Mid Year Update

Today we will celebrate the mid point of our year with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  So take a few minutes to take stock, admire your accomplishments, and share your progress with us all.  

First up are my OMG Churn Dashes.  I got this pulled out last week to take stock and plan.  Out of 400 blocks, I only need 137 more.  I'll pull this out again the next time I feel like working on something tiny.

I have caught up on light blues since this photo was taken, but I forget how many of each block I had intended to make.  The postage stamps are 16 patches that are reworked from the leftovers of an earlier 36 patch quilt, which was leftover from an earlier 100 patch quilt.  In general I just used up whatever was in the 1.5 inch bin, so the number of blocks is highly variable.  I could go with a random layout of course, but if I end up with rainbow stripes I should decide on the row length.

These little twinkler blocks seem to be missing green and light blue/aqua.  They work up really quickly, so that should be easy to fix.  

The framed nine patches got sewn together into rows this week.  I have the nine patches ready to go in both light blue and red, those can get added to the collection.  I am enjoying the red and black corners on this one.  

Finally, I did a quick survey of the orange peels while I was prepping more on the last slow stitching Sunday.  This one is going to keep going for  a while with no big plans or deadlines.  Everybody needs a slow and steady project, right?

Mister Linky is below for anyone with midyear updates to share.  Feel free to use your scraphappy Saturday post again if you already posted your projects.  

On the Road Again

I brought some hand quilting to do on the trip.  I could have finished it last year on our car trip to DC, but it wasn't marked.  So I finished off all the marking yesterday while it was calm.

Mostly we have been doing puzzles with Zac.  Mostly the same 60 piece John Deere puzzle.   We all have it memorized!

We will drive from my sister's to Kurt's borther's this afternoon.  More hand quilting time for me.

Design Wall Monday - Sawtooth Sampler

I've fallen a bit behind on the alternate blocks for my Sawtooth Sampler.  So I started filling in the extra bits, and it is starting to look more like a quilt.  

 These blocks go together really quickly.  Just a combination of 2.5 and 4.5 inch squares.

 The 2.5 inch squares get combined to make two patches.

 And then four patches.  Four in dark and light and one in just darks.

 Here they are in a simple X formation.  Each block combines the colors of the adjacent blocks to help transition from color to color.  I have finished the blues, light blues, greens and yellows so far.  The purples are cut and ready, but I ran out of time.  Soon I will get back to them.  What do you have on your design wall this Monday?  Head over to Patchwork Times to see what everyone else was up to on the holiday weekend.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler - July Block 2 - Lantern Light

After finishing the last block, which was called Lantern, this one called to me because it was called Lantern Light.  I really didn't get the name when I saw the sample block, but as I put mine together, I looked at it with the stripes going horizontal and it suddenly looked like a Chinese Lantern to me.

 You will need 6 strips of red for this block.  They should each be 1.5 by 6.5 inches.  In addition, you will need 4 squares of background fabric which are 2.5 inches each.

Start by sewing your 1.5 inch strips into pairs.  No need to iron yet.  

 Next, sew the pairs together.  You may press all the seams in the same direction if you like, the direction of the pressing isn't a concern for this block.  Now take your 4 background squares and draw a line from corner to corner along the diagonal.

 Place a background square on each corner with the lines forming a circle of sorts.  You will be using flip and sew corners to "snowball" your block.  Sew on each drawn line.

 I like to press my corners back before trimming.  If everything looks good then you can double sew the corners to yield bonus triangles if you prefer.  I did not in this case, because the HST blocks would have multiple bits of red.  In any case, trim away the extra fabric and you will have a beautiful 6 inch sampler block.  This block could also be made from different widths of strings to make a great scrap busting block.

Go ahead and add your star points using the tutorial found on the RSC 15 Sampler tab at the top of the page and you will have your sampler blocks done for July.  Now it is time to start putting some rows together!  Together with the pink blocks you are ready to finish off the bottom row.  

Devil Went Down to Georgia

We are at my sister's house in Georgia to visit for the holiday.  Rock Springs Church is just around the corner and they always have a huge Independence Day celebration.  This year the music was by the Charlie Daniels Band, best known for their song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". 

They had two Republican presidential candidates as guest speakers.  Ted Cruz was one.

And Mike Huckabee was the other.  I didn't venture all the way down to the church to hear them speak, but Kurt and the kids caught part of it.  They were nice enough to bring back a funnel cake to share with me.  

I got lots of orange peels sewn in the car today.  Kurt and I listened to an audio book while the kids watched movies on their iPads.

Slow Stitching Sunday - Car Trip

We have a car trip coming up. While most people are folding up clothes to put in a suitcase, I'm folding up quilts and blocks to hand stitch in the car.  I bet I can get a lot done between here and there.  Maybe finish up the border on my little Dear Jane?  I prepped plenty of orange peels if that doesn't work out.  So many hours to stitch before I arrive.

 Last night we went to a 4th of July celebration at Cocoa Rivefront Park.  The Brevard Symphony Orchestra plays first.

And then we all turn our lawn chairs around or rotate on our quilts to watch the fireworks while they finish up.  We've been going for the past 10 years or so and it is usually they same group of people that we see.  Lots of work friends of Kurt's and my friend Meisje who I met through and old work friend of Kurt's.  It was a late night and part of the gang is still sleeping.  I'll go find some clothes to pack as soon as everyone is up.  

