It's not much, but it's progress

I've sewn the sections for my new red scrappy tote together.

It will have a black twill bottom and black and red straps.

I changed my mind about making a messenger-style bag and decided on a slim tote that would be good for carrying my iPad, keyboard and some paper files, or a few library books.

I really like the scrappy version of the Spokes block we're making for the Block Lotto this month. The background is constructed from four squares and the spokes were added in a different order than in the non-scrappy blocks. First the four squares were sewn into a background with the vertical and horizontal spokes added.

The trickiest part was adding the correct fabric to the diagonal spokes so that they will match/blend with the background squares.

This is the last of my red scraps projects for the Rainbow Scraps Challenge ... I hope to finish before the end of the month, ready for whatever color comes next.

Suspending Disbelief

I had ambitious plans for my FNSI last night, but ... a too hot studio and a head still spinning from my work day resulted in limited results.

I did make the six 7-inch spokes blocks that I need for this month in my rainbow scraps challenge version of the Mod-Mod Quilt-Along.

As I made them, I realized I was a little fearful that the red blocks would be over-powering when combined with the rest. Once I suspended disbelief and moved forward, I was pleasantly surprised.

My ideas of what this version of the quilt–with mono-chromatic blocks in colors not of my choosing–continues to change each month, but ... so far, I'm not hating it.

Today I pulled out all the blocks and put them into their relative places on the design wall.

Red Projects in Process

The practice silly strings blocks have become a quilt top, with the addition of tomato red squares from my red cotton scraps and a bit of linen.

I thought it might grow larger, but as I extended the red background, when it grew to this size, I decided it was "done." 

I had some leftovers squares and rectangles that will likely become a messenger-style bag.

I haven't been quilting much, as I pep are to jump into some new contract work. I haven't yet made any of the blocks for my Mod-Mod quilts–the July update was published yesterday on the Block Lotto.  I plan to make the spokes blocks I need for these quilts during this month's Friday Night Sew-In.  Some of them will be red– this month's Rainbow Scraps Challenge color.

There's been a bit more red progress going on around here.  I've made a couple more red Briar Patch blocks for the scrappy version of that quilt.  I'm joining Lee's party for WIP Wednesday.

Baby Steps

Thanks for all the well-wishes–I am feeling much better, though I am slow to get back into the swing of things.  I feel like I'm taking baby steps, both literally and figuratively ... while playing catch-up as quickly as I can because my day-to-day life will be changing again soon.

I have squared up the silly string blocks, cut a bunch of tomato red fabrics into scrappy squares and rectangles, and started playing on the design wall.  Here's where I'm headed.

I love how the plaid strips look like dancing X's, swaying and bending toward one another across the surface of the quilt. 

Rainbow Scraps Challenge Projects: Mid-Year Progress Report

Other things get made along the way, but I am working on four quilts as part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge (RSC).

I made the red Oak Leaf block last night, so now there are 7 of these 10 by 15-inch blocks.

At the end of the year, when I have a dozen of these blocks, I plan to add a few more for a twin-size bed quilt (or large wall hanging).

They will likely NOT be arranged in a circle, as they are now on the design wall, but I couldn't resist the idea when it popped in my head.

I mostly DO share photos of these projects as I complete the latest blocks, so you've seen the rest of these before, but here they are again, with my plan for each of the projects in July.

I started making the broken dishes blocks during the first month I participated in the Rainbow Scraps Challenge a couple years ago.  The triangles for the scrappy blue blocks were all cut with a rotary cutter and ruler ... and became my excuse for buying a die cutter (which I have used to cut all the rest.)  I've made 105 of the 8-inch blocks so far.  Here are 88 of them.

Since I have made all the red blocks I think I will need, I may be giving this project a rest this month ... unless I find some time to work (ahead) on some orange blocks so that I can decide on a layout and put this together. 

This year, I found a very old UFO, started in a workshop with Judy Niemeyer, and decided that it was a good match for the RSC.

