Tuesday catch up

Monday felt like a catch up day around here. I was co-hosting the monthly pinochle group in the evening, so I spent a little extra tidy-up time and not as much sewing time.  The other co-host brought ALL the food and drink, so I had the easy part.  LOL

I to share the 2 pillowcases that I finished on Saturday.  This print with the animals and flowers was too cute to keep hiding away.  Pillowcases are a quick way to add yardage USED to my spreadsheet, so I should kit up a few more from the project box marked "pillowcase" kits.  LOL

All of the pieces for Week 3 of the pattern testing are cut, so I'm hoping this morning to get these 4 blocks made.  These will be mirror images of the blocks for Week 2.

One of my tasks for this week has been to work on the next clue for our guild DIY Round Robin.  It needs to be ready to share on Saturday morning at our May meeting. Clue 4 involves using some leftover double-ended Dresden blades, but I can't show you exactly how I'm using them until next week - after the clue is shared with participants.

I've been cleaning up some of my smaller collections of scraps.  April for RSC was pink, and my pink bin also contained orange.  So I sorted those orange scraps into a shoebox size bin with a lid.  I did the same by sorting brown and grey OUT of the black bin.  And pulled the purple and aqua scraps out of the blue bin.  Each of these little shoebox containers has a label, and they'll stack nicely in the closet or on a shelf.  The funny things is orange was announced for the May color, and here are those scraps all ready to play with.
 

There is also a little shoebox bin for Red, White, Blue - but not to hold scraps.  There are too many for that size bin.  Instead, I'm using it to put in various random "units" I've made or parts I've cut such as HSTs, or 4-patches.  I often do those units as Leaders/Enders when I'm making QOV blocks because they tend to be the leftovers of those blocks.  While sorting out some of those over the weekend, I organized the parts for some additional QOV blocks.  These will also be Leaders/Enders this week as I'm sewing on the pattern test.  There are parts on this design board for a couple of Gleam blocks, more Echo blocks, and along the top are parts for more small 4-Patch Fun blocks.

Design Wall Monday - April 27

Wow - it's Monday again already!!  Yesterday we got up early and went to a swim meet to watch one of the granddaughters swim.  Spending time with family is better than sewing, right?  I wasn't at my computer much over the weekend either, so I have lots of blog reading to catch up on.  And comments too!! 

My list of projects for the week is shorter than usual, but includes 2 HIGH PRIORITY projects.

1.  HIGHEST PRIORITY - finish my DIY Round Robin clue for Saturday's guild meeting

2.  finish tracing the parts for Beach Bum

3.  High Priority - work on the pattern test project for an upcoming shop hop

4.  make a few random blocks in red/white/blue or the new RSC color orange

The pattern test is for a mystery quilt for a summer shop hop across both North and South Dakota.  A local designer here in town is having me do a pattern test, and I'm very excited.  I've worked through the Weeks #1 and 2 instructions but can't show you the blocks since it's a mystery.  She even let me choose the fabrics I wanted to use.  I can show you the colors I chose - 3 shades of purple and 2 accent colors are all batiks, and the background is a Grunge that is a pale cream.  Each shop will put together their own kits for participants, and it has been interesting in the past to see how different the fabric pulls are across so many shops. 

I'm linking up today with:

https://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/ 

https://songbirddesigns.blog

RSC26 - Week #17

I played with pink again this week, but also mixed in some other colors - but all were done using scraps.  That is a win in my book.  

So far only 5 new Vintage Spools blocks were added. More might be made next week, depending on my scrap "clean out" progress. 

A couple more pink Buckeye Reversed blocks happened this week.  That makes 6 pink blocks in this set so far.  Four more blocks in other colors happened too.

I couldn't resist laying out what I have so far, to play with possible layout ideas.  However, I'll need lots more blocks in lots more colors since they are only 8" finished.  Luckily there is a shoebox size bin full of leftover charm squares to play with.  

A few more string blocks were made as I sorted scraps this week, but not in pink.  I still need a couple more light blue/neutral ones to finish the light blue star in the String Stars project I've been working on.  And I also did a couple string blocks with yellow because I want to see how a yellow star will look in the next location in that project.

