Last ScrapHappy Saturday of 2013!

What a long strange year it has been.  So many of you have sewed up lots of rainbow colored scrap blocks and some have even turned them into quilts.  2014 promises to be a new chance to control the scraps and turn them into beautiful and functional finished projects.  Next Saturday will be all about starting the year off with a huge color in most peoples scrap basket -- blue.  Trying to stay away from the aqua and the lighter shades we will all start the year off with bright blue. 

For now though, are you still fnishing off for 2013?  Feel free to post your last of the old year projects.  If you are looking ahead to the new year, we would all love to see what you have planned for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 204.  Just add a link to your post below so we can all see what you have in the works.  If you can include a link back to this blog that would even be better. 

1.

Amy (NW WI)

2.

Susanne

3.

You're next!

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ScrapHappy Saturday - Winter Wind Down

It is the first day of winter vacation and I have two weeks to officially sew myself silly!  I have officially given up on getting my sewing machine back anytime soon and ordered a quarter inch foot for Anna's machine.  It is a simplicity surplus school machine, but it makes a fine stitch.  If I can just get the quarter inch seem working well I'll be good to go.

 So last night I dug through my brown scraps and found some pieces big enough to turn into two inch strips for the solstice step three.  Bonnie's  (Hunter) orange is my brown and I think I found plenty leftover from when I did her Smith Mountain quilt.

 Then I kept working on the crumb blocks for Bonny's (mother in law this time) anniversary quilt.

 Then, after I was all tuckered out from that, I settled in to watch Sing-off with the girls while enjoying a bit of hand quilting on the blue Dear Jane.  I am making nice progress after several evenings in a row. Consistency is the  key to so many things.

And her it is Saturday morning and I am ready to draw the lucky winner for this beautiful bundle of hand dyed fabric from Vicki Welsh  at Field Trips in Fiber.  Drumroll please.   Thanks to the random number generator at Random.org, the winner is.....Carla at A Few of My Favorite things.  Congratulations Carla.  Please send me your snail mail via e-mail and I will hop off to the post office to send out your rainbow fabric bundle.  I do think they will make your pickle dish blocks sparkle.  Happy sewing.  

After all of that, I almost forgot to post a link-up for ScrapHappy Saturday.  Lots of finishing up is happening about now.  I hope you are finding a few minutes of peace and calm in this busy holiday season to enjoy the calm and quiet of a bit of fabric and thread.  Use misterlinky to share your progress or even plans for the new year.  It is just around the corner!

Scraphappy Saturday GIVEAWAY!

One of the nice things about the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is that there is always next year.  Unless you have run out of scraps, anything you don't finish this year can just get rolled over to the new year.  I've been hosting the challenge for a while now, and I haven't run out of scraps yet.  With my machine STILL in the shop since November 2nd, planning for a fresh start is what I do best.  Along with each new start though, is the chance to add in new and exciting elements.
The most exciting plan in the works for a new year of the RSC is that there will be giveaways next year from our first ever sponsor, Vicki Welsh!   There is a button on the right sidebar that takes you to her Etsy Shop where she sells so many beautiful hand dyed fabrics in all of the colors of the rainbow.  She also blogs at Field Trips in Fiber where you can see some of the lovely creations she sews with her fabrics.  Please go visit her and let her know how excited we are about her participation.
There will be a giveaway each month.  To participate, just leave a comment about what you plan to do with the fabric if you win on the post announcing the giveaway.  I'll check back next Saturday and announce the winner.  As for me, I'm already a winner!  In addition to the giveaway fabric Vicki was kind enough to send me some fabulous fabric for me to keep.  It has been killing me not to have a machine with all that hand dyed loveliness waiting for me.  As for what I plan to do with it though?  Flying geese immediately came to mind.  I found a free pattern here that might work, or I could even draw up my own design.
So, please feel free to link up if you have rainbow scrappiness to share, but also leave me a comment so that I can get ready for the first giveaway!  Good luck.

