Scrappy Saturday

It's yellow month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and I have enjoyed my projects this week. 

First I put some gorgeous Alison Glass fabric called 'crochet' in the centres of some flower blocks (a small start for a table runner).

Then I used this yellow fabric to make a 6" yellow sewing machine block (another one of my long term RSC projects started in June of 2021). And I also made a sweet little yellow 3" sewing machine block from yellow scraps.

These blocks are made from a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop. I am making the 3" and 6" block sizes, but oddly have no interest in the 9" block size. Quilts can be made much quicker with bigger blocks, but rapid production is not my goal - enjoyment is, so I follow my bliss!

Here are all the blocks on the design wall. 

I don't know yet when I will tire of making these blocks, or how big the quilt will become. The plan of the moment is to border the 3" blocks with white sashing as alternate blocks to the 6" sewing machines. 

Linking up to the weekly scrap party at Angela's

Scrappy Saturday

Two yellow blocks have been added to one of my favourite RSC projects. It has been an unnamed project but I have decided to call it "Scraps and Stars". The original (out of print) pattern by Lydia Quigley was called "When this you see", but that didn't fit the quilt. To see the inspiration quilt made by my friend Deanna click here.

I love making the 25 patch blocks from my box of 1.5" squares. So many fun yellow scraps from past projects. 

Then I pick out a couple of larger scraps to make the star block. This is my favourite way to make a quilt - one leisurely, colourful block at a time, stitched over years! Next month will be this project's first birthday and I have made 27 block so far - not quite a crib size yet! That's okay, I have hopefully have a few more years to add more blocks each month! LOL

Linking up to the weekly scrap party at Angela's

Scrappy Saturday

It's yellow month for the Rainbow Scrappers, and I have started digging through the 1.5" scrap box for yellow squares to make into 25 patch blocks. It's an interesting task to decide what is actually yellow, and what reads  more as gold or orange.

Sewcialites 2 is also getting some attention this weekend. This is block #17 called Simplicity pattern by Vanessa Goertzen. 

And here are all the Sewcialtes 2 blocks on the design wall. There are 24  blocks in this  collection, so I have 6 more to sew. I think this will definitely need some sashing to be a less busy sampler!

I am motivated to get these blocks sewn because rumour has it that Moda Blockheads #5 is coming this September, and I only like to have one sampler project on the go at a time! 

Linking to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Red Happenings

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge colour for July is red. The only red thing I sewed this week was a selvage potholder.

It was fun to dig through the selvage bag (and one box) to find some red pieces to use. Most of these selvages I recognize from previous projects, so it's like a trip down memory lane. Since this was made to replace a very used gift from 2019, I was happy to find a piece that says 'England' on it, since the recipient's family is from England. And also a bit ironic to have a piece that says 'Handmaid' on a kitchen project.

My friend asked if she could exchange the old potholder for a new one. She gave me the old one which has burnt edges and feels/smells like it has been dipped in Crisco! I was delighted that my gift was so well used, and it definitely needed to be replaced.

And in other red happenings this week, I bought this pretty kit of fabrics to make the 4th of July project from Modern Holiday table runner by Cluck Cluck Sew. This kit has more teal fabrics than blue which gives it a more Christmasy vibe.

Linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Red Scraps

Two more blocks were made for one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects. This is how my work table looked this morning when I was attending a zoom sew day with my guild.

I did not have enough fabric for the project I intended to work on today, so I got out the red scraps and made 2 more blocks for the scrappy 25 patch star quilt.

Here are the 25 finished blocks on the design wall. 

If I make 2 blocks each month, this quilt will take me forever to finish. I seemed to understand that during green month, but since then I seem to have forgotten! Oh well... my RSC projects take as long as they take and I just enjoy using up scraps in the colour of the month.

Linking up to the scrappy party at Angela's

Scrappy Saturday

July 1st is "Canada Day"! Celebrations will be held across the country, including parades, picnics,  concerts, and fireworks. The weather forecast is for  thunderstorms, so I guess we might be mostly  celebrating indoors. And you know what that means!?! It's a quilting day for me!

I started sewing some red scraps into another Sewcialites 2 block. I had the pieces cut and ready to sew together last night, but when I made a mistake I decided it was best to just go to bed!  Good night mistake - see you in the morning!

Here is the finished block which is pattern #16 (of 24) called Christmas Star by Corey Yoder. I cut 53 pieces for this 6" block and with the exception of  my late night sewing error,  it was fun to make!

Here are my  Sewcialites 2 blocks (Rainbow Scrap Challenge version) on the design wall. Next up is another red block which I will use for block pattern #19.

The rest of my quilting time today will be spent cutting fabric for a guild summer mystery called 'Teamwork". Our amazing Community Outreach team coordinates fabric kits for those willing to make a comfort quilt to donate. This is my gorgeous kit! There is everything in the bag that I need to finish this quilt. So brilliant!

I can't wait to cut into this pretty Micheal Miller floral print called "Honey Meadow" while I enjoy a fresh new blade in my rotary cutter, and a hot tea in my Bear and Fox mug (a uniquely Canadian company - no affiliation, just a happy customer!)

Linking to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Scrappy Stars

A scrappy rainbow scrap challenge project is on the design wall today. This pattern alternates a 25 patch block and a star block.  That's a very old Debbie Mumm print used for the star fabric.

I started making blocks last fall and wasn't sure if I would keep up with the project or not. It turns out I really like sewing these blocks and using up my collection of 1.5" squares, so it will continue!

Here are the recently sewn blocks using blue scraps for the June Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I love the secondary design you get when the blocks are side by side.

Here are all the blocks I've sewn so far.

