RSC2014 Layouts

Well, I need to decide what I need to complete my 36 block Pickle dish quilt. I know that I precut the black and white pieces I need for my last three blocks. Now to decide what color or colors I want to use.  So I think I will lay out my blocks and see what I might need.

 I am so glad that Angela gave us this wiggle room.  Hmmmmm decisions decisions?????  I decided a couple of purple and  deep blue would do the trick. Here are all the parts ready to go.

 

Friday morning, I woke up early and assembled the last three blocks.  My husband is on call this weekend so he has to go in to work for  a couple of hours to make his rounds, so  it is a great morning to assemble some of the those pickle dish blocks into rows.  There are only 36 blocks so it shouldn't take too long.

blocks ready to be sewn

 I am adding a 1 inch border made out of the same fabric as the background of the pickle dish blocks. Just a place for the eye to rest so the polka dot binding won't take away from the graphic pickles.  The backing is being planned in my head.  I want to use the bright scraps I have left to piece some blocks to add width to my backing, since it isn't quite wide enough.  I thought it would be a great time to play with my easy angle and companion ruler that I have had for ages but just never used.

five more rows to go

Last week I went ahead and made another orange/rust block for my wonky star quilt.  It was what I needed to complete my layout.  I love the way it turned out and never thought I would end up with this layout.  So this is how the top looks completed!  I think the same binding will work for both quilts, so polka dots it is! Hopefully, by next week both tops will be done! 

 

More Blue Blocks!

Well, I have finally caught on that November has arrived. We have had such lovely weather and the leaves have not started to drop here.  In fact, they are just starting to show some color.  I have been busy with my applique and enjoying every minute.  They say time flies when your having fun!  I was glad that Angela picked more blue for November's RSC.  I still had some blue scraps too!  So here is are my pickle dish blocks for November.




Three pickle - dish blocks

As you can see I was a on a roll so why not just dig in and get my wonky star block finished too!   Just one more month and these blocks will turn into two quilt tops! How exciting!

Wonky star

 

October Brings Us Brown!

Well, I am off to a bit of a slow start this month!  Angela has chosen brown as our color of choice.  At first, I thought "Oh my! Brown will never work in my RSC quilts."  I read thru Angela's post and she suggested we make the blocks and then decide.   So I went to the sewing closet to see what I could find.
I knew I had some browns to use, but they are not the bright fun fabrics that have made up my other blocks.  Then I pulled out the gray and black whites that I have used in all of the other blocks.  " There is no way this is going to work!"  But I decided at the beginning of the year I would stick to using fabrics from my scrap box or at least my stash.  So I printed off my paper patterns and off I went to work making up the pieces that I would use to make the three pickle dish blocks that I need for this months challenge. Once I sewed them together, they started to grow on me. The real test will be how they will play with the others.

Three brown pickle-dish blocks!

I also pulled out a lot of other browns to make the four inch squares for my wonky star block.  I decided in my head if I used a lot of different browns maybe it would be able to fit in with the other bright fun blocks I had already made in the past months. This was the result!

Brown Wonky Star

I took a minute to lay out all my wonky stars to see if the brown block would work!  I must say I am a bit surprised that it looks pretty comfortable.  Not sure what the final layout will be yet.




Ten wonky star blocks!

I also put together a few nine patches this week.   I wanted to try  Barb's tutorial for the little nine patches that she and a group of bloggers are swapping!  They are fun to make and I plan on adding to my collection.  Hopefully, someday they will become quilt!


I am linking up with Angela and the rest of the RSC participants to see what others are doing with their brown, black and gray scraps.
 

Seeing a lot of Orange these days!

I got busy and finished up my three pickle dish blocks for September.   I don't get bored making these like I usually do when I am piecing.  It may be because I am only making three a month, so it is much more like a small project.  The new color of the month helps too!  It is always fun to see how each color will turn out.

 

After making my three orange blocks, I just had to drag the rest out of the closet and lay them out!  I have no clue what the final layout will be.  I think I may take some time and play with all this wonderful color.  It will be hard to decide!

 





 

I do know that I have thoroughly enjoyed this fun journey with scraps from my stash and a color theme.   These fabrics so look so much better this way than laying on a shelf or sitting in a box. If you need ideas just head on over to where Angela is hosting RSC2014 and see what others are doing. It is so inspiring!



Time is flying by!

Here we are the 6th of September already!  Where the does the time go?  I did get my pieces cut out for the three pickledish blocks that I need to complete this month.  I love the bright oranges and they look even more vibrant next to some black fabrics.  Hopefully I can get going on these today I have a trip out of town planned for later this month so I really need to focus on my goals.

 

For inspiration, I will be heading over to Angela's blog to link up and see what others are doing with orange today! I hope you can join us.

