New Color for RSC2023

 

I should have mentioned that dark and bright blues will be the color for January this year.  I have SO many blues that they don't all fit into a bin together.   Hopefully we will be able to start strong.   As I was roaming around blogs this morning, many people seemed hesitant about starting a whole new list of projects.  If you still have leftover block collections and works in progress, you can also just "assign" a color to each of them and work during that month of getting a specific quilt closer to completion.   You could tie it in based on backing or binding color or whatever criteria you decide.  The main goal for RSC is to make it work for you!  If that means a finishing year instead of a starting year, then that is great too.   

New Button for 2023

 Scroll down for today's linky party.  I am working on creating a new button for 2023, the first step is always to post a photo to which to link.  

And now the smaller version of the button for 2023

Thanks to Code it Pretty for help with the HTML this year.   If you would like to put the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Button for 2023 on your own blog, just copy the code below the image in the upper right hand corner of my blog and paste it into an HTML widget on the layout page of your own blog.   Then you should be able to return easily each week by just clicking on the button.   Please let me know if you have any troubles.  I code so infrequently that I never quite remember all the nuances from year to year, but it seems to be working!

ScrapHappy Saturday - On the Eve of the New Year

 Another year of rainbow scraps comes to an end and it is time to reflect.  Let's celebrate finished quilts,  make notes for projects still in the process and plan for new quilts to come.   2023 will be another chance to work our way through the rainbow and work on using more scraps in so many beautiful projects.  First though, take a breath today and enjoy everything that you accomplished in 2022.  

Two of my three main #RSC2022 projects made it to the flimsy stage.  I will work on getting my quilting machine set up again as soon as the kids head back to college again and get those finished officially.   Bulls eye is still pinned together in rows.  It won't take long to get those put together when there is a little more space to set up a machine.  

Here is the final layout for Blackford's Beauty.   I made about three or four blocks each month for this one with solids for the star points and assorted scraps for the rest.  It was fun to put the solids to good use.  I like the way they make the blocks look more planned

And here are the Carpenter's Star blocks which had an extra sashing added at the last minute.  It gives the quilt a good size as well as creating a nice secondary effect of diamonds where the blocks meet.   

I still have a backlog of bindings to be sewn from a great quilting marathon that happened over the summer break.   Chopsticks will be the last one crossed off the list in 2022.  I took the last stitch in the binding while settled next to the fireplace at the cabin.  This one will stay there to keep us all warm in the chilly mountain air.   

#Fullstop is finally complete.   I sewed most of this in the car while driving to the cabin.  Even taking a turn at the driving, there is still plenty of time to sew a bit. 

How did your plans go for 2022?  Please share below and come back next week with plans for the new year.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Christmas Eve Edition

It is almost the big day!  It doesn't seem quite the same now that the kids are all big.  Our oldest did bring her cat home with her for the holidays though.  All three of them helped to pick out and decorate a tree.  We have baked cookies, enjoyed Christmas movies together and had lots of family game time.   Today we will make Christmas pajamas and put the presents under the tree.   

I had been asking to get my office painted at school.  After moving out 17 bookcases, we discovered a long ago water leak had caused some damage to the wall.  Our assistant principal in charge of facilities started with the company line that we don't do cosmetic painting, but eventually scheduled the painting/mold remediation team to come in September.   

So after a series of cancellations and postponements, I finally just painted my own darn walls.   We aren't supposed to of course, but I was embarrassed to keep having parents and students in.   The grey is the same shade that we have at home, but with the brick walls, it looks much pinker at school.  

The new desk we ordered in June still isn't in, but with the college pennants up, it is starting to look a lot more festive. 

The cold has descended, even to Florida.  I am so glad that we walked to look at the lights yesterday.  We might need to turn on the heat if this continues. 

Is anyone up for a grand end of the year reveal next weekend?   Then we can start the new year with plans for new blocks 

ScrapHappy Saturday - One Last Flimsy

I got the last set of blocks up and on the wall before kids started rushing home for the holidays.  

