Final So Scrappy Saturday of April

So Scrappy Saturday hosted by Angela at So Scrappy!

I decided to put all my April Aqua blocks and projects on the design wall. I am disappointed because I am running out of Aqua strings and scraps to make more string blocks. A couple pieces are large enough to cut the length needed to go on the diagonal, but the rest are too little or they are over fat quarter size. ( I find it hard to cut into those) 😞

I have one string block and another under my needle. 6 bowtie blocks, 6 scrappy sprout blocks, and 3 Tiny Tuesday blocks. I did not get the one from last week, made yet.  And hopefully there will be one more, 5 Tuesdays in April. Also at the top of my design board are the first 25 blocks of my April row on my Temperature Quilt. It reads Aqua also.  There are a couple of green signifying warmer weather, but mostly April has been from 35 degrees to upper 60's.  There were a couple of days that we reached 71.

I think I will put out an APB ( All Points Bulletin) for aqua strings at my next guild meeting. I could be sorry!!!

Until next Saturday,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Working on Rainbow Quilt

As part of the RSC19 at Angela's blog, So Scrappy....I have been making 8" bow tie blocks using Cynthia Brunz's Exploding Bow Tie quilt as inspiration.

from Quilting is More Fun Than Housework!

In my head and with a few in my head only calculations, I figured I needed 48 blocks. There will be 10 color suggestions this year and I knew I wanted at least one of the "circles" to be black.  Reason?   I'm married to a "car guy". When you mention bow tie in our world you mean Chevrolet!  In December, we traded in our 12 year old Buick for a new Chevrolet Equinox....Black!  So this will be my "car quilt"

I started to lay out the blocks on the design wall, and because I am using my stash, the exploding design is lost because the colors are so varied. Or maybe because I need more of each color. I am reluctant to do that at this point.

 I played with the blocks a little, checked for the actual rainbow color order, ROYGBIV.....and tried this.

It's not the final look, I still need Orange, Indigo and Violet blocks. And I am going to add 2 black circles....just 'cause. I colored up a design on graph paper and I am going to use pink also. So Pink, Red, Orange Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet (Purple) will be my palette. This is an in progress photo and one I will share with the All People Quilt UFO Challenge Facebook page. It was my #5 item, the number selected to be worked on in April! It is not finished, but it is on the design wall, so not technically a UFO, yet!  I am determined to finish this one.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy!

OMG for April and A Finish!

I am so pleased that I have this platform to commit to a project and see it through. Sometimes I am like a squirrel that gets distracted easily. That is not always a bad thing, but having to be accountable really does work for me. I'm a "pleaser", my counselor trained sister would say!

I am not sure when this project was started. ( I checked the blog, it was 2013). It took me a really long time to make myself put the center of the top together. Here is a post dated 1-13-15, where I wrote about this quilt. Finding the "right" background fabric was a challenge. I think it is a bit light, but it is growing on me. I originally thought I would " tea stain" it. But now I am rethinking that. Anyway, long story, short!  The borders!!!

I finally had traced all the parts and pieces on to Heat and Bond lite. or Pellon Wonder Under 805  Then I started to pick green fabrics for the vines and leaves. Lots of leaves, lots of inches of vine. There is a bird = blue? or brown? There is a scissors = black? gray? or something else? What about the bud?  Pink? or red? purple? or yellow? Decisions, decisions!

This is the only photo I have of some of the vine. The directions say trace 13 of these and 13 reversed! 

So finally I decided to use OMG to keep me focused!  I committed to one border with  finished applique. When I opened the project box, a bit of a snafu!  I had fused some of the vines on the wrong side of a fabric. If using batik, that doesn't matter, no right or wrong side of those. But I had picked a few other green fabrics. The fusible is on the other side. This is the side that will be up in the finished project!

Shoult I re-trace and re-cut? Probably!  Maybe not,  cause sometimes the back of a fabric works just as well. So I tried cutting the vines out and laying them down with the others.  Eureka!!!  It's OK?  So, encouraged I continued and got the layout done and on the border fabric.

The first of the bud and 2 lengths of vine. The upside down fabric blends well!
 Laying on my ironing board. More vine, buds and a couple of hearts.

