Sunday for the Slowdown

It was a long week back at school. It is cold which is unusual for here. Getting back into the flow of things again will take a bit longer I think. I am thankful to have a weekend, even a cold and rainy one. My slow stitching time today will be devoted to hand stitching the binding on my first ever quilt. If I get energetic, I might even try a bit more hand quilting. Hand quilting is not easy through high loft polyester batting, but we live and learn as we evolve in our quilting. I am enjoying the idea of turning my first attempt at quilting into a finished project. It only took a bit more than 25 years. 

If you have more than one RSC25 project in the works, or have a few ongoing projects from years past, these tracking sheets are a great way to keep track. Stephanie makes them for us each year and there are several formats available depending on whether you want to use them electronically or print them and go analog. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Tracking Sheet in word

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Tracking Sheet in PDF

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Tracking Sheet in pages

I randomly drew the powder room as the next project on the "To Do" list. Honestly I thought it was in pretty good shape. It is just a half bath on the main floor that doesn't get used much. I keep some extra guest towels on the back of the potty. 

Then there is a little corner shelf for sunglasses, sunscreen and TP. Kurt has decided to turn old TP rolls into fire starters and so I will donate these to his new craft project. 

It was quick work to sort through the sunglasses and sunscreen. I am not sure who thought that bug spray, aloe and lotion should all start living in there, but they got moved out. There were some sad and broken sunglasses that have gone away. I really need a few matching containers that are slightly larger to hold those, so I will keep my eyes open. I am not much of a shopper, but maybe something will turn up. 

Then it was just a quick scrub, wipe down and polish to make everything all shiny. It was a quick one today, which is good because my first assignment for statistics is an essay that needs a bit more work. There is a group chat for the class and the professor seems to be fairly strict in her grading. Honestly, I thought I would be doing some math, but so far it is not that at all. 

Wednesday - My First Quilt is a UFO

With the cleaning and organizing that comes with a new year, I unearthed my very first quilt. I started it before we moved to Florida which was in 1998.  I did not have a sewing machine or a rotary cutter at that time. I had a pattern book from the library book sale that had sampler blocks labelled with 1 through 3 thimbles to represent difficulty level. As I look back at how I started, I am pretty proud of how far I have come. The seams are not straight and do not lie flat.  They are loose and show on the front in some places. I chose puffy polyester batting that made quilting difficult which is how it ended up as a UFO. I did some straight link walking foot quilting in the borders and sashing to help everything stay together and now I will throw on some binding so that I can take it to the cabin and add some hand quilting to the blocks. 

Today I chose the laundry room to organize. It has become a dumping ground for everything that is homeless. A lot of it just needed to go away, but there is a stack for the cabin and several things that are back where they belong. 

It is certainly more functional now. Hopefully it will stay clear for at least a little while. I will add some cabinet organization to THE LIST which has now gone digital after my little bucket of paper slips fell onto the floor while I was quilting my UFO. The list keeps getting longer as each project reveals a deeper layer of chaos. 

Day 3 of 2022

 I guess I will keep counting days until I get too busy to post on a day and loose track.  Most likely when school starts again on Thursday.   Not looking forward to the Covid fueled mess that is going to be.  We have no authority to mandate vaccines, masks, testing or quarantines.   With no way to fight back, it will just be a matter of watching it work through the students and staff.  I pray that no-one else will die before it is done.   

The sunrise this morning looked like an egg, sunny side up.  It was hazy and drizzling.  Almost before it had cleared the horizon, the sun was behind clouds for the rest of the morning.   

The afternoon turned beautiful though.  Here is my friend Linda who retired this year.  Look how relaxed and refreshed she looks!   We had a nice long beach walk at low tide and caught up on all the gossip.  

I am spending my last few days of vacation working through and inventorying of WIPs, UFOs, PIGs and orphans. 

Bins 1 though 4 are my designated Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects for this year.   That is one for each week of the month.   

1. Courthouse Steps from 1.5 inch strips
2. Blackford's Beauty from 2 inch strips and squares
3. 2.5 inch HST units now designated for Carpenter's Stars
4. tiny paper pieced log cabin blocks are ongoing

Here is the plan for the Carpenter Star blocks.  It is my third try for the HST units I've started.   I saw this post at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting and was inspired.     

