A New Quilt Top and RSC Yellow Update

Somewhere around mid-July I started a new quilt, one that Dayna had sent a screenshot of and asked if I could make. Out came the graph paper, then came the math, followed by a test block, more math, then a TON of cutting, and, three weeks later, where I sewed nothing but this quilt, I have the top!

On average, one star block took me one day to make. The quilt is big. Lots of white. Pretty dramatic! I’m positively pleased (as punch😉) with all the pretty points. And Dayna loves it, so mission accomplished. 

RSC Catching Up

Earlier this year, I completed my first Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt. It ended up going in a slightly different direction than I’d first planned. I then got busy with the quilt that’s in the current issue of make modern as well as the planning and sewing for my annual quilt along. I’m pleased to say that I spent the last couple of days finalizing what will be the next RSC project for the year and I am caught up with six months' worth of blocks. Because June is pastel colours, here is my pastel blue block.

I’ve wanted to make this block forever; think the first I saw it was way back on Craftsy! Diann of Little Penguin Quilts made it last year and it reminded me to keep it in mind for this year.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Update and a Free Quilt Pattern

This was not the plan, but I have a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt finish with the first three months’ colours!

I’m actually quite pleased with it. January was dark blue, and I did a couple of medium and medium/dark blue 9-patch blocks. February was dark green, and I added in some muddy ones. March was red, which was when I realized my original thinking of a rainbow of 9-patches that finish at 7.5” wasn’t going to work the way I had envisioned; it would be a humongous quilt.

SMGO

So. Much. Going. On.

And it's all wonderful with lots of blue! I've joined in once again with the SAHRR. Here is my post about the centre I'm starting with.

I'm once again participating in the RSC: Rainbow Scrap Challenge with Angela of soscrappy. This month's colour is blue. She didn't specify light or dark so I did light, bright and dark! 

Cool Cascade

My second of two RSC projects is done!

It lives up to its name there, cascading down the front step in the evening sun! Note: new porch railings and columns. MacGyver has outdone himself, and yes, I'll show before and after once it's complete.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilt Finish

I am happy to present my first RSC quilt, now finished and ready for a new home. Every year since 2015 I’ve participated in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with Angela at So Scrappy. I’ve made one, two or sometimes even three projects with scraps, a few I’ve kept, but most I’ve given away as comfort quilts. This one will be donated somewhere I think. 

Rainbow Scrappy Churn Dash

This quilt, you may recall, is another where I built small slabs with crumbs and then cut them into HSTs or rectangles. 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilt 1

After I posted my turquoise block on Instagram on the weekend, and then a photo of the layout on my design wall of all eight blocks, it started an itch that had to be scratched.

Annoyingly, the HSTs do not have their strips oriented all the same way, because I forgot to pay attention to which diagonal I needed to cut on, but then I remembered something Angela Walters said in a course I took with her, "If you make a mistake, repeat it, and it becomes a design element!" So I'm calling this and its yellow friend a design element.😇

This is the third unicorn centre. I love them. It’s a Benartex Fabrics print by Ann Lauer that I used during my Follow Your Own Path quilt along in 2021 to make ‘Be A Unicorn’.

Simple Satisfying Sewing

Maybe it's because my heart is aching so for the Palestinians, maybe it's because my throat feels utterly constricted with rage, maybe it's because this world seems so wilfully angry and ignorant, but I've been doing just what the title for this post says: sewing simple, quick, easy, satisfying little makes. You saw the collection of makeup bags in the previous post. Well, I made my orange churn dash block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour of the month,

I'm having fun finding appropriate 5" centres in the colour of each month!

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Update: Green

Green is the colour for May and oh, how I do love green: the feel of green, the smell of green, how lovely it looks with blue😊, how it is the colour of magic, and how it fills my sewing room windows that look east. My Project #1 is a churn dash block made with crumbs and strips. Each block has a centre 'feature' block, either one image or a special fabric in that month's colour.

I love that green owl fabric. I won it, along with a few other scraps in that line, from Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty in a giveaway she had a couple of years ago. Speaking of Michelle, have you seen that she is now a published author? She’s just released her first book and it sure looks like a good one, Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. 

More Blues

Since I got my Project Quilting runner, Diamond Girl, done in just two days, I did a little fun, mindless sewing. One of my goals this year is to make a placemat each month in the colour for the RSC. I got a dark blue one done a couple of weeks ago and so this week I decided to make a light blue one in my ongoing efforts to reduce the strips.