Ready for September

Well I  made it! Thankfully, there were five Saturdays in August.   I had to slip in making a quilt for my daughter this month, which put everything on hold.  But this week I got all my August  RSC 2014 blocks finished.  Each month I make 3 pickledish blocks and a large wonky star block.  It's all down hill from here and I am looking forward to our next color in September.

I also have been working on some cogwheel blocks that I started last summer.  They kind of went to the back of the list of active projects.  My summer push was finishing my Baltimore Garden blocks.  But I am needing a little vacation from my applique.  So I decided since I only need eight of these to finish them up why not fit them into the picture. 

 

 

The one on the left still needs to have the center circle appliqued down.  Still trying to use up scraps and pieces that are in my stash.  I have a piece of chintz that I want to use as the background in this quilt.  I hope to make some more design decisions once I get all eight cogwheels done.  Really flying by the seat of my pants here, a whole lot of fun! If your scraps are getting out of hand may I suggest going over to Angela's blog and see what others are doing with their scraps. 

More Green Pickledish

I am working on my pickle dish blocks this week.  I love choosing which black and white scraps to use for each block.  This quilt started as a  challenge to use a lot of the bright fabrics in my scrap box and pair them up with some black and white scraps  This has gone pretty well so far, but I don't really have a lot in the light green category.  So I went to my stash and came up with a  floral that I purchased in the early nineties.  It was actually a shower curtain I had made for my children's bathroom.   So I guess it is technically a scrap.

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It looks gray in this pic but really is more green

This light green is a bit dull compared to my other blocks, so I needed to give it some appeal so that it could compete in the quilt with the others.   I decided to used two different prints from the black and whites.  I think it adds just the right amount of pizazz to help this block work with the others.  I am hoping it says hey look at me, when it finally gets put in the quilt. 

I was happy that I could use these black and white scraps leftover from my dog Max's quilt.  I must have bought two very similar fabrics at the time.  See the last strip on the right, it has more paw prints than the others.  Oh well, I think it will be alright.  I still have two more blocks to assemble, but I did get all the parts of the block made up this week.

 

August brings us Green again!

August brings us light and bright green, finally a use for the lime green solid fabric scraps that are the result of cutting the backing fabric from my Amish Ice Cream Social appliqued stars.  They have been in the scrap bin for a while.  I wasn't really sure how to cut them up so they went in whole.

I spent Friday sorting thru my scrap box again.  I was so happy to find some more black and white prints, hopefully they will get me thru the year.

 I will be linking up with RSC2014 to see what others have planned!

Red block progress

Red wonky block is assembled and hanging with the other wonky stars made in the previous months.  I think it is another winner!

Then of course I started cutting the red and black and white scraps to make my pickle dish blocks.  I am including some pics of the block being assembled.  They look complicated but really aren't hard if you keep yourself organized and make sure you don't rush sewing the curve.

 

Red Wonky Star

I decided to change things up this month.  I started this month working on my wonky star block first.  I dug thru the scrap bin and found enough reds, but a lot of them are reproduction prints and I wondered how it will look with the other brighter blocks, but it is what it is.  As you can see in the photo below, I got all the pieces cut and laid out and now I just need to stitch it together and give it a good press.

I am linking up with Angela and others over Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014.  This month's color is red. So if you have some some red scraps that need to be turned into blocks join and us and share your red project.

RSC2014 Halfway There

Angela is having a linky party so we can share our quilt blocks for RSC2014 since we are halfway through the year.  I have ended up working on two quilts for the challenge.  If you are wondering what to do with your stash or need to use up some scraps come join us.

Wonky Stars!

Pickledish blocks!

Time Flies!

I can't believe we are nearing the end of June! As they say time flies when your having fun.  I have had a busy week and feel I got quite a bit accomplished.  I am so happy to have my sewing machine in working order again.  The week got started with cutting and assembling my June yellow Wonky Star.
I really love all the bright happy colors and look forward to next month's color.

I also got my pumpkin seed quilt sandwiched.  I had planned this as a fall project as I usually don't hand quilt in the summer.  But Santa brought me a new hoop on a stand last Christmas and so I thought I would give it go.   I used to quilt on a  lap hoop and it would just get too warm.  So far, so good!

I love working on different projects simultaneously.  It break things up and my hands don't seem to get as tired as each project is different.   So right now I break things up by piecing my RSC blocks, hand quilting and applique on my Baltimore Garden.   Are you a one project quilter, or do you have multiple projects going?  

Ready to start!

It has been a bit of  a hectic week.  The part for my sewing machine arrived on Thursday and my husband Tom reassembled it and it is back in working order. But, things around the house have been calling my name, so I didn't get much done this week.  I did finish another block on my Baltimore Garden.

So this morning, I have pulled out and pressed some yellows to start my wonky star for June.  I am a bit worried about not having enough contrast but sometimes those are the very blocks that make a great scrappy quilt. So I will march forward.

I entered Christmas Journey several weeks ago into the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy's Creative Side.

