A Crumb-y Little Finish

My week went fast too!  But then it felt slow. How is that possible?  Our community is antsy to get back to normal.  I feel there will not be "back to normal"  but it will be a different "normal".

Here is what was finished this week:

This pile of crumb/slab blocks is from RSC18, I think!  I decided to finally make a scrap bag. This was always my intention when I started these blocks. I did get sidetracked in 2019. And used some of the "Made" fabric for this little quilt.

But that's another story!

I followed Angela's tutorial and this is what resulted.

It's about 10" by 8" and 8" deep.  Angela suggested a piece cardboard or foam board cut for a solid bottom. In looking through my stash of such material I found a thin cheap place mat. It was even the shades of green in the bag!

It worked perfectly. 

 The lining is leftovers from an old queen size sheet. Pale green, but still green.

Looks like I need to make another green one. This is overflowing. I am going to try to catch up with the RSC20 colors and get these crumb/slab blocks made into something useful. 

I'm linking up with Alycia's party - Finished or Not Friday

and Angela's party at ScrapHappy Saturday!  

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy

Slab Blocks Are Green and Wonky

We are home from nearly 2 weeks of road trip and visiting our 2 kids. Our son lives in Phoenix and our daughter lives in Lakewood Colorado.

We had a great time visiting, celebrating birthday and seeing extended family. Two of our great grands live in Phoenix too!.

I finally had time to pull some dark or sage green and make some slab blocks for RSC18.

These have not been trimmed to size yet. I am still on the fence as to what size I want them.  You see that pumpkin peeking at the edge.?

I have been wanting to do this quilt for a long time. It is Halloween Haberdashery from Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair. So when she had it on sale and was offering a quilt along, I purchased the pattern. I thought I had lots of Halloween fat quarters. And enough low volume fabric for background.

I printed the pattern, because I purchased a PDF from her website. And gathered my fabrics. This is what I accomplished before we left for vacation. 

I think I will just work on it a bit at a time. The pattern is somewhat time consuming for the hats. And maybe I'll end up with a smaller quilt than the pattern.  So another WIP to add to my list. And I need to gather more low volume prints in white with black or gray. It won't be done for this Halloween, but maybe next year. 

That's all for this week and next week is our retreat. I should have lots of photos to show at least! "smile"

I'll link up with Finished or Not Friday and So Scrappy Saturday. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: we listened to two audio books on our road trip. Both Michael Connelly , Bosch series.  The Wrong Side of Goodbye and The Burning Room were both really good and both read by Titus Welliver (  actor who played Bosch on the Netflix series)

Scrappy dark blue 9-22-18

There are 8 slab/crumb blocks on my design wall for September's Dark Blue!  There is one still under my needle on the machine!  ( I chain piece whenever possible). These are varied sizes and I will trim them up when I start putting the top together. I have to decide on a sashing color. It will need to be fairly neutral as it will be Rainbow Colors. 

I think maybe white or cream. Any suggestions? 

I am leaning toward white, but not bright white. Maybe Natural or Ash??  I'll have to take a few of the other colored slabs to my LQS and see what I like!

That's all for me this week. Wednesday we leave to drive to Phoenix. I am looking forward to that! I have some handwork to take with me. Also, strips to crochet into a rug!  We will listen to an audiobook too, if we can agree on a title!  hahaha!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I'll link up with Angela's ScrapHappy  Saturday! 

Scrappy Blue Saturday 9-8-18

I got started on blue!  I wonder if I should add some dark neutral, like black. For some reason my blue scraps are sparse. I could cut into some chunks (less that a fat quarter), I guess!!  This is under my needle at present!

I had hoped to make a dent in my scraps this year. It did not go as planned. I cut and stitched, cut and stitched, and still there are more scraps than I know what to do with!


Here is a tad more blue!  I spent an hour at the laundromat yesterday!  That can make you "blue"! 

