Day 2 of 2022

 I won't keep counting days forever, but it does feel good to try to accomplish something each day of the new year.   

Accomplishment number 1 for the day, watching the sun come up over the horizon.   Kurt is driving our son Ryan back to college today, and our oldest daughter left to be back and celebrate the new year with her friends.  That just leaves the youngest daughter and I to putter around the house today.   I'm collecting some things for Goodwill and doing some tidying.   With the windows open to a beautiful ocean breeze, it is quite pleasant.   We took down the tree yesterday, which left everything feeling so open and clear.   

The RSC color for January is red, so I might start to play with some red scraps today as well.  

Accomplishment number two is getting this quilt top ready to sew together.  The 16 patch blocks were leaders and enders from many years ago. They were all mixed up with the monochromatic nine patches made from 2 inch squares that I seem to use for so many quilts.   I thought about tossing these out, but started to play on graph paper and came up with this arrangement using groupings of four.  Each group of 4 with 2 inch sashing strip works out to 14 inches.  Big blocks make quilts quickly, so it seemed worth making just a few more to finish off a top.   The lattice and cornerstones are two different rainbow dotted whites and so I found the only piece of dotted fabric with enough for the border.  It just happened to be orange, and so a happy quilt is ready to be turned into a flimsy.   

Next on the list are the last two applique baskets to this quilt that was also started long ago.   I was afraid that I didn't have any of the dotted background fabrics on hand anymore, but was able to find enough to get the last two blocks prepped and ready for some slow stitching.   I can't decide whether these need a lattice and cornerstones treatment, it is trickier with an on point setting, but the baskets seem to need a little space to breath.     

 

I think I will take some time to breath as well and check out Slow Stitching Sunday and Oh Scrap!  

Button for 2022

 

I am finally getting around to making a new button for RSC2022.   Step one is to post a photo of the image so that you can use that in the HTML code.   I will be back shortly with a "grab my button widget" in the right hand margin.  

I think the grab my button is working now.  The nifty widget that I had used in years past isn't working anymore, but I found another version at Ryu No Sekai that lets you paste in your links to existing html

ScrapHappy Saturday - Week 1 of 2022

Red will be the January Color for 2022.    

Welcome to the new year!  I love fresh starts, and a new year at Rainbow Scrap Challenge is a chance to start to block collections and use and organize more scraps.   I've been working on scraps since 2010 when I got carried away sorting scraps by color into bowls.  I thought it would be fun to focus on one color each month and work on some rainbow themed quilts.   These days almost every quilt I make is based on my rainbow sorted scraps.  You don't have to be quite so dedicated to join in to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  All you need is a little time each month to focus on one color and make something that will put some of your own scrap stash to good use.   Most people choose a block or two, but the challenge leaves plenty of time for personalization and individual choice.   You should use the challenge in a way that works for you.  If you pull out your scrap bins each month and make a few blocks in a chosen pattern, then by the end of the year, you will have enough to make a quilt.   

Sewing is difficult with all the kids here for the holidays, but I did take the time to cut and organize a nice drawer full of 2 inch squares.   These will be part of a Blackford's Beauty quilt.   

  I've got my red bin pulled out as well and plan to dig through it a bit to find some bits to use for my other upcoming projects.   

Before I dig too deeply into new projects though, here is a list of accomplishments from 2021.  Lots of flimsies, a few finished quilts and still plenty of scraps and blocks to take into 2022.

Flimsies finished this year

1.  Garden Trellis (RSC21)
2. Sister's Choice (RSC21)
3. Shoo Fly with Wonky Stars (RSC21)
4. #Full Stop (RSC21)
5. Rainbow Crumb Beads (RSC21)
6. Tiny Churn Dashes and Nine Patches (Extra Blocks)
7. Chopsticks (to use extra 16 patch blocks)
8. Green Diamonds (to use more extra 16 patch blocks)
9. Red Zig Zags (to use extra nine patch blocks)
10. Country Stars Sampler Quilt (quilt kit from long ago)
11. Dear Jane (HUGE accomplishment, many year long ongoing project)

Quilts finished this year

1. Tiny Tuesday Sampler 2019
2. Nine Carat Diamonds
3. Rainbow Row By Row Sampler 2016
4. Frameshift

What are your plans for 2022?  Red is our first color and I will announce a new one near the first day of each of the first 10 months.  I will have optional odd colors available in November and December, but those months are primarily reserved for block assembly and quilt finishing.  The new year is a great time to celebrate your accomplishments from the last year and work on plans for the next.   Please use the linky tools below to share your post about the past or the future of your rainbow scraps.  

Last ScrapHappy Saturday of 2021

 I can not say that I am sad to see the end of 2021.   I celebrated a socially distanced Christmas morning today fully masked, sitting on the balcony outside of our family room.  Now I am facetiming with the family to play a group video game with me back in my quarantine corner and everyone else (still Covid negative) down at the kitchen table together.   Feeling pretty good though, after a few days of cold like symptoms and so grateful for knowing how much worse this could have all turned out.   

I'll be back soon with a year end update.  I did get quite a few flimsies finished this year if not completed quilts.  I enjoy going back to review as I dream of quilts for the new year.  