 I tried it two ways.  Definitely leaning toward rainbow rows on this one.    We realized when Anna brought her boyfriend home with her that we didn't actually have enough beds for everyone.  Poor Sydney is on an air mattress with a halfway remodeled bathroom lacking a door.   

It was a late morning today after two work Christmas parties yesterday.   Just three more short days at work before the break.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Thank You, Next

 Pulling out each mostly completed block collection is like an early Christmas present.   As much fun as it to add to the collection each month, pulling them all out together is just icing on the cake.   As I survey the blocks on the wall, I can see a few rotated corner nine patches.   My plan for these is to add 2 inch lattice strips and cornerstones in between each block to create nine patches where the blocks meet.  I spy a few rotated corner blocks though, so I will fix those as I rearrange the blocks and cut of the strips.  My husband has been out of town for work all week, so having him back is another early Christmas present.  The kids will start trickling in during the week, so that is even more holiday fun to look forward to.  

ScrapHappy Satuday - Mad Dash to the Finish

Time to start thinking about what can still be finished up this year and what I want to start fresh for next year. I think I can finish these carpenter star blocks today.  I am finally getting set up in my new sewing space.  It has been a slow process.  When I got my design wall boards downstairs I realized that the first floor ceilings are just ever so slightly lower than the 8 foot boards.  They are leaning at a jaunty angle for now while I decide how to fix that.  I hate to disassemble them all to cut off two inches.  I could also rotate them sideways instead and put them on two different walls.  That is a decision for later though.  Right now I am focused on making enough extra HST units to frame out these blocks and get them all sewn together.  

The kids will be home for winter break in a couple of weeks so we will need to set up a bed downstairs again.   At the moment, the bathroom is still mid construction.  I hope all three kids don't mind sharing the same bathroom.  It is coming along slowly, but Kurt has been out of town a lot lately and with holiday travel plans, quiet weekends at home have not been all that common.   

I hope your finishing is fun so far.  I love seeing all of the blocks coming together.  It always makes me excited for the new year and inspires my list of new projects to ponder.  

Happy Thanksgiving

 The end of the year is zooming toward us!  So many projects to finish and so few Saturdays to get it done.   We are with family today, but I was able to start setting up my new sewing space before we left.  Hopefully I will be able to do some mass block assembly in the last few weeks of the year.  I haven't even started to think about blocks for next year yet!  Maybe that will be my project for the trip home.  I  always have so many great rainbow blocks that I want to make.   I will need to start thinking about what needs to be finished to be able to start some new projects.

I hope you are all able to spend some quality time sewing this holiday season.  I peeked at the new quiltville mystery yesterday, but I wasn't at all tempted to start something new with so many projects on the cusp of completion.  

After the Storm

Ah to be home again.  Even better than being back though, was being gone during the storm. We were able to fly out with no issues at all just due to the lucky fact that we had decided to use airline miles which made it easier to drive the longer distance to the Miami Airport.  Normally we would fly out of the Orlando Airport which was closed for the storm.   Many of the people at the resort already were scheduled to fly back through Orlando though, and when they were unable to go home again, our room got changed to this upgraded Villa at no additional charge!  What a nice way to start the vacation as we arrived to texts of the power being gone back at home.  

The resort was small, just a little cove in between mountain ranges really, but we didn't really take advantage of the activities they offered, instead lounging by the beach or pool while sipping on icy beverages.   It was lovely just to read books and nap between meals and swims.   

The storm back home was causing lots of beach erosion.   Most of the walkways over the dunes are destroyed and the blue house on our normal dog walking route has been condemned.   It has always amazed us that it was able to survive so close to the water, and this time it just didn't quite make it.   It was already quite run down though it was almost always rented out.  The green and yellow houses next door are still intact, though most of the yards and landscaping have washed away.   Nicole wasn't a very strong storm, but it just managed to hit the beaches which were already a bit rough after Ian.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Storm Days

I hope that we are off safely waiting out the storm in a less ocean front location right now.  I am scheduling this to post on Saturday though it is only Wednesday.  We are getting early reports of storm surge and lost dune walkovers.   I was so moved by all the local friends who called to offer up places to stay.  Hoping for the best, but also feeling like we just did this!  I hope that you are all finding time to sew today.   I will try to check in again when I am settled back after the storm. 