The laundromat closest to my home is called Surf and Suds!  Ther
e is a beach theme in there, which is slightly strange in NE Wyoming!  But it is very clean, there is helpful staff ( I hadn't been to a laundrmat in a quite a while!) and it was successful - my large quilt was washed and dried and no running of the black fabric!  It is now ready to be gifted at the end of the month. It's called Surf and Suds because they have free WiFi!  Not a regular occurrence here in the great vastness of NE Wyoming. 

OK, Angela is off on a 10 mile!!!! run and I am running upstairs for another cup of coffee!  Have a great Saturday, all!!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

linking up to SoScrappy's ScrapHappy Saturday!

September One Monthly Goal and some other challenge goals.

This month is going to be busy!  A new One Monthly Goal, A New Color for RSC18, A new block for Sept-Oct for CiL, a new project for All People Quilts UFO 2018 Challenge, a trip to Phoenix for our son's 50th birthday, our great grandson's 5th birthday, Mr Busy's 74th birthday, Oh My!!!!!!!!


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1.  One Monthly Goal for September:   My Thursday Stitchers group has decided to do a traced design exchange for Christmas. So far there are 8 members participating, but I am sure a few more will jump on the bandwagon before too long. So that means I have at least 7 copies to make of this design I downloaded from Jenny of ELEFANTZ's  Craftsy page.

I'll need to make 8 if I want one for myself to stitch in 2019. We will exchange the "traced on fabric" designs in early December. We have a few members that travel for the weeks around the holiday. Our only criteria, is to make sure the design is free, or that you have permission from the designer to share. We do not sell or profit from these stitcheries.
So my September OMG is to get 6 of these traced. Then I will have another month or so to catch up, before December.
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2. The new color for RSC18 is Dark Blue or Dark Neutral ( meaning Black or Brown, I think). Not started yet, but I am making Slab/Crumb blocks.  So it will be ongoing for the month.

3. The new CiL block is an Adult I spy block!  Check out Kat's post here!

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4. APQ UFO Challenge 2018 for September:  Project #2 was picked. My challenge list #2 is to make 2 wall hangings or small quilts from 2 Christmas panels I purchased several years ago with the intent to gift to my son and DIL and my daughter and SIL.  They, unfortunately ( or fortunately, however you want to look at it) are now both divorced. So I will make them anyway, gift them to the son and daughter! I planned to use the Sidelights pattern shown here, but I have not yet purchased or looked for coordinating fabric.

I am linking this post up with Patty at the OMG-September Link Up. 

So..........................
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Orange is the New "Color"

So the second Saturday of the month I finally have some orange to show. I am plugging away at orange. I had to really dig and to relax my parameters for "what is orange"!  You will see some

definite red/yellow, some apricot, some orangey yellow!  But I think it all works in the end!

I am working toward 7 and 1/2  slab/crumb blocks that are 7" square. It is a work in progress. And my scrap bin does not show that there has been progress!  Why is that?



Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I'll be linking to ScrapHappy Saturday at Angela's blog.

July RSC18 is Red!!

My sewing has been varied the last week. I did manage to complete the 6.5 slab blocks I need for my RSC18 quilt in the first week of July.  So last week I finished a couple of R,W and B star blocks for CiL.(Covered in Love) at Kat and Cat Quilts.   I hope to send 8 blocks by the end of August!

This pattern uses the Quilt in a Day method of making 4 flying geese at once. And I love this ruler. I even use it to square up Flying Geese made in different ways. Sometimes I only have a thread or wo to trim, but they turn out perfect! The only drawback to this method is that you end up with 4 exactly the same. For this application, that is perfect. If your block was scrappy you could make 4 and them mix them, with one each from 4 other blocks.

I also mended a Target bag!  Red, you know!  I am such a penny pincer, that even when my take along shopping bags get a 3 corner tear from a sharp box edge, or the handle comes loose, or the seam comes apart, I mend it!  I did not get a photo of it under my needle, but here is a photo of it done!

I know, don't call the "looney wagon"!!!


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ps: I'm linking up to So Scrappy Saturday!