Day 5

 

Day 5 of my Covid quarantine and all is calm.  There is a lovely sunrise to see from the balcony.  

Plenty of hexies to add to my growing rows.  

The dog and I even ventured outside for long enough yesterday to spot an osprey with his lunch.  I was sure that I would test negative this morning in time to enjoy Christmas festivities with the family.   No such luck though I and I am secluded again in the main bedroom with hand sewing and movie marathons to pass the time.  

I feel a bit better today than yesterday, so maybe that is sign that the end is near.  Everyone else in the house keeps testing negative, so that is good news!  There is always a bright side.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Anticipation

 I've got two of the three kids home for the holidays and the third should arrive tomorrow.  Just two exams days are left between me and winter break.   My task for the day is to put away the remainder of my sewing things from the kids/guest bedrooms and finish off the holiday gift shopping.   No sewing for me quite yet, though I do have some hexies and binding to occupy me if I get the urge.  I hope that all of your end of the year sewing is progressing nicely.  Hopefully everyone was able to squeeze a finish or two out of their rainbow scrap challenge block collections!  Next Saturday is Christmas, and the one after that will be the first Saturday of RSC22.   I will be continuing to host ScrapSaturday linky parties next year, though I do not have a block of the month planned.  I might do a shorter quilt along over summer break if things are calm, but for now, I don't have a long term quilt in the works other than monthly rainbow blocks.  So far I think I will do HST stars with 2.5 inch strips, Blackford Beauty blocks with 2 inch strips and courthouse steps with 1.5 inch strips.  I've still got mini log cabins for the strings and crumbs might take a rest for now.    That is my tentative plan so far.  How are your plans coming along for the new year?  Still time to firm them all up.

ScrapHappy Saturday

 

I have kids coming home for Christmas!  So far Anna is back and Ryan will be here next weekend.   School is winding down for me as well.   Having gotten my RSC21 quilts to the flimsy stage, I am exploring options for RSC22.   This is an attempt at HST stars.   There are two versions which I was thinking about using together, but I'm not sure if there is enough of a difference between the star pattern and the inverted stars.  I might try working in a few blank squares to break up the space and rest the eye.   The blue ones are sewn but the rest are just hanging out on the wall waiting.   

ScraapHappy Saturday - Last Month of 2021

I can't say that I will be sad to see 2021 depart.  The end of the year means that I need to finish up the last of the RSC21 projects.  Instead I have been testing out blocks for RSC22.   So far there is the Blackford's Beauty block for the 2 inch strips and the Inverse HST stars for the 2 inch strips.  I was thinking of Courthouse Steps for the 1.5 inch strips, but there is a log cabin quilt in the works that I should finish up first.   

 Misterlinky will be expiring this week so I think that I will switch linky services again.   Too many people seem to have issues each week with linking, so I will do the research again and choose a new service.   I also need to sew the rows together on the crumb beads.  I got these three done over Thanksgiving holiday, it won't take long to add the rest.   Sewing long straight rows together has never been my favorite part of the quilting process.  Too much like borders with long stretches that need pins.  I hardly ever use pins! 

We are also going to test drive cars today.  There might be a grand car rotation coming up.    Though I have never been a car person, two of our cars are getting ready to fall apart.   With Anna graduating from college, we are thinking of sending her off with my car and then getting something new form me.   Kurt has been having trouble with his car refusing to start after a week at the airport.  The dealer couldn't find any problem, so we might be replacing it as well.   Something about electric cars draws charge over time I think.   

Still, there should be sewing time.   I'm off to pin some long rows!

I worked on two more variations of the Blackford's Beauty block.  I like the black star points.  Also leaning toward the flying goose method over the flip and sew chevron 

Then, as long as there were scraps flying everywhere, I made a few half square triangle units to try out the inverted star plan.   Both stars are exactly the same, but with the colors in opposite positions.  Not sure yet if that will be enough to see the pattern, I'll have to make another block or two before I decide.   

Here is the sunrise from today.  Just a quick peek before I dashed out the door as this is our week of meetings almost every day.   

 

I am working on plans for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2022.  I woke up an hour early this morning and just had to get some ideas into fabric.   Choosing new blocks is always such fun!  I am thinking of the Blackford's Beauty block for my 2 inch strips and squares.  It isn't typically done with a four patch in the center, but I think it might work.   The chevrons can be done as strips or as flying geese.  I will try it both ways to see which is better for block construction.  Technically the chevrons have fewer seams, but the bulk might be less resulting in sharper points with the other method.   I also think that I might make the star points black instead of white.  They might stand out more that way.  I do like the consistent solid star points though.  That part I think I will keep.   

So I am learning that Blackford Ford is a Civil War battle site in Maryland.   A lot of  quilt block naming happened during the Civil War.   

I also had to pop by and visit the sunrise this morning on my way to work.   It was just peeking over the horizon as I drove past an access point on my way to work.   Definitely worth a short pit stop to enjoy the start of a new day.   

Coming back to school after a week off is a harsh transition for the teachers as well as the students.  Just 17 days until winter break though, so time to get back to work!