Since making these two, I actually have noticed them go down.

Blues and Backs

In this between PQ challenge week I’ve been plugging away at a few must-be-done projects. I haven’t sold any mug cosies for a little while and then in short order, I sold two, so I needed to replenish my stock of three lol.

I use mine every single day, twice a day: once in the morning over my cup of coffee, and then in the afternoon over my cup of tea! It really does help keep the drink warmer a little longer. The hats and teacups one that just sold had turquoise lining and trim; I always thought it was a perfect fabric for a mug cosy. This one has a hot pink and red checked lining and a piece of Hello Tokyo Robert Kaufmann fabric for binding that was a perfect match. The soft coral butterflies on blue is also the second one I've made in this pretty fabric and when it sells that's it, because you can only get two from a FQ. The link for these is here.

Rainbow Bricks

This was my first Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year, in my ongoing attempt to empty my strips bins (not a lot of success so far, sad to report).

I made two 10" blocks in each of eight rainbow colours for a four by four block set, giving me a 40" square quilt. This was such a great simple, mindless project to do each month that I will continue making these blocks for another quilt!

My Second Scrappy Strippy Stars

I am pleased to squeak in one more finish for September, a few hours before midnight lol. It’s one of my two Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. This is my design, Scrappy Stars, which is a tutorial here. 

My original quilt was done on cream backgrounds with beige for patches. I decided to go dark with this one.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2024 Tops Done

I thought I’d give you an update as to what I’ve been working on lately. I have the tops done for both of my RSC projects. Both projects involved using strings. Here is the first, a simple ‘Lego’ bricks block that finishes at 10”.

So colourful, and though it did use up some strings, once again, never enough!

Dancing Stars

This project was one of three I worked on throughout 2023 for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge that Angela of soscrappy hosts each year. It is one of two RSC projects I did last year from the August/September 2022 issue of Quick & Easy Quilts. The designer did black stars on a grey background whereas I chose to do mine in rainbow colours on grey.

Like the original, I did colourful background squares. I’m pleased with how it turned out. It did, however, have its growing pains. 

Rainbows

Rainbows symbolize many things: hope, wonder, peace, the LGBTQIA+ movement. When I'm working on my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, I am happy. I love the variance in just one colour, and I love the joy I get when I start putting my blocks together. It helps calm my mind and soothes my spirit when I see and feel the plight of the Palestinians, the current bombing of Rafah—again, where the people were told to go for their safety ends up corralling them so they can be murdered and hospitals bombed yet again. The amount of war crimes Israel has committed and continues to commit are heinous. Kudos to the universities, kudos to the protesters and may all of us who condemn Israel and are doing everything we can, be it signing petitions, writing emails, boycotting Israel products, finally be heard. 

Up until April this year I have had just one RSC project which is unusual for me. Well, I now have two! Here are May's pink blocks for Project #1, the bricks quilt.

These are 10" finished, so I am making two of each of nine colours which will give me a 40" square quilt.

Rainbow Connection: RSC 2023 and 2024 Progress

This is my original Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt of 2023. I had three ongoing projects, and just have one left to get into a flimsy and quilted up for a donation quilt. This one will be donated somewhere too.

The original dark blue blocks were in this post. It is a quilt from Quick & Easy Quilts August/September 2022. Mine is a scrappy version of the Saskatchewan designer's quilt.

Scrappy Rainbow Stars Quilt

It's amazing what a little pressure or incentive, or both can do to get a quilt done! This is one of three of my RSC 2023 quilts, yet another attempt to put a dent in the strings (it didn't). The free tutorial to make the 16" blocks is here.

As you can see, I had a good time quilting it.

Rainbow Scraps at Work

I started the year with just one rainbow project. And I’m happy to report that all the blocks are complete; in fact, now that the turquoise ones are done, I have one extra!

It evolved, as they often do, too, aiming to make a gradation in shades of each color. So you can see these three go from light to dark turquoise. I now have 26 blocks, enough for a 50” square quilt with the extra block going on the back. My original plan was to make 30 but I decided this past week that 25 is fine.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Update

I have three projects ongoing this year, one of which has all the blocks done, and two nearing completion. Here's where they all are at present! Then read on to find out who won a copy of Cheryl's new book, Just Two Charm Packs Quilts.

Project 1

Makes me think of ketchup and mustard! I plan to make four more blocks in aqua (I'm thinking that will be the September colour) for a total of 30, set five by six. This will make a nice-sized throw as they are 10" blocks. This will most likely be a comfort quilt.