This week a little bit of somethin'

Last week, I posted about my many projects with nothing to show for it!  It least not in my mind! No completions, no tops quilted, no binding finished!  Nothin'

This week I have a little sumpun'!  I dumped my red pieces, then opened the tote of scraps that a friend gifted to me in April!

 I had to dig deep into this pile of yumminess, but I found enough scraps to make these 5 crumb slab blocks for RSC18. I only cut into my red pieces once. Then I took a piece that was in my stash for at least 15 years, and cut in up into 2.5 in strips for the 2.5" basket!  That felt good.

I have been struggling with my slab/crumb blocks resembling log cabins, so I used a suggestion from a fellow blogger. She suggested the Mile a Minute method. I checked out several You Tube videos and soon developed a method that made sense in my head!  I think they look pretty good!

I also finished putting the final 4-patch border on my En Provence quilt top!  I learned sooooo much from doing this one. I had never used a Tri-Rec ruler before!  That was a game changer for me. Also, took Bonnie's suggestions about measuring the block, not the seam allowance to make sure the seam allowance is correct!  Another light bulb moment!  And those 4-patches went on without a hitch and fit perfectly!

  The wind was blowing!  Imagine that!

  from Google= (Wyoming is very windy, we all know that. According to NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Association) 50-60 MPH winds helps the Cowboy State hold the title of windiest state in the country. Wyoming easily produces annual wind speeds statewide of just under 13 MPH.Mar 29, 2017  )

So excited to select a backing and find an available long arm quilter to bring this one to completion!


I started to work on the QOV quilt debacle that ended up in the UFO box last year. I followed a pattern that left me with blocks that did not come out to the required 8.5 inches.  I am redoing the angled gold pieces on the corners to help with that. If you want the gory details about this particular challenge, read this post. 

I also repaired a pair of short for my great grandson!  He caught his behind on something sharp and literally ripped a slash in the seat of his pant!  I was able to find an almost match to the fabric in my stash and repaired it with that piece behind it and cut away the shreds. Then turned under the edges to create a sort of reverse applique look. It's not bad, and I'll keep them in my drawer for backup when he is here. 

I will link this post to Confessions of a Fabric Addict!   "Can I Get a Whoop Whoop!"

and to So Scrappy Saturday tomorrow after Angela post the Link up

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Teal, Turquoise or Aqua Slabs!

I pulled my teal, aqua, turquoise stash. I have a lot of medium prints, not a lot of solids or blenders.  So I started. I try not to make my slabs too much like a log cabin.  Sometimes that’s harder than it might seem.

These blocks need more scraps added to make them the necessary 10" X 10".  Some will be wonky as those are the scraps I have!  It's OK!  I like that look!

Not exactly the June rainbow colors but I did get the binding sewed on to my OMG challenge and a graduation quilt for my daughter. She graduates in August from her 3rd discipline!  She is an RN with a degree in business and now will add Healing Touch Therapy to her repertoire. I am so proud of her!  She follows her heart and she is amazing!

It's Saturday, I have a hair appointment this afternoon, then if I feel brave I may go to the grocery store!  Never a good idea on Saturday!  

Happy Weekend

Stay Busy and Stay Happy 

I'm linking up with So Scrappy's Scrap Happy Saturday  and Busy Hands Quilts, Finished or Not Friday!

Pink Stuff

Not much happening that would qualify as a finish this week. The only real finish I had was to make a cute little "top" for my great granddaughter. I try to keep an extra top, bottom and socks here at our house for both grands!   A bit ago, we used the t-shirt that was here, for  Miss B.  It went home with her and the blue frilly tunic she had on that day has a whole other  backstory!

I had been wanting to try to make a pillowcase dress so this was the opportunity. The knit pants that reside here, have multicolored dots on a black background. Versatile, yes?  I had been working on my pink slab blocks for the RSC18 and came across a chunk of bright pink with lime green dots. I measured Miss B and it seemed the top should be 14" from shoulder to bum! Luckily the piece of fabric was about 19" by WOF. I perused the internet and Pinterest for patterns and ideas.  I settled on a tutorial from Melissa at Polka Dot Chair that she created for Bernina's WeAllSew blog. It is well written and worked well for me. There are lots of variations on Pinterest too.