Since the first four blocks I made (in the workshop long ago and far away) were red, I will make a couple more this month and ... catch up on the yellow blocks that didn't happen in June.

Last but not least, because I simply couldn't resist the idea, I'm making a throw-size sampler quilt as part of the Mod-Mod QAL using the RSC designated color of the month for the block of the month ... and hoping it all comes out OK.

Here's how those blocks look, placed as they will be in the quilt.

This month, I'll be adding 6 scrappy monochromatic red Spokes blocks to this project.  You can take a peek at the block (and find the pattern we're using) on the Block Lotto site here: 

Monochromatic Spokes Blocks in June

If I catch up on these projects  (and some other non-RSC projects in the mix), I have an idea for a red quilt I'd love to start this month ... why is it always so much fun to start something new, even when you have plenty of UFOs to work on? 

Playing with Scraps Again

Yesterday afternoon I wanted something  to work on for just a couple hours.  I pulled out the blocks I had made as part of Angela's Rainbow Scrap challenge a year ago (or was it two?).

I have since accumulated more scraps and thought I could add to the collection.  Since my bin of red scraps was sitting on the work table, I started there.

This is both the old and new blocks. My idea about how large I want this quilt to be is growing ... I now have 15 red blocks; I'll probably make a few more today.

I'm joining Angela's Saturday Roundup for the Rainbox Scrap Challenge.

Cleaning up the Crumbs ...

I love working with scraps and often start with my (sorted by color) scrap bins when making blocks for the Block Lotto or other projects.   But lately, I keep finding that most of the scraps in my bins are too small.  I have been thinking of cleaning out the crumbs for a while ...

Today I used up most of the almost-always-too-small scraps and a few larger ones from the red bin and put them together into two big crumb-pieced squares–one is redder and one is pinker.

Each square measures between 13 and 14 inches.  I wonder how many more I can as I work my way through the scraps ... maybe enough for a small crumby quilt?

The rest of the red scrap projects

Put a short February and the Flu together and ... well, I feel like I didn't accomplish much with my red scraps for the rainbow scraps challenge.  But now that March is here, I can share my scrappy red and white lotto blocks.

I almost thought these disappearing 4-patch blocks were a too easy choice for the lotto ... but I decided that anyone who hasn't tried the "disappearing" technique, really ought to be exposed to it, if only so that if they ever need to make a quilt quilt, they'll have this as an option.

Can't wait to see what color March brings ...

Seeing RED on my design wall

Friday night's FNSI was a Friday night SICK-IN for me--I was down for the count with the flu all of Friday and most of Saturday. Yesterday, I was upright, but not up for leaving the apartment, so I cut more red triangles from the scraps I found in the bottom of the project box and made 8 more scrappy hearts, for a total of 13. I added some black squares to the red squares and made six 16-patch blocks and . . . from the bits and pieces left over, I pieced a dozen red crumb blocks.

At this point, my red scrap bin contains more pinks than anything else.  I'm counting that as a victory.

The 16-patch blocks will probably become a tote like this one; not sure yet how the crumb blocks will be used.

Saturday night--when I started to feel human again--I sewed together the last of the road trip blocks I need from the feed sacks.

Next up, getting started on the applique on the setting triangles for all those feed sack blocks. I haven't made such a traditional quilt in ... maybe forever. It doesn't feel like me, but it's interesting and fun to think about making a quilt like one that might have been made by a quilter in the 30's or 40's from her collected feed sacks.

See more design walls by following the links at the bottom of Judy's Design Wall Monday post.

It's out of the project box

. . . and finally back on the design wall.  Appropriate project to spend Valentine's day with, don't you think?

Friends from the block lotto community have been sending me rose blocks to help and I think I have enough to get serious about finishing this one. This isn't all the words, but I wanted to put as much as I could on my temporary design wall to see if I still like the idea of words and roses.

When I pulled out the project box and unpacked the blocks made ... look what I found in the bottom–more red (and pink) scraps!

I think I will need to make a few more words or phrases, enough roses to fill in-between and to form the border, but ... I see a lot of these found scraps becoming triangles for more scrappy stars.