 Although,  it didn't win the applique category, I was chosen as a winner for leaving a post and participating.  It arrived yesterday afternoon.  I just have to share a photo of the beautiful Aurifil thread Aren't the colors just wonderful. I am looking forward to using them!

June Pickledish Blocks

Yes, yellow is the color for this month!  I did not get started right away this month as I have been doing a lot of applique and gardening.  I did get out my yellows to do my three pickledish blocks.  Luckily, I worked hard on them all week and got them completed.  Then Friday  the screw that you tighten to hold the needle broke off.  My Husqvarna sewing machine has been incident free since I got her.  I am guessing she is somewhere between ten and fifteen years old.  But, I am very blessed to have a talented husband who was able to remove the broken screw and a new one has been ordered. Not sure how long it will take to arrive, hopefully before the end of the month so I can get my wonky star block completed.

I really like the yellow version of pickledish blocks and as each month passes I see that I am really going to love this quilt.  

May's Green Wonky Star

I don't know if it is the time of year or my age, but I sure don't get as much done as I used to.  But, I am proud that I made the deadline and got my last block for RSC2014 completed.  This wonky star block is  quite simple and fun to make.

I am looking forward to what color June will bring and love how these blocks are looking when I lay them out together.  If you have some scraps that are begging to become a quilt, make sure you head on over to RSC2014

Green Pickledish!

 
Rainy days make for great quilting time!  We had a slow drizzle for two days, so I took advantage to spend some time in the sewing room to get my RSC2014 blocks made.  This month’s color is green.  I have to say, green is definitely my favorite color.  As I was stitching them, I kept thinking about how last months blocks might look next to my new green blocks.  I had vowed not to lay them out together till the end of the year, but my love of color took over.  Soon I was looking for the box that is holding all my blocks.  So I proceeded to lay them out on my sewing room floor. 
What a pleasant surprise!  All those wonderful colors, it’s as if I am out in my flower garden.  I am not to proud about my lack of self control, but it did make me realize I need to think about making sure I have an equal amount of each kind of block.  There are blocks that have color in the square and some that have black and white in the square.  So when those squares come together in the quilt I want to have two of each coming together. 

I now wish I had a big design wall to put them on. But then I might spend too much time just staring at them.  I know I am already dreaming about a border!  Now on to the wonky star block and I can pat myself on my back for meeting my goal again this month.

Pulling out the Greens!

I thought I would get a jump start on this months RSC.  I guess it wasn't meant to be.  I did head to the supply closet to pull out some fabrics.  I even got my paper pieces printed off and than realized I have misplaced the polka dot melon centers that I precut at the beginning of the year.  I have been using them as the center for my pickle dish blocks.

I have been taking care of some projects around the house so it has been over a week since I have been in the sewing room.  So I guess Monday morning I need to take some time to straighten and put away and see if I can find them. I am sure they will show up and there is plenty of time to get my blocks made.  If your scraps are getting out of hand, or you want to bust thru some of your stash you really need to head over to RSC2014.  It's never too late to start and there is so much inspiration if your not sure what to do with your scraps.

Purple Wonky Star

Worked several hours Thursday in my sewing room. My goal was to finish my wonky star for April RSC2014.  I am really pleased how it turned out.  I didn't have a lot of purple and was worried I didn't have enough variety, but I used the right and wrong side of one fabric to give me the variety I needed.

 I couldn't resist laying out all my wonky star blocks.  I think my granddaughter is really going to love all these rainbow colors!

Three Purple Pickledish Blocks!

I was able to finish assembling my three pickledish blocks for April's RSC14.  Each month after I take my picture for the blog I place the blocks in a box.  The second month I pulled out the first months and placed them on the floor to see how they looked together.  Last month, I decided to resist the temptation, and wait till all the blocks are finished at the end of the year.  Sometimes I wish I had a design wall to put my blocks on each month as I finish them, but in this case I am looking forward to the mystery.

So far I like the black and white fabrics with each color. With the gray neutral background they should all play together nicely, but it will be so much fun to lay them out once they are all done. I just hope I can stick to my guns and wait.  How about you, do you keep your blocks on a design wall, do you lay them out each time a new color is added, or do you wait for the surprise?

RSC2014 April's Color is Purple

Purple is the April RSC14 color of the month.  Again not a color I use very often but a bit of purple here and there does make a difference.  As you see in the photo below it adds a bit of sparkle to a couple of  Amish mini quilts .

It seems I haven’t gotten off to a good start, I guess I have too many irons in the fire.  I have gone back to work on my Baltimore Garden Quilt and it has been getting a lot of my attention.  So yesterday I pulled out my purple and started making parts for my pickle dish blocks.  I have been working on one block a week in the past few months.  So I thought a different approach may speed things up.  I decided to  make all the parts and then assemble the blocks all at once.  I find that working this way seems to speed things up a bit, but we will see.  So this is what I got done this week.