Really? Already?

December 31! How did that happen? Oh yeah, about half the month has been spent in recovery from toxic exposures. Even now I'm trying to cope with back-to-back exposures. Granted, they were relatively low-grade exposures but each one takes its' toll. {sigh}

I made up a total of ten pillowcases to be gifted this season. These are the ones I made for the four granddaughters:

My husband, the movie fanatic, received a case featuring fictional movie end credits. One of the bookworms in the family has a book print on the end of her pillowcase. I really enjoy finding just the right prints for each person.

I had to take the shoo-fly blocks off the wall for the time being. I didn't have the energy to pursue other layouts and now we need heat day and night (the wall heater was covered by my design wall extensions). A moment of panicked realization caused me to start work on a baby quilt for a baby due on February 1. He'll be a first child so there's no guarantee he'll arrive on time but it's time to get busy making his quilt nevertheless! That meant a rummage through the stash.

Back in the day I bought this yardage of panels in bright, happy colors and then didn't know what to do with it. Sound familiar? I fussy-cut some of the panels but decided to cut construction time by leaving nine of them together. To bring the panel up to a better working size I added the stripe all around.

I wanted to utilize more of the animal panels if I could so four of them were put in the middle of "barn doors." This elongated version of a Churn Dash block is what I know as Hole in the Barn Door.

I made four to hold the four corners of the finished quilt. Then I went through my 8" postage stamp stars that I'd made throughout the year in conjunction with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I found enough to get about halfway around the central panel. Yesterday I made an additional six stars.

The teal/turquoise stars a are a bit of a stretch as far as the colors in the panel go but I think I can make them work. The question now is what to use to fill in around the stars. My LQS is having their year-end sale. I went downtown one day this week but couldn't even go through the door because of the perfume a previous customer wore. Went back yesterday, late, and was able to spend a bundle! I think I have a print now that will work around those stars, and a lot of other fun prints to play with as well. :D

I'm linking up with the RSC for this final link party of the year. I'm also looking forward to playing along in 2017 again, although I haven't entirely decided how I will approach it.

I hope all my cyber friends have had a lovely holiday season. We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas celebrations. I'm looking forward to a productive and colorful new year, and wish the best for all of you too!

Planning Ahead

I've had several bad days since my last post. But I've also been thinking about how best to prepare for such days in the future. There are days when I can sew as long as I don't have to think about what I'm doing. So while my brain is functional I've developed a cutting menu. 

Over the last two days I've managed to cut almost a dozen small pieces of yardage into patches! Some have been paired up - focal prints and backgrounds - but others are only the equivalent of  half a block.

I'm thinking now that I'm going to need some sort of container for these pre-cut patches. I'll need to be able to label them so I know what blocks those patches are intended to become! Meanwhile, I've been able to sew up some random blocks I had prepped earlier.

I will be linking up with the RSC on Saturday. Hopefully I'll be feeling well enough then to get around to see what everyone else has been up to. ;- ) 

Orange You Scrap Happy?

Today is an opportunity for me to link up with both the RSC and Scrap Happy Day with Kate and Gun. I thought I might have done something with more of the scraps from my liberated medallion effort but that hasn't been the case. I got tired of those dark tones so I pulled out some oranges for the RSC palette this month.

I also pulled out my orange Ohio Stars from last year. I'd started making stepping stone blocks to go with them but I knew I needed more. Before I could think about making anything for this project a new postage stamp star crept in to the mix.

I only made two more stepping stone blocks but what a difference in the overall appearance!

I have to decide how big I want this to get. I'm not enjoying the stepping stone block construction a whole lot. This may very well become the center of a new medallion quilt. Maybe I can get more stepping stones made if I branch out and make other blocks in orange on white...

I'm linking up with both the Rainbow Scrap Challenge bloggers and those playing along with Kate and Gun for Scrap Happy Day.

Now I have to hurry up and write a post for tomorrow's Stitch Along  post. We lost our power yesterday when the first arm of the disintegrating typhoon hit us. The second front is supposed to be even stronger so we 're in Preparation Mode!

A Little More Red

I've been working diligently on my liberated medallion this week. Next Monday, the third of October, is the big reveal day. After being stalled on it during August I'm excited to be making so much progress. I really think I'll be ready on time! (Not quilted and bound, you understand, but the flimsy complete.) You may remember that I began with a pair of baskets filled with roses. I've managed to work in a few more roses...

And a couple of leaves in honor of the season. :- )

Between sewing together the bits and pieces of the medallion project I've been assembling more scrap blocks featuring red. There are these four bear paw units:

And this assortment of blocks:

The blocks are a bit shadowed because I had to pin the medallion up out of the way in order to photograph them.

I hope to get the final border on my medallion today and then link up with the other scrappy bloggers over at So Scrappy tomorrow morning. It's going to be a busy weekend!

