New RSC Quilt in the New Year - Hen and Chicks

I have been playing with the idea of a new quilt along in 2024 for a while now, but took a bit of time to settle on an idea.  I haven't done a quilt along since 2021, and so I feel that now is a good time to jump back in. 

14 hours in the car yesterday stitching hexies gave me plenty of time to ponder.   I so much enjoy stitching miniature blocks, but getting enough together to make a decently sized quilt takes lots of time!   I started with a plan to sash out some miniatures "happy block" style, alternating dark and light sashings, but it seemed like too much space when I sketched it out.   Also, not everyone likes making miniature quilt blocks.  I did a squared away block of the month with Mari in 2018 with her making large blocks and me making the smaller version.  We limited our blocks to those on a 5 x 5 grid which made the piecing nicely consistent.  Seeing the how the blocks looked in different sizes was a fun experiment.   Best of all, it allowed people to pick a size that they were comfortable working with.  

And so, putting together all of those ideas.... I decided to make both big and small blocks and mix them together in the same quilt.  The "larger" blocks will be 6 inches, and the little guys will be 3.5 inches.  Then by framing out the smaller blocks, they will form a nice checkerboard and give the bigger blocks some room to rest.   For those who don't like tiny little fiddly blocks, it is easy enough to replace the smaller blocks with a 3.5 square, or even a crumb or string block.  

The blocks will all be on an even 9 patch grid for ease of piecing, cutting and miniaturizing.   I have 40 blocks picked out, all straight forward traditional patterns which will translate well in the 6 inch or 3 inch size.  There is absolutely no reason they could not be made in a huge 12 inch version as well, though that is not part of the current plan.   The final quilt will be 48 by 60 before borders with 40 large blocks and 40 small blocks.   To accomplish this, I will make 4 large and 4 small blocks each month for the next 10 months.  They will come together in November ready to be quilted in December.   

And so, that is the plan.  Now, to go and find some green scraps to play with!

Feel free to join in if you like scrappy rainbow sampler quilts.

New Year and New Button

Just in time for the new year, I am working on the new button for 2024.  

This is not a big year for changes at SoScrappy.  I have several quilts from last  year that need finishing, so that will be my focus.   As always, feel free to do what works for you in terms of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  The idea remains the same, use your scraps, one color at time.  Rather than feeling that you need to tackle the entire mob of extras cut offs and overstocks that makes up your scrap collection, start small.  In January, wrangle all of your green fabrics together and see what you can do with them.  Green can be a large volume color for many quilters, so don't get too bogged down.  If there are too many to handle in one month, just focus on the dark and bright end of the bin.  Feel free to save those lovely mint and sage pastel shades for later.  Pick a simple block or a complex block, but one that you are willing to revisit each month.  Then start to so some sorting and organization, at least enough to get a few blocks made.  Don't feel like you have to use up all of your greens, but doing a bit of taming is always welcome.  Best of all, you will have a few blocks sewn up before the end of the month.  Add those to a few more blocks in next months color..... Before New Year's Day rolls around next year your will have a quilt or more ready to go.  

Tiny Button

New Year and a New Rainbow

 

It is a new month and a new year, which means a new color to begin a new set of rainbow blocks.  I always like to start the year off with a "big" color while people are feeling energetic with new beginnings.  This year will be all about green.  Fresh as the anticipation of spring in the depths of winter.

My dark green hexie row is so close to being sewn together.   We had two long car trips over the holidays, first to North Carolina to spend time with Kurt's family and then to the cabin for our own family Christmas.  It won't take long to get the last few white connecting sections put together and then the row can be assembled.   

What are your plans for the new year?  New blocks and quilts or finishing the ongoing collections?   

Scaphappy Saturday (Ryan Appreciation Day)

We are all in  Virginia today and completely unaware of the day.  I called my middle child to put up the post as we are driving “in to town” for supplies.  I spent many hours during the in-law  Christmas sewing hexies.  The dark green row is ready for assembly 

ScrapHappy Saturday

 Two weeks ago, Kurt was shaking a can of primer in preparation for some touch up painting in the garage.   The gallon exploded all over the floor and my car.   We managed to clean up most of that mess, but this weekend we are painting the garage floor.  I get to do the tossing of the speckles into the wet paint.   Sydney is finally coming home today for the holiday.  Exams were over a the week before last, but she was still working until closing today.   Yesterday was my last day of school before the break and it was actually a holiday for Kurt because Christmas is on a Monday this year.   So the holiday fun will officially begin!