On a side note - I did some decluttering from my sewing room the past 2 weeks.  This is all of the STUFF that I took to the rummage sale location on Friday morning.  Over 150 separate items: books, patterns, kits, notions, yardage, 5 quilt tops, and 5 bags of leftovers/scraps/selvages.  I feel so much lighter!

Let's go check out more Rainbow fun . . .

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

Finished (or not) Friday

 First of all, Happy Anniversary to my daughter and her husband today.  We were on the beach in Jamaica for that wedding 16 years ago.  Now they have 3 kids and 3 dogs to keep them too busy to revisit that beach.

I have 2 finishes this week, because the bindings on both projects were quick to finish in front of the TV this week while I kept that Achilles resting on an ice pack.  

First is Giddy Up - which is only 40 x 55.  It's one of my Go To patterns for a quick baby quilt, and the best thing it uses 1 yard each of 3 fabrics.  I found this cute pink/blue rocking horse fabric in Kansas a few years ago while at a family reunion.  This one is going into the mail soon for a baby gift.  

The more impressive finish - Circle of Friends.  The pattern was a free BOM from Carol Doak, who must be the QUEEN of paper piecing.  On the first day of 12 months we got a new block pattern posted to her Facebook group.  

I used 2 different black prints with colorful sprinkles on the blocks. One has dots and the other has "party confetti".  The confetti print is the outer border too.  Each block has a touch of white somewhere, and each block was made using bright scraps.  Lots and lots of scraps went into this project.  Even the yardage was totally from the stash.  

It's possible the back is even more fun than the front.  Every color from the blocks is in that wild backing, which is why I bought it.  Should I admit that I bought 6 yards of this wide backing?  OK - yes I did, so it will show up again on some Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts in the future.

Today is the day that all the stuff I've collected for the quilt guild rummage sale will be dropped off at the sale location.  Yay!!   I feel like I made a bit of a dent in the over-accumulation of sewing stuff. 

But I wasn't nearly brutal enough in clearing out fabric.  Plus I kept finding interesting things that I do want to finish as I dug through bins and drawers.  There was enough of this cute print to make 2 pillowcases, so I pulled some other yardage from another drawer to add the cuffs.  These are NOT finished, but are pinned and laying on my ironing board to sew up today.  

For more finishes, please visit:  https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/

Thursday this and that

 My gardening for this spring is done.  I have 3 flower pots and they are planted.

OK - I will confess - these all contain fake flowers and greenery, with solar lights and a rain gauge tucked in with them. The back deck gets so hot that it's a struggle every year to keep flowers alive.  I ordered these flower "picks" from Amazon and they are supposed to be fade resistant.  We'll see.  The rain gauge is in the pot on the left.  The front porch stays in the shade so this is the 3rd year I've put a fake geranium in that big pot on the porch.  This year I've added additional greenery and red, white, blue twinkle solar lights.  These are all fake, but still look lots better than dying droopy real flowers.

The rest of this post will demonstrate that I'm struggling to focus on any one project again lately.  Actually the decluttering has contributed to the lack of focus because I keep moving things around in the sewing room, and finding things that need attention.  

I'm having a flare of the Achilles tendonitis that plagued me a few years ago.  That means it hurts when I just stand for long periods of time.  Yesterday I worked on the decluttering for awhile, then sat and sewed for awhile - then repeated that process.  Several RSC blocks were cut and sewn as well. 

Some of the Salt Water Taffy blocks have also been sewn, but there are still lots more to go.  Because the cutting was already done I've just sat down and sewn a few when I needed to sit for awhile and let that Achilles rest.  

As I sorted scraps yesterday, I set aside some that were big enough for some Quilts of Valor blocks. Rather than adding those scraps to the RWB bin, I cut them to make 4 more of the Echoes QOV block.  I think I'll sew these up right away today because they are really fast to make with big pieces. 