ScrapHappy Saturday - The End Begins

What a week!  Just when I think things will calm down.  Such is the way with a new job though as we all figure out exactly what is going on.  They are painting my office this weekend and my new desk is on the way.   I still need to get settled into the new sewing space as well.  I am tempted to just start moving everything downstairs after packing it all up while Sydney was home sick last weekend.   We will see what the day brings.   

Hopefully everyone is starting to think about block assembly.  This is the time to pull out collections and see what is needed to finish up the top.  I encourage you to dig into the brown and black bins for a few extra blocks.  People tend to shy away from the darker colors in rainbow tops, but they can add a nice grounding effect and allow the colors to shine even brighter.  Give it a try!  They are only scraps after all.  You can always hide an ugly block on the back if you don't like it or add it to the orphan bin.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Fall and Fun

I took a group of kids on a college tour on Thursday.  This is them walking into one of the buildings on the Florida Polytechnic campus.  If you have driven from Orlando to Tampa, you have seen the big cage like framework of the main building on campus.   It was a fun day for the kids with no problems and we came home with the same 42 kids we started out with.  All just what you need on field trip day! We also managed to have the gifted meetings that were scheduled during the hurricane so hopefully we can start getting back to normal again. 

No sewing photos to share today, so here is a sunrise instead.   Sydney called yesterday sick with strep and wanted to come home to be sick here instead of her dorm room.   A hasty pack up of the sewing room followed.  I will start setting up the new sewing room at some point to avoid the constant packing and unpacking, but with Kurt working on remodeling the bathroom, it is still quite a bit of a mess most of the time.  

How are your sewing projects coming along?  There will not be "official" colors for the next two months.  The end of the year is reserved for assembly of blocks and finishing of tops.   However, if you still feel the block piecing vibe, I encourage you to dig into the browns and blacks to make some sense of the darks before the end of the year is officially here.  

 

ScrapHappy Fall Fun

 It has turned to fall here and pretending to have seasons is quite fun.   Not a lot of sewing time this week, but all sorts of goodness.   Sunday there was a ladies tea to celebrate a new grandbaby for a teacher friend who retired recently.  I brought a  quilt. Blogger isn't letting me upload any photos this morning, but it was blue with swirls in  snowball and nine patch arrangement.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Fall Fun

 

Things are finally starting to settle down again.  I decided on this sashing solution for the Carpenter's Star blocks.  It uses up some of the extra HST and extends the pattern to help the blocks join.  I am starting to see a nice secondary diamond where all of the blocks come together.  It also will make the quilt slightly larger, which is a bonus.  Given the block size, it is harder to get things to fit.  With smaller blocks it is easy to add an extra row or two, but these stars are giant!  There should be time today to finish the rest.   I have a few housekeeping things to do and a couple of work tasks to catch up on, but generally things are settling down again to a more normal level.   The post hurricane craziness has settled.  How are your scraps coming together?  I must admit to being completely out of contact with the world lately.  I look forward to catching up on that today as well.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Getting Back to Normal

 The hurricane was a 4 day inconvenience for my part of Florida.  For others it was much more.  We spent a few days without electricity or internet and a few hours picking up debris and reassembling windblown downspouts.   My main consequences came from the 3 days of school lost and having to reschedule all of that.  It has been busy!  Technically we have a three day weekend with a "work from home" day on Monday.  I am scheduled for a college event in Orlando though which should be fun.   Kurt has been working on a bathroom remodel for what used to be Sydney's bathroom and will now be part of my quilting studio.  I think we are scheduled to pick up the shower enclosure this morning and finalize tile choices.   

