexie project.  I'm really enjoying all the fabric play and fussy-cutting!

Fussy cutting might be my new fabric addiction.  I use templates cut from card stock to help me figure out which designs I want to feature in fussy-cut pieces.  I should probably re-cut these in template plastic, so they hold up longer.

Cathy was inspired to start her second hexie quilt:  All Creatures Great and Small.  She has lots of great fussy-cutting! 

Yellow Takes Over the Neighborhood

The New Orleans House Project, aka Happy Scrappy Houses, came out to play this week.  As I made house blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge several years ago, I tried to share a New Orleans house in a matching color.  It was fun searching for just the right house to inspire or match my weekly RSC house block.  

Now my weekly RSC project is to go back and add RSC-colored wonky borders to each house.  This week, several houses joined the yellow neighborhood.

I'm happy to report the wonky borders used up a lot of yellow chunks from the scrap stash.

I miss sharing pictures of New Orleans houses each week, but my job doesn't have me driving around the city as much as a few years ago.  If you're interested in seeing more New Orleans houses, check out the following Instagram folks for lots of great photos from the Crescent City!

risingcrescent

the.preservationist

nolamaven

davidnola

gonola504

If you're interested in scrap quilts, check out all the Rainbow Scrappiness at Soscrappy!

Windblown Yellow

I did a lot of yellow scrappy prep work this week.  Lots of parts an pieces were cut, although not all were sewn.  Amazingly, I made a huge dent in my yellow scraps! 

The first blocks I assembled were Windblown Wishes from Diane Knott's Scrap Quilt Secrets.  Every time I make these blocks, I want to jump ahead and make all the other RSC colors just to see how they all turn out!  

 

I didn't have room to put all the Windblown blocks on the design wall today, but here's a sample of how the RSC blocks look so far.  Diane's quilt has sashing with cornerstones, which creates a secondary 9-patch between the blocks.  I will definitely be setting my blocks that way!

That's all the yellow scraps I have stitched to date.  There are still pinwheel blocks, 4 patches and Happy Scrappy House borders.  Maybe even a Burgoyne Surrounded block.  If you're a fan of scrap quilts, check out the Rainbow Scrap Challenge link up for this week!

Austen Family Album Volume 1 - The Complete Story

I briefly mentioned my Austen Family Album quilt last week.  It was a finished object I noted as part of the 17ufosin2017 challenge.  I thought the quilt deserved to have its entire story told, so here we go with its biography!

I started making the Austen Family Album blocks in April, 2014.  Barbara Brackman provided the patterns and I used fabric from one of my all-time favorite collections - Curio by Basic Grey (Moda).  When the BOW was complete, I had a wall full of 12-inch blocks.  I decided to split the colors into groups, with yellow, pink and turquoise fabrics in one group and the brown and orange fabrics in another.

I put the final stitches in the binding at the end of May, just in time for a trip to Florida.  I planned on giving the quilt to my sister, and I knew I would see her during my visit.

My local LAQ, Cindy Braiwick, did a fantastic job on the quilting.   

The finished quilt measures out at 74 inches by 88 inches.   My sister was excited to have such a "literary" quilt (she was an English major in college).  She said she was looking forward to re-reading some Jane Austen while snuggled under her quilt!

Here Comes the Scrappy Sun

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for June is yellow.  Thank goodness for some sunshiny yellow scrappiness this week, as our weather has been rainy and dismal!

I started with my smallest scraps from the 1 1/2 inch scrap bin.  

These blocks are fun to play with, but at only 7 inches in size, it will take some time to accumulate enough of them for any type of project!

I also made some yellow selvage blocks.  

There are still lots of yellow scraps in the bins, so I'll keep working on scrappy projects.  And for more scrappy inspiration, check out the RSC weekly link-up at Angela's blog!

May: 17ufosin2017

Time for another 17ufosin2017 report.  I missed last month's link-up, mostly because I posted my only progress for the month as a link to Audrey's Quilty 365 wrap-up post.  

I'm so glad I pushed myself to assemble all those Quilty 365 blocks into a top - otherwise I'd probably still have a basket full of blocks 5 years from now!  My son came up with the name "Full Circle".   I don't have a timetable for the quilting, but it will happen eventually.

Another of my 17 projects for 2017 was to simply add borders to a scrappy RWB quilt that has been in the making for a year or two.  

The photograph makes the border look very dark, but in person it's a great frame for all those red, white and blue fabrics.  At some point later this year, the top will get quilted and gifted.

Once the red, white and blue quilt was off the design wall, I started pinning up these Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-Patch blocks.  I've had the blocks made for several years, so it was a priority for me to get them assembled into a top this year.  I still have a lot of stitching to do on this project, but 17ufosin 2017 will help keep me motivated!

Last, but not least, I finished hand-stitching the binding and label for one of my Austen Family Album quilts.  It was gifted to my sister just this past weekend.  I think she liked it!

That's all my progress to date.  It's been very satisfying to check off projects on my 17ufosin2017 list, although there are still some very large projects left to complete!  Meredithe has a linky party over at her blog, pomegranate and chintz, so do check out all the other ufo progress.

The Big Blue Monster

One of the projects I am aiming to finish this year is a blue and white scrap quilt I planned with my guest room bed in mind.  The guest room never seems to have a decorating scheme or quilts of its own - maybe because my kids keep moving home and setting up camp in there!

Back in 2014, the guest room was vacant, so I decided to make a quilt for that room.  The room is painted blue, so I knew a blue and white quilt would be perfect.  I decided to make Sawtooth Star and Uneven 9-patch blocks, inspired by a quilt on Barbara Brackman's website.  I cut parts and pieces from my very large collection of blue fabrics and used a white on white fabric for the background.

My original plan was for 100 eight inch blocks.  When I reached that goal, I decided the quilt wasn't big enough and added more blocks until I had enough for 11 rows by 11 rows.

Last weekend I started pinning the blocks to the design wall.  I chose an uneven number of rows so there would be a Sawtooth Star block in each corner.  

Once I had all the blocks pinned up, I did the math and decided the quilt STILL wasn't big enough for a queen-sized bed.

Fortunately, I still had my cutting instructions, so I quickly cut and pieced another row of blocks, making the quilt 12 x 11, or 96 inches by 88 inches.

I've dubbed the quilt the Big Blue Monster because it fills the design wall and I'm feeling overwhelmed about stitching all those 8 inch blocks together!  I didn't even add the new row to the design wall because I'd have to climb up and down the step-stool or crawl on my knees to get it pinned up.

If I were staying home this weekend (Memorial Day observance in the United States), I could probably get lots of stitching done.  I'm off to Florida to visit family, though, so all those blocks will just have to chill until I get back.  This project has been underway since 2014, so I guess it can wait a little longer!