Rainbow Scrap Challenge Post

Just stopping by for a quick post. It's been quite a while since I posted my blog on RSC but I've been sewing as much as possible. Things have really taken a turn around here. We've been dealing with my mother's cognitive issues for a while and, since she moved in, it affects all of us. I've got her back in P/T for balance, strength, and mental well-being. I have to say she's pretty easy to deal with since she doesn't resist much of what I ask of her. In general, she's a cheerful, funny gal and for that we're grateful!

I wanted to share a finish with you today. Awesome Land is a pattern by Lissa Alexander that is in her book "Oh, Scrap!" I started it in January 2020 and here is a link to my very first post of Awesome Land. We've had quite a ride with it for sure but it is now finished.

She finished up about 72"x72" so she'd make a great lap quilt or even a picnic quilt. Instead of Warm & Natural batting, I used Quilter's Dream this time and it is so soft & squishy. This one will be a joy to cuddle up in.

A peek at the backing I used and a bit of the quilting. I've since learned that circular quilting pantographs are much quicker to do than pointy ones. Maybe that's what happened here because this pointy panto took FOREVER to quilt!

At a local quilt shop, they give a monthly pattern for a doll quilt which they will later donate. We are encourage to use our scraps so last month that's what I used for my leaders & enders. It needs to be quilted & bound and then I can turn it in for donation. It is about 12"x18".

I'm keeping up with Twilight Stars QAL. Here are a few of the latest from this week. I still have about 5 weeks left to make up to be totally caught up which I plan to do by the end of January -- you know, after the holidays!

My other SAL is Red Threads, an embroidery block-of-the-week. Here are a few pictures of my latest blocks. I am 100% caught up with this one.

That catches you up on my sewing and my mother. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

Linking up with Angela on SoScrappy.

There Goes September AND October!

Started: October 2, 2023

September has come and gone and I have no finishes to show. What the heck happened? My sister came and we even spent two days sewing at a retreat center together! Oh well.

Here in Illinois we had the All-Illinois Shop Hop running from August through September. I managed to get all the stamps for my region. My completed passport went out in the mail Friday. I would like to mention that, after visiting a nice quilt shop in Columbia IL, Mom, Fred, and I went to a restaurant called Reifschneider's for an early dinner. What a surprise to find that we were there on a Tuesday and the special of the day was: 6oz sirloin, dinner salad, and mashed potatoes for $12.95. What a deal!

My hands haven't been 100% idle though. I have to confess

Finishing this post today, November 11:

Update: I won a Regional Grand Prize on the All IL Shop Hop again this year. You may remember that last year I one an AccuQuilt Baby. This year I scored a Janome Serger! It was donated by Times Square Quilt Shop in Jacksonville IL and I'll pick it up soon. Last year's prize was donated by A to Z Quilt Shop in Quincy IL. At least this year's travel to pick up the prize is a bit closer.

So what have I been up to? I finished all my blocks for Uptown. They need to be squared up, the set-in triangles cut, and then the top sewn together. Here's a photo of the last block. I ran out of bigger pieces of red fabrics used in the previous blocks so in this block, where I used red it was supposed to be blue and where I used blue it was supposed to be red. Looks fine and the quilt police didn't even raid my studio! Lol!

In September I started another quilt with Sentimental Stitches called Red Threads. I'm using brown thread instead so I'll have to come up with a different name for my quilt. It consists of 49 embroidered blocks which we get a new pattern every Friday. Here are a few that I've completed although many need to be pressed.

My Favorite So Far

Just this morning I put the tops on my RSC turquoise pineapples. Geez, they were started in September!

From This ....

To this!

Twilight Stars Sew-a-Long with Primitive Gatherings is still going strong. Here are a few pictures of new stars recently made.

Made These at Kinderhook Retreat in October

Oopsy Doopsy!

That's a Better Star on the Left Now

I found an old project from 2005 or 2006. All it needed was to be quilted and bound. It has Insul-Bright inside so you can place a hot dish on it. I think I'll use it this Thanksgiving for the mashed potatoes!

Very Old Kansas Troubles Fabrics
Finished at Kinderhook Retreat

Back Side to Show the Fancy Machine Quilting Stitches

I used my Accu-Quilt Baby to cut out two quilt tops, one for me with my fabrics and one for Vickie using her fabrics. We joined Sharon, who had cut out her own quilt top, and then all three of us sewed our tops up at Kinderhook. All three look different and mine is definitely not photogenic. It's actually kind of ugly looking, isn't it?

Sharon's

Vickie's

Mine

Of course another Chubby Charmer had to be made. Here is the Fall version for my daughter. The fabric line was Fall Frolic by Moda, I believe.

Polly Needed to Check It Out When I Got Home

That pretty much catches you up on my sewing endeavors. Last month we did our annual Fall Family Visit and I'll catch you up on another post. This one has gone on long enough. Did you make it to the end? Congratulations! Hahaha!