ScrapHappy Saturday Roundup Month

This is the time of year to start thinking about finishing things up.  Did you miss a month along the way?  Do you have a quilt in need of just a block or two more?  To celebrate the end of the year I got out one of my favorite rainbow scrap quilts from last year.  This came from a collection of crumb squares.  I was hesitant to include the black and brown blocks at first, but I think they add a lot to the quilt.
We are off at a Lego Robotics Tournament today.  I'm a bit buried in school work as well, but I am still hoping to find a bit of time to sew -- just not sure when.  Hopefully things will start to wind down soon for the winter break.  Just one more week of regular class work and then semester exam prep will begin.
What are you up to on this glorious scrappy Saturday?  Use misterlinky below to share your progress on 2013.  Or if you prefer, you can even start to ponder your plans for 2014.  Next week I'll tell you about our sponsor for the new year and the great giveaways that I have planned.  It looks like next year is already shaping up to be fabulous.

ScrapHappy Saturday in Need of Chocolate

It has been one of those weeks that left me desperately in need of chocolate.  Desperately.  Thankfully we are still fully stocked up on leftover Halloween candy around here.  Sadly, my machine is still in the shop.  The faceplate is broken and a new one is still on order.  Not that I have had much lately for sewing.  Catching up after my weekend away has kept me busy.  We did however, just find out yesterday that instead of hosting Thanksgiving here we will all be driving to North Carolina.  The thought of 22 hours in the car got me prepping a new applique project to keep me occupied. The reason for the change is a suspicious spot found on my mother-in-laws lungs.  She was still planning on making the trip until the bronchoscopy yesterday went awry.  They will try agin on Tuesday.  It brought flashbacks of my mom's lung metastasis followed by a problematic procedure.  On the upside though, that means I can sew today instead of turning the sewing room into the guest room.  I'm still working on a proper quarter inch seem for my backup machine.  At the very least I can do some crumb blocks.  What chocolate covered projects have you got going on?  I hope you can find a little creative time before the start of a hectic holiday season.

ScrapHappy Chocolate Edition

What a week!  Every weekend I think I'll be able to find a little time during the school week to make some sewing progress and every week lately I seem to be going from one weekend to the next with nothing in the middle.  I'm trying to remember what filled the evenings.  Monday was academic team, Tuesday was gymnastics, Wednesday we went out to dinner, Thursday was parent conferences at school and Friday we had Lego robotics.  By last night I was literally falling asleep on the couch at 6:30.  This is a three day weekend though and I plan to enjoy every minute.  Play practice and OM this morning.  Ryan's flag football team made it to the Superbowl which is tonight.  It will be under the lights with real announcers - so exciting.
Sewing?  Still no machine.  I think I will call the quilt shop for an update.  I can do paper piecing or poverty piecing on Anna's machine though, so progress will still be made.  Honestly what most needs to be done is cleaning up the sewing room for Thanksgiving.  Kurt's brother with family and sister and parents as well as my sister and kids are all coming to visit.  I'm guessing they will all want someplace to sleep.
What about you?  Feeling the rich warmth of brown as things start to cool down?

Last Black Saturday

I've been chipping away at the last little bits of black for the past few Saturdays.  I'll be sure to finish them off today to make way for the brown of next month.  How are your black blocks looking?  Use misterlinky below to keep us up to date on your projects.
While planning the end of this years scraps, I have already started to plan for next years challenge.  Do you have any favorite colors you want to see featured?  Leave me a comment so I can consider new options as I plan ahead.  On that front I have SUPER exciting news!  I got an e-mail last week from Vicki Welsh, who makes lots of luscious hand dyed fabric.   She blogs over at Field Trips in Fiber and sells beautiful hand dyed fabrics and she wants to sponsor the Rainbow Scrap Challenge next year!  She will be sending some fabric goodies our way for a monthly giveaway.  How fun will that be?  Nothing makes using up scraps more fun than more fabric to spice up the mix.
I'm headed out of town for 4 days this week.  4 school days away from my classroom!  I'll be helping out on the committee that writes the state mandated end of course exam for biology.  Days will be packed full of reading and editing questions, but in the evenings -- I'm taking my sewing machine for a little quality creative time.

