RSC Update for May

Have you been working on RSC (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) blocks? I have participated for several years, off and on. On those off years, I feel intense FOMO (fear of missing out) and vow to try again the next year. For 2021, I am working on two RSC projects. 

My first RSC2021 project is Bonnie Hunter's Jackknife block pattern. My zeal for this year is obvious. I've been working ahead and already have SIX sets of blocks.  My goal is to make 48 blocks then assemble into a lap-sized quilt. I finished May's red blocks. Missing colors are light green, orange, teal, light blue, brown and black. 

But wait! Do you see that low contrast green block? Here is a close-up:

Should I make a higher contrast replacement and relegate this one to the back, or keep it on the front as a lesson in choosing better contrast?

My other RSC2021 project is a square-within-a-square inspired by QuiltDivaJulie and her Dumpster Diving Quilt "Good Morning Sunshine". Take 1.5-inch strips in a color family to create an 8.5-inch square, then pair a contrasting wild print for the large outside triangles. The resulting blocks should be 12-inches but mine are ending up more like 11.5-inches. That's okay. I have several middle squares, and am saving several wild prints to eventually finish 12 blocks. So there's not much to see.....and it's not making much of a dent in my scrap pile. I may just have to choose another scrap-busting quilt next year.

I love seeing blogspots by fellow quilters and seeing progress on their RSC quilts!  Hope you are enjoying making RSC quilts as much as me!

Linking up with SuperScrappy. 

 

Bear Claw Time

Springtime here means vibrant azaleas, heavenly peach blossoms, and flowering trees of all types. I have enjoyed the deep pink and white azaleas edging our front yard. 

View of my yard:

View near my office:

I have not seen many insects other than wood-boring hornets buzzing around our log home. We put out a couple traps and managed to catch a few. We found several holes, sprayed some insecticide and plugged the holes. Yesterday I looked on the front porch and found a pile of sawdust under the bear sculpture climbing the front post. I didn't find any new holes, so my husband took a peek. He found the bear had a new butthole and armpit hole. He's all plugged up now. LOL I wanted to respect the bear's privacy, ya know.

On the quilting front, I have nearly assembled the plaid bear claw quilt. One of the yellow blocks needs to move over and then the colors will look better balanced.

I'm still working on the quilting for the Be My Neighbor quilt. This project is stalled until my thread order arrives. I have plenty of thread, just not in the right colors. 

Last week Naughty Me started a flag quilt and a scrappy Irish chain, adding to my backlog rather than reducing it. I need to quilt a couple flimsies to rid myself of the guilt. 

On the flying front, I have not flown my airplane since last August. <sigh>  It's time to get back up there, after I address a couple issues. I scheduled the airplane's annual maintenance check and hopefully will get back up in the air in early May with an instructor for a flight review.  Then soon I can post some cloud pics and high aerial views and maybe fly to one of the events now that people are starting to venture out. I'm vaccinated and ready to go!

Please post a comment and let me know what is your favorite aspect of spring time! 

Where are my glasses

Hello from rainy South Carolina! While the midwestern United States is shivering with frigid temps and snow showers, we are staying indoors, too, due to all the rain. Thank goodness it does not get cold enough here for that rain to turn into snow or ice. My sympathy goes to those of you who are dealing with that cold weather stuff.

The yellow RSC Jackknife blocks are done, as is the crazy scrap block. Then I was free to sew another bear claw block and prep some 2-inch squares for leader-ender sewing. 

Today was super productive. Be My Neighbor quilt was sandwiched, ready for lots of creative FMQ. If all goes well, this will become my March finish.

.....IF I can find my glasses!  Do you have a problem setting down your glasses, then forgetting where you laid them?  I know they are in a safe place, just not sure where that safe place might be. And before you say "They're on your head, silly!", those happen to be my backup pair.  Arrgh!

My life has taken an interesting turn recently. I accepted a position with another company, and last week finished working through my two-week notice period on Tuesday. For the next eight business days, I can stay home and work through a long list of Things I Need to Do But Just Don't Have Enough Time. 

My list for next week is ready.  Hope your week is productive, too!

Arcadian finish and RSC

Arcadian Chain has been completed!  In 2018 Connecting Threads introduced a fabric line Arcadian Dusk which had a warm palette of blues, burgundy, rusty orange, browns, and cream. I used two 10-inch stacks, plus fabric from an earlier Connecting Threads line Heirloom Manor, to sew a simple pattern of nine patches and solid squares to create this Irish Chain style quilt. 