5 is my only official WIP that isn't part of the RSC.  It is aqua churn dash blocks meant for Ryan's bed which he took with him to college.   I might turn it into something smaller instead.   Bin 6 is a collection of pieces for a double wedding ring quilt that I started cutting with an Accuquilt die that I haven't gotten out since the move.  I might try to make space to set that up and focus on starting some collections of fabric pieces ready to sew.   Bin 7 isn't a UFO at all but a collection of 10.5 inch squares to use for quilt backs.    

Bins 8 and 9 are also not quilts but collections of blocks from 2.5 and 2 inch squares. 

Pulling out the bin of 2 inch squares inspired me to take stock of the Irish Chain blocks that were leftover from an earlier quilt and should be enough to start the next one.   I don't often make the same pattern again, but I think this will be my third iteration of this quilt.   

That just leaves this one drawer of orphans.  Thanks to a bit of organization and sorting, it is able to close again.  Most of these are extras from trying out new patterns or writing tutorials.   I will try to focus on turning these into smaller quilted projects.  Quite a few potholders, placemats and table toppers could easily come out of this bin.   That will allow me to participate in the Table Scraps Challenge with The Joyful Quilter who is always such a great cheerleader for RSC.   

If you are also on an organizational quest, Stephanie has been kind enough to make tracking sheets for us again this year.  They are available in editable as well as PDF formats.  Feel free to make a digital copy or print one out as you track your own RSC22 projects. This can be especially helpful if you are carrying over projects from last year that only need certain colors.   

Tracking Sheet in editable form

Tracking Sheet in PDF printable form

I will also add the links to the RSC22 page as well as next weeks linky party to make sure everyone gets a chance to see them.   

Projects for 2017

It is hard to ponder ongoing projects while away from home.  Since I am in North Carolina for a few more days with plenty of time to spare, I'll do the best that I can from memory.
I feel that I have a lot of projects in the works.  I'd like to focus on finishing some of them off this year rather than starting new projects.  The pictures are not necessarily representative of the current state of the projects, but they are what is available away from home.  

I think I'm about halfway done with the New York Beauty Blocks.  I was experimenting with designing my own blocks for paper piecing.  I learned a lot working on these blocks.  I did all the prep work ahead of time, so finishing them off should not be too time consuming.

I started this Mizzou Puzzle block last year.  I think I only got about 4 months worth done?  They are really big blocks, so I shouldn't need too many more to have enough for a nice quilt.

 I've been having a lot of fun with these string blocks. Maybe because my main sewing machine needs to go in to the shop and these work well on my back up machine.  In any case, I'm not out of strings yet, so these will keep going for a while longer.

This design wall shot shows two of my ongoing projects.  The Dear Jane triangles in the background are for the border to the already completed center section.  I pulled these out at the begining of last year and made very little progress.  Will this be the year I finally complete the entire quilt?

The circles are all all prepped, but there is still more hand sewing to be done.  I finished 15 on the trip here, so that is a start.  

I think these framed nine patches are almost done, I just need to pull them out and put them all together.  

The OMG It's a Churn Dash top is done, I just need to press the heck out of it and decide on borders. 

And finally, the row by row.  Again, all the blocks should be done.  Now to put it all together.

Yet another quilt with all the blocks done.  They just need to be sewn together as well.  I am sensing a recurring theme.  I like to make blocks, but should take the time to put them all together when they are done.

Oops, almost forgot about these postage stamp stars.  There are enough blocks finished for two quilts.  I even cut out sashing and cornerstones. Better get those all sewn up into quilts.  

So, I think that is the list for the new year.  There are a couple of other possible projects in the quilting closet, but I think this is plenty to start with.  

Design Wall Monday July 2, 2012

I am on a quest to clear out all the moldy oldies.  Experiments in bags, block collections in corners, PIGs, WIPs, UFOs and otherwise.  These wonky log cabins started as a bin of scraps gifted to me by a neighbor who was moving away.  I had planned on turning it into a quilt top and giving it to them before they left, but here they are, several years later, still waiting to be finished.  I sewed up all that were in progress, and though I have no idea what I was thinking when I made them, it looks like I need four more of each color to call it a quilt. 

Thinking about 2012

As the year begins to think about drawing to an end, I am starting to think about what can get finished up this year and what should go on the list for next year.  The first step was to sit down and make a list of everything in progress, in a bag or a box or in some stage of planning. 