Sharing with my RSC friends on Angela's SoScrappy blog.

July Wrap-Up

My PHD (Projects Half Done) report for July is actually pretty good for a change! I started AND finished my version of Summer Blues which I'm calling Summer Reds.

Summer Reds post is HERE

A project on my PHD list was Riptide. I rented a longarm sewing machine at my local quilt shop mid-July and got the binding sewn down about a week later. It's a beauty if I must say so myself! Ha!

Riptide post is HERE

Hello, Autumn was a kit I'd started last year. The top was completed but I never finished it up. I'll be happy to hang this one up in a couple of months. It was fun with a little bit of wool applique, embroidery, and piecing.

Hello, Autumn post is HERE

Thanks, Gail, for keeping us on task to finish what we've started!

Another Finish for Table Scraps Challenge!

July finished up with a bang and another finish. A little July=RED tablemat, finishing at a mere 11.5" x 13.5". The pattern by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts was based on an old doll quilt. Hers was called Summer Blues and she worked hers up with a pretty blue reproduction fabric. Since the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for July was red, I decided to use a reproduction red fabric that I kept looking at and never knew quite what to do with it. I think it looks beautiful as my Summer Reds.

I found a large basket filled with fabrics in my Mom's bedroom here at our house. I think they were from when I first started quilting seriously when we first moved here. Anyway, the back is a fat quarter that was in the basket, a sweet off-white fabric with tiny red flower buds scattered across from Blackbird Designs. I think it looks beautiful together with the binding.

Linking up with Joy @ JoyfulQuilter for the Table Scraps Challenge.

Riptide is Finished!

About mid-July, I rented time on the longarm at my local quilt shop. I've had this top done for a looong time. I'd guess five years or more. The pattern is Riptide by GEDesigns (Gudrun Erla). It's a nice lap-sized quilt, approximately 49" x 60". I used a Kansas Troubles jellyroll and some background fabric and I picked up the backing fabric (another Kansas Troubles fabric) at my quilt store. I will try to update this post with the name of the pantograph I used to quilt it.

I used Tuscany Cotton batting and this quilt is very snuggly! I hope you liked the photo shoot!

A Beautiful Red PHD Finish

Surprise! Surprise! I have beautiful finish and it happens to be right in line with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge which is red this month. It was also included on my PHD list so a win-win for me! This is "Hello, Autumn!" and the pattern is designed by Red Button Quilt Co.

I bought this as a kit when my friend Sharon & I went to Oblong IL to visit The Village Stitchery. What a beautiful store with so many beautiful fabrics, wools, samples, and kits.I knew I had to buy this one. Besides being so pretty, it had some of everything in it. There's wool applique in the middle, a bit of piecing in the border, a little embroidery at the top, and I ended up hand quilting it because it was small and didn't hurt my hand too much. It's only about 13" x 14".

I had the top done during the Fall last year but had never gotten around to finishing it up. It is now quilted, bound, and labeled.

I better get my red & neutral scraps together. There are pineapples to be made!

Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy and all the other RSC quilters.

FNSI & RSC Orange Progress!

Angela has chosen ORANGE as our color for May in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I am thrilled to share with you the orange pineapples I made over the past week.

Four Orange Pineapples

I also have a Chubby Charmer tote that I can share today. I'd hinted at it last month but couldn't show pictures since it was a gift. It has now been officially gifted! Check out all that orange!

Summer Chubby Charmer

Gifted to Sarah

Last month's chosen color PURPLE was a bust due to so much travel and the prep that goes with it. Since I finished up my orange pineapples, I thought it was a good idea to play catch-up with the purple pineapples. Progress was made there also.

Just Need to Make & Attach the Tops

Last night was Friday Night Sew-In with my global sewing friends. I made progress on my cross- stitch project called Spring Stamps. It was a freebie offered by my good friend Melisa at Pinker 'n Punkin' Quilting. You can see what happened across the globe HERE at Wendy's Sugarlane Designs blog.

Making Progress!

Yesterday was Sarah's last day with us. No one wants to have a super busy day the day before they're going to drive 13 hours home and especially not after a 4-day work conference. We made the most of it by going to Grafton's River Dock for lunch. We enjoyed watching the barges go up the Mississippi River while we ate & chatted and left before the rain arrived. The waitress offered to take our picture and we accepted.

Our Gang
Look at My Orange Shirt!

As always, we had a great visit with our daughter. The Chihuly art at the Botanical Garden was fun and lunch on the river was a relaxing last day. Polly will be able to breathe a little easier once she realizes the "houseguests" have departed, although Gracie will be looking for her "friends" for several days to come.

Jake

Penny, the Polly-Stalker

Safe travels to this happy family.

Linking with Angela and the other scrappy quilters at So Scrappy. Have a great week!