I need a few more dark green hexies.  I think there are 14 diamonds per row, so just 10 more to finish off this row.   I am liking the contrast of the darker shade after the light green and light yellow rows.   I know that things will be busy during the holidays for many of you, but I hope that you all find some time to slow down and enjoy some quiet time as well.   I am starting to think about plans for next year.   Lots of finishing of ongoing projects of course, but hopefully something new to mix in.....

ScrapHappy Saturday - A Month of Hexies

 

It seems like I have been posting nothing but hexie photos for a month.   The light green row is done and mostly connected.  There are some dark green hexies ready to be sewn into diamonds.   Progress is slow and steady.  It is a dreary hurricane like day here, so there will be plenty of inside sewing time to enjoy.   How are your end of the year wrap up plans coming along?  I will certainly have a lot of rollover this year and not too many new projects, but that is all part of the ebb and flow.  

Please share any finishes, progress or plans for 2024 with us using the linky party below.

Scraphappy Saturday

 It seems that I only do hexies lately.   I guess I am a creature of habit.  The light green row is almost done, but the dark green row is going to need a bit of work.  I think it will look good though after the yellow and light green.  It is easier to see the pattern with the darker hexie colors.  

It was a surprisingly calm week. The kids at school all have college applications mostly wrapped up and are waiting on decisions.   I went to a private college event and did a tour yesterday of Florida Southern which is most known for its Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture.   That was a nice change of pace.  Our neighbor put her townhouse on the market last weekend and it is under contract now, so it looks like we will be getting a new neighbor.   I think we will do some goodwill shopping today for Ryan's new college apartment and see the newest Marvel movie.  Having weekends is such a treat!  I could do this all the time.   

ScrapHappy Saturday - Wrapping Up

 It is strange for me to be in the last month of the year without a nice stack of new quilts to finish up.  Such is the ebb and flow though.   Hexies are still screaming my name, and English paper piecing doesn't give you stacks of finished blocks in a hurry.  It has been a long slow labor of love.   The red and orange rows are done and sewed together, the yellow row is ready to be added!  Looks like I still need a few light greens, and then a decision about dark green.  Light and dark blue each get their own rows.  Does green deserve the same attention?  I guess I should think about the dimensions of the final quilt.  That might lead me in a direction.  With hand stitching, there is plenty of time to think about the next steps while zenfully sewing away the hours and days.  

I am so enjoying seeing everyone else finish up rainbow scrap projects. Your accomplishments bring me enough joy while I wait for my mojo to flow again.

ScrapHappy Saturday - Gave Thanks

It was lovely to have the kids home again, and also lovely to have a calm house again. Sydney was sleeping in the sewing room, which meant that I got some hand sewing done on the hexies, but not much more. The red and orange rows are almost ready to be sewn together! I ran out of orange hexagons, so I will have to dig a little deeper into the scrap bin to come up with enough to bring it up to size.

The weather has been strangely cold and rainy, but there were still some nice mornings for beach walks.  Still two more days of vacation to enjoy before the work week begins again, I am going to try to get something productive done before it is time to go back.  

ScrapHappy Saturday - Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my blog and my quilting, even though neither seems to be getting enough attention recently.   I hope that will change this week as we now have an entire week off for the Thanksgiving holiday.   We used to get three days, but during COVID they went to a full week and there is no going back from that!  My oldest is home now and will leave tomorrow to spend the holiday with the boyfriends family.  It will be our first major holiday without all the kids.  So hard!  I know it is the natural progression, but it still hit me.  Kurt is off picking up Sydney the youngest from UF this morning and the middle child should return on Monday.  So we will have 2 of the 3 until Thursday at least.  Sydney has to go back Thursday night because she works a retail job and is scheduled for Black Friday.  Then there is a big football game on Saturday.  It is fun to see them have their own lives apart from us, but still an adjustment.  

I have been mentally drained lately and spent many relaxing hours stitching away at hexies.  I need to set a row length for these so that I can figure out when I will be done.  I think the red row is going to be the longest and then I will just slowly bring each color to the same length and start getting them together.  The one odd man out is the black.  I might just sneak that on the end of the dark blue or purple row.  I will never find enough black or brown fabrics to have an entire row.  

How are all of your quilts coming along.  I know a lot of people will probably be taking a break from rainbow quilts for a while to do the Bonnie Mystery.  I haven't even checked to see what it will be this year!  It has been a few years since I have participated, but I usually at least follow along to enjoy everyone else's progress.  

I hope the holiday finds you happy and healthy and that you are able to find time for family and for yourself