So, in no partricular order, here I go:

1. Smith Mountain Majesty is cut out and in a box ready to be sewn.

2. Goose in the Puddle is also cut out and ready to be sewn.

3. Orca Bay hasn't been started yet, but I have pulled the fabric.

4. Jamestown Landing has some piecing done and is mostly cut out.

5. Rainbow Crumbs has rows assembled

6. ScrapHappy Squares needs to be put together with sashing

7. Nine patches are extras from leaders and enders

8. Another Irish Chain is in progress as leaders and enders

9. Another Four Squares quilt is in progress as leaders and enders

10. Connecting Threads Sampler (Star Something?) is sitting in a shoebox. (can't find a photo -- how old must that be?)

11. Applique Baskets are handwork in progress

12. Cheddar Bowties are leaders and enders in progress.

13. Midget Blocks are coming along slowly and surely. 

14. Crumb Along blocks are in a stack, not sure if there are enough for a quilt

15. Cathedral Stars - need to find the ruler to make more blocks

16. Dear Jane is ready for handquilting

17. Shoot for the Moon - in chunks ready to be assembled. 

 I think that's it for now.  Here are my first thoughts:

• There are too many leaders and enders to be going on at one time.  Maybe I should choose the one that is furthest along and see if it can be completed sooner rather than later.  
• There are 4 Bonnie Hunter Patterns that are fairly intense, I think those will need to go one at a time, of those, the mystery wins out for pure fun of following along reasons. 
• I'll need a handwork project for car trips over the holidays, either baskets for midgets could fill that role.  If I prep the backgrounds on the midgets I could start embroidering the names, that would be fun. 
• First up are the crumb and scrap blocks, those can be finished up fairly quickly I think. 
• The list got longer as I searched back looking for photos to link.  Maybe I should put these in reverse chronological order by start date?

Just went back to check my UFO list for this year, even though I didn't participate in the challenge, I did pretty well on the list.  Just Starlight remains, I'd better get that puppy done!  I think I will officially give up on Depression blocks or call it a table topper. 

UFO Challenge 2010 (Update)

I've been waiting to see what I finish this year before I start to contemplate my UFO list for next year. Eventually I decided to just make the list as it stands now and replace anything that gets finished with something else. I'll get things crossed off the list one way or another.

1. Postage Stamp Quilt.(done on June 18)
The blocks were all put together and I was ready for borders when I decided it needed to be bigger. I've got the extra blocks made, I just need to incorporate them into the quilt and add a simple border.

2. Scraptastrophy.(renamed Hopscotch, done on July 5)
This was an experiment with Bonnie Hunters Carolina Chains pattern that grew into a quilt top. I think it needs a small border but it is already hanging with backing fabric.

3. Dear Jane Small Quilt. (bordered backed and basted on June 11, still needs hand quilting)
This one has one border but I was waiting for the right shade of blue to add a second border. It is going to be hand quilted.

4. Elm Creek Quilt (done on August 21)
I've been busily hand quilting on this one, but I'm not sure how much longer it will take.

5. Starlight. (done on June 26)
Needs borders. I bought the fabric and it is hanging waiting to be put together

6. Shoot for the Moon. (still need to finish this one)
This is for Anna. She is desperate for me to finish it up. The blocks are made, they just need to be put together. Nothing is standard sized, so it will need a lot of puzzling and deciding along the way.

7. Kitty Korner.  (done on January 30)
I've just started this one and I am liking it a lot. I've got most of the blocks made. It just needs a little time. It has fallen off the list temporarily because nobody is waiting for it.

8. Christmas Quilts. (done before Christmas)
Not sure if I will get these done in time for Christmas. I'm off to find some border fabric this morning. Ryan and I are going to "do lunch" while the girls are skating.

After this is it starts to get harder. Active projects and experiments start to get included as well.

9. Roll Roll Cotton Boll. (Done on November 6)
I am working away at step 3 and 5 I think. I'll let this one rest until after Christmas I think and then get caught up again.

10. Spinning Stars. (Done on November 6)
I almost forgot about this one. I worked my way back to November 8 in my blog to find it. I've got the top put together but need to start working on borders. It is going to have a complicated series of pieced borders.

