Last Day of Vacation

 

It is back to work in the morning!  Fortunately it will be a very short week, which will let the kids all ease in a bit.  I am sure they all spent the last few weeks up all night and sleeping until noon.  

I got my new fabric acquisitions ironed and folded.  The top three are already cut into binding.   

With the leftover blue binding bits, I went ahead and whipped up another tiny block.  Economy block is paper pieced.  

Kurt is just back from driving Ryan back to school.  He had a plan to play Dungeons and Dragons tonight.  Sydney won’t head back until Friday.  She finally got into the lab that she needed for Chemistry!  She spent most of the break checking her number on the waiting list.   

It has been fun having them home again, but I am looking forward to reassembling the house again.  Having everyone gone again led to lots more mess and clutter everywhere.   

New Year -- New Tracking Sheets

 RSC23 Tracking Sheet PDF

RSC23 Tracking Sheet Pages

RSC23 Tracking Sheet Word

Stephanie has been kind enough to make tracking sheets in a variety of formats for us again this year. I posted the links on the RSC23 page as well so feel free to print or save a copy for your own use as you work on projects for the new year. 

I started working on some tiny blocks.  These little babies will finish at 3 inches.   With seam allowances they are and adorable 3.5.   The math works out pretty easily for nine patches, but I will start to play with other subunits as well.   

I felt better about starting a new project after I webbed the bullseye blocks together.   After surveying ongoing projects, I decided to make a trip out for backing and binding fabrics today.   That should help with crossing some ongoing projects off of the list.   I can't show a photo though as everything is in the wash.   

Hand Quilting in the New Year

With a long car trip to enjoy today, I had plenty of time for hand quilting.   This block a day quilt called Leap Year is overdue for a finish.  I got the purple blocks done yesterday and made quite a dent in the blues today.  We are home again after a few days in the mountains.  My new car handled the icy roads beautifully.   We had our driveway resurfaced before winter hit, but there is a nasty section of rough road to make it through before our property starts.  By Friday though it had all warmed up nicely and we were able to putter around outside.  I gathered fallen branches for firewood and hauled stones to make boarders.   The washer wasn’t working though due to a frozen pipe, so tomorrow will be laundry day for sure.  

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.