When quilting this project, I stitched a chain link in each of the cream chain squares, then got stuck when trying to figure out what to do with the larger colorful blocks. I wanted to emphasize the colored blocks. After attempting some swooping arcs that looked more jagged than smooth arcs, I spent hours with a seam ripper and finally tried again.  I wanted the colored blocks to really stand out, which meant I needed a less complicated and less dense design. A simple cross hatch did the trick. Then I decided on a rope-like design on the inner border and a simple piano keys treatment for the outer border. This quilt is really striking and I am proud of it.

Many of you quilting bloggers are participating in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2021. I admit it. I was quite jealous of all the bright blocks being posted. I have enjoyed participating in past years, but I have this long list of unfinished projects accumulating in my sewing room. How could I add to it? Finally I caved. 

I decided to make large blocks similar to Good Morning Sunshine by QuiltDivaJulie. That only used up a small handful of scraps. Maybe I should add another RSC project?

Then I saw those pretty Jackknife blocks Bonnie Hunter was making.  After digging up the Sept/Oct 2020 Quiltmaker magazine, I started cutting fabrics for four blocks and began stitching. Oh no! The instructions were wrong! Those hourglass units ended up a full inch too small. [And Quiltmaker did not acknowledge the error on their Addicted to Scraps page.]  If you are considering making this block, Unit C must start with 4.25 inch squares (or better yet, 4.5 inch), not 3.25 inch squares.  I did not have quite enough of one neutral print to redo those units so had to substitute another white fabric. 

A cascade of my own stitching errors made these blocks more difficult and frustrating than they should have been. Finally, I sewed the last stitch and pressed the blocks. Whew - the pinks are done for January.

Aargh! Two more projects to add to my list! Maybe I need to finish up some of the smaller projects to alleviate my guilt. 

Linking to SoScrappy and Monday Making.

2021 Word of the Year

My word for the year is "Do".  Super simple, right?  I have always liked Nike's slogan "Just do it", so rather than encroaching on their copyright, I am choosing to just DO.

(Funny - Pat Sloan chose the same word for 2021, too!)

If 2020 has proven anything to us, it's that plans change. Who knows what 2021 will bring?  Plans definitely will change. But one should at least have some goals. 

My goals for 2021 are:

1. DO some quilting. My priority is to quilt one flimsy a month. I have more than a year's worth of finished tops (aka flimsys) in the quilting closet. In 2020 I had hoped to earn my PHD by finishing 12 quilts. Instead, I finished 8 flimsies and quilted 2 quilts. I won't mention the increase in UFOs. Instead I will focus on moving forward to the finish line as much as possible.

Yearned update - derailed a bit. At least several quilting projects advanced to the flimsies or a bigger collection of blocks. 

2. DO some painting. During 2020, I started learning how to paint with watercolors. There are lots of YouTube videos out there with tips and project ideas. In 2021, I am planning to expand this hobby by painting a set of greeting cards and learning how to paint with gouache watercolors.

Yearend update - I painted a couple clumsy portraits and bough a set a gouache paints. However, I daydreamed watching Instragram posts of gorgeous watercolor painting rather than trying it myself. 

3. DO more cooking. One of our fellow quilting bloggers (CatPatches) broke several bones in a fall, and her husband had to take over the cooking. They started using meal kits from HomeChef. I was curious and decided to try their meal subscription service. OMG! The quality and variety are awesome! So far there has not been a kit I haven't loved. I love to cook and experiment with new recipes, and these HomeChef meals have really stepped up my game. If you decide to try HomeChef, I would love to earn the referral award which I plan to use to send kits to my parents. My referral code is SANDRAW751.  

Yearend update - I did a lot more cooking. Switched meal kit service to Every Plate after another quilter raved about them on her blog. Definitely better pricing and just as good.

4. DO some flying. I slacked off on exercising my pilot's license in 2020, and I am planning to change that in 2021 by flying at least once a month and to take a weekend flying trip next summer.

Yearend update - Plagued by maintenance issues, I was at least able to fly a few trips.

5. DO exercise. I was one of the few who lost weight in 2020, although not nearly as much as I had planned. I feel so much more energetic when I exercise. Yet I found it hard to motivate myself. Now that we have our workout equipment set up in front of a television in our new house, there are no more excuses. 

Yearned update.  I don't want to say.

2020 Wrap Up

We are finally reaching the end of the year we though would NEVER end!  At the beginning of this year, I had set ambitious goals as part of the "PHD in 2020" program by quiltinggail.com.  Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. And a house move. Instead of completing 12 quilts, I focused on advancing old UFOs to the flimsy stage. That's okay by me.

