A Closer Look & RSC Purple Finished

 What a week! I got Mom's Christmas laundry all caught up the other day for starters. That included six sets of bedding and towels for five. Pretty much consumed one whole day. Other than that, summer has returned in a red, hot minute. Last week we were lucky to get to 75 degrees. This week we're all around 90 by day and poor Gracie has had to endure almost 70 on her morning walks. Watching Roland-Garros inside most of this week has not produced one iota of guilt due to the heat. However we've been busy getting things in order around our house because my brother & his wife are driving Mom home from NC today! On top of that, they're bringing their 6-month-old German Shepherd. He's adorable (of course!) but he's still a puppy and he's going to be so much entertainment for Gracie! Oy! I'll keep you posted about all that energy! And I'm sure there'll be pictures!

Last night was Friday Night with Friends. Always fun to catch up with some of my cyber friends. So what did I work on? I've kept up pretty good with the Uptown BOM. This block-of-the-month started in January 2022 and I've stayed true to it until April when I was gone for more than half the month. It is my goal to get myself caught up again. I had started on the April block a bit ago but last night I put the final stitches in it.

Uptown - April Block

After that, I pieced the pattern together for May and then I printed out & pieced together the June block. With company coming in today, I probably won't get back to then until next weekend.

Also behind due to the April travels was RSC purple. I put the tops on my purple pineapples finally! I think this is going to make a very fun quilt! The June Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been determined to be light blues, That should make more pretty pineapples!

Speaking of light blue, I'd like to share with you a finish. May I present Oh My Strippy Stars, a QAL with Carole at From My Carolina Home.

Carole ran this during National Quilt Month in March. The challenge was to find a jelly roll that has been gathering dust and a yard of background fabric. She promised to teach us something new in the process of making this quilt. Who could resist? Not me!

The jelly roll I used was definitely an oldie. The line was Sunshine by April Cornell of Moda. The jelly roll was so old (How old was it?) that it was offered pre-pinking the edges!!! I'm pretty sure I bought it when I was working at the quilt store in Troy, Sweet Annies.

The original directions called for 16 blocks but I decided to make 25. After all, they were so much fun to make and I had plenty of fabric! The learning experience was making the 2" finished HSTs that make the star points. Usually you would use 3" squares but we were using 2-1/2" strips from the jelly roll. Carole showed us how to use the Tucker Trimmer ruler after sewing a jelly roll strip to a background strip along -- wait for it! -- BOTH edges forming a very long tube. Plus there was very little waste.

The pattern and directions are still up at the blog's site. Check it all out HERE. The directions are very good. They even include how she quilted it on her longarm with only a few stops. Well, you should know by now that I had to try that out too!

Oh My Strippy Stars set up to longarm quilt

Close-up of the quilting in one block

Beautiful backing was part of the Sunshine line

Close-up of some quilting from the back

My quilt ended up measuring 52" square. I used Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting. It is soft, pliable, and wonderful. The quilt is currently hanging over my couch in the den. This finished quilt will also be reported on my PHD progress report. While it was actually a new start, it was also 100% finished which gives me extra credit!

Linking up with SoScrappy for RSC, Gone Stitchin' for FNwF, and Quilting Gail for PHD. Whatever is on your agenda for this weekend, ENJOY!