SoHappy for ScrapHappy Saturday

 Some weeks are a slow painful plod, some are a series of ups and downs, and some are just so full that you get to the end panting.  This was a doozy of a week!  Goodness.  All full of good stuff, but SO much of it.  I fell asleep at 8 last night and it felt really good.
So here I am, all rested and refreshed, ready to do something fun!  My "dark" jar seems to have more brown than black, but I'll see what I can find for my tiny black nine patches,  

I have quite a collection so far, but not many for this month yet.  I have been catching up on the months I missed this summer.  I'm  not sure why it is so relaxing to sew these itty bitty blocks, but it really is.  How about you?  Lots of dark blocks to share?  Use misterlinky below to show us your stuff.

ScrapHappy Saturday Shadow Play

I made a bunch of strip sets last weekend from my little collection of 1 inch strips.  A few of them were even black.  I really though there would be a chance to iron them and start sub cutting during the week, but that never seems to happen.  I am now tweeting to my biology students though, and I published a new video on prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.  The first quarter ends next week so I will be spending some time this weekend making sure all the loose ends are tied up.  First though, there is an OM meeting this morning, a matinee of the school play this afternoon and a flag football game.  How are your scraphappy projects going?  Use misterlinky below to share your progress.

Dark Days

Black can be a difficult color for a lot of people.  Getting decent contrast can be a challenge as there never seems to be enough variety to see lots of differences.  I like to think about it as more of a background than a focus color.  I do enjoy how other colors pop against a dark background though.  This is a crumb quilt that I made a few years ago that was supposed to have an Amish feel.  It went somewhere else though during the process though.
Have you started to ponder your dark scraps yet?  Don't be afraid to try, after all, they were only scraps to begin with.

A New Month Already?!

Its pretty bad when the only way that I know a new month has dawned is that I get friendly e-mails from blog friends wanting to know what the new color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge will be.

We've spent most of the year focusing on the bright and happy end of the scrap bin.  The dark and shady side of your stash is about to get a workout.  I know some of you are resistant to the shadier hues, but they really do add a nice contrast and grounding to your finished projects.  So think black and gray. Just right for October, right?

ScrapHappy Saturday - Farewell to Baby Blue

This has been my blue scrap cutting center for the last week.  I kept thinking I would get back to it during the week, but something else always seemed to come up in the evenings.  Today should be good though for getting some more scraps cut -- maybe I will even sew something!  Shocking yes?
I  hope you have all been more successful in your scrap busting endeavors this weeks.  Use misterlinky below to share your projects.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Show Me Those Baby Blues

Still two more baby blue Saturdays left this month.  How are your scrap using efforts going?  Use misterlinky below to share your progress.  I have a Lego meeting this morning a play practice this afternoon, but maybe the evening will bring some sewing time?  I hope so.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Love Those Baby Blues

I can never get to the bottom of my blues.  It seems to be everyone's favorite color and has become my default for any quilt that goes to someone I don't know that well.  I've already made a big dent in the bright blues and taken another month for the greenish hues, so now these pastel beauties are all that remain.  I think they will make a nice sparkling addition to my rainbow scrap projects.  I know some of you are hesitant to break out of your rainbow bright pattern, I always go back to my favorite thought about scrap projects though.  They are already scraps, what is the worst that can happen?  Give it a try, you might like the addition of pastels, but if you don't, then don't feel the pressure to include it in your final project.  At least you have used up some random bits, and you can always add some blocks to your orphan collection.
On a more personal note, I am missing quilting and bloggging and hope to have more time and energy to settle back into a routine now that school is getting into a pattern.  I got the sweetest e-mail yesterday from someone who said she enjoyed my little slices of daily life and hoped I could get back to Dear Jane soon.  I hope I can get back to them too.  As much as I love my job, I can't let it take every  bit of my time and energy leaving me comatose at the end of every day.  I'm still working to find a balance that will let me enjoy the rest of what life has to offer.  Now, in direct contradiction to that wish, I'm off to a kickoff event for Lego Robotics this morning before taking Anna to practice for the school play.  I'll stay in my classroom while she does her thing and try to cross some of "to dos" off my list.  I can just about handle the regular planning and grading, but a slew of extra paper work has got me feeling a bit like I've fallen off a steep cliff.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Red Runs On