Seeing Red

But in a good way! I've made a few more blocks out of red scraps for the last September check-in with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. One more postage stamp star:

The one at the top is the new one.

I've also cut patches for more red and white bear paws but have only assembled one new one so far.

The polka dot is the new paw.

I polished off my pile of scrappy shoo-fly blocks too:

There's been minimal progress on my liberated medallion. I'm hoping, with other projects out of the way now, that I'll be able to get that completed before the October 1 deadline. I just need my body to cooperate!

I'll be linking up with the others participating in the RSC over at SoScrappy.

Not So Scrappy Saturday

I haven't checked in with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge in quite a while. I made a couple of mostly purple stars in August but had a hard time coming up with true scraps in the palette for that month. It's looking like the red and gold palette for September is pretty skimpy in my scrap stash too. It must be time to make some new scraps!

When I went looking for a strip for my Diary Quilt to mark the passing of Hugh O'Brian ("The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" among other acting gigs and philanthropic work) I found two red prints that were pretty small. I've spent the day cutting them up and making an assortment of blocks.

I've continued to make the 6" shoo-fly blocks out of scrap patches, just not always in the RSC colors. There haven't been very many ships in the last several weeks either so it was fun to be able to make this one.

I've always admired two color quilts, and a red and white one has been on my bucket list for years. I've never been able to settle on a block pattern however. There are so many good options! After browsing on the internet this morning I decided to start making bear paw units.

These units will finish at six inches.

It will be interesting to see whether I can keep making red and white paws or whether other colors will start to creep in. This seems to be the time of year when I shift from whatever block I've been making in conjunction with the RSC to a different one. ;- )

On another front, I've cut white with black squares and pink strips for 35 Patience Corner blocks to be assembled between seams or whenever I need to just sit and sew.

To see what others are doing with their scraps click on over to So Scrappy's blog. There's quite a variety to be seen!

A Quick Check-In

Last week was one of those I think of as "lost." Our internet connection was restored and has been strong since then. Unfortunately, my body took over and kept me from functioning properly. We will be having visitors this week so I may be incapacitated again for a couple of days. Before that happens I wanted to show you the progress I have managed to make.

Remember how I started making double four patch blocks and then discovered how much I liked the postage stamp stars I've been making for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with them?

That's a row of my Diary Quilt down the right side
of the design wall, not a prospective border.

 

I made more of the double four patch blocks, one or two at a time, until I had enough for a small quilt. Then it was time to audition the stars. 

I filled in all the gaps and then spent a couple of days tweaking placements. I think this will be the final arrangement:

That orange star sort of grabs the eye but I haven't found anything I like better in that spot.These are all 8" blocks. Right now I'm not planning a border of any kind. This isn't the time for a big, involved project. Hopefully my internal systems will stabilize in the near future so I can turn my attention to my liberated medallion and a couple of new quilts for family members. I'd also like to get around to see what everyone else has been up to. It may be the end of the week before that happens however. I hope you're all having more fun than I have been! 

Scrap Happy in July

Thank goodness there's something to be happy about! Never has that old saying about the world going to hell in a hand basket felt more true. (Or is that how the saying goes? Sounds a little strange when I write it out like that.)

Anyway. Remember my medallion start out of orphan crazy blocks?

 
Did I show you the little flying geese I made to go down the sides to add width?

The next logical step - or so it seemed to me at the time - was to surround it with some of the 8" postage stamp stars I've been making in conjunction with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

This was only one of the iterations I tried. I didn't like any of them. The flimsy stayed on the wall for days without any new ideas coming forward. Finally I took it down so I could clear my head. Instead I focused on making some stars in the RSC color palette for July, hot pink and lime green.

This one's more coral and a toned-down green but it works.

There were a few more, and a couple of 6" Hole in the Barn Door blocks to boot. The best part is that I was inspired to put the medallion back on the wall and try this:

Which I quite like. I've added a one inch strip (finished) to the top and bottom so I can have seven of the 6" shoo-fly blocks running down the sides without any compensating strips or sashing. I have to find something to run between the geese and the shoo-fly blocks, and then I'll add shoo-fly blocks along the top and bottom as well. That should give me a flimsy measuring about 48" x 58." That will be a good place to stop for a quilt for a child. Or maybe even a lap quilt for an adult receiving chemotherapy. The thing I like best about scrap quilts is that there's so much to look at in them. I'm sure those sitting in cold clinic rooms having drugs pumped into their bodies would appreciate every happy distraction available.

I'm linking up with Kate and Gun for Scrap Happy Day and with the other RSC bloggers on Saturday. There will be lots of happy distractions in all those posts. :- )

Guided by the Stars

I've had my head down, working on two separate projects this week. When I wan't suffering from debilitating physical circumstances that is. Let me express my appreciation for the positive feedback I've received on recent work. I haven't been able to face a computer screen most of the week.