Looking forward to some sewing time too of course.  I did lots of binding during the storm, but having a machine and iron again will be a joy!   I do remember digging into the brown bin to make one last Carpenter's Star block.   Brown has been long overlooked.  I am hoping to make some layout decisions.  Sashing would make the sewing together easier with all those seams, but I kind of like the secondary patterns when the blocks come together.   It will be fun trying out different ideas.  Misterlinky is below. Please share your progress.   The beginning of the end is near!

ScrapHappy Saturday - Waiting

It is a new month!  I must confess to not having finished my baby blues.   Most of my sewing this week has been hand sewing of binding as we wait for the power to be restored after Ian.   October is scheduled either for lime and light green or for light neutrals as we work to finish off the rainbow.   Please feel free to finish up the blocks that you are going to need for your quilts.   Assembly is right around the corner!

The storm damage was minimal here, we still have water though we have been asked to conserve.   We have made quite a dent in the nonperishable food stash, but with everything around us back to normal, it feels odd to sit in a dark house.  Fortunately, it is quite cool post Ian, so not having an air conditioner has not been a problem.   I am sure most of the fridge and freezer will need to be tossed, but I guess this is a good excuse to do a little cleaning

I think we will try to reattach the downspouts to the gutters today, the upper elbow was knocking against the sliders in the wee hours of Thursday when the eye of the storm was approaching.  That was our mostivation to fasten the last of the shutters to wait out the worst.   The eye was large and lasted most of the morning on Thursday before the bottom of the eyewall made its way through with much less ferocity than the top.   The surfers were out in force, whooping and shouting in the waves.  I won't have much contact today, as my computer has just switched to battery saving mode. Enjoy your sewing, and welcome to the new month!

ScrapHappy Saturday - Storm Prep

 

It will be a weekend of watching the tropics.  Sydney is home from Gainesville for her first weekend visit, so sewing is not going to be high on the priority list.   Kurt was gone all week, and he is back just in time to start following Tropical Tidbits for the latest storm updates.   There might be a couple of days off midweek to sew the windy days away.   How are your projects all coming along?  Misterlinky is below.  Please keep us all up to date on your progress.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Loving Baby Blue

The weeks blows by in a blur of activity right now.  I have kids lined up to sign up for college visits and ask for advice on applications and essays followed by meeting with coworkers and then time to get work done.   I've got little guys rummaging for felt and glue for flags.  Then there is the administrivia that still comes creeping back.  The learning curve is steep, and it is something new everyday.  So far I am a big fan of the new job.  

The morning sunrise photos are getting just a bit harder to capture as the days get shorter.   If the sun rose straight over the horizon, I could still capture it and not get stuck in morning traffic, but with the usual banks of clouds delaying the appearance of the sun, it is often making a late start right now.  The clouds do help make such striking colors though. I look forward to finding out what the day will bring each morning.   

Sewing is isolated mainly mainly to weekends, but I have not been brining home lesson planning and grading, so there is time now that didn't use to exist.  I got the light blue star sewn together and the bright green is waiting for its turn.  I have cut out some parts for black and brown stars, but I don't think I have enough fabric variety yet.  Grey and black can coexist nicely, I will just have to rummage in the bins to find out what is there.  I will pull out another block collection today and take evaluate its progress.   I know September isn't really the end of the year yet, but it is starting to feel that way.  Holiday plans are just around the corner!

Rainbow Scrap Challenge -- Rounding out Collections

 It is time to start evaluating my project to figure out which one need more blocks.  Here are the Carpenter Stars so far.  Definitely a need for baby blue, then maybe a lime green and a brown and a black block.  I am liking he way these come together with the secondary pattern.  I pulled baby blue 2.5 inch strips, so that one will be next on the list. 

How are your blocks coming along?  I know that September isn't the end of the year yet, but I am still starting to enjoy the idea of putting some tops together soon.  