Enjoy your slow stitches today and don't forget to go and visit Kathy to peek at other people's hand work projects.  

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler - July Block 1 - Lantern

I was looking for something simple and slightly linear for the red blocks this month.  Red will make up the bottom center of the finished quilt and I didn't want anything that would be too flashy.  So I looked through my copy of The Quilt Block Bible to see what I could find.  I decided on this block called Lantern which fit the bill nicely and seems to fit nicely with the color red. 

 From red scraps you will need to cut two strips that are 2.5 by 6.5 and one that is 2.5 by 4.5.
From background fabric, you will cut four 2.5 inch squares and two rectangles 2.5 by 1.5.

 Sew one of the small background rectangles onto the smaller red rectangle.  Place a square of background fabric onto each end of both larger red rectangles.  Draw a line from corner to corner diagonally on each background square.  Notice that the lines both angle to the center and do not run parallel to one another.  Sew on the drawn line.

 You may also sew inside the sewn lines to yield bonus triangles, but this part is optional.

 Press and trim the bonus triangles.

Arrange your three subunits as shown.  I like the way the lighter red "glows" in the center.  This would be a fun scrap quilt with yellow red or orange in the center and lots of different color for the lamps.  

 

Here are the three subunits sewn together which will form a 6.5 inch sampler blocks.  

Add the star points following the tutorial found on the RSC15 Sampler tab at the top of the page.  Scroll down to the earlier post from today for ScrapHappy Saturday.  I will schedule the second block for July to post on Monday in case you have a holiday for Independence day.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Introducing Red

A new month brings a new color here at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. July will be all about using up your red scraps.

I was surprised when I went to pull out my reds this week at how many of them were already sewn together.  I did just a bit more combining of those bits to get plenty of "made" fabric.  I'm not sure yet what these are for, but it was fun and mindless to put them all together.  

Just in case your red isn't quite as plentiful as your other colors, I have this beautiful bundle of hand dyed fabrics from Vicki Welsh to give away.  Just leave a comment on this post with your favorite quilt block of all time and I will do a drawing on Wednesday to see who will win.
Why Wednesday you ask?  In honor of the middle of the year, I will be having a special link up in the middle of this week.  As we reach the mid point of 2015, it is time to take stock.  By focusing on one color at a time, it is easy to loose perspective on the bigger picture.  This is a chance to pull out your ongoing projects and get a photo of your blocks together as a group.  For those of us working on several projects simultaneously, this is a great chance to do a quick inventory and make sure you haven't skipped anything important along the way.  So come back on Wednesday for a chance to enjoy lots of projects in progress. Who knows, you might just find your inspiration for next year's Rainbow Scrap Project.

Summer Projects

 Yesterday was the big cupcake wars battle.  For those people wondering, cupcake wars is a TV show based on baking cupcakes, not a battle where you throw cupcakes at one another.  That might have made an even bigger mess, but I can't be sure.  Anna, Ryan and Sydney each had two hours to bake four each of three kinds of cupcakes.  They were required to use at least three of five mystery ingredients.  The mystery ingredients were caramel, pecans, chocolate, strawberries and graham crackers.

Anna won the award for presentation.  She made a bunny/turtle out of the pecans, caramel and chocolate.  Most impressive.  The girls had to make their cake batter from scratch, but Ryan was allowed to use a mix.  Given that he has never baked anything before, it seemed like a reasonable handicap.  Cleaning up again took most of the afternoon, but everyone was happy and busy.  Can't ask for more than that, right?

 So I spent the morning with my Costa Rica Team planning our camera trap deployment for Costa Rica.  The afternoon was open though, except waiting for the bug guy to come and try to get rid of the giant bugs that seem to have invaded lately.   So while I waited, I did some major organization of the OMG Churn Dash blocks.  There were so many bits and pieces made, but I didn't know if it was enough of the right colors for my plan.

So I pinned the nine subunits needed for each block together.  5 nine patches and 4 backgrounds for the X blocks.  4 HST units, 4 striped bits and 1 nine patch for each churn dash block.  Here they are all ready to go.  After sorting and counting those, I realized that I only need 137 more blocks for my finished quilt.  I'm not sure when I'll get back to it, but at least I'll have a note to remind me when that happens.  

Tumblers and Mid-Year Progress.

Bonnie Hunter announced a new leaders and enders challenge, sending me off to dig up my tumbler blocks.

I knew that somewhere I had a stack of tumbler blocks that had been cut from deconstructed men's shirts.  Sure enough, stored away neatly in the cabinets over the washer and dryer, were was a basket full of little tumblers and a big stack of giant tumblers.  I also found a strange wad of un-ironed fabric and backing scraps that must have been stashed there to help clear out the guest bedroom at some point before company arrived. Then I found some miscellaneous baskets full of un-ironed parts and pieces to many random projects.  

So in addition to monitoring the morning session of cupcake wars in the kitchen, I spent some time ironing, sorting and putting away.  We are off to the vet in just a few minutes, but after that, some more sorting will go along with some trimming and organizing.  

We will be having a mid year update in July for anyone who wants to share their Rainbow Scrap Challenge progress so far.  I am doing some inventory of and catch-up in celebration.  I hope that all of your projects are coming along well.  Think about pulling out your blocks to share with us all as we reach the halfway point of the year