Then I was gone for almost a week, then there was Easter preparations! The Monday after Easter, I got busy. Selected thread, practiced the zig zag stitch. so I could decide the length and width. And actually wrote it down, because I knew that there would be no way I would get it stitched all in one sitting.

And now it is done. The ends of the vines at the top and bottom are not attached because they over lap the top border piece and bottom border piece. Some close ups of the zig zag. A little rusty, but getting better.

 Above you can see the upside down fabric on the pink buds. It's not bad!

 Stitch #2, Width at 2, length at 1. I used an applique foot for better viewing!

 Hearts and vine and leaf

 More leaves and vines. The bud holders here are the wrong side of the fabric!

 Some "flowers" and below my favorite purple flower.

Here is the border, laying beside the quilt. Not attached yet. The vines hang off the top and bottom edge. When the top and bottom borders are added, they will overlap and get connected. The piece is a tad long to allow for adjustment.

This is the right border! I have marked it with a scrap of fabric basted at the top. I have to make notes on everything these days.  "Senior moments"

And my April OMG goal has been met. Now to continue with the other 3 borders!  Another month maybe!.

I'm linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Busy week, some progress, nothing to shout about!

A little bit of this and a lot of "bonding!


Nothing finished this week. I spent 4 days with my sister being her "cheerleader" while she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment. She felt good and we had marvelous "sister time". This morning I am home and looking forward to a bit of sewing while preparing for probable company for Sunday dinner. I have some things for baskets, candy, socks, plastic eggs, so I have to get those put together.

I did start on a small crocheting project that was easy to transport. It has been awhile since I did any crocheting and the learning curve though gentle was uphill!

There are some "boo-boos", but it is just a cotton dishcloth....so I will not stress over any imperfections. The next one will be better.

I also prepared some fabric (all from my stash, of course)  for hand stitching of mug rugs from the free patterns at Shabby Fabrics. A friend is making these too and her's  inspired me. I thought I would stitch on them while I was visiting with my sister, but we just talked and talked and celebrated! But they are ready for another quiet slow stitching time. Aren't they tooooo cute? The pattern calls for wool, or felted wool. But while searching for my black felt, I found a large scrap of black cotton duck I used eons ago to make club vests for Mr Busy and myself. Use it up!!!

Shabby Fabrics has the instructions on their website. Free downloads, or they have a YouTube video series also. I have no affiliation, just love their cute projects.

I'll link up to Finished or Not Friday!   This is definitely a NOT Friday!
and I will link up to So Scrappy Saturday  I did not get any more aqua scrappy projects done, but the little mug rugs use up some scraps!  My plan today, is to do the aqua Tiny Tuesday project, start on the stitching down of the vine applique and to clean at least the guest bathroom before Easter dinner.



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

RSC19 Aqua/Teal/Turquoise/Ocean? In Progress

Nothing is being FINISHED, but lots of stuff is being stitched!



I did 6 scrappy sprout blocks.  It took a bit longer than expected....I did not double check the seam guide on the machine I travel with. All the blocks I sewed at my sewing guild, were too small. That means the seam allowance was too big!!  I know better!  Check it always!  Grrrrr!

I also sewed the Log cabin variation or courthouse steps block for Tiny Tuesday!

Then there were Bow tie Blocks

And a 5th one.   I need to cut for one more!


Below are some leftover flannel triangles that I sewed into pinwheels, then made a 7.5" pinwheel patch block. I sewed 4 of them together to make a 14.5" block. They are definitely scrappy but a little aqua is in there too! I am thinking of using a second piece of flannel 10 inches bigger than these squares and making self binding receiving blankets. Maybe I'll just back them and give them to my two great granddaughters (age 3 and 2) for their "babies".  Undecided as yet.

This vine was fused to the right side border for my spool quilt.   No Aqua but definitely scrappy!

 So that all for this week. Next week I may have some aqua, but maybe not. I am finally going to be able to go to be with my sister for her 4th round of chemo. She is doing remarkably well!  I am so grateful!

I'll be linking up with Angela at So Scrappy Saturday!  

Stay Busy and Stay Happy.

So Scrappy Saturday! April is Aqua!

Oh My Goodness......I do love scrappiness!  Especially if its aqua or teal or turquoise or ocean or whatever the color people are naming it!