Follow the links at the bottom of Judy's Design Wall Monday post to see more quilter's design wall.

It's a Start

Tonight I made the first five red scrappy stars . ..  I couldn't resist pulling out a few of the blue ones to see how they will look together.

 

It's going to be fun to add new colors into the mix as the year goes on.

Scrap Challenge Saturday

This little stuffed heart is one of the things I made from my red strings. It will become a pin, I think, but could also hand on a bag or be used as a pin cushion.

You can find step-by-step photos and directions on flickers here: Heart Pin Step-by-Step. I plan to put together more thorough (and printable) directions . . .  someday.

The rest of my red strings from last week were made into fiber postcard valentines. I still enjoy a bit of child-like awe over how you can stick a stamp on a fiber postcard and it almost always arrives at its destination unscathed.

I used a lot of red scraps in a bunch of sample lotto blocks for March--since I've already given everyone a heads up that we'll be using red fabrics, I can share the corners of the blocks I've made . . .

. . . come back on March 1 to see how great the blocks turned out ;-)

I wanted to do red and white blocks in March in a nod toward the Folk Art Museum's exhibition of red and white quilts that will be taking place in New York, Infinitie Variety: 3 Centures of red and White Quilts.  (If you're going, I'll be the one wearing the little stuffed heart pin ;-)

Although the next project didn't begin as a red scraps project (the cover heart is one of the bonus blocks from the string hearts), I used 2 red fabrics from my red scraps bin for the inside and pockets and some red wool felt scraps for the felt leaves.  I have published directions for making the small hand-sewing kit here: My Portable Hand-sewing Kit.

I haven't yet pulled the red and white project from my packed away UFOs–I still hope to quilt and bind it this month–but I have started cutting triangles to make more scrappy stars.  I'll be taking them with me to UFO night at the Honey Bee tonight.

Value is very important when putting the stars together and I had a hard time finding enough "lights" for these blocks.  I broke the Rainbow Scrap Challenge rules this month and used a few pinks and creams to make it work.

While I was cutting triangles, I also cut a stack of some small squares.  I have an idea for one more red scraps project this month.  They'll probably come along tonight and be sewn into 16-patch blocks.

You can check out what everyone else is making from their red scraps by following the links at the bottom of the So scrappy Scrap Happy Saturday blog post.

Shifting from Blue to Red

As temperatures climb from the teens to the 50's today, it seems natural to shift from cool blue to red hot scraps, as part of the Rainbow Scraps Challenge.

It seemed like a natural fit to pull a blue UFO out of the trunk and finish it in January and I am ALMOST finished.  I don't know what it is about this quilt, but Grace Hopper (one of my cats) LOVED it and whenever I pulled it out to work on it, she would fly across the room, jump up on my work table, spread out and claim it as her own.  Here, she is helping me mark the plume quilting design on the borders . . . and loudly protesting because I kept rotating it to mark the borders with her on the quilt.

You can see the whole quilt in my Flickr photostream here.  FYI, the quilting is now complete and I plan to bind it this weekend. It's not clear if it will hang on a wall or become Grace's personal kitty quilt.

My blue scraps mug rug is being put to good use in my boring beige office.  It fits perfectly next to my keyboard.

Yes, that is a very oversized cup and saucer--I found it in a thrift show and thought it would be great for soup . . . or a big cup of coffee with a girl scout cookie.

I liked the idea of working on color-coordinated UFOs and after I bind the blue quilt, I will choose a red one to work on this month.

In the meantime, I was excited to start work on some red projects . . . probably because I've been having so much fun with strings that I decided to start there.  I dipped into my big ziplock bag-o-strings and pulled out anything red.

It  doesn't look like many strings, does it?  But it was enough to make two pairs of string blocks, large and small.

I have a couple project design ideas in mind for these (more later). It feels good to have made a start on the red challenge and I haven't even yet used any fabric from my red scrap bin.

 

You can see what others are doing with their red scraps by following the links on today's Scrap Happy Saturday blog post.