PHD in 2020 Scorecard

1. Monkey Wrench (my first quilt) - I took an old flimsy from the 80s, removed the horrific borders and put on MUCH nicer borders. I'm proud of how it looks now. The backing is on hand, a quilting design has been sketched and it is ready for quilting.

2. Winter Pines - I finished the final blocks of this lovely quilt and assembled it. Once I find a suitable backing, it will be ready to quilt. I have most of the quilting design worked out.

3. Arcadian Chain - I removed the pitiful quilting I had done and started a new design. Most of the stitching has been done; I hope to finish the FMQ over the next few days. Then I can add binding in January and finish this quilt.

4. Tessellations Formal Affair - I finished the final blocks and assembled the flimsy. The backing and binding are ready for the final stage.

5. Out of This World mystery quilt from Pat Sloan - The blocks were assembled early this year. The backing and binding is on hand. Need to come up with a quilting design and it will be ready for quilting.

6. Wendler Legacy - Not much progress happened. I came up with a cutting strategy for the sashing triangles but still have not cut any fabric.

The six other PHD 2020 projects selected were untouched. Floribunda is still awaiting assembly. The 2015 Craftsy Sampler, RSC15 Sampler, Tansy Garden, In the 'Hood and Highland Fling mystery tops are waiting for quilting.

Instead I pulled out other older projects.  

Progress on Other UFOs

1. Patriotic Tobacco Road project from 2018 - I decided to make little star blocks to replace pinwheel blocks in the original design. I will need something like 80 blocks; about 25 are done.  

2. Lady of the Lake project started in 2013 - Made about 20 blocks and cut parts for others.

3. Double Delight from 2018 - All the blocks are done (applause!!!) and assembled. It is awaiting final borders. I may have a backing; need to check.

4. En Provence from 2016 - I made a few more neutral 4-patches and counted parts again. I'm planning a concerted effort to finish this one in 2021.

Finishes and New Starts

I had finished my two RSC19 projects (Pixelated and Extra Fancy) in January 2020. Somehow this allowed me to justify starting SEVEN new projects.  

1. Heading Home - This pattern was so much fun to make, in spite of requiring a million flying geese. The flimsy is ready for quilting.

2. RSC20 Bricolage - I actually didn't follow the monthly color scheme, just dug through scraps occasionally to make some little Greek Cross blocks. The blocks are only six inches, so it will take many more blocks before being ready to assemble.

3. Awesome Land - I loved digging through my orange and black/gray scraps (and those donated by a quilting friend) to make this Lissa Anderson quilt. The blocks are assembled and are awaiting the three borders which are ready to go after collecting a bit more dust. LOL

4. Basket of Chips - I was able to use up scraps to make these blocks, and repurpose fabric that had originally been intended for Wendler Legacy. The flimsy is ready for quilting.

5. Anita's Arrowhead Christmas - I made a few blocks from Christmas fabric hoarded over the years. I'm ready to make more blocks in 2021.

6. My Neighborhood - This quilt was started once we finally found our dream home. The pattern from Moda was free and SO MUCH FUN TO MAKE!  The flimsy is ready for quilting.

7. Bear Claw Plaid - This quilt was started when we began moving into our log home. Our bed needed a bear claw quilt to go with all the black bear carvings around the house. I have nine out of 20 blocks done and the rest are cut out. 

So let's do the math. I started the year with 25 projects, finished 2 and added 7. Oooh boy. Now I have 30 projects in progress, of which 14 are tops/flimsys ready for quilting. 

How do you feel about your quilting progress in 2020? 

Kiddie Bags

Are you sewing frantically to finish Christmas gift projects, too?  I decided to sew several bags for a friend's grandkids who are facing their first Christmas without their mother (may she rest in peace). After finding out their favorite colors and searching through lots of free patterns online, I finished up these last night.  Late, late last night.

The boxy zippered pouch is from Leslie Rutland at the seasonedhomemaker.  You have to very carefully follow the directions, and there are lots of corners to square off, but it turned out really nice. This one will probably end up carrying Legos around.

The purple purse is from 7layerstudio.  I opted for smaller pleats and it was a good thing I did because following the original pattern would have made the top opening too narrow to fit around my sewing machine "cuff" (after pulling off the accessory section).  This cute little purse is just right to hold lip gloss and a small doll.

The pink drawstring bag pattern is from a tutorial by Jenni Baker at incolororder. It was the easiest to make. The drawstrings were the most tedious part to sew, but worth it. Especially because I could not find any twill tape in my stash. The bag is big enough to hold a medium-sized babydoll and her bottle.