It is hard to believe that as long as we have been working on red, there is still one more red Saturday to go.  Red is a fairly "big" scrap color for most people, so I hope that gives you a chance to dig into your baskets and use it all up.  I managed to come up with more variety in my red postage stamps than I thought and ended up with five monster blocks to add to my rainbow collection.  Still a bit of catch up to do for green and blue, but it will be a nice collection when it all comes together at the end I think.
How about you?  Still finding lots of red to keep you sewing?  Use misterlinky below to share your progress.

Rainbow Catch Up

I finally had a home day to sew to my heart's content.  The combination of time and motivation has been hard to find lately, but yesterday my stars all aligned.  I started by finishing up some red postage stamp blocks for August.  Each of these monster blocks will get a white frame and then another band of  colored blocks.  

Then I did a little inventory to figure out what colors were missing and dug into the blue and green bins.  There are some aqua strip sets in there as well, but probably not enough for an entire block quite yet.
I am starting to get into a routine again with school.  It is a big transition for everyone, but we are all getting there.  There bigger issues of budget cuts, increased workload and evaluations to think about, but on a daily basis, the teaching part is still the same.  I keep telling myself that and it seems to be working so far.  I spent a few hours last night getting things ready for the week, so I am hoping that will help me keep my head above water this week.  I'll deal with next week when it gets here.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Rouge

My original plan for today was to make some postage stamp blocks with 1.5 inch strips.  Now that I have the bag out though, there isn't a great variety of fabrics to work with.  I might have to visit the scrap basket and see what can get turned into strips.  I do plan on enjoying some quality time in the sewing room to celebrate the end of the first week back to school.  What scrappy plans do you have going on today?  Use misterlinky below to share your rainbow scrap projects.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Red Tales

These are the red projects still in progress from last week.  There is some red crumb fabric ready to be used, a pile of strip set spaghetti for nine patches and even a tiny stack of finished nine patches.  Back to school has started for teachers and so my sewing time is going to be limited for a while.  We teach an extra class this year due to budget cuts, so it is sure to be an unusually busy year.
We have a principal and two assistant principles at my school, they take turns evaluating teachers and split up all of the administrative duties.  On Friday, Jim, the assistant principal who takes care of facilities and disciple, called in to say he wasn't feeling well.  He went to the doctor, but they sent him home again.  That night he had a massive heart attack and died before the ambulance could get him to the hospital.  He was 47 years old.  Back to school this year was a bit unusual.  Instead of the usual meetings on Wednesday we had a session of everyone remembering and telling stories.  They had a team of grief counselors on hand for people to talk to.  There was a memorial service last night and this morning is the funeral mass.  So I will sew for a few minutes and then get changed to go to another funeral.

Sorry to keep having bad news.  I am sure things will turn around soon and I'll have lots of good stories and quilting projects to share.  I hope so anyway.

So, here is the usual linky list.  Use it to share your red creations.

ScrapHappy Saturday is Painting the Town Red

Today is the first day of the red month.  You should have already used up anything that screamed pink, now is the time to use up absolutely everything else.  From maroon to candy apple, dig out your red bucket and start sewing!  Use the linky below to share your plans and progress.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Home for Last Teal Day

Today is the very last teal Saturday, though technically you still have 4 more days to finish off your last bits of teal.  It is for me, the very first teal Saturday that I have actually been at home!  I am SO excited to dig into my scraps and create something.  How about you?