11. Lonely Logs and Surprise Quilts (Loggies done on August 28)
This was an experiment I was working on.  I need to either finish it or get rid of it.   I was just playing one day and accidentally started  3 new quilts.  Oops. 
 
12. Depression Blocks. (still haven't pulled these out again)
This was on my UFO list for last year as well.  If it doesn't get finished soon I'll just give up on it. 

Love the Weekend

The last two weekends have been devoted to nonstop quilting. Things are a little more balanced this weekend. I got these pictures in an e-mail from El, one of the ladies from the quilt marathon for Haiti last weekend. We were the two die hards who worked all night on Friday and came back again on Saturday. We had a lot of fun and chatted quite a bit through the night.
The one just cracks me up because she cut off the lady who was holding up the other end of the quilt. I can't remember her name for the life of me, but she was a little grumpy and insulted my sewing machine for being too noisy before telling me that I didn't get any extra points for all of my fancy quilting. I didn't know for sure how to respond to that, but I guess El showed how she felt about the terse comments by cropping that woman right out of the picture!
I haven't done much on the quilting front this weekend, but I think I'll spend some time tomorrow seeing if I can get some work done on my January UFO. I finished off Sock Monkey's already, so I won't feel too guilty about swapping the numbers around if I don't get my depression blocks entirely done by the end of the weekend.

Woohoo!

Just finished the quilting on the blue and purple star quilt. Quilt Pixie suggested Sunrise as a name for the purple of the sky and the green for trees. To me it looks more nightimey. So how about Twilight? I'll sleep on it. I'm trying hard not to stay up until all hours, so I'll put on the binding in the morning. I did a basic meaner in the middle and put feathers in the borders. The thread matches exactly, so they don't show up at all. Probably best, a chance to practice on a real quilt and not see all the mistakes. Anyway, I used washable marker to sketch the general shape, so I'll have to throw this one in the wash as soon as the binding is done. Quilt Penguin has posted the UFO for August, it is number one, so for me that is my Elm Creek Quilt. It is just in need of hand quilting, so that is a good project for August which will be busy with back to school.

Dinner for One

My entire family has abandoned me for the week and flown to North Carolina to visit family. It is strangely quiet in my house right now and I think I am enjoying it. Kurt usually has to take vacation time to stay with the kids during preplanning so this year he decided to actually go on a vacation. I'll be back at school next week getting ready for classes to start. I went in to school this morning for a couple of hours and again this afternoon. In between I made 5 more blocks to add to the purple and green star quilt and put it all together. It doesn't look so bad from a distance, but when you get up close and personal it show off truly shoddy workmanship. Still, finished is better than perfect, and I have learned oodles since I started this quilt 7 years ago. Now that I look at the picture I am bothered by the asymmetry, but I'm trying not to think about it. I'm going to add a wide blue border and get it all layered up likety split. Then I'll go see what the August UFO is and move on with my life. Does anybody have a better suggestion for a name than purple and green star quilt?

Insanity

As summer winds down and I know I should be putting away my summer projects. Finishing up loose ends. Tidying away the sewing room. Instead I suddenly decided that I didn't want to miss a month of the UFO challenge and that I should really take another look at the July project. I had 8 blocks from a BOM many years ago. I picked a more challenging pattern than I was ready for and was not happy with the way the blocks were coming together. It got put away, and by the time I took it out again, the room it was being made to match had been redecorated. And so it sat and languished. I didn't want to devote a lot of time and energy to a quilt that I have no earthly purpose for anymore. After playing with the blocks, I decided I could stretch the existing blocks by whipping up some Irish Chain blocks to alternate them with. I did that yesterday, and just finished putting them together in a 3 x 5 setting. With the blocks finishing at 12 inches, that only makes it 36 inches wide. Not enough to comfortably snuggle with (unless you are really skinny I guess). So now that I have put this much time into it, I'm thinking that I could make 2 more star blocks of some sort and three of the Irish Chains to bring it to a small snuggle size. I could also just start randomly adding the extra four patches to the sides until I run out. I guess I'll sit here and stare at it until inspiration strikes. Inspiration better not take too long though, there is only one more day in July!