The tracing has begun for the Beach Bums project.  There are 9 pages of shapes to trace onto fusible.  I'll need to buy more because those shapes won't all fit onto the 2 yards of Heat n Bond Light I just bought.   

 There is a small bin holding various parts and pieces for doll quilts, mug rugs, and placemats that are "in progress". While decluttering in my sewing room this week, several mug rugs were trimmed up and ready for binding.  A few even have binding attached now. That bin is now emptier, and organized.  Plus - I cut batting scraps that were too small for other things into squares for future mug rugs. And I threw away some poor quality batting scraps I found.  Yay for this push to declutter!!! 

 

A big task yesterday was emptying this bin of scraps plus a canvas cube of selvages.  I dumped a bunch of smaller containers into this bin, then worked my way through it.  I need to be even more ruthless but I filled 3 bags (1 gallon) with selvages, so the cube is no longer overflowing on the shelf.  And 2 bags (2 gallon) of scraps - joined the rummage sale collection.  They can give those away, or throw them away.  I even threw away all the really small pieces.  That bin is now empty and on a shelf in the basement storage area - NOT to be refilled with fabric scraps!!!  I promise!!

Midweek progress

Monday was a busy day - with a little sewing and lots more decluttering. 

Sewing this Quilt of Valor star block was the first thing I did in the morning.  The pattern is from Carol Doak, block #8 in her current Starry Starry Night series (Facebook BOM).  It's paper pieced of course.  The sections were all sewn and the paper came off last Friday so it was quick to finish.  She designs the most stunning blocks, and right now they are all stars.

And the second thing I did on Monday morning was attach the binding to another Carol Doak paper pieced project.  This is Circle of Friends, another BOM from her Facebook group.  I'm excited to get this UFO done, and it's one I plan to keep for myself.  Isn't that backing bright and crazy?

Last week I purchased a new small bookcase at Menards that would fit behind the big desk in my sewing room, and tucked at the end of the long table.  They also had the canvas cubes for these, and I chose 2 that were narrower so that I could add some books next to the cube. 

The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent going through my quilting books once more.  A dozen more went into the rummage sale boxes, and I moved all of the paper piecing books I found to the new bookcase - all in one place now.  Also added to the rummage sale boxes were a couple of charm packs, some yardage, and a few other odds and ends. 

My sewing room is still not as clean or organized as I want, but I'm making progress.   

Family gathering & a small finish

 

On Sunday afternoon we gathered with the whole family, for the first time since New Years.  Both families are so busy but we found a few hours to celebrate the spring birthdays. I told my daughters that if one of them would provide the place, then I would provide the food.  We kept it easy - we ordered pizza locally, and one daughter brought a big lettuce salad.  I brought the cake, cheesecake, and ice cream.  

I found myself really looking at the 4 teenagers, and wondering what future careers will each follow. They are looking so grown up suddenly.  The oldest 2 are both currently taking driver's ed and will be getting their first permits in coming days and weeks. The young man sitting next to grandpa had a big week - was a Student of the Month at his middle school and got a wild turkey on his first turkey hunt. The youngest grandson had a spring flag football game to go to late that afternoon.  And one granddaughter has a swim meet coming up this weekend.  Busy, busy, busy!! 

Over the weekend there was a very small finish.  This doll quilt is about 24" square, so it may need a little bigger stuffy before it goes to a child. There are 2 teddy bears in the closet yet, so I'll probably swap one of them for the dog.  The little dog is cute but should have a quilt more suited to his size.  LOL  

So far in 2026 there are 4 doll quilts ready to donate.  Last August I took 12 doll quilts with critters to the local safe house, along with 10 quilts. There are 3 or 4 more doll quilt tops downstairs ready to quilt so I need to get busy on them.  

On a side note - that beautiful yellow/blue/white doll quilt on the back of this child size rocker is nearly 70 years old and is one of my treasured possessions.  My paternal grandmother made that for me when I was really little.  It's all hand stitched.  At a family reunion with my cousins a few years ago I learned that not all of the girls got a doll quilt from our grandmother, and no one else still has theirs.  So it is a treasure!!