 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - September

 

A new month!  Is there anything more fun than digging into a new bin of scraps!  I know we did blue earlier this year, but it is a color that truly needs more time to digest for most of us.  When I don't know what color to choose for a gift, I almost always go with blue because it works for everyone.   We are waiting on the rocket launch again.   It is scheduled for 2:17 today.  Hopefully things will go  better than Monday.   Because we are still waiting for the Artemis, here is a photo of a rocket launch from last September.  The halo effect is still one of my favorite visuals.   

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Rounding up Orange

I finally got some orange blocks sewn last weekend.   Everything is cut, it is just a matter of sewing up the last bits.   We got a bit carried away with clearing out Sydney's room.  The plan was always to rotate her furniture up to the main bedroom and then convert her first level room with attached bathroom into the sewing studio.   Most of our old furniture went up to the cabin where the leather and oak seemed more fitting.   We are still working on putting all the pieces back together.  Kurt decided to invite all his work friends over for a launch party on Monday morning, so now the disaster of our furniture rotation plan needs to get fixed sooner rather than later!   

Sydney sent us a first day of school photo.  She started classes at the University of Florida on Wednesday.  Still waiting for more details on how everything went.  So far she needed a new computer because hers was full, then dropped the class that needed the giant program installed on her computer and added a new class about sustainability which should be more relevant to her major.  There was also some mechanical gator riding mixed in with exploration of the new campus and photos of food from the dining hall.   

The sky was exceptionally orange on Thursday.  I usually wait until the sun is coming up for my daily sunrise photo, but I was in a hurry to get into school that day because there was a lot going on.   Kurt was out of town this week and staying at the cabin while working out of the DC office.  He is home now though and can help try to reassemble the disruption that we started last weekend.

Light blue is the color for September, just in case you couldn't polish off blue the last time.  If you did manage to deal with all the blue earlier this year, then this is the perfect time to start catching up or assembling.  The end of the year is right around the corner!

 

ScrapHappy Saturday - Empty Nest Edition

 

Sydney moved into her college dorm on Thursday.   We have officially moved out the last of the children.  What a strange feeling to have just the two of us rattling around the house together.  Good thing we still like each other!

I did manage to finish the binding on her t-shirt quilt just in time.  She was very specific about which quilts to include and where to put them.   It starts with her daisy girl scout shirt and ends with senior powder puff.  So many memories!

Work hasn't settled down quite yet, but it has been lots of fun learning how to do so many new things. It is a huge change to have time in the day to cross things off of the list rather than trying to get all the extras done while teaching all day.    

The orange scraps have been waiting patiently for their turn.  So far I have stacks of nicely trimmed strips and squares along with a handful of partially assembled blocks.  I think I will get a little bit done this morning.  When Kurt gets back he is going to want to survey the disaster area that was Sydney's room.  It is going to be my new sewing studio, but some work needs to be done first.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Nothing Rhymes with Orange

 

The first week of the school year is officially done!  It is so nice that we almost always start on a short week. Such a huge change to not be in the classroom every day.  I am having plenty of time with the kids though, and they are starting to come in for help with resumes and applications.  Lots of training so far and figuring out what I am supposed to be accomplishing.    

The family was all in Virginia this week moving Anna into her new apartment at Virginia Tech.  She is having fun getting settled in.  Because she was in dorm for 4 years of undergrad, this is her first apartment, and she is full of questions about how to do things like setting up electricity and getting and Wi-Fi router.   Sydney will move into her dorm on Thursday and we will officially be empty nesters.  What a strange thought!  All those years of raising kids and having them around all the time just to suddenly have them all move out.