The kids have all been adding their own chaos to the mix. They are tearing up the house to pack for their trip while trying to make sure they play with every single friend and every single game and toy before they leave. Sydney had our new neighbor over yesterday and they played Clue, Sorry, Trouble, Kerplunk, Connect 4 and Martian Matter all at the same time. If only I had waited one more day to mop the kitchen floor! It truly is insane around here. All in a good way though.

Spewing Ears

When we traveled to Georgia recently I didn't take any projects along because I felt like I had a real handle on everything. The loose ends were fairly tidy and nothing was hanging over my head.

Now I have projects spewing out of my ears.
My sister sent fabric for dust ruffles and wedge covers. No problem there, those should go quick. Poor little Paige is the only one of her children that does not have an Aunt Angie quilt. (I made one for her doll, but not one for her.) The cute pink and brown polka dotted fabric made me think that whilrygiggles would be cute and simple. That goes on the someday soon list. My girlfriend has a husband with a machine that needs a sun shade, I can give it a try, that goes on the list. Mom has a new guest bedroom and wants a quilt to match a jigsaw puzzle. Sounds good, I decide on the Sister's Choice pattern and add it to the list.

Then Anna decided to redecorate her room and requested a star quilt like Starlight Starbright. But with blue background and yellow stars. The list is getting longer, but she is my daughter after all. Wait, don't forget the painting and decorating, add those to the list. (Kurt is not to be trusted with a trim brush)
Then Kurt decides that the drapes in our room have to go and I start browsing catalogs for new window treatments. The window treatment ideas lead to quilt ideas, and both of those go on the list. I have this happy hour pattern that I have been saving just for that purpose. Mabye those better be at the end of the list. I think the paint is OK though, so that is spared from the list.

Now July has rolled around, and UFO #9 goes on the list. I'm halfway through now and hate to break a streak.

I think I'd better prioritize. Because if I start at the beginning and go through the whole list, it will be a while. I'm thinking that the UFO might need to be the first to bite the dust, because nobody wants it. When I started it in 2002 it was for our bedroom. We've moved houses and changed colors since then, so I don't know what I will do with a purple and green quilt. I could try to rework it into something else. Still, I keep coming back to the idea that nobody needs it.

I did finish up the binding on Tea Rose Sampler, so I guess that one can get crossed off the list. Instead of sitting here pondering, I think I'll go try to go finish something else. The list beckons.

April Finish

I just finished up the binding on the Welcome quilt. It still wants a label but is proudly hanging in the front foyer. Nancy Hasn't posted a UFO yet for May, so I'll have to assess and think about what is next. I still need to put the words into the Starlight quilt and I have some more happy blocks to make for a sample quilt for the Girl Scout meeting. I've still got the Double Delight out waiting patiently for borders. Hmm, that sounds like enough to keep my busy for a month without a new UFO to add.
Sydney wanted this quilt to be hers. She says it's OK if I make her another as long as it has a curved edge with different colors. She would also like some of the purple sparkly fabric that was in the doll quilt I made this weekend and maybe some flowers like the ones in the corners, but with purple. I guess it is good that she knows what she wants.

I won the giveaway that Amanda was having for her 200th post!! Make sure you go visit. It is so fun to win something. I don't even know what I've won but I'm still happy thinking of little goodies in the mail. Thanks so much Amanda, not only for having a giveaway, but also for having a blog and leaving such nice comments for us all.

Border, Back and Binding Ready to GO

I bordered the orange and teal quilt tonight -- all from stash! I even used three orphan blocks. I thought I was going to have to buy fabric, but I kept going to the cupboard and pulling things out, some matched better than others. Of course piecing the back took longer than sewing the blocks together for the front, but they are both done now. I cut the binding, and threw everything that was left into the scrap bag. Now I have an empty project container to ponder......

Two Tops in Need of Borders

I took two sets of blocks that had been aging for a while and sewed them together into tops today. Now I just have to decide on borders!
The first is a teal and orange pinwheel that I started as one of two options for his bed when my son was really into orange. I ended up going with a larger pinwheel I did "quilt as you go", which has been on his bed since shortly after we moved three years ago. So these poor little reject blocks have been sitting nicely labeled wondering what to do now that his favorite color is red.
The second is a set of courthouse step blocks that I pieced with my nephew while he was visiting this summer during his baby brothers surgery. We did lots of projects and outings as distractions, but didn't manage to finish this up. If I get my act together I can ship it off in time for his birthday next month.