I have squares and HST cut and arranged to make Scrappy Sprout Blocks. Some of you will notice that the left half of this block looks wrong. It is really the right hand side and this happened as I piled everything on the project board to bring it home from sewing group! It did not go into the block reversed!!  "smile"

 I made the Tiny Tuesday Shoo Fly Flower block.  Should it be set diagonally or straight?  Decisions, decisions!

Half way to 6 Aqua Bow Tie Blocks. 

Even the blocks for the first 3 days of April in my Temperature quilt, read Aqua!  ""smiley face""!
Wait til you see the ones for 4-6th!!! 


I even decided to do string blocks afterall....so these are the green and red ones. I'll catch up with the yellow and aqua ones next week.

I'm a happy girl!  The sun has been shining, it's nice enough to walk outdoors and I will be able to stay with my sister the week before Easter.  Mr Busy is healing well from his surgery and the restriction on what he can lift will go away on the 15th!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

linking up to So Scrappy Saturday!  

Finished or Not Friday April 5th

This image does not link, but there is a link at the bottom of my post, or click on the image in the right side bar!

No finishes this week either. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been in my sewing room.

Monday I finished 2 more red string blocks for a total of 3 red.   After being inspired by the All About String blocks on Creatin' in the Sticks. I say finished because it does make a mess, at least I make a mess sewing string blocks. Now that mess is temporarily put away.

Tuesday, Angela announced the new color for RSC19!  AQUA!  So I spent part of the day going through my aqua/turquoise/teal scraps. I knew I would be making Scrappy Sprout blocks. I cut 2 1/2" squares and pulled out the already cut stack of squares. I cut matching pairs of triangles to make HST in aqua/neutral using the Essential Triangle ruler. I love that ruler! These are stacked on a project board ready to sew, sew, sew!

And I printed the tutorial for the Tiny Tuesday block by Beaquilter.  I didn't get started on it, but I had the directions!  Wednesday I cut those little pieces and stitched it together. OMG it is so cute! I am not sure if it should be set diagonally or straight. I'll await instruction from Angela at So Scrappy. She is knee deep in moving to a new home, so the guest designers have been a big help to her!  Hooray for online friends!

Wednesday also, was my monthly sewing group, Loose Threads. It was rainy and drizzly, I almost did not go. Much easier to retreat to my downstairs sewing room and sew. But I had not seen this group in a while, so I loaded up my machine, and ALL my STUFF and drove on over. I had prepared the Scrappy Sprout blocks, after all.  Two are done!  Cause there was lots of talking and sharing going on too!!

I also cut pieces for bow tie blocks of aqua and some black, but did not get to those until Thursday.

And Thursday I cut pieces for the first 3 days of April for my Temperature Quilt blocks. The colors are changing from deep blues and purples to light blues and even some "aqua".

So still sewing and sewing today!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: I am linking up with Finished or Not Friday!

April OMG Linking Up

I have many goals for April!  Finish the book I am reading!  Keep up with my Temperature Quilt and get better at posting on Instagram! Do the Tiny Tuesday Block in the current color, an offering from Angela at So Scrappy!  I also signed up for APQ UFO Challenge 2019. And I want to spend at least part of one week with my sister!

But, my OMG for April is to get at least one border done on my Spool Quilt! This project was started a long time ago. I need to research to find out what year! My group exchanged strips for the spools. Then I finally got the center of the top put together. I think it is a little light and so I put it away. I started the tracing of the pieces for the applique border. But again got stopped.  Maybe there was a baby quilt that needed to be done, or a comfort quilt for my brother or something?

 This is the book from Edyta Sitar that has the pattern.  There are a lot of other blocks in this book that call to me!

 This is the graphic showing the spools and the applique border.

And this is on my cutting table this morning. I got out the tote and pulled out the contents. The borders are cut and labeled.  "check"    Some tracing is done! "check" 

Now to begin to cut out, place and fuse down and machine applique. I will be doing the borders one at a time, then connecting the corners. This method was suggested and endorsed by several members that have their version completed. It will make it easier to man handle the bulk through the machine as I machine applique all those vines and flowers.  So there it is: One Border of the Spool quilt! 


Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts.  April OMG 


Stay Busy and Stay Happy