To begin with I finished up the child's quilt top I was building out of my Parts Department. This is how it looked when last you saw it:

Those postage stamp stars in the corners of the ship round bothered me. They seemed too big and awkward in those positions. My first thought was to carry the blue of the water under the ships around the corners. That made it imperative that I use smaller blocks in the corners. I considered my 6" Shoo-fly blocks but they also seemed too large and somehow inappropriate. So I quickly made up 4" pinwheels out of scraps.

Oh yes, much better!

This is the completed flimsy. The quilt will measure about 40" wide by 56" long. I also made backs for this one and the heart medallion top I created a week or so ago. All we need now is batting. (Honestly, sometimes making backs is more challenging than piecing quilt tops!)

I'm linking this post to the RSC party this weekend over at SoScrappy since this top features blocks made out of my rainbow scrap blocks. Stay tuned for a sneak peek at the other project I've been playing with. ;- )

Parts Play Continues

I didn't make any new blocks per the RSC color palette this week. However, after completing the quick quilt top out of the Parts Department I had the urge to see if I could do it again. There are still a few 12" Ohio stars remaining from my RSC efforts in 2015. I put four of them on the design wall.

The colors are a bit washed out in this photo.

Next I went through the 8" blocks because three 8" blocks also equal 24" like pairs of 12" blocks.

I began with the baskets and then filled in with postage stamp stars. It works but... feels a bit crowded.

What if I used some of the ships I've been making lately?

Oh, I like that! Let's see, to make that row work I'll need sashing between the ships and something to bring those rows up to 8" overall.

Now the basket cornerstones don't make sense. Ships and stars go together but baskets seem out of place. And if I add one more row of postage stamp stars on the top and bottom edges I'll end up with a nicely rectangular quilt top for a child.

I haven't yet sewn these rows to the center square but that's what I plan to do next. There's room for a narrow border all the way around the outside. We'll see whether I have enough of something to pull that off!

I'm linking up with the other Rainbow Scrap Challenge bloggers via the link party over at SoScrappy.

RSC Saturday

Just a brief post today. I only have two blocks in aqua to show.

I've been making blocks for the first recipient in round two of the Foot Square  Freestyle block swap. Can't share 'em yet. ;- ) But, during that process my ever-growing pile of scraps finally toppled over. I haven't been cutting them into patches and strips as I've been working lately and things got out of hand. So my task for today is to whittle that pile down!

To see more scrappy goodness go check out the links on Angela's blog. Tomorrow will be the stitch along link party that happens every three weeks. I have progress to show for that too. :- )

May RSC Roundup

These are not scrap blocks but they're the right color for the RSC month of May.

This is only a small sample of the total of 19 blocks I've made so far. I'm building a quilt for a niece who is getting married in August. It will only be my standard 60" x 80" and these blocks are 15" each so one more will do the trick. I have something special planned for that last block however. When I get it sorted out I'll show you. ;- )

In the meantime, I only have two postage stamp stars for the RSC month of May:

A few more ships have docked in the Magpie's Nest too.

I think that brings my total to 75 ships. One of these days I'm going to have to get busy setting them!

I'll be linking up with the other Rainbow Scrap Challenge bloggers over at SoScrappy Saturday morning.

A Dent in the Drawer

So apparently the cure for flagging enthusiasm is starting a new project. After I made my baskets for the liberated medallion QAL (yes, I decided to participate and I made two baskets!) guilt sent me to my Parts Department.  If I'm going to be making a new quilt I need to do something about the Parts drawer that I can hardly get open anymore.

First I counted up 71(!) six inch ship blocks.

I don't know how many I'll need but I'm not quite ready to set them sailing yet.

What about 12" blocks? Starting a new quilt with big blocks makes for rapid progress. ;- )

My go-to size for a personal or comfort quilt is 60" x 80." These blocks give me 48." All I need is some sashing. What's in the stash that's been there too long?

A wonderful, colorful Hoffman print from two decades ago. What next?

I have quite a few 9" blocks...

Ohio stars from the tail end of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge last year and some liberated stars from further back with almost the last of another old print.

Okay, that's a good start. Now what?

There are more 9" stars, mostly with white or light backgrounds. Let's see...

That could work. I rustled up enough for two more rows, alternating liberated and Ohio stars.

One of the prints my sister just sent me was ideal for the large borders on the top and bottom. I wanted to use another of the new prints for all of the horizontal sashing. My brain failed me at that point; I didn't realize there wasn't enough. Fortunately I found a print in my stash that worked for the wider strips that border the 12" blocks. Suddenly, I have a complete quit top! (And 28 fewer blocks in the Parts Department. Oh well, at least it's a start.)

Here's the lower right corner that my cutting table cuts off in the photo above:

Everything in this quilt was made from scraps or small pieces of yardage so I'm linking up with Kate and Gun for Scrap Happy Day and with the RSC quilters over at So Scrappy. You'll see lots of green in the RSC scraps this month. You never know what you might find on Scrap Happy Day! :- )