I'm looking forward to adding in some warm colours soon - red is up for next month.

Linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Design Wall Monday

Crappy Saturday

Yes it is Crappy Saturday here at Kathy's Quilts! 

The sewer backed up into the basement on Thursday night which will cause a huge repair expense when it hopefully gets fully fixed next week. It also caused me to miss out on a weekend quilting retreat with friends in Trout Creek. Instead of quilting with my friends I am cleaning the basement 😰

I am thinking about how sewer and sewer are heteronyms - the words are spelled the same but mean very different things! 

I will spend half the day in the sewer basement, and half the day in the sewer room!

Making more disappearing pinwheel blocks has been such a delight. 

I have finished 6 disappearing pinwheel blocks in blue (which is the colour of the month for the Rainbow Scrappers). Here they are on the design wall.

Linking up to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Disappearing Pinwheels

Orange was the colour of the month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month, and I have finished a few more disappearing pinwheel blocks.

Here are the orange blocks looking bright and cheerful!

I have quite a good block collection going and keep adding more blocks here and there. Here's how they look on the design wall. I'll keep making more until I get tired of them. More blue blocks are coming next month!

Linking up to Design Wall Monday at Judy's and the RSC linkup at Angela's

Sewcialites 2

Orange is the colour of the month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I have been playing with some orange scraps and made 2 new sewcialites blocks to add to my collection.

First up is block # 15 called "Brighten" by Minki Kim. This was quick and easy to sew, and made from 3 fabrics.  I'm making all my blocks in the 6" size but this is a really cool block and wouldn't it make a dramatic quilt in the larger size (9") pattern?

Next was block #18 called "Spellbound" by Robin Pickens. It was the perfect pattern to use up 16 pieces in my 1.5" square collection. 

Why did I skip block #16 and #17 you ask? Well, one block was too many large chunk of orange for my liking, and I'll save that one for another month's colour, and one block was too hard for my brain this week, so I'll also save that one for next month!

Here is my yummy block collection so far. Some colours are noticeably absent in the sampler, but they will appear in the next few months.

All the free Sewcialites 2 block patterns are posted now (in 3 sizes) and will continue to stay on the Fat Quarter website, so I will keep sewing 2 blocks each month until I have sewn them all.

Linking up to Angela's RSC party and Judy's Design Wall party

Sewcialites 2

The Fat Quarter Shop posted the last Sewcialites  block pattern this week. I am sad that this project is finishing since it was so fun to see these patterns as they were posted and dream of sewing them in different colours. I am only about half way through the patterns, so I will continue to sew the blocks in the Rainbow Scrap Colours each month until I have made them all. 

This is block #14 called Enchant - pattern by April Rosenthal (a churn dash variation). It was fun to pull the fabric scraps and easy to sew. In the centre I put a fussy cut square taken from my border fabric (Dragonfly Lagoon).

And then it was back to sewing the harder block #13 called Innovate - pattern by Doug Leko. 

I decided to challenge myself by changing the colouring a bit and use 2 prints instead of 3. Why do I let my creative brain do this to me?!?

I did all the cutting last night, but made a few errors apparently. While I was sewing the block this morning I had to keep cutting more squares, mostly of the light purple.

Here is the finished 6" block with 36 pieces. And all the squares that were left over! LOL

Anyway I love how it turned out and it was a good workout for my brain!

Here are my blocks on the design wall.

I love the 2 new purple blocks added!

Click here to see the layout that was just posted for these blocks... it is so pretty!

Linking to the Scrappy party at Angela's and Judy's Design Wall Monday

Happy Earth Day!

Scrappy Saturday

April is purple month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I don't use purple very often in my quilts, and in fact I can't even locate my purple scrap bin at the moment! But there were enough bits laying around to do some sorting and cutting this week.

I made some blocks for my version of scrappy stars. This pattern alternates 25 patch blocks with a star block. Just look at this sweet 3" star block!

I have been having thumb pain and have it immobilized for 6 weeks in a hand brace. That makes quilting very challenging. I have been teaching my left hand to do tasks like cut with scissors and use a rotary cutter. And I am letting my fingers do the work my thumb used to. I have to keep quilting somehow!

Here is my collection of blocks so far! 

Only 1 purple block has been finished but today I'll stitch together the pieces I cut out for more blocks to add.

Linking up to Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Scrappy Saturday

The green scraps have had my full attention this week. It has been so fun to dig through the scrap bins and cut little green bits into useable 1.5" squares for my scrappy stars project. These 25 patch blocks are a 10 out of 10 on the fun sewing scale for scrappy sewers! I used up such a wide variety of greens.

Then I made 4 star blocks and although they don't use up as many scraps, they are still very fun to sew. I enjoy looking in the scraps for a neutral background to go with the scraps. My favourite is the Tula block on the top left with the whale in the centre square. 

And here is my block collection so far. I love how it's coming together! 

Apparently I only made 1 of each of the blocks in January and February, but green month inspired me to make more! There are just so many lovely variations of green - how can you resist?!?

Linking up to the weekly scrap party at Angela's

Scrappy Saturday

It's green month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, which is perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day and also for those of us who are longing for signs of spring. Today my world is covered in white as we had a huge snowfall last night.

I am snug in my sewing room with my little green scraps spread around, and I am cutting them into 1.5" squares for my Scrappy Stars project. 

Here is the first green star block - so darn pretty! I hope to make some alternate 25 patch blocks today. There are already enough squares cut to enjoy some mindless sewing.

This is an early RSC project and there aren't many blocks made yet. it's too early to tell if this will be a small quilt or a large bed quilt. It depends on how much I like it over time.

Linking up to the RSC party