ScrapHappy Last Purple Saturday

 

(Random Purple Frog)

It is the last purple Saturday, though the new month won't start until midweek.  I plan use the next few days to get caught up again.   Poor purple has been the victim of a busy beginning of the summer.  I'm back though from my week in St. Pete and AP Bio reading is done. This week should be nice and calm!  I am looking forward to lots of fun purple blocks to come!

Misterlinky is below.  I know he has been temperamental lately and I will work on the switch to a different service.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Purple Pursuits

 I have been looking forward to purple for so long!  Its been crazy busy so far, but it will be very calm in a couple of weeks and I hope to dig in more then.  I got as far as a nice stack of purple crumb blocks before getting sidetracked with log cabins.  These are extra strips from the Soul Searching quilt of last year.  If there are still more after this I might go with a courthouse steps block.   

This will not be the week for sewing though as it is AP Biology reading week.   I am also traveling over to Tampa St. Pete for the end of course question review that usually happens in October.   After that though, things will calm down considerably.  I think I have a meeting scheduled with the librarian during the second week of July, other than that, the schedule remains wide open.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - And so Begins Summer

 

It doesn't feel like summer quite yet. As soon as school ended we were shuttling Anna off to the airport for camp and them jaunting away for a grown up getaway. We are back home today and starting to reassemble everything again. Why is it that everything seems to break when you leave for a few days? The dryer isn't hot and the van won't start. Those should both be fixable, but there were 22 dirty towels and it will take a while to dig out of that. First though, is turning Anna's room back into my sewing room again.  It looks like a strange mashup of sewing studio and college dorm room right now.   That situation is easily remedied.  

I also start teaching the first of two online summer classes that I am signed up for this summer.   I'm not sure how it will all work out, but I have a bit of organization to start to get that all arranged.  I am also looking forward to digging out my purple scraps though.  Even though there is plenty going on around here, there should still be some sewing time in there somewhere.   

 

Misterlinky is being difficult today and not uploading images consistently. I tried to do what I could from my end, but was unsuccessful. I have turned in a help request and hope to have the issue resolved soon. Feel free to leave a link in the comments until the issue is resolved.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Purple Month Begins

 I love purple.  As I kid I always wanted a purple bedroom and my mother would never let me.  Apparently she had a purple bedroom as a child and got tired of it quickly.  That never happens to me.  Purple comes in too many fun shades from lavender to violet with all the shades in between.  I pulled the sewing machine down onto the kitchen table yesterday to whip up a couple of  #FullStop blocks and worked up tutorials for a blocky and fancy version of this month's semi colon.  (scroll down for those).  Anna also wanted 4 new masks for camp as kids under 12 are not yet vaccinated, they are still taking precautions.  She will leave for the summer tomorrow, and though I will miss her, it does mean I will have a sewing room again.   She is SO excited to be back teaching sailing again.  Ryan and Sydney will still be here though, so it isn't quite an empty nest yet.  

Semi Colon - Fancy

 

The fancy version of the semi colon uses a lot of flip and sew triangles.  It is a little bit fussy, but I think it is worth it for the final effect in this case.  

Start with three purple squares which are 2.5 inches each.  In addition to the the purple, you will need grey squares: 7 that are 1.25 and 2 that are 2 inches.  Finally, you will need a 2.5 by 1.5 inch rectangle

Though that seems like a lot of little squares, sewing them is super quick.  Just layer the grey squares on top of the purple and then sew along the diagonals, working yourself around in a circle.  I just needle down and pivot at each top center point.  One purple square will get 4 grey squares sewn on top, while the other one will get three.   Notice the placement of the three grey squares, semi colons are directional so it does matter.  The bottom right corner is left uncovered.   Next, place a two inch grey square in the upper left hand corner of the final purple square and sew from corner to corner.   

Here are the three purple squares, each with grey squares on top.  The bottom square with the two inch square will need another round, you will need to flip open the first square to make room for the second.  

Here is the second grey square added to the opposite corner.  Now go to the ironing board and press all the squares open, making sure the top triangle covers the purple before trimming away the waste triangles behind.  

Here are all three subunits ready to be sewn into a row with the extra grey square to separate the period from the comma.  Sew them together and press toward the section with the fewest seams.  

These are the two blocks side by side for comparison.  Notice that the fancy block is a little bit longer than the blocky version.  I went with the block version for the quotation marks eelier this year, but I am seriously enjoying the fancy blocks this month.  Now I just need to dig deeper and find enough purples to make 5 blocks.  This will be a short row, but I feel the need for a little negative space right now.  

Semi Color - Blocky

 

There are two choices in semi colons this month.  They are the same as the quotation mark from February but with the addition of a period above.  As with the quotations, there are two versions available. I am calling them block and fancy.  This post will discuss the blocky version, and I will be back shortly with the fancy.   The dimensions are slightly different, but it is really a matter of taste and preference.   

Start with a 2.5 inch strip of purple.  From this strip, cut one square and one rectangle which is 4 by 2.5.   In addition to the purple, you will also need a 2.5 inch square of grey and a 2.5 by 1.5 inch rectangle of grey.   (two purple squares are pictured, I was making both blocks at one and didn't realize I would only need 1)  

Start with the rectangle and place the grey square along the bottom edge.  

You can draw a line on the grey square from corner to corner, or just "eyeball" it.   Notice the the line goes from upper left to lower right.  The semicolon is directional.  Sew along the drawn line, or from corner to corner with the "eyeball" method.  

Press the grey triangle open toward the bottom left and trim away the bonus triangle behind.  Feel free to harvest this by double sewing if you are a fan of bonus triangles like me.  

Now you just need to sew the three pieces together in a row (purple square, grey rectangle then pieces purple rectangle) and press toward the grey.   You will sew your individual semi colons together with 1.5 inch wide dividing strips, but don't start yet until you see the fancy version and decide which you like better.  

Purple for June

 

The new color for June will be purple!  The new blocks is semi colon.  Tutorial coming soon, but it is basically just the quotation with a period over it.