ScrapHappy Saturday - And so begins Orange

 

Counting down the days until school begins for real.  I think things might calm down a bit then.  I am probably wrong about that though.  I have managed over the years of RSC to curate a nice collection of orange.   A few are already trimmed into squares and strips for my blocks this month.   I will have some time to sew orange today, but I also need to make the flags for our homerooms.  I will probably pop into work for a bit and try to get some things ready for the start of school.  We will train the teachers on homeroom Tuesday, the day before the kids come back.  Then we will meet with homerooms every day for the first week which should give us a chance to start decorating our flags.  I had a 4 hour training session on Thursday when I finally got a full picture of how the new job is supposed to work.  All summer I kept asking when the training would begin.  Somebody dreamed up the job, funded the job at every secondary school and that somebody had have a clear vision of what  we are all supposed to be accomplishing.   So now my head is full to bursting with new information and things to do.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Last Purple weekend

 

Just two more days left in July.   I am working frantically steadily to get caught up.  I think that I can!  Though everything looks like a bit of a mess at the moment, all the pieces are in the works and the scraps have been sorted and cut.   Now I can spend today and tomorrow getting everything sewn together.  Many have already guessed that August will be orange this year.  I used to struggle with orange, but through the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I started to enjoy the variety and spark that it adds to quilts.   I have a reasonably sized basket now and I have tried to work it into quilt backs and bindings this year to keep bulking up the scrap supply

It is a busy time at school right now.  Surprisingly there have been so many teachers in for pre-pre planning.  For me that has meant lots of running around and checking on new people, meetings to discuss curriculum and training sessions of various sorts.   Official pre-planning will start next week which will mean lots of meetings.  We are all still defining my new job together, so it has been lots of fun with new things to learn.   Today is for sewing though!  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Catching Up

Working hard on getting caught up before school starts again. I have three days before teachers are back for pre-pre planning. I think I can knock of blue and purple in that time.  Last week was busy with leadership things and training before the official beginning of the year.  This year is strange because in addition to the usual mandatory pre-planning time, there is also pre-pre planning.  It is entirely voluntary, but they will pay teachers who want to come in early to set up their rooms and get a head start on lesson planning and curriculum.  

There were a few good sunrises this week.  We even managed a morning beach walk yesterday.  It gets so hot though that by 8 am we were both dripping sweat.  I got a haircut yesterday and have an appointment to get an eye exam on Monday.  All the things teachers squeeze in during summer break.  We even met friends for dinner!  My teacher friend who is also wrapping up all the loose ends before the big transition back to working life and her husband who likes to mock us for talking about school too much.    

ScrapHappy Saturday

Summer is going fast! I've been working on getting Sydney's t-shirt quilt finished before she goes off to college. I should have the blocks all sewn together this morning and will run out for some backing fabric.

I am working three mornings a week in July, getting things ready for the new job.  Its been incredibly busy, but so nice to have time to do all of the things that they have always expected teachers to do outside of regular work hours.   There is an extra option for paid time in the classroom before the start of preplanning this year, so hopefully we will all be able to prepare for the new year together.   Next week I am running a welcome training for our new teachers.  So many fresh faces!  The old guard is fading fast.   Our newest Florida education issue is not being able to have any books in the classroom that have not been approved.   They think they will have an approval process in place by January though.   I am feeling bad now about leaving my library of biology novels for the new teacher.  I will have to go and make sure she hides them away until we find out which books are banned.   So far we have been assured that it is still OK to wear rainbow colored shirts, but other districts have already warned against that as well.   Probably a good time to NOT be in the classroom right now.  I am sure I would say something inappropriate and get myself in trouble.   

I did find some more sewing time this week to make these "unpaper towels" for Anna's new apartment in the fall.  After looking through several tutorials on Pinterest, I decided to use flannel on one side and extra t-shirt fabric leftover from the quilts on the other.  After measuring paper towels, I decided to cut the flannel to 11.5 inches and lay it on top of the oversize t-shirt backing fabric.  Then I sewed along the edge of the flannel, leaving a gap for turning and trimmed the backing fabric even with the flannel.   I even made a basket to hold them from extra 6.5 inch squares of the flannel.  I think the flowers are quite festive and went well with lots of different colors of extra shirts.