I made a trip to JoAnns for the proper pink bias tape and some wide enough lime green ribbon. I did not add the bottom contrasting band, though I could always do that. I'll try the band technique if this one works well and make her a longer dress length for her birthday. She'll be two in July!

Nothing fancy about this dress!  I used the thread I had, and even two different colors in top and bobbin. But you can't tell. I like it a lot, we'll check it out on the "model" soon.

I also worked on my pink slab block, but they are still in construction.

Today these go in the box and I'll start the new color. It is an ongoing project for this year.

I did piece the wide borders for the plus quilt I showed last week and got the side borders added. With Mr. Busy's help, I will measure the width of the quilt top today and sew on the top and bottom borders. I have to lay it out on the family room floor and then can't hold the tape measure and crawl on my knees at the same time!  It's not easy being "old".

I'll be linking this post to Finish It Up Friday at Amanda Jean's blog and
Finished Or Not Friday at Myra's blog.


Stay Busy and Stay Happy

ScrapHappy Saturday 5-11

May's RSC18 color is pink and rose.  Some of you may remember I participated in Carla's 30 Blocks in 30 Days  in April. I originally started to make the blocks in the order Carla presented them, but using the color order from So Scrappy's Rainbow Challenge.  Of course, I did not know in what order the rainbow colors would be selected. I did know what the colors might be and finally I decided to just make the colors willy nilly, but following Carla's Rainbow layout. (I hope you could follow that bit of rambling.)

The beginning of May, when pink and rose was chosen, I gathered the rest of my chunks and scraps of pink and darker other pink. I made slab blocks to go with the other slab blocks from the previous months. I think I need one more for six total.

They are odd varied sizes as of now. I will add more as the month goes one. One of my other challenges for May (One Monthly Goal) is taking some time too. I'll post about that later, but I will tell you it is definitely NOT pink.

I decided to pull the pink block from 30 Block challenge to show you here too.

There is lots of white on white negative space in those large blocks. I am sort of anxious to put these blocks together. This one is way outside my box..really pushing my envelope. Not the piecing of the blocks, they are super easy and super fun. But the modern look with all the negative space and the rainbow look is definitely different for me.

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I'll be linking up with Angela at SoScrappy! 

Sunshine scrappy week one!

I worked on some scrappy slab blocks for April. I did not think I had much yellow, but when I started digging, I found quite a bit. Then add in the scraps from some fellow quilters and Voila!  I had a good assortment.

My blocks looked like this in the middle of the week.

I added a couple of rounds yesterday.....and I decided to join in with Carla's Blog Hop 30 Blocks in 30 Days!  I had the yellow out and I had almost enough yardage of some white on white pin dot. So I picked 2 blocks and cut and sewed.  The large block on the left is Chunky Pinwheel and the middle one is Topsy Turvy.

Funny story: I started to do the alternate method to the Staggered Block. I did not have the blog up on my laptop (it was upstairs) and I thought I had jotted down enough directions that I could do it. Ummm, not so much. When I cut the block at the 5 1/2 mark, I had one set of 5 1/2" strip and one that was only 5" .  So I went back to the blog and looked for a block that I could use the 5 1/2" side in another configuration. I found Topsy Turvy. I could take the strip of rectangle apart at one seam and add 2 5 1/2 " squares.  It worked. See the yellow with red dots! In the middle.  Where there is a will, there's a way!

My plan is to go back and make blocks 1-7 in the other colors of the RSC18. So I will make 2 blue, 3 purple, 2 or 3 lime green , 3 yellow and so on. I have a chart - sort of, so I can make all 30 blocks using the 10 colors in the Rainbow Challenge. I will probably add in a neutral and a dark( black or brown). I'll wait and see how they all play together.

I really needed an extra project/challenge  don't you think?!!!!!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

I'll be linking this post up to So Scrappy Saturday.